I’ve been having fun playing Dimir Murktide in Modern as it offers plenty of agency against the unfair decks preying on Boros Energy. Psychic Frog is basically The One Ring in this deck, but costs less mana. Today I’m going to share my list and sideboard guide after placing in the top 4 of RIW’s recent RCQ.
Dimir Murktide is based around Psychic Frog and nimble interaction to close the game once it starts drawing cards.
It’s in contention for the strongest creature in Modern and for good reason.
Murktide Regent is the premier threat alongside Psychic Frog as additional +1+1 counters can be easily added by granting Frog flying with instants and sorceries. When you untap with Murktide and Frog there’s a strong possibility of winning in a single turn.
I prefer Murktide Regent in fair matchups like the mirror, Boros, and Jeskai as there aren’t many ways to kill a big, seven mana creature. Due to the metagame of Phlage and Frog I’m choosing to play four Murktides despite the risk of drawing too many with a barren graveyard. There are situations where I can discard useless interaction to Frog in unfair matchups to power out a Murktide early.
Tamiyo plays better against unfair decks as tapping out for a Murktide in the middle of the game can be a risky endeavor. I’ve been a fan of Tamiyo as she can flip into a threatening planeswalker as early as turn two with the help of cantrips. Tamiyo is a lightning rod for Fatal Push, Galvanic Discharge, and Phlage so I’m not playing her.
Orcish Bowmasters is a flash threat, but not strong enough to win the game on its own. The main draw of Bowmasters in this metagame is the board presence and interaction against Boros Energy. The One Ring is the primary card draw in Modern and Bowmasters can sometimes provide enough pressure on the life total.
Preordain is the best cantrip as it sees the most cards on the first turn to find Psychic Frog. There are times you don’t want to use your scry effect early as you’re indifferent to drawing lands and spells.
Cling to Dust competes with Consider; I like to play a combination of four of the secondary cantrips. The graveyard is used in many matchups, but I don’t want narrow cards like Surgical Extraction and Extirpate. Phlage not only escapes, but Boros has plenty of reach with direct damage making the life gain also relevant.
Cling is especially good in blue mirrors as you can play draw go while leaving the escape on reserve when there isn’t a risk of discarding to hand size.
Spell Snare is a great counter in Modern as it hits key cards from Energy, the mirror, and Storm. If your opponent starts the match by revealing Jegantha, Spell Snare will be valuable. Preordain can play poorly with Spell Snare on the draw as I want to hold up the counter in certain matchups.
Shoot the Sheriff is the expensive removal spell of choice. I prefer Shoot over Go for the Throat; here’s a non-exhaustive list of what each of them misses:
Ragavan is the most popular creature on the list. Note the two creatures Shoot misses are answered by Fatal Push. Orcish Bowmasters also cleans up Ragavan.
Go for the Throat misses less popular threats, but many of the artifact creatures played evade Fatal Push as well. I don’t want to be at a disadvantage against fringe decks while playing paper events as the metagame is more varied.
Force of Negation and Subtlety play very well in Dimir Murktide. I want to confidently cast Psychic Frog on the second turn, play or draw. Landing a Frog, especially on the draw, takes the shields down for a turn. Once you untap it’s smooth sailing.
Thoughtseize has been quite impressive and I’m up to two copies in the maindeck. The ability to pick apart even Boros Energy’s removal for Frog and Murktide can change the course of the game as it’s too risky to counter a card like Static Prison and let the Ring resolve afterward. It’s very strong in the mirror and even helps against big mana decks.
A single black fetch can find Swamp alongside the four Polluted Delta.
I prefer Harbinger of the Seas in the sideboard, but Swamp still helps insulate against Blood Moon in game one. The Swamp also effectively gains life when you need to find a black source early for Fatal Push. The risk of Swamp is that you can’t cast Murktide and Counterspell with four mana in the mid game. I think the risk is worth the reward.
I considered a single maindeck Harbinger of the Seas, but didn’t want the low probability of drawing it to affect my fetch land decisions. Play two or zero in the maindeck.
Three Islands help insulate against Blood Moon further as the most popular deck, Boros Energy, encourages finding basics. Many games only require a single black source until the mid game.
Darkslick Shores has impressed me as once it enters tapped as a fourth land it can be pitched to Psychic Frog.
Three Watery Graves are too many as it’s mostly a painful Darkslick Shores. I don’t find myself fetching Watery Grave more than once in a game.
Two Undercity Sewers provide additional utility for fetch lands. Like Preordain, there are times where I’m indifferent to drawing lands or spells and will keep Sewers in my deck. When you are fetching Sewers make sure you actually don’t want to draw certain cards.
Stern Scolding is for Boros Energy. You may notice I have less interaction against Boros because there aren’t many bad cards in the matchup. In fact, the sideboard sweepers get weaker as you add more Stern Scoldings since their go wide strategy is under attack with nimble counters. Boros can also trim on Ocelot Prides as they can be weak against Bowmaster.
Spell Snare is the closest comparison to Stern Scolding as they are often good in the same matchups. I don’t want more than five of this effect as my sideboard can be spent better addressing other matchups.
Toxic Deluge is my sweeper of choice. Deluge has been mediocre against Boros as they focus on midrange threats to play around sweepers and removal. An easy way to die against Boros is to slam a Deluge and they play Blood Moon or The One Ring the following turn. Modern is still an open format so I still want Deluge against random creature decks.
Subtlety is a two-for-one in fair matchups and helps against big mana at the same time. I tried four, but the curve was too high. Hitting the escape on Phlage has been important against Energy.
Four Consign to Memory is now a must for blue decks. Eldrazi and Tron decks require specific interaction. Stifling cascade triggers against Living End is also relevant as they have plenty of tricks to be competitive. You can bring in a copy against Boros Energy as it stops The One Ring, Chained to the Rocks, Static Prison, and Phlage’s trigger.
Harbinger of the Seas has the maindeck Swamp to easily function with it on the battlefield. I don’t like Harbinger against Boros Energy, but it’s fine against Mardu. Harbinger is better on the play and I’ll board them at unconventional times based on how much my opponent respects them. Chained to the Rocks and Utopia Sprawl will fall off of dual lands which can swing a game.
Break the Ice works poorly with Harbinger of the Seas. I would prefer to use my sideboard for more general spells. Thoughtseize occupies a similar slot, but is more versatile.
Nihil Spellbomb is not only good against graveyard combo decks, but removes fuel for Murktide or Phlage in fair matchups.
In: 1 Subtlety 2 Stern Scolding 1 Nihil Spellbomb 1 Toxic Deluge
Out: 2 Shoot the Sheriff 1 Force of Negation 2 Preordain
Energy is a close matchup and pilot comfortability will help determine the winner. Spell Snaring a two drop is a key interaction as Amped Raptor and Ajani generate meaningful advantages.
Watch how your opponent fetches to get a feel for playing around Blood Moon. Sideboarding isn’t an exact science and it’s reasonable to play a Consign to Memory as it stifles their white removal and The One Ring.
In non-swarm games I’ll let Static Prison resolve and fight to keep the opponent from generating energy then get back my threat to close the game.
Don’t get blindsided by the opponent playing around Counterspell by adding Jegantha to hand. A hasty 5/5 elk will likely draw out that counter on a later turn.
In: 1 Subtlety 2 Stern Scolding 1 Nihil Spellbomb 2 Harbinger of the Seas 1 Toxic Deluge
Out: 3 Force of Negation 2 Preordain 2 Shoot the Sheriff
Force of Negation is less important against Mardu because they don’t play Blood Moon and have fewer Rings on average. Harbinger can juke them early, but it’s not set in stone to play it. Again, read the opponent and not the matchup.
In: 1 Subtlety 1 Mystical Dispute 2 Nihil Spellbomb 1 Thoughtseize
Out: 1 Preordain 1 Consider 3 Force of Negation
Making a few more land drops than the opponent is how you create an advantage. Force the opponent to make unfavorable exchanges by putting them in the position to avoid discarding to hand size first. If you’re too far ahead on land then your flood will lose to their mana screw.
I chose to take the draw post board against Adrian, aka Neon Mushroom, in the RCQ top 4 and it felt pretty good. Game one I went first, mulled to six, and felt at a massive disadvantage.
There are many answers and few threats making card advantage important. Psychic Frog and Bowmasters can be answered for a single mana making it difficult to steal the initiative by playing aggressively. Thoughtseize ensures you don’t have to discard to hand size without throwing down a threat that’s weak to Subtlety.
Save your Shoot the Sheriff for Murktide Regent when possible as it’s hard to answer.
In: 4 Consign to Memory 2 Harbinger of the Seas 1 Thoughtseize 1 Subtlety
Out: 3 Fatal Push 4 Orcish Bowmasters 1 Cling to Dust
Amulet of Vigor is important to their deck functioning and I will aggressively hit them with Force of Negation. Remember Consign to Memory counters Amulet as well.
In: 1 Force of Negation 2 Nihil Spellbomb 1 Thoughtseize 2 Consign to Memory
Out: 2 Shoot the Sheriff 2 Orcish Bowmasters 2 Fatal Push
Consign to Memory can counter a storm trigger, but it’s really a Spell Snare that only hits Ruby Medallion. Countering a Ral trigger is also possible when they are in range to ultimate, but it’s unlikely to matter. Fatal Push can kill Ral, but they can cast an instant in response to try and flip. Subtlety can interact with Ral while also functioning as a blue card to pitch to Force of Negation.
In: 1 Force of Negation 1 Mystical Dispute 2 Nihil Spellbomb 1 Thoughtseize 2 Harbinger of the Seas
Out: 2 Shoot the Sheriff 3 Spell Snare 1 Subtlety 1 Fatal Push
Spell Snare is deceptively bad in the matchup as it primarily hits Counterspell. Fatal Push kills most creatures out of Jeskai for less mana than Shoot the Sheriff.
Watch for how they fetch and get a feel for their manabase when considering Harbinger of the Tides. If they play Leyline Binding you can also board in Consign to Memory as it counters the trigger and The One Ring.
There are plenty of unfair decks coming out the woodwork to fight Energy and Frogtide is well positioned to compete in any matchup. Psychic Frog is one of my all time favorite creatures to cast already.
All glory to the Psychic Frog.
