I’ve been calling this deck Jeskai Erayo, but it’s really a Mox Amber deck. The
latest bit of jewelry has had a rough go of it since being unleashed on the
world to much fanfare. There aren’t a lot of great legends available to
make use of it, especially if you want to turn it on early in the game,
which is when the mana advantage generated by a Mox is most relevant.
But this deck goes beyond using Mox Amber as an accelerant. It also takes
great advantage of it being a zero-mana spell in general. It plays well
with Erayo, Soratami Ascendant, helping flip it as early as turn 2, gives
you a way to generate a Monk token off of Monastery Mentor even if you tap
out to cast it, and can cantrip with Jori En, Ruin Diver.
And with the exception of Jori En, which is admittedly underpowered, the
legends the deck plays to enable Mox Amber as a mana source are quality.
Erayo is a very powerful effect when flipped early, though it’s notable
that the enchantment side will not allow Mox Amber to tap for mana. Jace,
Vryn’s Prodigy is great in any deck that wants to play a pile of cheap
spells, and Geist of Saint Traft gives the deck another quality aggressive
creature.
The cheap spells should be familiar to any Modern player with Lightning
Bolt and Path to Exile for removal and Serum Visions and Opt keeping the
gas flowing. I do like the inclusion of Mishra’s Bauble as well, which can
lead to some very explosive Monastery Mentor turns, even if the opponent
has a removal spell.
The best part of all these potential engines is that they do different
things. This deck is very versatile, sometimes playing control with Erayo
and Jace, sometimes going aggro with Monastery Mentor, and other times
acting more like a combo deck, treading water in the early turns while
setting up a single turn that ends the game. That versatility makes this
deck difficult to play against, save a card like Chalice of the Void that
shuts down the cheap spells.
I knew when the card was previewed that Mox Amber was going to be more
difficult to utilize than previous Moxen, so I really like finding shells
where it can still be valuable even if it isn’t making mana. With a high
ceiling, raising the card’s floor is absolutely critical, and that’s what
this deck is primed to do.
Creatures (17)
- 3 Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
- 3 Snapcaster Mage
- 2 Geist of Saint Traft
- 3 Monastery Mentor
- 3 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
- 3 Jori En, Ruin Diver
Lands (17)
Spells (26)
Sideboard
