Greetings, Nexites!

Hopefully by now you've seen Sheridan's announcement last week of the new partnership Modern Nexus is starting with Quiet Speculation. My name is Jason Schousboe and I'll be taking over as Editor in Chief.

A little about myself. My Magic career started about 10 years ago, and has seen me travel for a few Pro Tours and plunge deeper into the rabbit hole that is the Magic community each year (no doubt a familiar story). My approach to the game usually comes from the competitive side, and I enjoy the intellectual challenge of solving formats, finding tough lines, and predicting metagames.

In college I studied sociology, where I picked up a (perhaps unhealthy) love for analysis, statistics, and scientific appraisal. I can truly say there is little that excites me more than the intersection of statistics, social science (fundamentally, a metagame is a product of social intercourse), and Magic: The Gathering.

Over at Quiet Speculation we're immersed in the finance side of the game--one that certainly lends itself to critical analysis and theoretical thinking. Sheridan has been writing for QS for several months now and has always impressed with his rigorous and evidence-based analysis of all things Modern. The two sites really are a great fit for each other, and I look forward to building on what he's created here at Modern Nexus.

I'm still familiarizing myself with the site and all the back articles, so I hope you'll bear with me as I get acclimated. Rest assured the focus of the site isn't changing. We're still going to offer a data-driven analysis of the Modern metagame each month. We're still going to bring you informed content on archetype selection, tuning lists, positioning for the metagame, and banned and restricted discussion. We're still going to appeal to the academic side of Magic, expounding on not just the what, but the why, of the Magic landscape and Modern in particular.

And no, there will be no paywalls. While premium content of some kind in the future is not completely off the table, there are no plans to go that route any time soon--in any case such content would be a supplement to, not a replacement for, the free articles. We're well aware that Quiet Speculation serves a very different niche in the Magic economy, which lends itself to a different model. Ultimately, we acquired Modern Nexus because we love what it's doing and want to help it thrive. That means continuing to bring you the same high-quality, free content you've come to expect.

What is changing are the resources at Modern Nexus's disposal. A month ago MN announced some long-term plans to bring you better and more integrated content this year. I intend to make good on those promises, starting with more writers and videos, and later in the year a full-scale metagame database. The time frame on these is still up in the air, but we should be able to roll out more concrete plans in a couple weeks once everyone has had some time to adjust.

All our regular writers are staying on, so expect more from David, Jordan, and Trevor in the future. Sheridan, for his part, will continue his regular column. As for me, I may write some articles on more broad themes and topics related to Modern, if there is interest. I am interested to hear what kind of articles and content you would like to see.

If you have any concerns about this transition, please don't hesitate to contact me, either via email at jason@quietspeculation.com or in the comments below. Your input as readers is crucial to making Modern Nexus the best it can be. Any suggestions, questions, worries, complaints, et.al. are welcome.

I'm super excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work breaking down and reporting on the Modern format in all its glory. I hope you, our readers, will continue to accompany us as we move forward and expand what Modern Nexus has to offer.

Jason Schousboe
Editor in Chief