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By: olaw, Oliver Law
Mar 02 2020 1:00pm
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Hello!

Welcome to another Rogues' Gallery.  There have not really been any major developments in Modern during February but we continue to feel the effects of Theros Beyond Death and the January bannings on the format.

Titan decks seem to have risen to the top of the format with Amulet Titan in particular to be the current 'best deck' in the format.  Urza decks have reduced in prominence in the format but are still present as intended.  Mono-Red Prowess and Jund decks also appear to be having a resurgence.

However, I am here to look at the more exciting innovations of the new format.  So let's take a look at some decklists:

Polymorph


The exciting decklist kicked off early with Orim67's super spicy Polymorph list taking 8th Place in the Modern Challenge event at the start of the month.  While it doesn't feature any Theros Beyond Death cards, this deck is a very original take on Polymorph decks of the past.  The deck uses Dwarven Mine as its token generator to free up slots in the main deck and then Polymorph and Indomitable Creativity to cheat in Emrakul.

Hollow Breach


Kanm_H's list is a wonderful attempt to revive the Hollow One archetype with some tasty Theros Beyond Death additions.  Ox of Agonas is a powerful new engine for the deck, fueling bigger turns and providing a powerful threat from the graveyard that is also big enough to get back Flamewake PhoenixUnderworld Breach also further allows you to capitalise on your discarded cards and to return copies of Hollow One to the board.

Lazav Titan


Lannynyny brings us this really wild Four-Colour Control deck that abuses the interaction between Lazav, the Multifarious and the new titans.  With converted mana-costs of two and three-mana respectively Kroxa and Uro are fantastic targets for Lazav's ability allowing you to swarm the board with multiple titans.

Uro Control


Uro has been making some waves in the Modern format since being released and here is a version of Snow Control that has adopted the new Titan.  MTGO user TBagTom has had a lot of success in the Modern leagues with variations on this deck idea.  Uro variants of Urza decks are also popping up and so the Simic love-in continues with Uro as another powerful addition.

Ad Nauseam


An interaction I hadn't quite caught on was how powerful Thassa's Oracle is with Spoils of the Vault.  The Ad Nauseam deck has seen a bit of a revival as you can now win the game with the alternative combo of Angel's Grace/Phyrexian Unlife, cast Thassa's Oracle and then cast Spoils of the Vault in response to the Oracle's trigger naming a card not in your deck to win the game with no cards in your library.  It provides the deck with a cheaper and more efficient way to win the game.

CONCLUSIONS

I think Theros Beyond Death had a bigger impact on the format than I had anticipated in my set review.  Dryad of the Ilysian Grove has become a staple of the Primeval Titan decks that are taking over the format.  Meanwhile, cards like the new Titans, Ox of Agonas and Thassa's Oracle provide a variety of decks with new options and pave the way for new archetypes. 

I would mention though that it is disappointing to see that none of the truly powerful cards from Theros are really enchantments.  I feel enchantments are really neglected by Wizards, particularly compared to artifacts which seem to regularly end up overpowered.  It would be nice to see enchantments be pushed in interesting directions rather than artifacts always taking centre-stage.

I hear that Theros Beyond Death has actually badly damaged the Pioneer format, powering up linear combo decks, but Modern seems to have done fairly well.  I feel the post-ban format is shaping up quite nicely on the whole and I am enjoying where Modern is at now that Urza has been depowered.

What are your thoughts on the new Modern format?  Love it or hate it - let me know in the comments!  Also, be sure to let me know if I have missed any sweet decks that you think are worthy of attention.

Thanks for reading,

Oliver Law (olaw on MTGO)