The Pillars of Modern: Top 5 Decks and How to Beat Them
Modern is taking centre stage with the Ultimate Guard European Magic Series Regional Championship 2 in Prague fast approaching this weekend. The format has undergone significant changes recently, with several bans and surprising unbans shaking up the metagame. As we prepare for this exciting event, it’s clear that the shifting landscape will make for some thrilling matches and unexpected outcomes.
Thijs Weytens
Thijs Weytens
Thijs Weytens
Top 5 Modern Decks
Let’s take a closer look at the top 5 Modern decks dominating the metagame right now, explore how recent changes have shaped them, and uncover the best strategies to take them down.
1. Boros Energy
Despite losing Jegantha, the Wellspring, Amped Raptor and The One Ring, Boros Energy remains atop the metagame and is undoubtedly the deck to beat this weekend. The deck thrives on a strong aggressive early game, with cards like Guide of Souls, Ocelot Pride and Ajani, Nacatl Pariah working together seamlessly to build an unrelenting stream of attackers. The deck also has a strong sense of inevitability, driven by Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury, working as a sweet curve-topper. If you Escape it with Arena of Glory, you’re getting 6 damage in even before combat damage has been dealt! This aggression is paired with efficient removal options like Galvanic Discharge and Static Prison, while the deck also functions as a Blood Moon deck.
Players have been adopting Seasoned Pyromancer or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker as a grindy card to replace The One Ring, while the blank space that Amped Raptor left is now filled with cards like Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer or more removal. However, this shift towards going wide with more tokens has made Boros more vulnerable to cheap board wipes like Engineered Explosives, Pyroclasm, or Toxic Deluge. Targeted graveyard hate is also essential, as an unchecked Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury can quickly take over the game.
2. Dimir Oculus
Already a solid choice before the Banned & Restricted announcement on December 16, Dimir Oculus has grown stronger with a slightly improved matchup against Boros Energy. The deck leverages Psychic Frog and Abhorrent Oculus as resilient, standalone threats, backed by a suite of counterspells and efficient removal like Fatal Push. Cantrips like Consider and Thought Scour keep the deck consistent, while at the same time filling the graveyard, with Unearth providing both resiliency and a chance to give the deck a very strong opening via a turn 2 Abhorrent Oculus.
This deck underwent a significant evolution with the release of Duskmourn: House of Horror in September. Previously, Murktide Regent was the undisputed powerhouse of the build, working hand-in-hand with Psychic Frog to dominate games. However, the arrival of Abhorrent Oculus, with its excellent synergy with Unearth, has reshaped the deck’s priorities. Murktide Regent now finds itself demoted to a secondary role, often appearing as just two copies—or even none at all. While a handful of players still champion the older, more controlling approach, it’s clear that the Oculus variant has captured the spotlight and is now the preferred strategy for most.
Although the straight Dimir deck was unaffected by the banned cards, some players began exploring the potential of the newly unbanned Faithless Looting. This improves the early consistency of your Unearth plan, by allowing you to discard Abhorrent Oculus. It also enables a quick flip of Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student and fuels your graveyard for Murktide Regent. However, this comes at the cost of introducing a third colour, which might outweigh the benefits.
Getting the better of this deck demands one of three approaches: adopting a grindier game plan, overwhelming them in the early game, or navigating their interaction with meticulous precision. Always keep track of the number of cards in their graveyard when you have graveyard removal, as this can shut down their attempts to play Oculus or Murktide. Play around Force of Negation by casting spells during their upkeep, and prioritise threats they find difficult to answer, such as Grist, the Hunger Tide or Goblin Bombardment.
3. Temur Grinding Breach Combo
Best described as a combo/control hybrid, Temur Breach is the biggest winner of the latest B&R update. It had been a solid underdog before, utilising The One Ring as a strong midrange tool, but with the unbanning of Mox Opal and Faithless Looting, the deck gained incredible speed and consistency, with the ability to combo off on turn 2.
The core combo involves Underworld Breach, Grinding Station, and any of the 8 Moxen, generating 10-15 mana and milling your deck. The win conditions are typically Thassa’s Oracle or Grapeshot. Outside the combo, the deck grinds well with cards like Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student and Emry, Lurker of the Loch generating card advantage.
Moreover, you’re also a Urza’s Saga deck. Playing the Saga on turn 2 and creating two sizable Constructs is a strong play against both Boros Energy and Dimir Oculus. This tactic not only diverts attention from your primary game plan but also potentially opens a window for you to execute your combo.
To beat this deck, note that the combo is relying heavily on the graveyard. Prioritize cheap interaction like Grafdigger’s Cage, Chalice of the Void, Drannith Magistrate or Consign to Memory. Consign is particularly strong because it disables Urza’s Saga and can counter both Thassa’s Oracle’s enter-the-battlefield effect and Grapeshot’s Storm trigger.
You must also be prepared for their grindy midgame and have the ability to turn off their card advantage. Boros Energy handles this well with its fast clock and efficient removal.
4. Eldrazi Ramp
The Big Mana archetype in Modern has long been dominated by Urzatron, but now sees competition from Eldrazi Ramp. With the loss of The One Ring this deck had to pivot from its grindy gameplan to a full-blown ramp strategy, aiming to bypass the middle game entirely and jump straight to casting colossal Eldrazi.
The deck accelerates mana with Utopia Sprawl, Talismans, and 8 ‘Sol-lands’, aiming to cast massive threats like Devourer of Destiny, World Breaker and Emrakul, the Promised End. Sowing Mycospawn bridges the midgame while enabling flexible land tutoring for cards like Bojuka Bog or Shifting Woodland. For instance, if you milled an Emrakul, the Promised End with Malevolent Rumble, Shifting Woodland can become a copy of Emrakul and come in for an unexpected 13-damage swing!
In addition to the primary Ramp strategy, the deck also has the versatile Karn, the Great Creator in its arsenal. This provides you with a plethora of options from the sideboard, allowing you to adapt and respond to various threats and situations during the game. Kozilek’s Return and Kozilek’s Command provide some interaction in the midgame, with the latter providing you enough Eldrazi Spawns to ramp into your big Eldrazi on the next turn. Finally, Malevolent Rumble, Ancient Stirrings and Devourer of Destiny add consistency in finding the cards you need at any given point.
To counter Eldrazi Ramp, go under their curve or attack their mana base with cards like Blood Moon, Harbinger of the Seas or even Break the Ice. Interaction like Consign to Memory can provide huge tempo swings because it can counter their 7-drop together with the cast triggers.
5. Belcher
The only true dedicated combo deck in the top 5, Belcher is all-in on one plan: resolve Goblin Charbelcher, activate it, and target your opponent for a whopping 40-45 damage. How does the deck achieve this? It doesn’t play any actual lands! The entire mana base consists of Modal Double-Face Cards that are lands on one side and spells on the other. Since the introduction of MDFCs in Zendikar Rising in 2020, more have been released in recent sets, most notably a full cycle in Modern Horizons 3 that can enter play untapped. This innovative design has made Belcher decks viable in Modern. Despite not gaining anything from the recent bans and unbans, the deck is rapidly becoming one of the defining pillars of today’s metagame.
Because this is a ‘1-card combo’ deck, the strategy is laser-focused on that singular plan. You play Lotus Bloom to help you ramp to the seven-mana threshold, Whir of Invention to cheat Lotus Bloom into play and Tameshi, Reality Architect to repeatedly bring Lotus Bloom back from your graveyard.
Beyond that, the deck boasts all the free interaction spells Blue can offer, including Disrupting Shoal, Pact of Negation, Flare of Denial and Force of Negation. Jwari Disruption and Sink into Stupor serve double duty as both interaction and lands. This is all neatly tied together with Fallaji Archaeologist and Thundertrap Trainer, who help you find the missing pieces and act as sacrifice fodder for Flare of Denial.
To beat this deck, you must carefully navigate your interaction, as Belcher itself plays a lot of interaction. Effective cards include Disruptor Flute, Pithing Needle, Collector Ouphe, Karn the Great Creator as well as general discard and counterspells in general. There are some silver bullets out there like Undercity Informer, which can single-handedly defeat Belcher so if you’re keen on taking down that deck, the tools are definitely at your disposal. Belcher is also not a combo deck that can win on turn two, so it’s possible to go under them and secure victory even before they have a chance to combo off.
Conclusion
The most fascinating takeaway from this top 5 is that each deck offers a uniquely different play style. You’ve got the all-out aggressive Boros Energy, the Tempo/Control finesse of Dimir Oculus, the Combo/Control ingenuity of Temur Breach, the big mana ramp extravaganza of Eldrazi Ramp, and finally, the dedicated Combo deck in Belcher.
With such a variety of strategies represented, it’s a fantastic reflection of the diverse environment in Modern right now. Beyond the five most popular decks, Modern is a format brimming with dozens of viable strategies. A master of any strategy can excel in any given Modern tournament, considering the immense play skill involved in this deep format.
Curious to see which deck will reign supreme at the Ultimate Guard European Magic Series Regional Championship in Prague? Tune in to the livestreams on Twitch or YouTube all weekend to find out!
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