As many players expected, the Energy archetype in Modern has become a dominant force since the major ban announcement back in August. While some players prefer to splash black for Orcish Bowmasters, the general pieces that make up the Energy deck have largely been solidified. It’s rather unusual to see an Energy decklist that strays far away from the norm.
Yet, earlier this week, a very unique take on the Energy shell made it all the way to the top four of a Magic Online Modern Challenge. In addition to the usual suspects, you’ll find a handful of green cards that aren’t too popular in the Modern format. These green cards are actually essential to this deck’s main gameplan, giving the Energy package a sweet infinite combo finish! These combo pieces can help break the Energy pseudo-mirror wide open, which is a big luxury to have.
How the Combo Works
- Mana Value: 1R
- Rarity: Uncommon
- MTG Sets: Tempest, Commander 2013, Modern Horizons 2, Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting Tales
- Card Text: Sacrifice a creature, Goblin Bombardment deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
The combo itself revolves around a few key cards. The first is Goblin Bombardment. Goblin Bombardment is a powerful enchantment, but usually only shows up as a one-of or two-of in Energy decklists. This makes sense, as it’s very weak in multiples. However, in this deck, you’ll find a complete playset, since Goblin Bombardment is vital to the combo.
The second piece of the puzzle is Saffi Eriksdotter. Saffi is certainly the weakest of the combo cards individually but does have some nice Goblin Bombardment synergies. Finally, you need access to either Extraction Specialist or Renegade Rallier. Both creatures are capable of returning Saffi Eriksdotter from your graveyard to play, so either works as the third combo piece just fine.
With all three of these cards in play, you can deal infinite damage to your opponent by executing the following steps:
- Sacrifice Saffi Eriksdotter, targeting Renegade Rallier/Extraction Specialist
- Sacrifice Rallier/Specialist to Goblin Bombardment, dealing one damage to the opponent
- Rallier/Specialist will come back to the battlefield, thanks to Saffi’s ability. When Rallier/Specialist enters, return Saffi to play
- Repeat the previous steps over and over
What’s nice about adding this collection of cards to your deck is that, beyond enabling a combo finish, they all work well with your Energy gameplan, too. Rallier and Specialist in particular are great in grindy matchups, even if they’re just recurring copies of Amped Raptor and such.
They also work perfectly with Birthing Ritual, since you can sacrifice one of your two-drops to Birthing Ritual, select Rallier/Specialist, and get back your two-drop free of charge. Birthing Ritual does a great job digging for Saffi, too.
Read More: Classic MTG Typal Deck Sees Surprise Success In Major Format
The Usual Suspects
- Mana Value: W
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 1/2
- MTG Sets: Modern Horizons 3
- Card Text: Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, you gain 1 life and get an energy counter. Whenever you attack, you may pay three enrgy. When you do, put two +1/+1 counters and a flying counter on target attacking creature. It becomes and Angel in addition to its other types.
From there, the rest of the deck is comprised of many of the elite Boros Energy staples we’ve come to know. In the one mana slot, Guide of Souls and Ocelot Pride are as good as they come. They put a lot of pressure on the opponent very quickly. Guide of Souls even has the bonus of letting you gain infinite life once you assemble your combo.
The Energy counters that Guide of Souls produces are especially helpful in letting you maximize Amped Raptor and Galvanic Discharge. This Energy variant isn’t quite as heavy on removal, with Static Prison being a glaring omission. However, it makes sense to have a higher density of creatures in your deck to get full value out of Birthing Ritual, Extraction Specialist, and Goblin Bombardment.
Perhaps the best card to pair with the cards listed above in attrition wars is none other than Ajani, Nacatl Pariah. Ajani is an exceptional card, producing multiple relevant bodies. Alongside Goblin Bombardment, you can sacrifice your Cat token to immediately flip Ajani. Plus, Goblin Bombardment is a red permanent, making the Plnaeswalker’s 0 ability that much scarier for the opponent.
Meanwhile, in conjunction with Birthing Ritual, you have the option of sacrificing the Cat token to grab a one-drop and flip Ajani or sacrificing Ajani to get Rallier or Specialist. This, of course, brings back Ajani and floods the board with more Cat tokens.
Read More: MTG Head Designer Confirms New Archetype Should Emerge in Duskmourn Standard
Tradeoffs
- Mana Value: 1RW
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 6/6
- MTG Sets: Modern Horizons 3
- Card Text: When Phlage enters the battlefield, sacrifice it unless it escaped. Whenever Phlage enters the battlefield or attacks, it deals 3 damage to any target and you gain 3 life. Escape- RRWW, Exile five other cards from your graveyard. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its escape cost.)
The fact that the combo cards and Energy cards mesh so well together is a huge boon for this archetype and gives it a better shot at having long-term success. In fact, on Thursday’s Magic Online Modern Challenge, six players registered Naya Energy. For reference, this is the same number of players that registered Mardu Energy and only one less than the number of people playing straight Boros.
A large part of what makes Naya Energy an appealing deck to pick up is that, according to the Naya Energy pilot that made top four of the Challenge, it has a decent matchup against other aggressive decks. Most notably, the combo kill is extremely strong versus the other versions of Energy, giving you a strong level of inevitability. Missing out on Phlage certainly comes with a cost, though luckily Extraction Specialist and Renegade Rallier give you a big edge as long as you can continue to exchange resources.
On the flip side, one of the bigger tradeoffs for dedicating so many card slots to combo pieces is that you have less room for disruption. As mentioned, you won’t find any copies of Static Prison here. Nor do you get to utilize other interactive tools like Thoughtseize. This makes you a bit more vulnerable to opposing combo strategies. Once Ruby Medallion or Amulet of Vigor hit the table, you’re largely priced in to trying to race, which is rather difficult in game one.
The good news is that you can tune your sideboard to help in these matchups if you’re concerned. Naya Energy builds are still in their early stages, so there’s plenty of room for exploration. Maybe adding some mana dorks for speed or Malevolent Rumble for consistency could help improve the deck even further. Naya Energy combo has a lot of promise, so it wouldn’t be surprising if it starts making more noise in the coming weeks.
Read More: New Duskmourn Combo Draws Infinite Cards And Deals Infinite Damage
