Back on May 18th, Wizards shocked the MTG community with a major ban announcement. Despite players finding the format relatively balanced, the format’s top two decks suddenly saw key pieces leave Modern.
With Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury and Lotus Field biting the dust, it was natural for players to assume that Boros Energy and Amulet Titan would take a big step back. As it turns out, however, both of these archetypes are quite resilient, outright winning events after key cards were banned.
Amulet Titan Remains Victorious
Over the last decade and a half, Amulet Titan has experienced some major structural changes. The most recent of which involves Aftermath Analyst, creating a graveyard-focused combo that was considered problematic. Now, players have been forced to tweak the deck’s combo lines with Lotus Field gone, which has proven easier than expected.
This past weekend, Amulet Titan aficionado Nathan Goldberg won a 76-player tournament with a decklist that shares a ton of similarities with pre-ban Amulet Titan. The main change is the addition of Zuran Orb, which functions as an enabler for Aftermath Analyst on combo turns. Even without Lotus Field in the mix, Zuran Orb’s presence makes it possible to set up reliable kills by casting Scapeshift with five lands and Amulet of Vigor in play.
While Zuran Orb cannot be tutored via Scapeshift or Primeval Titan, you can still find the artifact by using both Tolaria West and Urza’s Saga. Thanks to this, the new Aftermath Analyst combo doesn’t dilute this deck too much, taking up only two slots overall. Ironically, this means that the tournament logistic nightmare that Aftermath Analyst presented wasn’t solved by the ban. Arguably, as players now have to learn the new combo, it will temporarily make things worse.
That said, the banning of Lotus Field has undeniably weakened Amulet Titan from its previous iteration. Without the land’s explosive mana, racing fast combo decks like Ruby Storm and Neobrand is even harder than it used to be. Still, as demonstrated by this win, Amulet Titan is consistent enough to beat up on slower decks that can’t consistently answer its pieces. There are even matchups growing in popularity, like Boros Burn, where the life gain from Zuran Orb really comes in handy.
Amulet Titan is far from dead, and you’ll need to be prepared to face it moving forward.
Easy Adjustments for Boros Energy
In a similar vein, Boros Energy was nerfed pretty hard by the ban announcement, but continues to deliver multiple top-eight results. Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury was typically a four-of in Energy decklists, giving the assertive strategy some incredible grinding potential. To help replicate this late-game bomb, many players have found success adding The Legend of Roku to the main deck.
This enchantment doesn’t quite have the closing speed that Phlage does, but it does provide card advantage and a must-kill threat. The recent addition of Solitude pairs well here, buying time for The Legend of Roku to shine.
Alternatively, other players have found success leaning more into other powerful, disruptive three-drops. Ranger-Captain of Eos, for example, has seen its stock rise since the ban, putting up strong tournament finishes. As a two-for-one that also messes with Storm decks during their combo turns, it’s easy to see why. Similarly, Boromir, Warden of the Tower is starting to see more play to disrupt free spells like Living End and Summoner’s Pact while protecting from sweepers.
Notably, without Phlage in the mold, players have also started leaning more on Dalkoven Encampment and less on Arena of Glory. While this downgrade stings, Dalkovan Encampment at least provides a steady supply of fuel for Goblin Bombardment and Guide of Souls in longer games.
While it’s shocking to see both of these decks succeed so much after a ban, the Modern metagame is still fluctuating. This will likely remain the case until Pro Tour Amsterdam, where the best decks in the format will become clear.
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