The decklists are in, the numbers are crunched, and the third Pro Tour of 2026 is ready to power up! Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering® | Marvel Super Heroes kicks off tomorrow, running from July 17–19 at MagicCon: Amsterdam. There, 362 of the world’s best Magic players will bring their Modern decks to battle for $500,000 in prizes, coveted World Championship invitations, and the prestigious Pro Tour trophy. The field is stacked with elite talent, featuring Top Finishers from Regional Championships, qualifiers from digital events, and veterans of the Pro Tour.
The competition begins with Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes Booster Draft on Friday and Saturday mornings, followed by five rounds of Modern each afternoon. On Sunday, the Top 8 will face off in Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes Booster Draft to crown the next Pro Tour champion.
To follow all the action, catch the live stream on twitch.tv/magic or the Play MTG YouTube channel. The broadcast begins at 11 a.m. CEST (5 a.m. ET/6 p.m. JST) on Friday and Saturday, and at 10 a.m. CEST (4 a.m. ET/5 P.M. JST) on Sunday. Be sure to check the viewer’s guide for all the details.
Modern is one of Magic’s premier competitive formats, based on cards from expansion sets, core sets, and straight-to-Modern sets from Eighth Edition forward. With 23 years of history, its deep card pool offers intricate interactions and a vast diversity of viable strategies. Here’s how the decks at the Pro Tour break down.
Deck Archetype
Number of Players
Percentage of Field
1. Boros Energy
46
12.7%
2. Izzet Affinity
46
12.7%
3. Broodscale Combo
42
11.6%
4. Eldrazi Tron
35
9.7%
5. Esper Goryo’s
33
9.1%
6. Amulet Titan
25
6.9%
7. Izzet Prowess
25
6.9%
8. Ruby Storm
16
4.4%
9. Simic Neoform
14
3.9%
10. Eldrazi Ramp
12
3.3%
11. Esper Blink
11
3.0%
12. Boros Land Destruction
9
2.5%
13. Domain Zoo
8
2.2%
14. Jeskai Control
7
1.9%
15. Azorius Control
5
1.4%
16. Living End
4
1.1%
17. Jund Cosmogoyf
3
0.8%
18. Azorius Blink
2
0.6%
19. Hollow One
2
0.6%
20. Golgari Yawgmoth
2
0.6%
21. Grixis Reanimator
2
0.6%
22. Bant Control
1
0.3%
23. Esper Control
1
0.3%
24. Samwise Gamgee Combo
1
0.3%
25. Mono-Red Prowess
1
0.3%
26. Golgari Necro
1
0.3%
27. Mono-Blue Metalcraft
1
0.3%
28. Devoted Druid Combo
1
0.3%
29. Azorius Loki
1
0.3%
30. Grixis Shadow
1
0.3%
31. Song of Creation
1
0.3%
32. Selesnya Ritual
1
0.3%
33. Tameshi Belcher
1
0.3%
34. Izzet Wizards
1
0.3%
All Modern decklists for the tournament will be published on the Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes event page at the start of Round 4 on Friday, July 17, around 2 p.m. CEST. Until then, here’s a quick look at the most-played decks of the tournament.
Boros Energy (46 players): Powered by Guide of Souls and Galvanic Discharge, Boros Energy leverages the energy mechanic to dominate the battlefield. The deck applies relentless pressure through the feline firepower of Ocelot Pride and Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, while Goblin Bombardment lets you sacrifice Cat tokens to transform Ajani into a formidable planeswalker.
Izzet Affinity (46 players): Izzet Affinity thrives on artifact synergies. With a critical mass of artifacts, Mox Opal accelerates mana, Kappa Cannoneer grows into an unstoppable juggernaut, and Pinnacle Emissary lets you flood the board with tokens. Almost every list features Weapons Manufacturing, whose Munitions tokens supercharge Kappa Cannoneer, grow the Constructs from Urza’s Saga, and can be translated into lethal damage with an Engineered Explosives for X=0.
Broodscale Combo (42 players): Broodscale combo is named after the two-card combo of Blade of the Bloodchief and Basking Broodscale. Sacrificing an Eldrazi Spawn for mana triggers the Blade, which puts a +1/+1 counter on the Broodscale, creating another Eldrazi Spawn. This loop produces an infinitely large Broodscale and infinite mana. The deck can also win the game by attacking with Urza’s Saga’s Construct tokens or by ramping into Emrakul, the Promised End. While all Broodscale Combo decks share a similar core, the deck’s flex slots offer room for customization. Some lists use Writhing Chrysalis, Unholy Heat, and Stomping Ground. Others instead run Ugin’s Labyrinth and Devourer of Destiny. There are even versions that splash black! Yet every build has infinite combo potential.
Eldrazi Tron (35 players): Eldrazi Tron harnesses the iconic trio of Urza’s lands, Eldrazi Temple, and Ugin’s Labyrinth to generate enormous amounts of colorless mana. This mana fuels powerhouse cards like Karn, the Great Creator; Kozilek’s Command; Devourer of Destiny; and Ugin, Eye of the Storms. To maximize Ugin’s potential, the deck is almost fully colorless, relying on disruptive artifacts to stifle the opponent’s plans.
Esper Goryo’s (33 players): Esper Goryo’s aims to discard Atraxa, Grand Unifier to Psychic Frog or Faithful Mending and return her to the battlefield with Goryo’s Vengeance. This provides a massive lifelinking swing and a fresh grip of cards. Afterward, Ephemerate grants another Atraxa trigger and ensures that she won’t be exiled at the end of the turn. The deck can also pivot into a controlling role with Solitude, Thoughtseize, and Force of Negation.
Amulet Titan (25 players): Amulet Titan is built around the explosive synergy between Amulet of Vigor and bounce lands like Gruul Turf. With Amulet in play, those lands effectively enter untapped and generate additional mana, enabling an early Primeval Titan. Titan can fetch Hanweir Battlements and shift the game in your favor. As an alternative route to victory, all Amulet Titan decks also run Scapeshift to generate loads of additional mana, especially when combined with Aftermath Analyst. Infinite mana loops have become more convoluted after Lotus Field was banned in May, but Amulet Titan masters will surely show off all the intricate lines of play at the Pro Tour.
Izzet Prowess (25 players): At its core, Izzet Prowess is built for speed. After you lead with Dragon’s Rage Channeler or Monastery Swiftspear on turn one, Preordain and other cheap cantrips help you churn through spells, sculpt your hand, and buff your creatures. Dropping a Cori-Steel Cutter on turn two and following it up with a Mishra’s Bauble can also kickstart a flood of Monk tokens.
Ruby Storm (16 players): Ruby Storm is a blisteringly fast combo deck centered on Ruby Medallion and Ral, Monsoon Mage. With either card on the battlefield, spells like Pyretic Ritual and Desperate Ritual cost just a single red mana, unlocking a massive mana boost. The cost reduction also applies to card-advantage spells like Reckless Impulse and Wrenn’s Resolve, allowing you to churn through your library. The ultimate plan is to cast a storm of spells in a single turn, flash them back with Past in Flames, and finish the game with a lethal Grapeshot.
Simic Neoform (14 players): Simic Neoform seeks to cast Allosaurus Rider for no mana by exiling two green cards, then you can upgrade it into a game-winning creature with Neoform or Eldritch Evolution. The premier target is Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant, who can flood the battlefield with a menagerie of finishers. Disciple of Freyalise can convert Ghalta into 12 life and 12 cards, while Xenagos, God of Revels transforms Ghalta into a 24/24 trampler with haste.
Eldrazi Ramp (12 players): Eldrazi Ramp is fueled by two-mana lands like Eldrazi Temple and Ugin’s Labyrinth, aiming to cast Emrakul, the Promised End as soon as possible. Malevolent Rumble and Kozilek’s Command provide Eldrazi Spawn for ramp and simultaneously reduce Emrakul’s cost by filling the graveyard with card types. Three-quarters of Eldrazi Ramp players use Fight Rigging alongside Slumbering Trudge as an alternative way to cast Emrakul ahead of schedule.
Esper Blink (12 players): Esper Blink synergistically combines Quantum Riddler with Ephemerate and/or Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd. Most versions also feature Solitude and Overlord of the Balemurk as appealing blink targets, all wrapped in an interactive midrange shell.
Boros Land Destruction (9 players): Boros Land Destruction is a relative newcomer to the Modern metagame. As most decks in Modern run only two or three basic lands, you can overwhelm opponents by destroying their lands with effects that would normally replace those lands with basic land-search effects. Erode and Path to Exile quickly become one-mana removal spells with virtually no drawback. Moreover, Cleansing Wildfire, Price of Freedom, Demolition Field, Field of Ruin, and Avengers Disassembled effectively become hard land-destruction effects.
Domain Zoo (8 players): Domain Zoo is a disruptive aggro deck that leverages a suite of lands with two or three basic land types to unleash the power of Scion of Draco. Territorial Kavu is often included as well. With Leyline of the Guildpact, the mana base becomes painless, and Scion of Draco gives your entire team vigilance, hexproof, lifelink, first strike, and trample.
Jeskai Control (7 players): Jeskai Control seeks to dictate the pace of the game through efficient removal, sweepers, countermagic, and card-draw spells. Most builds employ Kaheera, the Orphanguard as a companion and can imprint Orim’s Chant onto Isochron Scepter to lock opponents out of the game entirely. Victory will come slowly but methodically.
The winning deck of the previous Modern Pro Tour, Tameshi Belcher, was registered by only a single player this time around. Although Michael Plummer piloted the archetype to a Pro Tour trophy last year, its overall win rate at that event was underwhelming, and continued poor performance has left it with only a small slice of the metagame.
Altogether, this Pro Tour showcases dozens of archetypes, mostly established ones. Combo and aggro strategies are far more prominent than midrange, control, or ramp decks. No brand-new breakout archetype has swept through the metagame, and the recently unbanned cards have not made a significant impact. Across all Pro Tour decklists, there are only eight copies of Violent Outburst and not a single copy of Umezawa’s Jitte.
Instead, the distribution of decks closely mirrors the expectations based on tournaments in the weeks leading up to the Pro Tour. Boros Energy and Izzet Affinity had already established themselves as the format’s premier contenders, and they ultimately finished tied for the largest share of the Pro Tour metagame. At 12.7% of the field apiece, neither deck stands alone at the top, and there’s a lot of diversity overall.
That said, Broodscale Combo, Eldrazi Tron, Esper Goryo’s, and Simic Neoform all posted slightly higher numbers than expected, reflecting the appeal of explosive combo finishes and powerful mana acceleration. These archetypes also proved especially popular among experienced competitors with four or more Top Finishes, suggesting that extensive testing had convinced many of the game’s veterans that these decks were well positioned against Boros Energy and the anticipated field.
Kozilek’s Command
Eldrazi Temple
The most-played nonland card in main decks overall is Kozilek’s Command, arguably the strongest card in the entire format. Every Broodscale Combo, Eldrazi Tron, and Eldrazi Ramp deck runs the full playset alongside four copies of Eldrazi Temple. With 89 players representing 24.6% of the field on this potent package, we can expect a tournament where Kozilek’s Commands will deliver a powerful blend of mana acceleration, card selection, spot removal, and graveyard hate.
Other heavily played main deck staples include Urza’s Saga, Mishra’s Bauble, Malevolent Rumble, Solitude, Galvanic Discharge, and Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer. Meanwhile, Consign to Memory remains the most-played sideboard card. Taken together, this paints a picture of Modern as a format defined by ruthless efficiency, where the most prominent decks maximize cheap interaction, streamlined card selection, and one-mana threats.
The set releases since Magic: The Gathering | Marvel’s Spider-Man, which was legal at last year’s Modern Pro Tour nine months ago, have introduced a wealth of powerful new cards that have both enabled new archetypes and strengthened existing ones. The table below highlights the 20 most-played new-to-Modern cards at Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes from sets released since the last Modern Pro Tour, along with their total number of copies, broken down between main deck and sideboard appearances. I’ve listed each set by its three-letter set code for brevity.
Card Name
Set Code
Total
Main
Side
1. The Legend of Roku
TLA
72
44
28
2. Hex Magic
MSH
63
63
0
3. Skateboard
TMT
49
49
0
4. Wistfulness
ECL
47
38
9
5. Erode
SOS
46
46
0
6. Price of Freedom
TLA
40
40
0
7. Slumbering Trudge
SOS
36
36
0
8. Boomerang Basics
TLA
27
23
4
9. Avengers Disassembled
MSH
23
20
3
10. Moonshadow
ECL
16
16
0
11. Badgermole Cub
TLA
15
15
0
12. Wan Shi Tong, Librarian
TLA
10
10
0
13. End of the Hunt
SOS
7
0
7
14. Deceit
ECL
7
5
2
15. Practiced Offense
SOS
7
7
0
16. Formidable Speaker
ECL
6
6
0
17. Mjölnir, Hammer of Thor
MSH
6
0
6
18. Witherbloom Charm
SOS
5
4
1
19. Loki, God of Mischief
MSH
3
3
0
20. Krang, Master Mind
TMT
3
3
0
The Legend of Roku
In terms of total number of copies across all main decks and sideboards, the most-played newcomer from the past nine months has been The Legend of Roku. Following the ban of Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury, Boros Energy was forced to look for an alternative mid-game value engine, and The Legend of Roku has stepped in as one of the popular replacements. Several Boros Land Destruction decks also feature the Saga. With 72 total copies split across 47 decklists, it’s often used as a one-of or two-of, quietly providing a steady source of value throughout longer games.
Hex Magic
Hex Magic, meanwhile, is the most-played new-to-Modern card based on total number of copies across main decks only. It appears as a three-of or four-of in each Ruby Storm deck at this weekend’s event, typically filling slots previously occupied by Glimpse the Impossible and Flashback. Hex Magic is an exceptional card-draw spell at the start of your combo turn or as a setup piece the turn before. “Drawing” five or six cards for three mana is very realistic. What’s more, it’s one of the first new Arcane cards in years, meaning you can splice Desperate Ritual onto Hex Magic for a free mana.
Skateboard
Skateboard has found a consistent home as a one-of card in Izzet Affinity, where it aims to give haste to a freshly created Construct token. A typical sequence involves playing Urza’s Saga on turn two, creating Construct tokens on turns three and four, and tutoring up the Equipment to immediately apply pressure. While Skateboard is the most influential new card by the total number of Pro Tour decks using at least one copy, it represents only the smallest of upgrades over Lavaspur Boots. Still, players determined that tapping down an opposing blocker is often more valuable than granting ward 1.
Wistfulness
Many Simic Neoform players and all Living End players included at least one copy of Wistfulness. The card offers both an answer to troublesome artifacts and enchantments and a cheap way to draw and discard, improving consistency while filling the graveyard for Living End. This exceptional combination of abilities makes it a strong addition to these decks.
Erode
Price of Freedom
Avengers Disassembled
The family of Cleansing Wildfire-style effects expanded significantly over the past year, with Price of Freedom from Magic: The Gathering® | Avatar: The Last Airbender™, Erode from Secrets of Strixhaven, and Avengers Disassembled from Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes all joining the deck’s arsenal. Boros Land Destruction uses these cards to systematically strip away the opponent’s basic lands, ultimately leaving them stranded without any basic lands to fetch.
Slumbering Trudge
The final new card I’d like to highlight is Slumbering Trudge. Nine Eldrazi Ramp players included this card alongside Fight Rigging and Fanatic of Rhonas. The Trudge, which is technically a one-mana 6/6, can produce game-ending sequences. Imagine casting Slumbering Trudge on turn one, placing three stun counters on the enormous creature. On turn two, you play Ugin’s Labyrinth, exiling Drowner of Truth, and cast Fight Rigging. Ideally, Fight Rigging finds a devastating payoff like Emrakul, the Promised End or Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger among the top five cards of your library. Then you move to combat, put a +1/+1 counter on Slumbering Trudge, and cast the exiled spell for free. It is the kind of sequence that can make Eldrazi Ramp feel like an unstoppable force.
For the curious readers, here’s where the other cards from the table found homes:
Boomerang Basics appeared in 10 Izzet Prowess, 1 Izzet Affinity, and 1 Grixis Shadow deck.
Moonshadow appeared in 2 Hollow One, 1 Domain Zoo, and 1 Grixis Shadow deck.
Badgermole Cub appeared in 2 Golgari Yawgmoth, 1 Devoted Druid Combo, and 1 Selesnya Ritual deck.
Wan Shi Tong, Librarian appeared in 1 Jeskai Control, 1 Esper Control, and 1 Azorius Control deck.
End of the Hunt appeared in 4 Esper Goryo’s, 1 Boros Energy, and 1 Esper Blink deck.
Deceit appeared in 2 Living End decks.
Practiced Offense appeared in 3 Domain Zoo decks.
Formidable Speaker appeared in 2 Living End and 1 Golgari Yawgmoth deck.
Mjölnir, Hammer of Thor appeared in 5 Amulet Titan decks.
Witherbloom Charm appeared in 1 Samwise Gamgee Combo, 1 Golgari Necro, and 1 Golgari Yawgmoth deck.
Loki, God of Mischief appeared in 1 Azorius Loki deck.
Krang, Master Mind appeared in 1 Izzet Affinity deck.
Several additional fringe cards also saw play, appearing as one-of or two-of inclusions across Pro Tour decklists.
I’m eager to see whether any of these fresh additions can rise above the competition and make their mark at the top tables by the end of the weekend.
The stage is set for dozens of archetypes to battle for glory. This weekend, in my home country of the Netherlands, I’ll be at the news desk to provide deeper numbers and insights on the Modern metagame, decks, cards, interactions, and win rates throughout the tournament.
To find out who takes home the trophy, don’t miss a moment of the action. Coverage of Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes kicks off tomorrow, July 17!