Broken MTG Combo Teams Up With Nostalgic Threat to Crush Recent Event!

2023’s relentless power creep has left a lot of MTG cards in the dust. Even in the new Timeless format on MTG Arena, fan-favorite nostalgia-inducing cards like Snapcaster Mage Snapcaster Mage Flash
When this creature enters, target instant or sorcery card in your graveyard gains flashback until end of turn. The flashback cost is equal to its mana cost. (You may cast that card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.) and Tarmogoyf Tarmogoyf Tarmogoyf's power is equal to the number of card types among cards in all graveyards and its toughness is equal to that number plus 1. are seeing a little play, but definitely aren’t dominant forces in the format. That trophy instead goes to the backbreaking legion of One Rings and Bowmasters coming out of every format.

That said, every once in a while, an MTG player finds a way to make an old dog learn new tricks. In a recent Modern Challenge, one player managed to top four the event with a new take on the infamous Scam strategy.

Hit by the recent banlist, Fury Fury Double strike
When this creature enters, it deals 4 damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures and/or planeswalkers.
Evoke—Exile a red card from your hand. was removed from the Modern format. The card was keeping creature-based strategies out of the format, and the Rakdos Scam deck, which used Fury as a core part of the strategy, took up a disgusting 30% of the metagame. Even with a core piece of the deck removed, Rakdos Scam is still very relevant, winning a recent 702-player event, and even winning the tournament that we’re highlighting today.

Regardless, many players have been looking for other colors to pair the powerful black Grief scam combo (referring to reanimating a Grief Grief Menace
When this creature enters, target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card.
Evoke—Exile a black card from your hand. with Not Dead After All Not Dead After All Until end of turn, target creature you control gains "When this creature dies, return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner's control, then create a Wicked Role token attached to it." (Enchanted creature gets +1/+1. When this token is put into a graveyard, each opponent loses 1 life.) as early as turn one) with now that Fury is gone, and this recent take on Golgari Scam utilizes Endurance Endurance Flash
Reach
When this creature enters, up to one target player puts all the cards from their graveyard on the bottom of their library in a random order.
Evoke—Exile a green card from your hand. , Tarmogoyf, and even Glissa Sunslayer Glissa Sunslayer First strike, deathtouch
Whenever Glissa Sunslayer deals combat damage to a player, choose one —
• You draw a card and lose 1 life.
• Destroy target enchantment.
• Remove up to three counters from target permanent. to make waves!

Golgari Scam

Magic Online player AlbertoSD piloted this Golgari Scam deck to a top four finish in a recent Modern Challenge. Other decks that top eighted the event include three Rakdos Scam decks, Creativity, Domain Zoo and Living End.

There’s a lot of overlap between the Golgari and Rakdos decks, but the differences are important. Living End is rather popular at the moment, so having three Endurance in the main deck is absolutely brutal to any strategies that are trying to utilize the graveyard. You can scam Endurance in an emergency, but the creature doesn’t offer a huge reward in exchange for three cards. As a result, even though this deck is running seven Evoke elementals, you will only see four Not Dead After All Not Dead After All Until end of turn, target creature you control gains "When this creature dies, return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner's control, then create a Wicked Role token attached to it." (Enchanted creature gets +1/+1. When this token is put into a graveyard, each opponent loses 1 life.) for actually scamming cards.

Since the deck already has four Dauthi Voidwalker Dauthi Voidwalker Shadow (This creature can block or be blocked by only creatures with shadow.)
If a card would be put into an opponent's graveyard from anywhere, instead exile it with a void counter on it.
{T}, Sacrifice this creature: Choose an exiled card an opponent owns with a void counter on it. You may play it this turn without paying its mana cost. , three Endurance in the maindeck may not be needed. Depending on how the meta develops, if players continue experimenting with Golgari Scam, this could change.

Perhaps the biggest addition that green offers the Scam strategy is actually Tarmogoyf. A turn one Grief Scam followed up by Tarmogoyf threatens to close the door quickly, allowing the Scammed body of Grief to acquire a lot more value.

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Massive Removal Upgrades

One huge difference between Rakdos and Golgari Scam is the incredible removal option green grants access to. Maelstrom Pulse, while a somewhat bizarre choice, can remove almost anything threatening your board state. Notably, Pulse will kill every Rhino token that Crashing Footfalls Crashing Footfalls Suspend 4—{G} (Rather than cast this card from your hand, pay {G} and exile it with four time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, you may cast it without paying its mana cost.)
Create two 4/4 green Rhino creature tokens with trample. creates, allowing you to effectively trade three mana for their biggest tempo play. If they end up going double Footfalls, you’ll four for one them!

Assassin’s Trophy Assassin’s Trophy Destroy target permanent an opponent controls. Its controller may search their library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle. and Force of Vigor Force of Vigor If it's not your turn, you may exile a green card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Destroy up to two target artifacts and/or enchantments. in the sideboard help demolish any hate that players could potentially bring to the battlefield. This doubles as removal for Amulet of Vigor in the Titan matchup, and can absolutely ruin the board states of Hammer players.

If this weren’t enough, this list also runs two copies of Tear Asunder Tear Asunder Kicker {1}{B} (You may pay an additional {1}{B} as you cast this spell.)
Exile target artifact or enchantment. If this spell was kicked, exile target nonland permanent instead. . The card is Capable of exiling anything under the sun. More pressing artifact and enchantment-based threats like Urza’s Saga Urza’s Saga (As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.)
I — This Saga gains "{T}: Add {C}."
II — This Saga gains "{2}, {T}: Create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with 'This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control.'"
III — Search your library for an artifact card with mana cost {0} or {1}, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle. , Amulet of Vigor Amulet of Vigor Whenever a permanent you control enters tapped, untap it. and Sigarda’s Aid Sigarda’s Aid You may cast Aura and Equipment spells as though they had flash.
Whenever an Equipment you control enters, you may attach it to target creature you control. can be removed in a timelier manner.

Considering how much artifact and enchantment hate is already here, Tear Asunder may seem like overkill. One thing some players may miss is that this card can deal with one very specific threat that nothing else in this deck can: 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. . The overabundance of enchantment hate may be present, but considering The One Ring’s ability to win the game on its own in multiple strategies, it may be a necessary evil. Regardless, this deck has very powerful gameplans for artifact and enchantment decks as well as graveyard strategies.

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Powerful Threats

Tarmogoyf aside, adding Green to the Black Scam package grants access to even more powerful threats. Grist, the Hunger Tide, in particular, plays incredibly well in this strategy. Capable of removing opposing threats and creating consistent pressure, Grist is incredibly powerful when both players are on ‘topdeck mode’, can fuel Tarmogoyf, and can help stabalize a board state. Being able to pitch Griest to both Grief and Endurance is an additional upside.

Glissa, Sunslayer feels a bit like a test in this list, but it is also quite capable in topdeck scenarios. The combination of First Strike and Deathtouch is infamously powerful, allowing Glissa to pressure the opponent, as well as lock down any problematic attackers. Glissa can also blow up Urza’s Saga if she connects, which shuts down one grinding tool that could give this deck some issues.

Weaknesses

As strong as Golgari Scam is, whether or not its better than Rakdos Scam is the awkward question to ask. For now, Golgari is a new idea, which means there’s a lot more refining to do, but the Golgari deck eventually fell to Rakdos Scam in the top eight, which went on to win the tournament.

Rakdos Scam runs a ton of removal that matches up well with the threats this deck has to offer. Terminate Terminate Destroy target creature. It can't be regenerated. and Molten Collapse Molten Collapse Choose one. If you descended this turn, you may choose both instead. (You descended if a permanent card was put into your graveyard from anywhere.)
• Destroy target creature or planeswalker.
• Destroy target noncreature, nonland permanent with mana value 1 or less. kill anything that this deck can resolve, and Fable of the Mirror-breaker Fable of the Mirror-breaker (As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter.)
I — Create a 2/2 red Goblin Shaman creature token with "Whenever this token attacks, create a Treasure token."
II — You may discard up to two cards. If you do, draw that many cards.
III — Exile this Saga, then return it to the battlefield transformed under your control. as well as Seasoned Pyromancer Seasoned Pyromancer When this creature enters, discard two cards, then draw two cards. For each nonland card discarded this way, create a 1/1 red Elemental creature token.
{3}{R}{R}, Exile this card from your graveyard: Create two 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens. are just as good as playing a grindy game as many of the Golgari cards are.

Rakdos has the added threats of Blood Moon Blood Moon Nonbasic lands are Mountains. effects and Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Whenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card.
Dash {1}{R} (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.) that can end games if left unchecked as well. Ragavan isn’t a big deal because of the amount of Fatal Push Fatal Push Destroy target creature if it has mana value 2 or less.
Revolt — Destroy that creature if it has mana value 4 or less instead if a permanent left the battlefield under your control this turn. and Orcish Bowmasters Orcish Bowmasters Flash
When this creature enters and whenever an opponent draws a card except the first one they draw in each of their draw steps, this creature deals 1 damage to any target. Then amass Orcs 1. running around, at least for this matchup, but one has to wonder whether or not the tools that red offers are just stronger into the overall metagame. That said, Rakdos Scam has traditionally had a questionable Rhinos matchup, and Golgari Scam has Maelstrom Pulse as a silver bullet. Both decks can run Engineered Explosives Engineered Explosives Sunburst (This artifact enters with a charge counter on it for each color of mana spent to cast it.)
{2}, Sacrifice this artifact: Destroy each nonland permanent with mana value equal to the number of charge counters on this artifact. out of the sideboard, however, for similar payoff.

Either way, many players are excited that a new flavor of Scam seems to be on the menu. Offering the nostalgic Tarmogoyf another shot at Modern greatness, it will be interesting to see if Golgari Scam develops into a true metagame contendor.

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