Unsurprisingly, one of the biggest talking points of the last few days has been the rules change affecting Sagas. For those unfamiliar, Sagas traditionally were forced to be sacrificed when they lost all of their abilities.
In part because of the release of a plethora of Saga Creatures in the form of Summons from Final Fantasy MTG, Wizards has changed this ruling. Now, Sagas that lose their abilities due to the effect of another card won’t be sacrificed but instead will sit on the battlefield unable to lose or gain lore counters until the card affecting the Saga is removed.
This is an enormous change for competitive play. This change was implemented on Magic Online a couple days ago, and we’re already seeing a multitude of Urza’s Saga decks take advantage of the new rule. Perhaps the most intriguing strategy of the bunch is Mono-Red Prison. Mono-Red Prison has failed to make an impact in Modern for quite some time, but now, the deck may be in for a resurgence.
Addressing a Major Weakness
Mono-Red Prison is a classic MTG archetype with a relatively simple gameplan. The goal is to accelerate out hate pieces that mess with your opponent’s development. The Legacy version of the deck is quite popular, capable of dropping cards like Blood Moon and Trinisphere as early as turn one.
While Mono-Red Prison in Legacy is thriving, it’s been years since the Modern variant was even remotely competitive. The lack of broken acceleration in Modern (no Chrome Mox or Ancient Tomb in the format, for example) makes the deck a bit slower, which certainly harms its competitive viability.
That being said, playing Blood Moon on turn two off Desperate Ritual or a Treasure token from Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer can still be quite powerful. Gemstone Caverns does a good job speeding up your gameplan on the draw, too.
One of the biggest issues mono-red Prison has had historically in Modern has simply been closing the game. This was a major weakness for Mono-Red Skred decks of old. Sitting behind the power of Blood Moon, Chalice of the Void, and Ensnaring Bridge only works for so long. Eventually, your opponent will be able to draw out of your chokehold and find an answer.
This is where the new rules surrounding Urza’s Saga come into play. Once Urza’s Saga ticks up to chapter II, slamming a copy of Blood Moon not only messes with your opponent’s mana, but also gives you inevitability. See, for as long as Blood Moon sticks around, Urza’s Saga will sit in play, enabling you to pump out Constructs every turn for the foreseeable future.
Having access to a Land that doubles as a win condition is a godsend for this deck. Rather than relying on sticking a Planeswalker or some other piece of top end to close games, you get to essentially free-roll a land that closes games in a jiffy. Curving Urza’s Saga turn one into Desperate Ritual and Blood Moon turn two sets you up beautifully to take over the game in short order.
Other Win Conditions
Besides Urza’s Saga, there are a few other solid win conditions that are strong when played ahead of schedule. Karn, the Great Creator, for instance, gives you a lot of versatility. Whether you’re searching for Engineered Explosives to mess with Mox Opal decks or Tormod’s Crypt to keep graveyard decks in check, Karn is a solid top end option.
Also at the four-mana slot, Chandra, Torch of Defiance is a decent threat in its own right. Once you have Ensnaring Bridge online, ticking up Chandra repeatedly will end the game over time.
Even rushing out Fable of the Mirror-Breaker is a strong play. This shell utilizes Treasures well, both for casting your four-mana plays and growing your Construct tokens. Being able to rummage away excess lands or unnecessary prison pieces has value as well.
The New Rule in Full Effect
Even with the new addition of Urza’s Saga, though, Mono-Red Prison is far from perfect. Relying on cards like Blood Moon and Chalice of the Void won’t always work in your favor, especially if you don’t have a way to cast Blood Moon ahead of schedule. Some combo decks, particularly Ruby Storm, can easily play through these hate pieces (though Eidolon of the Great Revel out of the sideboard helps).
On top of that, Blood Moon’s inability to shut off opposing copies of Urza’s Saga can end up coming back to bite you. Mono-red Prison isn’t the first deck to take advantage of the new Saga rule, and it certainly won’t be the last.
As more players start to gravitate towards Blood Moon and Urza’s Saga, other archetypes will likely start packing more enchantment removal and basic lands if they can afford it. This rules change may have been partially directed towards Summons and the Final Fantasy Limited environment, but the Modern landscape is bound to be shaken up considerably.
Will Mono-Red Prison have any sort of long-term success? Will Urza’s Saga even remain legal in Modern for much longer? Only time will tell.
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