So Krark-Clan Ironworks got banned. Modern is about to change and everyone is wondering, “where do we go from here?” The banning of Krark-Clan Ironworks instead of enablers like Ancient Stirrings or Faithless Looting is likely going to further divide the Modern format into something more extreme than it already was: Ancient Stirrings vs. Faithless Looting.
You want to succeed in Modern, so where will you land? Well, you have a few strong options.
Amulet Titan
Amulet Titan has proven to be a strong and powerful deck leading up to the banning of Krark-Clan Ironworks. While Ancient Stirrings remains legal, Amulet Titan may be the deck with the most raw power in Modern. Being able to consistently play Primeval Titan (or even win) on turns two or three—that is the reason to play this deck.
Essentially, you produce a large amount of mana by playing multiple bounce lands with Azusa, Lost but Seeking and tapping them immediately for mana with Amulet of Vigor. Amulet Titan is a hard deck to “hate out” because it either wins before something like Blood Moon comes into play, or can use Summoner’s Pact to tutor for an answer to the hate card, like Reclamation Sage. The appeal of Amulet Titan is the power, but the deck is also extremely consistent with the help of cards like Summoner’s Pact, Ancient Stirrings, and Tolaria West. And Primeval Titan is an extremely difficult card to deal with for most decks. The easiest answer is Path to Exile, but other colors tend to struggle. Fatal Push does not work, and it takes at least two Lightning Bolts to do the job—to say nothing of the lands the titan has already fetched onto the battlefield.
Power, consistency, and hard to hate out. Those are the reasons Amulet Titan will likely be my next step in Modern.
Izzet Phoenix
You can also go in the Faithless Looting direction. Two of the best options you have here are Izzet Phoenix and Dredge. Both of these decks have a high power level, but they struggled to interact with Ironworks. Now that Ironworks is gone, Izzet Phoenix has the potential to become the best or second best deck in Modern until the format changes again.
The idea of Izzet Phoenix is to play a lot of cantrips like Opt, Faithless Looting, etc. to put one or more Arclight Phoenixes into your graveyard and have them enter the battlefield from there. The deck also uses cards like Thing in the Ice for additional spell-triggered win conditions. Izzet Phoenix has proven time and time again that is it a powerful deck, with numerous SCG Open Top 8s in the last few months.
Now with one of its harder matchups gone, Izzet Phoenix is one place you might want to be in Modern. Additionally, Izzet Phoenix has some important tools to deal with the decks rising in popularity. The deck can use Blood Moon from the sideboard to help the Amulet Titan matchup, and Thing in the Ice to help against Dredge. Power, alongside access to strong hate cards and answers, makes this deck a powerful contender in new Modern.
Dredge
Dredge has a long and complicated history in Modern. With multiple bans, unbans, and re-bans, Dredge has proven to be powerful and resilient. Dredge’s latest addition to the deck came with the printing of Creeping Chill in Guilds of Ravnica. Like Phoenix, Dredge’s downfall was largely associated with its poor Ironworks matchup, along with decks like Spirits that can use graveyard hate and pressure efficiently. With Krark-Clan Ironworks banned and potentially fewer Spirits players, Dredge is once again a runner in the “best deck” race.
Dredge relies on dumping cards into the graveyard with the dredge mechanic and putting creatures like Prized Amalgam and Bloodghast into play from there. The deck can be very explosive and has good matchups against decks that can’t keep up. Dredge also has the ability to function through graveyard hate, as well as many avenues to remove graveyard hate such as Nature’s Claim and Assassin’s Trophy in the sideboard.
Power level and resiliency, accompanied by losing some of its rough matchups, are reasons to consider Dredge moving forward in Modern.
Burn
I am throwing in an honorary mention for Burn. (Yes, I know this deck doesn’t play Ancient Stirrings or Faithless Looting). Modern Burn received a few new cards in Ravnica Allegiance that could see competitive play. Skewer the Critics and Light up the Stage take advantage of the new mechanic Spectacle and how well it fits into the Burn strategy.
Every card in Burn has the potential to enable Spectacle. Adding four additional Lightning Bolts via Skewer the Critics is an extremely powerful addition to Burn. Also, Light up the Stage has proven to be an extremely underrated and powerful card. Paying one mana for two cards is exactly what Burn has been looking for in that type of card. Adding more burn spells and convenient card advantage levels up the deck and makes it a serious consideration in the upcoming weeks.
While there are likely many appropriate choices for diving into new Modern, these four options are the decks I would consider in this transition period. Decks with high power, consistency, and resiliency are going to be the most successful options moving forward.
Ally Warfield is a Magic grinder and personality. She is an up-and-coming grinder with an impressive range in terms of archetype selection. You can find her on Twitter @ArcticMeebo.