As players begin to delve into the post-ban world of Modern, it’s becoming more apparent that Underworld Breach may have been banned for Mox Opal‘s sins – or, more so, that both cards should have been banned.
While Underworld Breach is only really capable of creating broken play patterns, Mox Opal can support some more niche archetypes in the Modern format. For this reason, a lot of players, myself included, dissuaded the ban of Mox Opal to give these dying archetypes a chance to flourish after Underworld Breach left the format.
It now appears that the eight-mox package, complete with Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student and Emry, Lurker of the Loch, is the real problem. Multiple combo decks that use this shell to win on turns 2-4 consistently are gaining popularity. Kethis, the Hidden Hand appears to be the deadliest of the bunch.
Kethis, the Hidden Hand
Long-time MTG combo veterans should be familiar with Kethis’s antics. This card plays disgustingly well with the Legendary Moxen. Combined with Jace, the Perfected Mind, Kethis can repetitively exile Legendary cards from your grave to mill both players out as early as turn two. Generally, you’ll be winning the game on turns 3-4 with this deck, but Kethis Combo is incredibly consistent. The only reason why it hasn’t appeared in Modern up to this point is because Grinding Breach was a strictly better version of the same idea. This is the first time Kethis Combo has had access to eight Moxen and the power boost is considerable.
Thanks to Kethis’s Legendary support, you get to play a ton of Legends that can ruin common strategies to play against Kethis Combo. Teferi, Time Raveler stops your opponent from interacting with you during your combo sequence. Ashiok, Dream Render can further your gameplan while stopping opponents from cracking Fetch Lands, searching for hate pieces with Urza’s Saga, or using graveyard antics. Basim Ibn Ishaq can even play a long game by continually growing as a threat and drawing cards. Since Jace and Teferi can also draw cards, flipping Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student also becomes rather trivial.
Agatha’s Soul Cauldron is a huge buff to consistency for Kethis Combo with the 8-mox shell. This allows Emry, Lurker of the Loch to become a game-winning threat if left unchecked. It also allows for some strange lines where you can resurrect non-legendary artifacts with other creatures.
While Kethis Combo hasn’t won any major tournaments, it consistently puts up strong results in leagues and various challenges. Refining the list may take some time, thanks to Kethis requiring lots of Legendary cards, but once players find a balance, Kethis will likely become a metagame presence in the Modern format.
The Spike
Players’ interest in playing Kethis, the Hidden Hand is evident from its increased demand over the past week. Demand for Kethis soared right after the banning of Underworld Breach. Kethis’s price is, understandably, following suit.
Worth $3.23 prior to the ban announcement, Kethis’s market average has doubled to $6.70. Generally, Kethis is selling for anywhere between $5.50 and $13. A majority of sales suggest that Kethis is probably worth around the $7 mark, but you can still find copies of Kethis selling for $5.50 at the cheapest.
Notably, Kethis doesn’t have a single reprint. This card has only appeared as a mythic rare in Magic 2020 and nowhere else. If demand for Kethis continues to increase, the card has the potential to spike rather heavily.
Jace, Perfected Mind, Kethis’s partner-in-crime, also shows signs of spiking, but these aren’t necessarily solely due to Kethis. This card sees some play in the Standard format as a way for control strategies to go over top of one another.
Completely Reliant on Tournament Results
Kethis’s Modern potential is undeniable, but is it able to hang with the top contenders? After playing a lot of Kethis myself, the deck certainly seems to beat some of the established tier one archetypes, but Kethis struggles against Storm and Karn, the Great Creator. Karn shuts down Kethis’s combo aspect, and Storm can consistently race Kethis, generally being a step ahead of it. Running sideboard hate for Storm is costly as well, since the deck needs to maintain a high number of Legendary cards. Kambal, Consul of Allocation is a decent Legendary creature that can occasionally thwart Storm, but its mana value makes it difficult to get into play before Storm wins the game.
Ultimately, Kethis’s financial future hangs on whether or not he is able to adapt to the top spots and start winning events. Because the deck needs so many Legendary cards, it’s challenging to be certain the correct shell for Kethis, if it even exists. If the deck begins to win events, Kethis’s price will likely rise further. If not, this may just end up being a flash in the pan.
Even if Kethis fails, however, other combo variants are rising up using the same Emry 8-Mox shell. It’s only a matter of time until one of those ends up finding a place in the Modern format.