Another event, another set of data, another reexamination of the Modern metagame. As the time of actual Modern Opens and Grand Prix approaches, Modern players are increasingly seeking to find the new rules for the format and whatever edge they can. I’ll be tracking those changes as the data comes in, looking for developments 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.
The metagame is beginning to take form, and now is the time for players to start adapting. This could mean adjusting which decks they play, how they play them, or what cards they play. Now is naturally a time for experimentation, but no such transitional period is free from common mistakes. Whether it’s misunderstanding how […]
Last week, we made a forecast about Modern in 2020. And with a starting point established, we can now begin tracking developments! I previously concluded that the SCG circuit was overplaying Amulet Titan, and that Modern players were forgetting to pack their graveyard hate. This week, I will be adding to the data with additional […]
Everything has to begin somewhere. The Modern metagame is no exception, and last week I used the MTGO metagame as a bellwether for the emerging format. The five decks I examined have done well online. However, as I noted, the data isn’t necessarily accurate or indicative of what players will encounter at a Modern event. […]
That Modern is changing should be obvious: there’s a lower-power set coming out and we just had a major banning. But how Modern is changing is an open question. The only major Modern events for the next month are SCG Classics and Team Opens, which aren’t the most reliable sources for data. So we’ll have […]
With the Prerelease out of the way the actual work of exploring Theros: Beyond Death has begun. As Jordan previously noted, there are a number of interesting role players in Theros. However, there don’t appear to be any unequivocal home runs. Considering how 2019 went, that’s a very nice change; I’d like a chance to finally catch […]
Well, everyone should have seen another ban coming. There was no way that Wizards wasn’t going to let their last scheduled banned and restricted announcement go by without doing something about Oko, Thief of Crowns. However, I didn’t expect it to go this far. Three cards banned would be a fairly substantial shift by itself, […]
Happy New Year! I’ll be kicking off 2020 by leaping into spoiler season. Spoilers for Theros: Beyond Death began trickling in while everyone was on holiday break. Now, with our holiday hangovers but a painful memory, the flood has begun. There appears to be considerable potential for Modern cards, and given how 2019 went, I’m […]
Editor’s Note: The Twin ban remained highly controversial into 2019, especially among what I assume to be an extremely vocal minority of Modern die-hards. That sentiment pushed David to revisit Twin’s previous role in the format with a thorough, data-driven approach. Also included in this re-run are David’s thoughts headed into 2020, which deal with […]
The competitive season has come to an end, but that doesn’t mean that Magic just stops in December. Local tournaments and MTGO never end. And some competitive scenes don’t have official Wizards support or the backing of a massive store. Some are built by and for the local players. The Colorado Magic scene, deprived of Star City […]
The saying goes that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. In Modern, those who do not observe the metagame are doomed to be passed by. Applied to Magic, such proverbs encourage every player to duly note how the metagame evolves and develops over a competitive year. Having spent the […]
The competitive year has come to a close for Modern, and now it’s time to look ahead. This means it’s time once more to informedly speculate on the future of Modern’s banlist. It’s been a wild year for the list, and while I always hope that the metagame can adapt to new decks, I don’t […]
The end of the year is approaching, and with it a slowdown in competitive Magic. In fact, GP Columbus was the last Modern event of the year. As such, it is the final opportunity to look at the metagame before 2020’s SCG Columbus, so GP Columbus provides extremely important data. It not only defines the […]
