Two weeks ago I called Abzan Company one of the top decks of the format. Last weekend, in Indianapolis, Abzan Company failed to even crack the Top 32. Instead, the top tables were overrun with copies of Infect and R/G (Tron and Valakut), while Jeskai Control took home the trophy. Today, we’ll analyze the results of […]
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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 […]
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 […]
My friend Chaz has a saying about Modern: “The best games I’ve ever played were in Modern; and the worst games I’ve ever played were in Modern.” It makes sense. One the one hand we’re witnessing what is most likely the single-most diverse Magic format of all time, where every possible archetype and play style […]
I love to brew, and build upwards of ten Modern decks every week. Most of them aren’t very good, which is why I’ve only written about a few on Modern Nexus; I think brewing is a numbers game, so as long as decks like Temur Delver and GRx Moon emerge from a sea of goofier ideas like Temur Rogues, […]
Look, I get it. Sideboarding isn’t sexy. Even if I throw numbers at you, like the fact that close to 66% of the games you play involve a post-sideboard 75, you’ll still work to perfect that starting 60, then find 15 cards to “fill in” a sideboard and call it a day. I’m guilty of […]
Between the Platinum fee changes, the ensuing #PayThePros fallout, and Wizards’ subsequent retraction, it’s no wonder most Magic and Modern players have lost sight of Aaron Forsythe’s seminal article, “Where Modern Goes from Here,” released that same week. Talk about getting overshadowed. I can only imagine how the poor documentarians behind Enter the Battlefield felt […]
Magic is not an exact science. Playstyle, both players’ shuffling techniques, deck composition, and mistakes are just a few variables that you’d need to control or eliminate to get a truly rigorous scientific analysis of deck performance and winning probability. Instead we tend to focus on results and how a deck will play over multiple […]
These days I’m somewhat schizophrenic in my long-distance tournament planning. Usually I make the entirely adult decision to stay home from any GPs or Star City Games Opens requiring a day’s drive or flight. Some quantity of these good decisions are inevitably reneged on when a friend convinces me through last-minute pleading and/or reminders of […]
Modern is full of great creatures. A Goyf by any other name is still a Goyf. And yet, no other Modern creature commands as notoriously high a price tag. As of right now, MTGGoldfish’s data lists Tarmogoyf as Modern’s number-one most-played creature. The first time I read Tarmogoyf myself, after a multiple-year Magic hiatus in 2009, I didn’t […]
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 […]
Who tuned in to watch the Star City Games Milwaukee Open? I was going through some Modern coverage withdrawals since the horrors of Eldrazi Winter, and I deliberately blocked off time to enjoy as much of the Day 1, Day 2, and Top 8 action as possible. Milwaukee did not disappoint! With one of the […]
Testing. It is the soul of tournament play. Honing and crafting your deck and play, optimizing them to dominate the competition. The eternal quest for the glory of victory on the back of your own creation! It is this siren’s call that keeps us playing and the dream that drives us forward. Of course, anyone who […]
