Introduction

Hi everyone, Myra here! Welcome to my FREE guide covering the new hotness taking Modern by surprise—Jeskai Cutter, following my RCQ win!

It’s been a while since my last guide on Temur Breach, but for this article, I’ve decided to partner with the European Unity League! -- BIG THANK YOU TO THEM for this awesome opportunity!

But don’t worry—even with the partnership, the articles I post will remain free for the foreseeable future, so you’ll still be able to enjoy my content as usual.

Preface

Unlike my previous guides, where I wrote after long stretches of internal testing and grinding large tournaments… for this deck, even though I’ve put up a series of strong results
(Prelim 3-1, Challenge Top 4, 1-Slotter 6 Round RCQ win & etc), I haven’t yet tested extensively in each matchup as I would usually like to do.

This is primarily due to being busy prepping for my exams, preparing for Standard for the upcoming PT Final Fantasy (I’m not qualified but helping the team), and Spotlight Chiba.

Also, with this deck being new, I expect many of the configurations of the deck and sideboard game plans against the meta decks to be innovated and refined upon. I will try to update as I go, but for now, don’t use this as a bible—think of it more as a starting ground to explore the deck!

 

 

Credit

I started picking up this deck following the recommendation of my good friend and fellow Worldlycounsel teammate, Andrea Mengucci-senpai! A huge thank you, and definitely check out his videos on YouTube!

• Mengu's X

Also, big thanks to Ben Katz for the initial build of the deck. It was mind-blowing when I first saw the Repeals! Ben's X

Lastly, I want to congratulate Yuuki Ichikawa, also known as Triosk, for coming second in the MOCS with the deck! His list, like mine, didn’t play any Rebukes and went hard on 0-drops such as Tormod’s Crypt and the full eight Moxen! Happy to see when our conclusions are aligned for the deck. Also, a special thank you for the innovation of Chandra’s Defeat. I think it’s genius!

• Triosk [@Triosk on X]
  
  

 

General Overview

decklist txt - moxfield

This Jeskai Cutter deck is a rare hybrid between an aggressively slanted midrange deck and a combo deck. It utilizes the core elements of the Underworld Breach deck:

• Moxen
  
  

• Value creatures like Tamiyo and Emry
  
  

• 0-1 mana artifacts
  
  

• Urza's Saga
  
  

The major change is replacing the recently banned Breach with Jeskai Ascendancy , while also incorporating new cards such as Narset, Jeskai Waymaster and Cori-Steel Cutter .

This allows the deck to set up for the combo while also presenting a strong fair game plan.

 

 

The Secret MVP: Repeal

Repeal serves as the secret MVP that glues the deck together, performing multiple key roles:

1. Bouncing Problematic Permanents
   
   

• Especially effective post-board against hate pieces or problematic tokens.
  
  

2. Bouncing Your Own Permanents
   
   

• Moxen: if targeted, makes it a free spell allowing us to cantrip and play 2 extra spells for free - triggering prowess, Narset, and Cori.
  
  

• Portable Hole can be bounced to dodge (Wrath of the Skies) while usually still killing the target underneath from the wrath + giving us an extra removal for later.
  
  

3. Serving as a Free Cantrip to Turbo-Flip Tamiyo
   
   

• Surprisingly frequent Turn 1 Tamiyo flips can be achieved with Repeal, a Mox, and any cantrip (Soul-Guide Lantern, Aether Spellbomb, or another Repeal especially on the draw).
  
  

 

 

Strength of the Combo Pieces

The real strength of this deck is that your primary combo pieces:

• Emry, Lurker of the Loch
  
  

• Cori-Steel Cutter
  
  

are incredibly strong even individually without the combo.

With a less all-in focus on Jeskai Ascendancy itself, and with the inclusion of Narset, Jeskai Waymaster, the deck is able to present multiple angles of attack:

• Prowess Aggro Plan with Cori
  
  

• Saga Midrange Plan with Emry and Tamiyo, which fuels card advantage
  
  

All the while, the deck still threatens a combo finish whenever the opponent is tapped out or low on cards.

 

 

The Core of the Deck

I was invited as a guest to do a very special podcast episode on BattleChads, where I did a full deck tech!

For an in-depth audio analysis of card choices, make sure to check it out!

Here, I will mostly cover the core and its common & corner case scenarios for each card, particularly those not mentioned in the podcast or article.

 

🔵 Modern Jeskai Ascendancy Deck Tech 🔴 w/ Myra00 ⚪️

Emry, Lurker of the Loch

• A key combo card while being an incredible standalone threat.
  
  

• Emry in this deck truly does everything! It generates card advantage, creates bursts of mana, flashes back removal such as Portable Hole and Aether Spellbomb, and even generates a board presence by reanimating Cori-Steel Cutter.
  
  

Post-board:

• Emry allows the deck to morph into a control deck by providing card advantage, acting as a Wizard for Flame of Anor, while enabling the escape cost and mill into an early escapable Phlage.
  
  

 

 

Key Play Patterns:

• When you have Cori-Steel Cutter in your hand alongside Emry in the early turns, make sure to plan how you want to sequence the 0-mana artifacts.
  
  

• Emry incentivizes playing them out early for cost reduction, but Cori and Narset want you to hold them for extra triggers toward your game plan.
  
  

• Often, you will only want to play one 0-drop to make Emry cheap enough to cast early, while saving others for future value.
  
  

 

 

Common Play Pattern:

• When you have both Jeskai Ascendancy and Emry ready to be played, consider slow-rolling Emry and playing Ascendancy first.
  
  

• This tempts your opponent to tap out in the face of a potential combo, progressing their board, which gives you a window to combo off safely with Cori-Steel Cutter granting equipped creatures haste and trample.
  
  

 

 

Combo Awareness:

• The loots from Ascendancy triggers are optional. If you suspect Orcish Bowmasters, be cautious.
  
  

• Prioritize looting toward the second Mox to start generating mana.
  
  

• Be aware that if you combo off with only Mishra’s Bauble, a sandbagged removal spell could fog one combat step and cost you the game due to Bauble triggers in the next upkeep.
  
  

 

 

Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student // Tamiyo, Seasoned Scholar

• The other key part of the deck. While this deck doesn’t literally “combo”, we utilizes her similarly to Breach by generating clues, which are excellent for enabling Metalcraft or reducing the cost of Emry.
  
  

• She also provides another pivot for the deck to morph into a control deck with cards like Repeal and Flame of Anor.
  
  

 

 

Turn 1 Flip Potential:

• This deck is capable of flipping Tamiyo on Turn 1 (often on the draw but sometimes on the play) if you have a Mox alongside multiple Repeals or Repeal + a cantripping artifact.
  
  

 

 

Synergy with Cori:

• Equipping Tamiyo with Cori makes her a 1/4, helping her increase the likelihood of surviving vs certain removal and granting her haste to immediately start generating tokens.
  
  

• It is crucial to attack with Tamiyo whenever you can to ensure you can cash her in for at least one card.

• This is especially important since, in this deck, with Jeskai Ascendancy and Narset triggers, there will be times when you are forced to flip Tamiyo at awkward moments. (Note: Tamiyo’s flip trigger is mandatory, unlike Ral or Ajani, so be very mindful of how many cards you’ve already drawn.)
  
  

 

 

Midgame Applications:

• This occurs frequently when you sideboard in high-impact instants or sorceries, where Tamiyo’s -3 ability is often a safer way to convert her into card advantage rather than going all-in on the ultimate.
  
  

• It’s important to remember that Tamiyo in this deck will not generate any mana without green or hybrid green spells.
  
  

• In the deck-building stage, keep in mind that one-offs such as Orim’s Chant or Whipflare go up in value, as you get more virtual copies of them.
  
  

 

 

Narset, Jeskai Waymaster

• The biggest reason to play this deck—and more specifically, this version—over the more all-in Jeskai Ascendancy combo decks featuring four copies of Ascendancy.
  
  

• If played correctly, Narset essentially lets you cast a one-sided Time Twister at every end step, where you instantly refill your hand from zero cards back up to 3-4 or sometimes even 5-6 cards.
  
  

• Narset not only digs toward your combo but also supports your aggressive draws with Cori-Steel Cutter, as the advantage she provides allows you to continuously trigger Cori.
  
  

 

 

Key Tips:

1. With Narset in play, she fixes your Mox Amber to generate all three colors of the deck.
   
   

2. Narset’s trigger is optional. When you already have a strong hand, you can decline it. However, keep in mind the draw is an end-step trigger—if you draw your third card that turn with Tamiyo in play, she must flip into a planeswalker without a window to activate.
   
   

3. Narset isn’t a Wizard, so she won’t contribute to turning on Flame of Anor.
   
   

 

 

Cori-Steel Cutter

This new, powerful card has made waves in every constructed format it’s legal in, and its impact here is no exception. Not only does it give the deck an aggressive element in the face of combo hate, but it also enables many of the deck’s synergies by:

• Being a combo piece by granting Emry haste and trample, allowing you to combo off immediately without worrying about blockers.
  
  

• Contributing to Metalcraft by being a cheap artifact that progresses your board state and game plan.
  
  

 

 

Important Tips:

1. Cori also triggers if you double-spell on your opponent’s turn, so plan out and keep an eye out for whenever you can do this.
   
   

2. In Modern, Cori’s toughness buff is especially important against Eldrazi, where their main form of removal is Kozilek’s Return. By equipping Cori onto Emry, you ensure she survives the front half of it, allowing you to continue snowballing the game in your favor.
   
   

3. With Ascendancy in play, you can stack the triggers in a way where you create a Monk, then have the Ascendancy triggers resolve, buffing the Monk with +1/+1.
   
   

 

 

Jeskai Ascendancy

• Although some people call this deck “Ascendancy Combo,” I believe this is misleading. While many games are won through the combo—especially in Game 1—this is more of a Plan B.
  
  

• The most common way to utilize the Ascendancy combo is to force your opponent to deal with individually snowballing threats like Emry or Cori-Steel Cutter, then combo off when your opponent is tapped out.
  
  

• Conversely, you can sometimes force your opponent to play scared, fearing your combo potential, which allows you to run over them while they fail to develop their own game plan.
  
  

 

 

Value and Fair Ascendancy:

• Ascendancy can also be used as a value engine, filtering draws and pumping your team.
  
  

• However, unlike Breach, which only costs two mana and had multiple ways to be reused or protected (Woodland Copy, counterspells in the graveyard), Ascendancy is more vulnerable to interaction.
  
  

• A major indicator of when to trim or board this card out is:
  
  

1. How does their removal line up? Against Wear // Tear, it’s not an acceptable trade, making it weak in those matchups.
   
   

2. How impactful is value Ascendancy? (Ascendency being good fair should be rare). Also, how likely is it to stick?
   
   

 

 

Advanced Tips:

1. You can respond to your own Ascendancy triggers with things like Saga making Constructs or casting another spell to make a Monk with Cori to get the buff trigger.
   
   

• (These are more relevant than you think, as Cori as an equipment can grant the tokens haste.)
  
  

2. Most times, you want to resolve the pump trigger before the loot trigger, especially in the face of Orcish Bowmasters (though niche exceptions do exist).
   
   

 

 

Saga Bullets — 'Usually' 3 (1 Removal + 1 GY Hate + 1 Utility)

 

 

Aether Spellbomb

• An excellent all-rounded Saga target that arguably has the highest floor out of all three.
  
  

• Its cantrip nature not only helps us proactively use it to progress our game plan but also contributes to an early Tamiyo flip.
  
  

• It’s a fantastic answer to Harbinger of the Seas, as well as a card that single-handedly flips the UB Midrange matchup since it’s incredibly hard for them to power through a recurred Spellbomb.
  
  

• There’s also the added benefit of protecting your Emry on the combo turns, letting you win through a single removal spell.
  
  

 

 

Tormod's Crypt vs. Soul-Guide Lantern

Both Tormod’s Crypt and Soul-Guide Lantern serve a similar role in terms of dealing with graveyards, but they come with very different upsides and downsides.

 

 

Tormod's Crypt :

• More of a functional card where its 0-mana cost better supports your primary game plan.
  
  

• Better at turning on Metalcraft for Turn 1 Mox Opal.
  
  

• Better at triggering Cori and Narset, enabling prowess and card draw triggers.
  
  

• Also acts as a pseudo combo piece with Ascendancy + Emry: unlike Bauble, there’s no risk of milling out.
  
  

 

 

Soul-Guide Lantern :

• A better card in a vacuum, as it provides soft hate vs your opponent’s graveyard while also leaving the option to cash it in for a card when not needed.
  
  

• Card advantage source with Emry recursion.
  
  

• Helps flip Tamiyo by providing an extra cantrip.
  
  

• Essentially, Soul-Guide Lantern is better against Energy decks, where you are incentivized to leave in your graveyard hate against Phlage only.
  
  

 

 

TL;DR:

• If you want a better card against Energy, play Soul-Guide Lantern.
  
  

• If you want a more synergistic card, play Tormod’s Crypt.
  
  

• If you expect a lot of graveyard decks, consider either 2x Tormod’s Crypt or 1 Tormod + 1 SGL.
  
  

• Currently, with how much worse the Energy matchup is than I had hoped, I will most likely be playing Soul-Guide Lantern.
  
  

 

 

Pithing Needle vs. Shadowspear

• It’s incredibly valuable to play another non-removal, non-graveyard hate Saga target. However, I believe the maximum number of Saga targets you can play is three due to slot constraints.
  
  

• This means you must prioritize which one is in the main deck and which one belongs in the sideboard, depending on the different matchups you expect and want to respect.
  
  

 

 

Current Configuration:

• I am currently on Main Deck Needle > Shadowspear as the WR% (Win Rate Percentage) equity that Needle provides in certain matchups is significantly impactful in my opinion.

• I found the needle maindeck to be much more valuable than the potential Saga beatdown plan against Energy and Prowess in Game 1.
  
  

• However, I still like the inclusion of Shadowspear in the sideboard against aggressive decks as a way to race effectively and, very importantly, gain life to mitigate the pain from the three-color manabase.
  
  

• This is especially crucial since your premium removal (Portable Hole) requires white mana, and threats like Narset and Phlage require heavy mana pip requirements that Amber often cannot provide.
  
  

 

 

Matchup Highlights:

• The main deck Pithing Needle helps shore up your Game 1 matchups against Mono-U Belcher, while also being incredible against other decks like Broodscale Combo, Titan, and UB Control.
  
  

• Even in the Energy matchup, where having Shadowspear is often said to be better, Needle performs excellently by stopping key activations:
  
  

• Goblin Bombardment
  
  

• Ajani, Nacatl Avenger
  
  

These are the common ways you get burned out of the game, especially in Game 1, where the opponent usually cannot answer the Needle outside of Static Prisons, while Saga Tokens can still be answered or outraced.

 

 

Naming:

In the sideboard section, I will explain what to name, but for decks not mentioned there, here’s a quick reference:

• Vs. Broodscale Combo: Name Broodscale itself or Blade of the Bloodchief to stop the combo.
  
  

• Vs. Orzhov: Often name Relic of Progenitus to stop their card advantage with Ketramose while also preventing them from interacting with your Emry targets.
  
  

• Vs. Goryo’s Vengeance: Name Emperor of Bones or Psychic Frog as primary threats.
  
  

 

 

Sideboard theory

In general, whether it’s the flex slot or an essential sideboard card, I believe the way you construct your sideboard is by including narrow but highly impactful hammers or functionally unique cards rather than flexible cards.

 

 

Reasoning:

• This deck is prone to over-boarding, which results in more dysfunctional hands.
  
  

• Generally, outside of going down on irrelevant Saga targets, keep in mind that every card you trim from that point forward will have trade-offs, giving up certain angles of attack in favor of others.
  
  

• For example: boarding out the combo and transitioning into a Phlage Tamiyo control deck.
  
  

 

 

Functionally Unique Cards:

• Outside of unique cards like Phlage and Flame of Anor, it’s also important that your sideboard cards are low in mana cost.
  
  

• This ensures you can still cast other spells alongside them, as well as hold them up in case you draw into them via Narset’s trigger after chaining spells on your turn.
  
  

 

 

Consign to Memory :

• Just briefly, as at this point all blue decks should already be playing 3–4 copies to deal with the Eldrazi Menace.
  
  

• In this deck, it also serves an important role against Amulet Titan and Mono-U Belcher.
  
  

 

 

Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury

• Even though our deck technically combos with the graveyard using Emry, the rest of the deck is strong against one-dimensional graveyard hate.
  
  

• This makes Phlage a good post-board pivot when morphing into a control deck.
  
  

 

 

Synergy and Utility:

• Even though the escape mana is quite challenging for this deck—between Sagas, Islands, and Mox Amber only frequently producing blue—however the deck’s abundance in discard outlets and milling (Emry and surveils) fuel Phlage quite well, justifying its inclusion.
  
  

• It also represents the best plan to sidestep combo hate like:
  
  

• Wrath of the Skies
  
  

• Wear // Tear
  
  

• Deafening Silence
  
  

• High Noon
  
  

• Note: remember that you can float mana with mox amber with the phlage sacrifice trigger on the stack. This will very frequently help you immediately escape phlage on the same turn.
  
  

 

 

Wear // Tear

• A sideboard mainstay for any RWx deck.
  
  

• Especially good against Amulet Titan and Trinisphere, as you can still fuse it for 3 mana under Trinisphere, allowing you to punish Eldrazi decks without any downside.
  
  

• It is also excellent against typical enchantment-based combo hate like Deafening Silence and High Noon.
  
  

 

 

Considerations:

• Though it’s an efficient answer, it’s risky to bring in against creature-based Cori decks like UR or URw.
  
  

• For those matchups, Flame of Anor is preferred and this inability to board in wear// tear is a big reason for Flame of Anors inclusion in the 75.
  
  

• There are some exceptions when you should not bring this in, depending on your opponent’s sideboard plan. (For example, if your Eldrazi opponent doesn’t have Trinispheres, you can consider siding less or not at all, as long as your sideboard plan remains coherent.)
  
  

 

 

Pyroclasm Effect

• It’s a crucial anti-Energy card; however, you don’t bring it in against Prowess as it’s too easily avoided.
  
  

• In this deck, since you only bring it in against Energy, Whipflare is just strictly better, as it means your Saga Tokens are more likely to survive against a removal or Bombardment in play when you Pyro.
  
  

 

 

Recommended Setup:

• I would play a minimum of 1 copy and look for space to have the second one if you expect a decent amount of Energy.
  
  

• My list only has one at the moment because there are a lot of Eldrazi in Rome, making Energy not a great choice in the winner’s metagame.
  
  

 

 

Flex Slots

 

 

Galvanic Blast

Our removal interaction suite makes us slightly vulnerable to specific threats such as:

• Emry, Lurker of the Loch
  
  

• Narsets
  
  

• Plotted Slickshot Showoff (punishing Portable Hole for being sorcery speed)
  
  

Because of this, I wanted a way to use my flex slots to deal with these threats. - Though it is the most replaceable card for an extra Saga - target in the main to open up a sideboard slot.

 

 

Importance of Galvanic Blast:

• By using the flex slot for this, it becomes easier to catch up when on the draw, as we have many high-impact 2- and 3-drops that tend to clunk up the hand early.
  
  

• Including this as a one-of opens up a whole new game plan, allowing us to burn out the opponent out of nowhere in conjunction with Tamiyo’s -3 ability buying it back.
  
  

 

 

No Metallic Rebuke

One of the most frequently asked question and here is my answer.

• I (well, more like after my teammate and good friend Alex Rohan roasted me for having it in the deck) realized that the deck played poorly with Metallic Rebuke and structurally, it didn’t fit well.

 

Reasoning:

• Due to the nature of cards like Cori and Narset, you are incentivized to hold 0-drops. This makes Rebuke very telegraphed and easy for the opponent to play around.
  
  

• Additionally, Narset’s trigger means you are bad at holding cards, forcing you to fire off Rebuke whenever you can, rather than at the optimal time.
  
  

• This deck, being a proactive prowess/combo deck, means that the number of Rebukes stuck in your hand directly correlates to the amount of damage, tokens, card draw, and loot lost, often for a very low upside.
  
  

 

 

Against Combo Decks:

• You want to race or play proactive answers like Flame of Anor or Orim’s Chant. 

• (Better for casting on your own turn for cori/ narset triggers)
  
  

Against Problematic Cards:

• Cards like Wrath of the Skies need to be played through with card advantage and rebuilding the board, or with cheap counterspells like Swan Song that are easy to hold up, especially when drawn in from Narset’s trigger.
  
  

 

 

Urza's Saga Numbers

• Currently, I am running 3 copies of Urza’s Saga. The color requirements in this deck between Ascendancy, Narset, Cori, and other colored spells are incredibly demanding.
  
  

• With the deck already having many ways to spend mana and the fact that you are incentivized to spend mana on your own turn, plus the post-board risk against Disenchants, I opted to play 3 copies.
  
  

 

 

Alternative Lists:

• Some lists, like Triosk’s MOCS list, play 4 copies, but the fourth one is in place of a spell. This indicates they do not count Saga as a land but more as a spell.
  
  

 

 

Typical Land Sequencing for This Deck:

1. Turn 1: UR dual → Turn 2: Urza’s Saga
   
   

• This allows you to develop your creatures and Cori while still leveraging Saga in the midgame.
  
  

2. Turn 4: When Saga is expected to go to Chapter III, fetch any relevant Saga Bullets or extra Moxen for a burst of mana to try and end the game.
   
   

 

 

Adjustments and Reasoning:

This sequence of land drops is the reason I followed triosk’s build and also decided to:

1. Move away from Otawara in favor of an extra UR dual-land (Spirebluff Canal or Steam Vents).
   
   

• This is due to the abundance of blue mana between Mox Amber and Island, in the face of needing the other R/W requirements for Phlage post-board.
  
  

2. Include a Plains as a mid-game painless untapped white source to fetch.
   
   

3. While still limit Saga to three copies in the manabase for consistency and color reliability.
   
   

 

 

Mox Package

• Simply put, with the deck’s opening hand so reliant on factors such as:
  
  

• The density of acceleration to avoid clunky hands.
  
  

• The density of 0-drops for Cori-Steel Cutter.
  
  

• The density of artifacts for Metalcraft.
  
  

I believe it’s a mistake to play fewer than 8 Moxen.

• Though a lot of times, you will be trimming the fourth Amber, especially if you are boarding in Phlage.
  
  

 

 

Current Sideboard Flex Slots:

Flame of Anor

• • A card I truly appreciate for its ability to help us pivot into a fair value control deck so effectively.
    
    

  • It also has a very high floor in the current Modern meta by being able to catch up effectively against Cori decks with less risk of being stuck rotting in your hand compared to Wear // Tear.
    
    

 

 

Chandra's Defeat  

• A hammer for the UR Prowess matchup, which can be tough if played well.
  
  

• It is hard to line up our answers against their threats, especially since they have cheap answers to our clunky 3-mana cards.
  
  

• (You don’t bring it in anywhere else against the tier decks.)
  
  

 

 

Notably:

• Chandra’s Defeat is able to kill every creature through a Mutagenic Growth, which is crucial:
  
  

• Dragon’s Rage Channeler (3/3) + Mutagenic Growth = 5/5 → Chandra’s Defeat still kills it.
  
  

• Monastery Swiftspear + Mutagenic Growth = 4/5 → Chandra’s Defeat still kills it.
  
  

 

 

Orim's Chant vs. Ethersworn Canonist

• This deck is notably soft to very linear combo decks such as Storm and Amulet Titan that are capable of going under our aggro plan.
  
  

• Unlike UR Prowess, our aggression isn’t as explosive and fast, making counterspells like Spell Pierce less reliable as a way to seal the game.
  
  

 

 

The Big Difference:

• Unlike Boros Energy, we cannot play prison-style permanents like Deafening Silence, as it disrupts our own game plan.
  
  

• The closest equivalent we can play is Ethersworn Canonist.
  
  

 

 

Canonist Benefits:

• It has its own upsides:
  
  

• Contributes to Metalcraft.
  
  

• Can be recurred with Emry.
  
  

 

 

Canonist Drawbacks:

• However, it just doesn’t have much solid application outside of the Storm matchup, while Orim’s Chant is useful against Amulet Titan and Eldrazi as well.
  
  

• Orim’s Chant is great as it is notably easy to hold up and can also be played proactively on your own turn.
  
  

 

 

Potential Sideboard Choices

These are cards I believe have potential and am willing to try moving forward, depending on the meta and specific matchups.

 

 

Swan Song

• This deck is notoriously weak against Wrath of the Skies.
  
  

• Swan Song serves as a clean, standalone answer to that card, and to me, it seems worth the inclusion.
  
  

• Although giving your opponent a 2/2 bird is annoying, as a Cori Prowess deck, you can often race past the token.
  
  

 

 

Advantages of Swan Song:

1. It costs just 1 mana, making it very easy to hold up, similar to Orim’s Chant.
   
   

2. It’s a hard counter during the mid or late game, unlike Spell Pierce.
   
   

3. It doesn’t require any setup or investment like Metallic Rebuke or Flare of Denial.
   
   

 

 

Thraben Charm

• Thraben Charm could be an interesting sideboard option for the Energy matchup, where it theoretically covers most of the angles Energy attacks with.
  
  
  

• Also this deck with flame of anor is much better at dealing with artifacts while worse at dealing with enchantment without the risk of siding in a potentially blank card such as wear // tear - so it's a good hedge vs a creature based deck with enchantments like energy or zoo

 

 

Matchup Applications:

1. Early Game: It deals with 1-drop creatures efficiently.
   
   

2. Midgame: It answers Goblin Bombardment or Ajani.
   
   

3. Endgame: It can exile the graveyard against Phlage

 

 

Strengths of the Deck in the Metagame

To break down the current Modern metagame, post Breach ban and post Tarkir release, let’s look at the landscape and understand how Jeskai Cutter fits in.

source: mtggoldfish

 

 

1. Boros Energy

• This deck remains the baseline of the format, dominating fair matchups while also having enough explosiveness to compete with unfair decks.
  
  

 

 

2. Big Mana Decks (Eldrazi Ramp, Amulet Titan)

• These decks thrive in environments where they can outpace fair strategies.
  
  

• while being somewhat weak to either

• UB frog decks with the right interaction 

• A faster combo deck - like storm 

 

 

3. Combo Decks (U Belcher, Storm, Esper Goryo)

• different flavours of combo decks 

• tries to beat up on the energy decks and some version of big mana whether its vs amulet vs eldrazi or both 

• U belcher: beats up on energy + eldrazi but loses vs amulet 

• storm: beats up on energy + eldrazi + amulet but has fail rate 

• esper goryo: beating up on energy + eldrazi + other combo as the interactive combo deck

 

 

4. UB Frog (UB Midrange/Tempo)

• whilst losing to Boros (1) 

• will beat up on the level 2 decks aka the big mana 

• also beat up the level 3 decks aka fast combo from it’s interactive nature

   

5. BW Ketra

• Although not top-tier, BW Ketra is designed to dismantle fair decks like UB Frog while maintaining tools to disrupt combo decks like U Belcher.

 

 

6. UR Cutter (sometimes splashing white for sideboard cards)

•  The new upcoming deck presenting a strong solid game plan with strong aggression & proactivity
  
  

• Also able to play a semi-long game with Dragon-rage’s channeler + Expressive iteration and cori steel cutter.
  
  

Good against: some combo such as U belcher and solid into eldrazi

 Struggles against: Boros post side with deafening silence and amulet titan but has game against all the deck due to its proactivity & nut draw (similar to boros)

 

 

Metagame Summary

The current Modern environment is structured as a Rock-Paper-Scissors meta:

Different flavor Fair vs Big mana vs combo: of which depending on the flavor of fair you beat up on either the big mana or combo whilst losing % points against other sides of the format & in general the combo deck eating up on big mana.

 

 

 

Jeskai Cutter’s Strength:

This deck, very similar to Breach post-board, has a strong dual property of being an incredibly strong fair deck while also presenting an unfair game plan.

• Its strength is in its ability to morph into either a stronger fair deck or a combo deck against fair matchups, and an aggro deck or combo deck against Big Mana.
  
  

(Kind of like seeing what your opponent presents—a Rock or Paper—and then picking the appropriate Paper or Scissors to beat them.)

 

 

Strategic Considerations:

When playing this deck, it’s important not only to evaluate what game plan to push towards based on your opening hand but also to understand and choose which angles of attack are effective while avoiding vulnerable lines.

 

 

Examples:

• Against UB Frog:
  
  

• This is a Clock-Permission deck that is strong against combo, so you don’t want to play a combo game of trying to resolve Ascendancy (a 3-mana sorcery speed enchantment).
  
  

• Instead, you play a fair game and overpower them on the battlefield through Sagas and Cori backed up by Emry.
  
  

 

 

Hybrid Deck Concerns:

Where it gets tricky is against decks that can morph into a hybrid deck and present two sides of the Rock-Paper-Scissors equation against you (Rock and Scissors).

 

 

Example:

• Against Boros Post-Board:
  
  

• It gets complicated as they can morph into an Aggro-Control Midrange deck.
  
  

• They attempt to overpower you with Guide of Souls and Ocelots early, forcing you to interact or utilize Wear // Tear, Wrath of the Skies, and key removal on your value engines like Narset, Emry, and Tamiyo.
  
  

• They can then go over the top with Arena of Glory + Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury, shifting into a Boros Control strategy.
  
  

 

 

Matchup Guides and Sideboarding Strategies

In this segment, I will not only show you the ranges of how I sideboard but also provide some adjustments I recommend and the roles we take in each matchup.

 

 

Note:

As I mentioned previously, this deck is still new and far from solved! I highly recommend trying various configurations and exploring new approaches.

 

 

Energy

Sideboarding Plan:

• +1 Shadowspear
  
  

• +1 Whipflare
  
  

• +2 Flame of Anor
  
  

• +2 Phlage
  
  

 

 

Sideboard Out:

• -2 Cori steel cutter: the plan to out aggro-ing them is unrealistic with ocelot + guide being a potent threat. Completely flooding and overpowering us

 

• -1 Pithing Needle (It’s good in Game 1 for stopping Ajani + Bombardment but becomes a liability post-board if Wrath of the Skies kills it)
  
  

• -1 Mox Amber
  
  

• -1 Mox Opal
  
  

• -1 Aether Spellbomb
  
  

 

 

Overall Game Plan:

Game 1, without Energy having good interaction against you, as long as you slow-roll Emry against potential removal, you should be able to combo kill them.

Post-board, it gets much trickier as their interaction improves—not just against your combo but with killer cards like Wrath of the Skies.

 

 

Energy’s Best Configuration:

The most effective setup for Boros Energy against us is to morph into a hybrid aggro-control deck.

• They typically retain Ocelot Prides and some number of Pyromancers while bringing in Wear // Tear and Wrath of the Skies—without necessarily bringing in High Noon effects.
  
  

 

 

Game Phases Against Energy:

1. Early Game:
   
   

• They go wide with the problematic combination of Ocelot + Guide of Souls, which can instantly flood the board.
  
  

• This needs to be answered ASAP or, at the very least, the Guide of Souls should be answered while you rush towards flipping Tamiyo to invalidate the Ocelot Prides.
  
  

2. Midgame:
   
   

• If you survive the early game, it transitions into a tug-of-war for board presence.
  
  

• Your threats like Narset and Cori are pitted against their Ajani + Bombardment.
  
  

• It is crucial to conserve your Repeals for this phase and not burn them too early on Moxen just to flip Tamiyo.
  
  

3. (Note: Repealing your own Portable Hole with Wrath of the Skies on the stack is a very real play, so keep that in mind and plan for it when you can.)
   
   

4. Late Game:
   
   

• This phase typically occurs post-Wrath of the Skies, where both players rush to rebuild.
  
  

• Usually, the combination of Ocelot + Guide of Souls becomes a menace once again, alongside the potential of Phlage + Arena of Glory, giving their deck inevitability.
  
  

• Their rebuild is faster, relies on fewer cards, and goes over the top of us.
  
  

• It’s essential to be prepared with answers to these threats
  
  

• Try and sneak in parts of the combo one by one so you can unleash a series of portable hole to answer their onboard answer & combo off in the same turn!

 

 

Key Tools for the Late Game:

• GY Hate vs. Phlage (to prevent recursive threats)
  
  

• Whipflares vs. Ocelot + Guide (to clear the board quickly)
  
  

• Narset & our own Phlage to turn the corner faster before they do.
  
  

 

 

UR Prowess

Sideboarding Plan:

• +1 Shadowspear
  
  

• +2 Chandra’s Defeat
  
  

• +2 Flame of Anor
  
  

• +2 Phlage
  
  

 

 

Sideboard Out:

• -3 Narset
  
  

• -2 Jeskai Ascendancy
  
  

• -1 Pithing Needle
  
  

• -1 Mox Amber
  
  

 

 

Overall Game Plan:

The game plan against UR Prowess can vary widely depending on your opening hand:

1. Prowess Aggro Mirror:
   
   

• This is essentially a race to see who spends more mana on their own turn while maximizing triggers.
  
  

2. Saga Midrange vs. Aggro Deck:
   
   

• You prioritize answering their threats and then going over the top of them with the size of your Saga Tokens.
  
  

• This usually occurs more post-board with Shadowspear enhancing your game plan.
  
  

3. Combo vs. Aggro Deck:
   
   

• This is the least desirable line, as UR Prowess is equipped with cheap and efficient interaction (Unholy Heat vs. Narset and Spell Pierce vs. Ascendancy).
  
  

• One clean interaction against your clunky spells can be game-losing on the spot.
  
  

 

 

Post-Board Adjustments:

• To avoid being forced into the combo role in post-board games, you completely pivot and side out the Jeskai permanents for more interactive three-drops.
  
  

• You don’t board out Tormod’s Crypt as it’s not only a 0-drop that helps you accelerate but also turns off Delirium for DRC and Unholy Heat while preventing Lava Dart turns.
  
  

• (If you have Soul-Guide Lantern instead, you need to side it out, as you cannot afford the tempo loss.)
  
  

 

 

Eldrazi

Sideboarding Plan:

• +2 Flame of Anor (Both if you see Chalice or Trinisphere)
  
  

• +2 Wear // Tear
  
  

• +4 Consign to Memory
  
  

• +1 Orim’s Chant
  
  

 

 

Sideboard Out:

• -4 Portable Hole
  
  

• -1 Galvanic Blast
  
  

• -1 Pithing Needle
  
  

• -1 Aether Spellbomb
  
  

• -1 Tormod’s Crypt
  
  

• -1 Narset
  
  

 

 

Overall Game Plan:

The strategy against Eldrazi is very similar to how you would approach Breach vs. Eldrazi.

• You want to set up the game where you have cards flowing to access key pieces like Consign to Memory or Orim’s Chant to bridge you safely to the combo.
  
  

• Tamiyo is the best enabler in this matchup, as she not only generates card advantage but, once flipped, can buy back these key spells.
  
  

 

 

Midgame Strategy:

• The focus is less on her ultimate and more on the Cori prowess draws, which reward you for having spells and can rapidly close out the game if unanswered.
  
  

• Remember: You will fight on only two main axes:
  
  

1. On the stack: Preventing them from resolving problematic Eldrazi threats.
   
   

2. Against their acceleration/prison pieces: Utilize Wear // Tear for efficient answers.
   
   

3. Setup protection: Protect your engines or disrupt theirs efficiently (countering their kozilek’s command while protecting our emry)
   
   

 

 

Advanced Tips:

1. You cannot Repeal a Chalice on one, as unlike March of Otherworldly Light or Prismatic Ending, the value of X must match the target.
   
   

2. Chalice on 0 won’t stop your combo, as it doesn’t need to resolve; it just needs to be cast. (While you won’t be able to generate mana with this line, you also don’t have to worry about milling out due to the need to sacrifice Baubles each cycle.)
   
   

3. You can still fuse Wear // Tear for 3 mana with Trinisphere in play.
   
   

4. Whenever possible, re-equip Cori onto Emry to ensure she survives the front half of Kozilek’s Return.
   
   

 

 

U Belcher

Sideboarding Plan:

• +2 Flame of Anor
  
  

• +4 Consign to Memory
  
  

• +1 Orim’s Chant
  
  

 

 

Sideboard Out:

• -4 Portable Hole
  
  

• -1 Mox Amber
  
  

• -2 Jeskai Ascendancy
  
  

 

 

Overall Game Plan:

Much of the Breach knowledge applies here. Post-board, you want to morph into a Saga + Cori midrange deck that leverages Cori, Tamiyo, Flame of Anor, Consign to Memory, and Sagas.

• Saga on 1 is not as strong as it was in Breach because it doesn’t set you up for a Turn 3 combo, but on the draw, it may be a necessary play against their fastest starts.
  
  

 

 

Avoiding the Combo Role:

• Since you want to avoid being a combo deck against a combo-control deck, you cut the Ascendancies and lean into Cori, backed up by interaction.
  
  

• Cori triggers frequently on your opponent’s turn in this matchup, so keep that in mind to maximize value.
  
  

 

 

Repeal in this Matchup:

• Repeal is quite strong here as it lets you go hard on the Cori plan, or at the very least, *bounce a Lotus in the upkeep to disrupt their tempo.
  
  

 

 

Advanced Consign Usage:

• When you have multiple Consigns or a decent amount of mana, don’t be stingy and only use one with max replicate.
  
  

• This can get punished by Flusterstorm or their own Consign countering the replicate trigger along with a counterspell.
  
  

 

 

UB Frog

Sideboarding Plan:

• +2 Flame of Anor
  
  

• +2  Phlage
  
  
  

 

 

Sideboard Out:

• -1 Galvanic Blast
  
  

• -1 Mox Amber
  
  

• -2 Jeskai Ascendancy
  
  

(Keep Pithing Needle—it is very relevant in this matchup.)

 

 

Overall Game Plan:

This matchup is very similar to the U Belcher matchup. Against a counterspell-heavy deck, you want to avoid being a combo deck.

• Instead, you lean into a Cori Prowess + Emry + Saga Affinity plan to dodge the tempo-negative exchanges that Rebuke or Force of Negation would create.
  
  

 

 

Artifact Package Synergy:

Our artifact package lines up very well against their threats:

• Portable Hole deals with Psychic Frog.
  
  

• Aether Spellbomb is a clean answer to most threats.
  
  

• Tormod’s Crypt disrupts Oculus and Murktide Regent.
  
  

All of these can be recurred with Emry, allowing for a soft lock on their board.

 

 

Pithing Needle Naming Strategy:

You often want to name the following:

1. Psychic Frog:
   
   

• Prevents them from snowballing the game or enabling their engine.
  
  

• Denying flying means we can stop them from drawing cards while we clog the ground.
  
  

2. Engineered Explosives:
   
   

• Prevents them from cleanly dealing with our Saga Tokens.
  
  

3. Kaito, Bane of Nightmare:
   
   

• If we are leaning into the Phlage long-game plan, shutting down Kaito is crucial.
  
  

 

 

Amulet Titan

Sideboarding Plan:

• +2 Flame of Anor
  
  

• +4 Consign to Memory
  
  

• +1 Orim’s Chant
  
  

• +2 Wear // Tear
  
  

 

 

Sideboard Out:

• -3 Portable Hole
  
  

• -1 Aether Spellbomb
  
  

• -1 Mox Amber
  
  

• -1 Repeal
  
  

• -2 Jeskai Ascendancy
  
  

• -1 Urza’s Saga
  
  

(Note: If you play Swan Song, bring that in too.)

• Between Flame of Anor and Portable Hole, you have good ways to deal with Amulet of Vigor while still being somewhat cold to Spelunking.
  
  

 

 

Overall Game Plan:

This is a hard matchup. They are faster, more robust, and more redundant than we are, while also having excellent tutorable interaction against us like Boseiju, Who Endures and Otawara, Soaring City.

Post-board, this dynamic gets even worse with the addition of Collector Ouphe and Force of Vigors. This forces us to move away from the Ascendancy combo and lean into the Cori Prowess game plan—even if it means we need to kill as fast as possible.

 

 

Strategic Adjustments:

1. The Ascendancy combo is too ambitious to pull off, so it is completely boarded out.
   
   

2. Trim on Urza’s Saga as we don’t want to get blown out by drawing multiples when they have Force of Vigor.
   
   

3. Prioritize Galvanic Blast over the second Portable Hole as it can be bought back with Tamiyo to deal with larger threats like Primeval Titan.
   
   

4. Consign to Memory is premium in this matchup, functioning as a Time Walk to buy a turn and hopefully end the game.
   
   

5. GY Hate stays in for Aftermath Analyst lines, which are important to shut down.
   
   

 

 

Pithing Needle Naming Strategy:

• Boseiju / Otawara
  
  

• Aftermath Analyst
  
  

• Tolaria West Transmute
  
  

(Niche Targets: Hanweir Battlements or Mirror Pool)

Axion mega modern - update 

Went a solid 5-3 losing 2 sets of win&ins with a slightly updated list of jeskai ascendency. 

Here I went against a lot of my deck building philosophy to stretch test what was the most viable way to incorporate as many plans as possible from the maindeck.

 

For example having the 4 saga targets while only having 3 saga is not the ideal ratio but by having access to 

 

• needle - for vs belcher & frog I can take the control plan G1 and adjust post board by siding out the combo

 

• shadowspear - for vs energy & prowess in which then I can swap out the Cori for phlage & whipflare for a saga midrange control plan

 

I really liked this configuration as it not only let me be as flexible as possible. 

It was also nice that this opened up a sideboard slot by moving the shadowspear main over a mox amber that gets sided out most MUs for an extra whipflare to really shore up the energy MU.

(To adjust the mapping trim the saga or opal more aggresively in face of potential hate, otherwise consider trimming Narsets if you bring in alot of interactive 3 drops)

Otherwise: If you still want to play the maximum numbers of the moxens I recommend making the slot for the maindeck shadowspear by cutting the flex slot cards such as galvanic blast or the second jeskai ascendency. 

 

MUs from the weekend

1. Belcher⭕️⭕️

2. Amulet titan❌❌

3. UW chant control⭕️❌⭕️

4. Energy⭕️❌⭕️

5. UR prowess⭕️⭕️

6. RG eldrazi⭕️⭕️

7. Energy❌❌

8. Temur eldrazi (autumn) ❌⭕️mull to 5 G1 and toss G3 as went to time

 

 

Mentions

As per usual I’d like to thank my absolutely amazing & supportive sponsor - Ultra Pro and the team behind UP. 

 

Every event I go to & every result I post is all thanks to the warm and wonderful support I receive from them. It's always an absolute honour to be able to wear my uniform to represent them through what I do in the Magic community.

 

Their apex sleeves are my absolute favorite sleeves of all time!
Not just in terms of use but also durability & quality but also with the aesthetics!
Ranging from cool simple designs such as the classic mana symbols to adorable designs such as the Phelia & maple sleeves!

 

So if you haven’t already definitely go check them out at https://www.shopultrapro.eu/.

 

 

Thank you for reading until the end! 

I hope this free report was not only insightful but also was able to sell you the awesomeness of this deck to all of you to pick up for your next modern event!

For any questions feel free to dm me at myra00 / X or myra00 on discord.

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By Myra