For the past few months, Modern has been one of the most diverse formats in Magic. Whether you love aggro, combo, or control decks, there’s something for everyone here. Considering how constricted the Standard metagame currently is, Modern is a comparable breath of fresh air.
Players are even able to rack up strong results with any number of creative brews. For example, a sweet Abzan Enchantress combo shell made it all the way to the top four of a Modern Challenge out of nowhere. As unusual as this archetype is, it presents a solid game plan against many of the top strategies in Modern.
Locking Out the Opponent
Enchantress decks have long been a fringe choice in Eternal formats. Most Enchantress shells that have had success over the years have relied on card advantage machines like Enchantress’s Presence or Argothian Enchantress to pull ahead. By contrast, this list isn’t focused on generating value, but rather locking the opponent out of the game.
In order to do so, you need to assemble one of two combos both centered around Solemnity. Solemnity ensures that no counters can be put on Nine Lives, so you won’t be taking any damage for as long as these two enchantments stick around. Similarly, if you pair Solemnity with Phyrexian Unlife, you won’t be able to rack up poison counters after your opponent gets you to zero or less life. Phyrexian Unlife even protects you against life drain effects like Blood Artist, which helps a lot in the Golgari Yawgmoth matchup.
Once you’ve successfully locked your opponent out of the game, you still need a way to win. Luckily, Wheel of Sun and Moon is a simple card that stops you from getting Milled out naturally. Eventually, your opponent will succumb to decking and lose as a result.
While this strategy is powerful, it isn’t the most resilient. Any form of enchantment removal to blow up Solemnity will ruin your plans. Fortunately, this list does a great job addressing this issue.
Resiliency and Consistency
One of the best ways to keep your combo cards protected is to prevent your opponents from being able to target them in the first place. Once you land either Greater Auramancy or Sterling Grove, your opponent is forced to waste their targeted enchantment removal on them before they can go after the lock pieces. On top of that, if you ever manage to land two copies of these enchantments, all of your enchantments become immune to targeted removal.
To further protect yourself from opposing combos, you’ll also find a playset of Thoughtseize and three copies of Nevermore in the decklist. The latter excels against decks like Belcher and Basking Broodscale Combo that rely on resolving one particular combo piece to close games.
All of these three-drop enchantments work perfectly in tandem with United Battlefront, your best card selection tool. This sorcery is capable of assembling one of your combos or finding two of your Shroud-granting enchantments all by itself. Thanks to Malevolent Rumble, even casting Battlefront a turn ahead of schedule is not out of the question.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Abzan Enchantress may be an off-the-wall strategy, but it has a lot going for it in the Modern metagame. Against assertive creature decks like Boros Energy and Izzet Prowess, sticking Nine Lives or Phyrexian Unlife on turn three usually buys you enough time to find Solemnity. Outside of Static Prison or Thraben Charm out of Boros, your enchantments are safe once they hit the board. You also get a huge edge against decks, like Energy, with lots of creature removal. Outside of your Eldrazi Spawn tokens generated by Rumble, all kill spells are bound to rot in the opponent’s hand.
Unfortunately, though, many decks that take advantage of removal also have access to counter magic. Dimir Midrange decks are capable of landing an early Psychic Frog and using Force of Negation to stop your disruptive elements from ever hitting the table. The good news is that you have four copies of Veil of Summer in the sideboard to make these types of matchups easier.
If counterspells weren’t bad enough, fast combo archetypes like Ruby Storm or Neoform Combo can commonly win the game before you even get rolling. Belcher Combo is especially frustrating due to the deck’s ability to back up its combo with free Counterspells. You’re also vulnerable to Wrath of the Skies and All is Dust, with Nevermore being your only source of protection.
Ultimately, your matchups can feel quite polarized depending on how much interaction your opponent has. Many decks are simply not prepared to play against Enchantress, as this archetype continues to flow under the radar. In the right room with an unprepared metagame, this is the exact type of deck that can go the distance.
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