Abzan Company | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com Play More, Win More, Pay Less Tue, 18 Jan 2022 02:17:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.quietspeculation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/favicon.png Abzan Company | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com 32 32 Modern Horizons and the Road Ahead https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/05/modern-horizons-and-the-road-ahead/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/05/modern-horizons-and-the-road-ahead/#comments Fri, 17 May 2019 14:15:13 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=92750

Chris makes his final picks before Modern Horizons spoiler season starts this weekend.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/05/modern-horizons-and-the-road-ahead/feed/ 1 A Curious Trend: GP Vegas Prep https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/06/curious-trend-gp-vegas-prep/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/06/curious-trend-gp-vegas-prep/#respond Wed, 07 Jun 2017 16:00:14 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=14535 By the time this article goes live, it will be just over a week and a half until the Modern portion of Grand Prix Las Vegas. To close a previous thread, yes, I am going and yes, I did win two byes. Not because I actually won a GPT (I have a habit of getting […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/06/curious-trend-gp-vegas-prep/feed/ 0 Beginner’s Guide: Managing Deck Complexity https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/05/managing-deck-complexity-beginners-guide/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/05/managing-deck-complexity-beginners-guide/#comments Tue, 30 May 2017 21:15:34 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=14488

Welcome back to the Beginner's Guide. Once again, it is time for some general advice for those making the transition from Standard to Modern. As always, my intention is to provide a foundation for newer players to build on. Once this is established, only then are you ready to talk about all the nuance that aficionados […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/05/managing-deck-complexity-beginners-guide/feed/ 2 Mana Heals All Wounds: Exploring Vizier Company https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/05/mana-heals-all-wounds-exploring-vizier-company/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/05/mana-heals-all-wounds-exploring-vizier-company/#comments Fri, 19 May 2017 16:00:01 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=14408 When Amonkhet spoiled, Vizier of Remedies sparked interest among Modern players as a possible redundancy boost to Abzan Company, the grandchild of beloved Modern archetype pillar Birthing Pod. It's been nearly a month now since the set was released to Modern, and Vizier seems to have succeeded in improving Abzan Company... as well as in spawning some Company variants […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/05/mana-heals-all-wounds-exploring-vizier-company/feed/ 3 Deck of the Week: GW Eldrazi Evolution https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/03/dotw-gw-eldrazi-evolution/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/03/dotw-gw-eldrazi-evolution/#comments Tue, 14 Mar 2017 00:15:44 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=13614 Greetings, Nexites. I'm deep in the middle of the late-February/early-March metagame update, which I will have for you by the end of the week. In the meantime, I'm highlighting an innovative take on the Eldrazi tribe that was taken to a 5-0 finish in an MTGO League. We've seen a large number of decks sporting Eldrazi creatures […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/03/dotw-gw-eldrazi-evolution/feed/ 4 Fair Combo: A Beginner’s Guide https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/02/fair-combo-beginners-guide/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/02/fair-combo-beginners-guide/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2017 17:30:38 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=13318

Welcome, once again, to the Beginner's Guide. My quest to explain the general deck types in Modern is winding down, with only the Ramp and unusual archetypes to come. As you no doubt surmised either through pattern recognition or just reading the title, this week is about the fair combo decks. Hopefully this will not come as […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/02/fair-combo-beginners-guide/feed/ 2 Modern Metagame Breakdown: 1/1/2017 – 2/5/2017 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/02/metagame-breakdown-jan-17/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/02/metagame-breakdown-jan-17/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2017 07:13:06 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=13220

On January 9th, Wizards of the Coast brought the heavy weight of the banhammer down upon Modern, attempting to target several linear decks that ranked among the best-performing archetypes during 2016. On the one hand we had the aggressive, explosive creature combos with a gotcha! element, headlined by Infect. On the other hand we had Dredge, taxing […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/02/metagame-breakdown-jan-17/feed/ 11 A First Glance at Aether Revolt Modern https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/01/first-glance-aether-revolt-modern/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/01/first-glance-aether-revolt-modern/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2017 18:30:00 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=13020 The first major event after a new set is released is both very significant, and yet worthless for the analyst. On the one hand, this is the first glimpse the world gets at where the wider metagame is heading. On the other, it is a single data point in an entirely new experimental condition. In […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/01/first-glance-aether-revolt-modern/feed/ 12 Modern Metagame Breakdown: 9/1/16 – 9/30/16 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/10/modern-metagame-breakdown-sep-16/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/10/modern-metagame-breakdown-sep-16/#comments Fri, 14 Oct 2016 20:27:55 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=11917 Last month we saw three major Modern Grand Prix around the world post a metagame breakdown that mirrored almost exactly the one established in July. Paradoxically, September had both far fewer high-profile events and much more significant shifts in share percentage. I believe these were the result of careful and systematic re-positioning by Modern players, with the intent […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/10/modern-metagame-breakdown-sep-16/feed/ 13 Observations from an IQ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/07/observations-iq/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/07/observations-iq/#comments Tue, 12 Jul 2016 16:00:27 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=10440 Rejoice Nexites, for the Modern PPTQ season fast approaches! The Modern Pro Tour may be gone but at least we still have an entire season to grind away for our shot at the big stage. While the season doesn't actually kick off for most until the end of the month, I got a taste of […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/07/observations-iq/feed/ 8 Deck of the Week: Chord Toolbox https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/07/deck-of-the-week/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/07/deck-of-the-week/#comments Mon, 11 Jul 2016 16:30:56 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=10432 We're trying something new here at Modern Nexus for the Monday slot. I'd like to use this day's publication for a Deck of the Week feature, where I'll scour the internet for an interesting or innovative build that recently put up results. My aim is to spotlight the unfamiliar and less dominant archetypes here, so […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/07/deck-of-the-week/feed/ 14 The Colors of Modern – Part Five: Green https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/06/colors-modern-part-five-green/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/06/colors-modern-part-five-green/#comments Thu, 30 Jun 2016 16:00:44 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=10267

Welcome to the final installment of Colors of Modern! This is a five-part series of articles focused on analyzing the varying impact each color in Magic has upon Modern, based on the individual cards that see play in the format and, to a broader extent, the archetypes made possible by these cards. Check out the […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/06/colors-modern-part-five-green/feed/ 5 Forgotten Tech: Part One https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/06/forgotten-tech-part-one/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/06/forgotten-tech-part-one/#comments Mon, 20 Jun 2016 16:00:51 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=10099 It annoys me greatly when I hear people derisively discuss the size of the Modern cardpool. The typical conversation revolves around deriding some odd card choice in someone's deck because it isn't "good enough" to see play in Modern or dismissing someone's brew because it "has no staying power." Part of me is always angered […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/06/forgotten-tech-part-one/feed/ 9 The Colors of Modern – Part 3: Black https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/06/colors-modern-part-3-black/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/06/colors-modern-part-3-black/#comments Thu, 16 Jun 2016 16:00:56 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=10059 Two weeks ago I began a five-part series of articles focused on analyzing the varying impact each color in Magic has upon Modern, based on the individual cards that see play in the format and, to a broader extent, the archetypes made possible by these cards. If you missed last week’s article on blue, check […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/06/colors-modern-part-3-black/feed/ 2 Metagame Guide to May’s Grand Prix Weekend https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/05/metagame-guide-mays-grand-prix-weekend/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/05/metagame-guide-mays-grand-prix-weekend/#comments Wed, 18 May 2016 16:00:17 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=9547 So. Much. Modern. I can barely update the Top Decks spreadsheet fast enough to keep pace! Since May 1st, we've had two Star City Games Opens, over 55 events from the SCG States and Provincial Championships, another batch of 50+ events from TCGplayer's State circuit, and dozens of online and paper tournaments in between. The […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/05/metagame-guide-mays-grand-prix-weekend/feed/ 28 Why Abzan Company Is Winning (And How to Beat It) https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/05/abzan-company-winning-beat/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/05/abzan-company-winning-beat/#comments Thu, 05 May 2016 16:00:07 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=9348 This past weekend at the SCG Open in Milwaukee, Abzan Company took home three Top 8 spots and the winner’s trophy. No other archetype even came close. Only three other archetypes, RG Tron, Infect and Jund, managed to get two copies inside the Top 16. Weeks ago, I pointed to Abzan Company as the clear […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/05/abzan-company-winning-beat/feed/ 7 Insider: Now or Never – My Final Modern Specs Before the Pro Tour https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/02/insider-now-or-never-my-final-modern-specs-before-the-pro-tour/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2016/02/insider-now-or-never-my-final-modern-specs-before-the-pro-tour/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2016 11:00:14 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=69797

The Pro Tour is days away and the time to buy cards before the tournament is dwindling. Adam shares insight into some potential specs he has identified.

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