I’ve been having fun trying different Riddler midrange decks and I’m happy to report Grixis Frog is back on the menu!
Jeskai decks are great, but Frog hits different for me. Today I’m going to talk about changes I’ve made to Alvaro de Alvarenga’s Grixis Midrange RC Top 8 list.
Alvaro de Alvarenga made the Top 8 of RC Calgary with this cool version of Grixis Frog. This is the list used for inspiration, but there is plenty of customization for a reactive deck:
After watching Andrea Mengucci play through the deck on his channel I made some changes to suit my play style. You can find his league play through here.
Here’s the list I’m going to discuss today:
Grixis Froggler aims to pressure the opponent with efficient creatures and interaction. Note that most spells have strange numbers because they have diminishing returns.
Quantum Riddler brings the Dimir-based Frog decks into 2025. I was skeptical of Riddler in these shells because they’re expensive to hard cast, but warping allows Frog to get large quickly in less grindy matchups. Dump your hand quickly and warp for two cards; Grixis aims to create a low resource game for the 4/6 to thrive.
Unholy Heat is worth the splash to include more removal that fights opposing Quantum Riddler and Phlage. A light splash makes it tricky to cast two red cards on the same turn so I prefer three copies. Fatal Push is still strong, but happens to not play well against exactly Quantum Riddler.
Ragavan is growing on me as the metagame becomes more diverse. In prior months I wanted to be more reactive, but there are currently too many decks to fight simultaneously. Orcish Bowmasters currently isn’t as popular making the 2/1 less vulnerable. Grixis Froggler is also packed with threatening creatures making it more likely one will be able to get traction.
Mishra’s Babule is a new addition to enable delirium for Unholy Heat. It can enable a second turn Tamiyo flip, but I’ll mostly crack it on my turn in case I draw Subtlety or Force of Negation. There’s plenty of play to Bauble in a deck filled with fetch lands, Ragavan, and Thoughtseize.
I cut the fourth copy to make room for an extra land as hardcasting Quantum Riddler is a great mana sink.
Nihil Spellbomb is another cantrip for Tamiyo and delirium enabler for Unholy Heat that helps disrupt Phlage. I prefer to maindeck a Spellbomb in these decks because I essentially get to add another card to my sideboard.
Strategic Betrayal is the expensive removal spell of choice because it can kill Quantum Riddler and exile Phlage. I typically favor Sheoldred’s Edict in this slot, but don’t need the ability to kill planeswalkers because of Unholy Heat. If Affinity is popular in your area I would go back to Sheoldred’s Edict to have a higher chance of hitting Kappa Cannoneer.
Kaito plays very well in this version of Grixis. He can be ramped out on the second turn with Ragavan using the treasure at the end of combat. I only want two copies with fewer pitch spells and diminishing returns of the legendary creature. Grixis also sees plenty of cards so I’ll have enough top end threats when the time comes.
Murktide Regent is the final threat of choice. It can be weak against Solitude decks, but shines against combo and big mana alongside a Psychic Frog. I don’t want too many Regents because it can infringe on delirium for Unholy Heat.
Subtlety is a singleton in my version because it’s less effective as a pitch spell than Force of Negation. I prefer to hard cast Subtlety which is more likely to happen against creature decks after sideboard because I have more nimble interaction to force the game later.
Engineered Explosives functions similarly to Meltdown, but is useful in more matchups. Izzet Affinity is focused on deploying 0-drops making Explosives cheap to cast and activate. It also helps against Boros Energy and Izzet Prowess. I have found the threat of activation of Explosives X=0 against Cori-Steel Cutter to buy plenty of time.
I prefer Nihil Spellbomb to Ghost Vacuum in this deck because graveyard synergies are less pronounced in post board games. Vacuum doesn’t play well into your Engineered Explosives and I want both effects against Boros Energy.
Stern Scolding is a big upgrade in the Boros Energy matchup that helps drag out the game to the point of hard casting your big blue threats such as Subtlety and Quantum Riddler. I could also use more help against Golgari Yawgmoth as I want to cut Ragavans in the matchup.
Consign to Memory can in theory counter Quantum Riddler’s warp trigger, but it will only be in the deck when the spell is at a premium so it won’t come up as often.
Harbinger of the Seas is great in Grixis because it can be ramped out on the second turn thanks to Ragavan. I’ll likely cut some Unholy Heat in matchups where I want Harbinger making the lack of Mountain less important.
Mystical Dispute plays well in this metagame as it interacts in some combo matchups as well as Quantum Riddler midrange.
+2 Mystical Dispute +1 Subtlety +1 Nihil Spellbomb
-1 Mishra’s Bauble -2 Fatal Push -1 Murktide Regent
+2 Engineered Explosives +2 Stern Scolding +1 Subtlety +1 Nihil Spellbomb
-3 Thoughtseize -2 Force of Negation -1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
+2 Mystical Dispute +1 Subtlety +1 Nihil Spellbomb
-1 Murktide Regent -2 Fatal Push -1 Mishra’s Bauble
+4 Consign to Memory +2 Mystical Dispute +2 Engineered Explosives +1 Meltdown +1 Subtlety
-3 Thoughtseize -2 Counterspell -1 Unholy Heat -2 Force of Negation -1 Nihil Spellbomb -1 Strategic Betrayal
+3 Consign to Memory +2 Harbinger of the Seas +1 Subtlety +1 Nihil Spellbomb
-3 Orcish Bowmasters -2 Fatal Push -1 Strategic Betrayal -1 Unholy Heat
+4 Consign to Memory +1 Nihil Spellbomb +1 Subtlety
-3 Thoughtseize -2 Force of Negation -1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
-1 Subtlety -1 Nihil Spellbomb
Psychic Frog is back and I’m happy to feel it’s strong enough to compete in the new Modern metagame. When it comes to midrange, we’re all just living in Quantum Riddler’s world, but it’s good enough to be playable in plenty of different shells.
