Nadu - Modern All-Star?
In the aftermath of SCG CON Vegas, Modern is starting to take shape with all the goodies and gizmos
Nadu, Winged Wisdom
Spotting a nice seventh and eighth place finish at the recent SCG CON, Nadu has shown that even in its earliest iteration that it is no slouch, and arguably creates the best Bant shell Modern has ever seen.
When I first saw this Toucan Sam-looking bird previewed, I was skeptical as to its efficacy in Modern, and figured it was a Commander-oriented card filling a multicolored legend spot in the set. Boy, was I wrong. I was a little taken aback by the “only triggers twice per turn” clause in its ability, but have come to realize that that line of text doesn’t matter in all practicality.
Nadu is a straight value-engine and digs through your deck like no other card can just on its own. Pump spells, Equipment, Auras, and everything in between that could target even your meekest of creatures (notably Saproling tokens from
Nadu is fun both in Modern and in Commander. While Simic doesn’t need another high-power Commander (I’m looking at you,
To be fair, it’s also worth mentioning that Sea Kings’ Blessing price spike is likely a mix between its use with Nadu, as well as its use in the Forgotten Fish format, which sees the light of day in waves as it occasionally gets a shout-out from MTG content creators.
| Nadu, Winged Wisdom | ||
| Nadu, Winged Wisdom (Borderless) |
Shuko
I remember buying this card a month ago for a
A few weeks later, lo and behold, I see this card is commanding a market price of $20! Naturally, I had to explore this price spike, and was led to some articles and threads on its potential in Nadu–it all comes back to Nadu.
The reason this card is absolutely broken in Nadu is that equip as an ability targets your creatures, thereby triggering Nadu’s ability. The colloquial term for using Shuko as a vehicle for capitalizing on Nadu’s ability is called the “Shuko Shuffle.” It’s exactly what you’d think. Pay zero and equip Shuko to Nadu, get a trigger, then pay zero to equip Shuko to your
With Dryad Arbor, Nadu, and Shuko in play on turn three, you guarantee yourself a minimum of four Nadu triggers. If you hit another Dryad Arbor off the top of your deck, you get two more, and so on, and so forth. What’s more is that this turn three scenario is incredibly easy to establish:
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Turn 1:
Urza's Saga -
Turn 2: Fetch, Dryad Arbor
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Turn 3: Use Urza’s Saga to find Shuko, play land for turn, and cast Nadu, then begin the shuffle
The fact that Shuko can be snagged with Urza’s Saga is integral to its utility in the deck. In the absence of Urza’s Saga, it’s difficult to tell how consistent Nadu-type decks may otherwise be in Modern.
So should you pick up Shuko? Is it worth the spec? Perhaps it’s worth eBaying those
The long-run value of this card in Modern particularly is going to be tied to the adoption rate of Nadu as an archetype in the format, which given its performance out of the gate, seems likely to grow. If this deck appeals to you, it wouldn’t be ill-advised to snag Shukos sooner, rather than later, as it seems more likely that this deck will continue to thrive as the meta becomes more clear.
| Shuko |
Umbral Mantle
Umbral Mantle isn’t actually played in Modern, but it is a Modern-legal card from a time in Magic where print-runs were not near-infinite. Since its release in
So what’s so special about Mantle? It provides redundancy for Nadu in lieu of Shuko in Commander. In Commander, the zero-equip cost artifacts readily available in the format include Shuko, as well as
While it’s unlikely that Mantle sees Modern play, it is a card from a Modern set (I know, I stretch the limits of these articles sometimes) that has some appealing financial potential outside of the format. Right now, the market price for Mantle is around $6 (and has been there for a minute), but as Nadu’s popularity rises exponentially in both Modern and Commander, expect Mantle’s demand to rise with it. While it’s still early, well over 1,400 and counting brews have popped up on EDHREC. I expect this number will be considerably higher by the time this article is made available. All this is to say, if there’s a worthwhile spec in all this Nadu-mania, I would say Umbral Mantle is the piece to spec on.
| Umbral Mantle | ||
| Umbral Mantle |
What’s Next for Nadu?
The sky's the limit for Nadu. If SGC CON Vegas was an early warning for what’s to come, then I would expect Nadu as a relevant Modern piece is here to stay. There have been some musings that Nadu out-of-the-gate is reminiscent of
Having said that, thanks to Commander, it’s likely that Shuko, Umbral Mantle, and Nadu will have a fair degree of financial viability regardless of the state of Modern. Speculate safely!
Further Reading:
Corey Williams is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. He considers himself a macroeconometrician with his research body reflecting work in applied macroeconomics and econometrics. Corey is an L1 Judge who started playing Magic around Eighth Edition. He enjoys Modern, Commander, cEDH, and cube drafting. Outside of Magic, he loves running, teaching, and the occasional cult movie.
