With Mystery Boosters being one of the best reprint products in quite a long time and "How can I get into modern" being one of the questions we are asked the most, we decided there was no better time than now (because really, we have plenty of time on our hands and we can only play so much Stardew Valley) to launch a blog dedicated to solid, budget decklist options across a variety of archetypes for people to test out and play.
The goal of the Mystery Booster Modern series is to create budget friendly, modern competitive decklists using the Mystery Booster set as the card pool from which to build from. Onto our first deck in the series:
This first decklist is a tried and true archetype that is played across any and all formats - mono red aggro. This particular version is looking to get down creatures early - Monastery Swiftspear on turn 1, Kiln Fiend on turn 2, then clear the board with red removal spells like Lightning Bolt, Shock, Gut Shot, and Wizard's Lightning that do double duty. With 8 creatures with prowess or pseudo prowess, every instant or sorcery you cast is also buffing your creatures letting them hit even harder.
One of red's historical drawbacks was card draw - but not anymore. Cards like Crash Through, Manamorphose, and Light Up the Stage do a great job refilling your hand with more cards while continuing to pump your creatures for their attacks.
There's a small wizard subtheme in the deck with 4 Ghitu Lavarunner and 4 Viashino Pyromancer helping to turn your 3 Wizard's Lightnings into additional copies of Lightning Bolt Viashino Pyromancer also has the added benefit of dealing 2 damage when it enters - good for finishing off an opponent on their last 2 life or turning on spectacle to make your Light up the Stage cost a single red.
The sideboard is simple but effective. Tormod's Crypt for graveyard shenanigans. Tibalt, Rakish Instigator for lifegain shenanigans. Damping Sphere for Tron, Amulet, or Storm shenanigans. Fry for Teferi shenanigans (and other pesky white or blue creatures) and lastly Smash to Smithereens for artifact shenanigans.
The total decklist comes in at an astounding $70! All but 14 of the main deck cards can be found in the Mystery Booster set with the others being printed in recent sets so those cards should be easily located.
If you've ever wanted to get into modern at the shop, this is a great place to start. Much of this deck goes right into the Tier 1 version of the deck by the same name that runs about $180-200 (https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-mono-red-blitz-96137#paper).
This is the first of what hopes to be many entries in the Mystery Booster Modern series. Stay tuned to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter for updates or just keep checking back!
Stay Super!
-Tim
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