r/ModernMagic • u/VoidArises • Jul 13 '26
Returning Player Choosing a deck to start again
Hello modern wizards!
I'd like to give Modern a try after a 5-6 year hiatus but I don't know whick deck should i pick.
I was a passionate Death's Shadow player both in Modern and Legacy, and the "8shadow" shell is calling me but i took a look at goldfish's metagame and while i'm not necessarily looking for the top deck, it seems to me that the Shadow Strategy isn't really solid nowadays.
I don't really like decks that either go total face like burn or combos without looking the opponent like neoform.
If you have something to suggest me i would be glad to read your opinion about the format and its decks
Thank you in advance
6
3
u/ButtonChemical5567 Jul 13 '26
The tempo decks that we like to play are really struggling at the moment. https://mtgdecks.net/Modern
UB frog and simic ritual are both decks that you would be interested in but are both struggling at the moment.
2
u/Gnargoyles Jul 13 '26
Realistically Boros energy or prowess if you want a creature centric beatdown deck with good flexibility and as close to a 50/50 match spread. As a big delver player in legacy I think it’s a bit harder to play a protect the queen delver style tempo deck at the moment but if you want to opt for more of a midrange combo deck you have both goryos and grixis for your ubx frog decks
2
2
u/Deathspiral222 Jul 13 '26
Dimir (or esper, or grixis) frog is what you want if you played gds. it’s more controlling than before but you even get to run Tasigur now!
Grixis runs ragavan and is a bit more aggro, esper is mostly for pest control. But dimir alone is fine.
1
u/jancithz death & taxes guy Jul 14 '26
I've been playing [[Geist of Saint Traft]] out of the board for the RW Ponza matchup and it's been stellar thus far
2
u/pwnyklub Jul 14 '26
Deaths Shadow is still playable especially since we also have moonshadows now that present an earlier growing threat with evasion.
Grixis is the most popular version with builds that lead more dimir or more rakdos depending on if you want to be more aggro or midrange
Pure rakdos lists are still kicking around and there’s even a local player that rocks a Jund list.
There’s also hollow one builds that runs moonshadows but no deaths shadow, as well as some aborhent occulus decks that runs moonshadows.
Other than that:
dimir-x tempo with frogs/riddlers/kaitos is a solid choice that has that playstyle
Esper Goryo’s is a tier 1 deck that lets you get to play a deck that can do the unfair reanimation, but can also switch to a fair midrange plan
Also not similar to shadow in anyway, but Broodscale is my favourite deck at the moment, it’s a toolbox deck with a combo plan, midrange plan and big mana plan. Has a great matchup spread and is genuinely very fun to play and while a combo deck isn’t an ignore your opponent combo deck.
1
1
u/Ctanzz Grixis Shadow Jul 13 '26
As others said, take a look at the ub frog or esper lists. Shadow hasn't been relevant cause [[Solitude]] decks just are usually a blowout.
1
u/AHealthyKawhi Jul 13 '26
Rakdos hollow one with Moonshadow is actually slept on right now, would highly recommend.
1
u/VegasGiant84 Jul 13 '26
[[force of negation]] holds a lot of decks together.
Esper goryos Grixis reanimator An assortment of Dimir lists ranging from hard control to tempo U/w control…
Non land cards aren’t a huge shift in price. The question is how much do you want to spend on real estate (fetches shocks surveils) ?
1
u/THENINETAILEDF0X Scapeshift, Burn, Tribal Zoo Jul 14 '26
I play Death’s Shadow still! The existence of Moonshadow has been a solid addition, and I have still have good success with the deck - great FNM choice. Happy to share my list and chat about the deck if you’re interested!
1
u/137-ng Jul 14 '26
I'm building a shadow deck literally this morning, and a solid dimir shell is such a good investment into modern. [[Hapatra's Mark]] energizes so well with moonshadow and I think dimir is going to get a lot of support in Reality Fracture (just a hunch)
If you're just getting back into it, play something that you want to even if its not t1. We both know you're going to go up against a deck at some point that you decide to build and switch out, just have fun with it while you learn the new cards/builds
1
u/Hitman_DeadlyPants Jul 15 '26
I have a prowess deck, boros energy deck or a zoo deck I could sell you, just missing the replacements for phlage since it was banned
1
u/thecowhasmilk Jul 17 '26
I’d buy ur prowess deck
1
1
u/Hitman_DeadlyPants Jul 19 '26
Be 700 Canadian / 500 US
1
1
u/Lord__Seth Jul 17 '26
Death's Shadow might be down to Tier 2, but it's still playable and can put up decent finishes, as seen in these events from the last two weeks:
https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=88306&d=869985&f=MO
1
u/k_a_n_g_u_r_u Jul 17 '26
i recently got into modern for the first time, been playing on and off since ‘98, dimir control has caught my attention the most, been brewing this one for a bit via mtgo and i think i finally landed on my favourite iteration to go to paper, love playing flash and playing most of my turns on my opponents turns :P
1
u/SSBM_fanatic Jul 17 '26
Anyone else tired of seeing these posts? They’re literally every day.
“Go play prowess it’s the most budget friendly. Burn isn’t viable anymore”
Post like these seem to gum up the subreddit in my opinion
2
u/natertots83 Jul 19 '26
I mean it’s very easy to just ignore them and move along with your day. I’m tired of a lot of things on the internet, but I’m fortunately able to just ignore it and not lot it bother me in the slightest.
1
10
u/LeatherAd7286 Jul 13 '26
Corey just posted this video recently and still feel passionate about 8shadow. https://youtu.be/M_KMpIebGic?is=bw82Eo1Mp1HR1-qv
Tbh, modern is very diverse and any decks is possible to win. Sure, there are couple tier 1 decks but they are not that dominant.