Today, I figured we’d take a break from brewing and get back to analyzing some pure tournament results. I’m still winning with Spell Queller, but high-level Modern events don’t come around often enough to ignore them completely. This past weekend, Modern got a lot of love in the form of the split-format Star City Games […]

Score one for the budget guys: Elves won the Star City Games Invitational in Somerset, NJ. While Liam Lonergan’s deck still retails for about $800, almost half of the price is in 4 Cavern of Souls and 3 Horizon Canopy. If you’re tight on cash (or waiting for a reprint, like me) you can get away with some […]

One of my favorite things about Modern: the power level is high enough to allow us to play with Lightning Bolt, but low enough for Standard sets to consistently impact the format. Eldritch Moon injected some welcome lifeblood into my pettest deck, Monkey Grow, with Bedlam Reveler. The set also gave a boost to another of my […]

Well, you know what they say: the more things change, the more they stay the same. The month of July saw some metagame shifts portended the month before take concrete form, as the paper shares adjusted to more closely resemble MTGO results. Death’s Shadow Zoo, Dredge, and Eldrazi ascended to Tier 1, replacing Abzan Company and […]

It’s remarkable to think how far both the game of Magic and the culture around Magic have grown recently. What was rare and remarkable yesterday is common today, and old technology and edges are just part of the game. Likewise, old lessons have become integral to how we understand the game, but you’d be hard-pressed […]

Someone who was maybe Ghandi once said, “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” If Modern were a person, it would probably ascribe to this inspiring motto. When Wizards of the Coast took Modern’s Eye, the format repaid them with a beautiful metagame they’re happy to take credit for. The story doesn’t end there, and neither does this desperate analogy; after all, […]

So, you want to play Modern? I’ve been hearing a lot of that lately. Standard players have been flocking into the format since the start of Eldrazi Winter. A good number also flocked out when that anomaly was corrected, but quite a few have stuck around and by my observations seem a bit lost. Modern […]

Let’s clear the air. I want to write about a pet card 1,000 times (à la Day’s Undoing) about as little as you want to read about it. To quote one of the funnier comments on my umpteenth Day’s Undoing article, “This series is like watching a bubble burst in slow motion.” Funny, yeah, but fun for no […]

Some play Magic to win, and others play to have fun. Most players move up and down the spike scale depending on context—the casual nature of certain tournaments provides a perfect backdrop to test wacky ideas. With this principle in mind, I good-naturedly brought a neutered Eldrazi deck to FNM last week that splashed blue and green for playsets of Tarmogoyf, […]

By now, we’ve all rejoiced at the Eye of Ugin banning and rejoiced even harder at Wizards’ reparations. It seems the banlist moderators understand that actions speak louder than words, so instead of issuing a plodding “we messed up!”, they actually gave us some new toys. Apology accepted! Readers know I’ve spent some fine afternoons […]

After weeks of waiting, the time has come! Eldrazi is gone, and we could possibly be on the precipice of a Control Takeover. Before I wake from this dream, I have to do the only thing I know how: analyze! This week, we’ll briefly go over the ban announcement, the immediate impacts, and make some predictions […]

Rejoice, fellow Nexites! The Powers-That-Be have at last stepped in to put an end to Eldrazi Winter. We may at last emerge from the ruins, gaze upon the metagame again with clear eyes and eager hearts, and go forth and enjoy this beautiful new world. Breathe in, good Nexites, and breathe out a great, joyful sigh […]

We are in countdown mode. T-minus one week, and Shadows Over Innistrad releases upon us, bringing with it an Eldrazi banning and good tidings for all boys and girls. The combination of Eldrazi’s removal (good riddance) and the influx of (possible) new cards will undoubtedly shake up Modern for better or for worse, and my […]