r/ModernMagic • u/Spackal2 • 5d ago
Deck Discussion Current state of hardened scales
Hello everyone!
I was a decently longtime hardened scales player, the deck was one of my absolute favourites, but when MH3 came out I just lost my love for the deck. Wrath the skies and meltdown with boros energy running rampant really hindered my enjoyment so I took a break. I am looking to get back into modern but I don't even see hardened scaled on the goldfish metagame, I'm wondering if this deck is just sorta finished? I see some interesting artifact shells with emry and canoneer but nothing remotely similar to what I really enjoyed with scales. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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u/One2FourteenBeers 5d ago
The real issue is free/cheap single target 8nstant speed removal AND wrath. Cats was good because it sacrificed nothing to get solitude plahge and wrath. Add in static prison and galvanic discharge, goblin bombadment and thraben charm. Oh and you could main blood moon. And while green mana shouldn't be hard to get, I was running 7 forests and a yavimaya by the time i gave up. Arcbound ravager just couldnt get his rocks off anymore. Force of negation hit scales and opal, shutting down big turn one and two plays that before was much harder to deal with. Affinity is just better. If you are gonna play mox opal right now, thats the deck. Pinnacle has a legacy power level. Kappa is the only thing worth tapping sideways. Its the only deck, outside of broodscale and titan that fully utilizes urza saga. And weapon manufacture basically says go ahead and wrath, i dare you. And still even with a deck that was consitent and overwhelmed most others. Cats could still just win after turn 1 kappa. Prowess was the only other deck that could seal the deal turn 2 as well. Modern is just too fast right now for scales. And the answers for the fast decks work well against scales.
Now that being said. If affinity lost kappa or opal and everyone stopped playing wrath and meltdown, scales could sneak back into the chat. Modern horizons 4 could change everything again. They could put a scales affect on a land or something dumb. They could make a hexproof patchwork automaton that costs 1 and doubles counters instead of just adding 1. Without some kind of power creeped threat, its just dead.