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Main » Articles » Who Needs Lurrus?

Who Needs Lurrus?

Kyle Boggemes
Posted on March 16, 2022
 Reddit

Hey everyone!

Now that we've had a chance to digest the news of Lurrus getting the axe in Modern, it's time to look at the effects. Lurrus was the strongest card in the format by a fair margin, but I'm going to show the format hasn't changed as much as it may appear.

Lurrus had a Twitter target on its head so it was a way for WOTC to appease us in the short run. Most of our three-mana pet cards that weren't seeing Modern play was because time has passed us by and not our favorite cat companion.

Lurrus doesn't often shine in the first game of a match because many matchups are like two ships passing in the night. Three mana is a lot of pay for an extra card unless the matchup is about attrition.

Today I'm going to talk about Hammertime and Grixis Death's Shadow updates as they have the potential to be hardest hit.

Esper Hammer

Hammertime didn't utilize Lurrus effectively in the first game because it relies on the opponent to interact with your permanents due to the lack of Mishra's Bauble and Dragon's Rage Channeler. Your plan is to get them dead quickly. Lurrus was stronger in post-board games because that's where Force of Vigors and other power interaction came to play.

Here's the list I would recommend:

Esper Hammer | Modern | Kyle Boggemes

I still stand by the Esper variant of Hammertime because the mana is good enough to play the best spells. The overall shell of the deck remains the same as Lurrus was a nice bonus.

Hammertime no longer plays a companion because the other options are too restrictive for this strategy.

There have been many questions on social media about Thoughtseize. My take on Thoughtseize is the other forms of maindeck interaction- Prismatic Ending, Spell Pierce, and Blacksmith's Skill- hinge on the opponent acting first. Thoughtseize can be cast on the first turn as to not disrupt your curve. It continues to be the only way I want to play Hammertime.

The Reality Chip is the second splash, Blue. When Lurrus was in Hammertime, there weren't many options for grindy equipment. Before The Reality Chip was printed we were forced to use Cranial Plating. Now we have a wealth of options with the Chip and Lurrus removing the casting cost restriction. I still believe Chip is a good splash because I want Blue in the board for hate bears.

I've been happy with Nettlecyst as the other option for a grindy piece of equipment. In the past I played two copies of the Reality Chip so I can shift focus away from the Hammer combo against decks with Archmage's Charm when needed. Nettlecyst is a great 60th card because it's both an artifact and a creature to tap with Springleaf Drum.

Another option for a maindeck grindy equipment is Sword of Fire and Ice. It can take some work to set up equipping it to a creature so I play Nettlecyst against a wide audience. I like to board in SoFI against Murktide and Control decks.

Kaldra Compleat is an option, but I'm not a fan. There is already a wealth of powerful equipment options, but this only works with Stoneforge Mystic on the battlefield. Nettlecyst is already a pretty beefy equipment with Living Weapon, but plays more naturally with the deck. Against removal decks I would be afraid to fetch Kaldra because a 1/2 Stoneforge is vulnerable. Combo decks are too fast to care about Kaldra; even if Stoneforge is activated a 5/5 is slower than a Hammer.

It's possible to board in Kaldra in the Hammertime mirror, but the opponent will be ready with Path, Prismatic Ending, and now March of Otherworldly Light. You would need both Stoneforge Mystic and Puresteel Paladin to equip after the germ is exiled. Kaldra was better in mirrors when the post board games revolved around Lurrus recurring Seal of Cleansing.

Just because you can play a bunch of three-mana permanents doesn't mean you should. Modern is still an incredibly fast, efficient format.

I made a slight tweak to the mana base with the banning of Lurrus. Concealed Courtyard was stronger than extra copies of Silent Clearing because Lurrus was an additional mana sink. Now that I don't need as much mana toward the end of the game I can play additional Horizon lands.

Urza's Saga is a good place to be at the moment. Grixis Death's Shadow is a tricky matchup because Dress Down undoes most of your work on making Karnstructs. As players decide the optimal Shadow lists you can expect fewer Dress Downs since they don't play well with Murktide Regent. I still want four Dress Down in any Shadow list I play.

Spreading Seas is also less popular as Boseiju, Who Endures and March of Otherworldly Light provide interaction for Tron lands and Urza's Saga. Seas was the scariest form of interaction for Urza's Saga as it destroys the land and the opponent draws a card.

In the sideboard I'm moving away from Seal of Cleansing as there's no longer a combo with Lurrus. The mirror match will speed up after sideboard as a result. March of Otherworldly Light is proving to be the most impactful card from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty as I can now interact with Urza's Saga for just one mana.

It's a moving target on the number of Sanctifier en-Vecs. Dredge is still pushed out of the format because we play Sanctifier at all and other graveyard decks have adapted to not use many Black or Red cards. Grixis Shadow is still one of the decks to beat and Sanctifier will be worth the slots.

March of Otherworldly Light, Path to Exile, and Prismatic Ending are all excellent against Shadow which means we need fewer targeted sideboard slots. Be prepared to face multiple versions of Shadow; some with Murktide to fly over Sanctifier.

Burrenton Forge-Tender is how I split the difference in these uncertain times. It's not only good interaction against Burn, which can be tricky after sideboard, but various Murktide decks as well. I moved down to one copy and regretted it. Azorius Hammer doesn't want Forge-Tender because Spell Pierce improves the Burn matchup compared to Thoughtseize.

I want three hate bears in the sideboard. Two Meddling Mage help shore up the now slightly trickier Amulet Titan matchup. I also like Lavinia against Amulet Titan, but I only want one copy. If Cascade or Tron decks pick up in popularity I will reassess.

There have been rumblings of playing some amount of Teferi, Time Raveler in the sideboard against Cascade and Control. I don't like this because three mana to turn off cascades on the draw is too slow.

Nihil Spellbomb is my graveyard interaction to fetch with Urza's Saga. It's possible to play Grafdigger's Cage now that the lack of synergy with Lurrus isn't a concern, but it doesn't stop Living End.

Hammertime is still a tier one deck although some of the post board dynamics will change. Make sure you can destroy artifacts and enchantments.

Grixis Shadow

Grixis Shadow utilizes Lurrus well in the first game because the point of the deck is to grind your opponent to a point of minimal resources. When you spend early turns casting discard and removal spells, having a guaranteed threat is a boon.

I played Shadow in a tournament where I simply swapped Lurrus for Jegantha, as Kanister initially proposed. The format may move beyond the Lurrus list, but the spells still feel strong.

Grixis Death's Shadow | Modern | Kyle Boggemes

Oddly enough I didn't need to change a single card besides Lurrus from my NRG Top 4 list from a couple weeks ago.

Kroxa is still my graveyard weapon of choice, but Gurmag Angler is also an option with Jegantha as a companion. There is too much hate for Kroxa; it always impresses despite rarely comboing with Dress Down.

Jegantha is a much worse card than Lurrus, but does help shore up a weakness against Blood Moon. Not only can you cast Jegantha with Blood Moon on the battlefield the mana ability will fix your colors.

The 5/5 creature can still be added to your hand on turns your opponent is clearly representing a Counterspell. Once the game grinds down to fewer resources the big Elk can make a reasonable impact on the game. It blocks well because Dress Down can remove evasion from attackers.

Many of the play patterns remain the same, but hand disruption will be weaker in mirror matches as Inquisition no longer has a Lurrus to hit in the late game.

As I become more familiar with casting Expressive Iteration the more it feels like Brainstorm. If I wait longer to cast Expressive Iteration there are more opportunities to get two spells if there is more mana available. For this reason, I would add Lurrus to my hand aggressively early in the game. Jegantha is a weaker card so I'm now more likely to spend card advantage turns casting Expressive Iteration early.

Newer versions of Shadow with Murktide Regent don't have as many instants and sorceries as Izzet Murktide which makes Unholy Heat a more realistic removal spell for big dragons. For this reason, I don't feel the need for the third Terminate.

Aspiringspike has framed a take on merging Murktide Regent and Death's Shadow. He has proposed cutting Dragon's Rage Channeler, Mishra's Bauble, and Unholy Heat because there are too many options for a sixty card deck. I don't think the final answer will include both Death's Shadow and Murktide Regent. Izzet Murktide is the best way to take advantage of the dragon.

Ari Zax took down a MODO PTQ with Murktide Shadow recently so nothing is set in stone:

The important note for this list is that Ari didn't deviate too far from the stock Shadow shell. He added Murktide Regent, but excluded Street Wraith. Again, Spike's theory coming into play that we don't have enough room to do all of the things.

Another avenue that was taken to a MODO Challenge top 4 excludes Murktide, but took advantage of Street Wraith piloted by Cordotwin.

Grixis Death's Shadow | Modern | Cordotwin

There are only seventeen lands with eight cards that functionally cycle for zero mana. It has more nut draws with multiple Death's Shadow on the second turn and Dragon's Rage Channeler is delirious consistently. This is a strong version of the deck that moves away from a companion, but the speed makes it an enticing option.

I would recommend Grixis Shadow in the near future because the deck has been shunned without Lurrus. Dress Down is a very oppressive card in the format which means you can win more when the card has been forgotten. Grixis Shadow is still great and you can win by excluding one puzzle piece.

There isn't much else to say about this strategy as it has been discussed to death, but it's here to stay. Lurrus acted as training wheels for deck-building as not much has changed so far with the banning.

That's all I have for today. Thanks for reading!

-Kyle

TAGS articles, constructed, analysis, modern, decklist, discussion, banned and restricted, kyle boggemes, lurrus of the dream-den, 03162022

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