Lots of people have been playing Magic a long time now. With recent growth in the game there are also a lot of players that have not been playing that long. As for me, I'm somewhere in the middle. I've been playing for almost fourteen years which is coincidentally almost the exact span of Modern sets. I've said a number of times, it's almost like they created a format just for me!

Kidding aside, because of this, I will always have a connection to Modern. Modern is sweet and I want everyone to play it, but it's a hard format to break into.

Modern Masters made it easier for a little bit but most of those cards have rebounded. We all know that Dark Confidant and Tarmogoyf have risen in value, but the uncommons are coming back around again as well.

Did you know there are nineteen commons and uncommons from MMA that are worth nearly a dollar or more!? Hopefully you grabbed stacks of these cards while they were laying in draft leftovers instead of dropping the ball like I did. The list might not be extremely surprising but knowledge is power. Take a look.

Modern Masters Uncommons

• Path to Exile $5.50
• Spell Snare $3.50
• Kitchen Finks $4
• Mind Funeral $3
• Lightning Helix $3
• Manamorphose $2.50
• Eternal Witness $2.50
• Electrolyze $2
• Relic of Progenitus $1.25
• Murderous Redcap $1
• Desperate Ritual $1
• Flickerwisp $1
• Narcomoeba $1
• Trygon Predator $1
• Paradise Mantle $1

Modern Masters Commons

• Lava Spike $2
• Rift Bolt $1.25
• Street Wraith $1
• Kodama's Reach $1

Modern Masters did exactly what Wizards wanted--to generate lots of interest in the format. Due to the change in the PTQ system we prices haven't increase drastically on many cards, but with so many people playing the format, the cards are still on an upward trend. These Modern Masters cards are just one small portion of the card pool. There are lots of other uncommons as well as other rarities increasing in value. What cards have you noticed that are on the rise?

Modern Diversity and Depth

Recently, players at my shop have wanted to play more Modern and bringing new players into Modern is important for the long-term stability of my shop. The problem with this is that not many regulars own Modern decks. We would get players but with many of them playing mostly Standard cards, you can imagine their success rate. So, what we decided to do is rent decks to players. Although this is of some risk to the store, it does allow more players to access the format.

Since I’ve been playing through all of sets that are Modern legal, and I co-own the shop, I have access to most cards I need. In my first pass at this renting system, I put together six decks. The decks I sleeved up were G/B Rock, Melira Pod, Twin, Burn, Bogles, and UWR Control. We have rented these decks out countless times and players having access to these decks has not only increased purchases in our Modern singles, but also allowed our events to fire with relative frequency. I still need a couple cards for some more decks but once I acquire them in the near future, I will be adding Living End, Dredge, G/R Tron, Affinity, Amulet Combo, Merfolk and Infect to the available decks for rent.

The reason I’m telling you this is to highlight the fact that no matter what trends are active in Modern, all of these decks, and more, will exist in some fashion. Unless new cards are printed that break the format on the level of Second Sunrise or Cloudpost, these decks will all be played.

I mentioned last week that despite the emergence of Jeskai Ascendancy Combo and the resurgence of U/R Delver, the diversity of the Modern metagame would continue. This was clearly evident to me as I played against both UWR Geist Twin (not a combination of cards that should work together) and Loam Assault (not even one of the 13 decks I already mentioned!). The format is quite expensive and players love their decks. These two aspects of the format, just like Legacy, lead players to bring odd decks to battle.

Even though there are two new hot decks in the format (three if you count the reimagining of Burn), many players chose to battle with old favorite decks. This will be more evident at the local shops but even at bigger events like a TCG Player event, SCG IQ, PrePTQ, or even a GP players will play what they have and what they like rather than what may or may not be the best deck. Keep this in mind during deck building. Sometimes we need to accept that some of these extreme fringe decks will be bad matchups and not worry about them, while others we should plan for. G/R Tron, for instance, isn’t the most popular deck but I’ve had to play it at nearly every event for the past year or two.

The positive side of this coin is that Modern is a huge format, and you can play what you want. There is something out there for everyone, whether you enjoy Aggro, Midrange, Control, or Combo. There is even space to invent new decks or combine two strategies together to form something different that players aren’t expecting.

Tournament Tips

It’s been a while since I’ve included this section, but I’ll be bringing it back from time to time. If you have not seen the previous tips, you can search the tags for ‘Tournament Tips.’ Today I wanted to discuss scooping.

Picture this scenario. It’s nearing the end of the game and things look bad for you. You’ve drawn three or four lands in a row to your opponent's spell every one of those turns and your board state went from dominating to meager. Now, your opponent has you on the back foot because you are out of cards. If things keep going the way they are, you’ll be dead in two turns. What’s been happening with me lately is picking up my cards and moving to the next game.

After thinking through some of my recent losses, I was reflecting on this practice to pack it in early to make more time to play the rest of the match. While this is important to keep in mind occasionally, this is not a practice you should integrate regularly. Maybe your opponent has lethal on board or maybe you think you are going to lose, but don’t let that stop you from trying to win.

Once I identified this as a weak area for me, I’ve tried correcting this. There is a lot to be gained by figuring out what sequence of cards you could draw to get you out of a predicament. This past weekend, I said after a match there was a sequence of four cards I could have drawn in a row that would have dug me out of the hole I was in, but I didn’t draw them.

Additionally, this forces your opponent to actually defeat you. I used to get free wins all the time because I would make my opponent finish me off. You’d be surprised at how many opponents won’t swing for lethal because you’re sandbagging two lands in hand to bluff that you can interact with them.

I’ve never stopped bluffing with only lands in hand, but I need to once again, make my opponent kill me. This is a practice that you should be doing as well. If your opponent has lethal on the board, there is a chance that for some reason, they won’t execute. If you know every card in your opponent’s hand and you know they can beat you with a certain sequence of plays, make them realize what that sequence is. Don’t let your opponent off easy by playing the game for them.

Magic is a game of choices. Force your opponent to make all the right ones or capitalize on the mistakes they make to get you back into the game.

Until next time,
Unleash the Force on Modern!

Mike Lanigan
MtgJedi on Twitter
Jedicouncilman23@gmail.com