| Sometimes it really feels like we just may be living in the Matrix. With Todd Anderson acting as The Oracle and Ross Merriam as the chosen one who fulfilled the prophecy. Dredge did some really powerful things on camera last weekend at #SCGNY and the deck is exploding on the internet. This means that from here on out almost every deck needs to have a plan for Dredge, and there are three main ones to consider: 1. Dodge the Dredge deck in tournaments
2. Play a deck that has a good Dredge matchup
3. Effectively utilize sideboard cards to salvage the Dredge matchup The first two don't really lend much for conversation, but the third topic makes for a good deal of conversation to be had. In Modern there tends to be a great deal of hate cards in the vein of Stony Silence, Back to Nature, and Boil that really hurt specific decks in ways that are hard to recover from. Different graveyard hate cards function differently, and understanding their impact in the matchup is important. #10 Tormod's Crypt 
Tormod's Crypt is the most basic answer to the Dredge deck. Costing zero mana and exiling the opponent's entire graveyard is quite powerful, but it rarely is impactful enough. If the trigger is pulled early, the Dredge deck can just rebuild rather quickly. If the trigger is pulled too late, most of Dredge's interactions have already occurred and/or are already on the battlefield. There is likely a sweet spot in the middle, but without a great deal of experience against the archetype, don't just shove a playset of Tormod's Crypt in the sideboard and call the matchup "solved." #9 Surgical Extraction 
In the vein of zero-mana graveyard interaction, Surgical Extraction falls right into place but is similarly tricky to play. Surgical Extraction lends itself best to decks that are hyper efficient which benefit from free spells (See: Death's Shadow Aggro, Young Pyromancer decks, etc.) and decks with flashback capabilities via Jace, Vryn's Prodigy or Snapcaster Mage. You generally want to point Surgical Extraction at a deck's 'payoff' cards, as opposed to its 'engine' cards. This is because Dredge decks can still function without Golgari Grave Troll by dredging with Stinkweed Imp and its ilk. Dredge has a harder time losing payoff cards like Bridge from Below, Bloodghast, Narcomoeba, or Prized Amalgam. Generally it's best to aim for Prized Amalgam, as it's the easiest to abuse of the bunch. There are situations where exiling a slew of Bloodghast may be just what the doctor ordered. #8 Relic of Progenitus 
Most of what can be said for Relic of Progenitus was already said about Tormod's Crypt. The benefit of Relic of Progenitus is that artifact-based decks, such as Tron and Affinity, can justify playing Relic of Progenitus in the main deck without much opportunity cost. Relic's ability to draw a card upon its activation makes it a great candidate for a main-deck hate card and it may be time to sleeve them up in the starting 60. #7 Scavenging Ooze 
Scavenging Ooze is a great card, but it just isn't fast enough. There are too many cards out of the Dredge deck that have to be exiled, and Ooze costing a mana per card isn't efficient enough. So much mana is being pumped into Scavenging Ooze exiling cards that the Ooze's controller is often unable to develop their board in the meantime. If this is the only piece of graveyard interaction in your deck, you are falling into the first category. Dodge the Dredge deck in tournaments" more than any other option. #6 Yixlid Jailer 
Full disclosure: This is a pet card of mine. Yixlid Jailer does a lot of things that other cards can't quite do and it makes for an exciting possible anti-Dredge card. Yixlid Jailer prevents flashback spells from being cast, creatures from reanimating themselves, and even the Dredge mechanic from functioning. "Emma, you're just reading the card to us." Everything that the card does in the matchup is written right in the text box, with character art which looks straight out of the Matrix (I've got a theme going here.) Yixlid Jailer's fragility is the biggest tick against it, but it does shut off the Dredge deck at every stage of the game, making it a strong contender if Dredge sticks around for more than a few weeks. #5 Grafdigger's Cage 
Grafdigger's Cage is fantastic at shutting off a majority of the payoff cards from the Dredge deck. Turning off Bridge from Below feels bad, but eliminating the flashback spells from the deck as well as all of the creatures that reanimate themselves is a really big deal. Cage not turning off the deck's namesake Dredge mechanic means that the deck can continue to stock its graveyard while finding an answer. The biggest issue with Grafdigger's Cage is that if it is destroyed somehow (a la Ancient Grudge) then the Dredge deck is freed from the cage, so-to-speak. #4 Wheel of Sun and Moon 
Wheel of Sun and Moon is a great answer for green decks that don't have an effective way to combat graveyard-centric strategies. The biggest drawbacks are that it doesn't place cards that are already in the graveyard on the bottom of their owner's library and doesn't prevent cards in the graveyard from being cast or reanimated. What Wheel of Sun and Moon does do prevent your opponent from further-stocking their graveyard with more cards while looking for an answer to this Shadowmoor enchantment. #3 Nihil Spellbomb 
Nihil Spellbomb is the sort of halfway point between Tormod's Crypt and Relic of Progenitus; It can only target one graveyard once, costs mana instead of being a zero-costed card, and so on. The versatility of Spellbomb gives black an additional fantastic tool to fight the graveyard-centric strategies. #2 Leyline of the Void 
This is what we call a high risk/high reward card. In the best case scenario, you'll have of the Leyline of the Void in your opening hand. The worst case scenario, which is very bad, Leyline of the Void is your first card drawn of the game. Similar to Wheel of Sun and Moon, Leyline doesn't deal with cards already in graveyards when it is cast. The risk/reward-factor means you can get Leyline onto the battlefield immediately with the right opening hand. #1 Rest in Peace 
Rest in Peace is what gets my pick for best hate card in Modern against the Dredge decks. It provides the perfect combo of providing a hard-reset on graveyards while also preventing the opponent from rebuilding while it's on the battlefield. The card requires some build-around, but the payoff is absolutely worth it in a world of Golgari Grave‑Troll and Bridge from Below. — Emma Handy, @Em_TeeGee | 
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