Modern Jodah

Earlier this month, to celebrate my fondness for legendary creatures, I presented a Jodah, the Unifier deck I was enjoying in standard. I then spent three posts (here, here, and here) looking at options to improve the deck for modern/casual play. Today, I bring that all together and look at a modern Jodah deck.

For reference, here is that original standard Jodah deck (I omitted 26 lands):

1 Dennick, Pious Apprentice (MID) 217
1 King Darien XLVIII (DMU) 204
1 Shanna, Purifying Blade (DMU) 218
2 Brutal Cathar (MID) 7
1 Lagrella, the Magpie (SNC) 196
1 Tovolar, Dire Overlord (MID) 246
1 Halana and Alena, Partners (VOW) 239
1 Katilda, Dawnhart Prime (MID) 230
4 Jodah, the Unifier (DMU) 203
4 Reclusive Taxidermist (VOW) 214
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben (DKA) 24
2 Leyline Binding (DMU) 24
1 Kyodai, Soul of Kamigawa (NEO) 23
1 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198
1 Loran of the Third Path (BRO) 12
1 Feldon, Ronom Excavator (BRO) 135
1 Baird, Argivian Recruiter (DMU) 195
1 Soul of Windgrace (DMU) 220
1 Ertai Resurrected (DMU) 199
1 Hajar, Loyal Bodyguard (BRO) 211
1 Nemata, Primeval Warden (DMU) 209
1 Radha, Coalition Warlord (DMU) 211
1 Torens, Fist of the Angels (VOW) 249
1 Raffine, Scheming Seer (SNC) 213
1 Mr. Orfeo, the Boulder (SNC) 204
1 Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer (SNC) 218

For modern, 22 of these cards will stay because I like them so much:

4 Jodah, the Unifier (DMU) 203

2 Reclusive Taxidermist (VOW) 214

2 Leyline Binding (DMU) 24

2 Brutal Cathar (MID) 7

1 Halana and Alena, Partners (VOW) 239

1 Katilda, Dawnhart Prime (MID) 230

1 Shanna, Purifying Blade (DMU) 218

1 Baird, Argivian Recruiter (DMU) 195

1 Torens, Fist of the Angels (VOW) 249

1 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198

1 Ertai Resurrected (DMU) 199

1 Hajar, Loyal Bodyguard (BRO) 211

1 Nemata, Primeval Warden (DMU) 209

1 Dennick, Pious Apprentice (MID) 217

1 King Darien XLVIII (DMU) 204

1 Lagrella, the Magpie (SNC) 196

If we go with 24 lands, that leaves 14 slots for legendary creatures or other aids. Here are my favorites from the aforementioned posts:

Kenrith, Returned King

Sisay, Weatherlight Captain

Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful

Fblthp, the Lost

Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

Wilson, Refined Grizzly

Toski, Bearer of Secrets

Golos, Tireless Pilgrim

Gretchen Titchwillow

Krydle of Baldur's Gate

General Ferrous Rokiric

Shanid, Sleepers' Scourge

Child of Alara

Chulane, Teller of Tales

That's fourteen, but I worry about the mana base. I would like to add 2 Birds of Paradise

What goes away? I think Gretchen Titchwillow and General Ferrous Rokiric. That would make the final list: 

4 Jodah, the Unifier (DMU) 203

2 Reclusive Taxidermist (VOW) 214

2 Leyline Binding (DMU) 24

2 Brutal Cathar (MID) 7

1 Halana and Alena, Partners (VOW) 239

1 Katilda, Dawnhart Prime (MID) 230

1 Shanna, Purifying Blade (DMU) 218

1 Baird, Argivian Recruiter (DMU) 195

1 Torens, Fist of the Angels (VOW) 249

1 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198

1 Ertai Resurrected (DMU) 199

1 Hajar, Loyal Bodyguard (BRO) 211

1 Nemata, Primeval Warden (DMU) 209

1 Dennick, Pious Apprentice (MID) 217

1 King Darien XLVIII (DMU) 204

1 Lagrella, the Magpie (SNC) 196

2 Birds of Paradise

1 Kenrith, Returned King

1 Sisay, Weatherlight Captain

1 Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful

1 Fblthp, the Lost

1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

1 Wilson, Refined Grizzly

1 Toski, Bearer of Secrets

1 Golos, Tireless Pilgrim

1 Krydle of Baldur's Gate

1 Shanid, Sleepers' Scourge

1 Child of Alara

1 Chulane, Teller of Tales

That's 36, leaving us with 24 slots for lands. Lands can be very expensive, to so make this easier on the budget, I'll focus on the common dual lands (they enter tapped) from Dominaria United. I also like Plaza of Heroes and Secluded Courtyard:

If I go with 1 Plaza of Heroes and 3 Secluded Courtyard, that leave 20 more lands. Those will all come from Dominaria United, either as the dual lands or basics. I have to look over the mana costs of the above list to determine the appropriate numbers of each.

That does it for my modern Jodah deck. I will have to assemble this and test it a few times to see if it bears up. But at first glance, it looks exciting.

Legendary Creatures (M)

Continuing this month's theme, today I look at multi-colored legendary creatures with an eye towards suitability for inclusion in a modern/casual Jodah deck.

I used scryfall for this search, with the appropriate syntax to limit the search results. Today, I delineate by mana value. You can click on the links below to see the range of cards available at each mana value.

Multi-colored (one-cost)

There is only one multi-colored single mana-cost creature in the game: Rhys the Redeemed. (He qualifies as multi-colored because of the hybrid mana symbol.) 

Multi-colored (two-cost)

Gretchen and Zimone have nice card draw/land ramp abilities. Krydle could come in handy to make creature unblockable. Emmara can create tokens, and Saffi can save a creature in time of need.

Multi-colored (three-cost)

Minsc is two legendaries for the price of one, which would pair well with Jodah. Xira and Leovold help card draw. Cadira and Ferrous can make an army. Kethis reduces cost (not sure how that would work with Jodah's ability). 

Multi-colored (four-cost)

Shanid and Queza help with card draw. Sisay with fetching legendaries of your choosing.

Multi-colored (five-cost)

Child of Alara is a nice board wipe. Arvad and Rienne beef up your creatures (though is that needed with Jodah's ability already doing so?). Drizzt is two legendaries for the price of one, and Chulane is good for card draw and some minor protection.

Conclusion

Of these choices, Gretchen, Krydle, Cadira, Ferrous, Shanid, Child of Alara, and Chulane are my most likely options.

Next time, I'll look across the last three posts to see which creatures should slot in to the original Jodah deck, and which should get dropped.

Legendary Creatures (R/G/C)

Continuing from yesterday, today I look across sets to see what legendary cards could be incorporated into a modern Jodah deck. I'll focus on the remaining two colors (red/green) and colorless creatures today.

I used scryfall for this search, with the appropriate syntax to limit the search results. You can click on the links below to see the range of cards available at each color/mana value.

Red (one-cost, two-cost, three-cost, four-cost, five-cost)
I was drawn to two goblins, a monkey, a pirate, and a warrior as options for my Jodah deck:

Green (one-cost, two-cost, three-cost, four-cost, five-cost)

A few fun options here.

Colorless (one-cost, two-cost, three-cost, four-cost, five-cost)

Not a lot to choose from, but two potential options emerge.

Conclusion

From today's options, I think Ragavan, Wilson, Toski, and Golos are the most likely choices.

Legendary Creatures (W/U/B)

Continuing from yesterday, today I look across sets to see what legendary cards could be incorporated into a modern Jodah deck. I'll focus on three colors only, covering the others tomorrow.

I added some criteria to my search:

- The casting cost can include only one mana symbol (the others must be generic)

- The mana value cannot exceed five

In both cases, this approach increases my odds of being able to cast a given creature.

I used scryfall for this search, with the appropriate syntax to limit the search results. You can click on the links below to see the range of cards available at each color/mana value.

White (one-cost, two-cost, three-cost, four-cost, five-cost)

White has a number of nice options here. Ignoring cards already shared from yesterday's post, here are 9 legendary creature choices for the Jodah deck:

Blue (one-cost, two-cost, three-cost, four-cost, five-cost):

Blue does not have a lot of synergistic options here, as that color's legendaries have abilities which trend towards instants/sorceries, artifacts, and milling. That said, Fblthp fits in perfectly.

Black (one-cost, two-cost, three-cost, four-cost, five-cost):

Black does not have a lot of synergistic options here, either, as the focus is on sacrifice.

Conclusion

Of the colors sampled today (with the given conditions applied), white has the most options. Shalai, Sisay, Yoshimaru, and Kenrith appeal to me most from there. In blue, Fblthp seems like an auto-include. In black, perhaps Yarragoth.

Next time, I'll look at red, green, and colorless creatures.