Modern format in Magic: The Gathering offers huge possibilities due to the sheer number of spells available to players. Established top-tier decks include some of the most powerful Magic cards ever printed, so finding something new and equally exciting could be an almost impossible task.
But it looks like the latest Guilds of Ravnica expansion does have some unique spells to offer. If you want to know which of the 259 recently revealed cards can be used in Modern, then follow our guide that discusses 9 of them with the highest possible potential.
This list mostly includes non-creature spells, but that should not be surprising taking into account the required power level of the format.
Assassin's Trophy
Who would've thought that one day Wizards of the Coast decide to print a card that is stronger than Abrupt Decay, a staple removal spell for both Modern and Legacy formats. But here is Assassin's Trophy -- a card you will see in many top-tier decks.
Jund
This archetype is an obvious choice! You can safely replace all your copies of Abrupt Decay with Assassin's Trophy, and you will have a far superior removal spell on your hands than ever before.
Abzan
The same goes for the Abzan archetype that also tends to run several copies of Abrupt Decay in the main deck. Well, not anymore!
Golgari
And let's be honest, any other deck that runs black and green will want to have Assassin's Trophy as a part of their lists, even such decks like Humans or BridgeVine.
Expansion // Explosion
The best part of this split card is Expansion. It's absurd with how many situations it can deal with. Explosion can also be good, but you will play this mostly for Expansion. Here's a couple of Modern decks that would like to have it in their main lists.
Storm
Expansion is perfect for any blue-red Storm deck both as an accelerator and as a counterspell. But it's better than counterspell, which simply annuls the target spell, while Expansion copies its effect with a new target.
Jeskai Control
Jeskai decks are some of the strongest in Modern, and with the help of Expansion it can now deal with a few bad match-ups as well. Here you can also use the Explosion side as an alternative removal and a card draw engine.
Mausoleum Secrets
Cards like this are often overlooked, but Wizards of the Coast did print a similar card in the past -- Demonic Tutor. Now it's a staple card of the Vintage format, but it is illegal in Modern. Now we have an alternative spell with an Undergrowth mechanic, which can be used for great effect in the following Modern decks.
Death's Shadow
The entire plan of this deck relies on having as many copies of Death's Shadow in play as possible. With the help of Mausoleum Secrets and only one creature in your graveyard you will be able to search your library for Death's Shadow, put it in your hand and potentially play it on the same turn.
Living End
The same strategy can be applied in the Living End decks that can help you search for the Living End sorcery. Since this deck can quickly put many cycled creatures into your graveyard, finding what you need will not be a problem.
Mission Briefing
This spell is not better than Snapcaster Mage as it doesn't have the 2/1 body with Flash, but in the right deck Mission Briefing could show even better results. Here's where you should try it out.
Blue-White Miracles
The beautiful thing about Mission Briefing is that it can target other spells with the same name in your graveyard chaining them into a long surveil train. At the end of it you will still have the chance to cast any other instant or sorcery in your graveyard. But for that you will need a lot of mana, of course.
Jeskai Pyromancer
This is another great deck for Mission Briefing that requires a lot of cheap non-creature spells in order to make a small army of elemental tokens with the help of Young Pyromancer.
Knight of Autumn
Modern players rejoiced when this card was revealed. It has three abilities that are all relevant in the format. Here are a couple of decks that will gladly accept Knight of Autumn into their lists.
Collected Company
Knight of Autumn can be played in different variants of Collected Company decks that utilize both white and green colors. It will find its rightful place amongst such cards like Knight of the Reliquary and Gavony Township.
Green-White Knights
Knight Exemplar and Aether Vial make up a fantastic Knight tribal deck, to which Knight of Autumn would be a perfect addition. The deck has to be played in a rather aggressive manner using such enchantments like History of Benalia and Rancor.
Risk Factor
Risk Factor is a risky card! Well, not for you but for your opponent. It's similar in effect to Vexing Devil, a frequent choice for some of the most aggressive decks in Modern. So you may already see where it's going.
Madness Burn
The Risk Factor's Jump-Start ability synergizes the best with Madness decks that use cards like Firey Temper and Alms of the Vein. Here you can discard cards and pay less mana for your burn spells. This kind of deck can also work well alongside such cards like Hollow One and Vengevine.
Mardu Pyromancer
Just like Mission Briefing in Jeskai variant of the deck, Risk Factor will work great in the Mardu List. That damage won't even matter as soon as you can draw six cards off one copy of Risk Factor.
Unmoored Ego
There has been a healthy dose of similar cards in Magic: The Gathering in the past, but the difference is that Unmoored Ego can target lands, including basic ones. This opens up some amazing opportunities for completely ruining your opponent's entire gameplan.
Grixis Control
Grixis lists ought to have at least two copies of Unmoored Ego in their main decks. Tron and Valakut decks will find it hard to win a game without their precious lands. In such cases Unmoored Ego without exaggeration will serve as your number one win condition.
Sultai Control
A similar goal can be achieved in Sultai variant with a slightly more aggressive approach using Tarmogoyf, Grim Flayer and Scavenging Ooze.
Ritual of Soot
There are some fantastic AoE removal spells in the Modern format (e.g. Damnation). But the problem with these types of spells is that they remove all creatures. On the other hand, Ritual of Soot can become a very fine tool in the right deck that will leave your own creatures untouched.
Mono-Black Control
Equip your deck with Phyrexian Obliterator, Kalitas, Gurmag Angler and Tasigur. When you need to remove dozens of token blockers from your opponent's side, then use Ritual of Soot and attack freely. That's what makes Ritual of Soot so special.
Black-Green Midrange
Another possibility is to play with green bests, such as Nullhide Ferox, Obstinate Baloth, Thragtusk, etc. In this case you can also rely on Assassin's Trophy as your additional removal.
Venerated Loxodon
Potentially you could cast Venerated Loxodon for one white mana, and put four +1/+1 counters on four creatures that helped you cast it. This means that Modern token-based decks may have found a new lord.
Green-White Tokens
Guilds of Ravnica brought some very good token-generating cards in these two colors, such as March of the Multitudes, Emmara, and Ledev Champion. Combine them with a few old staples, such as Voice of Resurgence and Tendershoot Dryad, and you will have some really powerful things happening on your side of the board.
Black-White Tokens
If you like to include some removal in your deck as well, then black-white variant may fit your playstyle better with such cards like Hanweir Militia Captain, Squadron Hawk and Lingering Souls.
---
That is all on the 9 best Guilds of Ravnica cards for Modern format, and for other Magic: The Gathering guides at GameSkinny, check out the list below:
Published: Sep 27, 2018 09:03 am