The shape of Modern has changed substantially since Splinter Twin was banned many months ago. The deck walked an interesting line between tempo, combo, and control, and was frequently able to customize its gameplan to fit the matchup, particularly after sideboarding. The lack of a deck that can effectively play control against midrange while still racing linear decks has allowed all manner of wacky decks to come out of the woodworks, but also substantially improved the power of the all-in decks. The big question looming over Modern right now is this: can Saheeli Rai take the place of Splinter Twin in the metagame?

Jeskai Saheeli - Modern | Kittle_Ling, 5-0 Modern League

• Creatures (11)
• 2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
• 2 Wall of Omens
• 3 Snapcaster Mage
• 4 Felidar Guardian

• Planeswalkers (4)
• 4 Saheeli Rai

• Instants (15)
• 1 Cryptic Command
• 1 Dispel
• 1 Logic Knot
• 2 Lightning Helix
• 2 Remand
• 2 Spell Snare
• 3 Lightning Bolt
• 3 Path to Exile

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Serum Visions

• Enchantments (3)
• 3 Spreading Seas

• Lands (23)
• 1 Mountain
• 1 Plains
• 3 Island
• 1 Arid Mesa
• 1 Glacial Fortress
• 1 Hallowed Fountain
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 2 Celestial Colonnade
• 2 Scalding Tarn
• 2 Spirebluff Canal
• 2 Steam Vents
• 2 Sulfur Falls
• 4 Flooded Strand

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Blessed Alliance
• 1 Celestial Purge
• 1 Engineered Explosives
• 1 Jace, Architect of Thought
• 1 Negate
• 1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
• 1 Timely Reinforcements
• 1 Vendilion Clique
• 1 Wear // Tear
• 2 Anger of the Gods
• 2 Shadow of Doubt
• 2 Stony Silence

Buy This Deck

All of that said, the ability to play a combo deck that fits into a control shell is powerful, as we’ve seen with Nahiri, the Harbinger before. Add to that the options that you gain by adding White to the deck, and this is still a very reasonable place to be in the format. In fact, one of the interesting things about this deck now is that you aren’t as incentivized to maximize the number of instants that you’re playing. Consequently, you gain access to powerful midrange threats like Pia and Kiran Nalaar and efficient disruption like Spreading Seas.

If you want to play a control deck with a combo finish, you’ve got plenty of options right now between Scapeshift, Saheeli Rai, and Nahiri, the Harbinger, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. But if you want something that can win quickly while not consuming a large number of slots in your deck, this is a very good shell to accomplish that.