How to beat Affinity in Modern
Over the last 90 days of recorded Modern matches, the decks with the best results against Affinity are Mono-Green Basking Broodscale Combo (76% over 17 matches) and Jeskai Prowess (60% over 5 matches). Mono-Green Basking Broodscale Combo's 76% sits in a 95% range of 53%–90%, which is the range a 17-match sample actually supports. The decks with the best records against it most often carry Consign to Memory, Trinisphere and Unholy Heat in the sideboard — those are their sideboards in general, not cards chosen for this matchup.
Best records against Affinity
Matches played in the last 90 days, from events that publish round-by-round pairings. Ranked by the bottom of each 95% range, not by the headline percentage, so a small sample cannot outrank a large one.
| Deck | Win rate vs Affinity | Record | Matches | Sample | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mono-Green Basking Broodscale Combo | 76.5% | 13-4 | 17 | Medium sample | 53%–90% |
| Jeskai Prowess | 60.0% | 3-2 | 5 | Low sample | 23%–88% |
- High sample · 20+ matches
- Medium sample · 8–19 matches
- Low sample · 5–7 matches
24 further pairings (38 matches) fall below the 5-match floor and are not given a percentage. 1 pairing against archetypes that have left the Modern metagame is excluded. Full history, retired archetypes included, is on Affinity's archetype page and in the Modern matchup matrix.
What the decks that beat Affinity bring
Sideboard cards run by Mono-Green Basking Broodscale Combo, Jeskai Prowess. This is not a sideboard guide for this matchup. We record who beat whom, not what either player boarded, so these are whole-sideboard frequencies across every matchup those decks play — a hint about the kind of card that punishes Affinity, not a list to bring in.
| Card | Decks running it | Average copies | Which decks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consign to Memory | 1 of 2 | 3.2 | Jeskai Prowess |
| Trinisphere | 1 of 2 | 2.5 | Mono-Green Basking Broodscale Combo |
| Unholy Heat | 1 of 2 | 2.0 | Jeskai Prowess |
| Thought-Knot Seer | 1 of 2 | 1.9 | Mono-Green Basking Broodscale Combo |
| Nature's Claim | 1 of 2 | 1.9 | Mono-Green Basking Broodscale Combo |
| Prismatic Ending | 1 of 2 | 1.8 | Jeskai Prowess |
| Grafdigger's Cage | 1 of 2 | 1.7 | Mono-Green Basking Broodscale Combo |
| Spell Pierce | 1 of 2 | 1.5 | Jeskai Prowess |
| Obsidian Charmaw | 1 of 2 | 1.3 | Jeskai Prowess |
| Spell Snare | 1 of 2 | 1.3 | Jeskai Prowess |
| Sire of Seven Deaths | 1 of 2 | 1.2 | Mono-Green Basking Broodscale Combo |
| Vexing Bauble | 1 of 2 | 1.1 | Mono-Green Basking Broodscale Combo |
Average copies is expected copies per deck — average copies played multiplied by the share of that archetype's lists running the card — so a 4-of in half the lists reads as 2.0.
Decks Affinity beats
The other end of the same table. If you are choosing a deck to attack Affinity with, the record argues against these.
| Deck | Win rate vs Affinity | Record | Matches | Sample | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rakdos Midrange | 20.0% | 1-4 | 5 | Low sample | 4%–62% |
| Devoted Combo | 37.5% | 3-5 | 8 | Medium sample | 14%–69% |
| Eldrazi | 40.0% | 2-3 | 5 | Low sample | 12%–77% |
- High sample · 20+ matches
- Medium sample · 8–19 matches
- Low sample · 5–7 matches
Questions
What beats Affinity in Modern?
Across the last 90 days, Mono-Green Basking Broodscale Combo (76% over 17 matches) and Jeskai Prowess (60% over 5 matches) hold the best recorded results against Affinity. Records come from events that publish round-by-round pairings, and both decks in a match have to be identified for it to count, so these are the pairings we can see rather than every match played.
What should I bring in against Affinity?
We do not have sideboard choices tied to individual matches, so this is not a sideboard guide. What the data supports is narrower: the 2 decks with the best records against Affinity — Mono-Green Basking Broodscale Combo and Jeskai Prowess — most commonly run Consign to Memory, Trinisphere, Unholy Heat, Thought-Knot Seer and Nature's Claim in their sideboards. Those are whole-sideboard frequencies across every matchup those decks play.
What does Affinity beat?
Affinity's best recorded matchups over the same window are Rakdos Midrange (80% across 5 matches), Devoted Combo (63% across 8 matches) and Eldrazi (60% across 5 matches). If you are picking a deck to attack Affinity with, these are the ones the record argues against.
How reliable are these Modern matchup numbers?
Not very, and the page says so per row rather than in aggregate. Every pairing shows its match count, its sample band and a 95% range; the strongest band we award is 20+ matches, which is still roughly a ±20-point range around the figure shown. Pairings under 5 matches are counted but never given a percentage — there are 24 of those for Affinity right now. Rankings use the bottom of each range rather than the headline percentage, so a small sample cannot outrank a large one it has not earned.
What period does this cover?
Matches played in the last 90 days, filtered on when each match was actually played. Archetypes that have dropped out of the Modern metagame are excluded from the ranking, which removes 1 pairing here — their historical records are still on Affinity's own archetype page and in the format matchup matrix.
What each number on this site measures, and where it is least reliable, is set out on the methodology page.