It’s now been over a month since Underworld Breach was banned in Modern, and the metagame has certainly shifted as a result. Decks like Boros Energy and Eldrazi ramp only grew in popularity given the void that the ban left behind.
However, the ban was not a death sentence to Mox Opal combo decks by any stretch. Soon after Underworld Breach met its demise, players began tinkering with Jeskai Ascendancy combo shells. The deck had mild success but wasn’t a huge role player.
The release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm, though, proved to be a huge help for the deck. In addition to gaining Cori-Steel Cutter, one particular new tri-color legend gives the deck a big boost. This value engine makes it much easier to find your combo pieces and synergizes with your gameplan flawlessly. Jeskai Ascendancy combo is only growing in Modern, so make sure you keep it on your radar if you want to play Modern in the near future.
Narset, Jeskai Waymaster in Jeskai Ascendancy
The new addition that adds a lot of extra power and consistency to the Jeskai Ascendancy deck is none other than Narset, Jeskai Waymaster. Your goal is to cast a flurry of spells, empty your hand, and then use Narset to refuel for next turn. As such, if you’re going to build around Narset, you’re heavily incentivized to play a high density of super-efficient spells.
The Jeskai Ascendancy deck more than delivers. Prior to Narset’s inclusion, the archetype was already utilizing a bunch of zero mana Artifacts, including Mox Opal and Mishra’s Bauble, in order to get Emry, Lurker of the Loch into play as quickly as possible. Emry would then serve as an elite card advantage machine if it survived.
Emry also acts as an important combo piece. For those unfamiliar, the main objective of the Jeskai Ascendancy combo was to use Emry to cast Mishra’s Bauble from your graveyard over and over. With the Enchantment in play, each time you cast Bauble, Emry untaps, letting you crack Bauble, cast it again, and make Emry infinitely large.
Part of the issue the Jeskai Ascendancy deck could run into, however, was running out of gas if Emry or Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student bit the dust on sight. This is where Narset works its way into the equation.
Narset ensures that even if your opponent can keep pace with you and answer your other creatures on curve, you can still pull ahead significantly on cards. The presence of Mox Opal and Mox Amber makes it trivial to play Narset ahead of schedule. Most of the cards in your deck can be cast for one or less mana, so chances are, you’ll empty your hand in no time and get to refuel.
Much Needed Resiliency
Since the adaptation of Narset alongside Cori-Steel Cutter, many Jeskai Ascendancy players have begun to focus the deck less around the combo and more around pure card advantage. Many decklists have trimmed down to a single copy of Jeskai Ascendancy as a result.
The idea is that with Narset and Cori-Steel Cutter in the picture, winning a fair game is very realistic. Cori-Steel Cutter lets you continuously spew tokens that will end the game in a jiffy. Narset then keeps the cards flowing to maximize Cori-Steel Cutter.
Focusing on the fair game makes the deck much more resilient to both traditional removal and hate. As a four-toughness threat, Narset isn’t the easiest for decks like Boros Energy to kill. Even if they have Static Prison, you’ll at least get one trigger on your end step before they can interact.
At the same time, your opponents are bound to bring in hate cards like Wear//Tear that cleanly answer your Artifacts, Jeskai Ascendancy, and Urza’s Saga. Narset completely sidesteps these hate pieces and gives you the resources necessary to rebuild.
On top of that, depending on the matchup, Narset’s ability to draw you into Instant-speed disruption can be essential. Metallic Rebuke and Consign to Memory out of the sideboard, for example, give you a better shot versus combo and Eldrazi decks. Narset digs hard for these Counterspells, and you can leave up Mox Amber or Mox Opal to help cast them.
You still have the upside of going infinite with Jeskai Ascendancy in any given game. Cori-Steel Cutter even makes this process easier by giving your infinitely large creature Trample. Narset just adds a whole new dynamic that many players have been raving about.
Other Applications
Narset is definitely best suited for Modern, but that doesn’t mean the card doesn’t have other applications. Most notably, Narset makes for a pretty cool Commander option.
There are a lot of different ways you can construct your deck to maximize Narset depending on how competitive you want your deck to be. In a more casual setting, filling your deck with cheap spells and token producers like Kykar, Wind’s Fury and Third Path Iconoclast makes for a fun strategy.
If you choose to go deeper, Narset is also a decent Storm Commander. It’s even had success as a fringe choice in cEDH. Alongside a boatload of Rituals and mana Artifacts, Narset’s presence gives you the resources necessary to set up wins via Brain Freeze and company.
Narset truly is an elite legend. Players are still scratching the surface of just how impactful Narset is, so expect to see more of the card moving forward.