Hello everyone, and happy August! This is the first full month that we have Edge of Eternities available. For my initial thoughts on EOE, you can take a look here. Tl;dr, I think Tezzeret is fantastic, and I’ve continued to work on the list that I streamed at the end of July (YouTube vid here).
The meta is ...
2025-08-05 00:20:55 +0000 UTC View PostThis set looks incredibly cool, and I cannot wait to see what it does. With all that said, there are a few cards that I’m looking forward to, and some others that I know people will ask me about. In an effort to help direct that conversation, let’s jump right into it with the best card we’ve seen for Hammer since Cori-Steel Cutter (so… in the last 2 sets):
Tezzeret, Cruel Captain
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 2025-07-08 00:57:39 +0000 UTC
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Update 6/17/25: Added my SB configuration from Apex. I've linked it next to the decklist
Hello everyone, and welcome to the June update for Hammer! Final Fantasy is dropping, so I’ll also touch on both the relevant cards for us, as well as the big change coming down the pipe for us.
Over the past month, we’ve seen the meta flatten out quite a bit. While we see a lot of the same decks (Boros, Prowess, Titan, Belcher, Dimir Frog, Storm, Eldrazi, and Or...
Hello everyone, and welcome to the May update for Hammer!
Underworld Breach is long gone, and the format has had some time to shake out. It’s looking like the top decks we want to focus on are Boros Energy (by a large margin), Eldrazi, Dimir Frogtide, Prowess, Ruby Storm, Amulet Titan (gross), and Belcher (both Blue and Red variants are popping up, though I would classify them as different decks).
With that all in mind, how do our matchups feel? I ha...
2025-05-05 19:59:11 +0000 UTC View PostHello everyone, and welcome to the April update for Hammer! There has been quite the shakeup since our last update between the Underworld Breach banning and the release of Tarkir Dragonstorm. Going into this update, here were my primary focus:
Underworld Breach is gone, so what decks benefit the most from that? We know Eldrazi, Boros, and Orzhov Ketramose were reasonable decks even with Breach around despite being bad against the deck. Additionally, Frog was bad against Breach as well a...
2025-04-13 20:29:43 +0000 UTC View Post***For additional context and to watch me test this matchup, check out my video here.***
White Black Blink (Vial, Recruiter of the Guard + Bullets) has largely been supplanted by White Black Ketramose (Ketramose + Relic), but for our purposes, the matchups largely play out the same. We are easily the aggressor in the matchup, and every turn the game goes on decreases our chances to win. While...
2025-03-05 19:48:10 +0000 UTC View PostHello everyone, and welcome to the March update for Hammer! With Regional Championship Portland behind us and RC Charlotte coming up fast, we know a few things:
1. Grinding Breach is clearly the best, and likely to be the most popular, deck.
2. Ketramose WB Blink decks have solidified as the best “fair” deck in the format, and is likely the most popular after Breach.
3. Boros/Jeskai Energy shells have been on the decline.
4. Eldrazi continues to be a strong option....
2025-03-03 19:48:12 +0000 UTC View PostHello everyone, and welcome to the February update for Hammer! With the Regional Championship Portland coming up this weekend, the metagame largely cemented, I wanted to drop my most recent list and sideboard guide, as well as a breakdown of WHY there are some pretty significant changes to even the core.
“The main character” deck of Modern at this point. The deck with the largest meta share and a solid win rate, even after having 3 cards banned out of it. Guess “MH3 Preconstructed Deck” is still good, huh?
Anyway, RW/x Energy is a deck that can blitz you down by creating an overwhelming board quickly, play control into Phlage, or a combination of the two. Since there is a ton of variation in what these lists can pack, I will be touching on the broad strokes about ...
Ah, Underworld Breach, the Boogeyman of the format, and also the reason Mox Opal might get re-banned. Please WotC, ban Breach first.
With that out of the way, here are some key things to keep in mind with this matchup:
Their best draws are effectively unbeatable, so you should not be assessing your hands based on trying to beat their T1/T2 kills, especially if you are on the draw. If they have the goods, they have the goods.
They are almost always the cont...
2025-02-03 17:03:27 +0000 UTC View PostThe big spaghetti monsters are here, and we have just the [Colossal] tools for the job.
There are a few wrinkles to the various Eldrazi builds (Tron, Temur, UG, RG). While they all play powerful tools like Kozilek’s Command and Sowing Mycospawn, there is some variation in if they are playing Kozilek’s Return and Karn, the Great Creator. Due to the power of the latter 2 cards, I will be discussing the deck as if it has all of them in the main deck. The Eldrazi deck is very powerful...
Hello everyone, and welcome to a January update for Hammer! With the Regional Championships fast approaching and the metagame solidifying, I wanted to drop my most recent list and sideboard guide.
Note that you can absolutely splash blue as well, and I would recommend checking out the list from my 5-0 video here. With that said, this is the list I think is best-positioned at the moment:
A SECOND update on Hammer just a week after the last one? I’ve been having a lot of fun, so YEP.
To not waste anyone’s time, here are the 2 lists (and one with a bit more spice) that I’m digging right now, so feel free to enjoy. I am still holding off on an actual SB guide since the meta is still so in-flux, but I will discuss where I find the SB cards shine below.
Happy December everyone! Hammer has struggled in recent months and– wait, I’m getting breaking news:
Just… wow. They did it. The madlads at wotc did it. They banned The One Ring AND gave us Mopal. Time to jam.
First thing first: I don’...
2024-12-18 19:43:36 +0000 UTC View PostHey y'all, since WotC will be making a banned and restricted announcement mid December (I believe December 15th), and I am expecting a Ring ban, but they may do more (or less). I will plan to put out the update in the days afterwards.
Cheers!
New month, new Hammer, who dis?
In all seriousness though, this deck has a lot of play to it, a lot of lines that echo Hammer vibes, is incredibly resilient against basically everything thanks to its backup plans (K Command, The One Ring, Saga, Fleshraker, and Blade beatdown). If you enjoy playing Hammer, you will almost certainly enjoy this one too (and you don’t get KO’ed by Wrath of the Skies)
There are a lot of questions I’m sure people have, and I’ll address that ...
It’s November, and hopefully it’s the last full month where the Ring is legal in modern. For full transparency, there are a couple things I want to address up top this month:
1. You will see that the list is identical to last month’s list. Despite my best efforts, I haven’t identified any meaningful changes I’d make.
2. While I still love the deck, I have become less and less convinced that it is a reasonable choice in the Ring-filled metagame. That means that if the Ring i...
2024-11-21 17:53:58 +0000 UTC View PostHey y'all, it’s October and we’ve got a write-up on… MARDU? No Jegantha, No Ring, No HAMMER? Okay, there is also a Hammer update in another post from yesterday.
There are a lot of questions I’m sure people have, and I’ll address that here. Like last month, I’ve split the Hammer resource and the non-hammer updates into separate pieces to keep the resources easier to access. So if you’re here for the Mardu Energy list and SB guide, you’re in the right spot! If you’re l...
It’s SPOOKY season, and I’m honestly excited that no one seems to be playing Wrath of the Skies. The Ring is still everywhere (and we hate it), but at least the meta isn’t a million Jeskai Wrath/Ring piles. The main decks nowadays are Boros Energy (and Mardu), Dimir Murktide/Oculus shells, Storm, Eldrazi shells, and Titan. There are lot of other archetypes running around now, but those are the big ones I want to take into account when configuring my build.
As I’ve been pu...
Welcome to September, the first full month we will have untarnished by Nadu! Note that since I’ve put in considerable time on them, I’ll have both an update for Hammer as well as Necrodominance this month! I’ve split them into separate pieces to keep the resources easier to access. So if you’re here for the Necro list and SB guide, you’re in the right spot! If you’re looking for Hammer, check out the other update I added :)
“But Grief was banned! Isn’t this deck de...
2024-09-08 23:52:04 +0000 UTC View PostWelcome to September, the first full month we will have untarnished by Nadu! Note that since I’ve put in considerable time on them, I’ll have both an update for Hammer as well as Necrodominance this month! I’ve split them into separate pieces to keep the resources easier to access. So if you’re here for the Hammer list and SB guide, you’re in the right spot! If you’re looking for Necro, check out the other update I added :)
While we have lost access to the bird ourselv...
2024-09-08 23:51:49 +0000 UTC View PostIt’s August… and Nadu is somehow still here for about another month. Didn’t think we’d be here, but I guess we roll with it. Hammer should absolutely still be playing Nadu in it, and honestly most matchups in the format feel good with my current configuration (aside from Jeskai, as well as Bant Nadu being slightly unfavored).
Against Nadu, you really want to play a game where you stick a needle or 2, have a fast Hammer hand, or both. The matchup feels like something halfwa...
2024-08-04 22:59:15 +0000 UTC View PostAlright everyone, here we go. MH3 is here and Nadu is the most broken thing you can do. That’s very apparent. With that in mind, I’d like to note the following:
**If your express goal is to win events, you are giving up equity by not playing Nadu Combo. Just look at the results of Pro Tour MH3. The best players in the world tried everything they could think of and still couldn’t find a good deck against Nadu. As such, until at least something from that deck is banned, my genu...
Note: I have adjusted my opinion on Nadu, and added a second list to the end of this write-up.
EDIT: As of 6/20/24, this is the list I would be running https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6447228#paper
Hello hello hello everyone, and welcome to a brand new Modern format, courtesy of Modern Horizons 3. As there is no way to know what the format will look like, this month’...
2024-06-04 22:30:14 +0000 UTC View PostHello hello hello everyone, and welcome back to the last month of MH2 Modern. With MH3 dropping in June and the format about to see what is likely to be a huge shakeup, we have still seen a bit of change in the current meta. The biggest additions we’ve seen to the format are Affinity lists showcasing the strength of Simulacrum Synthesizer, as well as Prowess (Gruul, Izzet, and Temur) demonstrating the power of Slickshot Show-Off.
Similarly to last month, I think Hammer’s spot ...
2024-05-07 20:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostHello everyone! Thank you for your patience while I put the May update together. The last couple weeks have been hectic on my end so I'm finalizing the details and hoping to drop it in the next few days.
Regarding Modern Horizons 3 Spoilers, I will be holding off on any in-depth thoughts until we have more of the set spoiled in a few weeks.
Cheers!
Hello hello hello everyone, and welcome back to Modern. After the shakeup we saw when Violent Outburst was banned, the format has shown to be very diverse, and as such the list will reflect that by being a bit more streamlined and aggressive than past iterations.
While I think Hammer’s spot is generally fine, I think most powerful archetypes in modern are playable right now as long as you know what you’re doing with your given deck choice.
I am excited for the new toys that O...
With Outlaws hitting the format, I wanted to do a dive into every card that I thought could be reasonable in and/or against the deck. The following cards will receive my quick assessment, then additional information where appropriate.
As a quick refresher, the lens that I review cards through follows as such:
1. What problem does this card solve?
2. What do we cut for this card?
Lavaspur Boots
2024-04-07 20:02:23 +0000 UTC
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Hello hello hello everyone, and welcome back to Modern. We had a shake-up in the format with Leyline of the Guildpact increasing the power of Zoo, as well as “Rainbow Rhinos”. Additionally, both UR Murktide and BR Scam have been on the decline. Otherwise, the format looks largely the same with the top of the format: both variants of Rhinos, Living End, Amulet, and Yawgmoth. Generally, I’m fine with this meta. Very happy with the Rhinos matchups (both variants) and reasonable against Yaw...
2024-03-01 23:00:38 +0000 UTC View Post