We’re celebrating the new Modern format with some awesome Mythic Championship IV fantasy leagues over on Thousand Leagues! Draft your favorite players or cards in one of our public leagues and you could win a Japanese War of the Spark booster box—or create your own league and invite your friends!
Modern returns to the Magic’s biggest stage this weekend at Mythic Championship IV Barcelona!
The format looks a little different since we last saw it in London. War of the Spark and Modern Horizons have since been released, Bridge from Below has been banned, and the new London Mulligan rule has become official Naturally all of these things have an impact on the cards and decks people play. For now, let’s take a look at the Top 10 Modern cards to watch at Mythic Championship IV Barcelona!
(And if you want to see what decks these cards fit into, be sure to take a look at Emma Partlow’s predictions for the 10 Best Modern decks for Mythic Championship IV Barcelona.)
10. Wrenn and Six
Wrenn and Six is the newest planeswalker to hit the ground running in Modern. The mythic rare from Modern Horizons has proved to be the boost a deck like Jund and thrust the deck back into the conversation of good Modern decks. It provides card advantage and ensures you can hit all of your land drops with its first ability, and can remove important threats with the second ability, making this an attractive option of decks looking to grind.
It takes quite a lot to supplant Dark Confidant as the two mana card advantage engine of choice, but the new kid on the block seems to have the superstar power it takes to earn a spot amongst the stack of high power cards known as Jund.
9. Leyline of the Void
Leyline of the Void’s popularity continues to rise proportionally to the rise of power in the graveyard. I’ve previously called this card the gold standard of graveyard hate in Modern and I still believe that to be true. A rare combination of speed and power that will largely shut down decks like Hogaak and Dredge if it stays in play. The draw to this card is pretty obvious, and it only gets more powerful with the advent of the London Mulligan. I’d except to see stacks of these found in a high number of sideboards this weekend.
8. Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt is both Magic’s most storied removal spell, and frequently the most popular card registered in Modern. Decks like Jund, both Phoenix variants, and Burn all rely heavily on the one mana instant. As cheap as they come, and just as flexible switching roles from a removal spell to a threat, makes it one of the best cards ever printed. I’d expect the trend of Lightning Bolt staying in the Top 3 most-registered cards to continue in Barcelona.
7. Force of Negation
Modern Horizons makes another early appearance on the list with Force of Negation. While this card isn’t Force of Will it has still been a huge addition to decks like Azorious Control and Izzet Phoenix. Letting these decks tap out to progress their own game plan without being completely at the mercy of the opponent is a huge deal.
While cheap countermagic in Modern is typically conditional and might not line up correctly, Force of Negation does an excellent job at insulating the Blue decks from the fastest of combo decks like Neoform, which traditionally had been a large hole in the game plan of the slower decks. Mythic Championship regulars have a tendency to slant toward playing interactive decks and now that Blue is a real choice in Modern, which historically hasn’t always been the case, I’d expect a fair share of people to register Force of Negation.
6. Chalice of the Void
Coming in at number six we see our first artifact on the list. As Modern continues to accelerate and become more and more efficient, Chalice of the Void gets a lot more powerful. When decks start to look like Arclight Phoenix, Infect, and Burn, all of which register a pile of one mana spells, sleeving up Chalice of the Void alongside mana accelerants like Simian Spirit Guide is a strong option to combat these low to the ground strategies.
Often found in decks like Eldrazi Tron, and Colorless Eldrazi, both of which are improved by the change to the mulligan rule. I wouldn’t expect Chalice to be overwhelmingly popular at the Mythic Championship, but I would expect it to be one of the most impactful cards.
5. Aria of Flame
Modern Horizons cards keep piling up on this list, which must mean that set did a great job impacting the format!
Aria of Flame was a card that looked relatively unassuming when spoiled. But the three mana Red enchantment fits right into Izzet Phoenix, replacing Pyromancer’s Ascension as a strong Plan B, and has the upside of not relying on the graveyard! Paying off the Phoenix decks for advancing their normal game plan, while not being a liability in the sideboarded games, expect Aria of Flame to make some noise this weekend.
4. Thoughtseize
Much like Lightning Bolt, Thoughtseize has been a format staple since the inception of Modern. While it has waxed and waned in popularity, Modern Horizons combined with a Bridge from Below ban have thrust it back to the pillar of the format it once was. The crux of midrange decks, and even a powerful sideboard card out of combo decks these days, Thoughtseize is flexing its utility in both roles. It doesn’t much matter what side of the table you’re on, whether you’re trying to disrupt your opponent’s plan, or protect your own, I would expect to see a lot of copies of the all-star discard spell.
3. Aether Vial
Humans is the premier Aether Vial deck in Modern and Eli Loveman piloted the deck to victory at the last Modern Mythic Championship in London. Humans still seems to be one of the powerhouse decks of the format so naturally Aether Vial, being the best cast in the deck, is also positioned quite well. Providing incredible mana advantage and giving your creatures with enter the battlefield triggers flash will surely give a variety of decks fits.
2. Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis may be the single most powerful card in Modern Horizons. Being described as “Golgari Grave-Troll with trample,” Hogaak had some big shoes to fill, but trust me, those shoes have been filled.
Hogaak wasted no time becoming the centerpiece of the most dominant decks Modern has seen in some time, to the point where Bridge from Below was banned to reduce their effectiveness. That banning seems to have only been a speed bump for Hogaak, though, as shortly after Kanister ran a 12-0 sweep of the MTGO challenge with a Satyr Wayfinder version of the deck.
While shells for this deck are still being explored and tuned, I expect great things from the new toy coming out of the graveyard.
1. Faithless Looting
Faithless Looting is Modern’s version Brainstorm and is arguably the most powerful card in the format. It’s card filtering and a graveyard enabler all for one mana—and on top of that, it can also be cast from the graveyard thanks to Flashback! The linchpin of both of the Arclight Phoenix decks, Dredge, and the Hogaak decks, Faithless Looting has a very impressive resume. I expect the powerful Red sorcery to be both the most registered and most important card in this Mythic Championship!
I know I am excited to watch Mythic Championship IV play out as a newly refreshed modern format! Think my list is spot on? Maybe you think I missed something? Be sure to let me know on Twitter.
Don’t forget to join our awesome Mythic Championship IV fantasy leagues over on Thousand Leagues! Draft your favorite players or cards in one of our public leagues and you could win a Japanese War of the Spark booster box—or create your own league and invite your friends!