Finally, it’s time for everyone’s favorite part of the banlist test: the experimental data. After playing 500 matches with GB Elves over several months, I can finally put some data to the speculation about the impact of unbanning Green Sun’s Zenith. I will be revealing the hard numbers and their statistical significance. As always, these […]
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.
It’s finally time for another banlist testing report. Back in May, readers chose Green Sun’s Zenith as the next banned card to test, which I’ll just call GSZ from here on out. I’ve spent the intervening months grinding games and recording results to test its effect on Modern. This week, I’ll explain my test procedure, […]
As the metagame shifts, decks rise and fall. Sometimes, that churning is explosive. Such events are exciting and foster discussion and articles. However, it is important to remember to temper excitement with reason. Spikes and oscillations are just that, and only matter if they’re sustained. After Golgari Grave-Troll was banned, Dredge dropped out of sight. […]
The Beginner’s Guide series offers advice to new to Modern players and dispels common myths about the format’s workings. This week, inspired by some consistent misplays I’ve observed, I am going to be tackling Modern’s control decks. There appears to be a perception that they’re something to tread carefully around. But control is just another […]
Every player has their own biases and preferences when it comes to deck selection. There’s nothing wrong with playing to strengths, and it is important to remember that Magic is a game. You have more fun playing something you enjoy. However, this goes both ways, and you can dislike a deck for less-than-rational reasons. I have […]
The metagame constantly cycles and decks rise and fall. Last year, Grixis Death’s Shadow was the deck-to-beat in Modern; today, it’s Humans. Sometimes, this fluctuation occurs because of players reacting to new decks or trends; sometimes, it’s because of new printings. With the release of Guilds of Ravnica, Modern seems poised for a major shift thanks to […]
There’s an old saw in Standard: play the best deck with the best cards. Standard is about the cardpool’s restrictions and the disparities in card power. Therefore, it makes sense to only play the most powerful cards, or to play as many as can work together. Modern’s far greater size means there are far more options […]
Oftentimes, new mechanics are set aside, to be discussed only in terms of their impact on cards. Today, I am going to flip the script and go into detail about surveil. This mechanic is the most interesting part of Guilds of Ravnica to me, and while it may not happen immediately, I expect that it will […]
And so, the season comes to a close. While I didn’t get there, I can’t say that this season was a complete bust. As a consummate grinder, the near misses just fuel the competitive fire and are a stark reminder to keep pushing myself. In the meantime, Guilds of Ravnica spoilers roll on. While there are […]
I definitely peaked too soon. There’s no possible way to follow up to last week’s Jurassic Park intro and not look pale in comparison. I can’t even go for the ironic method of pointing out this out, I’ve done that before. My remaining option is to just awkwardly forge ahead and feel relief that the qualification system […]
The article must always have an introduction, and it has to be fresh: the essence of column writing. The short version is you have to draw in the reader’s attention with something new, but that’s a big ask. You have this article series which has a repeating topic area but each article’s content never repeats […]
Another week, another failures to qualify. Yes, plural. Spoiler alert: I didn’t win either PPTQ last weekend. Fortunately, there are still plenty of chances ahead. And more opportunities to find novel introductions for this series. In lighter news, Spirits had a very good weekend. The fact that SCG Baltimore was won by UW Spirits while […]
And now, back to the grind. I skipped last week due to the travel distance involved, but I wasn’t about to miss this week. That said, I want to call out that both PPTQ’s last week were at stores that I didn’t know existed, and one was in a town that as far as I […]
