It has been a while since I’ve written an article, but I’ve been abnormally adventurous in Modern so I’m here to bring a metagame update as we’re in RCQ season.
In the past I’ve been focused exclusively on Psychic Frog, but all of the top decks are fun. Why not mix it up?
I’m going to play an RCQ this Saturday so I’ll cover the top decks I expect to face. While paper Magic has a much more varied metagame compared to MTGO there are plenty of big decks I expect to battle if I go deep in the event.
THE BOOGEYMAN: BOROS ENERGY
I plan to play the deck to beat in my next RCQ. The maindeck has little room for innovation as the masses on Magic Online have it solved.
I tried Mardu Energy recently, but Energy rewards leaning into Goblin Bombardment to close out games quickly in combination with the new threat, Voice of Victory. Orcish Bowmasters helped assemble a critical mass of creatures, but the Mobilize ability from Voice fills the gap without splashing.
Energy is an appealing deck to play because the mirror match is interesting and lines up well against Affinity and Prowess. Eldrazi Ramp is a tough matchup even with so much land destruction in the sideboard. Ragavan gives hope to win both post-board games as three mana is asking a lot on the draw.
If I do audible then it’s because I see plenty of Eldrazi decks in the field.
THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: IZZET PROWESS
Here’s nahuel10’s list from a recent MTGO Challenge:
Cori-Steel Cutter is the real deal.
Prowess gets a new tool every once in a while that makes it a contender again and Cutter is here to play that role. Izzet is only able to go head-to-head in the value department by drawing Cutter early, but the flex slots create a combo finish with Mutagenic Growth and Violent Urge.
Prowess takes the deep pool of red cards and tunes them to race the linear decks in the format. I like Boros Energy’s position because Prowess trades resilience for speed making it harder to recover from creature removal. Prowess is fast enough to give Eldrazi a run for its money.
Lava Dart plays well with Cori-Steel Cutter because a monk token can be generated on your opponent’s turn, too. Celestial Purge is more popular in Boros sideboards because exiling Cori without using narrow spells is valuable.
Slickshot Showoff is the other two-drop because the second turn can be spent plotting to blank removal spells only to cast it and Cori to create a monk.
Edgar Magalhaes played this list to a top 4 finish at a Face-to-Face Super Qualifier recently.
The power of Eldrazi Ramp has once again provided opportunities for linear decks to shine.
Damping Sphere plays well in this metagame to deal with Storm as well as Amulet Titan.
Storm hasn’t gained many tools since Modern Horizons 3, but is able to adjust the splash color to adjust for the evolving metagame.
NEW ARCHETYPE: MONO RED BELCHER
Tarkir: Dragonstorm didn’t provide too many cards for Modern, but the few that made the cut have made a big impact.
Stormscale Scion is extremely powerful, but is different enough to spawn a new Belcher archetype.
Irencrag Feat is a card designed to do broken things; in Modern it happens to play well with both Stormscale Scion and Goblin Charbelcher.
Despite Scion having storm, it doesn’t require casting more than one spell to generate ten power. Bitter Reunion is able to combo with Stormscale to kill on the same turn in cases where extra mana is generated.
Beware Mono Red Belcher plays Blood Moon as we have gone plenty of months without the obnoxious enchantment having a true home.
THE HERO WE DESERVE: ELDRAZI RAMP
CrisMTG77 won a Challenge with Eldrazi last weekend with the following list:
Eldrazi is looking to ramp quickly into Emrakul, the Promised End against linear combo decks and control the battlefield of Boros Energy with maindeck Kozilek’s Return.
Pyroclasm effects are solid versus Boros Energy, but it’s not going to close the deal unless it’s backed up by pressure.
I like Gruul Eldrazi because the red cards can help slow down Izzet Prowess. It’s also built in a way that excludes Ugin, Eye of the Storms and Sire of Seven Deaths as they don’t win the game against your bad matchups.
The sideboard is also very focused and powerful by excluding Karn, the Great Creator. It’s nice to swap out Kozilek’s Return for Stone Rain or Trinisphere in the proper matchups. There aren’t too many cards for any particular matchup because the maindeck is proactive and powerful.
While Eldrazi can feel like an autopilot deck in your good matchups like Boros Energy, it also experiences the other side of the coin against fast decks. It’s not my personal play style, but it’s certainly worth the effort if you enjoy this type of deck.
If I audible from Boros Energy I will be playing Affinity. Here’s the decklist I would register:
The banning of Underworld Breach has left Mox Opal scrambling to find the next broken shell.
I’ve seen plenty of takes on Mox Opal that mainly include Cori-Steel Cutter, but classic Azorius Affinity has impressed me the most as it utilizes Kappa Cannoneer best. Dipping heavily into red leans away from artifact lands making it harder to turn on the deck’s synergies.
I like Affinity’s position because it’s not near the top of the format leaving fewer opportunities to run into Stony SIlence and Meltdown. Urza’s Saga’s construct tokens also line up well in a metagame filled with red cards.
Boros Energy is able to keep the early threats at bay making it an unfavorable matchup, but they can still have trouble once Kappa Cannoneer enters. I have added two Glass Caskets to go alongside Portable Hole to increase interaction without sacrificing artifact count.
Like Prowess, Affinity is a proactive strategy that’s able to play Consign to Memory. Despite Consign being narrow, it’s the strongest interaction against Eldrazi Ramp as it’s effective on the draw.
I’ve liked Force of Negation in the sideboard as they are frequently strong when Portable Hole and Glass Casket are weak. Affinity is able to play a tempo game with counters and powerful blue legends.
Azorius Affinity is my second choice as it plays plenty of interaction, but is also quite explosive. Fast Mox Opal starts are truly impressive.
The Modern metagame is in a great place. Boros Energy is the deck to beat, but has a lower ceiling compared to other powerful alternatives that have a weakness to sideboard hate. We’re back to a format where there’s a proper balance of risk and return now that Breach is gone.
Good luck at your RCQs and locals!
