For readers of my article on Gruul Dragons in Modern, this deck was a direct offshoot of that one. Playing 11 Planeswalkers is powerful, but none are true game-ending threats the way the dragons are. How do we change that? We either play more powerful Planeswalkers or we make the ones we are already playing into…DRAGONS!!! In the following deck, we do both!
Decklist – R/G Superfriend Dragons
by Johnny Cycles
Format: Modern
Creatures (6)
| 4 Arbor Elf | |
| 2 Ignoble Hierarch |
Planeswalkers (23)
Spells (4)
| 4 Lightning Bolt |
Enchantments (4)
| 4 Utopia Sprawl |
Lands (23)
1 Boseiju, Who Endures
4 Field of Ruin
4 Forest
5 Mountain
4 Stomping Ground
1 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
Sideboard (15)
| 1 Tormod’s Crypt | |
| 1 Elixir of Immortality | |
| 1 Pithing Needle | |
| 1 Relic of Progenitus | |
| 1 Chalice of the Void | |
| 1 Liquimetal Coating | |
| 3 Void Mirror | |
| 3 Blood Moon | |
| 2 Brotherhood’s End | |
| 1 Wurmcoil Engine |
Primary Game Plan
Our goal is to play a Planeswalker every turn starting with 2 until we can 1-shot our opponent by turning all of those Walkers into 4/4 flying dragons with Sarkhan the Masterless‘ +1. Our secondary plan is to use Karn, the Great Creator to get a finisher from our sideboard or a hate card, such as Liquimetal Coating, that we can use to lock our opponent out of the game. Karn is a busted Magic card, as anyone who has played with or against it knows, which allows us to have some truly spicy 1-ofs in our sideboard if we so choose. More on this later. Our tertiary game plan is to ultimate one of our Planeswalkers (like Chandra, Torch of Defiance or even Nissa, Voice of Zendikar) and force a concession or have a whole lot of fun on our way to victory.
Let’s curve out into some 4/4 Dragon-Planeswalkers!
Ideal Hand
Much like our Gruul Dragons deck, we want at least two ramp pieces, but our ideal ramp will be the combination of Arbor Elf and Utopia Sprawl. We have 7 4-mana Planeswalkers to cast on turn 2 in this scenario, all of which will win us the game if left unchecked. Chandra, Torch of Defiance has a game-ending ultimate, but so does the 1-of, fun-of Sarkhan Vol. Karn, the Great Creator gives us a tutor effect that ideally ensures we neither get run over by the unfair decks nor run out of gas in the late game. Sticking one of these on turn 2 puts maximum pressure on our opponent.
Turn 2 Karn seems pretty good.
An equally viable and powerful start is ramping into one of our 3-mana Planeswalkers. Both Nissa, Voice of Zendikar and Saheeli, Sublime Artificer serve a similar, albeit slightly different purpose. Nissa immediately begins pumping out chump blockers to protect our Walkers on her way to a powerful and almost always game-ending ultimate. These chump blockers, though, are pretty poor on offense, unless we -2 her, which isn’t really where we want to be at in most games. Saheeli, Sublime Artificer needs a turn and another spell to start generating chump blockers, but she comes with the added benefit of those blockers being better on offense. We will almost always block with the 1/1 Servo tokens in the early game, but, in the right spot, they can present a fast clock. In the late game, they can help us finish off our opponent, either by going wide, or by copying whatever bomb we tutor up with Karn, the Great Creator.
There’s a combo here…
Chandra, Acolyte of Flame on turn 2 does give us a way to chip in some early damage, but we almost always want to play her later, when we can use her other +1 to add loyalty to one of our many red Planeswalkers (7 out of 9 are red). A late-game Chandra, Acolyte of Flame to sneakily ultimate either Chandra, Torch of Defiance or Sarkhan Vol, when our opponent is counting on another turn to answer them, is as fun as it sounds.
At this point, if these are the three Planeswalkers we’ve played, our opponent is probably very confused about what we’re trying to do. However, our deck also plays out in a more traditional tier-1 way. A turn 2 Wrenn and Six to ping a Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer is a familiar sequence for Modern players. Similarly, a Karn, the Great Creator fetching up a Liquimetal Coating will surprise no one.
However, let’s say we have a turn 1 Utopia Sprawl. Using that two mana to blow up a land with Field of Ruin, rather than playing our Wrenn and Six will oftentimes be our best play. Depending on the board state, we can use turn 3 to play the powerful 2-drop Planeswalker, get the Field of Ruin from our graveyard, and do it all again. It is not as exciting as playing more Planeswalkers, but it can hamstring our opponent long enough for us to pull ahead, particularly if they have a greedy mana base with only a couple of basics.
Land destruction becomes our fourth route to victory in this case, particularly when we follow up an early Field of Ruin with Karn, the Great Creator. Wrenn and Six into Karn into Liquimetal Coating will not shock any Modern player and often ends with our opponent scooping. Karn, the Great Creator is a great follow-up play to Saheeli, Sublime Artificer, as well.
In either of the above scenarios, Chandra, Torch of Defiance or one of our 5-drop Planeswalkers is what we want to see next. If we’ve managed the game well enough, Sarkhan the Masterless can be game over, as his +1 will give us between 12 and 16 points of damage in the air. One of the most fun and unexpected (for our opponent) plays is to turn all of our Planeswalkers into dragons and THEN activate their abilities (which we can still do, since they remain Planeswalkers). This is where Nissa, Voice of Zendikar’s -2 can be truly backbreaking.
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker is our best turn 3 5-mana Planeswalker, as he immediately attacks for 4 or snipes a problematic creature. His ultimate isn’t game ending, but it does ensure we won’t run out of gas, which should allow us to pull away from all but the truly unfair decks. He is also our preferred Sarkhan on an empty board, since his +1 allows us to start pressuring our opponent’s life total. Sarkhan the Masterless needs a turn before we can attack with the dragon he makes, not to mention that dragon is a token (and thus easier to answer) and comes at the cost of 3 loyalty.
Removal
Lightning Bolt gives us instant-speed spot removal to kill whatever needs killing, or just to keep one of our Planeswalkers alive. Other than that, Wrenn and Six, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, and Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker all give us some conditional removal. A 1-of Walking Ballista warrants consideration for the sideboard.
Other Planeswalkers
Beyond tweaking the numbers of each (one more Wrenn and Six or Chandra, Torch of Defiance, one less Nissa, Voice of Zendikar or Sarkhan Vol, for instance), there is the temptation to play 3 copies of Lukka, Coppercoat Outcast with one main-deck Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. I’ve tried this 2-card combo in a deck dedicated to it, but Modern is full of answers for the biggest, baddest creature ever printed that weren’t there even 5 years ago. Resolving an Emrakul, the Aeons Torn on turn 3 doesn’t lead to victory as often as you’d think since we have to wait a turn to attack with her. However, we could trim a few things to make room for this potentially game-ending combo that would give us another viable win condition. Once able, I’ll post an article about this deck, as well.
Cards to Consider for the Main Deck
We are pretty much priced in to playing as many Planeswalkers as possible to get maximum value out of Sarkhan the Masterless. The less we play of these, the less likely we’ll 1-shot our opponent. However, one version of this deck played 3 Questing Beast. Readers of my Gruul Dragons article will remember just how busted I think this card is. In this particular deck, the mythic from Throne of Eldraine gives us a way to simultaneously protect our Planeswalkers and pressure our opponent’s life total.
Sideboard
As with any sideboard, it greatly depends on the meta, which is always in flux. I’m constantly tweaking the list below and will detail some potential changes later. With that being said, we are a Karn, the Great Creator deck, so we have a lot of 1-ofs to help largely against the unfair decks.
| 1 Tormod’s Crypt | |
| 1 Elixir of Immortality | |
| 1 Pithing Needle | |
| 1 Relic of Progenitus | |
| 1 Chalice of the Void | |
| 1 Liquimetal Coating | |
| 3 Void Mirror | |
| 3 Blood Moon | |
| 2 Brotherhood’s End | |
| 1 Wurmcoil Engine |
Tormod’s Crypt and Relic of Progenitus give us graveyard hate. Tormod’s Crypt is included since it is a 0-mana spell we can cast the turn we tutor it up, assuming we tap out to play Karn. More on this below. Elixir of Immortality is great against both Burn and Mill. Pithing Needle gives us an answer for Planeswalkers and Urza’s Saga, along with problem cards not on our radar. Chalice of the Void is great against Burn and Murktide, as well as a powerful answer to Cascade decks. Liquimetal Coating can lock our opponent out of the game by blowing up a land a turn in conjunction with Karn, the Great Creator. Void Mirror stops Cascade decks, while also hating on Evoke Elementals. Blood Moon hates on Tron and Amulet Titan decks, while also being good against Hammer Time. Brotherhood’s End gives us a conditional sweeper that can answer go-wide strategies, while wrecking Hammer Time. It can also take out an opposing Pithing Needle or two, if our opponent has brought those in against us. Wurmcoil Engine is our only creature finisher we can tutor up with Karn, and it is great against Burn, or just as a way to stabilize, while pressuring our opponent’s life total in a way our Planeswalkers can’t without help from Sarkhan the Masterless.
Cards to Consider for the Sideboard
Engineered Explosives should be in the board and will be, once I fork out the $20+ for it. In previous iterations of the deck, I played Combustible Gearhulk as a spicy 1-of that I could use to close out games and/or dig for answers. The janky player in me wants to put it back in the board, but the competitive player has won out. The deck is already way ahead of most in jank level and needs all the help it can get against Modern’s best, and oftentimes unfair, decks. Finally, we might want to consider Abrade to give us more flexible spot removal, either taking out an opposing Pithing Needle or a must-answer threat, like Stoneforge Mystic.
As I edit this article, The One Ring has only just been printed and is ruling Modern. I detail two options as an answer in my Gruul Dragons article, Haywire Mite and Cast into the Fire. Haywire Mite would get the nod, here, as it is tutorable by Karn. Lucky for this deck, Karn, the Great Creator is a main-deck answer to the most powerful card in Modern.
The Problem with Karn, the Great Creator
You can’t tutor up a hate piece with Karn, if you’re dead before turn 3 or 4…
I know, I know, I know…you’re probably thinking, yes, he’s busted and needs to be banned. However, despite how powerful he is, there is a drawback to playing a sideboard full of 1-ofs to tutor up with his -2. First, we have to draw him before we can find our hate cards. The same can be said about our hate cards, of course, but it is the second problem coupled with this that is the real issue. He costs 4 mana and, unless we get him down on turn 2 on the play, he will often be too slow in today’s Modern. Cascade decks are trying to make rhinos on turn 3. If they’re on the play, even tutoring up Void Mirror on turn 2 isn’t going to be fast enough. Similarly, Chalice of the Void can’t stop 1-drop tribal decks, like Burn or Murktide, if you have to wait until turn 3 to cast it. By then, it will often be too late. Karn, the Great Creator‘s benefits in this deck outweigh the drawbacks, but for our really hard match-ups, it’s worth playing more than a single copy of a hate artifact.
Problem Cards
Turning our Planeswalkers, traditionally difficult to answer threats with spot removal, into creatures comes with an obvious drawback. Fatal Push with Revolt is suddenly a viable answer to Chandra, Torch of Defiance, or any of our other 3- and 4-mana Walkers. In today’s Modern, the most prevalent answers are already dynamic enough to answer a Planeswalker (Prismatic Ending, Leyline Binding, etc.), but there are still some heavily played answers, like Solitude, that are suddenly viable options once we make our walkers 4/4 dragons. Much like with our Gruul Dragons, Unholy Heat is the bane of our existence, efficiently answering any of our Planeswalkers once our opponent has delirium (which is always, it seems).
Frequent Decision Points
Turn 1 Utopia Sprawl or Arbor Elf?
Our most explosive turn 2 will come from a turn 1 Arbor Elf, followed by a turn 2 Utopia Sprawl and a 4-mana Planeswalker. With 7 4-mana Walkers in the deck, if you have the cards in hand to cast one of them on turn 2, then live the dream and go for it! Otherwise, I almost always play Utopia Sprawl first, as it is harder to kill than an Arbor Elf. If one of our 8 3-mana Planeswalkers is in our opening hand, then turn 1 Utopia Sprawl maximizes our chances of sticking it on turn 2, which is where we want to be at with this deck.
Turn 2 Nissa or Saheeli?
On an empty board, it is almost always correct to play Saheeli first, as her static ability allows us to get additional value out of each subsequent Planeswalker we play. Ideally, we play her on turn 2, followed by Nissa on turn 3, giving us two chump blockers. Furthermore, Saheeli’s tokens are great targets for Nissa’s -2 ability. Finally, once we get to the stage of the game where we’re making dragons or searching out bombs from our sideboard with Karn, the Great Creator, we can use Saheeli, Sublime Artificer’s -2 to turn one of our Servos into a copy of that bomb.
Turn 2 Wrenn and Six or a 3-mana Planeswalker?
With 10 turn-1 ramp cards, there is a good chance we’ll have 3 mana on turn 2 and a choice to make. Do we play Wrenn and Six or Nissa, Voice of Zendikar or Saheeli, Sublime Artificer? On an empty board, the answer is almost always one of our 3-mana Planeswalkers. With Nissa, we have an ultimate to work towards, while Saheeli will generate 1/1 Servos as soon as we untap with her, which is important if we want to protect our Planeswalkers. If there is a must-kill creature we can snipe with Wrenn and Six, then it is frequently better to run out the 2-mana Walker on turn 2, even if it’s not the most mana efficient play. Similarly, if we have a Field of Ruin and are up against a greedy mana base, it is sometimes correct to stick Wrenn and Six and begin blowing up lands. This is particularly relevant if we also have Karn, the Great Creator in hand, as we can tutor up a Liquimetal Coating to close out the game.
Final Thoughts
The deck is really fun to play, especially if you enjoy Planeswalkers as much as I do. When things come together, we resolve some early Walkers, manage the board state a few turns, usually with the help of more Walkers, and then stick a Sarkhan the Masterless to win from nowhere. When things don’t come together…well, sometimes we only draw 4- and 5-mana Planeswalkers and never get anything going before we die. Other times, our opponent is able to kill our Walkers and we are left with a turn 4 or 5 Sarkhan the Masterless on an empty board and facing down whatever army of creatures killed our other Walkers. Every deck can have unlucky draws, but since we are a midrange deck without a lot of card draw, we are more at the mercy of the top of our deck in the late game. Ideally, we will have 2-3 Planeswalkers to give us the value we need to get ahead, but if we don’t, then sometimes we just draw lands or mana dorks in the late game and die slowly.
Thanks for reading! What Planeswalkers would you run instead of those included here? Let me know in the comments below!
Notes from Matches Played
If you’re reading this and there isn’t video of actual game play posted, congratulations on being one of the first to visit my site and read this article. This site is a work in progress and videos of this deck in action are on my to-do list. In the meantime, I took notes on the games I played and have some pictures of some of the matches.
Match 1 – Affinity/Tron
Our opponent was on a brew that looked like Tron at first, but then they played an Etched Champion…They died in game 1 before doing much else (Urza’s Saga came down), and then they scooped the second game to my turn 2 Karn fetching up Liquimetal Coating.
In game 1, thanks in large part to our opponent doing little but ramping, I ticked up my turn 2 Nissa all the way to 7, only to use Sarkhan the Masterless to turn all my Planeswalkers into dragons and -2 the Nissa to give me lethal. The deck in game 1 worked as planned…Planeswalkers along the curve for value, to then be turned into dragons for a 1-shot kill. Our opponent was at 15 when we swung out for lethal.
In game 2, our ramp plan worked to perfection. Turn 1 Arbor Elf, Turn 2 Utopia Sprawl in order to cast Karn, the Great Creator. Our opponent was about to assemble Tron, but scooped…
Match 2 – 5-color Control
For being a control deck, they didn’t have many counterspells in game 1. Rather, they used Leyline Binding (3) to stabilize…except it didn’t work. They scooped the match in game 1 to my dragon Planeswalkers with some salty words on the way out. Mission accomplished!
Match 3 – Esper Artifacts
Opponent playing Grand Architect so up to no good. Transmutes Tolaria West for Academy Ruins. By this point, they were dead on board to a few pumped plant tokens and Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker. I again had a turn 2 Nissa.
On to game 2! Heartless Summoning is a surprise…I knew they were up to no good, but I’m still unsure what that entails. A Wurmcoil Engine and a few turns later, my board state was the following: Wrenn and Six, Saheeli, Sublime Artificer, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, and Chandra, Acolyte of Flame, which I used to put loyalty counters on all my Walkers. This made Wrenn and big Chandra ready to ultimate on the next turn. I had 3 blockers from Saheeli to protect them…and my opponent scooped.
So far, in the free play section, I’m 3-0 and haven’t dropped a game. To be fair, Money-Pile Control should’ve played it out, but rage scooping still counts in the W column!
Match 4 – U/W Sword Combo-Urza Pile
Lost this match 1-2 after drawing lands all of game 1. I died with 7 lands in my hand. That’s Magic, but the real irony of game 1 was that I used Field of Ruin every turn, thus thinning my deck to no basics and still drew only lands. Game 3 also saw major flooding, though I did draw a Igoble Hierarch late game. This is one drawback of playing a ramp deck. Sometimes you draw your ramp late when it is more or less useless. The odds of Game 1 happening again must be in the millions. Like lottery-winning odds. It was unbelievable.
Match 5 – Infect
Thought for sure I would get run over, but not only did I win the match, but I won 2-0 and in epic fashion, nearly getting a flawless victory in game 2.
Game 1
Game 2
Game 2 went the way of land destruction to seal the win.
Match 6 – Tron
Not so lucky against Tron…lost 1-2. Flooded out pretty hard in game 1 and had to mulligan to 5 in game 3, but we’ll always have game 2…
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
