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Main » Articles » Duel Decks: Ragavan Vs. Urza's Saga

Duel Decks: Ragavan Vs. Urza's Saga

Kyle Boggemes
Posted on July 7, 2021
 Reddit

Hey everyone!

The Modern metagame is beginning to settle and we have two clear winners: Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer and Urza's Saga. This is a more concise list compared to last week when I broke down four pillars of Modern: Lava Dart, Ragavan, Primeval Titan, and Urza's Saga. Today I'm going to share decks I think are well positioned in Modern featuring Ragavan and Urza's Saga.

Ragavan represents all that is good and fair with Modern. Good, honest interaction is the name of the game. Dare I say, there's no monkey business.

Urza's Saga is the heel. The decks utilizing Urza's Saga the best are built around artifacts that can be tutored with the powerful enchantment land. Urza's Saga will hit you when your back is turned.

There are so many different takes on Ragavan and Urza's Saga, but I have narrowed down the possibilities for you today.

Let's start with my monkey friend!

Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

There are three creatures that pair best with Ragavan: Stoneforge Mystic, Murktide Regent, and Lurrus of the Dream-Den.

Ragavan fights unfair decks with efficient interaction. Many of the best interaction spells have been printed recently, so I want to jam as many of these "Zoomer" cards as possible into my Monkey decks. Unholy Heat and Prismatic Ending are good examples.

The older "Boomer" interaction still has a place, but needs to be included for deliberate reasons instead of just on rate alone. Path to Exile is a good example of Boomer interaction; it's primary purpose is to interact with Murktide Regents as a 7/7 is out of Unholy Heat range.

Jeskai Stoneblade

The best way to pair Ragavan with Stoneforge Mystic is still Jeskai Stoneblade. Here's my updated list using the Zoomer methodology:

Jeskai Stoneblade | Modern | Kyle Boggemes

I have replaced two Opt with the fourth Ragavan and Prismatic Ending to go full Zoomer. The idea behind these last two slots is to use the extra removal to clear the way for Ragavan more often. Additional removal also means I can play more attrition to buy time and hardcast Batterskull and Kaldra Compleat. Stoneforge Mystic rarely lives against removal decks and that's okay.

Opt is still a good option in Jeskai Stoneblade, but I did initially undervalue Ragavan against other Monkey decks. Ragavan is less likely to connect in fair matchups, but the cards it reveals are stronger. Unfair decks are less likely to kill Ragavan, making the treasure creation more important. It's a strong card on both sides of the coin. A Zoomer card through and through.

As the format begins to solidify, I also made some changes to the sideboard. Kataki, War's Wage is to be viewed as a more blunt Wear // Tear. It shines against Urza's Kitchen, Affinity, and Hammertime. I don't have room for a second copy, but would play it if I could.

Sanctifier en-Vec is a blunt tool to fight Rakdos Lurrus. Aspiringspike popularized this deck a couple weeks ago and is picking up steam. I strongly prefer to play paper Magic and Rakdos Lurrus is filled with tournament staples, making the investment worth it. It's a fun deck to play and one I would strongly recommend; Sanctifier is the best way to fight it.

I made room for Sanctifiers by cutting Rest in Peace as they are both great against Dredge. The matchup against Living End is the one area that is weakened by the swap. Rest in Peace doesn't work well with your Snapcaster Mages, but remember Lightning Bolt doesn't stay in your graveyard when Santifier is on the battlefield.

I don't want to play a second Path to Exile in the board, but it's a necessity against Blue/Red Regent decks. There's a clear hole in the metagame for expensive creatures that dodge Unholy Heat to thrive. The removal that kills Regent is so bad compared to Lightning Bolt, Prismatic Ending, Fatal Push, and Unholy Heat that I see it surviving long term.

Izzet Murktide

Murktide Regent

Speaking of Murktide Regent, the decks based around this powerful threat have been evolving over the last few weeks. We began with Izzet Delver shells, but it was apparent that Delver is a Boomer card that has no place in Modern. The best Delver shells are ones that don't play the card at all!

After Delver was cut the deck became centered around three Zoomer creatures: Ragavan, Dragon's Rage Channeler (aka DRC aka Darcy), and Murktide Regent.

Serum Visions was played as additional fuel for Murktide Regent and allowed for fewer lands. Again, Serum Visions is a Boomer card that no longer has a place in most Modern decks, so the more powerful Archmage's Charm has taken its place. It's still possible to win with Serum Visions versions, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Here's the current version of Izzet Murktide I think is very powerful:

Izzet Murktide | Modern | Kyle Boggemes

Izzet Murktide doesn't want to play many creatures because it needs a critical mass of instants and sorceries for Murktide Regent and Delirium for Darcy and Unholy Heat.

Mishra's Bauble enables Delirium which makes it a Zoomer card. It's currently the best cantrip in Modern and many decks should consider playing it. Jeskai Stoneblade isn't interested in Bauble because Darcy doesn't fit the strategy. Murktide and Stoneforge fill similar roles so there isn't a reason to play both.

Many streamers agree that Archmage's Charm is one of the strongest Blue cards in Modern as it's able to steal Darcy and Ragavan. Even if it's on the expensive side, it's worth slightly contorting the deck to make room.

Thought Scour is the one cantrip besides Mishra's Bauble in the deck because it enables a quick Murktide Regent and provides Delirium. It's a role player.

Snapcaster Mage could be a singleton in the deck, but the lack of synergy with Murktide Regent isn't worth it. Since Murktide wants to eat every instant and sorcery in the graveyard it works differently than past delve threats like Gurmag Angler.

Murktide Regent gets +1+1 when exiling cards to delve it, but also gets bigger when any other instants and sorceries leave your graveyard. This means your first Murktide can grow when the second is cast. It also means you need to think twice about exiling the graveyard after one is cast against you. Endurance shuffles graveyards back into the library which also pumps Murktide.

Serum Visions isn't strong enough to play, but Expressive Iteration is a Zoomer sorcery to help with Delirium. The card advantage from Iteration and Archmage's Charm gives Izzet Murktide a quick clock, brutal efficiency, and resilience. Mishra's Bauble can be exiled and cast without mana creating some additional synergy.

Force of Negation is good against fair and unfair decks in Izzet Murktide because there are very few ways to interact with Murktide Regent. The deck can end the game quickly by playing a Protect the Queen strategy.

Alpine Moon is a great sideboard card as it deals with all copies of Urza's Saga. There isn't a specific land to name against Amulet Titan, so be prepared to get creative. Blood Moon is expensive, but can be played as a blunt tool against Amulet Titan. It becomes more difficult to cast Counterspell and Archamge's Charm when Blood Moon is on the battlefield making it less versatile. I've also seen Spreading Seas in this slot.

Fury and Engineered Explosives can clear multiple creatures from the battlefield to pave the way for Ragavan against decks that swarm the battlefield. Subtlety is good in cascade decks, but Fury is the better pitch Elemental in Ragavan decks as long as there are enough Red cards.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor in the sideboard is used to diversify your top end threats when the opponents board in Path to Exile and Terminate to fight Murktide Regent. A planeswalker is also another card type for delirium. This slot is my own personal touch.

Spell Pierce is a good counter against unfair decks as it hits Living End and Crashing Footfalls. Izzet Murktide can end a game quickly so it can take advantage of tempo counters. I've seen Dispel in this slot, but I don't plan on boarding it against Terminate and Path to Exile anyway.

The biggest drawback to Stoneforge Mystic and Murktide Regent is that Lurrus cannot be played. Stoneforge can be paired with Lurrus in Hammertime, but the fair equipment costs at least three mana.

Rakdos Lurrus

Aspiringspike made a banger of a deck recently that has taken Modern by storm. Be prepared to fight this deck in a Modern tournament and consider playing it yourself.

Rakdos Lurrus | Rakdos Lurrus | Kyle Boggemes

Jund is a Boomer deck, but Rakdos is nimble enough to hang with the top decks. This is the best Thoughtseize deck is Modern.

Dauthi Voidwalker is a very powerful creature that enables your core game plan while hating out the opposing graveyard. You can steal some degenerate spells with the sacrifice ability including Karn, the Great Creator that wishes for Void Mirror against Eldrazi Tron.

Tourach, Dread Cantor seems out of place, but has a lot of abilities for a two-mana threat. Most players have replaced Tourach for Dark Confidant, but it's hard to argue with Aspiringspike's results.

Kroxa works well with Darcy the same way as Murktide Regent. Filling the graveyard is more important than maintaining Delirium.

Kolaghan's Command is a 2-for-1 against opposing Ragavan decks. I think of this slot as a non-Blue Archmage's Charm. Three-mana card advantage spells are important as Lurrus keeps the mana values of permanents cheap.

Not many Ragavan decks are able to take advantage of the Kamigawa legendary land cycle, but Rakdos makes them shine. Shizo and Shinka allow Ragavan, Kroxa, and Tourach to damage opponents more often with little deck-building concessions. Shinka doesn't suffer from being vulnerable to Blood Moon as it already makes Red mana, but the rest do have that drawback. If you can't find a Shizo, Death's Storehouse, it's also reasonable to play Castle Locthwain.

The two Swamps to insulate against Blood Moon and legendary Kamigawa lands make a splash less appealing. The power of Prismatic Ending should be considered, but I think it's best to be a focused Rakdos deck.

Void Mirror and Chalice of the Void in the sideboard help fight Cascade decks which are tricky matchups. Urborg and Alpine Moon don't work well with Void Mirror as it would negate the effect against Eldrazi Tron by providing them with colored mana. Both of these hateful artifacts counter Mishra's Bauble, but the benefits are worth the lack of synergy. Void Mirror also counters the spell cast off Voidwalker as you don't spend mana.

Angrath's Rampage is my own touch. It's a way to fight Murktide Regent as the rest of the nimble removal kills Darcy and Ragavan. As Rakdos Lurrus picks up in popularity you must also respect Sanctifier en-Vec without playing a weak and narrow card like Pyrite Spellbomb.

Shattering Spree is a no-nonsense way of interacting with Urza's Saga decks. I've been impressed.

I would recommend registering any of the above three decklists if you don't want to play a linear strategy. There are plenty of ways to fight fair even if they all happen to play Ragavan.

Urza's Saga

Urza's Saga

There are also plenty of ways to build around Urza's Saga, but two have stood out to me in particular: Amulet Titan and Hammertime.

I'm not currently high on Urza's Kitchen as the deck needs to lean hard into Asmor against opposing unfair decks. Now that most unfair decks play Urza's Saga they are able to Pithing Needle The Underworld Cookbook to shut down the food engine. This is true with both Amulet Titan and Hammertime.

Amulet Titan

Since I initially wrote about Amulet Titan, I have built the deck to goldfish and learn the lines. The more I play the deck the more I realize the complexity. It boils down to a high percentage of hands winning the game on the third turn unimpeded. You must interact with them early to have a fighting chance. Two Amulets on the battlefield often yield two hasty Primeval Titans attacking on the third turn. This is one of the reasons I'm favoring four Prismatic Ending in Jeskai Stoneblade.

Here's my current list that is pretty stock. I don't feel comfortable enough to make drastic changes to the deck.

Amulet Titan | Modern | Kyle Boggemes

I don't advise picking up the strategy cold turkey, but goldfishing and watching streams will help you learn what makes the deck tick. This is important as Alpine Moon requires some background knowledge to name the right card. Urza's Saga is a good name as it's a common turn one land and Simic Growth Chamber leads to some crazy Tolaria West sequences.

Hammertime

Hammertime has been an impressive Urza's Saga deck as tutoring for Colossus Hammer can end the game quickly. The deck has plenty of staying power as Lurrus and Urza's Saga are able to generate card advantage. Combine this resilience with the possibility of a turn two infect kill and that's a recipe for a good deck.

Hammertime | Modern | Kyle Boggemes

The maindeck is stock and the average list is pretty tight. The sideboard is another story as the main is very focused and there is only one color. Many of the sideboard cards are low impact as a cheap, artifact-based deck catches splash damage from global effects such as Chalice of the Void and Kataki.

In addition to suffering against global effects there are many popular hate cards that line up well against the deck: Shattering Spree, Engineered Explosives, and Wear // Tear. Despite this Hammertime is able to keep up due to its speed.

The Modern metagame is currently sleeping on this deck and I expect it to pick up steam soon.

I would recommend any of the five decks above. The Modern metagame is fresh despite Ragavan and Urza's Saga supercharging the most powerful archetypes. This also means the metagame is ripe for exploitation. If you don't want to play Ragavan or Urza's Saga there are plenty of other decks to play, but I believe these two cards give you the best chance to take down a tournament.

Thanks for reading!

-Kyle

TAGS articles, metagame, constructed, modern, decklist, format, kyle boggemes, urza's saga, modern horizons 2, ragavan nimble pilferer, 07072021

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