Even when a Modern ban is called, Amulet Titan still runs.
Welcome to the Modern Power Rankings! We’re in the midst of a Modern Regional Championship Qualifier (RCQ) season after an exciting shift to the format’s banned list. Let’s see where the dust has settled on the most successful decks in the format.
The Best Modern Decks in Magic: The Gathering Right Now
Market Price: $24.62
- Read More: The Best Standard Decks in Magic: The Gathering Right Now
- Read More: The 8 Steps To Brewing The Best Magic: The Gathering Deck
If you’re looking for an entry point into Modern Constructed, any of the decks on this list will serve you well (although some of them can be quite challenging to pilot). If you’re an expert or already have a deck you swear by, then consider this a list of the archetypes that you should prepare to face at your next Modern event.
#15 Crashing Footfalls (Rhinos)
Compared to other combo decks, resolving Crashing Footfalls is relatively modest in the sense that you don’t always win the game immediately. (When three mana for ten power and toughness worth of creatures is modest, it gives you an idea of how powerful Modern is right now).
That said, the strength of this combo is its light touch. There’s no extra moving pieces, no reliance on the graveyard, and you hardly have to go out on a limb at all when you go for a cascade. Due to the strength of high-mana-value spells like Force of Negation, the evoke Elementals, split cards, warp creatures, and more, Rhinos can play out as an effective and well-rounded midrange deck.
I’d recommend this strategy to anyone, whether you’re a highly competitive tournament player or someone looking for their first taste of Modern gameplay.
#14 Birthing Ritual
Market Price: $50.43
Market Price: $36.68
Alternatively, Selesnya Birthing Ritual featured above hybridizes with white’s Blink and Energy strategies, packing in an impressive density of Modern’s very best creatures.
#13 Amulet Titan
Market Price: $52.27
While the core strategy is familiar, the specifics of the deck continue to evolve, and we’ll likely see more innovations as players scramble to replace Lotus Field. Spelunking is a popular choice which 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 still use Zuran Orb to help approximate the infinite loops involving Aftermath Analyst and Shifting Woodland that used to be executed with Lotus Field.
#12 Ruby Storm
Market Price: $12.11
Just a few hours before writing these Power Rankings, I lost to a Ruby Storm player who killed me on turn one. They started the game with Gemstone Caverns, then turn one Desperate Ritual into Ral, Monsoon Mage, more Rituals and more Manamorphoses, and before I knew it, I was dead!
That said, turn three kills are a bit more realistic. Just as important as speed, 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 match-up against Storm.
#11 Esper Goryo’s Vengeance
Market Price: $10.16
Market Price: $16.25
Perhaps the greatest appeal of Goryo’s Vengeance is its robust midrange backup plan. Psychic Frog and Ephemerate are already natural fits with the goal of reanimating Atraxa, Grand Unifier. So it’s not a stretch to also begin incorporating card advantage, removal, and disruption. It’s even a great home for the Quantum Riddler in either the maindeck or the sideboard. Goryo’s Vengeance is a scary and powerful archetype that only seems to get stronger and stronger with every set release.
#10 Domain Zoo
Perhaps the nastiest combo 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?)
#9 Eldrazi Tron & Ramp
Market Price: $13.01
While it’s not necessarily easy to pilot, the high power level and straightforward game plan make Eldrazi Tron one of the first decks I’d recommend for someone looking to jump in for a Modern RCQ or FNM. Don’t underestimate the Eldrazi!
#8 Tameshi Belcher
Lotus Bloom supports a turn four Charbelcher win. However, it also enables Tameshi Belcher to tap into a different angle of attack with the namesake Tameshi, Reality Architect. By repeatedly rebuying Lotus Bloom from the graveyard, you can generate a massive amount of mana. Imagine, for example, that you return your board of lands to hand 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.
#7 Azorius Control
In any case, Azorius Control has answers for just about anything it can run into, plus a dominant long game with powerful card drawing like Consult the Star Charts. It’s a favorite of experienced players and can be deadly in the hands of a skilled and patient pilot.
#6 Broodscale Combo
Market Price: $42.55
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. Or, you know, you can just attack with your massive Basking Broodscale.
One of the great things about these Broodscale decks is that they tap into elements of both combo and ramp. So while your opponent is trying to hold up removal for your Basking Broodscale, you can be ramping straight towards game-ending cards like Emrakul, the Promised End.
#5 Izzet Prowess
Cori-Steel Cutter is a staple card that supercharges this archetype and makes it very resilient to spot removal. Izzet Prowess is also hard to shut down, packing cards like Expressive Iteration that can help keep gas in the tank, and even allow Izzet to grind out against slower decks.
#4 Reanimator
Market Price: $10.94
These can feature disruptive midrange elements like Thoughtseize and Spell Pierce. As such, they can win games by leaning on an uncontested Psychic Frog, or they can go much bigger by setting up a game-winning combo out of the graveyard.
#3 Blink Decks
Market Price: $36.68
Market Price: $31.71
These “Blink” decks can take a variety of forms. The featured decklist (and possibly the most popular version of Blink right now) is Azorius. But Esper, Jeskai, Bant, Orzhov, and even Mardu are out there as well. Some attack mana with White Orchid Phantom and Flickerwisp while others lean into more controlling elements like Ketramose, the New Dawn and Relic of Progenitus.
Personally, I’m a huge fan of these Blink decks. I played Azorius Blink at Pro Tour Edge of Eternities. And I also like Esper, as the combination of Quantum Riddler, Psychic Frog, and Thoughtseize really appeals to me.
Jeskai Blink has also been a huge performer over the past year, although it took a hit with the recent banning of Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury. Jeskai Blink mashes together the best aspects of Boros Energy with the best aspects of the Azorius and Esper Blink decks. You can assemble the combination of Solitude or Quantum Riddler with Ephemerate, or you can steal games with an unanswered turn one Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer.
#2 Boros & Mardu Energy
If I were to describe Boros Energy 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.
#1 Affinity
Market Price: $42.55
Market Price: $242.58
There’s a lot you can do within this broad “Affinity” archetype. Thoughtcast, Thought Monitor, and Pinnacle Emissary are a few of the exciting payoff cards you might choose to tap into. In particular, Kappa Cannoneer is a deadly card, and rushing one out on the second turn of the game allows Affinity to overcome hate cards like Stony Silence and Wrath of the Skies.