4 Blighted Agent
4 Glistener Elf
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Teferi, Time Raveler
4 Scale Up
4 Might of Old Krosa
4 Vines of Vastwood
4 Blossoming Defense
1 Groundswell
3 Spell Pierce
2 Distortion Strike
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Windswept Heath
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Waterlogged Grove
2 Forest
2 Breeding Pool
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Pendelhaven
2 Temple Garden
Sideboard
4 Rest in Peace
1 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Wild Defiance
1 Twisted Image
1 Weather the Storm
2 Carrion Call
3 Force of Vigor
1 Distortion Strike
I want to talk a bit more about how I think this deck functions differently from other Infect decks and what I think about other builds.
My Thoughts on Infect
I'm not an Infect expert. I played it a bit in testing for MCII in London, but decided it wasn't what I wanted to be on. The only other games I've played were in the tournament two weeks ago. I probably don't play this deck the same way other Infect experts play it either. I talked with Orry Swift, one of the three best Infect experts around, prior to the event and he did not like Teferi. He was going to play a Giver of Runes version. If you like more traditional Infect styles, look for his list or Aaron Barich list. They know more about that than I do.
I view this deck as a "false tempo" deck, similar to Twin Blade from Standard (or Copy Cat from more recent Standard). You are presenting a possible very fast kill (as soon as turn two) but also developing your board when you don't have it or choose not to go for it. In the early turns they have their shields up, and instead of killing them you play a Teferi. This can snowball your tempo and make it impossible for them to interact. Teferi is also a different permanent and requires different answers from creatures and pump spells, making them need a wide variety of answers to gett out of the lock and not die.
Since Teferi is so good at protecting combo, the question becomes "what is the best combo in Modern to put Teferi in?" I see several options: Kiki-Jiki, Copy Cat, Devoted Druid, and Infect. The Kiki and Copy Cat decks require fewer cards to combo off, but are more expensive. The Druid and Infect decks are effectively three card combos with similar redundancy. I like Infect better because Inkmoth Nexus really is a game changer. I played the full eight hexproof spells in order to protect your threat on their turn after you resolve Teferi. As long as you can get to untap with a threat in play, you should be good to go. Inkmoth is the real trump here as it doesn't require protection from their "Sorcery" removal after you resolve Teferi. Additionally, every card is so cheap and your combo naturally faster than Druid such that you can win even when not on the Teferi plan easier.
I will say that Distortion Strike was one of the best cards for me all weekend and I wish I had played three in the main. For this reason, I could see the Giver of Runes version having advantage by playing Giver as an evasion/protection split card. However, Teferi is a much better topdeck in the mid and late games. I won several games by drawing Teferi, removing a blocker and then drawing the pump spell I needed to win.
I've always been a fan of aggressive decks that can draw cards and play more lands. Teferi allows you to do both of these things. Because of this, I was rarely mulliganing especially when I compared to playing Aether Vial decks.
The Tournament
R1 - Bye
1-0
R2 - Bye
2-0
R3 - Burn 2-0
Game one I kill him exactly while being at 1 life through Eidolon. Game two I gain 12 life from Weather the Storm then win at 3 life.
3-0
R4 - Humans 2-1
Game one he only has two mana and I can power through the Thalia. Game two his Thalia slows me down enough. Game three I use Teferi to bounce Meddling Mage on my Blighted Agent and then play two of them to win.
4-0
R5 - Mono Red Phoenix 0-2
Some Swiftspears, Gut Shots, and Lava Darts make short work of me both games.
4-1
R6 - Humans 2-1
Distortion Strike wins me both games one and three in some very tight spots.
5-1
R7 - Amulet 2-1
Game one I Spell Pierce the turn one Amulet but get stuck on two lands with an Inkmoth and can't close the door. Game two I kill him with Carrion Call through an Engineered Explosives. Game three he mulligans to five and has Scout and two Amulets, but no bounce land and I have enough time to turn five kill.
6-1
R8 - Hogaak 1-2
Game one he has his one maindeck Darkblast that wrecks me. Game two I play RIP turn two and easily win. Game three I have turn two kill and turn two RIP but he is on the play and has turn two Hogaak plus three other dudes and neither of my plans is good enough.
6-2
R9 - Hogaak 1-2
I win game one with Inkmoth flying over his team. Game two I have Blighted Agent and his draw is slow, but he has the Fatal Push and I didn't have the protection spell. Game three I mulligan to six-card hand of Fetch, Fetch, RIP, 3x Scale Up. I draw fourth Scale Up immediately, he has Cryptbreaker, and I never draw an evasive threat or Distortion Strike to get through the zombie tokens.
6-3
R10 - Tron 2-0
Game one I just kill him on turn three. Game two is longer, but I use Force of Vigor to get out from Spyglass on Inkmoth and kill his Ballista so I'm cleared for takeoff to kill him.
7-3
R11 - GB Midrange 2-0
Game one I time walk him with several Teferi activations and set up uninterrupted lethal. Game two a bit longer but I also have multiple Teferis to buy me time and he only has three lands. Eventually he draws discard for my Blossoming Defense and then can Field of Ruin my Inkmoth, so I'm forced to use Dryad Arbor and two Distortion Strike to try to deal damage. Luckily his Dark Confidant helps me out with the last two points.
8-3
R12 - Eldrazi Tron 2-0
Teferi bouncing Thought-Knot Seer is good enough game one to win despite the follow up Chalice. Game two I manage to swarm him with Carrion Call and Inkmoth and his Blast Zone can't answer any of it.
9-3
R13 - UW Control 2-1
Game one I mulligan to five and fairly far behind but he makes some weird decisions with Jace fatesealing me. I draw Inkmoth and have a kill but he has a second Field of Ruin to stop me. Game two he mulligans to five and my Teferi seals the game. Game three I play around Logic Knot for 1 on turn two and I'm rewarded. I eventually stick a Teferi and he's forced to main phase Snapcaster to make chump blocker for my Glistener Elf and Pendelhaven and I eventually kill him with poison.
10-3
R14 - UW Control 2-0
Game one I think I'm good when I go for it with Blossoming Defense backup, but he has Blessed Alliance. Somehow he has no way to close the game and I'm later able to use Defense in my upkeep in response to Field of Ruin and then topdeck Scale Up that turn to kill him exactly. Game two I stick Teferi and he is forced to chump with Vendilion Cliques a few turns before he dies.
11-3
R15 - Unknown 0-0-3
We ID into top 32 since we can't make top 16 by playing
11-3-1
Props Slops Etc
Slops first because I want to end on a good note:
Will Lowry for playing slow
Collin Rountree for not obtaining a Hogaak deck to play
WotC for killing GP Coverage and Pro Points
Hogaak
Props
Austin Bursavich for using my cards to win the event (again!)
Evan Coffey for using my cards to top 64 after many years off
WotC for killing any incentive to travel to GPs so the field is super soft and I can cash again
Teferi
