Looking for what staples to pick up first? This is a guide for someone trying to collect the modern format from scratch. Here I go over the basic staple cards, the cards used in a couple decks here and there, and the cards that are sometimes used / mostly used in a single archetype.
You are generally going to need these if you want a lot of deck options in Modern.
These cards are mostly limited to a single deck or a couple less popular ones, or they are rarely played in several decks. Not everything is listed here, or the list would be too long.
You are generally going to need these if you want a lot of deck options in Modern.
Land
40x Shocklands (4 of each)
20x Fetchlands (4 of each)
20x Fastlands (4 of each)
15-20x Manlands (3-4 of each)
10-20x Enemy Filter Lands (2-4 of each)
10-20x ISD Dual Lands (2-4 of each)
4x Ghost Quarter
2-4x Cavern of Souls
3-4x Horizon Canopy
Multi/Hybrid
3-4x Maelstrom Pulse
White
Blue
3-4x Spell Snare
Black
Red
1-3x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
3-4x Blood Moon
Green
Artifact/Colorless
2-4x Engineered Explosives
3-4x Pithing Needle
3-4x Relic of Progenitus
These cards are used frequently but not to the same degree as the Level 1 cards.
Land
10-20x Allied Filter Lands (2-4 of each)
10-20x Core Set Dual Lands (2-4 of each)
1-4x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1-4x Flagstones of Trokair
1-2x Academy Ruins
1-2x Moorland Haunt
1-2x Vault of the Archangel
1-2x Gavony Township
1-2x Kessig Wolf Run
Multi/Hybrid
3-4x Olivia Voldaren
3-4x Terminate
3-4x Supreme Verdict
3-4x Detention Sphere
2-4x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
2-3x Huntmaster of the Fells
White
2-4x Ethersworn Canonist
3-4x Ranger of Eos
2-4x Baneslayer Angel
1-3x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
3-4x Rest in Peace
3-4x Stony Silence
3-4x Serra Avenger
2-3x Elspeth, Knight Errant
2-4x Wrath of God
Blue
2-4x Phantasmal Image
2-4x Threads of Disloyalty
3-4x Gifts Ungiven
Black
1-4x Griselbrand
2-4x Damnation
3-4x Surgical Extraction
Red
Green
2-3x Thrun, the Last Troll
2-3x Chord of Calling
Artifact/Colorless
2-4x Wurmcoil Engine
1-3x Batterskull
1-2x Sword of Fire and Ice
1-2x Sword of War and Peace
1-2x Sword of Light and Shadow
These cards are mostly limited to a single deck or a couple less popular ones, or they are rarely played in several decks. Not everything is listed here, or the list would be too long.
Land
15-20x Vivid Lands (3-4 of each)
3-4x Blinkmoth Nexus
2-4x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1-4x Dryad Arbor
12x Tron Lands (4 of each)
Multi/Hybrid
3-4x Wiltleaf Liege
3-4x Blightning
2-4x Doran, the Siege Tower
1-3x Sphinx's Revelation
White
3-4x Timely Reinforcements
2-3x Blind Obedience
Blue
2-4x Reshape
1-2x Glen Elendra Archmage
3-4x Mystical Teachings
Black
3-4x Extirpate
Red
Green
3-4x Fauna Shaman
3-4x Beast from Within
3-4x Obstinate Baloth
3-4x Summoner's Pact
2-3x Garruk Relentless
2-3x Garruk, Primal Hunter
2-3x Garruk Wildspeaker
Artifact/Colorless
3-4x Etched Champion
3-4x Mox Opal
4x Clanal Plating
3-4x Springleaf Drum
1-2x Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1-2x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1-2x Sword of Feast and Famine
1-2x Sword of Body and Mind
2-3x Ratchet Bomb
1-2x All is Dust
If you have any suggestions / questions / comments feel free to send me a PM!