Top 10 MTG Cards for Modern in 2023
The end of the year is upon us! As such, let’s use this time to reflect on the top ten cards (re)printed this year that have churned the Modern format for the past 365 days (roughly speaking). Let’s jump in!
Honorable Mention: Tishana's Tidebinder
As with most “Top X of Thing Y” articles, there’s always a couple of honorable mentions. For brevity, I have but one: Tishana’s Tidebender from the newly-released
Tishana’s Tidebender is only up here as an honorable mention because its high-potential impact in the format is diluted by the recent December 4th B&R announcement. Notwithstanding both the timing of LCI’s release and the coincidence with the banned list, Tidebender looks to be a formidable answer to the most pervasive of cards in the format, most notably
The potential of Tidebender is really strong. However, the decks adopting its use the most (currently) are Temur Rhinos or similar Cascade-oriented decks that can levy it for an edge against matchups with Amulet Titan, Griefblade, Yawgmoth, and other top-tier decks in the format. The versatility and coverage Tishana provides is invaluable. If this card were released a month earlier, perhaps I could rank it higher.
| Tishana's Tidebinder | ||
| Tishana's Tidebinder (Borderless) |
10. Up the Beanstalk
This is
This card is the tenth spot because its availability for legal, sanctioned play in Modern lasted just under three months. While it didn’t hang around long, its impact on the meta and the swiftness of its demise live up there in infamy with
| Up the Beanstalk |
9. Soulless Jailer
Is this card mainboard playable? Not really. But it does shut down Cascade decks like Temur Rhinos (which occupies one of the largest shares of the meta) and
| Soulless Jailer | ||
| Soulless Jailer (Extended Art) |
8. Cavern of Souls
I won’t linger too long here. In August, this was a $70 card. Now, it’s less than $40 (depending on the version). LCI, combined with
Why isn’t this higher? Well, as I said, it’s a supply-side issue that led to the inflated price of Caverns, rather than a demand-driven problem. In fact, the main deck at the top of the meta that runs Caverns is Amulet Titan to ensure their
| Cavern of Souls (0269) | ||
| Paths of the Dead |
7. Flame of Anor
Flame of Anor is
My favorite thing about this card? It’s giving a “second life” to
| Flame of Anor | ||
| Flame of Anor | ||
| Flame of Anor (Showcase Scrolls) |
6. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Realistically, the number six and number five slots on this list could be tied or swapped, for all intents and purposes. All the same, when the year began, Ragavan was a $75 card. Today, it’s around $40. Given that decks that play Ragavan usually play four copies of him, saving yourself around $140 on just one playset seems like a nice win for Rakdos Midrange players (in a post-
So what dropped this little guy’s price by almost 50%?
| Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer | ||
| Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer | ||
| Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer (Foil Etched) |
5. Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
While it’s been a minute since January of 2023, let’s not forget that
Prior to Dominaria Remastered, at the end of 2022, Yawgmoth was eclipsing the $40 mark, making it one of the more expensive creatures in the format (at the time, at least). Dominaria Remastered was perfect to saturate an otherwise thin market, and bring Yawg down to what he is now: around $15. Although, with Fury gone and Modern shifting perhaps back to a creature-matters format, it’s possible that Yawgmoth could climb up in price as Golgari Yawgmoth grows in popularity.
| Yawgmoth, Thran Physician | ||
| Yawgmoth, Thran Physician | ||
| Yawgmoth, Thran Physician (Borderless) |
4. Agatha's Soul Cauldron
A card that’s 100 times easier to play on Magic Online than on paper. Why? Because at least MTGO automatically tells you all the activated abilities that are active and under your Agatha’s Soul Cauldron. Decks like Golgari Yawgmoth and
The “problem” with this card is that one can easily forget about that
| Agatha's Soul Cauldron | ||
| Agatha's Soul Cauldron (Extended Art) |
3. The “Cyclers” from Tales of Middle Earth
Collectively, the “Cyclers” from
Beyond this, Living End plays both Oliphant and Generous Ent as easy ways to cheaply fix its mana while simultaneously planting some bulky creatures in the graveyard that’ll come back to haunt opponents by turn three (usually). Lorien Revealed sees play in Temur Rhinos as a way to fix for mana, and outright draw three cards for games that go long. I know this is a high ranking for just five common cards, but these commons have seen more collective play in the format than most other cards on this list. The versatility they offer and the wide range of decks they see play in signals they are here to stay and are staples going forward, and perfectly designed ones at that. That’s good enough for number three on this list.
| Lorien Revealed | ||
| Eagles of the North | ||
| Generous Ent | ||
| Troll of Khazad-dum | ||
| Oliphaunt |
2. Orcish Bowmasters
Now comes the obvious part of this list… number one and number two. Bowmasters has seemingly usurped Ragavan from his throne as the best creature in the format. Why is this creature so good? Honestly, there’s not enough space in this article to cover all the reasons Bowmasters is so powerful, but if you are so inclined, see two earlier Modern Times articles I wrote this year on the subject: Pro Tour: LotR, and Tales of Middle Earth.
If a deck plays black in Modern, they’re probably playing Orcish Bowmasters (and
| Orcish Bowmasters | ||
| Orcish Bowmasters (Borderless) | ||
| Orcish Bowmasters (Showcase Scrolls) |
1. The One Ring
I feel like no one will be particularly surprised by The One Ring being the number one spot on this list. Shortly after this card was previewed, it dawned on most Modern players that this One Ring to Rule them All would become One Ring to Rule Modern for several reasons: 1) almost any deck can play it and/or wants to play it, 2) its ETB ability single-handedly shifts the state of the game, 3) it provides massive card advantage, 4) it's abusable.
This ring has it all… Well, almost. The one thing The One Ring cannot do is outright win you the game. Yes, it can get you the “extra” turn and generate the card advantage that can inevitably get you closer to a bonafide win condition, but it still can whiff, too, and many times just delays dying by a turn. Fundamentally, Amulet Titan players still need their
| The One Ring | ||
| The One Ring (Extended Art) | ||
| The One Ring (Borderless Poster) | ||
| The One Ring (Borderless) | ||
| The One Ring (Showcase Scrolls) |
Closing Out the Year
There are a couple themes that this list expresses: firstly, this was a year dominated by Lord of the Rings; and, secondly, Standard sets are no longer consistent vehicles to introduce new cards to Modern, but are great for circulating reprints in Special Guest slots or through bonus print sheets like Multiverse Legends. LTR was Modern Horizons 2.5 this year–full stop. It turned the format on its side and “checked the box” for our annual(?) direct-to-Modern release. LTR also turned out to be one of the best-selling products in the history of the game. Beyond this, the introduction of Special Guests and similar “special” print sheets is a welcomed strategy for reprinting potentially vital eternal format pieces without jeopardizing the health and stability of Standard. My hope going forward is that Special Guests eventually become an avenue to reprint fetch lands if Modern Horizons 3 does not.
What will 2024 bring? At the very least, Modern Horizons 3. And if MH1, and MH2 are any guide, that will be more than enough.
Further Reading:
Do People Still Care About Tarmogoyf?
Corey Williams is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. He considers himself a macroeconometrician with his research body reflecting work in applied macroeconomics and econometrics. Corey is an L1 Judge who started playing Magic around Eighth Edition. He enjoys Modern, Commander, cEDH, and cube drafting. Outside of Magic, he loves running, teaching, and the occasional cult movie.
