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Indirect Modern Cube
(540 Card Cube)
Indirect Modern Cube
Art by Volkan BaǵaArt by Volkan Baǵa
540 Card Modern Cube3 followersDesigned by triggrhappy0RSSQR CodeView in Cube Map
Owned
$1,524
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$1,758

Cloned from Classic Modern Cube

Design Principles

The aim of this cube is to replicate some of the classic Modern formats and decks.

The cube was constructed around some pillars of the Modern format. Cards such as Lingering Souls, Snapcaster Mage, Dark Confidant, Splinter Twin, Tarmogoyf. These pillars are then expanded on, informing some of the basic themes, such as tokens, spells, graveyard synergies, control, combo etc. Card inclusion is thus also weighed against how "classically modern" they feel. There are no MH1, MH2, or LTR cards, but cards released in standard sets after these are included.

Games are intended to be about creatures attacking and blocking, decks that draw out value and piece together engines, decks that go under those decks, by chaining together cheap aggressive creatures and curving out, and glass cannons that look to go all in on cheating a big beefy creature into play.

Decks are intended to have counterplay options, but hard counters are avoided, eg. graveyard interaction requires decision making and targeted interaction, rather then bulk exile. This gives decks a chance to do their thing, to interact, and not be blown out by a single sideboard card.

Primary Archetypes

The following primary archetypes are supported:

wu Control
ub Tempo
br Aristocrats
rg Stompy
gw Value Town/Creature Combo
wb Tokens
bg Graveyard
gu Ramp Control
ur Spells
rw Artifact Aggro


wu Control

Built around the classic Modern big-hitters like Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and Sphinx's Revelation, this deck looks to stall out the early game with a suite of counter-magic like Remand and Mana Leak, spot removal like Path to Exile and sweepers like Supreme Verdict. Modern staples like Snapcaster Mage and Cryptic Command help to gain extra value and turn the corner.

Splashes: Splashing b or r can yield some additional spot removal and board wipes, including the most classic of classic Modern cards, Lightning Bolt.


ub Tempo

Inspired by the Faeries Modern deck, Ninjutsu, and newer decks such as Autumn Burchett's Mythic Championship-winning Mono-U Tempo Standard deck, this archetype looks to take a more aggressive take to the control decks often seen in this color pair.

Former Modern pillars like Bitterblossom, Vendilion Clique and Shadowmage Infiltrator ensure you always have a creature that can chip in for damage. The blue control suite in Mana Leak and Remand and spot removal like Fatal Push and Ultimate Price help to keep the board clear. While not part of the classic deck of days gone, this deck can be supplemented with a Ninjutsu package, with cards such as Ninja of the Deep Hours and Mistblade Shinobi bouncing cheap, evasive creatures with value ETBs, such as Snaremaster Sprite. Finally, aggression is rewarded through cards such as Curious Obsession and Chart a Course.


br Aristocrats

Using free or cheap outlets such as Vampiric Rites, Greater Gargadon or Woe Strider, this deck can sacrifice recursive bodies such as Bloodsoaked Champion, Gravecrawler, or Bloodghast. These can be combined with drain effects such as Mayhem Devil or Blood Artist or card draw such as Grim Haruspex to build effective value engines. This deck can also piece together some infinite combos through a free sac outlet, Murderous Redcap and a +1/+1 effect such as Metallic Mimic. Former Modern all-star Birthing Pod can pull double duty as a sacrifice outlet and a way to tutor up key pieces.

Cards that make multiple bodies like Pia and Kiran Nalaar or recursion such as Alesha Who Smiles at Death help to ensure you have enough blood for the blood god!

Splashing into w or g will bolster the infinite combo potential, with additional fodder such as Kitchen Finks and +1/+1 effects in Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit and Renata, Called to the Hunt. Old Modern staple Lingering Souls can also help to up the body count.


rg Stompy

A classic and simple deck, inspired by large creatures like Primeval Titan, and Inferno Titan as well as Tireless Tracker to generate value from land drops. Early ramp is driven by mana dorks Llanowar Elves, Birds of Paradise or Lotus Cobra and additional land drops from Farseek, Kodama's Reach and Search for Tomorrow.

Board-stalls happen, so cards that can push through damage, such as Elder Gargaroth, Craterhoof Behemoth, and Kessig Wolf Run are game changers.

Splash u for cards like Growth Spiral and payoffs such as Hydroid Krasis or Frost Titan, or to take advantage of blue's suite of countermagic.


gw Value Town Creature Combo

Inspired by the Melira Pod decks of Modern's heyday, and the more recent value town decks, this deck can either lean into a persist combo or a more midrange, creature-based value deck, or some combination of both.

These colors also permit a more midrange-aligned strategy, with value creatures such as Thraben Inspector and Tireless Tracker, bulked up with Gavony Township or Verdurous Gearhulk, backed up with Hardened Scales.

Splashes: With the overlap in rb, these are natural choices for a splash color, and give access to additional sacrifice outlets like Vampiric Rites or Greater Gargadon and drain effects with Blood Artist.


wb Tokens

This deck can win on multiple axes. A few weenies, courtesy of Lingering Souls or Bitterblossom, possibly doubled up thanks to Kaya, Geist Hunter, become real threats when you cast Collective Effort or pop the emblem on Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. Eventually a well-placed Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite will end the game in short order.

Alternatively, borrow from the Aristocrats package, and feed your tokens to a Viscera Seer or another sac outlets, and drain your opponents with Blood Artist.

Splashes: Depending on your variation, red can net you some extra Aristocrats pieces like Greater Gargadon and Mayhem Devil. Alternatively, pump your team with +1/+1 counter effects such as Gavony Township, Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, or Craterhoof Behemoth.


bg Graveyard

This archetype borrows pieces from Abzan and Jund Midrange and The Rock. The deck can be built to leverage a couple of slight variations on the graveyard. Cards such as Pack Rat or Satyr Wayfinder can help to fill the yard and hit delirium, and drop an early Emrakul, The Promised End or Ishkanah, Grafwidow. Tribal cards like Nameless Inversion or a discarded Bitterblossom will help to hit delirium sooner, or help to pump a Tarmogoyf to 6, 7 or even 8 power.

Alternatively, lean a bit more heavily on creatures in the yard, discarded to Fauna Shaman, to take advantage of one of my all-time favourite draft build-arounds Spider Spawning.

Splashes: r can help to fill the yard through some premium discard spells such as Faithless Looting and Cathartic Reunion.

There are some extra self mill options and payoffs in u, with Jace, Vryn's Prodigy helping to fill your yard, and eventually letting you rebuy a critical spell, while you can utilize excess cards in you graveyard to cast a critical Logic Knot.


gu Ramp Control

This archetype borrows from decks across formats, particularly draft formats in recent Standard sets, wherein the aim is to leverage green's ramp and blue's control suite to buy time to drop big threats, squeeze out the value and protect your board.

The usual ramp cards like Noble Hierarch, Llanowar Elves and Growth Spiral get you ahead on turns, land drops and mana curve, and ensure that Condescend and Logic Knot look more like hard counters.

Once you round the corner, a large Hydroid Krasis or Hornet Queen help seal the deal.

If you're leaning more heavily into green permanents, then Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx can help to drop an early Craterhoof Behemoth to push for a game-ending alpha strike.

Splashes: r can offer some premium removal in Lightning Bolt and help to keep your opponent's threats in check. It can also offer some great top end threats like Dragonlord Atarka or Inferno Titan.


ur Spells

This archetype is informed by cards new and old, with former staples like Young Pyromancer, Izzet Charm and Lightning Bolt alongside new hotness such as Shark Typhoon or Torrential Gearhulk.

The aim of this deck is to utilize cheap card draw, burn and removal alongside some token generators such as Talrand, Sky Summoner, pingers like Thermo-Alchemist or Guttersnipe, or tempo threats such as Sprite Dragon or Arclight Phoenix.

The deck can take the classic combo bent, by teaming up Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker or Splinter Twin with Pestermite, to pull a surprise win.

Splashes: w can be a back up on either plan, with premium cheap removal in Path to Exile, token generation in Monastery Mentor and additional combo pieces with Restoration Angel.


rw Artifact Aggro

Inspired of course by one of Modern's all-time pillar decks, Affinity and the more modern variations.

This archetype looks to drop some cheap artifact creatures Swooping Lookout, Bomat Courier, Goldhound, Skrelv, Defector Mite, Rabbit Battery, Gingerbrute and pump them using Tempered Steel or Steel Overseer. Once you've got your Affinity count up, a well-placed Cranial Plating on a thopter token or Vault Skirge represents a game-ending threat.


Additional Emergent Archetypes

There are some additional archetypes that emerge from the interaction of pillar cards, or that can be supported through the addition of a few extra cards.


b-rx TTB/Reanimator

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is pretty good. Why not get it down a couple of turns earlier, with Through the Breach? Bring it back from the graveyard, at instant speed, with Goryo's Vengeance or Makeshift Mannequin. There are plenty of other big beefy beaters to choose from, like Dragonlord Atarka, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, or Griselbrand. It's fragile, but fun!


bgx Midrange

One of the most central archetypes of classic Modern, favouring raw card quality over synergies and combos. Grind away at your opponents with planeswalkers like Vraska, Golgari Queen or the various Lilianas. Play Tarmogoyf, Dark Confidant, or Lingering Souls for that authentic Boomer Jund/Junk experience!


There was a time she was the face of Modern. Drop a Nahiri, the Harbinger and protect her long enough to pop her ult and search out Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, or another fatty bomb. Bonus style points for having the guts to run Dark Confidant! This archetype melds well with the Through The Breach and Reanimator packages.


Devotion

All five colours can build a devotion deck, utilising Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to drop a bunch of mana into a giant Walking Ballista, or coloured x spells like Secure the Wastes or Voracious Hydra. But thanks to Gray Merchant of Asphodel, the classic devotion finisher, none do it quite like b.


wubrg Golos Lands

A key element of Modern, and increasingly so in recent years, is the high availability of fixing. Golos, Tireless Pilgrim both bolsters and rewards a well-balanced manabase, by fetching out rainbow lands such as City of Brass or Mana Confluence, then activating his ability to spin for the win. Additional lands-matter support exists in cards such as Elvish Reclaimer, Knight of the Reliquary, and Ramunap Excavator.

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