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 […]
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A scratching at the window. A fluttering of tiny wings. A grating of jagged teeth. Does anyone else hear what I hear? Perhaps 2020 is Delver’s year! Okay, so maybe I’m jumping the gun a bit. But there sure is a lot of Delver in the recent dumps. Today, we’ll look at the different varieties […]
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 […]
Just when I figure out an Oko shell I like, Wizards drops the hammer on the card I’d built around! Not that I think Oko was particularly balanced in Modern; I did endorse the walker as my candidate of choice as face of the 2020 metagame, after all. Fortunately for me, plenty more Modern game-changers […]
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, […]
Theros: Beyond Death spoilers are well underway. David covered the heavy-hitters earlier this week, but more cards have been revealed, and the set seems packed full of low-level goodies that stand to very marginally improve some of Modern’s many strategies. Let’s take a look at at some of the most underrated tech in the new […]
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 […]
Full bellies? Droopy eyes? Scrolling and clicking? It’s the new year, all right! But why focus on the future when we could dwell on the past? Read on for an after-holiday treat: the spiciest brews to come out of 2019’s death throes. Technologic Urza and Oko might be hogging the spotlight, but artifacts have a […]
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 […]
With the new year just days away, every Modern player’s got something on their mind: which new goodies will we get next? What’s the deal with Pioneer? How are winning grinders tweaking their decks going into 2020? While we’ll cover all that in the coming weeks, today I want to focus in on the format […]
Editor’s note: 2019 was perhaps Modern’s wildest year ever, featuring such meta-defining decks as UR Phoenix, Hogaak, and Whirza thanks to monumental shakeups in the form of Modern Horizons and other expansions. That chaos wasn’t without its constants, including one critical element of new spoilers: card evaluation. In this re-run of my favorite self-published article […]
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 […]
Ho, ho, ho! Welcome to another edition of Modern Top 5, this one held together by tinsel-thin Christmas allusions. Although it’s no “illusion” which color’s on top at this year’s end! Today, we’ll break down the format’s piniest players. Trimming the Tree Our first gift is actually a hand-me-down: an older Modern Top 5 metric […]
