Next weekend is SCGCON Philadelphia, the first large paper Magic event since Las Vegas. For folks that are just getting back into the swing of Modern, or for those looking to fine-tune their decks, knowing what decks to expect is useful. While Modern is too wide to provide a comprehensive list of every deck that might show up, I’d like to go over the decks that you can expect to see in the mid-to-late rounds of the tournament. I’ll go over the top decks in the format, a couple dark horse decks to expect, and my overall pick for the weekend.
Ragavan Tempo Decks
Ragavan-based tempo decks have been strong since the release of Modern Horizons 2. I wouldn’t be surprised if these decks make up the highest percentage of decks played, but there are multiple decks that fit into this category. While there are multiple individual decks that make up this strategy, having a solid plan against the archetype is a must.
Grixis Death’s Shadow is likely the best of the Ragavan decks at the moment. They blend a unique package of discard, counters, and removal to cover all angles, all while having a relatively fast clock thanks to Death’s Shadow and Kroxa. These factors give Grixis Death’s Shadow an excellent match-up against combo decks, though it can struggle against bigger fair decks like Four-Color Yorion and Eldrazi Tron.
Read our guide to Grixis Death’s Shadow here.
Like Grixis Death’s Shadow, Jund Saga is a lean Ragavan deck with Lurrus as its companion – though it trades in Drown in the Loch and Expressive Iteration for Wrenn and Six and Urza’s Saga. Naturally, this makes Jund’s match-up against spell-based decks worse, but it gains the ability to grind much better against the fair decks. I like Jund’s position against other Lurrus decks, as removal spells tend to shine in those match-ups. Jund tends to struggle against graveyard decks like Living End and big mana decks like Amulet Titan.
Read our guide to Jund Saga here.
Izzet Murktide falls between Grixis Death’s Shadow and Jund Saga. Murktide Regent can end games in a hurry, and this deck has plenty of counterspells to keep the opponent off balance for the big blue dragon to finish them off. However, Izzet Murktide isn’t as good as Jund against the other fair decks. Where Izzet Murktide makes its money is with its high card quality – and by stealing wins with Blood Moon. Izzet Murktide is a well-rounded deck that doesn’t have many polarizing match-ups, but should you choose to play it, make sure to respect Hammer Time when you build the 75.
Read our guide to Izzet Murktide here.
Hammer Time
Hammer Time is certainly a known quantity in Modern by now, but Sigarda’s Aid and Puresteel Paladin have recruited a new friend in Kor Outfitter to crank up the bonking frequency! Hammer Time is about as fast as things reliably get in Modern, but don’t get it twisted – Lurrus and Urza’s Saga provide real staying power. Hammer is going to be faster than most interactive decks, and it can set up turns with multiple Hammers to tax opponents’ resources. Hammer players should be on the lookout for Fury, Kolaghan’s Command, and Wear // Tear, as they can lead to gigantic tempo swings.
Read our guide to Hammer Time here.
Four-Color Yorion
Four-Color Yorion is the Boomer Jund of the new Modern era. In an incredibly efficient Modern format, Four-Color Yorion has no problem going up the curve to outmuscle the decks that thrive on efficiency. Its cards are powerful individually, giving the deck a high average card quality. But worry not – while Four-Color Yorion bullies other fair decks, unfair decks can exploit its relative lack of stack interaction. Burn, Belcher, Living End, and Dredge all have what it takes to hit Four-Color Yorion where it hurts.
Read our guide to Four-Color Yorion here.
Burn
Burn is a classic linear strategy. At just about any Modern tournament, Burn will show up and throw Lava Spikes at opponents until they give up. Burn isn’t about bells and whistles; it’s the epitome of the phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Burn tends to prey on slower midrange decks like Azorius Control, Four-Color Yorion, and Jund Saga. Burn should beware of combo decks and decks with Chalice of the Void.
Cascade Decks
Cascade decks have come in two main flavors since Shardless Agent joined the Modern format: Living End and Crashing Footfalls. I would expect to see both show up in reasonable quantities. Crashing Footfalls has seen more play over the last few months, but I think people interested in Cascade decks may want to look closer at Living End for this tournament.
Crashing Footfalls has become the default Cascade deck in Modern, given its resilience to hate cards. While it has a solid fair game plan, it can struggle to beat Grixis Death’s Shadow and Izzet Murktide at their own game. That being said, Crashing Footfalls is still a strong enough deck that has seen enough play over time that it will certainly be present at this event. Blood Moon is going to pick up free wins against a number of Modern decks at the moment, which is a strong selling point. The ability to play four Fury and four Force of Vigor means that the Hammer Time match-up is going to be fairly easy, which puts Crashing Footfalls in a solid spot.
Read our guide to Crashing Footfalls here.
Modern decks right now are reliant on attacking to win the game for the most part. When that is true, Living End becomes an attractive option. I like Living End more than Crashing Footfalls at the moment largely because it has a better Four-Color Yorion match-up. Modern decks have some graveyard hate floating around right now, but not an abnormal amount by any means. Against any deck looking to attack, an instant-speed Living End can often spell game over. Grief does a good job at clearing out counterspells against the blue decks, something Living End has struggled with in the past. I think graveyard decks are poised to have a good weekend given how fair the top decks are.
Read our guide to Living End here.
Amulet Titan
Amulet Titan a powerful and beloved deck, so I expect it to make up a healthy percentage of the metagame. Amulet is Modern’s premier big mana deck right now, and it can get to Primeval Titan in a hurry. And if Prime Time can’t get the job done on its own, Urza’s Saga is a great Plan B. Cultivator Colossus is another new toy for Amulet players, and it can lead to some of the most explosive turns you’ll see in Modern. The only real knock against Amulet Titan right now is that Grixis Death’s Shadow and Izzet Murktide both have access to Dress Down and Unholy Heat, neither of which Amulet players want to see. That being said, Amulet is fast enough to tango with Hammer Time, and big enough to outmuscle the midrange decks.
Read more on Amulet Titan here.
Dark Horse Choices
I have been keeping my eye on a couple decks that have been underplayed over the last couple of months, that could be set to have a good weekend in Philly. Let’s take a look!
Oops, All Spells is the better version of Belcher for this weekend. As I mentioned before, graveyard hate isn’t too common, and I think having a creature payoff is going to be better than an artifact given how many Spell Pierces and Force of Negations could be in the room. Combo players may want to focus their attention on casting Undercity Informer and friends to set up a one turn one with Creeping Chills and Vengevines once you put your whole deck in the graveyard!
Dredge has been flying under the radar for a couple months, but as is usual, when the metagame gets too fair, Dredge shows up to beat up on players with Terminates. Very few decks are equipped to properly deal with Dredge in game one, which will earn you a lot of points. While Dredge isn’t the blazing fast deck it used to be, having eight copies of Cathartic Reunion means that you can reliably put almost your entire deck in the graveyard on turn three or four. Creeping Chill goes a long way right now – players starting the game at roughly 15 just from the damage they take from their mana – so Dredge really only needs to get maybe six damage across in order to win the game.
Read our guide to Dredge here.
What I’m Playing
For a longer explanation on why you should splash white, check out my guide on 4C Shadow here.
Finally, we have what I’ll be playing, Four-Color Shadow. I’ve been tuning this deck over the last couple of months, and I think that the white splash provides a noticeable upgrade over Grixis Death’s Shadow against many of the top decks. Improving the match-ups against Lurrus decks, Murktide, Burn, and graveyard decks is an excellent trade when it comes at the expense of the combo and control match-ups – which, on balance, are relatively unpopular.
The key additions are:
- Prismatic Ending: an excellent catch-all removal spell, perfectly suited for the disruptive gameplay that Shadow decks favor.
- Kaya’s Guile, which covers a ton of bases in sideboarding. I can’t think of another card in Modern that kills Murktide Regent, is graveyard hate, and improves the sideboard plan against Burn.
I’m excited to get back to another large paper Magic event after Las Vegas, especially a Modern tournament! While this isn’t an exhaustive list of everything that can show up in this tournament because of how wide Modern is as a format, it is what I think the metagame breakdown will look like excluding the “other” category. As always you can find me on Twitter at @RappaciousOne for questions and feedback. If you’re in Philly, don’t hesitate to stop by and say hello!
Michael Rapp is a Modern specialist who favors Thoughtseize decks. Magic sates his desire for competition and constant improvement.