Welcome to the first week of ChannelFireball’s Power Rankings! We asked Luis Scott-Vargas, Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, Conley Woods, and YOU to rank the top 8 cards of both Modern and Standard.
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Standard
By far the best engine and card-drawing mechanism in the format. Every midrange and control deck is shaped around and by Sphinx’s Revelation.
One of the most potent threats in the format, and the hexproof deck is yet another way to abuse Geist.
The other component of the hexproof deck’s strength. Being unable to interact with this card makes it easily the most annoying of all the creatures in Standard.
Still the #1 staple in nearly every single deck running white mana. While it doesn’t excel anywhere, it remains one of the most prominent creatures in the format.
While the mighty Dragon doesn’t get as much coverage as he did a month or two ago, he remains one of the most lethal threats in RDW and various B/R Aggro decks. It weighs in with the biggest body for aggro mirrors and does a nice job of keeping Falkenrath Aristocrat in line.
6. Huntmaster of the Fells
As aggro decks begin to take over the format again, Huntmaster’s presence keeps everything in control. Few cards offer the same sheer value, and Restoration Angel will keep him in business for the near future.
7. Thragtusk
Slowly but surely, decks have adapted to the omnipresent beast. It still remains one of the best cards in Standard, but most decks are either too fast for ‘Tusks, or go way over the top of a 5/3. It’ll remain a player for as long as it’s legal, but continue to play second-fiddle.
8. Hellrider
Arguably a more important card to red than the Hellkite, it allows aggro to actually race the hexproof deck and Thragtusk. As long as red decks are playable in Standard, there’s a high chance they’ll be running Hellriders.
Disclaimer: These were written before the January 28th Banned and Restricted list announcement. Bloodbraid Elf and Seething Song are no longer legal in Modern.
Modern
This card does everything—it slices, it dices and makes a mana of any color. Not only did it give Jund the perfect one-drop, the mass playability of this card in Modern has caused splash damage against any deck looking to take advantage of the graveyard. I fully expect to see this on every ‘best one-drops of all time’ list in the future.
Dark Confidant is the only Modern engine that’s dirt cheap and requires the bare minimum investment for extra cards.
3. Birthing Pod
A good chunk of successful green decks all had access to a tutoring mechanism of some sort. With Green Sun’s Zenith banned, Birthing Pod offers a reasonable Survival of the Fittest/Aether Vial imitation. It allows for multiple combo kills and nearly infinite value from good creatures.
4. Thoughtseize
Jund gets away with a bunch of 50/50 matches in no small part thanks to Thoughtseize. It’s the best disruption spell available and it gives Jund one of the best anti-combo tools around.
The current gold standard for removal in the format. Electrolyze is a great example of how the UWR Midrange deck wins when it doesn’t run you over with Geist of Saint Traft. It gains a bunch of 2-for-1 trades and eventually beats you to death. Lightning Bolt’s efficiency remains unmatched.
Sometimes too expensive to be relevant and other times merely a 3/2 haste, when Bloodbraid wins the lottery it’s practically game over for the Jund opponent. This creature remains the bane of slower control and midrange decks and is another value creature Jund has access too.
This is effectively a stand-in for the entire hexproof deck. Bogle, along with his compatriots, have created one of the most obnoxious and powerful decks in the format.
Clique provides blue decks with a solid clock and actual hand disruption all in one card. While Jund has limited blue’s success thus far, nearly all the remaining blue decks embrace V. Clique.
Tune in next week, when the list includes ALL legal cards!
