New MTG MH3 Sol Land Enables Broken Starts in Modern!

Modern Horizons III leaks are coming out in full force, and there have been a lot of extremely powerful cards revealed so far. For reprints, Kappa Cannoneer Kappa Cannoneer Improvise (Your artifacts can help cast this spell. Each artifact you tap after you're done activating mana abilities pays for {1}.)
Ward {4}
Whenever this creature or another artifact you control enters, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. It can't be blocked this turn. and Meltdown Meltdown Destroy each artifact with mana value X or less. are sure to see play in Modern. Meanwhile, new cards such as Flare of Denial have gotten a ton of hype. Modern is undoubtedly in for a major shakeup once Modern Horizons III is released, and we’re just getting started.

Along with Wizards of the Coast’s recent confirmation that the majority of leaks are indeed real (sorry Brainstorm Brainstorm Draw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order. , you’re an exception), arguably one of the most powerful Lands we’ve seen in the last decade was shown off as part of the main set. Ugin’s Labyrinth is very reminiscent of Ancient Tomb but requires a bit of work to enable.

Still, having access to a Land that can repeatedly tap for two mana in Modern is no joke. In the late game, you can always put the exiled card back into your hand, so the card disadvantage element is rather minimal. The key is finding shells that can maximize it. Not only do you need an expensive card to pitch, but you also want ways to utilize the extra mana provided each turn. Fortunately, this isn’t quite as difficult as it may sound, and there are multiple archetypes that should benefit quite a bit from the Labyrinth’s presence.

Affinity Shells

The first strategy I expect players to try Ugin’s Labyrinth in is Affinity. Outlaws of Thunder Junction has revitalized Affinity in both Modern and Legacy thanks to the printing of Simulacrum Synthesizer Simulacrum Synthesizer When this artifact enters, scry 2.
Whenever another artifact you control with mana value 3 or greater enters, create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with "This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control." . The goal is to build up your Artifact count so that once you cast Synthesizer, you can follow up by casting cards like Frogmite Frogmite Affinity for artifacts (This spell costs {1} less to cast for each artifact you control.) or Sojourner’s Companion Sojourner’s Companion Affinity for artifacts
Artifact landcycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Search your library for an artifact land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.) for free and build a Construct army.

Affinity decks in Modern do currently play a high density of colorless Lands with Urza’s Saga and Darksteel Citadel in the mix, but Ugin’s Labyrinth seems well worth some slots. First, this deck makes good use of the mana boost Labyrinth provides. Getting to cast Synthesizer or Nettlecyst Nettlecyst Living weapon (When this Equipment enters, create a 0/0 black Phyrexian Germ creature token, then attach this to it.)
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 for each artifact and/or enchantment you control.
Equip {2} ahead of schedule can be a game changer. On top of that, being able to make Constructs with Urza’s Saga by simply tapping Saga and Labyrinth is a great option to have.

Second, this deck already plays Sojourner’s Companion as a colorless option you can exile from your hand to Labyrinth. Given how powerful Labyrinth is, adding Myr Enforcer Myr Enforcer Affinity for artifacts (This spell costs {1} less to cast for each artifact you control.) to the mix to increase consistency seem very reasonable.

For those who have played Legacy, you know how amazing “Sol” Lands like Ancient Tomb and even City of Traitors City of Traitors When you play another land, sacrifice this land.
{T}: Add {C}{C}. are. While Ugin’s Labyrinth does require more deckbuilding restrictions to make it work, it’s worthwhile to jump through some hoops to be able to play a card this good.

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Tron Variants

One style of deck that naturally contains high-mana colorless cards for you to exile to Labyrinth is Modern Tron. The goal of Tron decks is to assemble the combination of Urza’s Mine Urza’s Mine {T}: Add {C}. If you control an Urza's Power-Plant and an Urza's Tower, add {C}{C} instead. , Urza’s Power Plant Urza’s Power Plant {T}: Add {C}. If you control an Urza's Mine and an Urza's Tower, add {C}{C} instead. , and Urza’s Tower Urza’s Tower {T}: Add {C}. If you control an Urza's Mine and an Urza's Power-Plant, add {C}{C}{C} instead. in order to gain a huge mana advantage. From there, haymakers like Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger When you cast this spell, exile two target permanents.
Indestructible
Whenever Ulamog attacks, defending player exiles the top twenty cards of their library. , Karn Liberated Karn Liberated +4: Target player exiles a card from their hand.
−3: Exile target permanent.
−14: Restart the game, leaving in exile all non-Aura permanent cards exiled with Karn. Then put those cards onto the battlefield under your control. , or Ugin, the Spirit Dragon can send your opponent back to the Stone Age.

Labyrinth has a lot of upside in Modern Tron. It’s easy to enable Labyrinth, and now that The One Ring The One Ring Indestructible
When The One Ring enters, if you cast it, you gain protection from everything until your next turn.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life for each burden counter on The One Ring.
{T}: Put a burden counter on The One Ring, then draw a card for each burden counter on The One Ring. is part of the equation, Labyrinth increases the likelihood you can cast the powerful Artifact early. You can even cast it turn two if you’re lucky enough!

Unfortunately, though, the fact that playing Labyrinth early comes at the cost of delaying your ability to assemble Tron means that it isn’t a slam dunk inclusion for every version of Tron. Mono-green Tron, for example, is heavily focused around getting all three Tron Lands in play by turn three. There aren’t even that many ways in the deck to maximize the early mana acceleration Labyrinth provides. In order to fully abuse Labyrinth, you need efficient, potent cards to play in the first couple turns.

This is where some other Tron variants come into play. Eldrazi Tron and mono-blue Tron, two decks that have fallen a bit out of favor in recent years, may be back in the spotlight thanks to Labyrinth. These decks have a ton of ways to maximize a Land that taps for two mana on turn one. Right off the bat, being able to slam Chalice of the Void Chalice of the Void This artifact enters with X charge counters on it.
Whenever a player casts a spell with mana value equal to the number of charge counters on this artifact, counter that spell. on turn one on the play is now something the opponent has to worry about.

For mono-blue Tron, Condescend Condescend Counter target spell unless its controller pays {X}. Scry 2. (Look at the top two cards of your library, then put any number of them on the bottom and the rest on top in any order.) and Tishana’s Tidebinder Tishana’s Tidebinder Flash
When this creature enters, counter up to one target activated or triggered ability. If an ability of an artifact, creature, or planeswalker is countered this way, that permanent loses all abilities for as long as this creature remains on the battlefield. (Mana abilities can't be targeted.) both get much better in the early turns. For Eldrazi Tron, one of the scariest plays the deck could make in the past was to play Thought-Knot Seer Thought-Knot Seer ({C} represents colorless mana.)
When this creature enters, target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it and exile that card.
When this creature leaves the battlefield, target opponent draws a card. on turn two off double Eldrazi Temple. Now, this can happen much more frequently. Eldrazi Tron already plays cards like All is Dust All is Dust Each player sacrifices all permanents they control that are one or more colors. and Ulamog to pitch to Labyrinth, which is a good start.

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Calibrated Blast and Beyond

While Tron and Affinity builds appear to be the most likely shells for Ugin’s Labyrinth to show up in, there are some other places worth discussing. One of the more underrated archetypes for Ugin’s Labyrinth is Calibrated Blast combo in Modern. Calibrated Blast is a deck with a very simple gameplan: resolve Calibrated Blast and dome your opponent for a ton of damage.

The majority of the cards in the deck are Lands. Outside of that, the deck plays Calibrated Blast, Throes of Chaos which is guaranteed to Cascade into Calibrated Blast, and a bunch of fatties to reveal when Calibrated Blast resolves. Hidden Volcano Hidden Volcano This land enters tapped.
{T}: Add {R}.
{4}{R}, {T}, Sacrifice this land: Discover 4. Activate only as a sorcery. (Exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card with mana value 4 or less. Cast it without paying its mana cost or put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom in a random order.) helps add a bit of redundancy to your gameplan, but is a bit on the slower side.

Labyrinth helps solve this problem. It reliably lets you go off a turn early, which is a huge deal for this one-dimensional combo deck. Additionally, this deck plays a total of eight colorless cards to exile to Labyrinth. With access to playsets of both Scion of Draco and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, there’s a good chance you will have one in hand to pair with Labyrinth.

Beyond Modern, Labyrinth also seems like a solid inclusion in any Eldrazi-themed Commander deck. In Legacy, Labyrinth is definitely less likely to find a home given its competition with Ancient Tomb and beyond. Still, there’s a chance Labyrinth finds a home in a big mana deck using Cloudpost Cloudpost This land enters tapped.
{T}: Add {C} for each Locus on the battlefield. and Grim Monolith Grim Monolith This artifact doesn't untap during your untap step.
{T}: Add {C}{C}{C}.
{4}: Untap this artifact. .

For a format like Modern where Ancient Tomb is not legal and fast mana elements like Simian Spirit Guide Simian Spirit Guide Exile this card from your hand: Add {R}. and Mox Opal Mox Opal Metalcraft — {T}: Add one mana of any color. Activate only if you control three or more artifacts. are banned, Labyrinth has massive potential. We’re barely into spoiler season for Modern Horizons III and there have been multiple powerhouses revealed that are sure to bring change to Modern. It’s clear Wizards of the Coast is continuing to push the boundaries with each Modern Horizons set, for better or for worse.

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