Hammer update 7/7/2025

Hello everyone, and welcome to the July update for Hammer! With Final Fantasy out and Edge of Eternities on the horizon, I’ve been trying quite a few configurations, and taking inspiration from some other lists I’ve seen have success. Specifically:

Zidonia’s 2nd Place Boros Hammer (Pile of Cutters) https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/7202559#paper 

Zoru’s top 8 Showcase Challenge https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/7202132#paper 

The things to note in these lists are:
-Mishra’s Bauble over Ornithopters

-4 Copies of Steelshaper’s Gift, even at the potential cost of Stoneforge Mystic

-Lower land count (18-19 instead of 20). Zidonia even eschews Inkmoths entirely.

-Quite a bit of interactivity instead of just reactivity (removal spells instead of just counterspells/protection)

-Reprieve

After trying more than a dozen configurations ranging from my CloudFlare builds to lists much closer to the ones listed above, here are my takeaways:
-The shift away from exclusively reactive cards like Surge/Pierce/Flare to interaction like Galvanic Blast/Portable Hole has felt quite good. Being able to deploy cutters and casting a bolt/hole to both trigger Flurry as well as tag a threat out of Boros can just put you very far ahead.

-Baubles have largely been better than Ornithopters, largely because they fuel your cutters better with additional cards. They also give you a semblance of card selection when paired with fetchlands. 

-Mantle felt worse than it had with Thopters, though it is still a nice tool to have access to between SFMs, Sagas, and Gifts. 

-Steelshaper’s Gifts play better than Cloud to smooth out the mana curve. 

-Forge Anew is nice but was ultimately cut due to a single free equip not having quite enough impact. It’s good, but slots are tight.

Though we’ve seen most of the top decks stick around (Boros, Belcher, Amulet, Zoo, Orzhov/Esper Blink), we’ve also seen the following shifts:

-Green Eldrazi shells and Prowess have both fallen off a bit.

-Broodscale and Living End are both seeing a resurgence

-Alternate shells of Eldrazi are also on the rise, with them largely being divided into 2 camps: An aggressive shell with Glaring Fleshrakers, and a full-on Tron build with Expedition Maps and Karn the Great Creator. Both builds leverage Chalice of the Void which can be a bit problematic, but they are also prone to getting run over, especially with a bit of interaction.

**One other key thing to note: While Boros shells are moving further away from Wrath of the Skies, both Boros and Blink decks are adopting multiple copies of Clarion Conqueror in the Sideboard.**

My thoughts on Zidonia’s and Zoru’s lists:

-Reprieve is a 2-mana card that buys you a turn (sometimes). It is fairly difficult to hold up 2 mana at most points in the game, especially against decks like Blink and Energy, both of which have access to Wrath. It is fine against Titan, but I am not convinced that holding up 2 mana is a reasonable plan against a good Titan player. I think this card is not something you should include.

-Gift is great, and while I think it’s better than Cloud, I don’t believe it’s actually better than Stoneforge, especially with an uptick in Chalice of the Void.

-Cutting Inkmoth is reasonable, especially since most decks have ways to stop the kill. Cutting Inkmoth has some additional impacts, like making Surge effects less important in game 1. Even with 4 Baubles, I’m inclined to play more than 18 lands since the deck always wants to hit its first 3-4 lands, even with Mox.

-I know Zidonia largely ripped the manabase from a Spike build, but I will reiterate here that if you are playing Baubles, it is a mistake to not play some number of fetchlands. 

-I strongly prefer Zidonia’s choice in Portable Hole as the game 1 removal spell over Galvanic for a couple reasons. First, Hole being an artifact means it helps you build metalcraft and pump your constructs. Secondly, it’s more flexible since it can tag non-creature permanents and larger creatures like Goblin Bombardment, Psychic Frog, Static Prison, Amulet of Vigor, Blade of the Bloodchief, Cutter, and Ruby Medallion (the list goes on and on).

-Generally speaking, I think Galvanic Blast is mostly a shock in the first couple turns, and the jump from 2 to 3 damage is a lot more valuable than the jump from 3 to 4. Being able to Galv Blast a Scion when the Domain player doesn’t have Leyline in play isn’t much of a benefit compared to having 2 artifacts and still being able to Bolt a Clarion Conqueror.

-I think the cost of having a single Hallowed Fountain is more than worth it to gain access to Consign to Memory, especially with the uptick in both Living End and Chalice Tron.

-Kassandra is still very mediocre unless you’ve already established Aid or Paladin, in which case she would be better as a Gift/SFM. Also, she’s 3 mana and that is not great.

Pile o’ Cutters: https://moxfield.com/decks/05XzoU-V90a7Pmg9izwA9Q 

CloudFlare Hammer: https://moxfield.com/decks/aHlUU41c9k6k61G1L2BTGQ 

***Pile O’ Cutters (Thopters) Build update:*** https://moxfield.com/decks/3R2LSqwX7Eqx8FC08FYVCg
***Note that the configuration notes will be at the end of this update***

SB Guides (Check different tabs for the different configurations): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14yGMqc-d0j_yZ01BnP2sLOujgNWqcgOT36yCeAy_T5A/edit?gid=1781266140#gid=1781266140 

Notes on current configurations:

Since the CloudFlare build is largely covered by the June update and videos that you can check out with the following links, I’ll be largely diving into the build I’ve dubbed “Pile o’ Cutters”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bTczDqifMs 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ackeUrO6iA 

The Pile ‘o Cutters build is defined by the full sets of 4 Cori-Steel Cutter, 4 Stoneforge Mystic, and 4 Steelshaper’s Gift for a whopping TWELVE Cutters. It focuses on prioritizing getting multiple Cutters going to generate additional monk tokens turn after turn. While Stoneforge is the more powerful card, the play pattern of Turn 1 Gift for Cutter, Turn 2 Cutter + Bauble, Opal, or Mantle to trigger it. Once you have a Cutter going, any equipper means that Hammers can likely come down and push through almost any board thanks to the trample and haste. Though the construct plan is still strong, it is often correct to give up 1 or both constructs in order to forward your Cutter gameplan. 

It is also important to identify early on in a given game whether you will need to prioritize the Hammer plan or the Cutter plan supplemented by Hammer. While Cutter really shines in any sort of fair matchup (Boros, Frog, Blink), it also plays a key role in going wide against lock pieces (chalice) and going through eldrazi spawn. Additionally, you will notice that there are a number of matchups where we trim Cutters. In the matchups like Storm, Amulet, Neoform, Belcher, etc, it is a nice tool to have, but ultimately you want to strongly focus on the Hammer plan rather than get baited into a good Cutter start.

Finally, from a high-level perspective, it is important to plan out your turns for Cutter ahead of time. The best way to do that is to identify how to use all of your mana every turn and maximize the triggers. For Cutters, here are few fun tricks to keep in mind:

-If you cast Hammer to trigger Cutter, the monk will be in play before the Hammer resolves; that means that you can have no creatures in play and still leverage an Aid’s trigger.

-Flashing in multiple equipment on an opponent’s turn gets you an additional monk.

-If you have an SFM and 2 cutters in your hand you can trigger both in the same turn. You do this by activating SFM to put the first one in, then cast the second one. Any spell afterwards will trigger both cutters and provide you with multiple hasted creatures.

-Manabase - I have decided to cut the Inkmoth Nexi from the deck (though I’m still not sure it’s correct). Losing out on potential infect 1-hit kills is a downside, but since effectively every deck has a way to deal with a 1/1 flying artifact creature, it has a lot less appeal than it used to since it’s incredibly difficult to go for unless you have it backed up by Surge. This means that cutting Inkmoths also allows us to move Surge to the board and make room for Hole. Finally, having the additional colored land in your deck leads to more keepable hands… which is a nice change of pace.

-4 Cori-Steel Cutter - This card is incredible. Not only does it provide a consistent stream of threats that come with evasion in the form of trample, but it plays even better the more you have in play. I don’t know, the card is kind of nuts and really rewards you for drawing them naturally. I don’t think you should register fewer than 4 copies in your maindeck unless you have a very good reason.

-4 Mishra’s Bauble - As I discuss above, the ability to cheaply trigger cutter while also aiding in fast metalcraft and also cash in for another card immediately to potentially keep triggering Cutter means I’m quite happy to have it.

-4 Steelshaper’s Gift - Turn 1 Gift, Turn 2 Cutter + trigger into T3 Gift + Cutter is just an incredibly powerful play pattern in any game that resembles a fair matchup. See above for further explanation.

-Only 12 Creatures - The increased density of Cutters in the deck means that you simply don’t run out of creatures nearly as often as in previous configurations.

-Paradise Mantle - While it doesn’t shine quite as much without Thopters to attach it to, it being a 0 that helps fix your mana, turns all your creatures into mana with Paladin, and even a way to trigger Cutter for 2 mana off an SFM if you’re short on mana.

-2 Portable Hole - Highly flexible interaction game 1 that does a lot. As I mentioned above, Hole being an artifact means it helps you build metalcraft and pump your constructs. Secondly, it’s more flexible since it can tag non-creature permanents and larger creatures like Goblin Bombardment, Psychic Frog, Static Prison, Amulet of Vigor, Blade of the Bloodchief, Cutter, and Ruby Medallion (the list goes on and on). 

-Pithing Needle  - Needle is a flexible tool against many decks, is tutorable off Saga, and contributes to metalcraft for Opal, Paladin, and grows constructs. While you can certainly swap it out for a different trick or bullet, I think Needle will generally be the one you are happiest to have access to game 1.

-0 Lavaspur Boots - Due to the abundance of haste we have with Cutters, and the less reliant we are on the Saga Construct beatdown plan, I don’t believe Boots quite makes the cut. This is definitely a reasonable option to keep in the deck, but it’s something I’ve reluctantly cut. I haven’t really missed it much.

-Magus of the Moon - Magus does a fantastic job predominantly against Titan, and almost exclusively Titan. That said, with the recent popularity of Eldrazi with Tron lands, we found another deck to bring the 2/2 in against. Generally speaking though, leave him in the sideboard. If you don’t expect any Amulet, I would recommend cutting the Magi.

-4 Consign to Memory - Nothing really new to add from last month. Consign is the best card against Eldrazi, and it also has quite a bit of game against Belcher, Cascade decks, and Blink. Speaking of the Blink matchup, I have found that the ability to consign a “return” trigger from Phelia or Flickerwisp on an overlord can be absolutely backbreaking. You let them exile the Overlord with Phelia, then when the end of turn trigger happens, you consign it. The Overlord is gone forever and you’ve got a real shot to win the game. It can take a positive matchup like Eldrazi and make it heavily favored, or even give us game against Amulet. The card is very flexible, and quite powerful. 

-2 Lightning Bolt - When evaluating what removal I want, I try to evaluate “what do I need to kill?” While basically everything kills Ajani, Guide, Pride, Phelia, and the slew of other little critters, Bolt cleanly kills Clarion Conqueror, which can be a problematic Dragon. I considered Dispatch, Galvanic, and even Path, but ultimately felt that ol’ reliable was the best option.

-2 Wear//Tear - These 2 slots can go to either Pierce or Wear//Tear, but I think I prefer Wear on the whole. I like bringing it in against Boros, E Tron, Amulet, Domain Zoo, Affinity, Broodscale and Blink. Being able to efficiently answer a Bombardment, Chalice, Amulet/Saga, Leyline/Binding/Scion, or Blade are all good. But the reality is that the tiebreaker between Pierce and W//T is that Tear can destroy High Noon as well as Overlord, both of which can flip a game on its head.

-2 Spell Pierce - Pierce is largely a great option against Frog for counterwars and degenerate combo decks like Neoform and Storm. It’s also a flexible option against UW control to counter wraths, but otherwise it doesn’t do quite enough to edge out W//T. That said, I have a sideboard guide for both the build with 2 Pierce as well as the build with 2 W//T.

-Grafdigger’s Cage - Cage is a tutorable hate piece off of saga which plays reasonably against any Emry deck, most storm configurations, and provides a good amount of utility against decks that leverage Green Sun’s Zenith and Graveyard backup plans.

-Vexing Bauble - Bauble is a nice Saga target to have against decks like Belcher, Neoform, Cascade, Goryo’s, and even Storm (for the Ral ultimate). It isn’t perfect, but especially if you are cutting Pierce, this is a nice tool to have.

Anyway, I think both builds are good and I have loved seeing people succeed with the CloudFlare list! As always, I will continue to optimize the builds, and I’m happy to answer any questions you might have in the comments below. Cheers, and Happy Hammering!

***7/15 Notes for Pile O' Cutters (Thopters)***

Tweaks:

This build is looking to optimize the ability to trigger Cutter on 2, either through drawing it naturally and playing a cutter + 0 on turn 2, or Turn 1 Gift for Cutter, Turn 2 Cutter + 0.

Overall, you will notice that many of the motivations behind these changes is due to “finding space.” Since we only have 75 cards and we added a land, there are only so many spots to play around with. There are no perfect configurations, but I believe this is the most optimal way to go about it.

20 lands (2nd Surveil Land) - I wanted another land (most games I lose were due to missing land 2 or 3. Additionally, having a surveil land as land number 20 means that late game fetchland draws can help with a bit of selection rather than being completely dead. Additionally, Meticulous Archive plays really well post-board when we have access to Consign/Pierce and we are wanting to t1 fetch surveil and still get blue mana for an early blue source. Especially if Cutter isn’t the biggest priority, getting the early blue can be big against decks like Amulet, Cascade, Broodscale, Belcher, Storm, etc. 

Ornithopters over Sentinels - Sentinel is still a strong card and has a place, but the matchups where it really shines like Frog are honestly just very good matchups now. Between Cutter and Saga, Frog struggles to fight us on all meaningful angles. Sentinel also creates tension with Gift and Aid, since both Gift and Aid are often much better plays on turn 1, but Sentinel gets much worse every turn that you wait to deploy him. The deck feels a lot smoother with the increased density of 0s, and I believe that Thopters are the more optimal way to build the deck currently.

1/1 Hole/Bolt split - Had to find room in the 75, and I still wanted to have 2 pieces of interaction in the maindeck. I want 2 Bolt in the 75, and the only space I could find was cutting a Hole from the main for the slot. 

Needle to sideboard - While I do want to have access to Needle in the maindeck due to how much value it can provide specifically against Belcher, I believe that it was the most reasonable card to move to the sideboard.

0 Cage - I currently value Bauble and Needle as my Saga bullets, but Cage is reasonable based on your meta. Vexing Bauble doing similar things against decks like Neoform and does a lot more work against decks like Cascade, Belcher, and even niche strategies like Kethis/Jeskai Ascendancy. 

2 Pierce - Pierce is the main reason to make additional room in the sideboard. While the Cutter build excels in the fair matchups (Boros, Frog, etc), having Spell Pierce as additional layers of interaction against linear combo decks like Storm, Belcher, and Neoform can absolutely flip a game on its head. 

One thing you may notice in the SB plans is that I am keeping more cutters against most decks, and am trimming on SFMs before Gifts. Gift is more efficient, and paired with the ability to fuel cutters, it means the body on SFM is a lot less relevant than it has been in the past.