Modern Deck Tech: Izzet Pinnacle Affinity

Modern is healing. After all the hurt caused by all the rotations, power creep, and powerful sets, one of the most beloved MTG formats is once again promising, as well as diverse.

In today's article, we'll explore a Modern Pinnacle Affinity list, an Izzet version of the archetype that plays two recent engines: Pinnacle Emissary and Weapons Manufacturing.

Pinnacle Emissary is the type of card that changes how Affinity works quite a bit because it is not just a cheap artifact creature or a threat that relies on Metalcraft. On the contrary, whenever you cast an artifact spell, it creates a colorless 1/1 Drone artifact with flying. Like so, each Mishra's Bauble, Tormod's Crypt, Mox Opal, or Engineered Explosives will work as payoff cards, a little bit. Furthermore, Warp for one blue or red mana allows you to set up pretty strong early turns with this deck. Emissary can go into play early, create some tokens, be exiled at the end of the turn, and also come back permanently at another moment.

The list we'll see today is more than just an Affinity list with a new artifact. It is built to make Emissary relevant since turn 1, with many free or just very cheap artifacts that will turn that early mana into a board.

This also explains why this list plays some cards that seem too small for Modern in other archetypes, like Claws of Gix. These cards will help Emissary create Drones, and also work just like they do in regular Affinity. They interact with Mox Opal, grow Kappa Cannoneer, give you more Urza's Saga Constructs, and are also fuel for the main engines.

A player called Arcbound_Papi brought this deck to the last MTGO Modern Challenge and got 2nd place. I chose it as my first list now that I'm covering Modern again precisely because it really stood out to me in my first tournament back.

Here it is:

Artifact Engine

Like every Affinity list, the first question we must understand is how this deck turns cards that seem small into something big enough to compete in Modern.

Mox Opal is the most straightforward answer. It speeds up your curve and turns a hand full of cheap artifacts into an above-average early game. If you Warp Pinnacle Emissary, this early start gets even better, as each artifact you cast while it is in play will also leave behind a flying token.

Mishra's Bauble is nearly perfect in this context. It costs 0, replaces itself, enables Metalcraft, grows threats, and also becomes a flying 1/1 creature while Emissary is in play. Tormod's Crypt is similar, but it does something else, something very relevant considering graveyards are always relevant in Modern. Either in combo lines, decks that lean on Flashback for recursion, etc.

Claws of Gix is one of the weirdest pieces in this list if you look at it by itself, but it makes a lot of sense when you look at the rest of the deck. It costs 0, enables Mox Opal, and you can get it with Urza's Saga. Most importantly, it sacrifices permanents. This is critical when you start creating Munitions tokens with Weapons Manufacturing because you want these tokens to leave play so that they can deal damage.

Weapons Manufacturing

Weapons Manufacturing is the other half of the engine. This enchantment creates an artifact token called Munitions whenever a non-token artifact enters play under your control. This token then deals 2 damage to any target when it leaves play. As such, this deck needs ways to turn these tokens into lethal damage.

That's why Engineered Explosives is a lot more interesting than a board wipe. When you set X as 0, it will destroy 0-cost tokens, including Munitions, so they'll all leave play at the same time and turn a board that seemed "stuck" into a lot of damage.

This list only plays one Arcbound Ravager, but it is still a sac outlet for Munitions tokens. They will represent both damage and grow at the same time and can also turn very aggressive and powerful really easily. It's not the main star of the deck as it used to be in older Affinity lists, but it gives this deck a very useful way to put pressure. It's also an obvious instant speed win condition in the late game.

Main Threats

Kappa Cannoneer is still one of the best payoff cards for any strategy that fills the board with artifacts. Ward is extremely annoying to many Modern decks, and growing whenever an artifact enters play allows Kappa to end games fast when it isn't answered immediately. In this list, it is even better because Pinnacle Emissary and Weapons Manufacturing put more artifacts in play and keep them there. In certain turns, Kappa will simply explode and end the game.

Urza's Saga is also critical. It creates Construct tokens (which grow naturally with your artifacts), gets low-cost pieces for you, and gives this deck a game plan that doesn't rely solely on solving a particular creature. Getting Shadowspear will help against burn, Pithing Needle deals with problematic abilities, Claws of Gix enables the sacrifice engine, and... Ugh... Skateboard can create windows of opportunity for damage by giving you haste and tapping a permanent when it enters play.

Ravenous Robots makes this list a bit more redundant. It also creates tokens when you cast artifacts, and its ability also gives haste to your creature tokens. This matters a lot considering this list can create several small bodies but won't always want to wait a whole turn to transform them into damage. It unfortunately can't create flying creatures like Pinnacle Emissary, so this list only plays a single copy of it.

Interaction and Protection

Metallic Rebuke is a pretty natural counter pick for a deck with so many artifacts. Improvise makes this card a cheap choice in nearly every case. It will protect your engines or delay decisive enemy plays. Modern Affinity can't afford to just put permanents on the board and pray everything stays there, particularly considering Modern is getting faster and faster to keep up with Legacy. Welding Jar is simple and protects Kappa Cannoneer, Pinnacle Emissary, or any other relevant artifact.

Shadowspear plays two roles. The first one is winning races and protecting you from other aggro decks, particularly when you equip it to Kappa or to another big Construct token. The second is removing hexproof and indestructible from enemy permanents, which matters against some meta threats, like Kaldra Compleat.

This sideboard shows really well that this is Modern we're talking about.

Consign to Memory shows up a lot in current Affinity lists, and its sole job is to deal with colorless spells or triggered abilities overall. You can also Replicate it for .

Damping Sphere is the card you want against strategies that try to create too much mana or cast too many spells on the same turn, like Burn, Prowess, and Tron. It won't win the match by itself, but it buys time, so it's exactly what a deck like Affinity needs to get out of unfavorable game states.

Harbinger of the Seas deals with vulnerable mana bases and decks that rely too much on nonbasic lands.

Whipflare is one of the best board removals for this type of deck because it deals 2 damage to each non-artifact creature. In practice, it clears small enemy creatures but still preserves most of your own board.

Galvanic Blast is the golden standard for this deck in terms of removals. It is often a finisher as well.

Swan Song, Mystical Dispute, and Flusterstorm are great against blue decks, combos, and any specific spells you just have to counter. Affinity doesn't want to be a control list, but it needs to pick which turns to protect really well.

Finally, Hurkyl's Recall is the most straightforward answer in the mirror and against other artifact decks. It lets you rebuild your board first or protects you against effects like Meltdown.

I loved exploring this deck, and seeing it in action made me pretty excited. As an Izzet and Aggro fan, Pinnacle Affinity was a great fit for me. It's pretty fun to see, and it really fits those "full board" strategies that WotC has been promoting recently.

If you enjoy artifact decks in Modern, this list is a great choice. Particularly if you don't want to play any Universes Beyond cards. Pinnacle Emissary is an engine that has a huge board presence, as well as a threat and a comeback game plan all in one, which really fits Affinity's speed.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!