Hammertime’s reign in Modern is long over. The fan-favorite archetype has its diehard fans who occasionally make a dent in larger events. The deck even got a massive buff in recent days since Mox Opal was unbanned. Sadly, even that was not enough to bring Hammertime back from the dead.
Instead, Hammertime’s true format might be Pioneer. One of the format’s biggest believers just won a Challenge with a new take on an old favorite.
Pioneer Hammertime
- Mana Value: 1
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Card Type: Artifact- Equipment
- MTG Sets: Core Set 2020, Forgotten Realms Commander, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander
- Card Text: Equipped creature gets +10/+10 and loses flying. Equip 8 (8: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)
Hammertime revolves around the MTG card Colossus Hammer. The goal is to cheat the massive equip cost of the card onto your creatures in an effort to get in a quick kill. In Modern, you’ll typically utilize Sigarda’s Aid and Puresteel Paladin as ways to sidestep the potent artifact’s equip cost.
In the Pioneer version, however, two different creatures help perform a similar task. The first is Kazuul’s Toll Collector. Kazuul’s Toll Collector isn’t anywhere near as powerful as Puresteel Paladin, but it features the same function of letting you shove all of your equipment onto it for free. Throw in a copy of Lavaspur Boots to give the Ogre haste, and you’re in business.
The other creature is Khemba, Kha Enduring. Khemba is more efficient than Colossus Hammer, but it also only gives you a one-shot free way to equip Colossus Hammer (unless you can get to five mana to pump out Cats).
Kazuul’s Toll Collector enables you to shove all of your equipment onto it for a huge attack, something Khemba can’t do. Still, the upside of playing Hammer turn one and Khemba turn two is pretty big.
From there, you also want ways to tutor up Hammer when you have Khemba or Kazuul’s Toll Collector rolled up already. Stoneforge Mystic provides flexibility in Modern, but here, Kellan, the Fae-Blooded will have to do.
What’s nice about Kellan is that, beyond simply searching for Hammer, you can grab a wealth of other equipment in different situations. You can then cast the creature side of Kellan as a 2/2 with double strike that wears your non-Hammer equipment well.
Other Angles of Attack
- Mana Value: 4
- Rarity: Rare
- Card Type: Artifact- Equipment
- MTG Sets: Foundations
- Card Text: If this card is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it on the battlefield. Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and has double strike and trample. Equip 3 (3: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)
Traditionally, Hammer decks in Pioneer have faltered for a couple reasons. First, the gameplan of suiting up one of your small creatures with Hammer is extremely vulnerable to removal. Second, you won’t always find both Hammer and a way to equip for free, and the Pioneer variant has lacked a good backup plan.
The good news is that some recent additions to the deck help address these problems. Right away, one of the sweetest inclusions in the deck is Leyline Axe. Leyline Axe adds explosive potential in games where you don’t draw Hammer. Leyline Axe conveniently equips to Fervent Champion without any mana investment.
The same can be said for Chainsaw. Chainsaw is a solid removal spell that then leaves behind an equipment for you to attach to your Fervent Champions at will. Chainsaw will continue to accrue counters even when your creatures die, making the equipment more threatening over time if you can ever stick a creature.
Fortunately, Mirrex acts as an army in a can. The 1/1s aren’t worrisome by themselves, but with enough equipment, they become must-answer creatures all the same. Mirrex shines against decks that are heavy on removal and don’t apply a ton of pressure. Even a single token is scary when it wields a Chainsaw!
In addition to Chainsaw, another piece of removal that leaves something behind is Legion Extruder. Legion Extruder does something crucial: it converts excess equipment into creatures. Legion Extruder does a great job addressing this deck’s vulnerability to removal. Any equipment you topdeck can be sacrificed to make a Golem. An army of Golems can end games by themselves, with no help needed.
Still Some Areas of Concern
- Mana Value: 1RR
- Rarity: Rare
- Card Type: Sorcery
- MTG Sets: The Brother’s War
- Card Text: Choose one-
- Brotherhood’s End deals 3 damage to each creature and each planeswalker.
- Destroy all artifacts with mana value 3 or less.
While these improvements certainly give the deck more staying power, Pioneer Hammertime is still far from foolproof. Lots of cheap, instant speed removal is annoying for this deck to face down, especially when it’s backed up by pressure. The equipment package lines up especially poorly against removal that isn’t damage-based, like Fatal Push.
Where this deck can really run into issues, though, is against cards that sweep away lots of cheap permanents. Brotherhood’s End, for example, can clean up all of your equipment besides Leyline Axe at once. Temporary Lockdown exiles your Hammers, Legion Extruders, Chainsaws, as well as all of your creature tokens and copies of Khemba and Fervent Champion.
Hidetsugu Consumes All has spots where it’s nearly unbeatable. In matchups where you expect cards like these, it may be in your best interest to sandbag some of your cheap plays.
Despite these concerns, the archetype is more resilient than it looks. Your opponent typically needs multiple pieces of interaction to keep up with blazing starts.
Thanks to Lavaspur Boots and Fervent Champion, if your opponent ever taps out, they aren’t safe even if you have no creatures in play to start the turn. Hammertime is proving that it has what it takes to compete in an era dominated by power creep, which is awesome to see.
