After a calamitous series of Pro Tour results over the weekend, all eyes in Magic: The Gathering are on Standard right now. Players are eagerly anticipating next week’s bans, hoping that red Aggro decks are taken down a peg or four. It’s not just in Standard that this problem exists, mind you.
Pioneer and Modern are overrun with hyper-efficient Aggro. At this point, it feels hard to escape wherever you go. As we wait for the hammer to fall on the 30th, a Modern Grixis Control deck starring Emet-Selch, Unsundered could be the answer to many MTG players’ prayers.
Emet-Selch was one of the first cards previewed for Final Fantasy, way back in February. While it’s been overshadowed slightly by the flashier mythics that followed, it’s still a very powerful card in its own right. Grixis Control seems like a great shell for it.
Emet-Selch is a broadly applicable tool in the deck, as well as supporting some more specific synergies at the same time. Right now, this deck probably isn’t in a position to dominate Modern. With bans on the horizon, however, the tide could shift in its favor very soon.
Emet-Selch, Unsundered In MTG Modern
Emet-Selch, Unsundered showing up in Modern Grixis Control lists is a fairly recent MTG phenomenon. A number of decks over the last week or so, including Gods_Shadow’s 5-0 League list above, are running the card at around two copies. Considering the overall play pattern of the deck, this makes a ton of sense.
Emet-Selch is, at the very least, a solid defensive body. 2/4 stats and Vigilance let it hold off a lot of the more aggressive creatures in Modern well. The fact that it also gets to attack each turn is the icing on the cake. Emet-Selch’s loot ability is tied to attack and entry, so Vigilance lets you reliably use it each turn without dropping your guard.
Speaking of looting, this is really the most important part of Emet-Selch for Grixis Control. Control decks are all about having the right answer at the right time. With Emet-Selch, you get to see a nice extra chunk of your deck each game, especially if you drop it early. You can also load up your graveyard, which is relevant for a few cards in the deck.
In a Control deck like this, which plans to go long and grind things out, Emet-Selch’s back half is also very relevant. Grixis Control runs a ton of cheap interaction, like Lightning Bolt and Fatal Push. It also runs the usual Modern landbase, with plentiful Fetch and Surveil lands. Between all of these and Emet-Selch’s looting ability, 14 cards isn’t an unreasonable ask at all. Once you hit it, you get a huge burst of virtual card draw and a big evasive body.
Stacks Of Synergy
Emet-Selch, Unsundered is clearly a good fit for Modern MTG Grixis Control decks based on the above alone. It turns out, however, that it has a lot more to offer than just that.
While it’s easy to miss amid the novel’s worth of text on the card, Emet-Selch is actually a Wizard. This lets it play into the minor ‘Wizards matter’ subtheme that Grixis Control often runs. This is really only relevant for Flame of Anor, but it’s very relevant there. Flame is a hugely powerful piece for a Control deck, and doubly so if you have a Wizard out. Getting to remove two opposing problems, or remove one and pull two cards ahead, is a massive tempo swing. Pretty much all of the other creatures in the deck are Wizards too, at least partially for this reason.
Emet-Selch also supports some of the other power players in the deck nicely. It’s a great way to support Flip Tamiyo, giving you a ‘free’ extra draw towards her transformation on attack. This is a card that shows up all over the place in Magic, but it’s particularly good here. The damage reduction and spell recursion on the flip side are absolutely ideal for Control. With Emet out, you just need to crack a Clue to flip her over and start using those sweet, sweet abilities.
You can also turn Emet-Selch into a pseudo-draw engine with Snapcaster Mage. Discard a spell you want access to later, and you can Snap it back when the moment arrives. Snapcaster, like Tamiyo, is already one of the best cards in Grixis Control. Emet-Selch just makes it that little bit better. Paired with everything it does as a standalone piece, I could easily see decks playing more than two copies soon.
Primed For A Breakout?
Modern Grixis Control is the first real breakout role for Emet-Selch, Unsundered anywhere in MTG. There was talk of Standard and cEDH applications when it was first previewed, but so far, that hasn’t amounted to much.
As debuts go, Grixis Control isn’t the worst place to start. It is a notable Modern deck in the current meta, even if it’s just a tier two list with a 1.85% meta share according to MTG Decks. The matchup data for the deck is limited at present, but it seems to perform well against both Dimir Frog and Broodscale Combo. These are both fairly minor decks in the grand scheme of things at the moment. We’re on the eve of a ban announcement, however, which could mean big changes for Grixis Control’s viability.
While Standard is definitely the format getting the most heat right now, I could easily see Modern getting some bans too. The optics of Cori-Steel Cutter being the best card in multiple formats aren’t great for Wizards, after all. If the card, or something else in Izzet Prowess, takes a hit, Grixis Control will find itself in a much better position.
Aggro traditionally beats Control, and Izzet Prowess is one of the fastest Aggro decks we’ve seen in some time. This means it’s a very tricky matchup for Grixis Control, despite all of the deck’s cheap interaction. If Cutter gets the chop in Modern too, then Izzet Prowess will probably fall out of favor, giving a window for Grixis Control to thrive. For the sake of Emet-Selch and the meta at large, let’s hope Wizards makes the right call on the 30th.
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