Magic's rules are a funny thing. Things work one way, until they don't anymore. Then a new thing arrives that would seem to follow the previously set precedent, and nope! It works the old way!

It used to be that split cards counted like two separate cards. For example, you could imprint Fire // Ice onto an Isochron Scepter because imprinting Fire or Ice was a legal option. This was also true for cascade, as you could Bloodbraid Elf cascade into a Boom // Bust because Boom only cost two, then actually cast Bust because you had the option to choose what spell to cast.

Well, there was a bit rules update and all that changed, merging the costs on a split card into one total cost and nullifying these interactions.

So, it would make sense if the new Valki, God of Lies, essentially a split card just split over the front and back of the card, would follow these new rules too.

But it doesn't!

Time Stamps:

00:04:22 - Match 1

00:28:07 - Match 2

00:52:40 - Match 3

01:25:46 - Match 4

01:57:38 - Match 5

Cascade Neo-Jund | Modern | d00mwake

• Creatures (22)
• 3 Bonecrusher Giant
• 3 Magus of the Moon
• 4 Bloodbraid Elf
• 4 Seasoned Pyromancer
• 4 Simian Spirit Guide
• 4 Valki, God of Lies

• Instants (6)
• 2 Dismember
• 4 Violent Outburst

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Demonic Dread

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Blood Moon

• Lands (24)
• 1 Forest
• 1 Swamp
• 1 Snow-Covered Forest
• 1 Snow-Covered Swamp
• 1 Overgrown Tomb
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 2 Blood Crypt
• 4 Blackcleave Cliffs
• 4 Gemstone Caverns
• 4 Verdant Catacombs
• 4 Wooded Foothills

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Blast Zone
• 1 Magus of the Moon
• 2 Anger of the Gods
• 4 Leyline of the Void
• 4 Mindbreak Trap
• 2 Shriekmaw

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Cascading from Violent Outburst or Demonic Dread into Tibalt, Cosmic Imposter is clearly broken. Tibalt, Cosmic Imposter is supposed to cost seven, not three, and is off the charts powerful when he shows up on turn three (or earlier). Of course, there's more than one Tibalt card currently breaking Modern, making this interaction almost overshadowed by what Tibalt's Trickery can do.

Regardless, we've got a very interesting deck here that is capable of playing a somewhat fair game while also doing broken things with Simian Spirit Guide and Gemstone Caverns. Modern is a crazy world right now, which makes wielding this kind of power formidable.

The best shell for three-mana cascade cards and Valki probably hasn't been found yet, but this is a very good start by d00mwake!