When I first saw the decklists for Hammertime in Modern, I always just assumed it was a meme. I mean, look at these cards:

A stupid meme uncommon and a junk rare? Is this Against The Odds or a serious Modern deck? And for a while that was what the deck mostly was. However, Modern Horizons 2 has supercharged the deck beyond a fragile glass cannon into a deck that can kill on turn two while also grinding late into the game against all sorts of interaction and removal.

Seriously, this is basically just a Jund deck that has the ability to kill you on turn two or three sometimes, which is an amazing feature in a format as powerful as Modern is.

Time Stamps:

00:03:50 - Match 1

00:15:00 - Match 2

00:37:35 - Match 3

01:01:28 - Match 4

01:14:32 - Match 5

Hammertime | Modern | Jim Davis, 6-1-1 Modern Portion of SCGCON

• Companion (1)
• 1 Lurrus of the Dream-Den

• Creatures (22)
• 2 Dark Confidant
• 4 Esper Sentinel
• 4 Memnite
• 4 Ornithopter
• 4 Puresteel Paladin
• 4 Stoneforge Mystic

• Sorceries (3)
• 3 Thoughtseize

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Sigarda's Aid

• Artifacts (11)
• 1 Cranial Plating
• 1 Mishra's Bauble
• 1 Shadowspear
• 4 Colossus Hammer
• 4 Springleaf Drum

• Lands (20)
• 2 Plains
• 1 Godless Shrine
• 2 Flooded Strand
• 3 Inkmoth Nexus
• 4 Concealed Courtyard
• 4 Silent Clearing
• 4 Urza's Saga

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Knight of Malice
• 2 Void Mirror
• 1 Lurrus of the Dream-Den
• 1 Thoughtseize
• 2 Prismatic Ending
• 3 Sanctifier en-Vec
• 1 Seal of Cleansing
• 2 Hushbringer
• 1 Soul-Guide Lantern

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It's astounding how many great cards this deck gets to play.

While the defining feature of the deck is of course the Sigarda's Aid, Puresteel Paladin, Colossus Hammer engine, the rest of the cards in the deck do a ton of work. Urza's Saga in particular is so incredible against any fair deck, while also providing you a way to tutor up Colossus Hammer. Puresteel Paladin is happy to draw you some cards, while cards like Esper Sentinel and Dark Confidant also keep the cards flowing. On top of this, Thoughtseize provides you the dual threat of both protection for your combo when you want to go for it on the early turns, as well as interaction to make sure they aren't going to put you away early either. It's much more multifaceted than something like Giver of Runes.

I've been extremely impressed with the depth this deck has, going into playing it thinking it was mostly a meme, and have played it at a few events now including a 6-1-1 in the Modern portion of SCGCON. However, while the deck is very good it's important to note that it's also very difficult to play and you'll need to get some practice in. The technical aspect of the deck is challenging, but it's also tough to know when to change gears and start grinding, as well as playing against cards like Force of Vigor, Fury, and Solitude.

If you can learn the ropes though, it's quite the ride!