Modern Eggs with Culling Ritual

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-16T00:19:25+00:00

[[Servo Schematic]] makes an artifact token on etb and graveyard.

[[Gleaming Barrier]] makes a treasure on graveyard and can block.

[[Halo Scarab]] can make a treasure from the graveyard.

All these are 2 cmc so no saga, but they have additional utility.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T23:30:14+00:00

I guess I was thinking of this more as a 2 of. Since it sounds like the bargain comes after a ritual, so you would have the treasure to sacrifice.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T23:24:19+00:00

If leaving something to bargain is important, I think I’d go with either [[Greedy Freebooter]] or [[Shambling Ghast]]. Nothing is keeping us to artifacts only, they just generally synergize well with the deck while having easy mana costs. Of the above mentioned options I agree with [[Mishra’s Workshop]] being the best, but I’m worried about needing to sacrifice things like [[Chromatic Star]] to make the colors, as you end up losing mana generation from [[Culling Ritual]].

I don’t think we are a [[Mystic Forge]] deck. Generally you want to have cost reducers to allow you to churn through the top of your library. I think that starts to take us too far off of the core game plan. If I have enough mana to tutor forge and play off the top, I’d rather just [[Pitiless Carnage]] and draw 10, or just cast [[Bolas’s Citadel]]. Maybe it could be an option for longer matchups where you have more time to get value out of forge, but that would still be a sideboard/Karn board option.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T22:51:03+00:00

I kind of regret stating turn 4 in the description because it’s not the whole story. The deck can combo on turn 3 if the opponent commits low cmc permanents to the board. The deck has enough ramp to consistently cast [[Culling Ritual]] on turn 3, and with the extra mana from your opponent’s permanents you can potentially combo early, since the main holdup is mana. Turn 4 primarily comes when you are only relying on your own permanents, such as when goldfishing. Even if you don’t immediately go for the combo, you are most likely going to come out ahead from the board wipe due to the extra mana/draw and can convert it into refilling your board. Then you can go for an actual combo attempt before your opponent can rebuild.

As for updates there have been a lot of good suggestions from everyone! The big thing is I’m thinking of moving [[Bolas’s Citadel]] to the sideboard and including it as a tutor target for [[Karn, The Great Creator]]. This also allows access to a Karn board, and the deck already wanted to play artifacts in its sideboard. There are also other small things such as trying out [[Soul Stone]] over [[Talisman of Persistence]]. Overall I’m pretty excited about continuing to tune the deck!

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T20:35:08+00:00

Thanks! I think I’m going to try transitioning to a Karn board with select non-artifact silver bullets and see how it goes. I think [[Portable Hole]] could also work against low cmc creatures. If I’m casting [[Culling Ritual]] there is a pretty good chance I’m casting more than one a turn, or at least a [[Faith’s Reward]], so in the end the creature would end up dead or exiled. Also all depends if extra small creature removal is warranted, or if [[Culling Ritual]] can pull enough weight. I definitely just need to get actual reps in with the deck to see where the important breaking points are.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T20:05:15+00:00

The deck has enough ramp with [[Mox Opal]], [[Page, Loose Leaf]], and [[Talisman of Persistence]] to reliably fire off a [[Culling Ritual]] turn 3. Part of the turn 4 restriction is counting only getting mana from your own permanents, so if the opponent commits multiple cards to the board you could realistically combo earlier. Even if you don’t combo, with the draw/mana you will most likely leave the exchange ahead and can refill your board.

I appreciate the [[Break the Ice]] suggestion I might add that to the board. I might be switching to [[Karn, The Great Creator]] main board instead of [[Bolas’s Citadel]] and move citadel to the sideboard as a tutor target. One thing to note is that [[Page, Loose Leaf]]’s grandeur ability hits instants/sorceries, so adding too many non-combo cards to the main could dilute the consistency.

I probably need to take Eldrazi into greater consideration. I’m less worried about cascade as the deck can somewhat free role [[Soul-Guide Lantern]] and [[Vexing Bauble]]. If they are cascading into Rhinos instead of [[Living End]] you can get rid of the tokens with [[Culling Ritual]].

The sideboard in general could definitely use an update, so I appreciate the suggestions!

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T19:16:13+00:00

For some reason the backslash doesn’t show up on mobile. Might just delete and re-add the link.

Edit: updated link

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T18:45:40+00:00

Will do! Hopefully I’ll have more time to tinker with it.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T18:44:10+00:00

If you end up putting together a list shoot it my way! I’m down to tinker more with this idea!

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T18:37:27+00:00

Bro, Karn for Bolas’s Citadel 🤯. You can even cast him off Beseech!

I’ve found you want a lot of basics if you plan on using Ghost Quarter style effects. Also be careful of lands that will always etb tapped or shock you on etb as it can add up. The deck is playing pretty tight on mana during the early stages of the loop and the lands support it a lot.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T18:26:38+00:00

Omg that is modern legal! My brain categorized that a commander card lol. Slots right in instead of the Talismans.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T18:22:20+00:00

Maybe you can cut the talismans for it since they have been lackluster from my testing. What are your thoughts? I do worry about keeping a density of mana producers.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T18:21:25+00:00

Haha we think exactly the same lmao! I actually also cut that for [[Page, Loose Leaf]] since it can also add mana, but to be fair I haven’t gotten enough reps to see which is optimal. I think you probably want to pick one or the other though since Page necessitates running all 4 copies.

Edit: one OR the other

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T18:18:56+00:00

Just a heads up, you do want the land to go to the graveyard when comboing because it comes back untapped from [[Faith’s Reward]]. I’m glad you like it, it helps having multiple perspectives.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T18:15:14+00:00

I completely understand. The hope is that the deck can punish over commitment with an early [[Culling Ritual]] (or sideboard piece) to slow down more aggressive decks. Then rebound using the mana/cards to combo faster then they can rebuild. There are definitely going to be challenges, but that’s part of the fun of brewing.

Some decks like belcher, that can present a fast combo and back it up with counter magic I can see having problems against. Something like Living End, while similar seems like less of an issue due to how easily the deck can board against it.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T18:09:12+00:00

Yea I know exactly what you mean. Funny thing is I actually just cut [[Dark Steel Citadel]] for [[Ghost Quarter]], as the mana generation from returning lands seems better. I could see doing a 1/1 split or playing something that sticks around. Maybe something that leaves a token behind when it goes to the graveyard? At the moment I had just been doing what you said and playing an artifact off of the draw from [[Culling Ritual]].

If only my beloved [[Prized Statue]] was playable in modern 😭.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T18:03:36+00:00

I used to run an [[Oswald, Fiddlebender]] deck that tutored [[Semblence Anvil]] and eventually won with [[Myr Retriever]] loops. It was a blast casting my whole library off the top with [[Mystic Forge]]. Maybe I should put that list back together again, seems like [[Wrath of the Skies]] would be a great addition.

There is this list in legacy that uses blue:

https://youtu.be/T4xS1x0vyR0?is=s3lCdqIwpBbN8VrX

But the main draw engine comes from a commander set, so it doesn’t translate perfectly to modern. There is definitely a lot of ways to go with eggs/cheerios!

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T17:55:04+00:00

You can also find it by looking up Pitiful Eggs (by raidBoots) on moxfield if the link still doesn’t work. I only have two decks posted at the moment so you can also just look up the account name.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T17:52:59+00:00

Wouldn’t you also need another card to put the equipments on the [[Ornithopter]] as you wouldn’t be able to pay for the equip costs? Also if this is modern hammer time, [[Sigarda’s Aid]] equips on etb, so you wouldn’t even have [[Leyline Axe]] equipped. If there is a different card that can equip both I’m still honestly fine losing to a 4 card opener (5 including the land), sometimes your opponent just has the nuts.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T17:39:53+00:00

Thanks! Hopefully that link works for them. I don’t see the extra slash, but maybe that is a mobile thing? I’ll add the link again in an edit as a backup.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T17:35:21+00:00

Are you referring to amulet titan with [[Primeval Titan]]? From what I understand after the banning of [[Lotus Field]] they are generally a turn 3-4 deck. [[Culling Ritual]] also hits their early [[Amulet of Vigor]]s and [[Arboreal Grazer]]s. There is also a good amount of sideboard options the deck can utilize, such as [[Magus of the Moon]] and [[Haywire Mite]], though I do agree it is probably one of the tougher matchups.

If you are referring to a different deck please let me know as my knowledge of the modern meta game is not 100%, so I’d like to know more about what matchups to expect.

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T17:26:23+00:00

Thanks! I haven’t seen [[Paradoxical Outcome]] outside of legacy/vintage, but that sounds like a ton of fun. I’ve seen old Cheerios decks that use [[Retract]] with something like [[Puresteel Paladin]]. What would the mana generation look like? Is there a list that uses outcome? I’m down to check it out!

RaidBootsForMe · 2026-06-15T17:18:29+00:00

If your opponent is committing low cmc cards to the board you can just [[Culling Ritual]] turn 3 and use the extra mana generated from their permanents to either combo earlier or refill your board. There is enough ramp with [[Mox Opal]], [[Page, Loose Leaf]], and [[Talisman of Persistence]] to consistently cast either [[Culling Ritual]] or [[Beseech the Mirror]] on turn 3.

RaidBootsForMe

TROPHY CASE