How apropos that the Metagame Update is falling on the same day that Innistrad: Midnight Hunt spoilers begin. It’s a perfect transition from the metagame we knew to the new one to come. However new it actually is or isn’t is irrelevant. The addition of new cards creates new possibilities which alone change the metagame dynamics. And […]
David Ernenwein
David has been playing Magic since Odyssey block. A dedicated Spike, he's been grinding tournaments for over a decade, including a Pro Tour appearance. A Modern specialist who dabbles in Legacy, his writing is focused on metagame analysis and deck evolution.
Being unable to play with your cards sucks. No one will dispute this. What is also unequivocally true is that cards need to be banned. Sometimes Wizards makes mistakes while making cards, and the likes of Oko, Thief of Crowns proceed to wreck their havoc. Other times new cards interact with old ones in unexpected […]
Nobody enjoys performance reviews. Even if they’re positive. There’s just something existentially distressing that comes with being assessed, aside from any professional implications stemming from said review. And they’re also frequently boring for everyone involved. (From personal experience.) However, they can be useful for fostering improvement. Especially when they’re self-administered in a public setting, so […]
What’s Magic’s most popular format? I realize this is the sort of question most ask around the gaming table just to have an argument, but I’m actually curious. The problem is that I can ask 100 players and get 100 different answers. It will frequently come down to what they last played and how much they […]
New month, new metagame update. It is the way. And I’d like to kick this one off by tempering expectations. The near-perpetual spoiler season we now inhabit did spit out another set. However, Adventures in the Forgotten Realms is no Modern Horizons 2, and did not have that much impact on Modern. The resulting July metagame […]
There’s a reason that stories tend to follow a certain structure. And similarly why studios seem to favor reboots and retreads over actually new movies. Humans are creatures of expectation and habit. We are used to certain things happening a certain way, especially once they’ve been socially reinforced, and when those expectations aren’t met it […]
It’s summer. There’s not much happening on the Magic front. And I’ve got summer things to do. So I’m giving in and doing a list article. At least the algorithm will be satisfied. And I still have my professional pride preventing me from doing it in a nonanalytical way. The Online Metagame An explainer/disclaimer before I […]
I’m in an unusual position this spoiler season. Two weeks ago, barely anything had been spoiled; today, the whole set is not only spoiled, but available online. Such are the breaks when spoiler season happens over the first week of a new month. As such, this will be a different kind of spoiler article. I […]
It’s the first Tuesday of the month, so it’s time for the metagame update. Yes, even in the middle of spoiler season. Because, serious question, when aren’t we in spoiler season? This year’s release schedule is ridiculous; I could spend all my time just discussing cards and never run out of gas. I’ve got to draw […]
This summer is absurd. Modern Horizons 2 has just hit the street, and Wizards is already previewing Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. Or technically, this is Wizards continuing to preview Adventures in the Forgotten Realms because there were initial teasers alongside the first MH2 spoilers. It’s way too much, way too fast, and is deeply unfair to my wallet. […]
If one alludes to an article, one needs to follow-through. In literature, the principle is known as Chekov’s Gun. Last week, I created expectations for an article about my experiences testing Humans, so this week I have to actually write that article. Which is fortunate; I’ve tested enough that I’m able to discuss the various […]
As the paper release date for Modern Horizons 2 approaches, brewing and testing new decks is kicking into high gear. Players are eager to display their creations and figure out what Modern actually looks like after a year with paper play and numerous new sets. The online metagame is as always suggestive, but provably inbred […]
All decks aren’t created equal: some are Splinter Twin, others are Mono-Green Aura Stompy. The same goes for every set: some are Dominaria, others Legions. Thus, the impact of every new set will be felt unequally both by Modern as a whole and by individual decks. Not every set can have Modern-playable cards, and not every […]
