Jund Modern: The Most Consistent Midrange Deck
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.
| 📋 Table of Contents | |
|---|---|
| 1. | Deck Identity |
| 2. | The Decklist |
| 3. | The 4 Key Cards That Define the Deck |
| 4. | How Jund Wins Games |
| 5. | Matchups: The 4 You Need to Know |
| 6. | Sideboard Strategy |
| 7. | How to Get Started |
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.
- Aggro (Burn, Prowess): Collective Brutality, Thrun, Bonecrusher Giant, Anger of the Gods
- Combo (Scapeshift, Storm): Nihil Spellbomb, Pillage, Pick Your Poison
- Control (U/W, Azorius): Duress, Thrun, Bonecrusher Giant
- Big mana (Tron, Titan): Pillage, Damping Sphere, Pick Your Poison
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.