Hammer Time is a fan-favorite archetype that unfortunately has fallen out of favor in Modern. The combination of power creep and the arrival of exciting new threats in Modern Horizons 3 made Hammer Time less appealing.
Thanks to a powerful new Planeswalker from Edge of Eternities, though, the deck may be poised for a comeback. It just boasted a great finish in a Magic Online Modern Challenge with a full playset of the Planeswalker included. On top of that, the build is quite unique, staying mono-white and abusing the power of a sweet Assassin’s Creed common. There’s a lot to like here, even in such a competitive environment.
Finding Colossus Hammer
While some Hammer Time strategies of new are more value-oriented utilizing Cori-Steel Cutter as a go-wide tool, this mono-white version is much more focused on going tall and winning quickly. Urza’s Saga can help win a longer game, but for the most part, your best chance of winning involves suiting up a creature with Colossus Hammer and attacking.
As such, you need a high density of ways to tutor for your elite equipment. Urza’s Saga certainly does the trick if it sticks around. Stoneforge Mystic is also a perfect option here, doubling as a way to find Colossus Hammer and a creature to suit up in combat.
Where this version of Hammer Time strays away from the traditional path is with the inclusion of a full playset of Tezzeret, Cruel Captain. As a three-drop, Tezzeret is clunkier than other options, including Steelshaper’s Gift and Cloud, Midgar Mercenary. However, the upside of getting to keep the Planeswalker around for multiple turns is huge.
In most cases, you’re going to use Tezzeret’s -3 ability when you get the chance and grab Colossus Hammer. This will leave Tezzeret with one loyalty counter. If Tezzeret lives until your next turn, all it takes is adding a couple artifacts to the board and you’ll be able to search for another artifact of your choice.
This is easy to do, considering many of your artifacts like Mox Opal and Ornithopter are extremely efficient. Mox Opal gives you the chance to accelerate out Tezzeret ahead of time, too, eliminating some of the card’s downside.
If you get to search up multiple copies of Colossus Hammer or Hammer plus Shadowspear, you’re in great shape to take over the game. This doesn’t even take into account the fact that Tezzeret can grab Tormod’s Crypt or Pithing Needle as a hate piece in games two or three. In grindy games, racing to the ultimate ability isn’t out of the question, either.
Bypassing Equip Costs
Once you’ve found your equipment, you need ways to bypass the massive equip cost. Interestingly, Sigarda’s Aid does not make an appearance here in any capacity. Instead, you’re reliant on two other tools to attach your equipment at low cost.
The first, unsurprisingly, is Puresteel Paladin. Achieving Metalcraft is trivial. From there, you’ll get to equip your creatures as you please and enable a massive attack.
The other way to swing games in your favor is to use Battlefield Improvisation. Battlefield Improvisation is a unique tool that makes combat a nightmare for the opponent. Even if you don’t have a way to give your creatures Trample, attacking with multiple threats puts your opponent in a bind. If you have more attackers than your opponent has blockers, you can wait for your opponent to block, then cast Battlefield Improvisation to attach all your Hammers to your unblocked threat.
A big reason why Battlefield Improvisation makes an appearance over Sigarda’s Aid in this decklist is that it works better with Leyline Axe. With Leyline Axe in your opening hand, you get to put it onto the battlefield for free at the start of the game. Alongside Colossus Hammer, Leyline Axe makes it easier to close games even in the face of lots of chump blockers, and you can use Battlefield Improvisation to attach all of your equipment to one of your attackers at once.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Constructing your Hammer Time deck in this manner certainly has its tradeoffs. On one hand, you’re better suited for racing situations. Leyline Axe and Battlefield Improvisation enable plenty of turn two kills. Against decks without tons of interaction, such as Amulet Titan or Ruby Storm, this version of Hammer Time is appealing.
On the flip side, though, not playing Cori-Steel Cutter makes it harder to win attrition battles. Cori-Steel Cutter shines against decks that are looking to use Fatal Push or Solitude to keep you off-balance. Solitude is especially annoying for this deck to deal with.
Even if your opponent is tapped out, you still risk losing your creature to Solitude in response to Battlefield Improvisation. There are cards like Blacksmith’s Skill or Voice of Victory that may help in these situations. There are just a lot of cards to choose from and only so many slots in your maindeck and sideboard.
Tezzeret and Urza’s Saga go a long way in helping you beat removal heavy decks at least. In some cases, it’s in your best interest to play patiently to avoid getting blown out. Hammer Time may not be a top tier strategy, but it’s a blast to play and can really punish players that are unprepared.
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