Will Assassin's Creed Affect Modern?

17 Jul
by Corey Williams

Happy Wednesday, readers! Without wasting much time on a prelude, today’s article is all about Universes Beyond: Assassin's Creed and some of its highlights that have potential in the Modern format. 

Allow me to caveat this by acknowledging that the Modern meta is still in a state of Nadu-induced limbo, so a lot of cards discussed today are evaluated mostly under the assumption that at some point in the near future there will be a Modern competitive meta where Nadu, Winged Wisdom is not present, likely due to an inevitable banning. But hey, I could be wrong on that one, too. 

Okay, with the overview and disclaimer out of the way, let’s jump in!

Black Market Connections

A Commander staple transitioning to Modern is always fascinating, as the design choices between a Commander-oriented card unique to a Commander product versus a card designed for Modern explicitly are very different in nature. More Commander cards slowly flowing into Modern has several implications, with the obvious being that the line blurring Commander from other constructed formats is continuing to erode. The second major implication is that pricey Commander staples can be made cheaper on the supply side through reprints in non-Commander products.

Black Market Connections in particular is a fascinating reprint choice, as it brings into Modern another powerful, three-cost mono-black card into the format in the wake of Toxic Deluge’s introduction to the format via Modern Horizons 3. Prior to Assassin’s Creed, the Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate and Commander: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan printings were commanding (pun entirely intended) market prices around $25 each. 

With the reprint in ACR, players can pick up the Black Market Connections nagging at their wallet for a little less than $10. A terrific reprint for a terrific card. The million-dollar question of course is whether or not one should spec on Connections given its viability in Modern. Will a potential increase in demand in Modern overtake the raw increase in supply? At this very moment in time, no. With Nadu and Ruby Storm steamrolling the meta - I know, it’s in a weird spot at the moment - a three-mana enchantment that does nothing the turn it enters into play simply can’t compete, which is a shame. In an Esper or Grixis Death’s Shadow deck, this card seems amazing. On turn four, dumping six life into card advantage, mana ramp, and board advantage, while simultaneously setting up your Death's Shadows seems incredibly synergistic and powerful. 

Beyond this, in Mono-Black Coffers or Necrodominance builds, Connections represents easy advantages that can be abused because of lifegain offsets from Sheoldred or Soul Spike. A big “if”' at the moment in Modern is if the format will slow down and what it will take to slow it down. We missed an opportunity to emergency ban Nadu in the aftermath of Pro Tour: Modern Horizons 3, which means the current meta is likely what we’re stuck with until Bloomburrow drops, although alternative platforms like MTGO are taking some measures to restrict Nadu for specific events, such as the Creator Showdown which banned Nadu outright. While a small sample, the deck lists from the Creator Showdown perhaps offer us a window into what a paper Modern meta will look like without Nadu. If Black Market Connections sees some play in the event, then perhaps there’s an argument to be made for its value in the format - again, assuming Nadu at some point gets banned. Time will tell for now. All the same, Connections is cheap, and easy to pick up for your outlying Modern brews, and for your Commander collection.

Black Market Connections
Black Market Connections (Extended Art)
Black Market Connections (Foil Etched)

Reconnaissance

A fun Legacy and Commander gem now seeing the light of day in Modern via Assassin’s Creed. At the very worst, Reconnaissance can “remove” you creatures from combat during the end of combat after damage is assigned, which leaves your creatures untapped as you pass your turn. At its very best, it is a zero mana activated ability that targets your creatures… Hmmm… I wonder what little Simic bird would enjoy an activated ability that targets like that… Oh wait, I do know: Nadu. 

Much like Outrider en-Kor, Reconnaissance offers an alternative means to target your creatures and proc Nadu in the absence of Shuko. What’s more is that Reconnaissance is only one mana, and much more difficult to interact with than Outrider. 

So should one spec on this? No. Again, my strong assumption is that Nadu is not long for this world. In the absence of Nadu, there’s not a ton that Reconnaissance synergizes with in Modern. Funnily enough, the best part about this Reconnaissance reprint is that the reminder text is updated to reflect the correct reading of the ability which was wrong from a rules standpoint in the original Exodus printing. If you play Najeela, the Blade-Blossom in cEDH, a single card in your deck got considerably cheaper with this reprinting, but other than that marginal benefit, it’s tough to imagine a world where this card is useful in Modern beyond cheeky Nadu plays. 

Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance (Foil Etched)
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance

Loyal Inventor

In the history of Modern, we’ve seen some interesting three-mana blue creatures make splashes here or there, such as Trinket Mage to grab Chalice of the Void, Treasure Mage to find your Mindslaver, Trophy Mage to find Trinisphere, or Tribute Mage to find Sword of the Meek or Thopter Foundry. Now we have Loyal Inventor, which is the same mana value as Fabricate and finds you an artifact from your deck (with no restrictions) and puts it to the top of your deck, unless you control an Assassin, in which case it puts the artifact in your hand. 

What makes this card really fun is how splashable it is. If you have a way to search out creatures, such as Chord of Calling, you can dig for this card to then tutor for the artifact you seek. Beyond this, as a permanent, you can blink Loyal Inventor to abuse its ability once more. 

Creature-based tutors are overall really fun card designs, and are always worth some consideration. The big drawback for Inventor is that 99 times out of a 100, what you search for will go to the top of your deck, meaning you won’t be able to access it until your next turn. Since Modern has somewhat become a turn-three format, Inventor is unfortunately too slow for the same reasons as Black Market Connections. 

Although, Nadu players might find this gentleman quite interesting. One could imagine variations of Nadu where you play more mana-generating creatures that can enable a turn-two Loyal Inventor to search for Shuko, and then proceed with a turn-three Nadu, and Shuko with three creatures in play. Is that line of play better than the status quo Nadu deck? Probably not, but it’s still worth some small consideration. 

Regardless of whether you find blue creature tutors enjoyable or useless, Loyal Inventor is only going for around $0.20 on the market, so picking up a playset is a very low-risk spec. Again, Modern has some issues at the moment that muddle the clarity surrounding the long-run state of the meta, but it’s conceivable that under the right set of conditions (a Nadu ban, really) Inventor could see some play in Blue Tron, Urza Thopter-Sword, or other builds with a general artifact theme or sub-theme. 

Loyal Inventor
Loyal Inventor (Foil Etched)

Basim Ibn Ishaq

This two-mana legend is arguably the highest-potential card for Modern from Assassin’s Creed. Imagine casting a Mishra's Bauble, drawing a card off of Basim, and then swinging with an unblockable 3/3 Basim. You then crack the Bauble and draw another card during the next upkeep. This is the low end of the value spectrum for Basim - at the very worst, you cast a cheerio artifact, rip a free card, and pile on some counters to Basim. 

The key aspect of Basim is that his ability triggers whenever you cast any historic permanent. Improvising in a Kappa Cannoneer triggers Basim. Casting Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar after using Psychic Frog to discard a card triggers Basim and also puts a counter on Psychic Frog. Basim ultimately plays well with a lot of misfit toys in the Modern format by seemingly unifying many disparate strategies into incidental, synergistic value. There are some lists with Basim that run Psychic Frog, Mishra’s Bauble, Emry, Lurker of the Loch, Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, and Mox Amber all in the same list - without Basim, these Dimir Lists would just be a pile of semi-synergistic cards, but it wouldn’t be nearly as appealing without Basim.

Speaking of value and appeal, Basim is currently commanding $10 per copy, which is on the high end of the spectrum for Assassin’s Creed, but is otherwise pretty low in expected value. So what’s the ceiling for Basim? Well, in theme with the other cards on this list, it depends on how the value Basim accumulates in the Modern meta compares to the value and the speed by which value is generated in Nadu. 

Understandably, Basim is slower than Nadu, but still very powerful in its own right. I’d argue Basim has a higher ceiling than Nadu at the moment if only for its potential in Modern and use in Commander. There is, of course, a limiting factor in that Basim’s effect can only trigger once per turn. That being said, its ability is still quite potent given its low mana value. 

Basim Ibn Ishaq
Basim Ibn Ishaq (Showcase)

Beyond Assassin’s Creed

Modern is in a funky place right now. The biggest issue is that the meta is somewhat divergent. In paper play, Nadu is far and away the best deck in the format. However, online or on MTGO (which is the proving ground for the paper meta, usually), the meta is actually quite different, in part because playing Nadu online… well… It's not great. Given the chess clock on MTGO, Nadu sets the player piloting up to lose to the clock more often than it can reliably win. As such, there’s some asymmetry between the representation of Nadu online versus in-person. 

This asymmetry alongside the different treatment of Nadu in competitive play online versus in-person has left Modern in this odd situation where the best decks in the format for the long-run are not yet known in definitive terms. Prior to Violent Outburst’s ban, it was known that Temur Rhinos was the deck to beat, while after the ban, Leyline Domain Zoo was the deck to beat. Now, Nadu is technically the best deck that’s not expected to stick around too long, but it’s not necessarily represented one-for-one in all spaces that Modern are played. All this is to say that speccing on Assassin’s Creed’s viability for Modern play is kind of tenuous, but could change sharply by the time Bloomburrow rolls around. 

My advice when looking beyond Assassin’s Creed is to look towards format staples regardless of the meta. Understandably, committing to a Modern deck right now feels less-than great, so a reasonable strategy might be to pick up more “evergreen” format staples like the Shocklands and Fetchlands, and then wait for a spell and see what the next banned list brings around Bloomburrow’s release. 

Further Reading:

What's Good in Assassin's Creed

Corey Williams
Corey Williams

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.


More from Corey Williams:

Expensive Singles from Foundations Jumpstart

A few of the singles from Foundations Jumpstart are commanding extremely high prices. Are they worth it? Will those prices hold? Let's discuss.

Power Creep and The One Ring

Will The One Ring get banned in Modern? Why should it? Let's discuss.

Will Any Reprints from Foundations Affect Modern?

Let's look at some important reprints in the upcoming Magic Foundations set, and see if there's any potential for them to affect Modern.

How is the Modern Meta Shaping Up Post-Nadu?

Did Modern diversify after Nadu got banned, or did a new archetype rise up to take its place? Let's look at the numbers.

Does Mystery Booster 2 Have Any Reprints for Modern?

With 1,800 cards in the set, will Mystery Booster 2 have any reprints for Modern? Find out here.

Will Duskmourn Affect Modern?

Wondering which cards from Duskmourn may have an impact on Modern? This article's got you covered.

Cards Rising in the Post-Nadu Modern

Nadu has finally bit the dust. So let's take a look at the cards rising in the new Modern meta.

Cards to Buy or Sell NOW for Modern

While the world holds its breath for a Nadu ban, other cards in Modern are rising and falling. Should you buy or sell?

Cards to Pick Up While We Wait for a Nadu Ban

While Modern waits for Nadu Summer to end, it's a good time to look at cards that might shine after the ban.

Checking in on the Modern Meta After Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3

What can the recent Pro Tour tell us about the future of Modern? Are we in for a Nadu Summer? What cards should you pick up? Find out here.