Innistrad: Crimson Vow previews are done and dusted it’s providing some decent value for the Modern format. Unlike Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, this set focuses on Vampires instead of Werewolves. So expect plenty of tribal support for Vampires, Humans, Spirits, and Zombies.
If you missed out on the recent previews, we have a dedicated spoiler gallery to get you up to speed! With that, let’s look at some of the best cards from Innistrad: Crimson Vow for Modern.
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Admittedly a reprint,
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
First strike
Noncreature spells cost {1} more to cast.
is a staple in Modern in Humans and Death & Taxes. However, if you are looking to pick up the Legendary Human Soldier for Modern, when Crimson Vow drops will be the best time to acquire these.
As such, expect to see the card see plenty of play in Standard and Pioneer. Although
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
First strike
Noncreature spells cost {1} more to cast.
is one of the best ‘Tax’ effects in Modern, so having a set of these is a good baseline to enter into Modern.
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Chandra, Dressed to Kill
Crashing into Innistrad,
Chandra, Dressed to Kill
Chandra, Dressed to Kill
+1: Add {R}. Chandra deals 1 damage to up to one target player or planeswalker.
+1: Exile the top card of your library. If it's red, you may cast it this turn.
−7: Exile the top five cards of your library. You may cast red spells from among them this turn. You get an emblem with "Whenever you cast a red spell, this emblem deals X damage to any target, where X is the amount of mana spent to cast that spell."
looks to offer plenty for Mono-Red strategies in Modern. At three mana, you get a flexible set of abilities similar to
Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Chandra, Torch of Defiance
+1: Exile the top card of your library. You may cast that card. If you don't, Chandra deals 2 damage to each opponent.
+1: Add {R}{R}.
−3: Chandra deals 4 damage to target creature.
−7: You get an emblem with "Whenever you cast a spell, this emblem deals 5 damage to any target."
.
Expect to see the Planeswalker feature in Obosh Red strategies since Chandra is at an odd mana value, and her first plus ability can enable spectacle for spells such as
Light Up the Stage
Light Up the Stage
Spectacle {R} (You may cast this spell for its spectacle cost rather than its mana cost if an opponent lost life this turn.)
Exile the top two cards of your library. Until the end of your next turn, you may play those cards.
. Plus, you have the ability to cast cards from the top of your library which is ideal against the slower matchups. Don’t expect
Chandra, Dressed to Kill
Chandra, Dressed to Kill
+1: Add {R}. Chandra deals 1 damage to up to one target player or planeswalker.
+1: Exile the top card of your library. If it's red, you may cast it this turn.
−7: Exile the top five cards of your library. You may cast red spells from among them this turn. You get an emblem with "Whenever you cast a red spell, this emblem deals X damage to any target, where X is the amount of mana spent to cast that spell."
to feature heavily in Modern, but expect it to offer support for dedicated Mono-Red archetypes in the format.
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Geistlight Snare
Often in MTG sets, we see counterspells printed that support particular tribes and
Geistlight Snare
Geistlight Snare
This spell costs {1} less to cast if you control a Spirit. It also costs {1} less to cast if you control an enchantment.
Counter target spell unless its controller pays {3}.
is one of those. For Spirits, this card offers discount if you control a Spirit creature and/or an enchantment.
Alongside
Mana Leak
Mana Leak
Counter target spell unless its controller pays {3}.
,
Geistlight Snare
Geistlight Snare
This spell costs {1} less to cast if you control a Spirit. It also costs {1} less to cast if you control an enchantment.
Counter target spell unless its controller pays {3}.
can counter any spell unless your opponent pays three mana to cast it. Expect to see the spell crop up in Azorius and Bant Spirits since the discount is easy to achieve, and in post-board matches, you can meet the enchantment criteria with cards like
Rest In Peace
Rest In Peace
When this enchantment enters, exile all graveyards.
If a card or token would be put into a graveyard from anywhere, exile it instead.
. If you looking to play Spirits in Modern,
Geistlight Snare
Geistlight Snare
This spell costs {1} less to cast if you control a Spirit. It also costs {1} less to cast if you control an enchantment.
Counter target spell unless its controller pays {3}.
is one to add to your deck.
Read More: Modern Spirits Get SPOOKY Good Upgrade From MTG Crimson Vow
Cemetery Gatekeeper
Pushing effects are common and
Cemetery Gatekeeper
Cemetery Gatekeeper
First strike
When this creature enters, exile a card from a graveyard.
Whenever a player plays a land or casts a spell, if it shares a card type with the exiled card, this creature deals 2 damage to that player.
is another fantastic effect for Red. Although the effect is enter the battlefield only, you can slowly punish people for playing card such as fetch and shock lands. As such, they become better in multiples.
Even then, 2/1 with First Strike is a good rate for Modern. Expect to see it out of Red-heavy sideboards in Modern, especially the land-heavy money piles in the format. There’s probably not enough for a Vampire tribal strategy in Modern, but cards such as
Cemetery Gatekeeper
Cemetery Gatekeeper
First strike
When this creature enters, exile a card from a graveyard.
Whenever a player plays a land or casts a spell, if it shares a card type with the exiled card, this creature deals 2 damage to that player.
offer potential down the line.
Read More: How Good Is the New MTG Cemetery Cycle From Innistrad: Crimson Vow?
Headless Rider
Not only did we see Vampiress in Crimson Vow, but there are a bunch of Zombies in the set too. Out of the bunch, but
Headless Rider
Headless Rider
Whenever this creature or another nontoken Zombie you control dies, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
offers the most potential in Modern.
It can easily slide into Zombies in Modern as you are able to replace your creatures with 2/2 Zombie tokens. This is particularly ideal if you anticipate a board wipe, and can flash
Headless Rider
Headless Rider
Whenever this creature or another nontoken Zombie you control dies, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
off an
Aether Vial
Aether Vial
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a charge counter on this artifact.
{T}: You may put a creature card with mana value equal to the number of charge counters on this artifact from your hand onto the battlefield.
activation. It can die to a
Lava Dart
Lava Dart
Lava Dart deals 1 damage to any target.
Flashback—Sacrifice a Mountain. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
or a
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt deals 3 damage to any target.
, but could be what Zombies need in Modern to become a competitive strategy.
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Wandering Mind
Sometimes with MTG sets, you see Uncommons become pushed that could see eternal play, and
Wandering Mind
Wandering Mind
Flying
When this creature enters, look at the top six cards of your library. You may reveal a noncreature, nonland card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
is one of these. It may seem fairly unimpressive, but the ability to look at the top six cards of your library and reveal a non-creature or non-land card is too good to pass up.
Coupled with [tootlips]Ephemerate[/tooltips], you have the option to dig through so much of your library to find the spells you need. It could lend to a Jesaki Ephmerate build using
Wandering Mind
Wandering Mind
Flying
When this creature enters, look at the top six cards of your library. You may reveal a noncreature, nonland card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
to play a bunch of spells. Once again, it’s relatively fringe but could find a home in some fun FNM-style or lower-tier strategies in the format.
Read More: 10 Best Modern Cards from MTG’s Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
Shattered Sanctum, Dreamroot Cascade, Stormcarved Coast, Sundown Pass, and Deathcap Glade
Continuing from Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, these will see play in Modern in slower strategies such as Midrange, Control, or any strategy that can afford to have lands come in tapped early on.
Dubbed as the ‘Last Lands’, these lands come in untapped if you control two or more lands that aren’t limited to Basic lands. It’s likely Azorius Control and Gruul Midrange will be after some of these, however, they aren’t fetchable. But, this could be a nice budget option in place of shock lands until you can replace them. Going further, these are a nice budget option on the Battlebond lands for Commander, since they play similarly. These are a great pick-up for a myriad of formats, but if you are looking to play Modern on a budget, then these lands are a safe investment.
Read More: How Many Lands Should A Commander Deck Have?
Graf Reaver
Like
Headless Rider
Headless Rider
Whenever this creature or another nontoken Zombie you control dies, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
,
Graf Reaver
Graf Reaver
Exploit (When this creature enters, you may sacrifice a creature.)
When this creature exploits a creature, destroy target planeswalker.
At the beginning of your upkeep, this creature deals 1 damage to you.
is another contention for Zombies in Modern.
When entering the battlefield, the Zombie Warrior can exploit a creature and if it does, you can destroy target creature or Planeswalker. Given that Zombie strategies lean on
Geralf’s Messenger
Geralf’s Messenger
This creature enters tapped.
When this creature enters, target opponent loses 2 life.
Undying (When this creature dies, if it had no +1/+1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a +1/+1 counter on it.)
for life loss, this makes for an excellent exploit target. Even better, this can act as an instant removal spell if you have an
Aether Vial
Aether Vial
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a charge counter on this artifact.
{T}: You may put a creature card with mana value equal to the number of charge counters on this artifact from your hand onto the battlefield.
too. The incremental life loss could be an issue later on, but there’s nothing wrong with throwing Zombies into combat to stem the loss further.
Read More: Do Zombies Really Need Another Lord?
Dollhouse of Horrors
God-Phaorah’s Gift saw play in Standard, and
Dollhouse of Horrors
Dollhouse of Horrors
{1}, {T}, Exile a creature card from your graveyard: Create a token that's a copy of the exiled card, except it's a 0/0 Construct artifact in addition to its other types and it has "This token gets +1/+1 for each Construct you control." It gains haste until end of turn. Activate only as a sorcery.
looks to offer a similar playstyle. In terms of Modern, there could be options with Urza, Lord High Artificier since there is an emphasis on 0/0 Construct tokens.
Similarly, there could be a fun FNM-style combination with
Necrotic Ooze
Necrotic Ooze
As long as this creature is on the battlefield, it has all activated abilities of all creature cards in all graveyards.
using cards such as
Devoted Druid
Devoted Druid
{T}: Add {G}.
Put a -1/-1 counter on this creature: Untap this creature.
and Channeler Intiate to generate infinite mana. This artifact is one to keep an eye on, as it takes one card to break it further and Modern is capable of that potential.
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Cemetery Illuminator
Lastly,
Cemetery Illuminator
Cemetery Illuminator
Flying
Whenever this creature enters or attacks, exile a card from a graveyard.
You may look at the top card of your library any time.
Once each turn, you may cast a spell from the top of your library if it shares a card type with a card exiled with this creature.
looks to offer a different axis of attack for Azorius and Bant Spirits in Modern. Granted, the strategy has fallen out of favor over the years but could see a resurgence thanks to Crimson Vow.
For three mana, you get a Spirit that can exile cards from the graveyard on attack or when entering play. Then, you can cast cards from the top of your library that shares the same card type. It offers the ability to look at the top of your library too, which allows you to prepare for future turns. Overall, the card does a lot, and can get into combat with ease. It’s unlikely that you’ll need the whole playset for Modern Spirits, but a couple could offer some diversity in your lists.
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