<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tarmogoyf|MMA|166" href="#" target="_blank">Tarmogoyf</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://ryan-barger.pixels.com/">Ryan Barger</a></em></p>
<p>Hello! Welcome to <em>60 to 100</em>, a series where I take beloved decks from 60-card formats and convert them to Commander.</p>
<p>The time has come to tackle my most requested deck on <em>60 to 100</em>: Modern Jund (<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>). This is a deck with a storied history in the format that's beloved by just about everyone. I missed the boat on the classic version of Jund, as <em>Modern Horizons 2</em> was only a couple months away from release when I first got into Modern. That release split Jund into two variants: "Boomer" Jund and Jund Sagavan, with the difference being the extent to which each variant embraced the new <em>Modern Horizons</em> technology. In this article, I'm going to return to 2015 and look at Boomer Jund before that prefix was necessary.</p>
<h2>The Source Material</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Jund by Reid Duke - GP Singapore 2015" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Planeswalkers]
*1 Chandra, Pyromaster
*4 Liliana of the Veil
[/Planeswalkers]
[Creatures]
*4 Dark Confidant
*1 Olivia Voldaren
*3 Scavenging Ooze
*4 Tarmogoyf
*1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
[/Creatures]
[Sorceries]
*4 Inquisition of Kozilek
*2 Maelstrom Pulse
*2 Thoughtseize
[/Sorceries]
[Instants]
*2 Abrupt Decay
*2 Kolaghan&#039;s Command
*4 Lightning Bolt
*2 Terminate
[/Instants]
[Lands]
*4 Blackcleave Cliffs
*1 Blood Crypt
*4 Bloodstained Mire
*1 Forest
*2 Overgrown Tomb
*3 Raging Ravine
*1 Stomping Ground
*2 Swamp
*4 Verdant Catacombs
*2 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<p>Jund's game plan is fairly straightforward: make one-for-one trades with your opponent until you're both out of cards, then win the top deck war. The early game is filled with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thoughtseize" href="#" target="_blank">Thoughtseize</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inquisition of Kozilek" href="#" target="_blank">Inquisition of Kozilek</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and cheap removal to grind your opponent down. Winning the top deck war was a function of drawing into independently powerful haymakers, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodbraid Elf" href="#" target="_blank">Bloodbraid Elf</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tarmogoyf" href="#" target="_blank">Tarmogoyf</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scavenging Ooze" href="#" target="_blank">Scavenging Ooze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and establishing a fast clock against an opponent while they stumble through the rest of the game.</p>
<p>The story behind this particular list is also worth telling. Reid Duke, a player I find myself writing about a lot in these articles, traveled to Grand Prix Singapore with the intention of playing a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goryo&#039;s Vengeance" href="#" target="_blank">Goryo&#039;s Vengeance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck. He needed to do well at this tournament to secure Platinum Pro status for the next season of competitive play. As Murphy's law would dictate, he ended up losing that deck somewhere along the 30-hour trip, and was left with only one other deck on his person: Jund. He registered it in the Grand Prix, finished well enough to secure his Platinum status, and got a great story out of it.</p>
<h2>Choosing a Commander</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Korvold, Fae-Cursed King"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Slimefoot and Squee"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soul of Windgrace"></div></div>
<p>There were quite a few powerful commanders to consider in these colors. For a while, my top contenders were <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Korvold, Fae-Cursed King" href="#" target="_blank">Korvold, Fae-Cursed King</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Slimefoot and Squee" href="#" target="_blank">Slimefoot and Squee</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I don't think either of them are bad choices, but I have one complaint about them: they're too easy. Getting value out of Korvold or Slimefoot and Squee isn't particularly difficult, and they both feel fairly generic as a result. Enter: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul of Windgrace" href="#" target="_blank">Soul of Windgrace</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>The goal of my build of Jund is to grind the game down to a top deck war with symmetrical discard effects, then deploy Soul of Windgrace to create an imbalance in that war. Each turn, Soul of Windgrace adds to my pile of lands and provides the ability to take a redraw when my draw step gives me a land with his second activated ability. Even better, he can protect himself and provide incidental life gain, something that will undoubtedly be necessary in the grindy games this deck is into.</p>
<h2>Key Cards for Jund</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Delirium Skeins"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bottomless Pit"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Liliana of the Veil"></div></div>
<p>In an average Commander game, the other players are going to spend the first few turns casting their ramp spells. Just like in 60-card formats, ramp strategies are more vulnerable to discard because by they'll be out of cards to cast by the time they've made enough mana. With that in mind, step one is getting everyone's hand size as low as possible. Here, I'm using symmetrical discard, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Delirium Skeins" href="#" target="_blank">Delirium Skeins</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bottomless Pit" href="#" target="_blank">Bottomless Pit</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Liliana of the Veil" href="#" target="_blank">Liliana of the Veil</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, to get the job done. Once there are enough lands in play to cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul of Windgrace" href="#" target="_blank">Soul of Windgrace</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, I really don't feel any attachment to the cards in my hand anyway, so the discards aren't particularly painful.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Glissa Sunslayer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Barrowgoyf"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pyrogoyf"></div></div>
<p>Deploying independently powerful, mana-efficient threats is the goal moving into the middle stages of the game. These are typically creatures with removal or card draw attached, or creatures that are problematic in combat. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glissa Sunslayer" href="#" target="_blank">Glissa Sunslayer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> checks both of those boxes, offering repeatable card draw and enchantment removal and a body with first strike and deathtouch that is nigh impossible to attack into favorably.</p>
<p>A Jund deck would feel incomplete without Lhurgoyfs. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tarmogoyf" href="#" target="_blank">Tarmogoyf</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is present in this deck, but its two cousins, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Barrowgoyf" href="#" target="_blank">Barrowgoyf</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pyrogoyf" href="#" target="_blank">Pyrogoyf</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, are significantly more interesting. Barrowgoyf provides pseudo card draw in the form of milling and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Regrowth" href="#" target="_blank">Regrowth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-ing a creature when it connects, which synergizes very nicely with the graveyard strategies I'll dig into later. Pyrogoyf is a stronger version of the notorious <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flametongue Kavu" href="#" target="_blank">Flametongue Kavu</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a creature that can come in and pick off an opposing creature. Notably, Pyrogoyf triggers when another Lhurgoyf enters as well, and that won't be hard to take advantage of in this deck.</p>
<h2>The Staying Power to Jund 'em Out</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Life from the Loam"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Six"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Takenuma, Abandoned Mire"></div></div>
<p>The biggest perk that comes with building a deck that aims to create a low resource late game is that I get to build my deck to excel under those conditions, and the other players at the table likely did not.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Life from the Loam" href="#" target="_blank">Life from the Loam</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the highest impact contributor to late-game dominance. Once Life from the Loam's dredge ability is being used each draw step, the card advantage it generates will be nearly impossible to contend with. First, it offers nearly unlimited access to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul of Windgrace" href="#" target="_blank">Soul of Windgrace</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s activated abilities. Second, the suite of lands with cycling and channel abilities, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Barren Moor" href="#" target="_blank">Barren Moor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boseiju, Who Endures" href="#" target="_blank">Boseiju, Who Endures</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Takenuma, Abandoned Mire" href="#" target="_blank">Takenuma, Abandoned Mire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, offer repeatable card draw, recursion, and removal. With a fully stocked graveyard, Life from the Loam can effectively be a green <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ancestral Recall" href="#" target="_blank">Ancestral Recall</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shigeki, Jukai Visionary"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Seasons Past"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Six" href="#" target="_blank">Six</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is capable of recurring any nonland permanent in the deck while also serving as a source of incidental mill. The important tie-in with Life from the Loam and Takenuma is that there's never a reason to be afraid to mill with them in the deck. As long as I can find Life from the Loam and Takenuma, I can recover Six, and then any nonland permanent in the deck. From there, Six can retrace <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shigeki, Jukai Visionary" href="#" target="_blank">Shigeki, Jukai Visionary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can then recur <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seasons Past" href="#" target="_blank">Seasons Past</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It won't be very often that this exact chain of recovery is necessary in a game, but its existence frees the deck from having to cling to key cards in the hand or think twice before attacking with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Barrowgoyf" href="#" target="_blank">Barrowgoyf</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Nothing that goes to the graveyard is permanently inaccessible.</p>
<h2>Winning the Game</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kroxa, Titan of Death&#039;s Hunger"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tarmogoyf Nest"></div></div>
<p>How does this late game staying power convert to a win? The answer is a little complex. At face value, it's engines that generate creatures or life loss, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kroxa, Titan of Death&#039;s Hunger" href="#" target="_blank">Kroxa, Titan of Death&#039;s Hunger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tarmogoyf Nest" href="#" target="_blank">Tarmogoyf Nest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Perhaps the title of "win condition" even trickles down to planeswalkers, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Liliana, Waker of the Dead" href="#" target="_blank">Liliana, Waker of the Dead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. However, all of these options have one thing in common: they aren't fast, and they don't really work if your opponents are able to peel good cards off the top of their deck a few too many times. So what's my plan for that?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kardur, Doomscourge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spectacular Showdown"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mizzium Mortars"></div></div>
<p>Eventually, be it their commanders or creatures they were fortunate enough to draw, I have to assume your opponents will eventually be able to build a board full of creatures. In the mid-game, there may only be one or two of them, which spot removal can solve by itself. Once there are more than just a couple threats in play, the solutions need to scale up. That's where <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spectacular Showdown" href="#" target="_blank">Spectacular Showdown</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kardur, Doomscourge" href="#" target="_blank">Kardur, Doomscourge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mizzium Mortars" href="#" target="_blank">Mizzium Mortars</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> come in. An overloaded Spectacular Showdown or one enters trigger from Kardur can force two opponents to kill one another. Mizzium Mortars can buy several additional turns of attacking uncontested. Either of these are enough to be game winning on their own.</p>
<h2>Jund Commander Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Jund Midrange" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Soul of Windgrace
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Accursed Marauder
*1 Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal // Temple of the Dead
*1 Arasta of the Endless Web
*1 Argentum Masticore
*1 Bane of Progress
*1 Barrowgoyf
*1 Birds of Paradise
*1 Boggart Trawler // Boggart Bog
*1 Caustic Bronco
*1 Dark Confidant
*1 Deathrite Shaman
*1 Etali, Primal Storm
*1 Glissa Sunslayer
*1 Ignoble Hierarch
*1 Kardur, Doomscourge
*1 Kroxa, Titan of Death&#039;s Hunger
*1 Malfegor
*1 Managorger Hydra
*1 Ophiomancer
*1 Pyrogoyf
*1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
*1 Rankle and Torbran
*1 Rankle, Master of Pranks
*1 Scavenging Ooze
*1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
*1 Shigeki, Jukai Visionary
*1 Six
*1 Stronghold Rats
*1 Tarmogoyf
[/Creatures]
[Sorceries]
*1 Analyze the Pollen
*1 Delirium Skeins
*1 Life from the Loam
*1 Malevolent Rumble
*1 Mind Rake
*1 Mizzium Mortars
*1 Noxious Vapors
*1 Rankle&#039;s Prank
*1 Seasons Past
*1 Spectacular Showdown
*1 Stump Stomp // Burnwillow Clearing
*1 Sundering Eruption // Volcanic Fissure
*1 Traverse the Ulvenwald
[/Sorceries]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Liliana of the Veil
*1 Liliana, Waker of the Dead
*1 Ral Zarek, Guest Lecturer
*1 Wrenn and Six
[/Planeswalkers]
[Enchantments]
*1 Animate Dead
*1 Bottomless Pit
*1 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki
*1 Tarmogoyf Nest
*1 The Eldest Reborn
*1 Utopia Sprawl
[/Enchantments]
[Instants]
*1 Abrupt Decay
*1 Assassin&#039;s Trophy
*1 Bitter Triumph
*1 Fatal Push
*1 Kolaghan&#039;s Command
*1 Lightning Bolt
*1 Revitalizing Repast // Old-Growth Grove
*1 Riveteers Charm
*1 Sheoldred&#039;s Edict
*1 Soul Shatter
[/Instants]
[Artifacts]
*1 Sol Ring
[/Artifacts]
[Lands]
*1 Arena of Glory
*1 Arid Mesa
*1 Barren Moor
*1 Blood Crypt
*1 Bloodstained Mire
*1 Boseiju, Who Endures
*1 Commercial District
*3 Forest
*1 Forgotten Cave
*1 Karplusan Forest
*1 Llanowar Wastes
*1 Luxury Suite
*1 Marsh Flats
*1 Misty Rainforest
*2 Mountain
*1 Overgrown Tomb
*1 Polluted Delta
*1 Raucous Theater
*1 Scalding Tarn
*1 Spire Garden
*1 Stomping Ground
*1 Sulfurous Springs
*2 Swamp
*1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
*1 Tranquil Thicket
*1 Twisted Landscape
*1 Underground Mortuary
*1 Undergrowth Stadium
*1 Verdant Catacombs
*1 Wasteland
*1 Windswept Heath
*1 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tarmogoyf"></div></div>
<p>Building Jund is the most daunting task I've had on this series so far. Everyone wants to see it, everyone loves it, and I have pretty high expectations both for myself and for the deck. The timing was perfect, with Tarmogoyf returning to Standard with the release of <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/fra"><em>Reality Fracture</em></a>, and I've been mulling over how I'd adapt this deck for well over a year now.</p>
<p>I'm placing this deck in <a href="https://edhrec.com/guides/edhrec-guide-to-commander-brackets">Bracket</a> 2 (Core) for all the reasons one would expect. There are no <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/game-changers">Game Changers</a>, the deck is looking for a scrappy game that lasts upwards of 10-12 turns, and there's nothing too fast or oppressive happening in the deck. The early game mass discard may not be every table's cup of tea, as with nearly any slightly unorthodox strategy in <em>Magic</em>.</p>
<p>How would you build this deck differently? Does this deck feel true to the Boomer Jund ethos? Let me know in the comments.</p>


lhurgoyf

Building Jund Midrange In Commander

Singleton Shmingleton - Lhurgoyf