It’s finally here, folks! After months of hype, MTG Foundations is now available to play on both MTG Arena and MTGO. We’re entering brewing season now, as players experiment with the new cards to find out if there are any new competitive hits among them. This experimentation isn’t limited to just Standard, either. Veteran MTG content creator AspiringSpike has immediately taken to Modern, to test a couple of new legends from MTG Foundations in established decks. It says a lot about the power level of this set that their inclusion doesn’t really look out of place at all.
Kiora, The Rising Tide In Izzet Murktide
AspiringSpike shared a few different test lists in a tweet earlier today. One of these is Modern icon Izzet Murktide, with an added splash of MTG Foundations legend Kiora, the Rising Tide. You might scoff at a deck like this incorporating such a clunky-looking three drop initially, but I think there’s real potential here.
Right off the bat, Kiora’s double-loot ability is a great fit for the deck. Loading up the graveyard is how Murktide wins, after all. It needs fuel for its titular Dragon win-con, and it needs Delirium for Dragon’s Rage Channeler and Fear of Missing Out. Getting two cards of your choice in the ‘yard on entry goes a long way toward enabling all of that.
Kiora’s second ability is far from irrelevant, either. Seven cards in the graveyard is easily attainable in this deck, and a free 8/8 can put your opponent in an awkward position. Creating the token in the combat phase and then following that up with a huge Murktide Regent in your second main is a one-two punch that should win you most games.
AspiringSpike is testing the full four copies of Kiora, paying no heed to the legend rule. The card is such a lightning rod for removal that I think four may well be the right number. The bigger question will be whether it’s efficient enough long-term. Three mana is more than any other card in the deck costs. Detective’s Phoenix aside, of course, though you’re rarely casting that for its full cost.
We’ll see in time if Kiora is good enough to become a mainstay in Murktide. Even if not, the fact that she was a contender is impressive. Clearly Kiora is a force to be reckoned with even without her planeswalker spark.
Zul Ashur, Lich Lord In Mono-Black Soultrader
The other list from AspiringSpike’s tweet that really caught my eye was his take on Mono-Black Soultrader. This is a combo deck built around Gravecrawler and the titular Warren Soultrader. With both creatures out, you can sacrifice and replay Gravecrawler as long as you have life remaining. Throw in Marionette Apprentice, and you can win the game on the spot.
Most decks in this archetype opt for Golgari colors, but AspiringSpike has kept his Mono-Black. He’s also thrown in three copies of hot new Foundations legend Zul Ashur, Lich Lord. It’s not hard to see why as Zul lets you recast a Zombie from your graveyard in exchange for a tap, once per turn. AspiringSpike’s list leans much harder into a Zombie theme than its contemporaries, which gives this ability a ton of potential targets.
Getting back a fallen Soultrader is obviously excellent, and Zul is a Zombie herself for recasting Gravecrawler. She can also recycle a Stitcher’s Supplier, Carrion Feeder, or Geralf’s Messenger. For just two mana, there is clearly a wide pool of options to draw from. It also gives you a lot of possible lines each turn. You can recast Supplier if you need to dig for your combo pieces, or recast Feeder if you need a sacrifice outlet.
AspiringSpike only included three copies of Zul Ashur in his test list, but I could see that getting topped up to four over time. The card is just incredibly flexible and efficient in this strategy. It does die to pretty much any removal spell, yes, but it Shocks the opponent in response, which is great in an aggressive deck like this. Turns out Zul Ashur is just as scary as her flavor text appearances suggest.
