Help me catch up
Modern forum
Posted on July 4, 2017, 1:58 p.m. by megawurmple
I'm a fairly experienced Modern player but I've been out of the game since about Khans of Tarkir and am looking to return. A friend of mine has helpfully given me a brief rundown of what the top decks are, such as Eldrazi, Death's Shadow, Burn, and Affinity (I guess some things never change). He's also informed me of some of the important cards that have been printed since I left. However, helpful though he is, my friend is not a 100% comprehensive guide to modern so I'm turning to you guys for help. Could you lot give me a rundown of the modern meta right now (so what the tier 1 and 2 decks are and briefly how they work), and what the key new cards are in the format since I left. Much appreciated.
What you might be more likely to miss are the B&R updates. This is just off the top of my head.
Splinter Twin, Gitaxian Probe, Summer Bloom, Treasure Cruise, Dig Through Time, and Golgari Grave-Troll are banned (of which only Treasure Cruise probably needed the ban). Sword of the Meek and Ancestral Vision are unbanned.
July 4, 2017 3:08 p.m.
You missed Eye of Ugin DarkLaw. There has been an "Eldrazi winter" where Eldrazi decks were really good and that's why the Eye got banned.
Eldrazi Tron is very good right now, it uses Eldrazi like Thought-Knot Seer and Reality Smasher to beat down and has Chalice of the Void for disruption.
Then there has been a Death's Shadow hype, the top deck right now is Grixis DS. The deck seeks to drain its own life total while disrupting the opponent with Thoughtseize and removal.
Other important Modern cards that have been printed recently:
-Fatal Push. Pretty much the best removal in Modern right now.
-Collective Brutality. This card is super good and is almost always a 2-for-1.
-Liliana, the Last Hope has been amazing in control decks and in Abzan Midrange. Though it's mainly seen in the sideboard of DS.
-Chandra, Torch of Defiance is a red staple.
These are the most important cards to note.
Good luck!
July 4, 2017 4:55 p.m.
Oloro_Magic says... #5
If you head over to mtggoldfish.com they have a section where they list the top decks in each format (click the #more button below the assorted metas and filter for modern for better results). They also include prices as well as example lists taken from winning decks.
Link: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/metagame/modern/full#paper
July 4, 2017 9:02 p.m.
Oh yeah, Wizards made the terrible idea to print small Eldrazi that are colorless.
Storm is getting pretty popular recently, with the addition of Baral, Chief of Compliance.
Really, I recommend looking at something like MTGTop8 and browsing through the decks, noting any changes to the decks, especially new additions.
July 5, 2017 3:46 a.m.
Oh and I will mention this anyways as it's kind of going to be relevant to you if your getting back into modern. But in case you haven't noticed there has been another modern masters product in your absence, Modern Masters 2017.
Which has reprinted things like Tarmogoyf, Liliana of the Veil, Cavern of Souls, Snapcaster Mage as highlights for mythic, along with the original zendikar fetches (i.e. Scalding Tarn, Verdant Catacombs etc), Blood Moon, Damnation, and Goblin Guide as the rare highlights, and finally Path to Exile, and Inquisition of Kozilek at uncommon among other things.
July 5, 2017 2:01 p.m.
Lowenstein says... #10
You may be wondering where Infect went. Gitaxian Probe got banned and Fatal Push became a thing.
Bulldawg1310 says... #2
Mtgtop8 has all of this information for you. As of right now, i believe grixis death shadow is number 1, eldrazi tron is 2 and burn is 3. Tier 2 borderline 1's are, merfolk, elves, death and taxes.
July 4, 2017 2:01 p.m.