Want to crush your next Modern event? Don’t fret, as Reid Duke has you covered on what to play in Modern!
Welcome to the Modern Power Rankings. Modern is a fan favorite format that will be seeing the competitive spotlight in the second half of 2025, including being the primary format of Pro Tour: Edge of Eternities in September.
The Best Modern Decks Right Now, August 2025
If you’re looking for an entry point into the format, any of the decks on this list will serve you well. If you’re an expert or already have a deck you swear by, then consider this a list of the archetypes you should prepare to face at your next Modern event or upcoming Regional Championships.
#15 Izzet Artifacts
Market Price: $160.27
While Izzet Artifacts might choose to play those cards in some numbers, it’s generally a bit more aggressive, leveraging the density of zero-mana plays to trigger Cori-Steel Cutter every turn starting on turn two. In either case, the new Pinnacle Emissary is an exciting addition to artifact-based strategies.
#14 Birthing Ritual
Market Price: $23.30
These decks can come in a variety of color combinations, and often include an effective Ephemerate plus Solitude package as well.
#13 Goryo’s Vengeance
Better yet, why not go for Sin, Spira’s Punishment, which can wind up reanimating one of the other legends incidentally alongside all of the other value it generates! Goryo’s Vengeance is a scary and powerful archetype that’s only gotten better in recent months.
#12 Broodscale Combo
In any case, I’ve chosen to give Broodscale Combo the #12 position this month. Creature-based Combo decks have a proud history in Modern, and lately, this has been the most effective of them. The primary combo is to pair Basking Broodscale with Blade of the Bloodchief. Sacrificing an Eldrazi Spawn adds a +1/+1 counter to Broodscale, which in turn creates another Spawn and allows you to repeat the process.
At that point, you can generate an infinitely large creature and an unbounded amount of colorless mana. You can win the game with a series of Glaring Fleshraker triggers or by using Walking Ballista (either cast it from your hand, or tap into the ability using Agatha’s Soul Cauldron). Or, you know, you can just attack with your massive Basking Broodscale.
#11 Neoform
Market Price: $16.12
The goal of the Neoform deck is to put Allosaurus Rider onto the battlefield and then use Neoform or Eldritch Evolution to transform it into something even bigger, such as Griselbrand or Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant. This can be done as early as the second turn of the game, making Neoform one of the fastest and most terrifying decks in Modern.
A good policy in Modern is to “expect the unexpected”. Even if it’s not the flavor of the week, someone can always surprise you with an unusual (and often terrifying) Combo deck. I always like to pack some amount of generic disruption — like Thoughtseize and Force of Negation — in addition to targeted hate cards, which can hammer individual matchups. For example, Containment Priest is excellent against Neoform.
#10 Reanimator
This archetype can come in a variety of forms and color combinations. That said, the version that’s most popular and successful right now is Grixis, using the freshly unbanned Faithless Looting to find key cards and fill the graveyard.
#9 Green-Based Eldrazi
By starting the game with reliable ramp options like Utopia Sprawl, Malevolent Rumble, and Talisman of Impulse, these decks quickly and reliably get to heavy hitters like Sowing Mycospawn and Kozilek’s Command. By incorporating plenty of Basic Forests, these decks can even perform in the face of disruptive options like Blood Moon and Obsidian Charmaw. As such, Green Eldrazi is very difficult to beat, and it takes a lot more than tossing in a couple of sideboard cards to have a good matchup against it.
#8 Izzet Prowess
Cori-Steel Cutter has become a staple in Modern as well, and was already a key card in Izzet Artifacts (#15). Izzet Prowess is both fast and resilient, packing cards like Expressive Iteration that can help keep gas in the tank, and even allow Izzet to grind out opponents who are looking to keep it down using one-for-one removal.
#7 Blue Belcher
Lotus Bloom supports a turn four Charbelcher win. However, it also enables the Blue Belcher deck to tap into a different angle of attack with Tameshi, Reality Architect. By repeatedly rebuying Lotus Bloom from the graveyard, you can generate a massive amount of mana. Imagine, for example, that you bounce your board of lands for a ton of mana while one of the lands you return is Sea Gate Restoration. You can draw so many cards and generate so much value that winning the game becomes trivial.
#6 Ruby Storm
Ruby Storm climbs four places and is now the highest-ranked Combo deck on the Rankings. It’s built around Ruby Medallion and Ral, Monsoon Mage. This deck is fun to watch and to pilot, as it generates massive (but not infinite) chains of spells.
Turn three kills are common, particularly when a Ruby Medallion or a Ral, Monsoon Mage goes unanswered. Ruby Storm can also fight well through hate cards, so you’ll want to assemble a tight web of graveyard hate, spell-based disruption, targeted sideboard cards, plus a quick clock if you want a good matchup against Storm.
#5 Amulet Titan
Market Price: $37.10
Market Price: $14.38
While the core strategy is familiar, the specifics of the deck continue to evolve. These days, Spelunking is a popular choice. It can serve as a redundant Amulet of Vigor effect, plus it can give you extra juice from Scapeshift and the like.
Amulet Titan experts can assemble a convoluted loop using Aftermath Analyst to return lands from the graveyard and Shifting Woodland to copy the Aftermath Analyst and repeat the process.
#4 Dimir Frog
Market Price: $30.16
Dimir Frog (or blue, black, and X for those choosing to splash a color) is one of the most interactive decks in Modern. It can tap into any combination of Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Counterspell, Force of Negation, or dozens of other disruptive spells. Pair this with the overpowered Psychic Frog, and you have a very effective strategy that will appeal to experienced tournament players.
Some players choose to incorporate a package of Abhorrent Oculus and Unearth, while others prefer to play it more “straight up”, as a Tempo or Midrange deck.
#3 Domain Zoo
Perhaps the nastiest combination is Leyline of the Guildpact with Scion of Draco, which results in the Dragon itself having all of the abilities listed on the card. Many decks in Modern have a hard time beating a flying, lifelinking, hexproof creature on the second turn of the game. (Heck, who doesn’t!).
#2 Orzhov (or Esper Blink)
Market Price: $12.16
These decks can take a variety of forms, including being either Orzhov or Esper. Some players choose a high density of creatures with Aether Vial, and others lean into more controlling elements like Ketramose, the New Dawn, and Relic of Progenitus. This archetype picked up some new weapons from Edge of Eternities, including Starfield Shepherd or the powerful Quantum Riddler for those opting into blue.
In any case, a key card is Ephemerate, which pairs incredibly well with the range of powerful enter-the-battlefield abilities in Orzhov. Specifically, you can shred creature decks by evoking Solitude and Ephemerate-ing it before it hits the graveyard. If all goes well, you’ll have exiled three opposing creatures, and you’ll still be left with a lifelinking threat!
#1 Boros (or Mardu) Energy
Market Price: $34.96
If I were to describe this deck in two words, it would be: Card Quality.
Almost everything in the deck costs one or two mana and does way more than you expect from it. I guess it should be no surprise, since so many of the key cards are rares and mythics from Modern Horizons 3. Boros Energy comes out fast, has built-in card advantage, and packs the best removal options for taking care of opposing threats. I’ve been incredibly impressed by Boros Energy when I’ve played it. I highly recommend it!