Last updated on June 28, 2024
Writhing Chrysalis | Illustration by Domenico Cava
Greetings planeswalkers! We’ve had about two solid weeks of Modern Horizons 3 now, so it’s once again time for a Draft Guide. This has been the set of the year for me, especially when compared to 2024’s lackluster preceding sets. Let’s recap a bit, as I want to vent!
Ravnica Remastered was underpowered and forgettable, and it somehow managed to make less compelling archetypes with the full card pool of Ravnica than any individual set did. Murders at Karlov Manor was another awful experience with on-rails gameplay, stupid unbeatable rares, and a lack of interesting build-arounds. Outlaws of Thunder Junction was the best of the bunch, but it had poor color balance which really hurt Sealed (90% of Sealed decks were Gx piles, and the desert lottery was rough). It was high time for Limited players to get a win, and oh boy has this set delivered.
Modern Horizons 3 is a complicated set to play that gives you a lot of deckbuilding options. You have the 10 basic archetypes, but there’s so much fixing and so many other things you can do that it can feel a bit exhausting to begin. Thankfully, I’m here to help you, so let’s learn how to crush your FNMs, Arena Directs, box drafts with friends, or whatever else you do with this amazing set!
Reflecting on My Prerelease Analysis
Aether Revolt | Illustrationn by Filipe Pagliuso
Before we begin, I wanted to revisit a few lines from my past guide. I got a couple of things wrong in my week-0 assessment of this format.
Mana Fixing and Splashing
First off, the fixing is much better than I described, including in Sealed. Most Sealed pools seem to have 3-6 Landscapes, and since they're 3-color fixers but work great as duals, you usually have plenty of options for splashing. The mistake I was making requires a bit of a tangent to explain, but I think it’s interesting so I’ll try to explain it quickly.
In Outlaws of Thunder Junction, deserts would have a chance to replace the basic land slot in your booster packs. Because of this “desert lottery,” some pools would have one useless desert to go with their two Outcaster Greenblades, while other pools might have six deserts in the exact right colors for their rares. On the other hand, Modern Horizons 3 seems to insert Landscapes into the same slots as any other common. Because there are 10 of them, the as-fan (an R&D term for the frequency of something in booster packs) for mana fixing in Modern Horizons 3 is actually much higher than Outlaws of Thunder Junction. Let’s compare:
- MH3: 10 Landscapes and Nightshade Dryad (11 fixers).
- OTJ: Dance of the Tumbleweeds, Hardbristle Bandit, Patient Naturalist (2 fixers and 1 soft fixer, plus a couple of Treasure cards like Reckless Lackey).
And this is without stating just how excellent the Sheltering Landscape cycle truly is! These are the best lands I’ve ever seen in a Limited environment. The full list of things they do is remarkable:
- They enter untapped, meaning you can play many of them without drawing a tap land on turn 5 and losing the game when you needed to cast Unfathomable Truths that turn.
- They're superior to Evolving Wilds for any deck that isn’t five colors, but they're also tri-lands, making splashing easy.
- They provide a consistent source of colorless mana, which is essential for cards like Wastescape Battlemage and Spawn-Gang Commander.
- Cycling isn’t common (as they’re often duals), but occasionally cards like Nightshade Dryad and Path of Annihilation let you cycle several of them in a row!
In conclusion, please splash in this format! This isn’t a format to be timid with mana. True 3-color decks are reasonably common, too. There isn’t much reason to be five colors though, so most of the time you’ll be two colors plus a splash, three colors, or three colors a splash at greediest (usually for cards like Breya, Etherium Shaper or Abstruse Appropriation).
Individual Card Evaluations
As I’d expect with a new set, I was too low or high on a couple of cards. I also threw in a couple of entries that touch on new angles to cards that I discovered, as many of my evaluations were basically fine.
I was overly charitable to Omo, Queen of Vesuva because of my misevaluation of the set’s fixing. It’s not a terrible blocker, but in practice I’ve yet to play it.
Coram, the Undertaker is better than I described and worth splashing/taking. Milling both players means this can Divination every attack. Pair it with Gift of the Viper for best results, as that body attracts double blocks.
I misread Shadow of the Second Sun, as it’s worded quite poorly. The key error is that the untap step happens after your second main phase, not after combat. This means that you can’t cast Eldrazi Ravager second main phase after casting Drownyard Lurker pre-combat, which I, uh, may or may not have done at prerelease (sorry opponent!).
However, this doesn’t mean the card is useless. Rather, it’s a build-around: You’ll want instants, big creatures that would like to have vigilance, and mana dump activated abilities, too. Snapping Voidcraw, Genku, Future Shaper, Bespoke Battlewagon, and Unfathomable Truths are some cards that would work great with this. I haven’t played with it much, but it can be great in the right deck.
I was a little too pessimistic on how much Arna Kennerüd, Skycaptain’s modified text matters. I slapped a Strength of the Harvest on this one and my opponent immediately died. It’s still mostly “just” a Baneslayer Angel with ward, but please splash this card!
Ugin's Binding is still a great bomb/build-around, but just be careful that you draft colorless creatures for it. Annoyed Altisaur and Nyxborn Hydra won’t trigger this.
Herigast, Erupting Nullkite is a great card, but it probably falls a little short of “mega-bomb” status, as emerge can be awkward. I did get to Infernal Captor and sacrifice my opponent’s Warped Tusker to this once though….
Probably a little too high on Wrath of the Skies. Boros Energy is too aggressive for a Wrath of God most games, and most other Wx decks are either too aggressive or poor at making extra energy. It’s a great card, but best in a greedy control deck with a lot of white cards.
Even in the nut artifact deck, Imskir Iron-Eater hasn’t been very good at all. You aren’t drawing that many cards (did it have to be rounded down?), the body isn’t that big, and the ability is terrible unless you’re sacrificing affinity cards. I think you’re supposed to take Cranial Ram over it (or better yet, draft a different color pair).
Annoyed Altisaur probably falls a little short of the quality I was assigning it. It’s still a great fattie, but it feels more replaceable than I expected.
Volatile Stormdrake is one of the cards that made me want to include this section. It’s not a mega bomb, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with Volatile Stormdrake. Unlike Gilded Drake, Volatile Stormdrake has flexible templating that lets you play the card in a number of different ways.
- You can play this on an empty board and enjoy a very efficient flier (3/2 for is a great rate).
- Another trick is to Galvanic Discharge and kill whatever you end up targeting. You’ll keep Volatile Stormdrake with no drawback.
- You can also just exchange Volatile Stormdrake in the manner you’d expect from the card. It’s a strong answer to bombs or creatures wearing bestowed auras, and it often provides you with some extra energy, too.
- Overall, the card has just played out better than expected, so I consider it a good playable for most blue decks.
I did play Ripples of Undeath once. I had Nethergoyf and Detective's Phoenix. I never drew it. I probably shouldn’t have included this card, but I wanted to brag about playing it.
I was a little too pessimistic with Branching Evolution. I lost to this card + Genku, Future Shaper once and it was just disgusting. Even without rare + rare combos, there’s a lot of ways to get +1/+1 counters in the set, so this has been more practical to play than expected (though I still wouldn’t want to commit early). If you aren’t seeing the picture, just read Faithful Watchdog, then read this!
Primal Prayers is neat for being part of an impractical infinite life combo. The three cards you’ll need are this, Guide of Souls, and Shrieking Drake. Once you have all three pieces, the combo is really simple:
- Start with Primal Prayers and Guide of Souls in play.
- Cast Shrieking Drake for or 1 energy, target itself with its ability, gain 1 life and 1 energy.
- Use the 1 energy you made to cast it again, target itself again, gain 1 life and 1 energy.
- Repeat until satisfied. Note: Any instant-speed removal spell stops this combo cold.
No one is ever passing Guide of Souls (a broken rare in its own right), so make sure you have that first before attempting to build it. I’ve yet to see anyone pull this off, but it’s good to know in case you ever see Primal Prayers, as that’s basically the only reason to play this card in Limited.
I was pretty right on Rosheen, Roaring Prophet, but another angle that might occasionally come up is that mill six can be valuable in its own right. Cards like Detective's Phoenix and Nethergoyf can make that late Rosheen, Roaring Prophet into a decent playable.
I missed that Urza's Incubator says creatures, not “your creatures” or “creatures you cast.” It’s both players, which means you’re eating Storm Crow for casting this in the Eldrazi mirror. The risk is far too great for this kind of accelerant, so avoid it!
Top Commons
Since we’re talking about the last guide, the final thing to do is review my predictions for the top four commons in each color. How did I do?
White
Aerie Auxiliary was a great choice, and is still the best white common in my opinion.
Mandibular Kite has been great in RW, BW, and GW. I stand by this one after playing the set.
Solstice Zealot was another good choice that excels in RW and UW, without being completely embarrassing as a standalone energy card.
Dog Umbra varies a bit by matchup. Sometimes Pacifism is great (usually against Eldrazi), but this is atrocious removal against decks with Eviscerator's Insight and Accursed Marauder. Thraben Charm has been more reliable for white removal, so I’d recommend that instead.
Overall, I got white mostly right. It’s generally an aggressive/creature-focused color in this set. I think the new list would be:
Blue
Serum Visionary is cracked, but it’s even better than I gave it credit for. The best thing about this card is how it can go in pretty much every deck and be good.
Tune the Narrative was overrated. It’s a great freebie for energy decks, but I’m never taking it over strong uncommons, archetype payoffs, etc. unless I’ve settled comfortably into energy.
Aether Spike has been great in energy decks, but there are way too many eldrazi spawns running around for vanilla Quench to be good.
Petrifying Meddler is about right here. It’s a great defensive creature that excels at buying you time to cast more powerful expensive cards. The rate is also solid enough that I’m not embarrassed to play it as a curve topper in UB, UR, or UW decks.
Two cards I want to mention that weren’t here are Deem Inferior and Utter Insignificance, both of which have overperformed my low expectations for blue removal. With that in mind, my new blue top four is as follows:
- Serum Visionary
- Unfathomable Truths (first copy is a must have, diminishing returns after though)
- Aether Spike
- Petrifying Meddler
Deem Inferior is a close #5, but beyond Serum Visionary and Unfathomable Truths, most picks in blue are archetype driven.
Black
Wither and Bloom at #1 is a pretty easy call. It’s a little short of killing fatties, but the extra upside is incredible with cards like Evolution Witness and Cursed Wombat.
Breathe Your Last has been solid too, though I’d give the edge to Wither and Bloom at this point. It’s great insurance against bombs and fatties though, so I love to have a couple copies when I can.
Accursed Marauder can be one of the best cards in your deck if you have engines like Essence Reliquary and Chthonian Nightmare. It’s also great interaction in general, so I remain very high on it.
Fetid Gargantua has been good sometimes, but it’s definitely not #4, as it’s ultimately a replaceable expensive card.
With that in mind, I’d revise black as follows:
Refurbished Familiar is a build-around, but one of the best reasons to care about artifacts in the set. The rate is good so long as you can discount it by 1, so good 2-mana artifacts like Marionette Apprentice are ideal pairings. If you’re disinterested in artifacts though, #4 is probably Eviscerator's Insight or Scurrilous Sentry, the latter of which is a surprisingly solid creature.
Red
Galvanic Discharge is a no brainer, even better than expected really, competing with Writhing Chrysalis as one of the clear best commons in the set.
Fanged Flames has been awesome, so I’d happily keep it at #2.
Skoa, Embermage is good, but not #3 good. It’s a little too replaceable as top end, and means you have to be firmly in red to play it.
Molten Gatekeeper is a decently playable artifact that has nice synergy with Eldrazi Spawn makers like Spawn-Gang Commander. It’s not #4 quality either though.
My revised red list would look like this:
Glimpse the Impossible has been awesome in Eldrazi decks. It’s one of the best accelerants in the format, but it also works late game as a powerful card advantage spell. It also bins cards you don’t use, which can be highly relevant with cards like Deep Analysis, Detective's Phoenix, Fanatic of Rhonas, and Ugin's Binding.
Green
Nightshade Dryad has been amazing, I’m happy to keep this at the #1 spot.
Nyxborn Hydra is a premium GW/GB card, but fairly middling in Eldrazi. Most of my green decks aren’t built around modified, so I wouldn’t have this at #2.
Eldrazi Repurposer is the best bridge 3-drop in the set for Eldrazi decks, but it’s also just good anywhere with green. It deserves #3.
Horrific Assault has been even better than expected too, and 1 mana is cheap enough that you rarely get blown out.
I got green mostly right, but here’s my revised list:
Why Malevolent Rumble over Horrific Assault? Well, it turns out this weird Lotus Petal plus Impulse hybrid is one of the best commons in the set. It adds a ton of consistency to your deck and can be very powerful if you have any graveyard synergies like the ones for Glimpse the Impossible. I’ve really liked it in both Eldrazi decks and grindy GBx decks.
Multicolor
One thing I didn’t include in the previous guide was any talk of multicolor commons. This was a huge mistake, as I ended up missing the single best common we’ve ever seen: Writhing Chrysalis. This ugly Eldrazi may be the best defensive creature I’ve ever seen in Limited: It’s basically a 4/5 reacher for that also accelerates you to 7-drops. And that's its baseline, as it can quickly reach ridiculous sizing with other Eldrazi Spawn cards (or Richard Garfield forbid, multiple copies of Writhing Chrysalis).
Writhing Chrysalis really deserves its own section, but I’ll spare you the theatrics by saying the card is indeed a mistake (one Spawn would’ve been much more fair). Twitter isn’t entirely wrong. It doesn’t ruin the set or make it unplayable, but you should be taking this and splashing it at the level of most strong uncommons/rares. If you start UG in draft, try to draft UR/GR duals so you can immediately scoop up any Writhing Chrysalis that you see.
What about the others? Well, most of the common multicolor cards are indeed pretty good, though obviously none of them are even close to Writhing Chrysalis in power level. Conduit Goblin and Faithful Watchdog are probably the next best ones in a vacuum, though Sneaky Snacker is irreplaceable in its archetype. Obstinate Gargoyle is good with sacrifice effects, but it’s the clear worst of the 10. Ultimately, I’d have been remiss not to touch on the monstrosity that is Writhing Chrysalis by this point.
Recap
Overall, I think I had a better week-0 read on this set’s commons than I did in past sets like Outlaws of Thunder Junction. Modern Horizons 3 isn’t a flowchart set to draft though, and things can get very particular as you draft. The best commons are usually the best because of their use in many different archetypes.
Format Gameplan
Idol of False Gods | Illustration by Nicholas Gregory
Now that we’ve corrected some errors from my last guide, let’s get to the format proper. How do you actually draft a good deck in Modern Horizons 3? The easiest answer I can think of is “find an open lane” and “make your cards work together cohesively.”
GRu Eldrazi Ramp
The first archetype is a pretty straightforward ramp deck that can also win off Eldrazi Spawns + 5-drops. You can make plenty of Spawns with three copies of Glimpse the Impossible, two Spawn-Gang Commander, and several other cards. These Spawns can be used to cast huge spells like Breaker of Creation, Kozilek's Command, or even Emrakul, the World Anew. The deck is super clean and focused, with most of the other cards that aren’t spawn-focused being removal, more mana dorks, Unfathomable Truths (the sole splash), or filler (Voidpouncer).
URw Energy Midrange
The second example archetype I’ll use is a pretty focused energy deck built around a pair of Izzet Generatorium. I have several great ways to spend energy every turn, including a trio of Electrozoa. That card is usually filler, but it was great here, as I could spend 1 energy on it, then 3 energy on something else like Phyrexian Ironworks to draw a card off Izzet Generatorium. Almost every card in the deck deals with energy in some form, which is ideal for Jeskai () decks like this.
GBu
This quick 3-0 is a strong example of what optimal GB looks like. Two Cursed Wombats with three Expanding Ooze means huge creatures fast, and a pair of Nyxborn Hydra are there to put any thoughts of chump blocking to rest. I also had even more counter goodness with Fangs of Kalonia, plus a mostly free blue splash that added a lot of power to the deck (including the ever-broken Nadu, Winged Wisdom).
Is That All?
No of course not! You think I’d like the format this much if you could only draft three decks? Let’s see some others:
UR Enerdrazi
Drafts don't always go exactly how you planned. In that case, you can occasionally mix and match archetypes, like I did here. One part of this deck is an Eldrazi deck (Eldrazi Linebreaker, Ugin's Binding, fatties), while the other part is focused on UR energy. In practice the energy cards did a great job at stalling and drawing cards, while the late game with Ugin's Binding was my win condition to go over the top of other Eldrazi decks.
BRw Artifacts
I’m not big on this archetype, but it certainly has a different gameplan than anything else in the format. High card quality carried me here, as I was a bit short of Cranial Ram greatness. The basic idea is to use artifacts to turbo out Refurbished Familiars or get triggers off of Arcbound Condor later, but without multiple Cranial Ram, I rarely had super aggressive draws. The white splash was good as I had a lot of great cards to return (Refurbished Familiar, Ral and the Implicit Maze, Unstable Amulet, etc.).
BWr Sacrifice
This deck was sweet! I got to play the rarely-used Muster the Departed to decent effect, but more importantly, I had “4 copies” of Chthonian Nightmare between it, 2x Grim Servant, and Recruiter of the Guard. This gave me a powerful and consistent late game plan with Accursed Marauder loops. I also had a splashed Infernal Captor for treason + sac shenanigans.
Jund Sacrifice
The final deck for now is another sacrifice deck, this time based in Jund () colors. Malevolent Rumble powers up Wight of the Reliquary and mills cards like Detective's Phoenix and Eviscerator's Insight for serious free value. I also had treason + sac lines with Infernal Captor + Lethal Throwdown, Accursed Marauder, or Eviscerator's Insight. I tutored up Lethal Throwdown with Grim Servant for that very setup!
Archetypes
Breaker of Creation | Illustration by Yohann Schepacz
The goal here is to give you the ins and outs of how to build/play against each of the 10 2-color pairs in this set. Keep in mind of course that there’s a fair amount of flexibility in Modern Horizons 3; GR Eldrazi is often GRu Eldrazi, UG Eldrazi is usually UGr Eldrazi splashing Writhing Chrysalis, and so on. Energy and modified decks are less likely to splash than Eldrazi, but still often do.
Before we touch specifics, here’s my tier list for the archetypes:
- Tier 1
- Tier 2
- Azorius Energy
- Selesnya Aggro
- Dimir Draw
- Golgari Modified
- Tier 3
- Izzet Energy
- Simic Eldrazi
- Orzhov Modified/Sacrifice
- Tier 4
- Rakdos Artifacts
There isn’t a huge gap between the tiers in this set; I’d recommend drafting any archetype besides BR if it’s open.
RG Eldrazi
Writhing Chrysalis is a pretty stupid card, huh? It single-handedly carries this archetype on its ugly appendages, and it helps give RG the undisputed status as #1 deck in the format. But is there anything else to RG besides opening the best common ever? As it turns out, yes there is!
Gameplan
RG Eldrazi is somewhere between a ramp deck, an aggro deck, and a tokens strategy. It gets the most out of Eldrazi Spawns of any archetype and takes full advantage of how few sweepers there are in this set. Spawns give the deck a tremendous amount of flexibility, as they are:
- Mana accelerants for fat colorless cards.
- Convenient chump blockers for huge creatures without trample like Cursed Wombat and Drownyard Lurker.
- Fuel for the mythic common that I keep typing over and over, Writhing Chrysalis.
- Potentially dangerous with cards like Propagator Drone and Titans' Vanguard.
Payoffs
Writhing Chrysalis has been mentioned, but did you know that there’s an almost equally stupid card (Titans' Vanguard) in the same color pair? This is also the best color pair to leverage devastating uncommons like Path of Annihilation, Spawn-Gang Commander, Propagator Drone, and Glaring Fleshraker. There’s an almost endless list of good reasons to be RG in Draft, most of which are uncommon Eldrazi cards. The mythic Eldrazi titans are also fantastic to have here; if you have one of them, inevitability in the late game is almost guaranteed.
Key Cards
Writhing Chrysalis doesn’t feel appropriate to describe as a common, but I’ve read it several times and it does say “C” at the bottom left. Beyond that, you’re usually trying to prioritize the following cards:
- Early acceleration with Nightshade Dryad, Malevolent Rumble, and Eldrazi Repurposer.
- Removal spells like Galvanic Discharge, Horrific Assault, and Fanged Flames.
- Token generators like Glimpse the Impossible, which also can provide card advantage later.
If you’re short Eldrazi playables, some fine cards to fill the deck up with are Nyxborn Hydra and Temperamental Oozewagg. I also find myself splashing Unfathomable Truths and Petrifying Meddler fairly often in this archetype.
Getting Into the Archetype
Writhing Chrysalis doesn’t actually put me into RG, since I take it with the intention to splash it anyways. Instead, I usually find myself sitting in a “temurdrazi” spot, as UG Eldrazi and RG Eldrazi so frequently splash each other’s best cards. Titans' Vanguard and other Eldrazi uncommons are often what cements me into this spot though.
You can also look for late cards like Glimpse the Impossible, which probably shouldn’t be tabling at this point. It’s also worth mentioning excellent RR uncommons like Ral and the Implicit Maze and Spawn-Gang Commander, which often work as “tiebreakers” for slanting my mana towards GRu rather than GUr.
Trophy Example
Playing Against It
Answers to Writhing Chrysalis are important. Breathe Your Last, Dog Umbra, Thraben Charm, and Horrific Assault with Nightshade Dryad are some practical ones. Sweepers can be great if you have them; I’ve had success with Ral and the Implicit Maze to clear out Nightshade Dryad and Spawns.
If you’re the beatdown, you’re usually trying to open up fast, answer Writhing Chrysalis immediately, then push to end the game before other fatties come out. More controlling decks are trying to 1:1 it or chump Writhing Chrysalis for a bit while setting up whatever their win condition/engine is.
Also, Consign to Memory is going to be amazing against RG Eldrazi. You won’t usually have it, but please board it in if you do!
RW Aggro
I must confess, I’m not drafting RW much despite its inclusion here. It takes a lot to get me to draft Mountains and Plains together, really. Still, this is the best aggro deck in the format, so I wanted to attempt objectivity here!
Gameplan
As you’d imagine, RW is the deck for getting your opponent dead. Turn 2 Conduit Goblin, turn 3 haste out another creature, turn 4 Aerie Auxiliary with haste is a realistic yet scary opener for this deck. RW also doesn’t have to be completely one dimensional, as it has access to more card advantage and evasion than your average RW archetype.
Payoffs
Energy is pretty important for this deck, so it does a great job of leveraging various uncommon payoffs. Amped Raptor is the best one as a sort of 2-mana Bloodbraid Elf, but I’ve also loved other uncommons like Phyrexian Ironworks, Static Prison, Voltstorm Angel, Unstable Amulet, and Reiterating Bolt. Scurry of Gremlins is also a great reason to be this archetype. It and Conduit Goblin going late are a good sign your pod might not have a RW drafter.
Two other cards I really like in RW are Suppression Ray and Sundering Eruption, which can steal games against an Eldrazi opponent who has stabilized the board.
Key Cards
Conduit Goblin is the card for this deck, and of utmost importance. If your RW deck trophies, there’s a high chance you had multiple Conduit Goblin. Other than that, you’ll want to prioritize:
- Aerie Auxiliary, which is your perfect top-end and where I want to end my mana curve,
- Good aggro creatures like Mandibular Kite, Solstice Zealot, and Smelted Chargebug.
- Removal spells to clear blockers, though I try to avoid Expel the Unworthy if I can help it as the extra life hurts.
- A couple of combat tricks like Wing It, Siege Smash, and Inventor's Axe.
- Hexgold Slith or Voidpouncer as filler, and it’s the only deck in which I’m not embarrassed to run these as having a critical mass of 2-drops is essential.
Getting Into the Archetype
Conduit Goblin and Scurry of Gremlins are the main cards you’re looking for as a RW signal. Starting with broad red or white cards and following Conduit Goblin mid-draft is the easiest way to end up in this archetype.
Trophy Example
Playing Against It
Cheap removal, blockers, and survival is the name of the game. You can’t overly rely on ground blockers though due to Mandibular Kite and Aerie Auxiliary, so hopefully you have some reach. Writhing Chrysalis has ended more RW players' careers than any other card, I’d imagine. When sideboarding, adjust your curve downwards; Unfathomable Truths out, Sage of the Unknowable in, etc. Ral and the Implicit Maze is also often “good game” against this archetype, as it has a ton of x/2s for you to sweep.
UW Energy
UW is the second of three energy decks. The advertised focus is on fliers, though in practice this format has a ton of reach and not that many fliers. Still, that’s basically how I’d describe the archetype; it’s either a fliers deck or tempo deck, depending on how you drafted it, but it’s usually pretty proactive either way.
Gameplan
UW can be built controlling but is usually best when taking a more aggressive role. It does a great job at leveraging cards like Static Prison, Voltstorm Angel, and Emissary of Soulfire to continuously pressure the opponent.
Payoffs
A good UW deck doesn’t actually require many higher rarity payoffs to function. The best thing to have in UW is several copies of Riddle Gate Gargoyle and Emissary of Soulfire, which work exceptionally well together. Racing huge lifelinking fliers is very difficult. If you do have Emissary of Soulfire, try to spread out your exalted counters fairly evenly and don’t be in a rush to use them; I always deploy mine the turn I’m attacking, as I want to save the energy in case it’s answered immediately. Your attacking threat usually isn’t going to get any counters, while everything else (including itself) gets a spread of counters. This is also one of the best archetypes for Strength of the Harvest, which is a terrifying card to put on a lifelinking flier!
Key Cards
Riddle Gate Gargoyle and Aerie Auxiliary are must haves. Beyond those, I like:
- Aether Spike is premium interaction, and a card I always love to have in this archetype.
- Electrozoa, which is perfectly on gameplan despite being a fairly weak card overall.
- Removal like Thraben Charm and Dog Umbra, as you’ll often need answers for Petrifying Meddler, Territory Culler, and of course Writhing Chrysalis.
- A bit of card advantage is good to have, so I’m never shy to play value cards like Serum Visionary in this deck. You aren’t super grindy, but you also aren’t hyper aggro like RW in most games.
Getting Into the Archetype
Overall UW is a fairly straightforward deck to play and get into. The multicolor uncommons are easily the best reason to be UW specifically. Bespoke Battlewagon is also one of the better payoffs for focusing on energy in draft, though it plays even better in UR than UW.
Trophy Example
Playing Against It
Fliers and Aether Spike are usually the name of the game, though Emissary of Soulfire is also worth planning for. Fowl Strike is coming in if you have it, as are any additional reach creatures or removal spells you didn’t start (stuff like Expel the Unworthy). If you can keep their fliers off the table and not play into any Aether Spikes that you don’t have to, UW will usually lose later in the game.
GW Aggro
GW is another strong aggro deck that I haven’t drafted much. I have a pinned trophy thread with 33 3-0s as I type this, but not a single one of those 33 trophies has a Faithful Watchdog in it. Still, as I said with RW, I want to be objective in this review, and many other drafters have had success with this archetype.
Gameplan
GW is one of three archetypes focused on the “modified” mechanic. Its preferred method to get this is usually with bestowed auras, but it also has creatures like Faithful Watchdog that come already modified. GW goes tall in most games, focusing on buffing up and protecting a handful of insurmountable creatures.
Payoffs
Glyph Elemental, Envoy of the Ancestors, Guardian of the Forgotten, Signature Slam, Lion Umbra, and Pearl-Ear, Imperial Advisor are some direct payoffs for GW. There’s a fair amount of overlap with BG and WB in terms of what cards this deck wants, so expect to occasionally splash cards like Ondu Knotmaster and Cursed Wombat, too.
Golden-Tail Trainer is an odd signpost that’s worth explaining in detail. On its own, this card is pretty weak; it has poor base stats, a mostly irrelevant cost reduction line, and a pump mode that only affects other modified creatures. To make this card good, you’ll basically need a mix of Nyxborn Hydra and Faithful Watchdog. The dream is to dump two Nyxborn Hydra on Golden-Tail Trainer, as you’d be taking full advantage of both abilities and likely killing your opponent that turn!
Key Cards
Faithful Watchdog and Nyxborn Hydra are the bread and butter of this deck. Some other cards that I’ve liked are:
- Temperamental Oozewagg, which is essential for preventing chump blocks by Eldrazi Spawns.
- Aerie Auxiliary, though every white deck wants it so this should be no surprise.
- Mandibular Kite and Wing It for ways to break board stalls.
- Nyxborn Unicorn, as GW is one of the only decks that wants this humble 2-drop.
- Rosecot Knight isn’t essential, but I haven’t hated one or two at the top end as GW usually has a lot of targets.
Getting Into the Archetype
Two rares worth mentioning for this archetype are Kudo, King Among Bears and Branching Evolution. These are both odd cards unwanted by most decks, but what they have in common is how good they are with Faithful Watchdog. Kudo, King Among Bears makes your dogs into immediate 5/5s, while Branching Evolution has them enter the battlefield as 6/6s! Neither card is worth committing to early, but it could be an interesting GW signal if you see them late. Otherwise, Faithful Watchdog is easily the best reason to be GW; if you’re tabling them, you should probably be in this deck.
Trophy Example
Playing Against It
Creature removal is great, especially if it’s unconditional removal like Breathe Your Last. There thankfully isn’t a common Ranger's Guile for this archetype, though you’ll still need to play around sizing combat tricks like Wing It. Revitalizing Repast is the closest thing the set has Ranger's Guile, so keep that in mind.
GW isn’t usually as fast as RW, so I feel less of a need to cut Unfathomable Truths against them; having ways to dig for answers to Voltron is important. It’s also a fantastic archetype to have Naturalize effects against, so reach for your Thraben Charms and Collective Resistance if you have them.
UB Draw
This is a fun archetype that depends heavily on its signature common, Sneaky Snacker. UB gets to leverage something you already want to be doing (drawing cards) to great effect.
Gameplan
UB is all about Sneaky Snacker. Most of what makes UB good is recycling that card with Eviscerator's Insight, Unfathomable Truths, Brainsurge, and other card draw spells.
Payoffs
Higher rarity payoffs are secondary to having as many Sneaky Snacker as possible, as that card is truly what makes this deck tick. You do have some redundancy for draw payoffs though with Mindless Conscription and Emrakul's Messenger, both of which are good here. Horrid Shadowspinner has been fine, but if you must choose between it or Sneaky Snacker, definitely take the common instead.
Another angle I’ve really liked in UB is to focus on sacrifice synergies. Not only are they good with Sneaky Snacker, but they also excel with one of the set’s oddball cards, Reef Worm. This card has overperformed for me, and its inclusion in UB only depends on cards you already want anyways like Accursed Marauder and Eviscerator's Insight. It also plays fantastically with already desirable rares like Shilgengar, Sire of Famine and Warren Soultrader.
One last card worth mentioning for UB is Cephalid Coliseum. Though I hate paying life for an Island, this is the only archetype that might be able to justify playing Cephalid Coliseum. It’s another potential trigger for your Sneaky Snacker, so don’t discount it entirely (especially if you're a bit low on other draw-3s).
Key Cards
Beyond drafting as many Sneaky Snackers as possible, some cards I love in this archetype are:
- Deem Inferior, which is clearly optimal in this archetype.
- Classic black removal spells like Wither and Bloom and Breathe Your Last.
- Accursed Marauder, which is even better than usual when sacrificing Sneaky Snacker.
- Anything that draws 2+ cards; the best UB decks have at least 4+ copies of cards like Eviscerator's Insight, Brainsurge, Deep Analysis.Unfathomable Truths, etc.
- Fetid Gargantua, which is acceptable if you can’t get enough of the draw 2+ cards.
Getting Into the Archetype
A late Sneaky Snacker is usually what takes me from “Bx” or “Ux” to UB specifically. The card doesn’t do anything for other drafters and requires commitment to a gameplan, so seeing it late is usually a clear signal that no one is drafting UB.
Trophy Example
Playing Against It
Sneaky Snacker is certainly a nuisance to play against. You can’t rely on Dog Umbra against it due to Eviscerator's Insight, and other spot removal just bins it for it to come back over and over. Expel the Unworthy and Fanged Flames are ideal, as are large reach creatures like Writhing Chrysalis. If you can hold the skies against UB, sometimes it just ends up decking itself due to all its card draw.
Another way to get around UB’s card advantage is just to kill them; Sneaky Snacker comes back tapped, which may not be fast enough against an aggressive draw from Conduit Goblin or Faithful Watchdog decks. You can also try graveyard hate like Boggart Trawler, Thraben Charm, and Emperor of Bones if you have it.
BG Modified
This is a fun archetype capable of assembling some truly ludicrous board states. It can also just play like a classic rock deck, with big beaters, removal spells, and card advantage.
Gameplan
BG modified leverages +1/+1 counters (usually from adapt abilities) to great effect. It’s not uncommon to see this deck reach absurd sizes off of Cursed Wombat and Expanding Ooze.
Payoffs
Cursed Wombat is the best reason to be BG. It dramatically improves the quality of so many cards like Evolution Witness, Expanding Ooze, Wither and Bloom, Signature Slam, etc. There are also a couple of higher rarity payoffs like Branching Evolution and Emperor of Bones that work specifically well with this archetype. I also really like Fangs of Kalonia for a dramatic finisher. Nesting Grounds also deserves a nod as a great land for BG, and it often tables, too.
Key Cards
If you have Expanding Ooze and Cursed Wombat, one of the easiest ways to lose is to find yourself chumped by Eldrazi Spawns over and over. Thankfully, you can rely on cards like Nyxborn Hydra, Temperamental Oozewagg, and Colossal Dreadmask to get around this. Some other cards I’ve really liked here include:
- Evolution Witness and Fetid Gargantua, both of which make for great top end/card advantage here. BG can pick up extra value from cards like Wither and Bloom!
- Fight spells like Horrific Assault; even if you don’t have many Eldrazi, BG has such good sizing that it uses them well.
- Nightshade Dryad, as BG is a mana-hungry deck thanks to all its adapt costs.
- Dreamdrinker Vampire and Basking Broodscale are also solid early game cards for this deck, as it can get extra value out of their adapt modes.
Getting Into the Archetype
Cursed Wombat is really, really good, so getting one late is a good sign. I’m less high on Expanding Ooze but still consider late ones to be a fair signal for BG being open. Fangs of Kalonia tabling is another good tip off for this archetype, although that card can also do well in GW, too.
Trophy Example
Playing Against It
BG’s focus on +1/+1 counters can be very awkward for removal like Utter Insignificance; a 5/6 Wombat with that enchantment on is still a 4/4. Unconditional removal is great, particularly if it exiles (due to Evolution Witness). BG’s reliance on Cursed Wombat makes this one of the best matchups for Expel the Unworthy if you have it. BG can struggle with fliers/tempo decks, especially if you can respond to an adapt ability at a crucial juncture. Whether you can grind out BG depends on their build, as Evolution Witness can give BG quite the late game if they have it.
Other Builds
It’s not fair to say that every BG deck in this format has to be concerned with +1/+1 counters. I’ve had fair success with Sultai () or Jund () builds that focus more on card advantage than getting huge Cursed Wombats. Black’s great removal paired with green’s quality creatures can be a baseline for all sorts of decks, so don’t pigeonhole yourself into narrow payoffs if you aren’t seeing the right cards!
UR Energy
This is my favorite of the three energy archetypes to draft, though it seems to be performing the worst based on statistical metrics. UR is the most controlling of the three Jeskai () energy shells.
Gameplan
UR Energy is usually pretty midrangey. It isn’t a pure control deck, but it also rarely finds itself beating down immediately. Value creatures like Cyclops Superconductor and Roil Cartographer are preferable to aggressive cards like Electrozoa and Smelted Chargebug here.
Payoffs
The best payoffs for UR Energy (besides Aether Revolt, of course) are mostly uncommons. Amped Raptor, Unstable Amulet, Bespoke Battlewagon, Izzet Generatorium, and Roil Cartographer are about as good as it gets for this archetype. I’ve also loved Solar Transformer here, especially if I have a white splash.
Key Cards
Cyclops Superconductor isn’t quite as important or good as cards like Conduit Goblin or Riddle Gate Gargoyle, though I’ve still liked it. Besides that, you’ll want as many energy cards as possible, prioritizing them in this order:
- Galvanic Discharge
- Tune the Narrative
- Aether Spike
- Tempest Harvester
- Electrozoa
- Thriving Skyclaw
- Smelted Chargebug
- Inventor's Axe
One exception worth noting is that while Inventor's Axe is pretty bad on its own, it can be excellent if you have enough Cyclops Superconductor. Outside of energy cards, simple staples like Fanged Flames, Serum Visionary, and Unfathomable Truths are also desirable.
Getting Into the Archetype
Galvanic Discharge is too good to be confined to UR/RW decks, so seeing that late is more of a red signal than anything else. Instead, you’ll often find yourself set up into UR by late uncommon engines like Bespoke Battlewagon and Izzet Generatorium. I’d also see tabling Tune the Narrative as a sign that UR/UW Energy are fairly open, as the card is quite desirable once you’re locked into either.
Trophy Example
Playing Against It
Exiling removal is nice against Cyclops Superconductor, as is killing it during your main phase. Be careful trying to blow it up on your opponent’s turn though, as prowess plus the death trigger can be quite dangerous. This is also another great matchup for Naturalize effects, as most of UR’s exciting engines can be blown up by cards like Wastescape Battlemage and Collective Resistance.
UG Eldrazi
RG Eldrazi and UG Eldrazi are pretty similar archetypes, so why did I put this one so much lower than RG? It mostly comes down to the quality of RG’s commons and payoffs, which outclass UG’s. RG also has generally better removal, as Galvanic Discharge and Fanged Flames outclass Utter Insignificance and Deem Inferior by a fair margin.
Gameplan
UG is the more rampy of the two Eldrazi decks. The ideal UG Eldrazi deck has a ton of 2- and 3-mana accelerants like Sage of the Unknowable, Nightshade Dryad, and Snapping Voidcraw. It uses these accelerants to ramp out huge monsters like Breaker of Creation, Eldrazi Ravager, and Twisted Riddlekeeper. UG has less of a focus on Eldrazi Spawns; it still makes them, it just can’t leverage them as well, so they're mostly just extra mana.
Payoffs
Wastescape Battlemage and Snapping Voidcraw are great cards, although nothing compared to Writhing Chrysalis of course. Planar Genesis is a solid reason to be UG, but it also pales in comparison to RG’s offerings. Most of the cards you want are going to be fat Eldrazi that RG players will be taking. Expect to splash red in this deck almost every time you play it for cards like Writhing Chrysalis, Titans' Vanguard, and Fanged Flames.
UG can do a great job of leveraging 7+ payoffs like Path of Annihilation and Kozilek's Unsealing, too. The latter can be a great reason to focus more on UG than RG in a Draft. If you do draft it, you’re mostly looking for good 4-mana creatures, and 3-4 7-drops so you can draw cards with it. The mediocre common duo of Drownyard Lurker and Warped Tusker are great for this card (and also for Ugin's Binding, if you’re lucky enough to have it).
Key Cards
Snapping Voidcraw is great and one of the better reasons to be Simic rather than GRx Eldrazi. Otherwise though, you’re trying to strike a balance of:
- Cheap accelerants like Malevolent Rumble and Nightshade Dryad.
- Card draw to avoid gassing out (Unfathomable Truths).
- Midrange creatures like Petrifying Meddler to not die.
- Removal, usually Horrific Assault, Utter Insignificance, and splashed red removal.
- Big Eldrazi, the best of which are uncommons/rares.
Getting Into the Archetype
Snapping Voidcraw and Planar Genesis tabling can be good reasons to splash that Writhing Chrysalis, instead of just being RG. Otherwise, there’s a tremendous amount of interplay between RG/UG Eldrazi, so try to stay flexible and take a lot of Landscapes. I’ve had drafts where I started RGu, then went GUr, then finally back to RGu after getting Spawn-Gang Commander. You can also just ignore two colors plus a splash and be a true 3-color deck; just make sure you have several Bountiful Landscapes so that your mana works.
Trophy Example
Playing Against It
Aggro decks love playing against Simic Eldrazi, as it can often be too slow to start against brutally fast Conduit Goblin curve outs. If you’re more controlling, your playstyle against UG is going to be more particular to whatever cards you’ve seen from them. Cheap spot removal is good for killing Snapping Voidcraw. If you have a choice between curving out or killing Snapping Voidcraw, I’ve found taking a turn off for Fanged Flames to usually be better. Utter Insignificance is also great against this deck, both for turning off Snapping Voidcraw and answering huge threats later on.
Consign to Memory is even better against UG Eldrazi if you have it too! I’ve yet to see a Kozilek, the Broken Reality countered by one, but look forward to it.
WB Modified/Sacrifice
If I could describe this archetype in one word, I’d describe Orzhov this way: “scrappy”.
Gameplan
BW wants to leverage small creatures, modified payoffs, and sacrifice effects to create incremental advantages over time. It’s mostly a midrange deck in practice, though it can also be capable of fairly aggressive draws.
Payoffs
Ondu Knotmaster, Lethal Throwdown, Guardian of the Forgotten, Marionette Apprentice, and Envoy of the Ancestors are some of the better payoffs for WB. I also love splashing Arna Kennerüd, Skycaptain whenever I can, as you’ll often get value out of its attack trigger immediately here. WB also does an excellent job at leveraging creature engines like Chthonian Nightmare, Essence Reliquary, and Muster the Departed.
WB is also another good deck to play Nesting Grounds if you can draft one. One particularly neat interaction for the deck is Nesting Grounds plus Obstinate Gargoyle. By moving the persisted -1/-1 counter off your Obstinate Gargoyle (you can just put it on a land if you want), you can effectively make it immortal!
Key Cards
Mandibular Kite has some amazing synergies with cards like Lethal Throwdown and Ondu Knotmaster. Living weapon + Lethal Throwdown = draw a card, and T1 Mandibular Kite, T2 Ondu Knotmaster adventure gives you a 3/3 flier on turn 2! I also love Accursed Marauder in this archetype, as it’s one of your best ways to punish Eldrazi decks. Beyond those cards, I’ve liked:
- Staples like Aerie Auxiliary, Wither and Bloom, etc..
- Refurbished Familiar, since WB has more artifacts than most other archetypes.
- Eviscerator's Insight, which I love 1-2 copies of so long as you have fodder (which you should).
- Obstinate Gargoyle as repeatable sacrifice fodder (though I always try to table it unless the pack is weak).
- Cards like Inspired Inventor, Retrofitted Transmogrant, and Gravedig, which go well with Orzhov’s small creature grindy plan.
- Rosecot Knight, which is better here than usual, especially if you have high quality targets like Chthonian Nightmare, Essence Reliquary, Arcbound Condor, etc.
Getting Into the Archetype
Late Obstinate Gargoyle happens all the time, so it takes a little more than that to get me into Orzhov. Usually this involves starting with good black cards, moving into Bx sacrifice of some kind, and then being passed Guardian of the Forgotten or Ondu Knotmaster. You can also end up in Orzhov if you start with good white cards, then see late Accursed Marauders.
Trophy Example
Playing Against It
Accursed Marauder is usually the most important card to play around, especially if your opponent has ways to get them back. The key to doing so is keeping nontoken fodder creatures alive before deploying threats like Writhing Chrysalis and Petrifying Meddler. BW is pretty easy to outclass in terms of individual card quality.
BR Artifacts
Oh poor Rakdos. This is the designated dud archetype of the format, although I go back and forth over whether it’s bad or if I just haven’t cracked the code yet.
Gameplan
BR's basic sales pitch is to amass cheap artifacts to power out cards like Refurbished Familiar, Furnace Hellkite, and Imskir Iron-Eater. It also has a neat Cranial Plating variant in Cranial Ram, which reads really powerfully (and was immediately banned in Pauper). Unfortunately, there are three big problems with that approach in Modern Horizons 3:
- There just aren’t that many artifacts in the set. Even counting cards like Marionette Apprentice as “artifacts,” it can be difficult to hit a critical mass of artifacts.
- In addition, most artifacts in the set are also individually weak cards. Drossclaw, Retrofitted Transmogrant, and Sarpadian Simulacrum are underwhelming, but BR still needs them to turbo out its payoffs.
- The last issue with BR is that its payoff cards aren’t generally worth the effort. Imskir Iron-Eater is weak, and Cranial Ram only starts to get exciting if you can get 3+ copies.
Payoffs
Underpowered or not, there are still several cards clearly aimed at this archetype. For your affinity needs, you have:
There are also slightly cheaper payoffs like Etherium Pteramander and Arcbound Condor in the set, too. Arcbound Condor has genuinely impressed me; I’d go so far as to say it and Refurbished Familiar are the best reasons to care about artifacts in the format.
Phyrexian Ironworks is another card I’ve liked here, as it’s an artifact that makes artifacts and gels well with BR's aggressive gameplan. It plays best if you can throw in a handful of energy-generating artifacts like Unstable Amulet and Smelted Chargebug to go with it. Finally, Pyretic Rebirth is a strong card in a vacuum that has great synergy with affinity cards. I don’t prioritize it over the (few) good artifacts, but it’s always nice to have here (or as a splash in other decks).
Key Cards
Cranial Ram and Refurbished Familiar are your bread-and-butter cards for this archetype. You’ll also want a few copies of usual removal staples like Galvanic Discharge and Breathe Your Last if you can. This is also a great deck for cards that play with living weapons like Lethal Throwdown and Eviscerator's Insight (which can also combo with Infernal Captor sometimes). Beyond that, here’s how I’d rank (common) artifacts for the deck:
- Refurbished Familiar
- Cranial Ram
- Molten Gatekeeper
- Retrofitted Transmogrant
- Sarpadian Simulacrum
- Drossclaw
- Smelted Chargebug
- Inventor's Axe
Getting Into the Archetype
Tabling artifacts and artifact payoffs is key, as you do not want to commit to this deck early on in the draft. Don’t P1P1 Imskir Iron-Eater; trust me, I’ve tried! Instead, start with red or black staples/good cards, especially artifacts, then look for Cranial Ram to table. If the first one does, you might be able to pick them all up later and try your hand at the deck.
Trophy Example
Playing Against It
While I’ve talked my fair share of trash about this archetype, it is capable of some pretty scary nut draws. The best response is usually to have cheap removal/early blockers, though Cranial Ram means that the BR player can make anything into a threat given enough time. This is where cards like Collective Resistance, Wastescape Battlemage, or even Siege Smash come in. Blowing up artifacts is a good time against Rakdos, as you can ignore their junk artifacts like Retrofitted Transmogrant and go after the good stuff. Once their payoffs are gone, it should be very easy to overpower the rest.
And lastly, for some unthinkable reason (Modern, I guess), Meltdown is a card in this set. You won’t usually have access to it, and it almost feels unfair, but hey, if you draft it, you should board it in against the Cranial Ram drafter. That’ll teach them for playing this archetype!
Other Builds
Because BR has underwhelmed me so many times in drafts thus far, I’ve also been attempting to come up with other ways to play the color pair. Treason + sacrifice is nice, but with only Infernal Captor in the set, you aren’t usually getting a critical mass of that kind of effect (though it does tend to go late). Another angle I’ve liked a bit is midrange; cards like Skoa, Embermage and Pyretic Rebirth are perfect for a good-stuff deck full of quality creatures and removal spells.
3-Color Decks
Due to the fixing in this set, you’ll often find yourself playing three colors as well (or two color and a splash). I wanted to briefly cover what each 3-color group usually does in this format.
Jund
Jund () can be BGr, RGb, or BRg. BRg is the rarest as artifact synergies and green cards do nothing together. I’ve found most Jund decks to be grindy gravedecks, sacrifice decks, or normal Eldrazi decks splashing for black bombs like Toxic Deluge and Ophiomancer. It’s also worth mentioning that there are two great Jund rares in the set: Disa the Relentless and Coram, the Undertaker.
Bant
Bant () is an odd shard that mixes a bunch of archetypes with little direct synergy. Most Bant decks I’ve seen have been either weird control piles or +1/+1 counter decks. I particularly like Bant when you get to splash Genku, Future Shaper in a Selesnya modified strategy.
Esper
Esper () decks are usually BWu or UBw from my experience. BWu is often BW sacrifice base splashing Reef Worm or the excellent Arna Kennerüd, Skycaptain. UBw is less common but probably also involves Arna Kennerüd, Skycaptain.
Grixis
UB draw/sacrifice + Infernal Captor or red removal like Galvanic Discharge is a deck I’ve seen a couple of times. I also love the idea of splashing Kappa Cannoneer in a BR artifacts shell.
Naya
I haven’t seen much of this trio as there isn’t much direct synergy between RG Eldrazi, GW Modified, and RW Aggro. Branching Evolution plus Writhing Chrysalis is a cute angle I suppose, but it seems like definite overkill. Naya () mostly comes up if you’re GW splash Writhing Chrysalis or RG splash Guide of Souls.
Abzan
This is one of the more straightforward trios, since it potentially meshes all three modified decks into one. Most of my modified decks have been two colors, but I’d never knock splashing cards like Cursed Wombat and Envoy of the Ancestors. This is also the wedge of The Necrobloom, which is a powerful token engine when combined with Landscapes.
Sultai
UBg and GBu are fairly common color trios for me when drafting, though usually it’s just base archetypes + splashes. Fetid Gargantua is a nice card here for overlapping UB's draw theme with GB's modified theme. You might also occasionally find yourself in UG Eldrazi with Toxic Deluge or other busted black cards.
Jeskai
Jeskai () is another easy wedge that’s built around a core set mechanic. Most of my Jeskai decks have been URw or true 3-color with cards like Wrath of the Skies. Adding more colors usually implies a more controlling/grindy deck, so I’m not always splashing in aggressive RW or UW builds.
Mardu
Mardu () is a weird one in this set. RWb rarely happens as RW is a focused aggro deck, but BRw and BWr both make a fair deal of sense. The usual angles I’ve seen are BR Artifacts + white artifacts (like Essence Reliquary) or WB Sacrifice + Infernal Captor.
Temur
Temur () is the most common color trio in the format. There’s so much overlap between Eldrazi cards that I rarely consider myself to be simply “RG” or “UG”; I almost always end up splashing Writhing Chrysalis or Unfathomable Truths. One thing that helps this color trio is that most Eldrazi cards are single pip.
Build Arounds
Essence Reliquary | Illustration by Kevin Sidharta
While the big 10 archetypes give you a fair picture of what to do in this set, they’re far from the only game in town. Let’s go over some unique cards that want specific things from you.
Commons
Jolted Awake looks like a mid energy card on its own, but in practice the best way to use it is with cards like Accursed Marauder, Marionette Apprentice, and Grist, Voracious Larva. If you have high quality 2s that tend to die, this is a card to consider.
Infernal Captor is a 23rd card/filler for aggro decks on its own, but it has great potential in BR with Threaten + sacrifice setups. It’s a lot of fun to pull off and surprisingly practical, too. One thing I’ve been doing more lately is splashing it in decks like UB or WB, which often have strong sacrifice themes.
Uncommons
Distinguished Conjurer is a durdler’s dream, though it’s usually too slow to make my decks. I think it works best as a backup Essence Reliquary for a deck looking to grind out with ETB effects. It’s also quite neat with Ocelot Pride if you’re lucky enough to have it.
Essence Reliquary is a sweet build-around with a surprising amount of play. Some things you can do with this include:
- Rebuying ETB triggers.
- Picking up Accursed Marauder with the trigger on the stack.
- Picking up MDFCs that you played as lands to use them as spells later.
- Moving Dog Umbra around to a different target.
I’ve liked Essence Reliquary (even as a splash) in decks that have enough good targets. You’re looking for cards like Serum Visionary, Refurbished Familiar, Accursed Marauder, etc.
Muster the Departed is another fun durdle engine that really wants Accursed Marauder. Building around this card is a matter of having sacrifice effects + other token generators. Secondary token generators are important so that you never run out of things to populate, so this is a great card to pair with Gravedig, Inspired Inventor, and Marionette Apprentice. I’ve yet to play the card outside of WB.
Reef Worm was mentioned as a great UB card, but it’s been good enough to also splash in BR or WB as well (assuming you have sacrifice effects).
Shrieking Drake is a pretty weak card, but it’s part of an infinite life combo. I’d also play it if I had four or more Serum Visionary, as I can’t say no to value.
Tamiyo Meets the Story Circle is a really grindy card that can give you some (absolutely glacial) card advantage. That's only the beginning of what it does though, as it has three other potential uses:
- If you have two copies (or Evolution Witness), then you can loop these effects to avoid decking. This can free you of having to play actual win conditions in a control deck/pile of removal spells.
- While hard to pull off, Tamiyo Meets the Story Circle is a potentially unrivaled source of early game artifacts. You could try to combo it with cards like Refurbished Familiar and Kappa Cannoneer for nut draw potential.
- Nesting Grounds could be combined with Tamiyo Meets the Story Circle (or any other saga) to repeat a chapter over and over. The best use with this saga is to repeat the -2/-0 mode every turn for a kind of super Dampening Pulse.
Consuming Corruption is usually pretty terrible, as MDFCs and Landscapes cut heavily into the number of Swamps you’ll have on average. If you can get enough Swamps though, this is one of the better removal spells in the format. I’d try to table it and hope I was already base black. There are also two other mono-black adjacent cards in the set (K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth and Necrodominance, although neither one has seemed particularly playable!).
Nadier's Nightblade has an awful stat line, so you shouldn’t play this in most decks. I’d reserve it for a very specific BG or BR deck with tons of copies of cards like Glimpse the Impossible, Eldrazi Repurposer, and Spawn-Gang Commander. Together with Marionette Apprentice and Molten Gatekeeper, you can deal 20 damage without ever going to combat!
Quest for the Necropolis is a decent card on its own thanks to Landscapes, which makes reducing the cost of this easier than it appears. It’s also great with Malevolent Rumble and cyclers like Eldrazi Ravager and Warped Tusker.
Victimize is another card that plays amazingly well with Malevolent Rumble and fat cycling creatures.
Fledgling Dragon is usually underwhelming, but I’ve liked it in controlling decks with a lot of Landscapes and cheap removal spells. Malevolent Rumble and Glimpse the Impossible are also fantastic with it.
Mogg Mob requires a very specific mana base for a good but not overwhelming payoff. I’ve played it once and was pleasantly surprised by it, but I’d always try to table them first.
Reckless Pyrosurfer is a great aggro card in general, but it’s particularly devastating with Landscapes and Sundering Eruption. You can target your own land and still get the Falter effect, which can lead to your opponent dying out of nowhere!
Monstrous Vortex doesn’t usually make my Eldrazi decks, but I’ve been impressed by it in builds with 7+ targets and ways to accelerate it out early like Nightshade Dryad. There aren’t many commons for this, so usually it’s up to uncommons like Territory Culler to make Monstrous Vortex playable.
Priest of Titania is a passable mana dork on its own, but it can be genuinely exciting with other elves like Evolution Witness, Disciple of Freyalise, and Eladamri, Korvecdal. It also counts all elves, so you might occasionally find yourself making extra mana off of your opponent’s Evolution Witness!
The Hunger Tide Rises underwhelms in a vacuum, as Hordeling Outburst is much less appealing when it comes one token at a time. What makes this card worth playing is when you have premium tutor targets like Nadu, Winged Wisdom, Six, Emperor of Bones, and Wight of the Reliquary. Keep in mind that this can tutor from your graveyard as well!
Trickster's Elk is a fantastic answer to sticky creatures like Wurmcoil Larva. I had an opponent who thrashed me with this + Horrific Assault once; the Trickster's Elk still ends up as a creature in that case, but also prevents the death trigger from mattering. It’s also nice that you can play it as curve filler when needed, though Centaur Courser is a bit below par in such a powerful set.
Wirewood Symbiote might be worth playing if you have an insane number of Priest of Titanias. This is very unlikely because both cards occupy the New-to-Modern reprint slot. If you don’t have 4+ Priest of Titania, please don’t bother!
Skittering Precursor has decent base stats and plays great with Landscapes, which offer a convenient nonland permanent to sacrifice.
Idol of False Gods requires a lot of colorless sources to be good (usually Landscapes and dorks like Nightshade Dryad). However, if you have enough other Spawn cards, it’s a nice mix of a mana sink/win condition late game.
Nesting Grounds has been mentioned several times now, but I just wanted to remind you that it’s great with +1/+1 counter synergies and sagas.
Urza's Cave is usually just Snow-Covered Wastes, but it could be marginally better if you had an exciting land for it like Shifting Woodland or Spymaster's Vault.
Rares
Argent Dais is a weird, hard to use card. It works best with Eldrazi Spawns, Accursed Marauder (exile it on the stack with no other creatures), and as a way to deck your opponent in a hyper durdly deck. I have yet to see it be good, but it has potential.
Flare of Fortitude is surprisingly solid in a white creature deck, especially GW Modified. Just make sure you have enough white creatures for it, as you won’t want to hardcast it much.
Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd is a strong rare in general, but it gets even better with cards like Serum Visionary and Refurbished Familiar.
Sevinne's Reclamation is a sick rare in this set thanks to Landscapes. The first cast is usually Rampant Growth, but you can get two permanents back later in the game for free!
Dreamtide Whale is great with cantrips, other proliferate cards, or in rare aggressive blue decks. It’s also an incredible card to manifest off of Guardian of the Forgotten if you get lucky.
Emperor of Bones is another bomb rare in general, but it’s always worth drafting Accursed Marauder for this one (which is a perfect target).
Ophiomancer is another great rare. It doesn’t work particularly well with Accursed Marauder, but it’s among the best cards with nontoken sacrifice outlets like Warren Soultrader and Dreadmobile.
Aether Revolt is a bomb in energy decks, but it does require a bit of finesse to build around. You’ll want as many energy cards as possible, card advantage to stay gassed up, and Landscapes to trigger revolt when you need it. I also like cards like Glimpse the Impossible and Spawn-Gang Commander with it, as Eldrazi Spawns are also great for revolt.
Flare of Cultivation is a passable Cultivate (though can be rough), but I’d be remiss not to mention it + Nyxborn Hydra. You can play the Hydra as an 0/1 on turn 1, then immediately sacrifice it to pull ahead on lands. Even if you don’t draw Flare of Cultivation early, you still have a great X spell for your Cultivate deck later on.
Genku, Future Shaper is another bomb rare that really likes Landscapes. You can also chump block often with it, as your (nontoken) chump blockers can replace themselves.
Wight of the Reliquary is a strong rare on its own that really likes the card Malevolent Rumble, which is a Rampant Growth that grows the Wight, too.
Echoes of Eternity is among the most over the top Eldrazi payoffs in the format. You’ll need to take Landscapes and Glimpse the Impossible highly to play this though. I’d also only play it with at least 13+ other colorless cards, as you need to be doubling consistently for this to be worth the risk.
Spymaster's Vault has some excellent interactions with cards like Nadu, Winged Wisdom and Fetid Gargantua. It’s also just a great land in general, and well worth taking early if you’re already in black.
Arena of Glory is less impressive on its own, but it has immense potential with annihilator creatures like Breaker of Creation. My dream is to haste out an Ulamog, the Defiler before the format is over!
Shifting Woodland is yet another card that really wants to include the card Malevolent Rumble in your deck. You don’t need to enable it early, but it can do some amazing things late game. I especially love it with the card Evolution Witness; you can copy it, adapt the land to get it back for more value loops, and then turn the land into something else later while keeping the two +1/+1 counters on it!
Mythics
Ocelot Pride really likes auras, +1/+1 counter pump effects, and equipment like Mandibular Kite. Distinguished Conjurer is another angle you could try, but this card works best in decks that can pump it early and often.
Recruiter of the Guard can be an exciting card in the right deck. Getting Accursed Marauder is a good start, but this gets even better if you can tutor rares like Springheart Nantuko. With mediocre targets though, this rate is merely average.
If you build around Shadow of the Second Sun, prioritize instants and activated abilities!
Sorin of House Markov can flip itself with two extorts and one attack, but it’s much easier to do so with assistance. Pump spells or other lifegain cards like Breathe Your Last are ideal pairings.
Ashling, Flame Dancer is a solid card that can do disgusting things with Gift of the Viper. Cast Gift of the Viper on it first, then any other instant and sorcery second for an immediate Plague Wind!
Grist, Voracious Larva depends on cards like Molten Gatekeeper, Jolted Awake, Chthonian Nightmare, and Quest for the Necropolis to flip. The payoff is decent but not overwhelmingly high for this, so try to adjust your expectations to “Ankle Biter with upside” for this card.
Kaalia of the Vast is stone unplayable. There are very few angels, demons, or dragons in this set. Don’t try it!
Breya, Etherium Shaper is an exciting card that forces you to be four colors without green mana. The dream is usually to splash it in a Mardu () or Grixis () baseline, with Landscapes filling in the fourth color. In practice it’s been powerful, but not worth all the picks you have to spend on Landscapes.
Ugin's Binding is one of my favorite build-arounds in the format. Prioritize Malevolent Rumble, Waterlogged Teachings, and average fatties like Drownyard Lurker to set up your free Cyclonic Rift later in the game.
Phyrexian Tower is an incredibly good (and basically free) sacrifice outlet for a deck with cards like Reef Worm and Infernal Captor. It’s also a source of colorless mana for Eldrazi decks, so I wouldn’t expect to see this one going late much.
Ugin's Labyrinth is an interesting card that can do very unfair things with some luck; I once had an opponent turn 1 this, exile Warped Tusker, then play Solar Transformer for 4 mana on turn 2! You won’t usually get those kinds of draws with this though, so think of it as a high-upside support card for big Eldrazi decks. I’m not sure if I would P1P1 this; maybe in a weak pack, but certainly not over staples like Galvanic Discharge or Writhing Chrysalis.
Drafting the Set
Crabomination | Illustration by Nicholas Gregory
When you put that all together… how do you actually draft the set? The key is to stay open. To this effect, you should try starting most drafts with:
Bomb rares that go in every deck (Ophiomancer, Crabomination, Six, Guide of Souls, etc.).
Mythic common all-star Writhing Chrysalis, which is good enough to splash despite being a common!
Removal spells that go in every archetype (Wither and Bloom, Galvanic Discharge, Signature Slam, etc.).
Land MDFCs, especially multicolor ones as they are supremely flexible (P1P1 Stump Stomp or Strength of the Harvest is great if there isn’t a top common).
If there isn’t anything of immense general quality in a pack, I often like to speculate on powerful archetype payoffs like Cursed Wombat, Conduit Goblin, and Kozilek's Unsealing. Think of it as casting your rod and hoping fish bite. If you take an early Kozilek's Unsealing for example, note big filler cards like Drownyard Lurker and Warped Tusker in your packs. Tabling those can be a great sign that you’re on the right track.
As pack one goes on, one of the clearest signs of an open archetype is late multicolor cards. There are many of those in this set, and for most archetypes they’re fantastic signals that you should consider doing that thing. Look for late Faithful Watchdog, Sneaky Snacker, and Riddle Gate Gargoyle as reasons to solidify into a color pair.
Another important card type to mention are Landscapes. It can be difficult to know exactly when to take them, as it’s very much going to be contextual to how your draft is going. My baseline is to not take them over top commons, but to often take them over decent commons like Deem Inferior, Utter Insignificance, etc. The existence of Landscapes and MDFC lands makes taking true sideboard cards in this format (i.e. Meltdown and Consign to Memory) difficult, as you’ll often be forced to give up consistency to do so.
Keep in mind that not all Landscapes are created equal: Bountiful Landscape is the best one, followed by Perilous Landscape and then other UG/UR/RG ones. This is because Temurdrazi is the most likely archetype in the format to splash. I also prefer Deceptive Landscape to most others, as Abzan () encompasses all three modified strategies.
Wrap Up
Path of Annihilation | Illustration by Ben Hill
And with that, we’ve come to the end of this massive MH3 Guide. The craziest part about writing all that is that there’s actually plenty more I could have said! I seriously love this format; if you don’t believe me, I’m planning to hop into another MTGO Draft as soon as I finish typing this. I hope this format treats you as well as it treats me.
What are your thoughts on the MH3 Draft environment? Let me know in the comments below or over on Draftsim’s Discord.
Until next time, may you always open Guide of Souls!
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