Hello, and welcome back to Metagame Mentor, your weekly guide to the top decks and latest Constructed developments on the path to the Pro Tour. This past weekend, nearly 1,900 invited players competed for cash prizes, event promos, and Premier Play qualifications across the Regional Championships for China and United States (Baltimore). Together, these high-stakes tournaments awarded 40 coveted invitations to Pro Tour Nauctis, set for February 26–28, 2027.

Pete Ingram is your Regional Champion for the United States! Congratulations to the Broodscale Combo player for defeating Curtis Lam (who will also be headed to the World Championship) in the finals to win #SCGBaltimore! https://t.co/2kjS2LTK12

— PlayMTG (@PlayMTG) September 14, 2026

Congratulations to Pete Ingram for taking the trophy in the United States and to Yuchen Liu for clinching victory in China! Both champions, along with US finalist Curtis Lam, earned invitations to Magic World Championship 33, set for December 2027. In this article, I'll break down the evolving Modern metagame, examine win rates across the major archetypes, and highlight the standout strategies that rose to the top.

The Modern Metagame and Win Rates

Modern is a nonrotating 60-card format based on expansion sets, core sets, and straight-to-Modern sets from Eighth Edition forward, save for cards on the banned list. The table below presents the combined raw metagame numbers from the Regional Championships for China and United States (Baltimore), alongside match win rates for each deck archetype (excluding mirror matches, byes, and draws).

In this table, each archetype name hyperlinks to a top-performing decklist that closely reflects its aggregate build. The "Other" category includes decks with less than one percent of the winner's metagame, including Grixis Reanimator, Golgari Yawgmoth, Azorius Fiddlebender, Hollow One, Eldrazi Ramp, Simic Ritual, Azorius Control, Samwise Gamgee Combo, Golgari Necro, Jund Cosmogoyf, Dimir Mill, Eldrazi Aggro, Four-Color Ritual, Mono-Green Leyline, and more.

Basking Broodscale
Blade of the Bloodchief
Kozilek's Command
Emrakul, the Promised End

Based on both popularity and performance, the weekend belonged to Broodscale Combo. While the rest of the metagame was similar to Magic Spotlight: The Hobbit, Broodscale Combo climbed from 6.3% of the field to 12.6%, making it the most popular archetype overall.

This rise is largely a reflection of how well-positioned the deck is in the current Modern metagame. Several weeks ago, it already performed excellently with a 54.3% win rate across Magic Spotlight: The Hobbit, and players took notice. At last weekend's Regional Championships, it improved further, reaching a 55.3% win rate. Broodscale Combo had the best performance across all archetypes in the table, and the 95% Clopper-Pearson confidence interval for Broodscale Combo's win rate sat strictly above 50%, indicating that it performed better than the field in a statistically significant sense.

For almost all other deck archetypes, win rates were closer to 50%, and considering the sample sizes, no strong conclusions could be drawn from the data. There was one exception: Simic Neoform significantly underperformed with a 42.9% win rate, suggesting that it is poorly positioned in today's Modern metagame.

Let's now take a closer look at the standout Modern strategies and stories to emerge from the first Regional Championship weekend of this cycle.

Broodscale Combo Dominated

1 Gemstone Caverns 3 Ugin's Labyrinth 3 Blade of the Bloodchief 1 Dismember 4 Basking Broodscale 6 Forest 4 Eldrazi Temple 1 Cavern of Souls 1 Shifting Woodland 1 Springleaf Drum 4 Kozilek's Command 3 Devourer of Destiny 1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth 4 Malevolent Rumble 1 Glaring Fleshraker 4 Ancient Stirrings 4 Sowing Mycospawn 2 Vexing Bauble 1 Haywire Mite 4 Emrakul, the Promised End 1 Soul-Guide Lantern 2 Boseiju, Who Endures 4 Urza's Saga 2 Nature's Claim 1 Vexing Bauble 1 Pithing Needle 3 Trinisphere 1 Six 1 Thief of Existence 1 Warping Wail 2 Grafdigger's Cage 1 Dismember 2 Sire of Seven Deaths

As mentioned, Broodscale Combo was the most popular archetype and had the highest win rate. In the United States Regional Championship, it put four players in the Top 8 and eleven in the Top 32. Among the Top 32 finishers was Hunter Ovington, who originally put the archetype on the map by winning Magic Spotlight: Secret Lair in 2025. This weekend, he once again showed off his expertise with a Pro Tour invite-worthy finish. But the biggest success came in the Top 8, where four Broodscale Combo pilots battled for the trophy, and longtime competitor Pete Ingram ultimately emerged victorious with a well-tuned mono-green list.

Several weeks ago at Magic Spotlight: The Hobbit in Brisbane and Dallas, builds were more varied. At those events, three different Broodscale Combo versions reached the single-elimination rounds: One splashed red for Unholy Heat; another ran Delighted Halfling; and the third used Devourer of Destiny. This past weekend, however, the mono-green build with Devourer of Destiny emerged as the norm.

This version has the potential for consistently explosive openings. In particular, when Devourer of Destiny sculpts your opening turns and enables Ugin's Labyrinth as a two-mana land, you can deploy the Basking Broodscale and Blade of the Bloodchief combo quickly or ramp into an early Emrakul, the Promised End. The combination of power and speed makes the deck shine.

Devoted Druid Combo Preyed on Broodscale

1 Craterhoof Behemoth 1 Gemstone Caverns 1 Horizon Canopy 3 Windswept Heath 1 Agatha's Soul Cauldron 2 Forest 1 Misty Rainforest 2 Dryad Arbor 1 Underground Mortuary 1 Temple Garden 2 Overgrown Tomb 4 Badgermole Cub 4 Delighted Halfling 4 Green Sun's Zenith 1 Nurturing Peatland 4 Nature's Rhythm 2 Birds of Paradise 1 Fiend Artisan 4 Leyline of Abundance 1 Duskwatch Recruiter 2 Verdant Catacombs 2 Wooded Foothills 1 Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu 1 Vexing Bauble 4 Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler 1 Tyvar, the Pummeler 2 Boseiju, Who Endures 1 Vizier of Remedies 4 Devoted Druid 1 Formidable Speaker 1 Kraul Harpooner 1 Endurance 1 Reclamation Sage 2 Chalice of the Void 1 Grist, the Hunger Tide 1 Guerrilla Gorilla 1 Pick Your Poison 1 Boromir, Warden of the Tower 2 Abrupt Decay 1 Icetill Explorer 2 Thoughtseize 1 Doorkeeper Thrull

While Broodscale Combo is a powerful strategy, it's not unbeatable. One of the best ways to combat the deck is with an even faster ramp-based creature combo strategy: Devoted Druid Combo. This deck exploits the relative lack of efficient early-game creature removal in Broodscale Combo, allowing it to leverage Leyline of Abundance or the Devoted Druid and Vizier of Remedies combo with little resistance. Indeed, Devoted Druid Combo posted a solid 54-35 (61%) result against Broodscale Combo in last weekend's Regional Championships.

Curtis Lam showcased that perfectly. Before reaching the finals in the United States, Lam had been paired against Broodscale Combo eight times and won every single one of those matches! Although Pete Ingram ultimately triumphed in the finals, the prevailing view was that the matchup was heavily unfavorable for Broodscale Combo.

Jeskai Energy Is Another Promising Answer

1 Elegant Parlor 4 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah 4 Flooded Strand 4 Arid Mesa 1 Dalkovan Encampment 3 Ephemerate 2 Hallowed Fountain 1 Arena of Glory 2 Thraben Charm 1 Scalding Tarn 4 Guide of Souls 2 Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd 3 Galvanic Discharge 3 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer 3 Goblin Bombardment 2 Sacred Foundry 1 Meticulous Archive 4 Ocelot Pride 4 Solitude 2 Plains 2 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker 1 Steam Vents 2 Marsh Flats 4 Quantum Riddler 1 High Noon 2 Surgical Extraction 1 Mystical Dispute 1 Teferi, Time Raveler 3 Consign to Memory 2 Spell Snare 1 Flusterstorm 2 Obsidian Charmaw 2 Wrath of the Skies

After the dominant weekend for Broodscale Combo, a natural question is how to defeat it. Looking at the round-by-round results, it appears that Jeskai Energy may also be a good answer. It has Solitude and Galvanic Discharge to efficiently stop Basking Broodscale combos; it has a fast clock through Guide of Souls and Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer; and it has access to Consign to Memory in the 75 to counter Emrakul, the Promised End and its trigger.

The group of Jeskai Energy players posted a 15-8 (65%) result against Broodscale Combo this past weekend, which is promising. Ryan Neal went 10-5 with this build, defeating multiple Broodscale Combo players along the way. If Broodscale Combo becomes an even larger part of the metagame, Jeskai Energy could be a good choice to consider.

Esper Goryo's Takes China

1 Swamp 4 Faithful Mending 4 Goryo's Vengeance 3 Thoughtseize 4 Flooded Strand 1 Griselbrand 4 Ephemerate 1 Hallowed Fountain 1 Teferi, Time Raveler 1 Breeding Pool 2 Force of Negation 1 Island 1 March of Otherworldly Light 4 Atraxa, Grand Unifier 1 Spell Snare 1 Undercity Sewers 4 Psychic Frog 1 Shadowy Backstreet 1 Meticulous Archive 4 Polluted Delta 1 Watery Grave 2 Prismatic Ending 4 Solitude 1 Plains 1 Godless Shrine 3 Marsh Flats 4 Quantum Riddler 1 Fatal Push 1 Nihil Spellbomb 3 Mystical Dispute 1 Teferi, Time Raveler 4 Consign to Memory 3 Wrath of the Skies 1 Thoughtseize 1 Spell Snare

Over in China, Broodscale Combo also put a player in the Top 8, while several Devoted Druid Combo players made deep runs. Yet their Top 8 looked different, with two Izzet Prowess decks and two Esper Goryo's decks emerging in the spotlight. In the end, Yuchen Liu's Esper Goryo's defeated Steven Li's Izzet Prowess in the finals. The success of these different strategies signals the diversity of competitive Modern right now.

Remarkably, Yuchen Liu's Regional Championship victory marked a back-to-back triumph! He went into the event as the reigning champion in China and defended his title against more than 400 competitors. That's a historical accomplishment. While Liu is not the first player to win multiple Regional Championships—Pedro Perrini, Muhan Yu, Samuel Chang, Ma Noah, and Liang Jianwei have also accomplished that—he became the first player to earn victories in the same region's championship in consecutive cycles.

Jeskai Blink Qualifies for the Pro Tour

1 Elegant Parlor 1 Thundering Falls 4 Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd 4 Flooded Strand 4 Arid Mesa 3 Scalding Tarn 1 Hallowed Fountain 2 Arena of Glory 1 Mountain 4 Consign to Memory 3 Teferi, Time Raveler 1 Island 4 Galvanic Discharge 1 March of Otherworldly Light 3 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer 1 No More Lies 3 Spell Snare 2 Sacred Foundry 1 Meticulous Archive 4 Solitude 2 Plains 3 Wrath of the Skies 1 Steam Vents 2 Casey Jones, Vigilante 4 Quantum Riddler 2 High Noon 1 Rest in Peace 1 Ashiok, Dream Render 3 Mystical Dispute 1 Beza, the Bounding Spring 3 Obsidian Charmaw 2 Celestial Purge 1 Prismatic Ending 1 Containment Priest

Most of the deck archetypes finding success were the popular ones that were registered by at least 1% of the field. Nevertheless, several off-meta brews also found success. For example, Nick Cowden went 11-3-1 with Jeskai Blink, finishing 17th at the United States Regional Championship and earning a Pro Tour invite. Across the United States and China, only three of the nearly 1,900 competitors submitted a Jeskai Blink deck, making Cowden's finish particularly impressive.

The list features cards, like Solitude; Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer; and Consign to Memory, that I already highlighted in the Jeskai Energy deck. However, instead of an aggressive game plan supported by Guide of Souls, this Jeskai Blink list takes a more controlling stance with planeswalkers and sweepers. Although Cowden did not defeat any Broodscale Combo decks at the Regional Championship, Wrath of the Skies and Consign to Memory should be useful in that matchup, so the deck is surely worth testing. In any case, a Jeskai core appears to have the right tools for the current Modern metagame.

Jeskai Ascendancy Makes Its Mark

2 Flooded Strand 1 Thundering Falls 3 Portable Hole 3 Jeskai Ascendancy 4 Scalding Tarn 4 Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student 2 Hallowed Fountain 4 Repeal 1 Mountain 3 Mox Amber 1 Island 2 Polluted Delta 1 Skateboard 4 Mox Opal 1 Aether Spellbomb 4 Emry, Lurker of the Loch 4 Cori-Steel Cutter 4 Mishra's Bauble 1 Tormod's Crypt 1 Steam Vents 4 Metallic Rebuke 1 Fiery Islet 3 Urza's Saga 2 Galvanic Blast 1 Flame of Anor 1 Vexing Bauble 1 Pithing Needle 2 Force of Negation 4 Consign to Memory 2 Wear // Tear 1 Shadowspear 1 Pyroclasm 1 Fire Magic 1 Test of Talents

Another spicy deck that earned a Pro Tour invite was Jeskai Ascendancy. Ben Katz went 11-3-1 with the list shown above, finishing 29th at the United States Regional Championship. This deck can go infinite when Jeskai Ascendancy untaps Emry, Lurker of the Loch, who repeatedly recasts Mox Opal. Yet it can also interact with Metallic Rebuke and Portable Hole or go on the offense with Cori-Steel Cutter. While the game-winning combo draws attention, the strategy is remarkably multifaceted.

Across the United States and China, only two of the nearly 1,900 competitors submitted a Jeskai Ascendancy deck, so Katz's result is another example of an unexpected deck finding success. In Modern, anything is possible, and you can gain a significant edge by knowing your deck and the matchups inside and out.

Four-Color Ritual Emerged

1 Lush Portico 2 Witch Enchanter 4 Flooded Strand 2 Windswept Heath 1 Xander's Lounge 4 Omnath, Locus of Creation 3 Aang, Swift Savior 1 Forest 1 Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines 1 Hedge Maze 4 Misty Rainforest 1 Hallowed Fountain 2 Aang, at the Crossroads 4 Birthing Ritual 1 Breeding Pool 2 Force of Negation 1 Superior Spider-Man 1 Island 4 Shardless Agent 2 Sacred Foundry 3 Subtlety 4 Solitude 1 Plains 1 Steam Vents 2 Leyline Binding 1 Boseiju, Who Endures 2 Endurance 4 Quantum Riddler 2 High Noon 4 Mystical Dispute 4 Obsidian Charmaw 2 Force of Vigor 1 Magebane Lizard 2 Brotherhood's End

The final Modern deck I'd like to highlight from this past weekend is Four-Color Ritual. Only four players brought it, but among all archetypes with at least four pilots, it posted the highest win rate overall: 67.5% (with a 4-1 match result versus Broodscale Combo). In particular, Kangxing went 7-2 at China's Regional Championship, finishing in 11th place.

The deck aims to interact in the early turns through Solitude, Subtlety, and Leyline Binding before casting Shardless Agent on turn three. Since the only spell in the deck with mana value 2 or less is Birthing Ritual, you're guaranteed to hit it. At the end of your turn, you then trigger the enchantment, ideally sacrificing Shardless Agent to put Omnath, Locus of Creation onto the battlefield. This yields immediate card advantage, mana advantage, and a commanding position in the game. On subsequent turns, Birthing Ritual can turn your Elementals into other Elementals with enters abilities, providing a repeated source of value. The deck is fun to play, had an excellent performance, and deserves recognition.

What's Next for Modern?

The first Regional Championship weekend of this cycle made one thing clear: Broodscale Combo is the deck to beat. Yet it also showed that the deck is far from unbeatable. Devoted Druid Combo and Jeskai Energy both performed well against it, while a range of unconventional strategies, including Jeskai Blink, Jeskai Ascendancy, and Four-Color Ritual, demonstrated that there is still plenty of room for innovation in Modern.

After a small break over the next two weekends, the remaining schedule for this round of Modern Regional Championships, with corresponding Melee links, is as follows:

• October 2–4: Canada and Japan/Korea
• October 9–11: United States (Los Angeles), Europe/Middle East/Africa, Mexico/Central America/Caribbean
• October 16–18: Southeast Asia
• October 23–25: South America and Australia/New Zealand
• October 31–November 1: Chinese Taipei

The next few weekends will reveal whether Broodscale Combo can maintain its position at the top or whether the rest of the format can adapt. I can't wait to see how Modern evolves as these tournaments unfold!