Hello, and welcome back to Metagame Mentor, your weekly guide to the top decks and latest Constructed developments on the path to the Pro Tour. Last month's banned and restricted announcement was a seismic shift, shaking up the Modern metagame and revitalizing the format. There's a wealth of new possibilites on the table, making Modern one of the most exciting Constructed formats in Magic. These changes came at the perfect time, aligning with the highly anticipated Modern cycle of Regional Championships.
Splinter Twin
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In last week's article, I highlighted the top Modern decks to beat. Today, my spotlight shifts to the four unbanned cards: Splinter Twin, Green Sun's Zenith, Faithless Looting, and Mox Opal. For each, I'll revisit their storied competitive histories and examine their current impact on Modern.
The History of Splinter Twin in Modern
Splinter Twin
Splinter Twin, when paired with Deceiver Exarch or Pestermite, creates a game-winning loop that results in an infinite number of creature tokens with haste, enabling a lethal attack in a single turn. Leveraging this devastating synergy, Samuele Estratti claimed victory at the inaugural Modern Pro Tour in Philadelphia in 2011. In subsequent years, the archetype remained a dominant force in the competitive metagame, peaking with Antonio del Moral León's triumph at the 2015 Modern Pro Tour in Washington, DC.
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Vendilion Clique
4 Deceiver Exarch
2 Pestermite
1 Flame Slash
4 Serum Visions
1 Peek
1 Dispel
2 Electrolyze
2 Spell Snare
2 Cryptic Command
4 Remand
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Splinter Twin
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Sulfur Falls
1 Stomping Ground
3 Steam Vents
1 Desolate Lighthouse
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Mountain
5 Island
1 Dispel
1 Flame Slash
2 Keranos, God of Storms
2 Blood Moon
2 Spellskite
1 Negate
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Pyroclasm
1 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
1 Shatterstorm
1 Anger of the Gods
Though Splinter Twin was undeniably a combo deck, it also excelled as a highly interactive control deck. It utilized counterspells like Remand and Cryptic Command alongside removal spells like Lightning Bolt to disrupt opponents while assembling its win condition. Additionally, since combo pieces like Deceiver Exarch could be deployed at instant speed, Splinter Twin players threatened to win out of nowhere. This forced opponents to leave mana open, adding a layer of tension and complexity to every game. The deck's ability to pivot seamlessly between control and combo roles made it notoriously difficult to play against.
Less than a year after Del Moral León's Pro Tour victory, Splinter Twin was banned from Modern. The following explanation was provided for its removal:
"Antonio Del Moral León won Pro Tour Fate Reforged playing Splinter Twin, and Jelger Wiegersma finished third; Splinter Twin has won two of the four Modern Pro Tours. Splinter Twin reached the Top 8 of the last six Modern Grands Prix. The last Modern Grand Prix in Pittsburgh had three Splinter Twin decks in the Top 8, including Alex Bianchi's winning deck.
Decks that are this strong can hurt diversity by pushing the decks that it defeats out of competition. They can also reduce diversity by supplanting similar decks. For instance, Shaun McLaren won Pro Tour Born of the Gods playing this Jeskai control deck. Alex Bianchi won our most recent Modern Grand Prix playing a similar deck but adding the Splinter Twin combination. Similarly, Temur Tempo used to see play at high-level events but has been supplanted by Temur Twin.
We considered what one would do with the cards from a Splinter Twin deck with Splinter Twin banned. In the case of some Jeskai or Temur, there are very similar decks to build. In other cases, there is Kiki-Jiki as a replacement.
In the interest of competitive diversity, Splinter Twin is banned from Modern."
Splinter Twin: Current Place in Modern
Drawing from the same dataset used in last week's format primer—January 2025's Modern Challenges on Magic Online (812 decklists) and the $5,000 RCQ at SCG CON Atlanta (172 decklists)—only ten players (1.2% of the field) included at least one copy of Splinter Twin in their main deck or sideboard. It seems that turn-four combo wins, once a hallmark, no longer hold the same allure in the 2025 Modern metagame.
This group of ten players used of a mix of archetypes: 3 Izzet Twin, 2 Rakdos Twin, 2 Temur Twin, 1 Mardu Goryo's, 1 Grixis Oculus, and 1 Solemnity Prison. Among these, the Rakdos Twin variant proved to be both the most successful and the most innovative.
1 Arena of Glory
4 Blood Crypt
2 Blood Moon
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Dragon's Rage Channeler
4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
4 Fatal Push
4 Fear of Missing Out
2 Marsh Flats
4 Mishra's Bauble
4 Nethergoyf
4 Orcish Bowmasters
2 Polluted Delta
2 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
2 Raucous Theater
4 Splinter Twin
2 Swamp
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
1 Terminate
4 Thoughtseize
1 Verdant Catacombs
2 Graveyard Trespasser
3 Magebane Lizard
1 Meltdown
1 Nihil Spellbomb
3 Obsidian Charmaw
3 Pyroclasm
2 Surgical Extraction
While classic combo pieces like Deceiver Exarch, Pestermite, Village Bell-Ringer, and Bounding Krasis appeared across the analyzed Splinter Twin lists, a new enabler has recently emerged: Fear of Missing Out. This card, when enchanted with Splinter Twin, can create a copy of itself with haste. Since this copy is treated as a new game object, it can attack for the first time that turn, untapping the copy-making original if you have delirium active. Repeat this process, and you can attack a number of times equal to the cards in your library, as each "FOMO" attack draws a card. This will usually win you the game provided your opponent doesn't have a creature with first strike or an overwhelming life total.
Compared to the conventional Splinter Twin targets, Fear of Missing Out offers several unique advantages. Its lower mana cost and built-in card filtering make it a stronger standalone card than Deceiver Exarch. Moreover, Modern's current interactive suite—Galvanic Discharge, Fatal Push, and Solitude—renders Deceiver Exarch's once reliable 1/4 body less effective than it was in the days of Lightning Bolt's dominance.
As a result, Splinter Twin decks no longer require blue. Adding black for Thoughtseize and Fatal Push has become a common alternative. The resulting Rakdos Twin archetype blends an efficient midrange strategy with the potential for a game-ending combo finish. Hauterho demonstrated the power of this approach with a Top 8 finish at a recent Modern Challenge, piloting the decklist above. While Splinter Twin has yet to reclaim a major foothold in the Modern metagame, it's a welcome addition to the format's arsenal of strategies, bringing both nostalgia and new possibilities.
The History of Green Sun's Zenith
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When Modern was introduced as a sanctioned paper format in August 2011, its initial ban list already included some infamous powerhouses like Seat of the Synod, Glimpse of Nature, Skullclamp, and Hypergenesis. Still, many potent cards remained legal, setting the stage for a Wild West of deck diversity. Just one month later, Modern debuted on the Pro Tour stage in Philadelphia, and Green Sun's Zenith emerged as a key player in several archetypes, including Zoo, Elves, and 12-Post. Among these, 12-Post stood out.
1 Terastodon
4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 Primeval Titan
4 Overgrown Battlement
4 Wall of Roots
4 Green Sun's Zenith
3 Beast Within
4 Through the Breach
4 Gruul Signet
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Mountain
4 Vesuva
4 Glimmerpost
4 Cloudpost
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
3 Forest
1 Stomping Ground
1 Eye of Ugin
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Seal of Primordium
1 Qasali Pridemage
3 Chalice of the Void
3 Firespout
3 Punishing Fire
2 Dismember
1 Brooding Saurian
Utilizing a playset of Cloudpost, Glimmerpost, and Vesuva, alongside a suite of land-searching effects, the deck enabled Cloudpost to tap for jaw-dropping amounts of mana early in the game. Representing 20% of the metagame, 12-Post was the most played archetype at the event, and Jesse Hampton piloted the deck above to a Top 8 finish.
With the right draw, 12-Post could hardcast Emrakul, the Aeons Torn as early as turn four. Three copies of Cloudpost would tap for at least nine mana total, outpacing even Tron's mana output. With this potential, Green Sun's Zenith proved a versatile toolbox card. It could fetch Dryad Arbor for a turn-one ramp, Overgrown Battlement for mid-game acceleration, or Primeval Titan to deliver a decisive blow.
The utility didn't stop there. After sideboarding, Green Sun's Zenith could even fetch Brooding Saurian as an answer to Bribery, a popular sideboard card at the event. Bribery allowed opponents to steal your Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, but Brooding Saurian returned any stolen creatures to their rightful owner, punishing opponents in one of the most memorable instances of next-level metagaming in Magic history. Thanks to the consistency of Green Sun's Zenith, dedicating just a single sideboard slot to the Lizard was enough.
Despite its versatility and impact, Green Sun's Zenith enjoyed only a moment in the Modern spotlight. Just weeks after the Pro Tour, Wizards of the Coast issued the first Modern ban update, which included Green Sun's Zenith alongside Blazing Shoal, Rite of Flame, Ponder, Preordain, and Cloudpost. The rationale for banning Green Sun's Zenith was as follows:
"On turn one, this can give the acceleration of a Llanowar Elves by getting a Dryad Arbor. On later turns, it can get a large creature or a one-of "toolbox" creature such as Gaddock Teeg. While this is interesting, it is also too efficient. If one intends to build a deck that has turn-one accelerants, Green Sun's Zenith is a great choice. If one wants to more access to utility green creatures, Green Sun's Zenith is a great choice. If one wants to more reliably get a large green creature, such as a Primeval Titan, onto the battlefield, Green Sun's Zenith is a great choice. However, this ends up with fewer different decks being played in practice, as Green Sun's Zenith is such a good choice that there are fewer green decks that do anything else. The DCI hopes that banning Green Sun's Zenith increases diversity among Modern green decks."
Green Sun's Zenith: Current Place in Modern
Across my data set of 984 Modern tournament decks from earlier this month, 69 players (8.5% of the field) included at least one copy of Green Sun's Zenith in their main deck or sideboard. These players represented a variety of archetypes: 32 Amulet Titan, 26 Golgari Yawgmoth, 4 Four-Color Omnath, 2 Samwise Gamgee Combo, 2 Golgari Grist, 1 Elves, 1 Domain Enchantress, and 1 Domain Valakut. While Green Sun's Zenith has found diverse applications, its most common home is Amulet Titan.
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Arboreal Grazer
2 Aftermath Analyst
1 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
4 Primeval Titan
2 Summoner's Pact
4 Amulet of Vigor
1 Expedition Map
3 Explore
3 Spelunking
1 Scapeshift
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Gruul Turf
4 Urza's Saga
3 Boseiju, Who Endures
2 Crumbling Vestige
2 Forest
2 Lotus Field
2 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Echoing Deeps
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Vesuva
1 Mirrorpool
1 Tolaria West
1 Otawara, Soaring City
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Commercial District
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Urza's Cave
1 Hanweir Battlements
1 Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
2 Shifting Woodland
1 Collector Ouphe
2 Tireless Tracker
1 Vexing Bauble
2 Defense Grid
2 Dismember
2 Firespout
2 Force of Vigor
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Boseiju, Who Endures
1 Radiant Fountain
I detailed the intricacies of Amulet Titan and its combo lines in last week's format primer, but what stands out from a historical perspective is how similar the card's role in this archetype is to its function in 12-Post decks from Pro Tour Philadelphia 2011. Once again, Green Sun's Zenith is prized for its scalability and consistency.
Scalability means that Green Sun's Zenith provides value at every stage of the game. On turn one, it can fetch Dryad Arbor for ramp. After that, it can grab Dryad of the Ilysian Grove to enable explosive land drops. In the late game, it can find Primeval Titan to deliver a decisive blow, often now with haste through Hanweir Battlements. No matter when it's drawn, Green Sun's Zenith ensures that you're advancing your strategy.
Consistency refers to its ability to grant reliable access to key cards. In Amulet Titan, spending seven mana to Zenith for Primeval Titan is often stronger than many standalone seven-mana plays. Beyond that, it offers access to a toolbox of powerful sideboard cards like Collector Ouphe, giving players flexible answers to specific threats.
While card choices and game plans have evolved since 2011, the core appeal of Green Sun's Zenith remains unchanged. Its power and versatility make it a mainstay in decks like Amulet Titan, echoing the pivotal role it played in Modern's earliest days.
Faithless Looting: Competitive Modern History
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Faithless Looting had been legal in Modern for a long time and initially saw sporadic use in decks like Storm. However, it wasn't until the emergence of powerful graveyard or discard payoffs—Arclight Phoenix, Hollow One, and Bedlam Reveler—that the card became a mainstay in competitive Modern. By 2018, its potential as a key enabler began to shine. At the Modern Pro Tour in Bilbao that year, two Faithless Looting decks—Gerry Thompson's Mardu Pyromancer and Ken Yukuhiro's Hollow One—secured Top 4 finishes, signaling the card's rise in prominence.
Over the next year, Faithless Looting's influence grew further. At the two Modern Pro Tours in 2019, held in London and Barcelona, the card was a cornerstone of decks like Dredge (representing around 5% of the metagame) and Izzet Phoenix (around 12%). Graveyard-based strategies then reached a breaking point with the Modern Horizons release of Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis. In Barcelona, 21% of the metagame revolved around Hogaak strategies, with Faithless Looting as an important enabler.
4 Bloodghast
4 Carrion Feeder
4 Gravecrawler
4 Stitcher's Supplier
3 Insolent Neonate
4 Satyr Wayfinder
4 Vengevine
4 Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
4 Faithless Looting
2 Lightning Axe
2 Assassin's Trophy
2 Leyline of the Void
3 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Marsh Flats
2 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Stomping Ground
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Leyline of the Void
2 Assassin's Trophy
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Fatal Push
1 Nature's Claim
2 Rotting Regisaur
1 Shenanigans
3 Thoughtseize
This deck, which Martin Müller piloted to a Top 8 finish in Barcelona, showcased the raw power of Hogaak: a free 8/8 trampler that could consistently hit the battlefield as early as turn two. With aggressive mulligan strategies, casting Hogaak on turn two was achievable roughly 60% of the time!
While Stitcher's Supplier was an even more efficient enabler for the deck, Faithless Looting also helped ensure overall consistency. Importantly, Hogaak was just one example of the many graveyard-focused or discard-engine decks that thrived with Faithless Looting at their core.
A few weeks after Mythic Championship IV, Faithless Looting was banned alongside Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis. Wizards of the Coast's explanation emphasized the card's pervasive influence:
"The key card enabling the majority of these graveyard-focused decks is Faithless Looting. By our data gathered from Magic Online and tabletop tournament results, over the past year the winningest Modern deck at any given point in time has usually been a Faithless Looting deck. Examples include Hollow One, Izzet Phoenix, and Dredge and Bridgevine variants (both pre- and post-Hogaak's release). As new card designs are released that deal with the graveyard, discarding cards, and casting cheap spells, the power of Faithless Looting's efficient hand and graveyard manipulation continues to scale upward. Regardless of Hogaak's recent impact, Faithless Looting would be a likely eventual addition to the banned list in the near future. In order to ensure the metagame doesn't again revert to a Faithless Looting graveyard deck being dominant, we believe now is the correct time to make this change."
Faithless Looting: Current Place in Modern
Across my data set of 984 Modern tournament decks from earlier this month, an impressive 76 players (9.4% of the field) included at least one copy of Faithless Looting in their main deck or sideboard. This diverse group featured archetypes such as 16 Ruby Storm, 13 Jund Creativity, 7 Hollow One, 6 Grinding Breach, 4 Grixis Oculus, 4 Izzet Phoenix, 3 Grixis Reanimator, 2 Esper Goryo's, 2 Gruul Woodland, 2 Mardu Lutri, 2 Grixis Creativity, and 15 other fringe Singleton archetypes.
While Ruby Storm typically uses Faithless Looting as a one- or two-of for minor card selection, the card's most notable home in today's Modern is Jund Creativity, where it serves as a four-of centerpiece. Modern had never before seen Faithless Looting legal alongside Persist, and this pairing has now enabled a powerful reanimation angle.
4 Archon of Cruelty
3 Arid Mesa
2 Bitter Reunion
1 Blood Crypt
3 Bloodstained Mire
1 Boseiju, Who Endures
2 Cling to Dust
1 Commercial District
4 Dwarven Mine
4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
4 Faithless Looting
2 Fatal Push
4 Indomitable Creativity
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Mountain
4 Persist
3 Raucous Theater
2 Scalding Tarn
1 Stomping Ground
4 Thoughtseize
3 Wooded Foothills
4 Wrenn and Six
1 Alpine Moon
1 Boseiju, Who Endures
3 Brotherhood's End
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
2 Fatal Push
2 Pawpatch Formation
2 Surgical Extraction
3 Terastodon
In Jund Creativity, Faithless Looting pulls double duty. It helps dig for Indomitable Creativity while simultaneously setting up turn-two Persist plays. Discarding Archon of Cruelty on turn one and reanimating it on turn two through Persist allows the deck to trigger Archon's devastating abilities early and often. The list shown above recently secured a Top 8 finish at a Magic Online Challenge.
Additionally, in grindier matchups, Jund Creativity capitalizes on the synergies between Faithless Looting and Wrenn and Six. By discarding excess lands to Looting and retrieving them with Wrenn and Six, the deck achieves a steady stream of card advantage, turning otherwise dead draws into valuable resources.
What sets this archetype apart from Faithless Looting's previous homes is its multifaceted approach. Unlike earlier decks that relied solely on graveyard synergies, such as Hogaak, Jund Creativity can pivot between reanimation, token-based combos, and attritional gameplay depending on the matchup. This means that a card like Leyline of the Void does not spell game over. As a result, Faithless Looting will surely remain a potent force in Modern.
Mox Opal: Competitive Modern History
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The original set of five Moxen, introduced in Limited Edition (Alpha), are among the most powerful Magic cards ever printed. Mox Opal echoes their power, standing as one of the most potent cards ever legal in Modern. In artifact-centric decks, Mox Opal provides a free mana boost and gives you access to any color of mana. Even if you draw multiple copies of the legendary artifact, excess copies can effectively turn into Lotus Petal.
For nearly a decade, Mox Opal was a cornerstone of Affinity, one of Modern's most enduring archetypes. Affinity has always been a deck close to my heart, as I've always enjoyed the combat math of Arcbound Ravager and Cranial Plating, the challenge of sequencing cards to maximize the damage clock, and the explosive draws that Mox Opal enabled. Affinity remained a constant presence in Modern, with little altering its core strategy, even as other decks evolved. Coverage stalwart Mani Davoudi's victory at Grand Prix Las Vegas 2017 with a nearly stock Affinity list stands as a testament to the deck's staying power.
4 Arcbound Ravager
2 Etched Champion
2 Master of Etherium
2 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
4 Steel Overseer
4 Vault Skirge
4 Cranial Plating
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Mox Opal
4 Springleaf Drum
1 Welding Jar
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
1 Glimmervoid
4 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Mountain
3 Spire of Industry
2 Etched Champion
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Dispatch
2 Ghirapur Aether Grid
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Rest in Peace
1 Spell Pierce
2 Thoughtseize
1 Wear//Tear
Affinity's dominance at Modern Pro Tours was undeniable. At Pro Tour Return to Ravnica in 2012, Affinity represented 9% of the metagame, with Pedro Carvalho making a Top 8 finish. It was 6% at Pro Tour Born of the Gods in 2014, where Christian Seibold also reached the Top 8. By Pro Tour Fate Reforged in 2015, it maintained a solid 7%, and at Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch in 2016, it surged to 13%, with Patrick Dickmann and Pascal Maynard both finishing in the Top 8. Even at Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan in 2018, Affinity still commanded 8% of the metagame. While there were fluctuations based on the prevalence of sideboard hate like Stony Silence and Shatterstorm, Affinity was a powerhouse for many years.
However, as Modern approached its tenth anniversary, Affinity began to show signs of wear. While other decks gained powerful new tools, Affinity's core strategy remained largely unchanged. This stagnation resulted in a sharp decline in the deck's popularity. At Mythic Championship II in 2019, Affinity was down to just 2% of the metagame. Although Matt Sperling demonstrated the deck's resilience by reaching the Top 8, it was clear that its time at the forefront of Modern was waning. Meanwhile, Mox Opal had been finding new homes in other, more innovative archetypes.
First came Lantern Control, which Luis Salvatto piloted to victory at Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan in 2018. Then, Krark-Clan Ironworks combo decks, led by Matt Nass to several Grand Prix wins in 2018, showcased the versatility of Mox Opal. Finally, the Modern Horizons release of Urza, Lord High Artificer saw Mox Opal reach new heights. The dominance of Urza decks started with Manuel Lenz's Top 8 finish at Mythic Championship IV in 2019, and they would continue to evolve in the months that followed.
The death knell came on January 13, 2020, when Mox Opal was banned. The announcement explained the decision succinctly:
"Over the last several weeks, base blue-green decks using Urza, Lord High Artificer have risen to the top of competitive Modern, earning the most 5-0 trophies in Magic Online league play and maintaining a non-mirror match win percentage of more than 55%.
"As a source of fast mana in the early game, Mox Opal has long contributed to strategies that seek to end the game quickly and suddenly, whether with explosive attacks, one-turn win combos, or by locking out the opponent with "prison" elements. While none of these decks previously warranted a ban of Mox Opal, it has historically been a part of decks that approached problematic impact on the metagame or did indeed necessitate other bans. As the strongest enabler in the recent Urza artifact decks, and a card that has been concerning in the past and would likely cause balance issues in the future, Mox Opal is banned in Modern."
Mox Opal: Current Place in Modern
Across my data set of 984 Modern tournament decks from earlier this month, a substantial 114 players (14% of the field) included at least one copy of Mox Opal in their main deck or sideboard. This group of players spanned a wide range of archetypes, including 78 Grinding Breach, 9 Mono-Green Broodscale, 8 Affinity, 5 Hammer Time, 4 Lantern Control, 3 Hardened Scales, 2 Eldrazi Metalcraft, 2 Urza Thopter Sword, 2 Song of Creation, and 1 Eldrazi Station.
For the first time, Mox Opal is being seen alongside Urza's Saga. Several Affinity stalwarts are putting up valiant efforts, albeit more with newer tools like Thought Monitor and Kappa Cannoneer rather than classic favorites like Arcbound Ravager and Cranial Plating. Nevertheless, it is in Grinding Breach that Mox Opal has truly found a home in the current Modern metagame.
4 Preordain
4 Underworld Breach
4 Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student
4 Emry, Lurker of the Loch
4 Mox Amber
2 Shifting Woodland
4 Mishra's Bauble
2 Grinding Station
4 Urza's Saga
1 Soul-Guide Lantern
2 Sink into Stupor
1 Thassa's Oracle
4 Malevolent Rumble
1 Haywire Mite
4 Unholy Heat
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Breeding Pool
1 Stomping Ground
1 Thundering Falls
1 Hedge Maze
1 Island
1 Mountain
4 Mox Opal
2 Spell Pierce
1 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
2 Flame of Anor
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Pithing Needle
2 Consign to Memory
3 Nature's Claim
1 Force of Negation
2 Pyroclasm
In Grinding Breach, Mox Opal serves a dual purpose: not only does it enable explosive starts, but it also powers the deck's iconic combo. By sacrificing a zero-mana artifact to Grinding Station, replaying it with Underworld Breach, and repeating the cycle, you can loop and mill your entire deck. In the list that Kevin Patlis piloted to a 2nd-place finish at SCG CON Atlanta's $5,000 RCQ, Thassa's Oracle serves as the win condition.
Using a variety of cards to create or find artifacts, such as Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student; Malevolent Rumble; Preordain; and Urza's Saga, Grinding Breach can unlock metalcraft consistently in the early game. This enables the deck to rapidly assemble game-winning combos before opponents have a chance to disrupt them.
Grinding Breach stands as the most played deck in the new Modern metagame leveraging unbanned cards. With Mox Opal fueling its engine, it is not out of the question to see the deck dominate upcoming Regional Championships.
What's Next for Modern?
Modern thrives on its history, and the return of these unbanned cards marks an exciting chapter. Due to their substantial historical pedigree, it was arguably the most significant banned and restricted announcement for Modern since the format's inception, and it's thrilling to watch these cards reclaim their place. Based on the prevalence observed in the decks I analyzed, Splinter Twin ranks as the least played of the unbanned cards, followed by Green Sun's Zenith in third place and Faithless Looting in second. Leading the charge, Mox Opal stands as both the most prominent and arguably the most powerful addition to the format.
As we approach the upcoming Regional Championships, I can't help but look forward to how these cards will shape the competition. One thing is certain: we have entered a new era, brimming with innovative strategies and fresh possibilities. The schedule for this championship cycle spans several months:
The first five locations listed above link to their respective Melee pages, where decklists and standings will be posted as the events unfold. With substantial cash prizes and coveted invitations to MagicCon: Las Vegas's Pro Tour on the line, these Modern Regional Championships are pivotal moments for the competitive scene. If you'd like to learn more, this article details the various ways to qualify for the Pro Tour in 2025.
And if you're eager to see high-level Modern play in action, don't miss the live video coverage this weekend! Fanfinity will broadcast the Ultimate Guard European Magic Series Regional Championship on Twitch and YouTube, featuring insightful commentary from multiple Hall of Famers and the reigning Modern Pro Tour champion. Coverage begins at 9 a.m. Central European Time (3 a.m. Eastern Time/5 p.m. Japan Standard Time) on January 25 and 26.
