Hello everyone!

Wanted to chime in with a brief update on the morning of #PTOGW with some notes and considerations as we enter the Modern portion later in the day. Everything certainly seems wide open at this point, as the format reflects no true solidified deck-lists currently. We can only speculate on what will or won't show up at this point.

The QS staff will be covering the event and will be using all resources available to push information with Insiders being the priority. With Kelly and Doug on-site, we have all facets covered. And if the last PT is any indication, our coverage is bar-none.

Here's everything you need - and the banner can be found on the homepage and another in the side bar:

In the meantime, some quick notes:

1. Most of everyone's #PTOGW purchasing should be done by now. I say this because Pro Tour trends tell us that cards can spike and decline extremely quickly. If you're ordering cards during/after the Pro Tour, most of the time you're too late. If anything, you can acquire cards for personal use at a discount, but don't expect a return.  In any event, if you are going to order - take the time to buy from reputable sources. If it's going to cost you an extra dollar, than consider it an investment that your order will actually ship.
2. React fast, but stay level headed. Just because something shows up on camera doesn't mean it's an automatic buy. Every PT is a mixed format, so look to what's actually performing well and not just showing up on camera.

Early Indicators as of 2/5/2016

As I've scoured plenty of MTGO Leagues and Dailies results, I found some similar trends and interesting decklists leading up to today. Here's a few of them:

Cards to consider here:

Some new tech for a fairly well known archetype. We could toss this up as a fluke, and somehow managed to 5-0 a Modern League, but I will say it's a new development for this archetype. Forgoing the usual reanimation targets such as Griselbrand seems really odd. At the same time, this list does add somewhat of a consistency, and turns this into more of a Midrange approach, rather than an all-in combo deck. Using Goryo's Vengeance as a potent reanimation spell in tandem with Obzedat.

Eldrazi of all sizes

Cards to consider:

It seems there's a new take on the Eldrazi lists that have been running rampant in the Modern Daily and League lists a short while ago. We can see the deck is just as popular, but with the release of Oath of the Gatewatch, it seems the decks have changed, taking advantage of Eye of Ugin to enable some seriously insane opening draws. Making Eldrazi Mimic free, as well as turning Reality Smasher into a better Phyrexian Negator, speaks volumes to what this archetype is capable of. I don't know where the direction of these lists will end up, but it's safe to say that the shift to Mid-range rather than "go huge" seems to be the motif of the recent finishing lists.

Other off-beat cards that have shown up on Dailies/Leagues:

It's the wild west out there after the bannings, that much is certain. That doesn't always translate into financial viability, however. I wouldn't advocate any of these cards quite yet, as the Pro Tour really dictates where the masses go next. While all these lists are fantastic and fun, they might not show up in very short order, which would be unfortunate all things considered.

Follow along closely, and really figure out what decks are doing well in the Modern portion of the event--not just what shows up on camera.

In any event, keep your ears to the ground and check out the PT related articles this past week, with very informative articles by Sheridan Lardner, Ryan Overturf, Adam Yurchick and others.

I'll be periodically updating with more articles as the days go on, but I wanted to push this out quickly and effeciently for Insiders to absorb.

-Chaz @ChazVMTG