Hey everyone!

I'm back after a brief hiatus due to work commitments. I also wanted to let the dust settle as Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty has shaken up the format. Brewing isn't my strong suit; I'm more adept at analyzing an existing format.

The spells in Neon Dynasty aren't amazing for Modern, but the lands are sure to have an impact. When mana bases change the spells will follow. Boseju, Who Endures may appear innocuous, but the top decks are due to change. It puts the nasty in Neon Dynasty.

Let's get started!

Temurktide

Harlan Firer got tenth place at the SCG Modern 10k with a cool take on Murktide. Modern is such a diverse format that there's no reason to play a deck that doesn't fit your style. Izzet Murktide plays a ton of cards I enjoy casting, but I didn't like the overall strategy. I took note when Tarmogoyf was added because I prefer to cast powerful spells instead of heavily relying on tempo.

Here's his list:

Temur Murktide | Modern | Harlan Firer

• Creatures (15)
• 3 Murktide Regent
• 4 Dragon's Rage Channeler
• 4 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
• 4 Tarmogoyf

• Instants (19)
• 3 Archmage's Charm
• 4 Consider
• 4 Counterspell
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Unholy Heat

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Expressive Iteration

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Mishra's Bauble

• Lands (18)
• 2 Snow-Covered Island
• 2 Breeding Pool
• 3 Spirebluff Canal
• 3 Steam Vents
• 4 Polluted Delta
• 4 Scalding Tarn

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Veil of Summer
• 2 Alpine Moon
• 2 Engineered Explosives
• 2 Fury
• 3 Spell Pierce
• 2 Natural State
• 2 Dress Down

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Izzet Murktide plays the most efficient spells where possible so there aren't many slots up for debate even when adding a third color.

Tarmogoyf is a natural fit for the deck because there are lands, sorceries, instants, creatures, and artifacts that can be added to the graveyard early. A 5/6 is able to hold the fort against a swath of creatures or act as an additional threat against combo.

There are slight tensions between Murktide Regent and Tarmogoyf, but you already want to keep unique card types for delirium. The Goyf also relies on opposing graveyards; it hasn't been an issue so far.

Aspiringspike popularized a take on Izzet Murktide with four Archmage's Charm and two Fury. Harlan basically cut the two Fury, the fourth Charm, and the fourth Murktide Regent to make room for the Goyfs.

There are still eighteen lands in the deck. The two Breeding Pools are enough to cast the four Tarmogoyf because you can also lean on Ragavan's treasure to find Green mana. A mistake I made early on was not fetching Steam Vents aggressively enough. There are still twenty Red spells and I don't want to be constrained on color.

The sideboard gets a few new tools thanks to the Green splash.

Veil of Summer is a huge upgrade against Grixis Shadow as Terminate is the natural predator of Murktide Regent. It can also help against Azorius Control which is one of the scariest matchups. Adding extra Green spells against decks with Spreading Seas is mitigated because Veil can counter the enchantment.

Natural State is an old favorite of mine. It can kill Urza's Saga for one mana as well as Rest in Peace and Sigarda's Aid. Izzet Murktide was forced to play Brazen Borrower and excessive amounts of Engineered Explosives because Blue and Red can't kill enchantments efficiently.

Alpine Moon is a reasonable anti-big mana hate card with Boseiju in the format because of the small investment. The drawback to splashing Green in the previous Modern format is that Blood Moon would be too much of a liability to cast. This is no longer the case as Amulet and Tron can kill your 3-drop with Boseiju. Blood Moon already had a fail rate and Boseiju lowers the amount of times it wins the game.

Another option to fight Amulet Titan is an Aether Gust or two as it beats Cavern of Souls and plays best in tempo decks. I expect to see Gust's stock go up in the short run to fight the influx of Boseiju decks. I think Dress Down is slightly better in this deck and can also be solid against Amulet Titan. The enchantment can boost Tarmogoyf, but remember it will become an 0/1 when it's on the battlefield. If Hammertime becomes less popular thanks to Boseiju I can see moving to Aether Gust.

I prefer Fury in the sideboard because the ability is not live in every matchup. It's a great option to bring in against Yawgmoth decks which are fairly well-positioned against Hammertime and Grixis Shadow.

Three Spell Pierce looks like a lot, but plays very well with Tarmogoyf. You can cast a Goyf on the third turn and protect it from Teferi, Time Raveler. The graveyard hate options are worse in Temur because Relic of Progenitus doesn't work with both Goyf and Murktide. This means you need help in other ways against Living End and Dredge.

The SCG Modern 10k in Philadelphia took place before Neon Dynasty was legal in paper events. I wouldn't make any changes to this list as there isn't any room for channel lands in the mana base.

Overall, I think Murktide is in a good position as it's a pile of good cards that can close out the game quickly against Big Mana decks. This is important in the short run as players will need to adjust how they fight Primeval Titan. Goyf will help give the deck more staying power against removal-heavy strategies as Murktide is no longer the only fat creature. I miss the days of casting Tarmogoyf and holding up Counterspell.

Temur Rhinos | Modern | Kyle Boggemes

• Creatures (16)
• 2 Seasoned Pyromancer
• 2 Subtlety
• 4 Brazen Borrower
• 4 Fury
• 4 Shardless Agent

• Instants (16)
• 1 Prismari Command
• 3 Dead // Gone
• 4 Fire // Ice
• 4 Force of Negation
• 4 Violent Outburst

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Crashing Footfalls

• Lands (24)
• 1 Forest
• 1 Mountain
• 2 Island
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Ketria Triome
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 2 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 2 Gemstone Caverns
• 2 Steam Vents
• 3 Scalding Tarn
• 3 Wooded Foothills
• 4 Misty Rainforest

• Sideboard (15)
• 4 Mystical Dispute
• 4 Endurance
• 4 Force of Vigor
• 2 Thrun, the Last Troll
• 1 Dead // Gone

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Rhinos is back on the menu now that Azorius Control is less popular. The unfavorable matchup against Grixis Shadow was also overstated. Rhinos puts you to the test and it does so very quickly.

The simple mana requirements enable us to play the powerful channel lands from Neon Dynasty. Blood Moon was fairly stock in Temur Rhinos which I don't think will be the case thanks to Boseiju once again. I never liked Moon to begin with so I now feel more confident in excluding them.

I still need at least one of every basic land to fetch without shocking despite Blood Moon's stock tanking. Don't get too carried away with greed.

Boseiju works well in Temur Rhinos as it can destroy Urza's Saga, Chalice of the Void, and Engineered Explosives. I can play a single Forest because Blood Moon is no longer in the deck which gives me room for two Boseiju. At the same time, Rhinos doesn't play any critical artifacts and enchantments for opposing Boseiju to target.

Otawara, Soaring City has received less attention than Boseiju, but still has a place in Temur Rhinos. I can bounce a Teferi, Time Raveler at the end of turn to set up for a cascade. It's also another way to get around large blockers like Tarmogoyf, Murktide Regent, Death's Shadow, and Constructs.

Subtlety is replacing Blood Moon as the extra interaction against Big Mana decks. I'm now able to pitch Force of Negation in Game 1 against creature decks. The channel lands leave less room for dual lands, but Subtlety is easy to cast.

Prismari Command is typically not my favorite card to play in the maindeck, but I wanted another Blue card for Subtlety. Cryptic Command and Archmage's Charm are harder to cast thanks to Boseiju.

I've seen more Bonecrusher Giants over Dead // Gone recently. Please stop doing this. A 4/3 creature will not be the difference between winning and losing in a pre-boarded matchup where dealing two damage to a creature isn't relevant.

Force of Vigor in the sideboard is a big draw to Rhinos at the moment. If Blood Moon will no longer get the job done against Amulet Titan then Force is the way to beat them. The Hammertime matchup is also close, but I suspect bonking the opponent is not a great thing to be doing in the short run.

Thrun, the Last Troll is the only hammer that interests me at the moment. Even if Azorius Control flies under the radar in the short run I expect an uptick in Mon(k)eyPile thanks to the Wrenn and Six interaction with Boseiju.

Azorius Control may be a safer choice in a diverse metagame compared to Mon(k)eyPile. The issue is that it's rarely a good idea to fight the tide of the metagame. If Wrenn and Six synergizes with Boseiju I would first let that run its course before picking it up.

Grixis Shadow is still a safe choice in Modern, but the influx of Green decks in the short run does not bode well. More Green decks means more Veil of Summer and Wrenn and Six.

While I expect to face more Mon(k)eyPile I would suspect it succeeds largely in competitive events only. I've played Yorion Pile decks at my LGS and the wide open metagame doesn't suit these types of reactive decks. There's also a tension with playing too many channel lands and Ice-Fang Coatl. These new lands are powerful, but they aren't free.

I've been talking a lot about Amulet Titan as I suspect the increased power level will lead to stronger results in the short run. Here's an example of how it's being built today:

Amulet Titan | Modern | Kyle Boggemes

• Creatures (14)
• 1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
• 1 Tireless Tracker
• 4 Arboreal Grazer
• 4 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
• 4 Primeval Titan

• Instants (4)
• 4 Summoner's Pact

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Explore

• Artifacts (6)
• 1 Expedition Map
• 1 Relic of Progenitus
• 4 Amulet of Vigor

• Lands (34)
• 3 Forest
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Cavern of Souls
• 1 Crumbling Vestige
• 1 Golgari Rot Farm
• 1 Selesnya Sanctuary
• 1 Verdant Catacombs
• 1 Vesuva
• 1 Wooded Foothills
• 2 Tolaria West
• 2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
• 3 Castle Garenbrig
• 4 Gruul Turf
• 4 Simic Growth Chamber
• 4 Urza's Saga
• 2 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 2 Cultivator Colossus

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Force of Vigor
• 2 Endurance
• 1 Cavern of Souls
• 1 Relic of Progenitus
• 1 Bojuka Bog
• 2 Veil of Summer
• 2 Engineered Explosives
• 1 Emrakul, the Promised End
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1 Radiant Fountain
• 1 Blast Zone

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The most important point to remember about Amulet Titan is the deck is hard to play. Decks like this have win percentages artificially depressed by bandwagon pilots that don't understand how to play each matchup. I've also noticed over the years that Titan players are quick to say their deck is unplayable and that most matchups are bad. I've been told Shadow is a bad matchup for Amulet, but I feel that it's close.

Boseiju being in the deck hurts your goldfish draws, but does increase resiliency. It's a Forest that doesn't work with Castle Garenbrig. Blood Moon was a huge issue for the deck, but it might be correct in the future to play fewer Boseiju in the future as the amount of Moons wane.

I've seen an influx of Tireless Trackers to fight Boseiju. When your core game plan is more likely to be disrupted it's more important to lean on card advantage.

I don't expect Amulet Titan or any other deck to dominate the metagame thanks to Boseiju as there are plenty of great ways to interact with Green monsters. Amulet is a powerful, proactive strategy that I suggest you respect in your next Modern event.

That's all I have for today. Modern will be shaken up yet again by just a single card, Boseiju. The format will continue to be healthy despite this. Play what you like.

Thanks for reading!

-Kyle