Magic Modern: Rakdos Delirium rises at Regionals

Broodscale is still the most played deck, but Rakdos Delirium went from 1.4% to 8.8% at October's Regionals. The Modern meta, South America RC and prices.

Nov 02, 2026 · by ArcanoLeviata317 · 9 min read

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Magic Modern: Rakdos Delirium rises at Regionals

What is the best deck in Magic's Modern format after October's Regionals? At the Regional Championships in Singapore, Sydney and Buenos Aires — the last one being South America's RC, organized by Devir Brasil —, Broodscale Combo remained the most played deck, but the biggest winner was Rakdos Delirium, which went from 1.4% to 8.8% of the field with a 58.3% win rate. The data comes from Frank Karsten's analysis published on magic.gg on October 29, 2026, and shows where demand for Modern cards stands ahead of the 2027 Pro Tour.

What happened at the Modern Regionals?

Three Modern Regional Championships were played over October weekends, with more than 800 players in total and 813 decklists analyzed by magic.gg. The champions:

Singapore (Southeast Asia) — Ravikorn Nisitsukcharoen, with Devoted Druid Combo.
Sydney (Australia/New Zealand) — Jason Yan, with Azorius Chant.
Buenos Aires (South America) — Luis Venegas, with Boros Energy.

The three events awarded 26 invitations to Pro Tour Nauctis, held at MagicCon: Detroit on February 26–28, 2027, and 4 slots at World Championship 33, in Amsterdam, in December 2027.

How did the South America Regional in Buenos Aires go?

The South America RC took place on October 23 and 24, 2026, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, organized by Devir Brasil. Every participant received a textless promo Kozilek's Command; top finishers also got the foil version. According to MTGTop8, the tournament had 404 players.

The Top 8 as recorded by MTGTop8:

1st — Luis Venegas (Boros Energy)
2nd — Jhonatan Restrepo (Broodscale)
3rd–4th — Roger Landim and Rulo (Scepter Chant)
5th–8th — Luis Guilherme Magalhães Queiroz (Broodscale), André Ramos Lima (Affinity), Mazzakre (Reanimator) and Christian Calcano (Tron)

Sources disagree on the runner-up: magic.gg names Martín Dominguez, with Azorius Chant, in second place, while MTGTop8 lists Restrepo. Nobody disputes the champion. Just below the Top 8, two players brought Rakdos Delirium, and Ziene finished 9th with Merfolk — one of only two Merfolk decks among the 813 lists —, earning a Pro Tour invitation.

What are the most played Modern decks right now?

According to magic.gg's breakdown, which excludes mirrors, byes and draws, the share and win rate of the main archetypes across the three Regionals were:

Broodscale Combo — 14.2% of the field, 52.3% win rate
Izzet Prowess — 11.0%, 44.3%
Rakdos Delirium — 8.8%, 58.3%
Azorius Chant — 7.2%, 51.6%
Boros Energy — 5.4%, 50.4%
Izzet Affinity — 5.3%, 50.2%
Domain Zoo — 5.0%, 47.3%
Amulet Titan — 3.3%, 54.5%

Compared to the five previous Regionals, analyzed on October 15 (3,594 lists), Broodscale fell from 17.3% to 14.2% and its win rate from 54.8% to 52.3%. Azorius Chant rose from 4.6% to 7.2%. Simic Neoform posted 64.3% on just 1.1% of the field, but Karsten attributes the number to variance: across recent events combined, the deck sits at 48.5%.

Other sites group decks differently and reach different numbers. MTGTop8, looking at 677 lists from the last two weeks, puts "Rakdos Aggro" on top at 14%, with Broodscale at 13%. MTGGoldfish, which adds up tournaments of all sizes, shows Eldrazi Ramp (9.7%) and Izzet Prowess (7.7%) at the top.

Basking Broodscale card, from the Modern Horizons 3 set

Basking Broodscale (MH3). Illustration: Caio Monteiro · Image: Scryfall · © Wizards of the Coast

Why did Rakdos Delirium grow so much?

Rakdos Delirium was the only archetype with a win rate statistically above 50% at the three Regionals (95% confidence interval), and its share jumped from 1.4% to 8.8%. The deck was born from the list Hall of Famer Shuhei Nakamura took to the Top 8 of the Japan and Korea RC on October 3, 2026.

The new piece is Dark Matter Manipulator, from Reality Fracture: a one-mana creature that mills three cards when it enters and gets +2/+0 for every seven cards in the graveyard. In the October 15 analysis, it was already the second most played new Reality Fracture card in Modern. Alongside it are Nethergoyf, Detective's Phoenix and Fear of Missing Out; five of the six top-placing players with the deck added Stitcher's Supplier and Flare of Malice, usually in place of Unholy Heat.

Dark Matter Manipulator card, from the Reality Fracture set

Dark Matter Manipulator (FRA). Illustration: Steven Belledin · Image: Scryfall · © Wizards of the Coast

The signal continued after the analysis: at the MIT Championship, the Chinese Taipei RC played on November 1, 2026 with 83 players, the champion was Weihaohuang with Rakdos Delirium, according to MTGTop8. The reaction is already showing too: Sanctifier en-Vec is growing in Azorius Chant and Boros Energy sideboards as an answer to the deck.

What changed in Azorius Chant?

Azorius Chant won in Sydney and has a good record against the most played deck: across the five previous Regionals, it went 149 wins and 76 losses (66%) against Broodscale Combo. Recent lists include Preordain and one The Mind Stone in the main deck, and several players adopted The Theorist, Jace Beleren, a Reality Fracture mythic. Champion Jason Yan told magic.gg the card "won me multiple games."

The Theorist, Jace Beleren card, from the Reality Fracture set

The Theorist, Jace Beleren (FRA). Illustration: Ekaterina Burmak · Image: Scryfall · © Wizards of the Coast

How much do the key Modern cards cost?

Prices checked on November 2, 2026, non-foil English version. "Scryfall" is the TCGplayer (US) and Cardmarket (Europe) reference price shown by Scryfall:

The Theorist, Jace Beleren (FRA) — US$ 39.95 / € 46.83 (Scryfall)
Nethergoyf (MH3) — US$ 10.30 / € 8.11 (Scryfall)
Kozilek's Command (MH3) — US$ 7.11 / € 7.04 (Scryfall)
Fear of Missing Out (DSK) — US$ 5.16 / € 3.85 (Scryfall)
Dark Matter Manipulator (FRA) — US$ 4.69 / € 7.04 (Scryfall); US$ 5.21 at TCGplayer Mid and US$ 6.99 at Card Kingdom, which pays US$ 2.25 on buylist (MTGGoldfish)
Flare of Malice (MH3) — US$ 4.57 / € 2.97 (Scryfall)
Detective's Phoenix (MH3) — US$ 1.01 / € 0.90 (Scryfall)
Sanctifier en-Vec (MH2) — US$ 0.30 / € 0.34 (Scryfall)
Basking Broodscale (MH3) — US$ 0.27 / € 0.21 (Scryfall)

We were unable to check prices in Brazilian reais on LigaMagic for this report. To see who sells in Brazil, search for the card on Collector Union, for example Nethergoyf or Dark Matter Manipulator.

Nethergoyf card, from the Modern Horizons 3 set

What changes for buyers, sellers and collectors

Modern players building Rakdos Delirium: among the deck's cards cited by magic.gg, the most expensive is Nethergoyf (US$ 10.30 on Scryfall). Check your list in the deck validator before buying.
Owners of The Theorist, Jace Beleren: the card has gained a spot in Modern Azorius Chant and costs US$ 39.95 at the TCGplayer reference. If you are thinking of selling, compare offers on the card page.
Players preparing for the metagame: Sanctifier en-Vec costs cents (US$ 0.30) and already shows up as an answer to Rakdos Delirium.
Sellers of Dark Matter Manipulator: the gap between retail (US$ 5.21 to US$ 6.99) and buylist (US$ 2.25 at Card Kingdom) is more than US$ 2.90; compare before selling to a store.
Next tests: Modern RC Qualifier on Magic Online on November 26, Showcase Challenge on November 28 and Showcase Qualifier on December 5, 2026.

Our take

This section is opinion, based on the numbers above. October's Modern looks like a healthy format: the most played deck lost share and win rate from one survey to the next, and the deck that grew is made of relatively cheap cards, pushed by a new Reality Fracture rare. For Brazilian players, that is good news, because none of the core Rakdos Delirium cards listed above goes past US$ 11 at the Scryfall reference.

The figure that calls for caution is sample size: 8.8% of a field of just over 800 people is a small number, and Karsten himself shows with Simic Neoform how results like these can be variance. The Taipei win reinforces the trend but does not confirm it.

Quick summary

The Modern Regionals in Singapore, Sydney and Buenos Aires had 813 lists and awarded 26 invitations to Pro Tour Nauctis (February 2027).
Broodscale Combo is still the most played deck (14.2%), but it fell compared to the five previous Regionals (17.3%).
Rakdos Delirium went from 1.4% to 8.8% of the field, with a 58.3% win rate, and also won the Taipei RC on November 1.
Luis Venegas won the South America RC, organized by Devir Brasil in Buenos Aires, with Boros Energy.
Dark Matter Manipulator (US$ 4.69) and The Theorist, Jace Beleren (US$ 39.95) are the standout Reality Fracture cards in Modern.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most played Modern deck in November 2026?

Broodscale Combo, with 14.2% of the field at the Singapore, Sydney and Buenos Aires Regionals, according to magic.gg's October 29, 2026 analysis. The best-performing deck, however, was Rakdos Delirium, with a 58.3% win rate.

Who won the 2026 South America Regional Championship?

Luis Venegas, with Boros Energy, at the RC played in Buenos Aires on October 23 and 24, 2026, organized by Devir Brasil. The tournament had 404 players, according to MTGTop8.

What is Rakdos Delirium in Modern?

It is a black-red deck that fills the graveyard to power up creatures such as Dark Matter Manipulator and Nethergoyf. It was born from Shuhei Nakamura's list at the Japan and Korea RC on October 3, 2026.