The time after a set release or a major ban is always exciting. The format is in flux, the metagame undefined, and everything seems playable. This is even more true right now, thanks to the ban taking away a metagame pillar. This has in turn renewed interest in Modern, bringing an influx of players and […]

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 […]

This is an odd feeling for me. For all its flaws, the PPTQ system meant that grinders like me always had competitive level events to grind and keep our skills sharp. The MCQ system is functionally the same as the old PTQ system, which means very few events and very spread out. Since I’m a […]

New metagames can be hard to pin down, as fresh cards lead to new brews and new tech, forcing established decks to adapt. This forces the new decks to adapt to the new pressure, and their success or failure creates ripples through the metagame. With War of the Spark and Modern Horizons released in quick succession, Modern […]

Modern Horizons becomes legal today in the paper world, but it’s been tearing up Magic Online for a good week. Wizards has published two events since then: a Modern Challenge and a league. Today, we’ll scour each for the hottest tech stirring up the format. Scourge of the Format? In the very first Horizons-featuring event […]

Chris makes his final picks before Modern Horizons spoiler season starts this weekend.

We’re awash in information and spoilers from War of the Spark, and that means price movements in response. Christopher looks at the notable trends to recommend some pickups.

Assumptions and collectively-held beliefs are fickle and powerful things. They can affect perception and, in a way, become reality if unchallenged. Therefore, it is critical for the skeptical mind to evaluate and investigate these ideas for validity, especially in the wake of recent bannings. After being challenged on long-held beliefs about Splinter Twin’s effect on […]

Krark-Clan Ironworks is now banned in Modern. Despite its dominance on the tournament scene, though, the deck failed to stamp out the format’s trademark diversity and innovation. Plenty of decks and deckbuilders brought exciting new tech to the tables this month, and we’ll ring in the new year right by unearthing some of it today. Tempo: […]

It’s finally time for another banlist testing report. Back in May, readers chose Green Sun’s Zenith as the next banned card to test, which I’ll just call GSZ from here on out. I’ve spent the intervening months grinding games and recording results to test its effect on Modern. This week, I’ll explain my test procedure, […]

Along with Affinity, Burn and Infect once made up the Holy Trinity of blitzing wins in Modern. Times have certainly changed. The Affinity we knew now relinquishes most of its shares to Hardened Scales; Infect’s loss of Gitaxian Probe and inherent softness to Fatal Push put a serious dent in its former reign; Burn has […]

For this week, Eddie brings more Guilds of Ravnica spoiler talk and a dive into one of Magic’s newest formats to crop up, Premodern.