I was debating how much credit to give to Seth for this. He definitely invented 8 whack. In this case, it's not like people didn't already have the idea, nor was Seth the one to perfect the deck. But he absolutely deserves a heaping helping of credit for popularizing the archetype and proving to a wide audience that it was viable. Is that about an accurate reflection of the history? (either way, totally agree, it is very cool 😊)
I'm not sure if invented is 100% correct, I think other people had the same idea when Colossus Hammer first came out, although I do think the videos we made about it helped popularize it at least.
Yeah okay I think my recollection is correct then: Basically, it was already a meme deck, but Seth's build and videos proved it was actually viable. Then others tuned it into a tier 1 deck. He neither invented nor perfected it, but he proved it could work when everybody else thought it was just a dumb against the odds thing.
It's janky at best. Putting it in your deck slows you down, and if you use it to prevent an attack, your opponent's boggle is now untapped and ready to play defense. Even with a hammer equipped, boggles might be able to outgrow you, in which case orim's chant also takes away one of your attacks. It might be better than nothing, but I'd never put chant in my sideboard for the boggles matchup
Seth: I feel like if the Magic Gods were real, they would be punishing the Energy Deck. *Seth wins against energy* Seth: I guess how we won that game, is that the opponent drew too many lands. Magic Gods: I'm I a joke to you?
@@survivalizer without ring they just die to single sweeper. maybe white decks may play wrath of the skies as explosives-like card? not in hammertime, but i thnk decks other than control can use it, as it doesnt hit just energy
That was Ice Ice Baby, which is at least in the same era and cultural impact as U Can't Touch this. It notoriously has an almost identical bass line to Under Pressure
43:04 That board state is the perfect showcase of the strengths of the hammer time deck, which is speed and threat density. On turn two Seth’s board is poised to deploy three separate win conditions with a stone forge’d Kaldra, multiple Constructs, or a colossal hammer equip with Sigarda’s aid. Very satisfying to see a deck fire on all cylinders like that.
At 17:00, you actually don't need to commit the hammer if you'd rather keep it in hand. Instead of tapping the Inkmoth Nexus to play the hammer, you could tap it to animate itself. It counts as an artifact, so you'd have Ornithopter, mox, and the Inkmoth as your 3 artifacts to play the Esper Sentinel.
@@skizzikchan2172 Yeah but the same time if you play different decks in different formats all the time these lines can be easy to miss, especially compared to someone who plays the deck more consistently.
I have to say, I think the un bans have been a success. This is the first time I have had fun playing modern in years. I'm going bananas playing Scales now.
The last few weeks have been the most fun I've had in Modern in a year or two, so yea, I'd say they were a success (although energy might still be a problem).
I started watching Mtg Goldfish because of Seth playing Modern back like 7 or 8 years ago. I think Zombie Hunt was my first ever vid of the channel I watched. I really wanted to try the format out but circumstances made that very difficult for me to do in paper. Right as I was going to start, Covid happened. Then Modern Horizons happened. Then I didn't recognize or care for the format anymore. Cut to now, still watching Seth, and seeing his love for the format become rekindled puts a huge smile on my face. Maybe now I can finally experience some of that magic myself (soon as I pick a deck!) Thank you for the last near decade of content Seth. You are my fav game play content on TH-cam! Here's to the next decade
Oh also for the Bogles match, Shadowspear has this little used line of text of "(1): Permanents your opponents control lose hexproof and indestructible until end of turn."
i think you have to sigurda's aid and then try to knowledge check your opp then sanctifier try to punch through leyline ax being more expensive is also nice here, it withstands early meltdown
@@VRanger100 stupid meltdown. I really want Lantern Control to be good again (because I'm a terrible human being, apparently lol) but there's no way it'll be better than tier 2 or 3 _at best_ with hate that good in the format.
@@Obscuredinsight objectively I think it makes the format better, by kneecapping any broken stupid artifact strategy that people hate to play against. As a fan of broken artifact strategies that make people miserable (#BringBackEggs2025!), I'd love to see it banned, of course. But that's probably the wrong choice lol
It seems like you can cut out of blue entirely and go full mono-w. replace the cannoneers with 1 or 2 white creatures, maybe phelia's as a kind of evasion? the pierces and remaining spots can go to standard cheap white interaction.
okay, its great to see hammer time again. But i have one little correction. the deck does have a small ish way of dealing with bogles. Shadow spear, has a activated ability that turns off hexproof and indestructible until end of turn, at instant speed for 1 generic. so that + march is a way to deal with bogles. otehrwise. Hammertime/10 great video.
The New Year is *3 days old* & Seth just went "How about we get our 1st of the year outta the way now?" Plus the fact it was with previous record-setter _Hammer Time_ ??! Hollywood coudn't have come up with better!
I think the issue with the cannoneers is that they're not providing the utility that your other creatures do. And are a little slow to come down, even with improvise. Ornithopter is free and turns on mox opal faster. Esper sentinel can draw you cards Storeforge Mystic can tutor Puresteel paladin can draw you cards and make equipment free to equip Inkmoth is a land that can win with infect. Ward 4 did help in one of your games, but I feel like if you're just playing it for unblockable, there has to be better options. Being able to flash in the hammer onto a flying creature after blockers are declared can be done with Sigarda's aid. Some more interaction or another utility creature might fit the slot better.
I would run 2x Battlefield Improvisation and maybe a mana tithe in place of the kappas there's also gingerbrute as a 1-of saga target, maybe a few memnites to feed mox opal more reality chip seems spicy too I'm tempted to splash green for gaddock teeg in the side, since it stops meltdown and wrath of the skies
In that second match vs domain zoo you could have shipped the ink moth and kept the double mox and it would have been better, even though you got meltdowned and it didn't matter it's something to keep in mind as a possibility
Seth I've built a $16 standard deck that's take me all the way from copper to emerald 1 and still climbing quickly it's almost comical in how strong it is and I bet if you looked it would be that much stronger
Drop the Kappas and the blue mana and the spell pierces and put in planes, 4 mana tithe, and another boots. Improve the mana consistency (never have to worry about not having double white) and mana tithe is just about as good as spell pierce in any place you could use spell pierce. Maybe keep 2 of the mana tithes in the sideboard and pre-board 2 hate cards you think you're likely to need. Or maybe just 2 mana tithes in total and put in 2 more hate cards like defense grid and relic of progenitis.
Man imagine if the horizons sets had never been released we couldve been having more fun than this for the last 2 years lol. Really glad Modern looks better though. Seth looks so happy 😊.
I think energy is a deck that people would miss if it was completely gone. Mardu is essentially swagless jund and boros is an actually viable aggro deck. I can't see a world where modern is better off without them in the metagame at all.
Drop all the blue to simplify the mana base and run Sunfall and Mana Tithe. Sunfall wipes your creatures too, but then you just equip the token and Axe your opponent anyway.
As someone that usually hates free spells of all kinds, i do think leyline axe is neat. While i dont know if its a overall good card, the idea is both hillarious and for now seems balanced (at least more so than most leylines) since you 'usually' cant cheat the equipt cost.
I have playtested against energy hundreds of times, the theory of the magic gods is very real. I never see a deck have almost cheating levels of perfect top decks consistently, completely turning around a game all but won, or even the "combos" like I "turn one Guide turn two Two Ocelots" in that deck but no other deck that runs four of them.
It depends on the deck, if you have cheap creatures that are four or more power (like Death's Shadow or Territorial Kavu) then Stubborn Denial is probably better, in other decks you probably want Spell Pierce.
Im sorry forgive me. But how were they able to destroy urza saga before Seth makes mana with it? My understanding is that once it on the field priority is check. Seth would have priority and be able to tap it. If I’m not mistaken taping land for mana doesn’t use the stack, so priority isn’t passed. And if I’m wrong and it does. Wouldn’t Seth be able to tap it in response? Same thing like how if someone plays a planes-walker and it isn’t counter the controller of the plans-walker can use an ability of said plans-walker, before anyone else has a chance to destroy it.
59:20 So nice to see the bogles player get rekt by an even faster deck that uses a very similar mechanic :D edit: And the next game as well. I bet he wanted to complain about life being unfair, but then he's playing bogles so his whole game plan is doing that exact same thing to other people. Can't really complain when the opponent does the same unfair thing, but better. Beautiful.
It's great to see how a deck invented by Seth, has become so important for the Modern history
I was debating how much credit to give to Seth for this. He definitely invented 8 whack. In this case, it's not like people didn't already have the idea, nor was Seth the one to perfect the deck. But he absolutely deserves a heaping helping of credit for popularizing the archetype and proving to a wide audience that it was viable.
Is that about an accurate reflection of the history?
(either way, totally agree, it is very cool 😊)
I'm not sure if invented is 100% correct, I think other people had the same idea when Colossus Hammer first came out, although I do think the videos we made about it helped popularize it at least.
Maybe he didn’t invent it, but he played it multiple times back when it was a tier 3 deck before urzas saga etc. shout out to Seth
Yeah okay I think my recollection is correct then: Basically, it was already a meme deck, but Seth's build and videos proved it was actually viable. Then others tuned it into a tier 1 deck. He neither invented nor perfected it, but he proved it could work when everybody else thought it was just a dumb against the odds thing.
OG hammer players are Laplasjan and CrusherbotBG. Seth helped with his videos, but those two guys had the results that proved the deck.
My favorite thing about this video is how every match was a different deck
Yeah! It was a super diverse league.
Thank you for keeping that 0 lander Seth, it was very wise of you
The memes are strong with this one.
58:20 You have main deck hate against Bogles: Shadowspear(or Shadowsphere) can remove hexproof/indestructible!
Also Orims Chant is great in any race...
@@TheVaultDescendant idk if saying that orim's chant is good against bogles is terribly reasonable.
the main counter continues to be killing bogles faster than bogles can kill you tho
@@lukehennebury5929 When tro players are rushing to kill one another you dont think telling your opponent he cant attack is good?
It's janky at best. Putting it in your deck slows you down, and if you use it to prevent an attack, your opponent's boggle is now untapped and ready to play defense. Even with a hammer equipped, boggles might be able to outgrow you, in which case orim's chant also takes away one of your attacks. It might be better than nothing, but I'd never put chant in my sideboard for the boggles matchup
Seth: I feel like if the Magic Gods were real, they would be punishing the Energy Deck.
*Seth wins against energy*
Seth: I guess how we won that game, is that the opponent drew too many lands.
Magic Gods: I'm I a joke to you?
The energy deck needs like 5 more cards banned just so it never comes back. Then salt and burn the bones.
@@survivalizer without ring they just die to single sweeper. maybe white decks may play wrath of the skies as explosives-like card? not in hammertime, but i thnk decks other than control can use it, as it doesnt hit just energy
Well-put!
Seth singing under pressure instead of hammer time is incredibly funny haha
That was Ice Ice Baby, which is at least in the same era and cultural impact as U Can't Touch this. It notoriously has an almost identical bass line to Under Pressure
Fun fact, he did the exact same mistake 5 years ago when he first invented the deck 🤣
@@outshimedit's not almost identical, it literally samples 'Under Pressure'!
@@outshimedit’s a sample lol
I was yelling "KEEP THE NO LANDER!" and he did and it was hilarious!
22:58 I've heard Seth mispronounce a lot of words before, but I've never heard him mispronounce a bass line.
He sang the exact same bassline 5 years ago in his first hammertime video, I watched them back to back and it's so funny
43:04 That board state is the perfect showcase of the strengths of the hammer time deck, which is speed and threat density. On turn two Seth’s board is poised to deploy three separate win conditions with a stone forge’d Kaldra, multiple Constructs, or a colossal hammer equip with Sigarda’s aid. Very satisfying to see a deck fire on all cylinders like that.
At 17:00, you actually don't need to commit the hammer if you'd rather keep it in hand. Instead of tapping the Inkmoth Nexus to play the hammer, you could tap it to animate itself. It counts as an artifact, so you'd have Ornithopter, mox, and the Inkmoth as your 3 artifacts to play the Esper Sentinel.
Yeah, I thought the same.
Yes, but you know, is Seth
@@skizzikchan2172 Yeah but the same time if you play different decks in different formats all the time these lines can be easy to miss, especially compared to someone who plays the deck more consistently.
@silverdeathgamer2907 more likely, Seth is more focused on entertaining the audience than making optimal plays.
I was thinking that as well, but removal on the inkmoth as a possibility would have had me doing the line Seth did for safety even if less optimal
28:16 You gotta respect the opponent giving Seth a minor heart attack 😂😂
Man, I miss all of the videos being played on Modo. Those poor kids can never eat when Seth plays Arena!
This one goes to the guy who said he missed Seth using the phrase. I think it's directly linked to how fun Modern is.
I have to say, I think the un bans have been a success. This is the first time I have had fun playing modern in years. I'm going bananas playing Scales now.
The last few weeks have been the most fun I've had in Modern in a year or two, so yea, I'd say they were a success (although energy might still be a problem).
Do you think that battlefield improvisation may see some light in the deck?
@@MTGGoldfish ᵉˣᶜᵉᵖᵗ ᶠᵒʳ ᵗʷᶦⁿ
I started watching Mtg Goldfish because of Seth playing Modern back like 7 or 8 years ago. I think Zombie Hunt was my first ever vid of the channel I watched. I really wanted to try the format out but circumstances made that very difficult for me to do in paper. Right as I was going to start, Covid happened. Then Modern Horizons happened. Then I didn't recognize or care for the format anymore.
Cut to now, still watching Seth, and seeing his love for the format become rekindled puts a huge smile on my face. Maybe now I can finally experience some of that magic myself (soon as I pick a deck!)
Thank you for the last near decade of content Seth. You are my fav game play content on TH-cam! Here's to the next decade
Oh also for the Bogles match, Shadowspear has this little used line of text of "(1): Permanents your opponents control lose hexproof and indestructible until end of turn."
This one was an extremely fun watch, that match with the energy deck really brought a smile to my face
1:02:43 we hear it loud and clear Seth, it bubbles right through and its great to see. Keep on rocking the modern decks!
I cant believe that your first opponent went ice-> Rhinos -> rhinos -> scoop vs a 0 land hand
I love watching your modern brews / gameplay. Such a great format to watch you play!
Glad you are enjoying it! I've been having a blast since the ban list update.
As much as I love the Hammer Time deck; Meltdown really ends the party fast these days XD
Sorcery speed. Sigarda's Aid lets you play and equip the hammer *after blockers are declared*
i think you have to sigurda's aid and then try to knowledge check your opp
then sanctifier try to punch through
leyline ax being more expensive is also nice here, it withstands early meltdown
@@VRanger100 stupid meltdown. I really want Lantern Control to be good again (because I'm a terrible human being, apparently lol) but there's no way it'll be better than tier 2 or 3 _at best_ with hate that good in the format.
Ban it lol. It is Hella busted though.
@@Obscuredinsight objectively I think it makes the format better, by kneecapping any broken stupid artifact strategy that people hate to play against.
As a fan of broken artifact strategies that make people miserable (#BringBackEggs2025!), I'd love to see it banned, of course. But that's probably the wrong choice lol
That zero-land keep!
It seems like you can cut out of blue entirely and go full mono-w. replace the cannoneers with 1 or 2 white creatures, maybe phelia's as a kind of evasion? the pierces and remaining spots can go to standard cheap white interaction.
23:03 lol. When *Vanilla Ice* stole that bass line from Queen, he still wasn't MC *Hammer*, but I see what you were going for there...
"Hit our swans, draw some cards" in the end was just icing on the cake!
57:22 Nomination for best kill in 2025
Lol, yeah, that was a good one.
match 1 game 1, me yelling at the screen: keep it Seth! For science!
and he did not let me down
So there's this Pokémon named Tinkaton you should look up for any future Hammer-related thumbnails
it was so nice to see seth so happy playing modern. these videos are so nice to see again. thanks seth!
With Sigarda's Aid, wouldn't it make sense to add some Aura-based removal given the flash upside?
Wow, triple Axe with Puresteel win was not on my New Year's bingo card.
I love these Moto videos. Thanks!
I love that Tron has been replaced by energy for the most hated deck for Seth lol
28:12 That bluff from the opponent got me laughing my ass off, always keep your opponent on their toes! 😂
I love all the modern content, I really hope modern stays fun
I need rhystic studies to make a video on hammer time. This deck is amazing
okay, its great to see hammer time again. But i have one little correction. the deck does have a small ish way of dealing with bogles. Shadow spear, has a activated ability that turns off hexproof and indestructible until end of turn, at instant speed for 1 generic. so that + march is a way to deal with bogles.
otehrwise. Hammertime/10 great video.
Seth: I don't think we have a single thing that's good against bogles.
Shadowspear: am i a joke to you
@@KingOfDoma excatly
Could you save the ornithopter at 26:45 by tapping it, flashing in hammer and equipping it?
Yeah, but then we wouldn't have the Hammer for the Inkmoth kill, so I don't think it was worth it.
The New Year is *3 days old* & Seth just went "How about we get our 1st of the year outta the way now?"
Plus the fact it was with previous record-setter _Hammer Time_ ??!
Hollywood coudn't have come up with better!
"Leyline Hammer" had a nice ring for the deck name
That game against energy was SOOOOOO satisfying to watch.
Idk if anyone made this old pun but hey goldfish STOP hammer time.
For some reason, when Seth plays a deck I hate(lantern, hammer time etc), I usually root for him to win even tho I hate the deck lol
Seth goes full Ice Ice Baby when it's hammer time.
Do you mean “under pressure”?
Love how excited you are for modern. Modern made me so sad I stopped playing it. Might have to go back to it.
There’s something poetic about the final match being equipment vs auras
this match against hollowvine was a beauty. it reminds me of a time before modern horizons.
Biiig fan of adding the prices to cards in the intro.
24:00 Could just have played the hammer as it had flash from Sigarda's Aid, right? Or did you use Stoneforge to circumvent counterspells?
I don't all that hapiness for modern. But I am happy because you're happy.
Can’t wait to watch the four burning inquiry game in the annual recap a year from now
Axe and Hammer, together at last!
The fast starts from Leyline Axe + Mox Opal make my Legacy Stompy brain happy. :)
Cracks me up with Seth calling it "Shadowsphere" the entire time. Like an Sphere of Annihilation from D&D.
is seth wearing an amigo the devil tshirt? i just found that artist and this feels like two lines converging in the best way
I think the issue with the cannoneers is that they're not providing the utility that your other creatures do. And are a little slow to come down, even with improvise.
Ornithopter is free and turns on mox opal faster.
Esper sentinel can draw you cards
Storeforge Mystic can tutor
Puresteel paladin can draw you cards and make equipment free to equip
Inkmoth is a land that can win with infect.
Ward 4 did help in one of your games, but I feel like if you're just playing it for unblockable, there has to be better options. Being able to flash in the hammer onto a flying creature after blockers are declared can be done with Sigarda's aid.
Some more interaction or another utility creature might fit the slot better.
Hey Seth, have you thought about using leyline ax in a deck to cheat out an early metal work colossus?
that's a pioneer deck :D
Great vid have from with the new pc🎉
I'm glad Bear got to eat...and CeeCee gets a share as well.
*Thanks for the Content* !
Thanks for putting the card prices up during deck tech. 200 for mox opal?!?!?
Right after the 3 axe Puresteel game when he said "going to 5 looking for the hexproof creature" for a second I thought he said "axeproof creature". 😂
Funny thing, _this_ is the deck that would benefit most from having The One Ring in it 🤔😂
Just have to say I love you content Seth ❤
24:03 Did you activate the Stoneforge to get around a possible counterspell?
I was curious about this one too
So happy to see Seth playing modern frequently now! Man all these decks, hope for more great unbans in march.
Best one yet! Burning Inquiry ftw.
Seth i didnt know you made hammertime what the heck!!
i missed hammer. sweet games!
I would run 2x Battlefield Improvisation and maybe a mana tithe in place of the kappas
there's also gingerbrute as a 1-of saga target, maybe a few memnites to feed mox opal more
reality chip seems spicy too
I'm tempted to splash green for gaddock teeg in the side, since it stops meltdown and wrath of the skies
1:06:33 Kuh-doo-see-us as seduce-eus has got to be my favorite seth pronunciation 😂
23:03 ICE ICE BABYYYY
Video idea for you Seth is 12 whack still viable after the band and restricted
I had no idea seth came up with hammer time
Hey Seth, what about running scissors in the deck as well?
Which plains are those??
In that second match vs domain zoo you could have shipped the ink moth and kept the double mox and it would have been better, even though you got meltdowned and it didn't matter it's something to keep in mind as a possibility
You certainly did a high roll with the axes. Always in opening hand; never drawn. I would certainly swap 2 Kappas for 2 Battlefield Improvisation
Match 4, game 3 was magical
Checked MTG stocks...time to sell on the hype, I own a single mox, $150 is a good deal?
Seth sounding Aussie with all those "Coppa" Cannoneers
It’s also weirdly close to the right pronunciation. Moreso than “kehpa” at least.
Truly delightful
the triple axe game was so good
Seth I've built a $16 standard deck that's take me all the way from copper to emerald 1 and still climbing quickly it's almost comical in how strong it is and I bet if you looked it would be that much stronger
Ohh, do you have a list?
Drop the Kappas and the blue mana and the spell pierces and put in planes, 4 mana tithe, and another boots. Improve the mana consistency (never have to worry about not having double white) and mana tithe is just about as good as spell pierce in any place you could use spell pierce. Maybe keep 2 of the mana tithes in the sideboard and pre-board 2 hate cards you think you're likely to need. Or maybe just 2 mana tithes in total and put in 2 more hate cards like defense grid and relic of progenitis.
the trample on leyline axe is so gas holy
Man imagine if the horizons sets had never been released we couldve been having more fun than this for the last 2 years lol. Really glad Modern looks better though. Seth looks so happy 😊.
thank you seth❤
THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN!
I think energy is a deck that people would miss if it was completely gone. Mardu is essentially swagless jund and boros is an actually viable aggro deck. I can't see a world where modern is better off without them in the metagame at all.
So Seth, has the Boros Energy deck supplanted tron as your most hated deck?
Drop all the blue to simplify the mana base and run Sunfall and Mana Tithe. Sunfall wipes your creatures too, but then you just equip the token and Axe your opponent anyway.
Hammer and axe time! *communist anthem plays*
I guess a sickle and an axe are kinda similar.
Bans seem to have worked. Energy still seems a bit strong, but modern actually looks like a playable format again.
As someone that usually hates free spells of all kinds, i do think leyline axe is neat. While i dont know if its a overall good card, the idea is both hillarious and for now seems balanced (at least more so than most leylines) since you 'usually' cant cheat the equipt cost.
Is there an argument for springleaf drum in this deck? Seems decent for metal craft and you usually have a creature and/or artifact on T1
I could see playing it as a one-of Urza's Saga target, but I think Paradise Mantle might just be better at the same job.
Kinda nuts how that opponents magus of the moon shot themselves in the foot
I have playtested against energy hundreds of times, the theory of the magic gods is very real.
I never see a deck have almost cheating levels of perfect top decks consistently, completely turning around a game all but won, or even the "combos" like I "turn one Guide turn two Two Ocelots" in that deck but no other deck that runs four of them.
Wouldn't Orim's Chant be good against Bogles?
Is stubborn denial instead of spell pierce just better?
It depends on the deck, if you have cheap creatures that are four or more power (like Death's Shadow or Territorial Kavu) then Stubborn Denial is probably better, in other decks you probably want Spell Pierce.
Im sorry forgive me. But how were they able to destroy urza saga before Seth makes mana with it? My understanding is that once it on the field priority is check. Seth would have priority and be able to tap it. If I’m not mistaken taping land for mana doesn’t use the stack, so priority isn’t passed. And if I’m wrong and it does. Wouldn’t Seth be able to tap it in response?
Same thing like how if someone plays a planes-walker and it isn’t counter the controller of the plans-walker can use an ability of said plans-walker, before anyone else has a chance to destroy it.
shadowSPEAR
59:20 So nice to see the bogles player get rekt by an even faster deck that uses a very similar mechanic :D
edit: And the next game as well. I bet he wanted to complain about life being unfair, but then he's playing bogles so his whole game plan is doing that exact same thing to other people. Can't really complain when the opponent does the same unfair thing, but better. Beautiful.