With all the fun of the holidays and Innistrad Remastered to keep us occupied, it’s easy to forget that some of the biggest Modern changes of all time happened just a few weeks ago. The ripples from that particular stone are still spreading across the surface of the format. Modern is very much in a time of flux, where seemingly bizarre card choices are being rewarded handsomely. One such change is the addition of Taii Wakeen, Perfect Shot to Boros Energy.
Chances are you don’t recognize that card by name alone. It was one of the many, many inconsequential legendary creatures from back in Outlaws of Thunder Junction. Inconsequential until now, that is. In the post-changes meta, Taii Wakeen is proving a perfect fit, not just a Perfect Shot, in the dominant Modern deck of the day. If you had this one on your 2025 Bingo card, it might be time to buy a lottery ticket.
Taii Wakeen In Modern Boros Energy
What makes Taii Wakeen so good in Boros Energy? For the most part, it’s their first ability. While Wakeen is in play, dealing exact lethal noncombat damage to a creature will let you draw a card. No ifs, no buts, and no pesky once-per-turn restriction in sight. This ability sounds incredibly specific in theory, but in practice, it pairs perfectly with what Boros Energy is trying to do anyway.
One of the most popular packages in Boros Energy right now is that of Ajani, Nacatl Pariah and Goblin Bombardment. Bombardment lets you sacrifice the Cat token Ajani makes right away, thus flipping him. Once that’s done, Bombardment is also a red permanent for Ajani, Nacatl Avenger’s zero ability, so you can make another Cat and deal at least one more damage. You can also sacrifice this Cat to Bombardment to dish out another point of damage.
What does this have to do with Taii Wakeen? Well, the amount of specific, small-digit damage you get from this interaction makes it very likely that you’ll be able to remove an opposing threat. The likes of Orcish Bowmasters, Ocelot Pride, and Ragavan can all be easily picked off this way. When you do, Wakeen draws you a card and gives you a big advantage over your opponent.
This synergy is potent, but it’s far from the only reason to run Wakeen in Boros Energy. Galvanic Discharge lets you perfectly tune its damage to exact lethal, allowing for an easy draw. Phlage can also land regular perfect kills on buffed-up Psychic Frogs and the like. Throw in the fact that Wakeen is a solid two mana 2/3 outside of its ability, and it’s easy to see why it’s made its way into multiple 5-0 lists.
Reckless Pyrosurfin’
Interestingly, Taii Wakeen isn’t the only spicy addition to Boros Energy in recent weeks. We’ve also seen a number of lists running Reckless Pyrosurfer, an all-but-forgotten uncommon from Modern Horizons 3. If you thought Wakeen was obscure, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Reckless Pyrosurfer is a 2/2 with Haste and a particularly juicy Landfall trigger. Each time a land enters under your control, it gains a new instance of Battle Cry. For each instance it has when it attacks, your other attackers gain +1/+0. For the most part, this will translate to a two mana 2/2 that grants your opponent one or two extra power when it attacks. The deck does run Fetchlands, but no real way to go deeper than two lands a turn unless you keep a Fetchland across turns.
Turns out that a small power boost is more than enough, however. Boros Energy as a deck is actually very good at going wide. Ajani and Ocelot Pride both let you swarm with tokens, and many lists are now running Seasoned Pyromancer to push this further. Once you have a few tokens and regular creatures out, Pyrosurfer can easily put an extra 10-12 power on the board for just two mana. That’s a good rate, even for Modern.
Where Wakeen granted a grindy card advantage aspect to Boros Energy, Pyrosurfer adds more of an explosive combo element. If your opponent isn’t keeping your numbers in check throughout the game, they’ll find themselves dead out of nowhere before long thanks to this card. In that sense, it’s similar to Goblin Bushwhacker, only with better stats and a less intensive mana cost. Like Wakeen, this previously hidden gem has shown up in multiple 5-0 Boros Energy decks in the past week or so.
An Era Of Innovation?
Based on these new innovations, one might assume that Modern has entered a period of experimentation and growth. To an extent, this is certainly true. Boros Energy didn’t lose a huge amount with the December changes, just Amped Raptor, The One Ring, and sometimes Jegantha. How the deck has chosen to fill those now-vacant slots, however, has been interesting to observe.
The One Ring is pretty much impossible to replace, so most lists haven’t even tried. Some have subbed in Splinter Twin alongside a combo piece like Fear of Missing Out, but for the most part, the curve has come down and the slots have gone to Seasoned Pyromancer. Replacing Amped Raptor in the two drop slot has proved trickier. Both Taii Wakeen and Reckless Pyrosurfer are attempts to fill the void that powerhouse left behind, in very different ways.
You could argue that these changes barely represent innovation at all. Boros Energy is still 90% the same deck as it was before, it just needs to add one or two new cards now. That said, the fact that it’s changing at all is a positive thing for the Modern format. The days of The One Ring showing up in 60% of lists are behind us, and things are looking a lot healthier overall.
That players are willing to experiment with cards like Taii Wakeen in such a seemingly stagnant list is excellent. That such experiments are actually bearing fruit is even better. This proves that there’s plenty left to uncover in the new post-changes Modern. With this, and with multiple Magic Spotlight events on the cards for 2025, the future of the format is looking very bright indeed.
