Last week, an old Magic buddy texted me out of the blue, asking if I was interested in going to SCG Baltimore at the end of the month to play some live Modern. My first reaction: “Can’t do it, I’ve got way too much going on…” But then I remembered that it’s summer, and I […]

Last week, I suggested Grixis Death’s Shadow as one of a shortlist of archetypes that I felt was strongly positioned against the major players in the format. A combination of disruption, cheap threats, and a proactive gameplan that can mold to fit a variety of matchups seemed very appealing in a Modern format full of […]

I’m not one to play the “best deck.” Usually, that’s because I’m packing some form of control, tempted by the cruel mistress that is card advantage. Oftentimes, this obsession translates directly into uphill battles and short Saturdays, but that’s neither here nor there. Still, my time spent attacking the format from the outside has given […]

Sideboarding is without a doubt one of the most essential and difficult-to-master skills in Magic: The Gathering. In tournament Magic, you play more sideboard games than pre-sideboard games by a wide margin, and the difference between sideboarding well and sideboarding poorly will frequently be a deciding factor in your eventual match result. In a format as wide […]

You sit down to fill out the last few slots of your generic three-color midrange brew. You’ve responsibly dedicated seven slots to removal; now what? You’ve heard Lightning Bolt is good, but is it really the best option in 2017? What’s a mage to do? Today, we’ll be using theory and analysis in combination to […]

Most of my articles are related to the financial aspects of Magic, and this one won’t stray too far, at least in spirit. Building Storm is an inexpensive way for a player to get into Modern without giving up much on the competitive front. I honestly believe this deck is a great option right now. I […]

It’s a crazy time to be a disruption-plus-clock player in Modern. The options seem limitless, even if they also seem to point back at Death’s Shadow. Messing around with Shadow in a Temur Delver deck for the last couple weeks has made me a slobbery wet one, nostalgic for the glory days of 4/4 tramplers and […]

Since my article last week detailing why I think Esper Control is strongly positioned in Modern, I’ve been tweaking and tuning my list online. In the process I’ve learned a great deal about both the archetype and the current state of Modern. Today, we’ll be digging deeper into the archetype, discussing my current list, finer […]

If you want to play control in Modern this week, Grixis is not the answer. Corey Burkhart has an excellent list that he’s been using to great success, and if you’ve read my articles over the past couple weeks by now you’re familiar with my thoughts on the archetype. Unfortunately the word is out, and […]

I’ll be honest, this is not the article I was planning on for this week. I had planned to start rolling out my Jace, the Mind Sculptor results but I’ve run into a problem. Last time, a lot of you asked for more in-depth statistical analysis of the results and I decided to oblige. The […]

It’s been a while, but it’s time for another tournament report! TCGPlayer States was last weekend and I never miss the chance to prove my skill in front of the as much of the community that didn’t attend the Standard LCQ. It’s annoying that Star City has cut States entirely, but it’s actually a nice throwback to […]

Grixis Control has received a surprising amount of attention recently, due in large part to Corey Burkhart’s continued work on the archetype, and Shaheen Soorani’s recent adoption of the strategy. For those wondering about Richie Sledz’s 4th-place finish at the SCG Open in Indianapolis, look no further. His deck was almost a direct copy of […]

Confession time: I’m a Cheeri0s guy. No, not the cereal, although I’ve been known to start off the day with a bowl of Honey Nut goodness. I’m talking about Modern Cheeri0s, the speediest combo deck in the format. The blistering fast engine combo has been my back-burner deck since 2013 when Paladin was running solo. Then Aether […]