Kaladesh, you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention.
Today I’ll be looking at some sweet Kaladesh cards and combos that might just fit right into Modern. Some of these ideas and decks will be silly. Some will be Saheeli. Let’s get right to it with our first fresh combo from Kaladesh.
They actually did it, the absolute madmen!
They really made a four-mana Platinum Emperion!
Kind of.
Would a straight up four-mana Platinum Emperion see play in Modern? You bet your bronze booty it would, and casting Madcap Experiment into Platinum Emperion is darn close.
You could try tinkering around with Blightsteel Colossus and Madcap Experiment alongside Soulfire Grandmaster, Hallow, or the like, but I think your best bet is to focus on a consistent “one-card” combo here.
Casting Madcap Experiment, if Platinum Emperion is in your deck, results in you getting a Platinum Emperion and no damage taken from Madcap Experiment, since Platinum Emperion keeps your life total from changing.
This is quite a bit worse than Platinum Emperion just costing 3R, since you run the risk of drawing every Platinum Emperion in your deck, which makes Madcap Experiment a dead card.
Platinum Emperion isn’t exactly what you ever want to draw, although it’s somewhat passable being hardcast for 8 mana, at least much more so than Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
It actually seems somewhat similar to the Nahiri, the Harbinger and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn combo, which might explain why the first place that my mind immediately jumps to is Jeskai Control (although, to be fair, that’s the first place my mind always jumps).
Creatures (9)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (20)
Spells (27)
Do Madcap Experiment and Platinum Emperion cut it as a replacement for Nahiri, the Harbinger and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn?
Probably not, which is why you’ll notice it’s only made its way into the sideboard to start off with.
Plenty of decks in Modern are packing hard removal like Path to Exile maindeck but won’t want those in against Jeskai Control post-sideboard, which means we can do the ol’ switcheroo and bring in Platinum Emperion as they take out their removal. The effectiveness of Platinum Emperion also ranges wildly depending on what Modern deck you’re up against, so we can just keep it benched if we need to.
Nahiri, the Harbinger is a great addition to Jeskai Control that will be hard to match, so let’s take a look at what both options do.
Nahiri, the Harbinger draws cards, is resilient against spot removal, has high loyalty, can exile large tapped creatures and enchantments like Blood Moon, and will end the game after a couple of turns combined with Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
Nahiri, the Harbinger is good, but the format is incredibly fast, and Nahiri, the Harbinger’s weakness is that she doesn’t have a major impact the turn she enters the battlefield against a lot of decks.
Platinum Emperion is almost the opposite in its effect on the game compared to Nahiri, the Harbinger.
Platinum Emperion doesn’t provide any card advantage, is vulnerable to hard removal (dies to Doom Blade!), and doesn’t immediately end the game like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
But once Platinum Emperion hits the battlefield, it can’t be ignored. Platinum Emperion must be dealt with before the opponent can win (in most matchups).
Next, let’s go over some common rules interactions that might come up involving Platinum Emeperion in the Modern format.
When you have Platinum Emperion on the battlefield:
– Infect still infects (and kills) you.
– An opponent’s Griselbrand smacking your face (or any lifelink) still gains your opponent life despite not being able to change your life total.
– Laboratory Maniac still beats you.
– A Scapeshifted Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle just needs three extra triggers to first take out Platinum Emperion before hitting your life total.
– Your fetchlands don’t work (Platinum Emperion wags its finger and says you can’t pay a cost that includes the payment of any amount of life other than zero life.)
– Path to Exile and Kolaghan’s Command get Platinum Emperion good.
All of that may make any description of how great Platinum Emperion is sound more like a case of the Emperion’s new clothes, all talk and no substance. Keep in mind, though, that this is a four mana 8/8 that basically says “you can’t lose” a large chunk of the time. That’s pretty good.
Here’s a list of the cards most likely to show up in the most-represented Modern decks’ maindecks and sideboards that will remove or beat Platinum Emperion:
Affinity – Double Galvanic Blast, Inkmoth Nexus
Bant Eldrazi – Path to Exile, Double Dismember
Jund – Terminate, Kolaghan’s Command, Liliana of the Veil, Maelstrom Pulse
Abzan – Path to Exile, Liliana of the Veil, Maelstrom Pulse
Burn – Path to Exile, Destructive Revelry
Dredge – Conflagrate for eight, Ancient Grudge
Ad Nauseam – Laboratory Maniac, Echoing Truth, Slaughter Pact
The other major pitfall of running Madcap Experiment and Platinum Emperion is you risk running out of Platinum Emperions, by either drawing them all or having them all get destroyed, balanced with the risk of filling your deck with a bunch of eight-mana bricks that you don’t want to draw.
Vendilion Clique really shines here, being able to safely tuck away any Platinum Emperions you’ve drawn nice and snug on the bottom of your library. Mistveil Plains or Academy Ruins are also options for getting them back in the deck, but probably not necessary for Jeskai.
There’s also the interesting deckbuilding constraint that you shouldn’t run any other artifacts alongside Platinum Emperion, which means you can kiss Engineered Explosives, Relic of Progenitus, Spellskite, and any other aspiring sideboard artifacts goodbye.
Creatures (10)
- 1 Simian Spirit Guide
- 1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
- 4 Wall of Omens
- 2 Platinum Emperion
- 2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (18)
Spells (28)
Presto change-o! Watch as I slowly morph any and all decks into strange janky control builds.
So what about Nahiri, the Harbinger and Platinum Emperion side by side as your game-winning four-drops?
Nahiri, the Harbinger can discard any unwanted Platinum Emperions, and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn can even shuffle them back into the deck.
Platinum Angel out of the sideboard is one potential solution to Platinum Emperion’s Infectile dysfunction. Just replace Platinum Emperion with Platinum Angel and you’ll be able to deal with anything life throws at you. You’ll still take potentially lethal damage from Madcap Experiment, but you won’t be able to lose as long as Platinum Angel is on the battlefield, and Infect should have a tough time dealing with Platinum Angel, especially if they don’t expect it.
They do have some potential answers, though:
What are some other decks that might want Platinum Emperion?
Could it be the elusive four-drop Jund has been looking for? It might just be best alongside a bunch of other must-answer creatures and you can discard any extra Platinum Emperions you draw to Liliana of the Veil.
Poor Chandra, Torch of Defiance might just get completely upstaged in Modern, although she is much less of a commitment for Jund, since Madcap Experiment and Platinum Emperion are going to take up about six deck slots.
Why not just toss Platinum Emperion in Scapeshift, or better yet Bring to Light Scapeshift, where you can tutor for Madcap Experiment?
Other decks it could potentially fit into:
G/R Ramp (possibly alongside Mosswort Bridge?)
Mardu
A red Eldrazi deck
…and anywhere red mana is found.
So does Madcap Experiment have the Madcap Skills to pay the Madcap Bills?
Only time will tell. Maybe it isn’t so amazing yet that you need to write home to Mom about it, but it’s at least worthy of shooting off a quick email. You really should write more, anyway.
On to our next victim… I mean list.
Creatures (26)
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 1 Avalanche Riders
- 3 Eternal Witness
- 1 Reveillark
- 1 Fulminator Mage
- 1 Glen Elendra Archmage
- 1 Noble Hierarch
- 1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
- 3 Wall of Omens
- 1 Sun Titan
- 1 Spellskite
- 1 Scavenging Ooze
- 1 Fiend Hunter
- 1 Restoration Angel
- 1 Thragtusk
- 1 Voice of Resurgence
- 1 Satyr Wayfinder
- 1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
- 1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (18)
Spells (13)
Saheeli Rai might seem a little underwhelming in Modern, but she has potential as a combo enabler and gets more powerful based on the cards she is paired with.
The first Saheeli Rai combo is with Liquimetal Coating. You activate Liquimetal Coating targeting Saheeli Rai, use Saheeli’s -2 to make a copy of herself that’s also an artifact, and repeat the process, keeping the new copy and letting the old copy die each time. Combine that with Altar of the Brood or Disciple of the Vault to win the game.
This combo is difficult to assemble and works by combining three weak cards, which makes it unappealing. Trinket Mage could be a useful way to tie the deck together as a way to find Altar of the Brood and a good copy target for Saheeli Rai to find value cards like Engineered Explosives.
I think Saheeli Rai is going to work best (if at all) in a shell where she is copying creatures with powerful “enters the battlefield” abilities.
This brings me to the next Saheeli Rai combo, this one is actually featured in the deck above.
You just need a Sun Titan and two Saheeli Rais. Cast Sun Titan, bring back a Saheeli Rai (or already have one on the battlefield), and use her -2 copying Sun Titan.
Use that copy of Sun Titan to bring back the second Saheeli Rai, which puts the first Saheeli Rai in the graveyard. Then -2 using the new Saheeli to copy Sun Titan and repeat. That’ll leave you with as many hasty Sun Titans as you want, which you can use any way you want. I recommend attacking for the win.
This combo is icing on the cake because Saheeli Rai and Sun Titan already fit nicely into the deck.
There are plenty of other juicy creatures to copy with Saheeli Rai, like Fulminator Mage and Avalanche Riders, which can be downright backbreaking. Copying Eternal Witness can create a massive loop of value, allowing you to bring back more Saheelis or Eternal Witnesses.
Thragtusk and Reveillark have massive effects when they leave the battlefield, and they don’t care if they’re leaving because they’re being exiled by Saheeli Rai’s -2.
Beyond that, there are also some decent options to copy and get a minor effect like Wall of Omens, Satyr Wayfinder, Restoration Angel, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, and Fiend Hunter. I even tossed in an Evolutionary Leap so you can sacrifice the copies and get value.
Eldritch Evolution also works nicely with Saheeli Rai, since you can “evolve” one of the copies Saheeli has made and it will have same converted mana cost as the original.
There you have it: some Kaladesh goodies that have a shot at making an impact in Modern. The last couple of sets have done a good job of adding a dash of relevant cards to the Modern card pool, and it looks like Kaladesh will be no exception.
Which Kaladesh cards do you think will have the biggest impact on Modern? Is Saheeli Rai or Madcap Experiment going to be great in Modern, and are there any other archetypes they’ll shine in? Let me know in the comments.