‘Jund’em out’ is a Magic phrase that should be known by many, regardless of the formats they play. It’s mainly a competitive term referring to black, red, and green decks that play an exceptionally fair game of Magic. Championed by Magic icons like Reid Duke, playing Jund is difficult, but immensely fun. You have a ton of different game decisions to make, each encouraging interaction with your opponent. Outsmarting their game plan and learning their strategies is paramount. You cannot make a mistake.
Even Commander players should be familiar with the Jund’em out style of gameplay. Anyone who wanted to try the Graveyard Incursion Commander deck should have been met with this phrase as they opened the packaging. The intention is clear; Wizards of the Coast wanted to immortalize this style of play in the Commander format.
Sadly, fair Magic isn’t exactly what the best players in the room are currently doing in the Modern format. Nadu, Winged Wisdom wants to play its entire deck in a Splinter Twin-esque style, and it is clearly the best thing to do in the format.
That said, if playing fair is your cup of tea, there is still a way to do that in the Modern format. This decklist top-eighted a recent Modern Challenge on Magic Online and is not an uncommon deck to see floating around the top of these events. It’s not one of the best decks in the format, but if you’re a die-hard Jund fan, there’s still hope.
Modern Horizons 3 Jund
Jund Saga is not a new archetype. This was the natural evolution of traditional Jund, utilizing powerful, but fair elements to close out games of Magic as Richard Garfield intended. Tarmogoyf is the icon for this archetype, remaining part of it to this day. Gigantic bodies for two mana can still get the job done, but this card has fallen far from its $200 throne back in the day.
That said, a cheaper ally has made itself present thanks to Modern Horizons 3. Nethergoyf may only count cards in your grave instead of in all graves, but the card generally boasts terrifying stats in relation to its mana value. After you successfully navigate your opponent’s game plan with your arsenal of fair cards, your Lhurgoyfs are ready to clean the enemy up.
This is, shockingly, the only new card that this decklist utilizes. Sure, the deck has changed significantly in an effort to combat the current unfair menaces in the format, but Jund remains… eternal.
These adjustments can be specifically seen in the Urza’s Saga package offered. Only four targets are available in the main deck, with some duplications of those targets in the sideboard. Nihil Spellbomb stops graveyard strategies from decks like Living End, Goryo’s Vengeance and Storm. Haywire Mite can take out opposing Urza’s Sagas, The One Ring and, most importantly, Shuko. Pithing Needle can also name Shuko, as well as some other names from less common matchups. Finally, Shadowspear is a necessary evil, taking over fair games of Magic where both players refuse to combo off.
One bizarre inclusion to discuss with our brief time looking at this decklist is the inclusion of Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer. Another Modern titan fallen from its throne, Ragavan does not seem to be in a great place at the moment. Two new cheaper contenders, Orcish Bowmasters and Ocelot Pride, stonewall this creature.
That said, Ragavan still has its good matchups. The card remains prominent against decks that don’t heave early threats. Tron and Living End are some popular examples. Personally, I would probably choose to omit this creature, but considering that this deck had a strong finish, that may be a mistake.
Continue Playing Fair Magic!
There’s not much else to talk about with this Jund deck. From traditional removal like Lightning Bolt to newer additions like Wrenn and Six that can drown opponents in recurring Urza’s Saga, this Jund Saga deck seems eternal. If you want to play fair Magic in this era of unfair combo decks, this is the deck we would recommend.
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