Modern Power Rankings

 With Modern RCQ season coming up, and since I am bored and have some time, I decided to dive in to Modern's best decks. Here are the Modern Power Rankings, (at least in SoCal) for modern going into week one.

 I don't want to really beat around the bush, so here is a breakdown of the top 10 up front, and if you want to read on for details and reasoning, please feel free.

10. Breach (Prowess)

9. Living End

8. Hammertime

7. Yawgmoth Combo

6. Murktide

5. Amulet Titan

4. 4c Elementals

3. Scam

2. Rhinos

1. MonoGreen Tron

 I'll start off with what was left off. First: Burn. While undoubtedly a powerful strategy, I think burn does not have the consistency needed to put up results across a larger sample size of tournaments. However, it can certainly do well at any given tournament. I would not be surprised to see a skilled pilot win with burn, but I would be surprised to see consistent top 8s with the deck, which is what I personally value in evaluation of a deck's power level.

 Modern Creativity is a deck that used to be quite powerful, and while it still has its spots, I feel as though it has been in a downswing lately. Even though playing well gets you a lot of points, I believe you could do much better to playing one of the top 10 decks instead. It is almost the opposite of burn, where I think dedicated creativity players could actually see consistent top 8s, but the deck itself won't be the cause of those percentage points, and they might have more trouble against tougher top 8s.

 Lastly I want to talk about some of the recent Reanimator-Grief packages that have been running around. These decks feel like a worse version of Scam, and with the prevalence of fast combo, locks, scam, and better countermagic in the format, I think that the reanimator plan is not worth it. I think if you like this style of deck, you should probably consider just sleeving up scam and going to work.

10. Breach (Prowess)

 I think Prowess is a bit better within RCQ season than In a vacuum. It is an extremely punishing deck to play against, and should you let your shields drop for even a second to the myriad angles the deck can attack you from, you can often die on the spot. Additionally, being aggressive in these shorter, mid-sized tournaments against potentially unrefined decks and decks try to cut aggro considerations to hedge against the "bad" matchups is a good place to be. The deck is also very plug and play, and I think with good fundamentals and some time spent learning the basic lines (Breach -> bauble x4, Breach -> bolt x3, Breach -> ham sandwich) a solid player could spike an rcq and top 8 pretty consistently. While it suffers from some of the inconsistent draws of burn, it has less weaknesses and more hedges.

9. Living End

 Living End feels better than it actually is because of the insane G1 winrate, but if people in your region aren't prepared for it, this will absolutely crush swiss and even top8s. Conversely, when people are prepared, it loses a lot of points. Regardeless, the deck definitely loses points against its cascade cousin Rhinos, for being vulnerable to even more hate, even if it is a lot more deterministic upon resolving the cascade spell.

8. HammerTime

 Hammertime is the first deck we will do a more full-bodied analysis for. Hammertime is the premier aggro deck in the format. In a world of Furys and Solitudes, Hammer survives because of maindeck protection such as Giver of Runes and Surge of Salvation, and has the capability of killing as early as turn 2. There are a few different flavors, but the best Hammer player I know told me to start here, so here we are. I think this deck is not as good as it has been at various points in the past, but it is still capable of extremely explosive starts, draws, and finishes. It also pivots quicker than most decks can keep up with, going from the control deck to the combo deck extremely quickly. Urza's Saga on its own creates huge problems for the interactive decks that would normally do well against Hammertime, and maindecking future sight (Reality Chip) can lead to some pretty degenerate value for such an "all-in" aggro deck. You can usually play around one hammer. I've never beat the second.

7. Yawgmoth Combo

 I still think Yawgmoth is possibly the best deck in the format for any competent pilot with a reliable build. The biggest issues you'd face are not having slots for everything, a HEAVY reliance on the card Yawgmoth pre-board, and most of all, difficulty. A lot of the Yawg players I talk to insist the deck is not as hard as it seems, but from the outside looking in, the deck is extremely hard to optimally pilot. It should speak to the power level of the deck that I, who sincerely values playing less-skilled decks in order to not lose points, feel that despite its high ceiling it still belongs at 7. I will also say this deck is a one-trick kind of deck. Should you choose to play it, get a lot of practice (on paper AND mtgo), and get straight on the deck before taking it straight to an RCQ. If you've already been piloting it: great! I think this is a very justifiable deck and if you are good at it, you should Top8 pretty consistently.

6. Murktide

 This is my deck! I think I will be playing it most of the RCQ season. Murktide was on the downswing for a while, Including at the most recent Pro Tour, but since the unbanning of Preordain has contributed to its significant resurgence. Murktide is now arguably the most consistent "Jund" deck in the format, with matchups between 45 and 55% almost across the board, and the only difference between it and traditional midrange are the more explosive starts and proactive plays putting much more onus on your opponent. My list in particular is a built to shore up the matchup against Tron, but because of the nature of the deck, it also carries the most flex slots in the format (anywhere between 4-10 depending on who you ask). With an edge and a good build, Murktide should be consistently Top8-ing.

5. Amulet Titan

 I think Amulet Titan will be the biggest sleeper this season. It's good. The deck mostly hinges on how much more resilient the deck has become since adding The One Ring and sideboard Ents from LOTR, coupled with the also-recent pickup of The Mycosynth Gardens for even more explosiveness. There may be nothing scarier in this format than "gardens, amulet, go" on the play. I think this deck is in the same vein as Yawgmoth, however, where if you are going to play it, you should definitely get a lot of reps in before deploying it at your competitive REL events. All that being said, I think this is another one of those decks that will Top8 a lot in competent hands, and the first that can consistently threaten tournament wins outright.

4. 4cElementals

 I am personally not a fan, but SoCal is really high on this deck, and there are some excellent players who I really trust to play good decks playing this deck. 4c Elementals has a ton of flex slots, and playing the best free spells is undoubtedly powerful. Perhaps the lack of a cohesive winning gameplan is what turns me off, but even then, All the tough-to-answer cards makes this the other half of the "Jund" decks in modern right now. Whereas Murktide is an aggressive deck which can pivot to a tenuous control deck that aims to swing tempo, 4cE is a control deck which can attempt to play proactively with hard-to-interact-with planeswalkers. It also just plays a lot of the broken cards in the format right now. Good deck. Not much more to say about it.

3. Rakdos Scam

 Scam is probably my first controversial pick. Most people would label this deck as an outright #1. And to be fair, when it scams you on turn one, sure, it is. But people have started to board more hate for it, and are used to the play patterns, even going as far as adjusting removal to interact a lot more positively with the deck. That being said, this deck is extremely good, and has a lot of tools, and secretly a fair amount of play to it. I still think this is a great choice, should have consistent Top8s, and should be threatening a lot of invites and tournament wins.

2. Rhinos

 Flame of Anor brought Rhinos from borderline tier 2 to a definitive tier one. Having an excellent and always relevant modal card which happens to deal with the type of hate the deck historically struggled the most with (both Chalice of the Void and Dranith Magistrate / Lavinia) is such a boon. Drawing two cards is insane, and also just killing large things is super good. It's so good I honestly think putting up to three colorless lands in your main in game one is worth it just to proc Flame off of one of them. Since making its debut with the printing of Shardless Agent and elemental friends in MH2, this deck has been strong, but its Rhinos moment now. I think the consistency of this deck coupled with good play will make this an easy contender in any meta should you choose to make adjustments. Consistent Top8s, and always a threat to win a tournament in the hands of the right person.

1.  Tron

 This braindead pile of cards is back on top, folks. I hate it as much as you do. Doesn't matter if we cut threats, we got rings. Doesn't matter if we cut land searching, we got rings. Doesn't matter if we play cards that actively hurt us against the best answer to our deck in the format, we got rings, rings, and more rings. This is the deck which likely abuses the ring in the best way, as it not only plays the ring, but can routinely shut off opposing rings. Plenty of big stuff to make your opponent scoop while you make the super-intense decision of whether or not we're gonna play Ulamog or literally any other card in my hand this turn, then come to the conclusion that you should just play both.

 You wanna win an invite to Denver? Suck it up, play Tron and don't throw.

I'll post analysis of the SoCal RCQs I attend and their Top 8s, as well as general updates as to how I am doing throughout the season. My first one is on the 9th, and frankly, I don't think I'm prepared to do well, so we'll just see how this goes!