IntroductionGreetings, Modern community! Today, we'll discuss another Modern list, the healthiest MTG format in my opinion, at least for now.So, in today's article, we'll explore a pretty cool deck that performed really well at an RCQ event in France. It plays Blinks, as the name suggests, and small value-based interactions that, together, make this list pretty unique for Modern.The DeckThe version we'll see today is an Orzhov Blink strategy that plays a pretty clean game plan. The idea is to interact early on with Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, and March of Otherworldly Light, develop permanents that create value, and, from then on, use blink effects to reuse your ETBs again and again. It's a pretty fun midrange list. It's not that fast, but it also doesn't go full control.This list was created by a player called Nobime Michel, who managed to get to the top 8 of an RCQ event in France. Here it is:BlinkPhelia, Exuberant Shepherd is one of the most important cards in this deck. It lets you reuse your ETB creatures, temporarily remove enemy permanents, and also activate Ketramose, the New Dawn during your turn. As this effect happens when you attack with it, Phelia also puts pressure on the opponent and forces them to answer before you create so much value that they can't win anymore.Flickerwisp is an old card, but it still does exactly what this deck wants to do. You can set up some great plays with it, like blinking Overlord of the Balemurk and resetting it to get a creature, removing an enemy permanent for a turn, or reusing several ETB effects, as usual. It is also a 3/1 with flying, so it can't be ignored.Ephemerate is still one of the best reasons to play blink. If you play it with Solitude, you can set up one of the strongest defensive strategies in this deck. You'll remove a creature, keep Solitude in play, and also set up another blink for the following turn. With Witch Enchanter, you can remove more than one artifact or enchantment in certain matchups. You can do a lot more too, but it all comes down to getting the most out of your ETB effects.Main EngineKetramose, the New Dawn is the best example of what this list does. It's not just an isolated pay-off card. This God is a card draw engine that rewards you for doing what this deck already wants to do. Whenever one or more cards are exiled from the graveyard or battlefield during your turn, Ketramose lets you pay 1 life to draw a card.This interacts with all the exile cards in this list, including those that blink your permanents (like Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Flickerwisp), those that exile enemy cards (like Solitude, March of Otherworldly Light), and those that deal with graveyards, like Relic of Progenitus and Boggart Trawler.Ketramose is great in this list because it turns defensive/utility strategies into new cards, which is quite interesting considering there are many ways to interact in these colors. In long matches, this will be your main engine, particularly if you're facing other midrange decks or control decks. You'll be able to get ahead of them in resources quite easily.Please note that Ketramose doesn't remain an enchantment forever. With 7 or more cards in the exile, it turns into a 4/4 creature with Menace, Lifelink, and Indestructible. It will become a very real win condition in stalled games, as it attacks well, gives you life, and is pretty difficult to remove through conventional ways.Overlord as a Value EngineOverlord of the Balemurk is one of the best cards in this list when you need to grind. When it enters play or attacks, it mills four cards and returns a non-Avatar, non-planeswalker creature from the graveyard into your hand. This deck plays lots of utility creatures, so this means you'll get back Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Flickerwisp, Solitude, Emperor of Bones, or Witch Enchanter. You'll keep your hand full but won't have to rely solely on card draw engines.The most important detail is how Overlord interacts with blink. When you cast it through Impending, it enters play as an enchantment and only becomes a creature after a few turns. However, when it is exiled and returned to play through effects like Flickerwisp, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, or Ephemerate, it returns as a creature. Like so, you'll be able to skip ahead, get a pretty relevant body, and reuse its ETB.Emperor of Bones is another great addition to this deck. It exiles cards in the graveyard at the beginning of combat, so you'll be able to feed Ketramose and disrupt strategies that rely on this resource. In some matches, it can also turn exiled creatures into a decent board. You'll put into play the cards you'll exile with the Emperor and put a finality counter on them. These counters exile a creature if it is about to die instead of sending it to the graveyard. However, blink effects usually don't kill the creature in question and also return it into play without the finality counter. So, it's another neat interaction.Boggart Trawler is a bit more discreet, but just as critical. It interacts with graveyards when it enters play as a creature, very similar to a Bojuka Bog, and can also act as a land when you need mana. This type of modal card is quite relevant in modern midrange lists because then the chances of you mana flooding or mana screwing are smaller, but you'll still have options.InteractionThoughtseize is the simplest way to make sure you can compete against different strategies head-on. Against combo decks, it will remove their most important creature. Against control decks, it will remove the answer that would break your strategy. Against creature decks, you'll be able to pick which threats you have to answer later on. Furthermore, it will also give you information so you can redefine your approach depending on what you know.Fatal Push is the most efficient black removal in Modern. Because this list plays fetch lands in the mana base, Revolt is enabled often, and, as such, you'll be able to deal with big threats for just 1 mana. March of Otherworldly Light complements this kit because it is more flexible and because it exiles cards, which interacts directly with Ketramose. In some matches, March will also deal with permanents that Orzhov would struggle to answer in any other way.Relic of Progenitus is one of the most interesting cards in the main deck. This graveyard hate is usually a side deck piece, but it doesn't see play in this list just because of the meta. Once Ketramose is in play, Relic will also become a way to draw cards constantly, and you can even use it to attack with Ketramose. Against strategies that use the graveyard, it is pretty disruptive.Utility and Mana BaseWitch Enchanter is another double-faced card that can be both a land and a creature. The creature side destroys artifacts or enchantments, which is relevant against many permanents that see play in Modern nowadays. Meanwhile, the land side will keep your curve going. In blink decks, this type of effect is even better because you don't have to use it only once.This mana base was built to give you access to black and white mana consistently. Marsh Flats and Flooded Strand will get you Godless Shrine, Shadowy Backstreet, Plains, and Swamp. They'll also enable Revolt for Fatal Push. As this list plays Boggart Trawler and Witch Enchanter as modal cards, it can work with just a few traditional lands and still remain consistent.Like any MTG deck, you want resources, but you don't want too many lands in the late game. Modern Horizons 3 was really good for this format, as it gave us more modal lands. Like so, this list will have mana early on and relevant effects later.SideboardAccursed Marauder will deal with decks that rely on a few important creatures or threats that are difficult to answer with "targeted" removals. As it forces the player to sacrifice something, it can deal with a few creatures that would be immune to Fatal Push or March of Otherworldly Light. Furthermore, because it does something when it enters play, you can also blink it and reuse it.Aven Interrupter interacts with spells on the stack, delays important plays, and also leaves an evasive body behind. It is perfect to get rid of an enemy spell for a turn and buy some time. Orim's Chant is in this list for similar reasons. Against combo decks, it's great, particularly in the enemy upkeep step when the opponent's about to play their combo. It also protects you from attackers.White Orchid Phantom is the answer to vulnerable mana bases. Many Modern decks rely on non-basic lands, so having access to this type of card is pretty important. It also fits the blink game plan pretty well.Wrath of the Skies is the last card in the sideboard, as well as a global removal that can scale as you play. It will be worse for the opponent.Final WordsBlink is a pretty fun strategy that only gets better with time, as new ETB effects come out. This deck is for anyone who likes midrange strategies that can fight their way out and have a lot of options. In fact, you'll take a long time to master it precisely because it offers you so many options. It does, however, make up for the lack of speed with resilience, flexibility, and a pretty unique yet consistent engine.What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.Thank you for reading, and see you next time!
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