With Modern Horizons 3 near, the Modern metagame is holding its breath. Players are choosing to play established decks and coast to the metagame’s finish.

I haven’t had to do that many metagame updates for February, it being the month where bans tend to happen. That wasn’t the case this month, though I suspect that the data will add fuel to the banning call fires. I understand, but I’d caution everyone to consider the context before jumping to conclusions. February’s data is defined by the Regional Championships and that created a localized warp.

There is a clear metagame warp in January’s data. However, it appears to be driven less by actual metagame forces than Magic Online being Magic Online.

Time to close the books on 2023. It’s been quite a year. We saw two of the biggest sustained warps in Modern’s history, banned and restricted policy reverted to an earlier form, and we had the first unban since 2019.

With Fury and Up the Beanstalk banned, Modern is set to dramatically change. The data clearly shows how necessary the bans were, though the impact is uncertain.

Modern continues to be dominated to an extreme degree by Scam. There has been innovation in the lower tiers, but it appears that the status quo will persist.

In September, Modern’s metagame developed along the same lines as it did in August. This is not a good thing, and it is getting much worse. David has the data.

August was… unexpected. Wizards threw everyone off with their Ban Day decisions. Bans were expected in Standard (based on Wizards’ own statements) and hoped for in multiple other formats. Instead, Modern and Legacy saw unbans. The impact this has had will be on display in this metagame update.

The Pro Tour strongly reflects the impact of Tales of Middle Earth. Modern’s metagame is warping around the set to an alarming degree. The data is quite clear.

The June Modern Metagame Update is here. New additions have stirred Modern’s mostly stagnant metagame, but that might not be permanent. David has the details.

Despite data indicating the recession of certain negative trends, Modern’s metagame is moving in concerning directions… and towards becoming solved.

The Modern Metagame Update is out. Modern continues to be stable, despite efforts of rogue decks to make a mark. Some unexpected decks did well in May.

April’s Modern metagame data is deceptive. The tale that the numbers suggest isn’t the story that actually happened. David E has the explanation inside.