Since 2009, Scapeshift has been one of the most consistent Combo decks in Magic: The Gathering. It’s a deck that relies mainly on hard-to-interact-with lands, which makes it pretty tricky to stop in many scenarios. For this reason, despite never really being dominant, the deck has always persisted. This week, an updated version of Scapeshift, featuring plenty of recent spice, went 5-0 in an MTG Online Modern League.
This new take, brought to us by Bossbatista, adds plenty to the classic Scapeshift formula. Not only does it go deep on ‘additional land’ synergies, but it also throws in a bunch of consistency boosters to support the core combo. While the deck certainly has its problems in current Modern, this new list puts it in the best position it’s been in for some time.
4-Color Scapeshift In MTG Modern
The core Scapeshift game plan is the same here as it always has been. You want to assemble a critical mass of lands in play, then cast Scapeshift and sacrifice them all. This lets you tutor the same number of lands from your deck, for which you’ll pick Valakut and a bunch of Mountains. Since they’re all treated as hitting play simultaneously, you’ll get a Lightning Bolt for each Mountain you grab. Aim them all at your opponent’s face, and that’s the game most of the time.
At minimum, you’ll need to sacrifice seven lands to get Valakut and six Mountains (18 damage). Ideally, you’ll want to go to eight; however, to get another Valakut in the mix (36 damage). Either way, Scapeshift is pretty likely to win you the game on the spot when it resolves.
Before it can do so, however, you need to build up your land count. The deck has plenty of ways to do so, including the new Icetill Explorer from Edge of Eternities. This gives you an extra land drop each turn, and lets you replay lands from your graveyard to boot. The latter part won’t come up all the time, but it does become fantastic ramp if you have a Fetchland in your ‘yard.
Explorer looks pretty clunky at four mana, but there’s plenty of other ramp in the deck to support it. Farseek, Growth Spiral, and Planar Genesis all get you more lands in play for two mana. Bossbatista also runs a full playset of Dryad of the Ilysian Grove, which fills a similar niche to Explorer. It doesn’t go quite as hard later on in the game, but it does fix your mana, which can be crucial in a four-color deck.
Consistency Is Key
As with any MTG Combo deck, in Modern or otherwise, consistency is very important for Scapeshift. The rest of Bossbatista’s list is dedicated to cards that specifically increase this attribute.
Consult the Star Charts is the other Edge of Eternities newcomer here alongside Explorer, and it’s an absolute doozy. It lets you dig as deep as the number of lands you control, which in this deck should be at least five on average. Between this and your opening hand, it shouldn’t be hard to grab the single Scapeshift you need to end the game. You can also sink your excess midgame mana into its Kicker, to grab another draw piece in case your Scapeshift gets countered.
Consult also benefits a lot from the one-of Songcrafter Mage in the deck. This lets you recast the card from your graveyard, kicked, for just two blue mana thanks to Harmonize. If you’re struggling to turn the corner later on, this is a great way to get there. Songcrafter is also great with Green Sun’s Zenith, giving you access to pretty much all of your creatures for just a mana or two. This is best used to recover after a failed Scapeshift, by grabbing an Aftermath Analyst to get all your lands back. You can also use it as one-mana ramp by tutoring up Dryad Arbor, mind you.
Aside from a playset of Galvanic Discharge for early interaction, that’s pretty much everything Bossbatista’s Scapeshift list has to offer. It’s very much all-in on its core plan, which is par for the course when it comes to Combo decks. It means the deck has a good chance of ‘doing the thing,’ but it also means that it can’t do much to stop its opponents from doing the same.
Sticking The Landing
When it comes to the standing of Scapeshift in the current MTG Modern metagame, this lack of interaction is its biggest hurdle to success. With a good draw, it can go for the win on turn four at the earliest. This is factoring in early ramp and the explosive power of an Explorer/Fetchland line. This means you’ll need to endure three to four turns of your opponent playing essentially unopposed before you can close out the game.
The top decks right now are all capable of goldfishing wins before turn four. Boros Energy and Domain Zoo can do so via traditional aggression, swarming the board and attacking with threats like Guide of Souls and Scion of Draco. Scapeshift plays such a low creature count that there’s really not much you can do about this, even if you do draw a Galvanic Blast or two.
Amulet Titan is a similar situation. It’s a fellow Combo deck, but with a faster clock on average. You’re looking at turn three to four wins here, which puts it ahead of Scapeshift in most games. Again, there’s not really any way for the deck to interact here, outside of Force of Vigor from the sideboard.
What this all means is that Scapeshift’s games against the top Modern meta players right now all come down to coin flips. You need a strong draw, and your opponent needs a weak one, if you’re going to have a real chance of winning. The new Edge of Eternities additions certainly help, but unless Scapeshift can get a full turn faster, I don’t see it breaking into the top tiers.
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