The data here tells a clear story: play Grixis Reanimator.
Esper Reanimator has virtually no presence in the Modern metagame right now. It logged only 8 total entries across the database with a 43.8% winrate, and zero matches in the last 60 days of competitive data. There is simply not enough of a sample to say it is a real deck in the current meta.
Grixis Reanimator, by contrast, is a legitimate tier deck. Over the past 60 days it posted a 51.1% winrate (mirror-excluded) across 738 matches and 182 entries, placing it 10th in overall Modern meta presence at about 3.6% of the field. More encouraging is the recent trend: the last three weeks have seen winrates of 57.1%, 55.6%, and 51.6%, suggesting the deck is in a good spot right now. Its core of Faithless Looting, Archon of Cruelty, and Thoughtseize is well-established and widely played.
If you are committed to the reanimator strategy in Modern, Grixis is the version with a proven track record, consistent meta presence, and currently positive results.
Sources: Data from 104 Modern tournaments (74% MTGO, 26% Melee) from May 28 to July 28, 2026. Recent events include: