Marvelous Modern - The Great Transition From Standard

By: Dale Pon

Most of the Magic players reading this article are going to be Standard players, and thus it makes sense to write about how one would go about getting into Modern from a Standard player’s point of view.  I’ve already talked about the lands so I won’t talk any more about them.  In this article, instead of just listing which current Standard cards are staples in Modern and which aren’t, I will explain a little about how one should go about evaluating a card’s potential in Modern, as well as providing some examples.

 A good illustrative example in current Standard is Searing Spear.  In Standard, Searing Spear is the backbone of nearly any deck with red in it, and it’s usually a 4-of as well.  However take a look at any Modern deck with red and there’s not a single Searing Spear to be seen; why is this?  Well, if you only started playing from M12 onwards the answer might not be clear, but anyone playing longer than that will know of the infamous Lightning Bolt, which is strictly better than Searing Spear (for those unaware, the term “strictly better” is used to describe a particular card which is better than another card in almost every conceivable situation, which means it is usually cheaper for the same effect, or the same cost, but additional effects).


Thus, from the above example, a useful question to first ask about a Standard card is, “Is there a Modern-legal card that is strictly better than this card?”

Another point to consider is the speed and efficiency of a particular card and if it is fast enough for Modern.  Spells having a CMC of 4 or more need to be particularly powerful to be included in a Modern deck, and as a general rule of thumb, one never wants to have any Vanilla creatures (i.e. creatures with no abilities) in a deck.Standard staples such as Geist of Saint Traft, Snapcaster Mage, Restoration Angel, and more recently Thundermaw Hellkite have all found their way into Modern due their efficiency, (Geist of Saint Traft is one of the best 3 drops out there; Snappie is a 2/1 Flash for 2 mana and a relevant ability; Restoration Angel is an efficient and effective 4 drop, being a 3/4 flier with flash and the ability to flicker; and Thundermaw Hellkite, because, well he’s a giant 5 CMC 5/5 flying facebasher).  Deathrite Shaman is also now a well-entrenched Modern staple due to its incredible versatility and low mana cost; for 1 mana you get a 1/2 with 3 very relevant abilities



Sometimes cards are printed in Standard that are unique in what they do, and thus also should be considered for use in Modern.  If you look at cards from pre-Return to Ravnica Standard, i.e. M12, Scars of Mirrodin, Mirrodin Besieged, and New Phyrexia, there are several cards that are rather powerful as well as being unique in their abilities/effects.  Cards such as Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Sword of War and Peace, Sword of Feast and Famine as well as Batterskull are all examples of unique and powerful cards that are now Modern staples.Elseh Norn due to its power in Reanimator style decks, the Swords because of their sheer awesomeness, and Batterskull because it’s a beater, with vigilance and lifelink and the ability to bounce it when it gets targeted by removal. Thus, it’d be rather wise to pick them up now while they’re still relatively cheap, since just after rotation the price of most staples tends to drop radically, and then gradually rise as supply is less and demand grows.

Given below is a list off the top of my head of pre-Return to Ravnica and current Standard cards that are used/have potential in Modern.  It isn’t a complete list, but it should serve as a guideline.

Arbor Elf
Batterskull
Birds of Paradise
Cavern of Souls
Delver of Secrets
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
Geist of Saint Traft
Geralf’s Messenger
Grim Lavamancer
Grafdigger’s Cage
Huntmaster of the Fells
Izzet Charm
Karn Liberated
Liliana of the Veil
Mana Leak
Olivia Voldaren
Phantasmal Image
Rancor
Restoration Angel
Snapcaster Mage

Surgical Extraction

Sword of Feast and Famine
Sword of War and Peace
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Timely Reinforcements
Torpor Orb
Wurmcoil Engine

Thanks for reading.

Until next time!