Jund Modern Deck Guide: The Most Consistent Midrange Deck in Magic

Jund Modern is Modern’s most consistent midrange deck — a black-red-green disruption pile built around answering everything and applying pressure with the most efficient creatures in the format. The core idea is simple: play fair, force the opponent to play fair too, and win the attrition war. According to recent MTGGoldfish archetype data, Jund has been a Tier-1 Modern archetype every year since the format’s 2011 inception. The current 2026 build (Tarmogoyf, Liliana of the Veil, Wrenn and Six, Bloodbraid Elf, Dark Confidant) costs roughly $280-$450 in paper.

This guide walks through the 75-card Modern 2026 list, the four key cards that make the deck work, how to sideboard against Burn, Tron, combo, and control, and what a proxy-first version looks like for players who want the experience without the $450 entry fee.

Deck Identity

The Decklist

Source: makeproxycard.com · Modern 2026 build · View on MTGGoldfish

The list plays 28 creatures, 8 planeswalker/planeswalker-equivalent slots, 8 removal spells, and a 25-land manabase that supports three colors and 12 fetch lands. The 15-card sideboard is tuned for the four most common Modern matchups — Collective Brutality for Burn, Pillage for Tron, Nihil Spellbomb for combo, and Duress for Control.

The 4 Key Cards That Define the Deck

Tarmogoyf — The Beatdown

The 2-drop that defines the deck. Tarmogoyf’s power and toughness grow with the number of card types in all graveyards. By turn 3 in a typical Jund game, it’s a 3/4 or 4/5. The card costs 2 mana, plays on curve, and trades with most creatures in the format while threatening lethal damage.

In Jund specifically, Tarmogoyf is also a grindy card. Your deck fills graveyards naturally through fetch-lands, discard spells, and Liliana’s -2 ability. The opponent’s cards also feed it. By mid-game, a single Tarmogoyf can be a 6/7 or 7/8—almost unblockable.

Liliana of the Veil — The Disruption Engine

The planeswalker that makes Jund’s discard package devastating. Liliana’s +1 makes both players discard. Her -2 forces the opponent to sacrifice a creature. Her emblem (after 7 loyalty) locks the opponent out of casting any non-creature spell each turn.

Source: Scryfall — Liliana of the Veil, Innistrad #105, illustrated by Steve Argyle.

Liliana is the reason Jund can play a “fair” game against unfair decks. Against combo, her +1 strips combo pieces from the opponent’s hand. Against creature decks, her -2 removes the biggest threat on the board. Her ultimate wins games that go long.

Wrenn and Six — The Recursive Engine

The Modern Horizons 2 planeswalker that has reshaped the deck. Wrenn and Six’s +1 returns a land from your graveyard to the battlefield. Her -2 deals 1 damage to any target and lets you draw a card if that target was a creature.

Source: Scryfall — Wrenn and Six, Double Masters 2022 #296, illustrated by Chase Stone.

In Jund, Wrenn and Six is a value machine. She enables multiple fetch activations, chips away at opposing creatures, and draws cards when you connect with her -2. A resolved Wrenn on turn 2 often wins games by itself.

Bloodbraid Elf — The Cascade Engine

The 3-drop that defined Jund from 2010 to 2017, then was banned, then was unbanned in 2019. Bloodbraid Elf is a 3/2 haste that lets you cast a random spell with mana value 3 or less from the top 4 cards of your library.

Source: Scryfall — Bloodbraid Elf, Double Masters 2022 #184, illustrated by Raymond Swanland.

In Jund, Bloodbraid Elf is a mid-game swing turn. You attack for 3, then hit a Lightning Bolt, Inquisition of Kozilek, or Liliana of the Veil. The free spell is almost always value.

How Jund Wins Games

Jund doesn’t win through a single combo or explosive turn. It wins through cumulative pressure. The deck’s game plan is:

1. Early game (turns 1-3): Disrupt the opponent with discard (Inquisition of Kozilek, Thoughtseize) and deploy Tarmogoyf 2. Mid game (turns 4-6): Establish a planeswalker (Liliana of the Veil, Wrenn and Six) and start incremental advantage 3. Late game (turns 7+): Drop Bloodbraid Elf for a 3/2 haste plus a free spell, then convert card advantage into a lethal attack

The deck has no instant-win combo. It wins through attrition. Every card you draw needs to either answer a threat or apply pressure—that’s the Jund philosophy.

Source: Scryfall — Dark Confidant, Final Fantasy #94, illustrated by Immanuela Crovius.

Matchups: The 4 You Need to Know

Against Burn (60/40 favored): Jund plays 4 Lightning Bolt, 4 Fatal Push, 2 Terminate, and 3 Dark Confidant—all of which gain you life or punish the opponent for racing. Wrenn and Six’s +1 returns lands for life. Sideboard in Collective Brutality (lifegain + discard), Thrun (unblockable threat), and Bonecrusher Giant (early blocker).

Against Tron (40/60 unfavorable): G/U Tron and Mono-Green Tron are the decks Jund has historically struggled with. Tron lands (Urza’s Mine, Urza’s Power Plant, Urza’s Tower) generate massive mana by turn 3, then drop game-ending threats like Karn Liberated, Ulamog, and Wurmcoil Engine. Sideboard in Pillage (land destruction), Damping Sphere (mana denial), and Pick Your Poison (enchantment/artifact hate).

Against Combo (60/40 favored): Against combo decks (Scapeshift, Heliod Company, Storm), Jund’s strength is the early discard package. Inquisition of Kozilek on turn 1 strips the key piece. Liliana of the Veil’s +1 keeps stripping threats. Sideboard in Nihil Spellbomb (graveyard hate), Collective Brutality (discard + lifegain), and Pillage (land destruction for Scapeshift).

Against Control (50/50): Against U/W Control and similar decks, the game is a grind. Jund plays threats and discard, Control plays card draw and board clears. Whoever runs out of resources first loses. Sideboard in Duress (counter the opponent’s counterspells), Bonecrusher Giant (un-counterable threat), and Thrun (un-counterable threat).

Sideboard Strategy

The 15-card sideboard is built around four core plans:

The key is flexibility. Pillage hits both Tron and Scapeshift. Thrun hits Burn and Control. Engineered Explosives hits everything. Most sideboard slots double up on multiple matchups.

How to Get Started

Building Jund Modern in paper costs roughly $280-$450 in July 2026. The most expensive cards are Tarmogoyf ($6-$20), Liliana of the Veil ($7-$15), Wrenn and Six ($9), and Dark Confidant ($4). For players who want the experience without the price tag, proxying the entire 75-card list costs about $50 at MakeProxyCard — Tarmogoyf, Liliana, Wrenn, and the other key cards all print at tournament quality with sharp text and accurate colors.

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