Modern Horizons 2 is fully spoiled, and the set looks absolutely incredible. The power level and design of the cards in the set are some of the highest and most unique that we have seen in a long time. With a good number of format defining cards, hopefully there will be some new contenders in the Modern format.
However, Wizards of the Coast also printed some incredible sideboard tech that have the potential to disrupt the metagame. Here’s a list of the 5 Best sideboard cards that you should be playing from Modern Horizons 2.
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5 – Obsidian Charmaw
Our Fifth place sideboard card is Obsidian Charmaw. This card looks to potentially be a sideboard card in Red creature decks, against primarily against Tron, but can definitely be useful in other matchups. Casting cost reduction abilities are generally very strong in Magic: the Gathering and being able to put a decent body on the board while destroying a one off Tron piece, Eldrazi Temple
Eldrazi Temple{T}: Add {C}.
{T}: Add {C}{C}. Spend this mana only to cast colorless Eldrazi spells or activate abilities of colorless Eldrazi. or Blast Zone
Blast ZoneThis land enters with a charge counter on it.
{T}: Add {C}.
{X}{X}, {T}: Put X charge counters on this land.
{3}, {T}, Sacrifice this land: Destroy each nonland permanent with mana value equal to the number of charge counters on this land. can set you up to be in a good position to close the game. Other notable lands that this can snipe are Slayers’ Stronghold
Slayers’ Stronghold{T}: Add {C}.
{R}{W}, {T}: Target creature gets +2/+0 and gains vigilance and haste until end of turn., Cavern of Souls
Cavern of SoulsAs this land enters, choose a creature type.
{T}: Add {C}.
{T}: Add one mana of any color. Spend this mana only to cast a creature spell of the chosen type, and that spell can't be countered., and Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
Valakut, the Molten PinnacleThis land enters tapped.
Whenever a Mountain you control enters, if you control at least five other Mountains, you may have this land deal 3 damage to any target.
{T}: Add {R}..
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4 – Break the Ice
Break the Ice fills a similar role to Obsidian Charmaw, but in black, primarily as a way to deal with Tron lands. It has an added benefit of also destroying snow lands, but there are very few decks that are taking advantage of snow lands in Modern, so this is niche at best. Where this card beats out our number 5 pick is that it’s cheaper at 2 mana, which can come in before Tron is assembled, and it has a much higher ceiling in being able to destroy an entire colorless mana base. This is massively useful against both Tron variants. Combo this with a Surgical Extraction
Surgical Extraction({B/P} can be paid with either {B} or 2 life.)
Choose target card in a graveyard other than a basic land card. Search its owner's graveyard, hand, and library for any number of cards with the same name as that card and exile them. Then that player shuffles., and you can take Tron offline before they even get going.
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3 – Sanctifier en-Vec
Our number 3 pick is Sanctifier en-Vec. The direct competition of this card is going to be Auriok Champion
Auriok ChampionProtection from black and from red
Whenever another creature enters, you may gain 1 life., as they both have protection from black and red. The obvious home for this card would be in Death and Taxes. This provides another key blocker against the likes of Mono-Red, and using Aether Vial
Aether VialAt 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. to cheat this in at instant speed can deal with a stocked dredge graveyard. In the existing metagame, it’s a bit niche, but depending on what decks come up, this can be a very powerful D&T tool.
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2 – Inevitable Betrayal
Our penultimate pick is a spicy one, in Inevitable Betrayal. This Suspend-treated Bribery provides blue decks and cascade decks a way to fight against bigger, hard to deal with threats. Being able to steal an Emrakul, the Aeons Torn from a Through the Breach
Through the BreachYou may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield. That creature gains haste. Sacrifice that creature at the beginning of the next end step.
Splice onto Arcane {2}{R}{R} (As you cast an Arcane spell, you may reveal this card from your hand and pay its splice cost. If you do, add this card's effects to that spell.) player, a Primeval Titan
Primeval TitanTrample
Whenever this creature enters or attacks, you may search your library for up to two land cards, put them onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle. from Amulet Titan, or an Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
Ulamog, the Ceaseless HungerWhen you cast this spell, exile two target permanents.
Indestructible
Whenever Ulamog attacks, defending player exiles the top twenty cards of their library. from Eldrazi Tron should be enough to put the game away. This card definitely isn’t main deck viable as it’s rather poor against more aggressive strategies or control strategies, but bringing this in from the sideboard can allow you to steal games that you may have had a harder time clenching.
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1 – Void Mirror
Rounding out our best sideboard tech from Modern Horizons 2 is Void Mirror. This ranks the highest of the 3 Anti-Tron cards as it’s very easy to cast, being cheap and colorless itself, so it can slot into any sideboard. Again at 2 mana, this can come down under Tron assembly. Eldrazi Tron only has 1 out to this card, being Cavern of SoulsCavern of SoulsAs this land enters, choose a creature type.
{T}: Add {C}.
{T}: Add one mana of any color. Spend this mana only to cast a creature spell of the chosen type, and that spell can't be countered. as their only source of colored mana, and traditional Tron has some forests, as well as Chromatic Star
Chromatic Star{1}, {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color.
When this artifact is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, draw a card. and Chromatic Sphere
Chromatic Sphere{1}, {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color. Draw a card. (Activate only as an instant.) to filter in colored mana. Despite this, Void Mirror should be a powerful tool in Modern going forward.
Modern Horizons 2 releases in paper on June 18th, and is already released on Magic Online! What are some cards from Modern Horizons 2 that you’ll be using in your decks and sideboards?
READ MORE: Full Modern Horizons 2 Spoiler Gallery
