The past few weeks have been a wild time in Modern, as Modern Horizons 2 has injected powerful cards into the format. With MH2 card prices declining and more local game stores hosting events, you may be looking to pick up some new cards and get back into Modern. But what decks should you play, and what sort of metagame should you be prepared for? Today, we’ll be covering four decks that have become early pillars of the new format.
Ragavan Decks
From the moment Ragavan was spoiled, players have been touting him as one of the best one-drops of all time — and, so far, Ragavan has not disappointed. In fact, he looks to fix some issues that fair decks have historically had in Modern — namely, keeping up on cards and mana. If you think of Ragavan simply as a Treasure-maker, he’s already quite strong, but factor in the cards you’ll draw, and you can see how he can take over fair games. He also does a great job of closing the door quickly, which is a huge benefit for these sorts of decks as well.
Ragavan really shines in a deck like the one above, which allows you to back him up with cheap removal and versatile answers. All these answers would traditionally tax your mana, but thanks to Ragavan, you’ll have enough Treasure to work with. Jeskai decks have lacked threats that are playable both early and late, and Ragavan slots right in. If you want to turn the game into a battle of attrition, then there’s no better monkey to have on your shoulder.
Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar
Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar has been taking the Modern format by storm, and pairing her with The Underworld Cookbook, Urza’s Saga and Ovalchase Daredevil has proven to be a very powerful combination in Modern. Players will need to keep exploring various decks you can play this package in, but the one that’s been most popular recently is the Izzet build above.
This deck looks to combine MH2’s powerful artifact synergies with two other cards that love artifacts: Urza and Emry. When your Food engine is online, Urza will turn your Food tokens into a large supply of blue mana. We can take advantage of this mana in various ways, from the classic “Play Urza, then protect it with a counterspell” plan to simply spinning our Urza to overwhelm opponents with cards. Meanwhile, Emry provides a steady stream of cards with Mishra’s Bauble and keeps problematic creatures at bay by looping Aether Spellbombs.
That is just the latest iteration of this deck, and there will likely be more to come. Needless to say, Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar does an excellent job of controlling the board, and she’ll pave the way for your large Constructs to close the door.
Big Mana
Big mana decks have always been a pillar of Modern. They excel at going over the top of all the fair decks and powering out game-ending threats. While the decks we’ve talked about so far are all about playing fair game plans and grinding, Amulet Titan tries to exploit their weaknesses while still playing a respectable long game.
Amulet may be a daunting deck to learn to play, but it’s been incredibly successful lately thanks to some additions from MH2. Urza’s Saga allows you to produce turn four Primeval Titans or grind out a longer game with Constructs. Abundant Harvest is a way to find either Titan and Dryad of the Ilysian Grove in the late game, while also increasing your percentage of keepable hands by allowing you to search up lands. If you’ve been meaning to try this deck for a while, now’s the time.
Prowess
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Prowess has been a major player in Modern for some time now, and Modern Horizons 2 has helped ensure it stays that way.
The previous three decks we’ve discussed today all have one thing in common: they all have trouble with low-cost, aggressive creatures. Prowess looks to exploit that weakness and while playing through some amount of resistance. Unlike Burn, which can often fold to cards like Leyline of Sanctity or Dragon’s Claw, Prowess can often power through these sorts of spells and keep up its blinding speed.
Blue-Red Prowess decklists have been virtually unchanged since the release of Modern Horizons 2, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The one big tool they did get was Unholy Heat. When so many opponents are trying to stick and protect a creature, it’s important to have efficient answers, especially when you’re trying to clear the way for your prowess creatures, too.
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That is just a brief breakdown of what’s happening in Modern right now. Hopefully, this helped you better understand what the top decks are trying to do, so you can either pick the best one for you or find the best way to attack them!
Tweet at @masoneclark and @card_kingdom and let us know what you’re planning to play in Modern!
Mason Clark is a grinder in every corner of the game who has played at the pro level and on the SCG Tour with Team Nova. Whether he’s competing in Standard, Historic or Modern, Mason plays with one goal in mind: to be a better player than he was the day before. Check out his podcast, Constructed Criticism, and catch his streams on Twitch.