Another missed PPTQ means more time to test. In addition to refining my own decks, I’ve been looking into Modern’s hot discussion topics. We’ve seen time and again that Modern’s cardpool hides monstrous decks just missing a piece or two to become major players. Several such decks have recently emerged that appear to have found […]
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Modern’s current aggro decks are led by two governing forces: Hollow One and Vengevine. While sometimes played in the same deck, these cards each helm their own archetypes, and continue the big-creatures-quick tradition established at Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch by Thought-Knot Seer and Reality Smasher. At Pro Tour 25th Anniversary, Hollow One and Bridgevine […]
After a week off, it’s time to get back on the grind. While there were PPTQ’s last week, they were well outside my willingness to travel. I instead used that time to refine my decks and get a feel for where the metagame was going. I intended to hit both Modern PPTQ’s this weekend, but […]
There’s a new Delver in town, and this one doesn’t need delirium or a white splash to put the hurting on opponents as of turn one. All it requires is a single, generic mana and an appetite for attacking. Meet Bomat Courier, my latest addition to Temur Delver. Noah Walker’s breakout Legacy performance with post-ban Grixis […]
I’ve spoken about Krark-Clan Ironworks on several occasions now, but continued testing has reinforced my belief that many Modern players don’t really understand how it works. The combo itself is incredibly complicated once it gets going, and as a result, players frequently misplay. But the strategy’s true strength isn’t its density, but how much Engineered […]
Novel Modern decks have historically surfaced by tapping into a previously undiscovered combo card—examples include Second Sunrise, Krark-Clan Ironworks, and Amulet of Vigor. But lately, format newcomers are firmly rooted in the combat camp. It seems Modern is beginning to revolve around streamlined aggro decks; consider tribal strategies such as Humans and Spirits, engine abusers like […]
Another PPTQ season, another few months trying to claw my way back to the Pro Tour. Or another opportunity to really analyze my game and try to find new areas to improve upon. I’ve been grinding a long time, and have come to adjust my expectations while maintaining ambition. Usually, PPTQ seasons begin in central […]
Many remember the new Pod-less, Cruise-less Modern as one of the format’s golden ages. In those days, the Twin vs. BGx metagame was defined as much by its helming midrange decks as by the “Big Three” aggro-combo strategies that forced players into so much interaction at all: Infect, Burn, and Affinity. Affinity has always boasted […]
The Modern PPTQ season starts this weekend for me. Just like last year, I will be documenting my grind for the RPTQ invite, with all the lessons learned and deck tweaks that entails. Hopefully this edition doesn’t go the whole season, but that’s Magic. In this kick-off article, I will be examining the metagame with an […]
Good ol’ Delver of Secrets. For as long as this little Human/Insect has been around, people have been trying to make him work in Modern. The format has reasonable interactive spells alongside a decent supporting cast of threats, but one problem has persisted: the lack of good cantrips. A tight banned list prohibiting the use […]
Mardu Pyromancer and Ironworks are wildly successful Modern decks right now, and for good reason: the former attacks from multiple angles while making excellent use of the format’s premier abusable resource, the graveyard; the latter is an artifact-based combo deck that’s at once tricky to disrupt and unintuitive to play against for most opponents. So […]
The Modern PPTQ season begins at the end of July. For consummate grinders like myself, this is a call to break out the tech and start polish decks. It’s also a call to start playtesting, both to understand how my own deck works and to understand how other decks operate. One of the greatest challenges […]
Modern experienced a relative lull in new blood a little after Dominaria’s release. But the format appears to be bouncing back, as the last couple weeks have yielded some great decklists. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the more intriguing candidates. Culling the 5-0s Brews often pop up in the 5-0 […]
