Modern Horizons 3: The Most Played Cards on each format

Modern Horizons 3 already has two weeks of impact on eternal formats, and the new expansion has shown notable results in changing the Metagame and bringing new decks to the competitive landscape, while revitalizing some strategies and putting them back on the radar.

In recent weeks, several new cards have stood out and caused a lot of change in the market, causing spikes and leading players to experiment with them in Magic Online Leagues and Challenges. And in this article, Cards Realm brings a survey of the five most played cards from Modern Horizons 3 in the main competitive formats, based on their appearances with results in Leagues and Challenges.

1 - Disruptor Flute

Disruptor Flute took little time to become a Modern sideboard staple. In addition to its Instant-Speed ​​Pithing Needle effect, this artifact offers the flexibility of delaying a key opponent's turn when played with the right timing.

Whether delaying a Primeval Titan or Yawgmoth, Thran Physician, locking Karn, the Great Creator or The Underworld Cookbook, naming Living End to tax its cost or locking a Shuko found by Stoneforge Mystic, the Disruptor Flute showed that it is here to stay in the competitive Metagame, with high cost-effectiveness that will make it a staple for many years to come.

2 - Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury

The new member of the Elder Giant cycle, which includes the multi-format staples Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath and Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger, also found a lot of space in Modern's competitive Metagame.

Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury offers a Lightning Helix for three mana, which isn't that great, but it works decently as removal in Midrange or Control decks and to speed up the clock on Aggro, and its potential to be reused as a wincondition guaranteed it space in Boros Energy, in Mardu Midrange variants and, also, in Jeskai Control, which has achieved notable results and used the new titan as its main threat.

3 - Consign to Memory

Consign to Memory is the Stifle that Modern deserves, and much of its presence is due to the growth of Eldrazi decks in the format. With just one card, it allows you to counter both the spell and the triggered ability in its cast, helping maintain resource parity while also working to counter Karn, the Great Creator, The One Ring and Scion of Draco or respond to other important triggers, such as Primeval Titan, Grief, Cascade, among others.

4 - Galvanic Discharge

Just like Unholy Heat in MH2, Galvanic Discharge has become a staple removal in Modern that interacts with a dozen other new cards that have seen play currently: Guide of Souls found several lists to fit, Amped Raptor had the same result and Tune the Narrative teamed up with Wrath of the Skies to create a strong core that leverages Jeskai Control in the current Metagame.

For one mana and a bit of support, Galvanic Discharge can deal with virtually any creature that isn't an Eldrazi Titan, putting it in a great spot in the Metagame, with the same flexibility as its predecessor while requiring other concessions, less targeted and with less specified hate, to work.

5 - Amped Raptor

Another powerful payoff for Energy, Amped Raptor needs very little to be good: on a shell with Galvanic Discharge, it already has enough to make a difference in a deck, and on its own, it already pulls any low-cost spell, finding a slot in Prowess, Energy, Jund Saga, among other strategies which can extract the mostr from the new creature.

1 - Psychic Frog

In addition to being a pitch for both Force of Will and Grief, Psychic Frog is an efficient two-drop that grows quickly, feeds Murktide Regent, discards cards to return with Reanimate, enables Delirium for Dragon's Rage Channeler and also offers recurring card advantage every turn it attacks.

With so many qualities, this two-drop has teamed up with Delver of Secrets or other creatures to find a home in most Legacy Tempo variants that carry in their colors, making it a potential staple.

2 - Vexing Bauble

A lot of fuss was made around Vexing Bauble when the card was revealed, and while it hasn't yet proven to be as overwhelming as expected, its place in Cloudpost decks and Stompy has proven the strength of this artifact and its ability to dismantle Legacy's disruptive plan and even entire game plans.

3 - Disruptor Flute

Disruptor Flute followed Vexing Bauble in finding a home in Cloudpost lists, but also had occasional appearances in the Sideboard of other archetypes for carrying the same qualities we see in Modern, but in a format where taxing the opponent's mana is even more punishing.

In Legacy, the artifact doesn't seem to follow the same mold of being a staple in multiple strategies, but it will certainly appear as a one-of with some frequency in the coming weeks.

4 - Harbinger of the Seas

While the blue Magus of the Moon screams Merfolks in every aspect, Harbinger of the Seas seems to have found a home mainly in the Sideboard of Dimir decks, be they Evoke, Delver, Death's Shadow or Reanimator, in addition to being present in other blue archetypes, such as Stiflenaught.

5 - Nadu, Winged Wisdom

Nadu, Winged Wisdom enabled a new “combo” in Modern and Legacy with Shuko or Nomads en-kor similar to what we see with Cephalid Breakfast in the format, but it didn't take long for players to use the Stoneforge Mystic package and place the creature in other archetypes, including variants where it joins Field of the Dead to create an unbeatable board in a few turns.

There is already a debate surrounding its power level, and the possibility of going “infinite” with tokens and ending the game with Thassa's Oracle adds another layer of complexity to this discussion, and the results of the Pro Tour next weekend could solidify Nadu as a broken card or just another good competitor in the Metagame for both formats.

1 - Sneaky Snacker

To the surprise of many, Sneaky Snacker did not only appear in Faeries or Dimir Terror in Pauper and its main results are not even in these archetypes.

Affinity found a way to take advantage of the new creature by sacrificing it with Deadly Dispute and combining it with its abundance of draws to bring it back, creating a new game plan alongside Refurbished Familiar and Krark-Clan Shaman, and Rakdos Madness can use Snacker to generate positive value from the Blood tokens and discard effects that the deck naturally uses to cast its spells, giving it more resilience on the board with an efficient clock.

2 - Refurbished Familiar

Refurbished Familiar is as good as everyone expected and has also joined several archetypes since its release: Grixis Affinity, Rakdos Madness, Mardu Synthesizer and the Orzhov Rat, where its interaction with Glint Hawk, Kor Skyfisher and Okiba-Gang Shinobi aim to make the most from the new creature, making it a new staple!

3 - Writhing Chrysalis

Writhing Chrysalis has been appearing in Gruul Ponza* lists as a four-drop that quickly accelerates mana to cast Annoyed Altisaur and Boarding Party earlier, adding even more consistency as it grows on its own and/or offers good blockers against Aggro.

4 - Malevolent Rumble

Malevolent Rumble has become the newest card selection for Bogles, where it offers an extra body against sacrifice effects and/or a small ramp for the next turn. The spell has also appeared in Ponza lists, where it ramps while finding a land and/or a powerful permanent to cast in the future.

5 - Thraben Charm

Thraben Charm has been ostensibly tested in the Sideboard of several strategies with white in Pauper: Bogles, Caw-Gates, Synthesizer, Familiars and Jeskai Ephemerate are among the main strategies where the new spell has appeared with some results, thanks to its versatility in responding to different occasions in the competitive Metagame.

That's all for today!

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!