Quite the weekend, wasn’t it? A colorless Pro Tour Top 8, a Broncos Super Bowl victory (WOOOOO!!!!!), and also Modern Regionals. Because we mere mortals needed something to do as well. As I’m writing this we’re still waiting for all the Regionals results to be posted (I find it odd that two days after the event […]
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Metagame diversity is my preferred measure of Modern health. More specifically, diversity as determined by the data analysis methods you’ve come to expect from Modern Nexus’ Top Decks and metagame breakdown projects. Let’s get this out of the way early: Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch does not meet those standards. No matter how you parse the Day 1, Day 2, or […]
Modern has always been a creature format. That’s why, despite a lull in play last year, nobody’s ever doubted Path to Exile as a perennial staple. And why dumb beaters like Tarmogoyf find their way to the top tables in the face of Goryo’s Vengeance and Ad Nauseam. Cheap, large bodies command a premium in Modern, and Oath […]
What makes a good event? I’ve been thinking a lot about goals recently, and my developing interest in content production and editing has me looking behind the curtain at the factors at play behind “spectacle” events. For regular readers of my column it should be no surprise that I often branch out in my topics, […]
Brace yourself: the Modern Pro Tour is coming. Between the Oath of the Gatewatch exposition, StarCityGames’ Regional blowout, and Super Bowl Sunday, I’m going to be glued to a screen for every waking weekend hour. Will Affinity, Burn, and Grishoalbrand run riot in Atlanta? Can Von MIller’s defense stuff Cam Newton’s offense on the Levi’s […]
Linear decks may be the current rage in Modern, but control mages are gathering to make their stand. Wizards cited the lack of blue-based diversity as a contributor to their controversial January 18 ban update, and if the Twin refugees have anything to say, Snapcaster and friends will capitalize on the banning to make their […]
Last week’s metagame snapshot article was a big hit, making the January 28 Daily Magic Update and releasing one of the only evidence-based portraits of our new Modern. You can be sure we’ll add to that dataset and revisit it in a few days. For today, instead of taking the Ornithopter’s-eye view to analyze broader metagame forces, we’ll zero […]
Actual comments from my previous article, “A Defense of the Splinter Twin Ban:” “As someone who has played around extensively with a variety of URx decks, I can tell you that in the past four years or so, Twin is the only one I’ve found viable not because the Twin package is so enticing, but […]
While StarCityGames Classic events are normally considered “low-key” when compared to Open Events and Grand Prix, SCG Atlanta proved to be highly valuable for Modern analysis, coming off the heels of the recent Splinter Twin ban. In case you’ve been living under a rock the past week, check out Wizards’ official announcement here and my […]
It hasn’t even been a full week since Twin got buried on the Modern banlist, and although Exarch is still mourning, it’s time for players to buck up and dive into the new metagame. If you play paper Modern, the controversial January 18th announcement went into effect last Friday the 22nd. MTGO folks had to […]
Well, it’s been quite a week hasn’t it? The banning of Splinter Twin really touched a nerve with the whole community. However, that is now firmly behind us and continuing to bemoan (or extoll) that decision adds nothing new or useful. Instead, let us look to the future and answer the burning question: What now? Looking to the immediate future, […]
I made a New Year’s resolution to minimize participation in ban discussions throughout 2016. Modern has more than enough banlist din in Twitch chat, Reddit threads, and article comment sections across the content-sphere. Then the Splinter Twin banning happened. Wizards’ announcement has made it impossible to discuss any aspect of 2016 Modern without some reference […]
My Saturday morning kicks off a lot like yours. I roll out of bed, throw on some Future, have a latte. Get on Facebook. Then, my inbox starts exploding. “Is Modern dead?” “How do you feel about the ban?” Dead? What ban? Wait, there are links. Links from Magic players I’ve never met. The same link, […]
