Hammer Time is a strategy in Modern that has fallen by the wayside in recent years. The deck is still quite explosive but has had a difficult time keeping up in a world dominated by power creep.
That being said, some players have been having recent success with the archetype by adding in some unique elements. In fact, today, someone went undefeated in a Magic Online Modern League with Boros Hammer Time featuring multiple Assassin’s Creed cards! Could these spicy inclusions help give the strategy a boost moving forward? Let’s dive in and see.
Hammer Time Staples
Like most other Hammer Time shells, this decklist is focused on winning the game in a simple way: attach Colossus Hammer to one of your Creatures, and attack for a boatload of damage. Obviously, Colossus Hammer’s equip cost is enormous, so you’re not trying to equip by conventional means.
Instead, there are playsets of two different cards that enable you to bypass equip costs entirely. First, we have Sigarda’s Aid. With Sigarda’s Aid in play, when you resolve Colossus Hammer, you get to attach it to one of your Creatures for free. On top of that, your Equipment spells have Flash. This way, you can attack with multiple Creatures, wait to see how your opponent blocks, and jam Colossus Hammer accordingly.
The other key card that synergizes with Colossus Hammer is Puresteel Paladin. As long as you have Metalcraft, you’re all set to suit up any of your Creatures without investing any additional mana. Between the recently unbanned Mox Opal, Mishra’s Bauble, Colossus Hammer, and Esper Sentinel, achieving Metalcraft is super easy.
In order to make this gameplan as consistent as possible, you also need ways to tutor up Colossus Hammer. Once again, there are two different playsets of cards that let you search for Colossus Hammer at will.
One of them is Stoneforge Mystic. Stoneforge Mystic doubles as a way to find Hammer and as a Creature to equip Hammer to, which is nice to have.
Similarly, Urza’s Saga makes Construct tokens early on before eventually grabbing Colossus Hammer. Urza’s Saga is your best path to victory in grindy matchups. It adds a ton of pressure to the board while being immune to Counterspells.
Intriguing Inclusions
Where things start to get interesting is when you factor in the red splash this deck utilizes. While Colossus Hammer is the primary win condition in this deck, playing red gives you an elite alternate win condition in the form of Cori-Steel Cutter.
Cori-Steel Cutter is an extremely powerful card that is taking over Standard. Thanks to the plethora of cheap spells in this deck, triggering Cori-Steel Cutter turn after turn is trivial. It’s common to cast Cori-Steel Cutter and immediately follow up with Mishra’s Bauble or Mox Opal to get your token.
This card’s ability to pump out tokens makes it more likely you can grind through removal spells, something traditional Hammer Time decklists can struggle with. The fact that Cori-Steel Cutter gives Haste and Trample to the Creature its Equipping makes it easier to win with Colossus Hammer, too.
Beyond Cori-Steel Cutter, this decklist goes even deeper with the red splash, abusing the power of Kassandra, Eagle Bearer alongside The Spear of Leonidas. Kassandra isn’t as versatile as Stoneforge Mystic. Still, a Hasty threat that tutors up an Equipment to the battlefield is pretty sweet.
In conjunction with Colossus Hammer, The Spear of Leonidas’s ability to grant Double Strike allows you to attack for lethal in one shot. In some games, simply equipping your Construct tokens will be enough to close things out. It’s nice to see some more MTG Assassin’s Creed cards pop up in Constructed, considering the set’s minor impact on Modern as a whole.
A Fringe Strategy
Overall, Hammer Time is still far from the Modern powerhouse it used to be. The format has gotten faster, threats have gotten better, and removal spells have gotten more efficient. Having Esper Sentinel get tagged by Orcish Bowmasters or the Creature you go to attach Hammer to get answered by a free Solitude is a sure-fire way to fall behind.
The good news is that Cori-Steel Cutter does help you beat strategies like Dimir Murktide that are filled with pieces of interaction. Dragonfire Blade is another neat addition that gives you a better chance beating removal spells as well (with Sigarda’s Aid in play, you can cast Dragonfire Blade in response to an opposing Fatal Push, attach it to the Creature being targeted, and fizzle the removal spell).
Plus, Mox Opal gives you a better shot racing other combo decks like Ruby Storm. So, despite its weaknesses, Hammer Time is far from dead. Perhaps the addition of Stolen Uniform from Final Fantasy will elevate Hammer Time further. Only time will tell.
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