Earlier this week, a Magic: The Gathering ban announcement looked to shakeup the Modern metagame by removing both Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis and Faithless Looting from the card pool. Additionally, the MTG ban announcement did something that many players have been dreaming of for quite some time: it unbanned Stoneforge Mystic in Modern. Indeed, Stoneforge Mystic has a history of being an extremely powerful Magic card, and now players will get a chance to see if the Kor has legs in MTG's Modern format.

While time will tell what shell is the best for Stoneforge Mystic, there are a number of approaches to building a Magic: The Gathering Stoneforge Mystic Modern deck that may be worth pursuing at these early stages, and some of these approaches have been outlined below. These MTG Stoneforge Mystic Modern decks all share something in common, their focus on the use of equipment, but they feature many differences as well.

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To note, this is not an attempt to present the best Magic: The Gathering Stoneforge Mystic Modern deck. As previously implied, it will take time to isolate the best ways to use Stoneforge Mystic in Modern MTG. Instead, this is intended to offer several starting points for testing, and it may help those players that are looking to play Stoneforge Mystic modern decks right now do exactly that.

Stoneforge Mystic Modern Deck: Deadguy Ale

Deadguy Ale is an archetype that has been around for many years, and it has spanned multiple Magic: The Gathering formats. A black/white deck, Deadguy Ale looks to win matches by playing powerful disruption and efficient creatures, and the addition of a Stoneforge Mystic package may be just the thing to solidify an MTG Deadguy Ale Modern deck as a contender.

Professional Magic: The Gathering Twitch streamer Caleb "CalebDMTG" Durward has shared his first draft of Deadguy Ale in Modern, and it has already posted a strong result on Magic: The Gathering Online. As Durward notes, this Stoneforge Mystic Modern deck is powerful in a Modern metagame with fewer Wrenn and Sixes, and it looks like an excellent place to start for fans of Orzhov.

Stoneforge Mystic Modern Deck: B/W Eldrazi Midrange

Another black/white Stoneforge Mystic Modern deck, this take on Eldrazi Midrange from Twitter user John Ryan Hamilton eschews some of the spells and MTG Planeswalkers found in Deadguy Ale in favor of a few of the most powerful Eldrazi. Anyone that has played with or against cards like Thought-Knot Seer and Reality Smasher know exactly how strong these creatures can be, and the ability to use Eldrazi Displacer to get additional triggers off of Stoneforge Mystic is certainly appealing.

Stoneforge Mystic Modern Deck: U/W Stoneblade

magic the gathering stoneforge mystic modern decks

For some players, the most exciting Magic: The Gathering Stoneforge Mystic Modern deck to try first will undoubtedly be a take on Azorius Stoneblade. Indeed, with Jace, the Mind Sculpture unbanned in Modern MTG, the thought of putting together a controlling blue/white deck, with a Stoneforge Mystic package at its center, will simply be too enticing for some to pass up.

The list above comes from Magic: The Gathering content creator Emma Handy, and it definitely feels like a strong first draft of Azorious Stoneblade for the new MTG Modern format. Notably, every creature in this Stoneforge Mystic Modern deck, aside from the Kor herself, has Flash, allowing players to easily hold up disruption, like Cryptic Command and Mana Leak, while still being able to advance the board state when the time is right.

Additionally, a suite of powerful Magic: The Gathering Planeswalkers allows this Modern Stoneforge Mystic deck to attack from an entirely different angle. This combination of threats and disruption is a scary prospect indeed, and players are advised to be well prepared for a variety of  U/W Stoneblade Modern decks in these early days.

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While bans can certainly be frustrating, especially when they require players to scrap decks that they love completely, unbans bring exciting new opportunities to Magic: The Gathering formats. The next time fans will see such opportunities come is with the release of the fall 2019 MTG set, Throne of Eldraine. However, until TED is available, there are plenty of Magic: The Gathering Stoneforge Mystic Modern decks to test and explore.

Magic: The Gathering Arena is available now in open beta on PC.

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Source: StarCityGames