Modern

The Current State of the Modern Metagame

With SCG Syracuse right around the corner I’ve made it my job to survey the current Modern metagame. Here’s what I expect the meta to look like by next weekend. In addition, I’ll also go over in more detail what makes these decks so powerful in the current Modern format.

Tier S – Izzet Murktide, 4C Elementals, and Living End
Tier A – Hammertime, Temur Rhino’s, Yawgmoth, Rakdos Midrange, Azorius Control, Hardened Scales, Burn, Grinding Station
Tier B – Devoted Druid, Crab-Vine, Boros Midrange, Tron, Thopter Combo, Indomitable Creativity, Dredge, Mill, Belcher, Jund, Death’s Shadow, Amulet Titan
Tier C – File everything else in the format here and below as unplayable, barring some unforeseen broken deck yet undiscovered

The Expected Metagame:
15% – Izzet Murk
15% – Omnath
10% – Living End
8% – Hammertime
8% – Yawgmoth
7% – Azorious Control
7% – Burn
7% – Tron
7% – Death’s Shadow
5% – Dredge related decks
5% – Rhino’s
5% – Jund/Rakdos
1% – Random Jank people enjoy

Here’s a look at the common builds of the Tier S lists:

Izzet Murktide:



It’s kind of crazy how close this deck is to a Legacy-level deck. I think there’s a clear reason why it’s the most popular deck on MTGO. The power level and consistency are beyond what a deck in this format really should be capable of. Many people theorize that Ragavan will get the ban-hammer once enough time has passed for the packs to get sold by their LGS’s. 

It is important to note that the skill level on this archetype is one of the highest. I would not recommend picking it up cold. You’ll want to understand the nuances of the format and get the hang of playing around important early interactions. Such as with Ragavan and Wrenn and Six, knowing when you should or shouldn’t dash. The sideboard will always be changing to whatever the expected metagame might bring. So if you’re currently building Murktide, figure out all the important cards you’ll want access to.

4C Omnath:



Yorion is the last great commander… I mean companion. It’s time will certainly come to a close. For now though, it is alive and well. This deck is the classic example of the Trade-Binder.dek joke. All the best cards across four colors. Tons of stopping power, card advantage, and late-game mana advantage cards. It has the best planeswalkers in the format as well. Many theorize that this is the best deck in the format right now because it is particularly hard to hate out. When you can Prismatic Ending almost any threat away, what is there left to fear?

If you do want to have a good shot at beating this deck. I would recommend taking advantage of their inconsistencies. They are an 80-card deck, so try to put their lights out before they can put all their pieces together. Sadly it won’t work a lot of the time, but just enough to sometimes get these players to reconsider their deck choice in a long event.

Living End:



Living End is a fantastic deck if you’re experienced with it. It’s also just a great choice is you’re just getting started in the format. There are small interactions that are important to know. You’ll want to understand what outs you are playing to. However, a majority of games go down quite the same way. The cycling helps you to rarely need to mulligan or to get stuck on mana. It’s not the most difficult thing in the world to cycle cards away, cascade into a Living End, and turn your creatures sideways.  

These top 3 decks are so interesting because I like to think they make up the Rock, Paper, Scissors dynamic of the format. Rock being Ragavan, a card that warps the format and insists everyone else change their list to respect it. Izzet Murktide is on the run it strategy. Paper is Wrenn and Six, this dynamic source of card advantage takes out Ragavan and continues to allow its controller to pull further and further ahead. Scissors is the bombshell Cascade effect, which after thorough testing the community has determined Living End does it best.

If you ask me these matchups are particularly interesting because each of the top 3 decks can be built to hedge for any of the other top 3 decks. We just can’t hedge perfectly for all 3 and still be prepared for the randomness of left field that Modern brings our way. Typically this is why sideboard slots are filled with lots of one and two of’s instead of just jamming 4 copies of Leyline of the Void and expecting it to come in against enough decks. 

If you’re evaluating your own strengths and what you want to play I would approach the deck selection process like such: If you want long grindy games in which each play you make takes the game along a slightly different path as you go then you probably want to play Omnath. It’s the card advantage lovers wet dream. If you like permission, threats, and a low curve that allows you to answer things, well then Izzet Murktide is the deck for you. Now if you want to throw a haymaker after doing some setup, let me introduce you to your new best friend: Living End.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like you can’t play something from Tier A. In fact the powerlevel difference between the Tiers is in fact quite narrow. For those wondering why the top 3 decks keep surfacing in the top 8’s it’s because every round you play furthers statistical inevitability. Tier A decks can be built to combat Tier S decks, but not all of them and still stand a chance against the field. So the further down you go, the less you’re able to combat the variety. You can only get good pairings for so long until the statistics will play out. 

That being said I am totally playing a Tier A deck myself. If I am being honest many would consider it a Tier B deck. Grinding Station is a deck that’s been near and dear to me however and I enjoy winning with it. This SCG event doesn’t mean the world to me. It’s close to home and I’ll get to hang out with lots of great friends. There’s even Double Masters limited side events to entertain me if I scrub out. You’ll always hear me saying that the best record is of course X-0, but the second best record is 0-2 drop. Sometimes I don’t even wait for the second loss since you lose tiebreaker hopes and have to run hot as the sun after a R1 loss. 

If you’re wondering what my Grinding Station decklist looks like, you should probably read my older articles. It’s a deck I will continue to revisit time after time. If you manage to find me in Syracuse, feel free to come on up to me and ask me anything. I’m not going to guarantee I can answer every question, but I’m always happy to have a chat. 

See you there!

@Eli_Kassis