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Main » Articles » Undefeated Decklists for the Modern RCQ Season

Undefeated Decklists for the Modern RCQ Season

Michael Flores
Posted on October 13, 2023
 Reddit

Looking for a deck to play in the current Modern RCQs?

... But you don't want to "just play Scam" like PT Champ Jake Beardsley? Well this is just the article for you. This week we'll look at the Top 8 decks that aren't just Rakdos Scam... Or at least seven decks that recently went undefeated in Magic: The Gathering Online leagues recently (and one really, really undefeated deck from IRL). Let's go!

Deck Eight: Gruul Prowess

Gruul Prowess | Modern | buiqs, 5-0 MTGO Modern League 10/10/2023

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Questing Druid

The lone card that isn't Red - or at least not solely Red - is Questing Druid. This card triples down on one of this deck's themes with its Adventure side; but perhaps more importantly adds a threat in the Questing Druid itself that kinda sorta has persistent prowess.

Soul-Scar Mage
Monastery Swiftspear

The backbone of this strategy is to lay out fast attackers like beloved Taylor Swiftspear and then buff them with tons of card drawing and card filtering. Mishra's Bauble is the freebie; but the balance goes to Wrenn's Resolve / Reckless Impulse / and the Seek the Beast side of Questing Druid.

Lava Dart might not be the most high powered pairing to Lightning Bolt in the removal pile, but the fact that you can play the single instant twice for only one mana (even if it costs you a land) gives buiqs the ability to trigger Prowess twice as many times.

The Green splash might seem a little prohibitive just to accommodate little old Questing Beast. But buiqs makes good use of Stomping Ground to add some horrific Green tools to the sideboard. Weather the Storm? You know who gets utterly annihilated, don't you?

Deck Seven: Boros Burn

A close cousin to Prowess - especially in the first couple of turns of the game - is Boros Burn. Both decks can play a first-turn Monastery Swiftspear, for instance.

Boros Burn | Modern | CharlieStyle, 5-0 MTGO Modern League 10/10/2023

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So, what's new? What's different with this version of Boros Burn? ALMOST NOTHING, thank the Dealer!

CharlieStyle played a classic build with Eidolon of the Great Revel. Well, at least three copies of Eidolon. The fourth became a Searing Blood in this deck, which I can't disagree with too much. There were lots of undefeated Boros Burn decks on Magic Online this week, but I chose CharlieStyle's because it doesn't play a single copy of Skullcrack! Good choice! That card is horrible.

I've written more on this site about Modern Burn than probably any other archetype; so, I'll just leave Deck Seven with a slightly different angle on the same fiery stuff:

Boros Burn | Modern | Folpip, 5-0 MTGO Modern League 10/6/2023

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While Folpip did "find room" for Skullcrack (boo) I did want to highlight a kind of weirdo choice in Shard Volley. Shard Volley is a horrendous Magic card if you compare it straight up to Lightning Bolt... But then again, so is Lava Spike by the same measuring stick.

Shard Volley, if you're flush by a land is actually just Lightning Bolt, the same way that Lava Spike is one of the best cards in the format by the measuring stick of being functionally exactly the same card as Lightning Bolt for one of its functions (rate and target). Here it also participates in a super secret combo.

Do you see what it is?

It's not a great combo; but if you're playing Shard Volley, make sure you know it exists, because there is a corner case or three where it'll matter.

Shard Volley
Inspiring Vantage

Deck Six: The Toxic Update

Infect | Modern | JONABSF, 5-0 Modern League 10/10/2023

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There was a time where ug Poison was simply one of the best decks in the format.

Is it that time again?

I confess I don't even remember at this point what Poison lost to let its venerated position slip away! Looking at this JONABSF deck... Like that is a lot of good cards, isn't it? This seems like a great home for Preordain, and a deadly one for Scale Up. Is this the best utilization for Waterlogged Grove... Ever?

The basic concept of this deck is simple: Dealing 10 is a heck of a lot easier - especially in a short period of time - than dealing 20.

This deck is quite good at both protecting its combo - that is, attackers - and in some cases preventing the opponent from winning. I'm guessing this won't be the last we see of Royal Treatment, which has edged out however many similar cards for that two-of slot. We won't be talking about Ruin Crabs a lot in this article, but let's just say it's going to be difficult for them to stay undefeated against a deck as fast as UG Poison with Gaea's Blessing coming out of the sideboard.

Finally, the 1-drop that made wg Toxic a thing in Standard is pretty good here, too. With Venerated Rot Priest now in the mix, you might not even have to get through The Red Zone to complete the play.

Deck Five: Merfolk

Merfolk | Modern | TheAdonis, 5-0 Modern League 10/10/2023

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So, from a ug creature-combo deck we shift to... StOmPy. No, no, no... Not a mono-gree StOmPy deck, but a Mono-Blue one!

It may not be fair to say that that is all Merflolk is... The deck is no longer just mono-Lord of Atlantis: in fact, TheAdonis cut down to a single Lord of Atlantis to supplement Master of the Pearl Trident. But it is mostly just a ton of interlocking creatures, held together by Aether Vial, whose main job is to overwhelm the opponent in power and toughness.

What makes this version a little different is the seamless addition of The Flame of Anor.

I had to go back and look how many Wizards this deck plays. Way more than enough to have one in play reliably to get three-for-one!

Rather than focusing mostly on power, this deck seems to focus mostly on getting its fishy advantages from card drawing. It used to be that Silvergill Adept was the reason to go Merfolk, but in addition to the straight up two-for-one-ness (merely) of The Flame of Anor, Svyelun of Sea and Sky is about the best Ophidian I've ever seen. Incredible on rate, and makes the whole team better at the same time. You don't actually have to connect to get the bonuses, and it's not like you can kill this Legend anyway.

Deck Four: Mono-Black Bowmasters

Mono-Black Bowmasters | Modern | niuwaid001, 5-0 Modern League 10/10/2023

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This deck is just an insane showcase of synergies, that also mashes together a bunch of powerful cards that aren't particularly synergistic but are just good at the same time (if that makes any sense?).

Sheoldred: Great.

Orcish Bowmasters: Great.

The One Ring? You know what's better than just four copies of The One Ring? Three copies, because we have even more The One Ring Action that way, thanks to Karn, the Great Creator and these fifteen cards off to the side of our playmat.

I do love the Standard port of Demolition Field and Field of Ruin. This deck is unlikely to run out of basic Swamps before it runs out of Demolition Fields, but I don't know if many of its opponents will be able to say the same thing. In a pinch there is always a little extra kick in the teeth coming from that one Shadow of Doubt. Though, you can also just mess up somone's Arid Mesa or whatever; which is probably backbreaking on turn two.

This deck is a little smaller than Mono-Green Tron, but makes up for it with what has to be one of the best mid-games in the format. Its top end is similar, if a little slower, on the back of Karn... But all the regular kind of format-dominating turn four stuff - sweepers and Sheoldred - give it just a different game before anyone is swinging with Cityscape Levelers. It is important to note that a card like Thoughtseize is probably a lot more damaging to the opponent's strategy than to a deck like this, where so many cards are just independently good, and that the Dealer will just be kind of the topdeck front, because you can typically just cast whatever you drew.

Deck Three: Rakdos Unearth

Rakdos Unearth | Modern | UnbanUroPlease, 5-0 Modern League 10/10/2023

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Unearth has a special place in my mind these days. It's a key piece to one of the best Premodern combo decks, Full English Breakfast. So, I was tickled to see the card so beautifully showcased in this deck by UnbanUroPlease.

I don't imagine the nice people in Renton, WA unbanning Uro any time soon, but at least it's Escape cousin, Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger has a spot on the team. Good, if not broken, with Unearth.

You know who's fantastic with Unearth, though? Lightning Skelemental. I've always loved that card, but historically tried it mostly as a sideboard card. In this deck it's going to be hitting for most of the opponent's life total and a nice chunk of their hand for only four mana.

You have the same kind of Dauthi Voidwalker action that the usual Scam deck can, you know, scam the opponent with; but I just like that the color combination and space is exploring a little bit of a different one mana reanimation angle here. Unearth is probably a little less explosive; but it's not going to seem that way after you've been brained by Skelemental a couple of times.

Deck Two: Scam

Scam | Modern | tjorvii, 5-0 MTGO Modern League 10/6/2023

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Wasn't this supposed to be an article talking about decks other than Scam?

Oh no, careful reader! That was decks other than Rakdos Scam! TJORVII did something really cool and unusual here, borrowing a note from World Championship Top 8 competitor Greg Orange:

Up the Beanstalk

Fury gets a little more ferocious; and Leyline Binding becomes nearly free when you have Up the Beanstalk in the mix. Remember the discussion a second ago about Premodern combo pieces? Repeat after me: "Hard cast Scion of Draco." It's not even all that hard with all the domain-driving action in this deck (and it's obviously quite good with Up the Beanstalk).

And of course: Scam.

Not Dead After All

What's better than... Let me see here... The best deck in the format? I dunno? How about a straight upgrade to Feign Death?

Rakdos Scam was already in it for six copies of Undying Evil (which is good not only with Fury and Grief on the first turn, but also just against removal)... Not Dead After All, with its Wicked Role, is just better than either of the incumbent versions. So, there's that.

Now draw a card with your nice little Green card and we'll be on our way to:

Deck One: The Undefeated

Andrea Mengucci, my second favorite streamer and already one of Magic's most successful cash players, added "RCQ Champion" to his resume last weekend with an update to Mono-Green Tron.

Talisman of Resilience is a cutie pie here, and Mengu laid it out in the deck pic right next to the Dismembers that it kinda sorta helps out. It doesn't help out great or anything, but it doesn't not help. I suppose a two mana extra source of Green is useful either way.

I wanted to highlight this already-known and highly decorated list here at the end for a simple reason: It really and truly is the undefeated.

Mengu won his event without dropping even a single game!

Now that is a little pice of 6-0-2 / 12-0 sorcery that has Our Hero wondering if he should trade in his basic Mountains for basic Forests. I know! Roman will never let me hear the end of it.

I do hope this helps you go undefeated in Modern soon, yourself.

LOVE

MIKE

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TAGS articles, constructed, analysis, modern, decklist, mike flores, michael flores, 10132023

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