What’s up everyone, Corey “Dropping Baums” Baumeister here, and today I’m getting my text game on. I don’t normally write articles, but I also don’t normally win SCG Invitationals, so here we are! It’s time to talk about my favorite Modern deck — Grixis Death’s Shadow (Lurrus).
To kick things off, I want to first take a look at where my list was for the SCG Invitational last month and then where I’m heading for the Modern event at MTG Las Vegas this weekend.
Creatures (15)
Lands (18)
Spells (27)
This version of Grixis Death’s Shadow absolutely carried me during the Swiss rounds of the SCG Invitational, rewarding me with a 7-0-1 record, which I desperately needed with my 5-3 finish in Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Standard.
Now I did run hotter than the sun at the tournament, which anyone needs to have happen on the journey to win a big event. But besides some luck during my matches, I also got lucky that Grixis Death’s Shadow (Lurrus) wasn’t a respected archetype going into the tournament.
Well, it is now!
I do expect a bit more hate for the deck at MTG Las Vegas now that I’ve helped put it back on everyone’s radar. It’s still Modern though, so it’s not like there’s cause for much concern. Maybe a few more removal spells for Death’s Shadow here and there, but nothing to overly concern ourselves with really.
Let’s get to my slightly updated list I’d play at MTG Las Vegas (if I were still going…):
Creatures (15)
Lands (18)
Spells (27)
While the maindeck remains the same, there are a few changes to the sideboard that are worth noting. I cut one of the pieces of graveyard hate because I just don’t think decks like Esper Reanimator have proven themselves to be very good decks. I don’t think it’s worth being over-prepared against Dredge or any obscure graveyard deck.
The other big change is adding Spreading Seas over an Alpine Moon. This is really for Urzatron and other big mana decks. I found myself not even wanting to bring in Alpine Moon against Urza’s Saga decks because we already have such a good matchup against them, so I decided to play something that could also be effective against Jund and other Death’s Shadow decks.
VS Orzhov/Mono-White Hammer (Lurrus)
Out (on the play):
In (on the play):
Out (on the draw):
In (on the draw):
This matchup is very good for us. We have a ton of early disruption to break up their absurd turns and we have the single best card against them in Dress Down. Dress Down not only kills all of the Constructs from Urza’s Saga, it also stops Lurrus of the Dream-Den, Puresteel Paladin, and Stoneforge Mystic for the turn. Be careful with Inkmoth Nexus though, as Dress Down doesn’t stop it unless you wait for your opponent to activate it first, since it gains flying and infect. This is also the perfect squeeze that you can put on these types of decks.
This situation comes up quite often and it’s very important with this deck. When you have Lurrus on the battlefield, you can wait until your end step and cast Dress Down. This will cause it to stay on the battlefield until the end of your opponent’s turn, negating any enters-the-battlefield abilities as well as any Urza’s Saga nonsense. This move with Lurrus and Dress Down is very good against any kind of Elementals or Ephemerate decks as well.
While we’re talking about Dress Down, this is a good time to refresh everyone’s memory on some great uses for the card:
- You can cast Dress Down on your opponent’s end step on Turn 2 and cast Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger on Turn 3. Kroxa will stay on the battlefield.
- Dress Down turns Death’s Shadow into a 13/13 at any time, making it the new Temur Battle Rage effect to finish people out of nowhere.
Dress Down is one of the most dynamic cards in the deck and offers a ton of complex lines to the deck. Be sure to think of all the ways you can maximize the card before casting it.
VS Azorius Control
Out:
In:
Azorius Control is the deck that everyone says is a bad matchup for Grixis Death’s Shadow, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Azorius Control is a skill-intensive matchup that forces you to know what’s important at each stage of the game, which is an area where I think people struggle.
First, let’s talk about the being on the play versus being on the draw against Azorius Control. If you’re on the draw and your opponent leads with an Azorius-based land in any way, shape, or form – think Hallowed Fountain or Celestial Colonnade – you must cast Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek on Turn 1. You simply cannot afford to let your opponent resolve Chalice of the Void on one on Turn 2, especially Game 1, because the card is so impactful.
If Thoughtseize resolves, their hand doesn’t contain the problematic artifact, and then they topdeck it, all you can do is shrug and hope Kroxa can carry you through the game (though that’s rather unlikely). If you’re on the play against Azorius Control, Chalice of the Void almost doesn’t matter because you get to just jam one-drops as quickly as possible, and if they do resolve Chalice on one afterward, the plan is to just make sure to do your best to protect said one-drops to victory.
Another big play/draw difference in this matchup is how to play Ragavan and its dash. Azorius Control can completely take over the game against Grixis Death’s Shadow, as they play at least seven sorcery-speed removal spells between Prismatic Ending and Supreme Verdict, but you can dodge those entirely by dashing Ragavan turn after turn. One exception to that rule, however, is if you have multiple copies of Ragavan. If this happens, I like to just play one on Turn 1 and just see what happens, as they either have a Prismatic Ending or they don’t. If they do, we get to kinda shrug it off and dash the other one, in which case they’ll have to two-for-one themselves with Solitude to cleanly answer things. At the end of the day, either outcome is good for us.
Above everything else, Kroxa is king in this matchup and it’s how I win 90% of my games against Azorius Control. Always prioritize revolving the game around it as best you can, and only escape it if you have checked your opponent’s hand for Prismatic Endings via discard. If you have a second Kroxa in the graveyard, feel free to jam the first one with impunity.
VS Boros Burn
Out:
In:
Bad matchup alert!
Boros Burn is the scariest deck in the metagame for the old Shadow of Death. This matchup used to be good when Death’s Shadow decks played Stubborn Denial and more big creatures, but since the deck has moved away from that, this matchup and Urzatron decks have gotten much worse (fortunately, Urzatron hasn’t been playable for a long time, so I’m not too worried about that deck).
My best advice is to mulligan aggressively for Collective Brutality and Death’s Shadow, as they’re your most important cards. If you expect a lot of Boros Burn at MTG Las Vegas this weekend, do not be afraid to put four copies of Collective Brutality in the sideboard — it’s worth it since every other matchup is winnable in Modern.
VS Temur Crashcade
Out:
In:
This matchup is very easy. You get to block the Rhinos created via Crashing Footfalls with Death’s Shadow (if Footfalls even resolves since Drown in the Loch is a hard counter no matter what), Engineered Explosives also solves the resolved Rhinos, and there are two copies of Spell Pierce after sideboard to force things through opposing countermagic.
VS Esper Reanimator
Out:
In:
Esper Reanimator is another great matchup for us. Things did get a bit worse against this deck by switching Soul-Guide Lantern to Nihil Spellbomb, but the impact of that change in this matchup is minor at best. Esper Reanimator only needs two cards to combo (Unmarked Grave and Persist), but even if they resolve that the combo, they still can have their payoff (Archon of Cruelty) killed for one mana (Unholy Heat).
Esper Reanimator has proven itself to not be a very good deck in Modern and I do not expect it to gain in popularity anytime soon.
VS Jund Midrange
Out:
In:
VS Grixis Death’s Shadow (Lurrus)
Out:
In:
The mirror usually comes down to who resolves a Lurrus. It seems trivial, but whoever gets that extra threat with Lurrus can really be the difference in the game. If you have the option to fire off a discard spell when your opponent is short on cards, consider waiting until they put Lurrus into their hand because the card really is that important.
VS Four-Color Control (Yorion)
Out:
In:
This is another very good matchup. The threats in Grixis Death’s Shadow are just too cheap and effective for a deck this slow to keep up. That said, one thing you really want to avoid is getting your one-drop hit by Wrenn and Six on the draw.
This is another matchup where you only really cast Ragavan on Turn 1 on the play if you can back it up with some disruption; otherwise, you dash it 95% of the time. This is also another Solitude and Fury matchup, so you have to be really careful about loading the battlefield with threats. Just always ask yourself, “Will Fury or Solitude blow me out if I cast this threat?” If the answer is yes, consider only having one threat on the battlefield at a time.
This is the reason why people think Solitude and Fury are so good against Grixis Death’s Shadow; people just don’t play around the big blowout turns. Grixis Death’s Shadow is a deck filled with one-drops, but they’re so good as standalone threats and the removal is so good in this deck that we really turn into the control deck in a lot of matchups, including this one.
VS Izzet Midrange
Out:
In:
This is a close matchup because a lot of their cards are the same as ours, but I just think Grixis Death’s Shadow is the superior deck. Hand disruption is key. Just do everything you can to use up your Drown in the Lochs early, before they become dead cards when a Murktide Regent delves their graveyard away.
Grixis Death’s Shadow (Lurrus) is a ton of fun to play and I really do believe it’s the best deck in Modern. You have game against everything and even your tough matchups like Boros Burn are still very winnable. This is also one of the most difficult decks I’ve ever played in Modern, so it’s paramount to get some games in before you play your next event.
Don’t be discouraged by the learning curve of the deck. It’s steep, but the rewards are real.
