Hello folks! Are you ready for Modern Horizons? Crazy fun time is about to begin! Ready for Sealed and Draft? Are you ready for a fun injection into your Cube? Kitchen Table? Commander decks? Modern FNMs? Great!

I know some folks that look at Modern as mostly a tournament format for local or bigger events may be looking at Modern Horizons, as not having enough gas for the tank. I suspect that's because our era is all about the quick hit and fix. We do a quick review, and then give a gut reaction, and then move on. But this is a set about playing. We talk about things as a community long before they debut - we come up with lists and cards that we think are the most "obvious" or best additions to the format. Ever since this set's core concept was debuted months ago, we've talked about it. Modern needs Force of Will! Pernicious Deed! Rishadan Port! Whatever you fancy and prefer. And then it's not there, and you quickly at the other cards and see Commander plants, and Limited cards, and then you head on out the door. But that's not being fair to WOTC or to this set.

Modern Masters was such a good set because Wizards needed to do something unique and unusual. Prove that one of the most despised decisions in their company's history was just a one-ofs. That Chronicles was never going to happen again. They had learned their lesson. MM1 was the first set since the reviled Chronicles almost ended this game to be a fully reprinted set that was not a Core set that intended to include weaker cards and be a part of Standard.

In order to sell that idea, Wizards did everything they could to make it a success. Limited print run. Added most of the best cards ever made for Modern. Made one of the best draft formats ever. They had to sell us that MM would work, and they did. The problem? There was nothing they could pull off for an encore. None of the other sets were as good in Limited. None of the other sets had as much of a reprint cachet as they did. Even its suggested retail price was low. They couldn't follow it up with something as good as the first time, much like the Masterpieces series. Well, I suspect that Wizards learned their lesson for MH1. They aren't going to make the perfect set, with all of the strongest reprints, new cards, and more. Instead, they are going to print a set that has many sexy old cards like Fact or Fiction, alongside some sexy new cards, such as Sword of Truth and Justice, with the goal of impacting folks in lots of places.

They learned, and MH1 is likely the result!

And it looks like a bag of fun too!

So let's get this party started. I have a five-set of decks for you below featuring cards from Modern Horizons. Want to take a look see? Of course you do!

My first deck is light around Lightning Skelemental, or as I like to call it, Ball Blightning as it's a combo of Ball Lightning and Blightning. It's fun! I enjoy the potential face punchery of a Ball Lightning that will also strip cards from your foe's face.

I have a Modern Burn deck that's Rakdos with Bump in the Night, Blightning and Kolaghan's Command, rather than Atarka's Command and Lightning Helix. So I thought I would add in Ball Blightning for you so you could take a look-see.

Ball Blightning | Modern | Abe Sargent

• Creatures (12)
• 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
• 4 Goblin Guide
• 4 Lightning Skelemental

• Instants (14)
• 2 Force of Rage
• 4 Kolaghan's Command
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Searing Blaze

• Sorceries (12)
• 4 Blightning
• 4 Bump in the Night
• 4 Lava Spike

• Artifacts (2)
• 2 Ensnaring Bridge

• Lands (20)
• 6 Mountain
• 6 Swamp
• 4 Blackcleave Cliffs
• 4 Bloodstained Mire

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Here you are! I kept in my three cards, as well as some of the normal burn elements. My local metagame needs maindeck answers to things that Bridge stops down, so I maindeck two to increase my likelihood of not dying and giving me enough time to draw gas to win. Enjoy!

What's next?

This is Pashalik Mons, one of the leaders of Goblins from way on back in the first set. I wanted to build a deck around him that creates a number of Goblin tokens and goes wide, in order to best use both of his abilities.

In this deck I want to run many bigger names in Goblins, such as Krenko, Squee, and Grenzo or even Tuktuk. Then we have some obvious choices like Siege-Gang Commander!

Here's muh list for you!

Mons's Goblin Toss | Casual | Abe Sargent

• Creatures (27)
• 1 Krenko, Mob Boss
• 1 Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
• 1 Tuktuk the Explorer
• 2 Goblin Matron
• 2 Goblin Trashmaster
• 2 Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
• 2 Legion Warboss
• 2 Squee, the Immortal
• 3 Pashalik Mons
• 3 Siege-Gang Commander
• 4 Beetleback Chief
• 4 Skirk Prospector

• Sorceries (8)
• 4 Goblin Grenade
• 4 Hordeling Outburst

• Enchantments (3)
• 3 Goblin Bombardment

• Lands (21)
• 21 Mountain

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Do you enjoy this Goblin Toss deck? You have multiple winning conditions in here. Hordeling Outburst is great for making three dorks, and you have the on-theme Goblin Bombardment that can help as well!

What's my third deck? And will it have Red in too? Will it also be a Mono-Red build?

Sure!

Hello Planebound Accomplice!

The best planeswalkers to use with this Sneak Attack for Planeswalkers are those that come into play already ready to use their ultimate, such as Gideon, Ally of Zendikar where you can -4 him as toss out his ultimate +1/+1 effect immediately on arrival for just a single Red mana. In this case we'll be using Sarkhan the Masterless to win. You drop a bunch of walkers with the Accomplice, and then Sarkhan's +1 will make them all 4/4 flying Dragons. Now, please note that they don't have haste. I am including multiple haste-granting 'Walkers, such as Sarkhan Vol as well as backup in Hammer of Purphoros.

Please note that this is a Mono-Red deck mostly. I included a few lands that will make all colors, in case you need to hard-cast something. Please note that I am also running Oath of Chandra as a fun backup win-con.

Sneak-A-Walker | Casual | Abe Sargent

• Creatures (8)
• 4 Chandra's Phoenix
• 4 Planebound Accomplice

• Planeswalkers (16)
• 1 Chandra, Fire Artisan
• 1 Domri, City Smasher
• 1 Samut, Tyrant Smasher
• 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
• 2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
• 2 Sarkhan Vol
• 3 Koth of the Hammer
• 4 Sarkhan the Masterless

• Sorceries] (4)
• 4 Light up the Stage

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Oath of Chandra

• Artifacts (5)
• 2 Hammer of Purphoros
• 3 The Chain Veil

• Lands (24)
• 20 Mountain
• 4 Mana Confluence

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There we are! I really enjoy the Phoenixes of Chandra to recur pain and gut punch someone. Enjoy your Sneak Attacking!

All right, enough Red? Are you sure? Fine!

How about we move to Red's enemies? This next deck couldn't be any less Red in concept.

I really enjoy Answered Prayers in a deck with a token-making land, such as the classic Kjeldoran Outpost. Nowhere does Answered Prayers mention that it requires a non-token dork, so you can trigger it by making a token with a land like the Outpost. The ability to gain life, and make two blockers whenever you need will keep folks away.

I'm envisioning this as a controlling suite of cards that care about being swept away by mass removal, such as Wrath of God and such. Let's toss in some Blue to give me some counters and similar board control.

Here we go!

Answered Outpost | Casual | Abe Sargent

• Creatures (4)
• 2 Heliod, God of the Sun
• 2 Oketra the True

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Gideon Blackblade

• Instants (18)
• 1 Repel Intruders
• 1 Teferi's Response
• 2 Depose // Deploy
• 2 Dismantling Blow
• 4 Absorb
• 4 Fact or Fiction
• 4 Swords to Plowshares

• Sorceries (6)
• 2 Wrath of God
• 4 Supreme Verdict

• Enchantments (5)
• 1 Legion's Landing
• 4 Answered Prayers

• Lands (26)
• 9 Island
• 9 Plains
• 4 Celestial Colonnade
• 4 Kjeldoran Outpost

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This deck uses sweeping spells like Supreme Verdict and Wrath of God to keep folks off balance while you build up tokens, or swing with your Colonnade. We also have Legion's Landing as well as two indestructible, token-making Gods for your consideration as well as Gideon Blackblade in a similar role. Note that, should you want, you could make this entire deck Modern legal by swapping Swords for Path to Exile, Teferi's Response for another counter, Wrath for Day of Judgment, and Outposts for more Landings. Enjoy!

All right, one more deck! Let do the one color I haven't given you yet in this article...

Ayula's Influence is obviously a call-out to Seismic Assault. We've had decks in the past that would combine Seismic Assault with effects that would return lands en masse to your hand, such as Life from the Loam. However, with the difficult mana cost of Assault now in the same color as Life, you can remove Red from the engine altogether, and use Ayula's Influence as your win-con.

So let's build a Mono-Green, Modern legal version of this deck.

Nissa's Triumph works very well here too as a two-drop that will grab you two Lands from your build. Something like Commune with the Gods is also neat because you can mill lands to your graveyard or Life from the Loam while also trying to find your Influence.

Here's what I tossed together for you quickly.

Bear's Assault | Modern | Abe Sargent

• Creatures (12)
• 4 Krosan Tusker
• 4 Llanowar Elves
• 4 Satyr Wayfinder

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Vivien Reid

• Sorceries (20)
• 2 Harmonize
• 2 Mulch
• 2 Regrowth
• 2 Wildest Dreams
• 4 Commune with the Gods
• 4 Life from the Loam
• 4 Nissa's Triumph

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Ayula's Influence

• Lands (24)
• 16 Forest
• 4 Desert of the Indomitable
• 4 Tranquil Thicket

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We have a number of fun graveyard infused options like Satyr Wayfinder and Vivien Reid alongside some recursive cards like Regrowth and Wildest Dreams. I hope this deck meets with your approval.

And there we are! What did you think of my five decks? Anything in there you want to build around, or suggestions you'd make? Just let me know!