ColaKaKAO Modern Affinity Guide

-Introduction

Hi, my name is ColaKaKAO and I started playing this deck because it seemed fun and was
cheap on MTGO since I already had the sagas. My first two leagues went 5-0 and I ended
top 5 on the challenge the next day. I was so amazed by the power of the deck I started
exploring different builds and after I gained some experience with the deck I decided to
make this guide to help people pick it up.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/andres_lupas
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/colakakao
-Card choice

This guide is from my experience playing on MTGO, where I face an open meta, if you are
going to play in a local meta you may want to consider tuning the list. One of my favorite
things of the deck is it’s customizability, both saga tutor and having access to five mana
colors with drums and spire give the deck a great ability to adapt to the metagame.
This is my current decklist:

The first change I made to the deck was bringing in pithing needle to the main, as there were
too many times I would have gone for it if I could.
I ended up cutting 1 galvanic and the enforcers for 3 thoughtcast as a way of being more
consistent game 1.
Having access to aether spellbomb to get that one blocker that is stopping you from lethal
was something I didn’t know I needed until I tested it.

The sideboard changed a lot more since I wasn’t really experienced with the deck when I
built the first version.
After testing Karn, it felt a lot better than experimental and champion, as it was a lot more
impactful the moment you play it.
After assuming that living end is a terrible matchup you can’t win under normal
circumstances I figured that splitting 1 relic and 1 cage (mostly to respect Yawgmoth) as
graveyard hate is where you wanna be.
Stubborn denial always felt great. It’s really sad it doesn’t stop solitude but it’s still better than
metallic rebuke.
Dispatch and Wear//Tear are just extremely clean answer to big creatures and
artifacts/enchantments respectively, nothing to explain there.
-Matchups

Hammer Time: (slightly favored)

If they have the t2 kill there’s not much you can do, but with interaction they can’t usually
grind you, your cards are individually better than theirs and your constructs are usually larger
than theirs. Spellbomb their equipped creature does a lot of work.

In: 3 Dispatch, 2 Wear//Tear

Out: 3 Thoughtcast, 1 Frogmite, 1 Sojourner’s Companion

Murktide: (favored)
You should be able to deal with Ragavan since you have a lot of blockers and drc should not
be able to clock you fast enough. The card that lets them win is murktide, and spellbomb will
help you a lot there. Needle is g1 a dead card but they will most likely bring in explosives
after sideboarding.

In: 3 Dispatch
Out: 3 Thoughtcast

UW Control: (slighly disfavored)

They have a lot of good interaction but it’s not a terrible matchup. Game one saga, thought
monitor and plating do a lot of work. Try not to play your important spells into a turn 2
counterspell if you can so they don’t have a good tempo. Remember to play around veredict
by not having too many creatures in play.

In: 4 Stubborn Denial, 3 Karn, Scion of Urza

Out: 3 Thoughtcast, 3 Galvanic Blast, 1 Aether Spellbomb

Burn: (extremely favored)

They are not usually able to just race you, saga token into shadowspear should be game
almost always pre sideboard. Game 2 and 3 they have more interaction but you will also
have counters. Deflecting palm is their most reasonable way of winning, grabbing spellbomb
to bounce your creature in response is a possibility. It is better to mull to 3 and have two
random lands and a saga than keeping a slow seven.

In: 4 Stubborn Denial

Out: 3 Thoughtcast, 1 Pithing Needle

Crashing Footfalls: (slightly disfavored)

If you lose, it will be to their interaction, not to an early cascade. They have a lot of removal
and even maindeck artifact destruction, in spite of this, g1 it is really reasonable to win if you
get saga tokens or can get a flyer with plating. After sideboard they will have even better
interaction with force of vigor. They sometimes bring in blood moon to answer sagas, it’s a
card that either wrecks you or does nothing but making their manabase worse.

In: 4 Stubborn Denial, 3 Karn, Scion of Urza

Out: 3 Thoughtcast, 1 Pithing Needle, 3 Galvanic Blast
Jund Saga: (favored)
You should be able to easily grind them out, your payoffs generate a lot of value and your
constructs are bigger than theirs. If I lose it’s probably due to an unfortunate t1 discard. Post
side they are probably gonna bring explosives (which are completely reasonable to blind
name with needle) and forces of vigor. The one of relic does a lot of work as a tutor target
since it turns goyfs into 0/1 and blanks Lurrus.

In: 3 Dispatch, 1 Relic of Progenitus, 3 Karn, Scion of Urza

Out, 3 Thoughtcast, 3 Galvanic Blast, 1 Signal Pest

Yawgmoth: (slightly favored)

You have to race their combo (considering Yawgmoth getting absurd value a way of
comboing). You are going to name 99% of the time Yawgmoth with needle but getting Grist
is something you may need to do sometimes. You may want to bolt the bird. After sideboard
they will bring outland liberator and forces. Cage does a lot of work since it stops both
graveyard triggers and their tutors (don’t forget it also stops you from grabbing creatures with
saga).

In: 3 Dispatch, 1 Graffdigger’s Cage

Out: 3 Thoughtcast, 1 Aether Spellbomb

Living End: (extremely disfavored)

By far your worst matchup. Try to not overplay your creatures into their living end. Cycling
companion to get land and getting a 4/4 into your graveyard can be nice but it’s usually far
from enough to win. Pray for them getting stuck on lands.

In: 4 Stubborn Denial, 1 Relic of Progenitus

Out: 3 Thoughtcast, 1 Pithing Needle, 1 Aether Spellbomb

Amulet Titan: (slightly favored)

You can present a fast clock and disrupt their plan. If they are playing karn the great creator
you kinda are in trouble if you can’t get it off the board fast enough. Other than that you lose
to their combo a lot more than to their grindy plan.

In: 3 Dispatch, 2 Wear//Tear

Out: 3 Thoughtcast, 1 Frogmite, 1 Sojourner’s Companion

Reanimator: (favored)
If they don’t get a turn 3 archon you should be in pretty reasonable shape, and even if they
do, you may be able to win depending on your hand. They matchups play a lot like against
control but their cards are more diluted with win conditions.

In: 4 Stubborn Denial, 2 Dispatch, 1 Relic of Progenitus, 1 Graffdigger’s Cage

Out: 3 Galvanic Blast, 3 Thoughtcast, 1 Frogmite, 1 Sojourner’s Companion
If they are playing the evoke ephemerate package don’t bring in cage and keep the frogmite.
Mill: (even)
I don’t have much experience in the matchup but they should not be able to race you and
you have galvanics for their crabs. Crypt incursion is a great card against you but that’s what
relic is there for. Your 4 to 7 cmc affinity cards make their tasha’s really medium.

In: 4 Stubborn Denial, 1 Relic of Progenitus

Out: 3 Thoughtcast, 1 Aether Spellbomb, 1 Shadowspear

MonoG Tron: (disfavored)

If they have it they have it. It really comes down to what payoff they have and what
interaction you have. Try to get a clock as fast as possible. If you have to blind name with
needle the best option is probably oblivion stone. Having access to spellbomb to bounce
wurmcoil is huge.

In: 4 Stubborn Denial, 3 Dispatch

Out: 3 Galvanic Blast, 3 Thoughtcast, 1 Sojourner’s Companion

Affinity: (even)
The one who draws more payoffs or removal wins. It’s possible that bringing in karn is
correct but I’m not a fan. Since the matchup can be a race or a grind removal is always
good.
Using needle here is weird but it’s a great card in the matchup.

In: 3 Dispatch, 2 Wear//Tear

Out: 3 Thoughtcast, 1 Frogmite, 1 Sojourner’s Companion

Belcher: (favored)
Just race their combo. G1 you may lose to a fast kill or an unfortunate fury. Needle main
does stuff. Post side they will bring forces but you will have better interaction. Wear//Tear is
great because it answers both belcher and ascension if they bring it in.

In: 4 Stubborn Denial, 2 Wear//Tear

Out: 3 Galvanic Blast, 2 Thoughtcast, 1 Aether Spellbomb

Dredge: (disfavored)
It’s not really a matchup you are respecting much with my list but you won’t face it frequently.
You can’t really go aggro on them since they will make a big board fast. Conflagrate wrecks
your board. I think the best plan is to “stabilize” and start attacking with shadowspear. After
sideboard, countering a cathartic or a discovery can slow them down a lot, but if the game
goes longer they can protect you from conflagrate or their artifact hate.

In: 4 Stubborn Denial, 1 Relic of Progenitus, 1 Grafdigger’s Cage

Out: 3 Galvanic Blast, 1 Aether Spellbomb, 1 Pithing Needle, 1 Thoughtcast