Note: This article was supposed to go up yesterday. Our server troubles prevented that. I really liked the opening I wrote. Pretend it’s still July 4th for me, please. Happy Fireworks Day, America! As you celebrate America’s birthday through the medium of smoldering craters as Ben Franklin intended, remember: safety first. The Founding Fathers spent […]

Modern is going through something of a shake-up right now. Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen the status quo turned on its head with the rise, and subsequent fall, of Grixis Death’s Shadow. For months before Grixis’ ascension, weekly results were the same bland mini-variation of Affinity, Dredge, and Eldrazi Tron. Death’s Shadow Jund […]

SCG Charlotte is in the books. Grixis Shadow and Eldrazi Tron were the tournament’s clear winners, both in terms of representation and apparent power. But while everyone was distracted by that onslaught of under-costed threats, a smaller tournament was underway. Despite being won by Grixis Shadow, the Charlotte Classic yielded a few especially sweet brews, […]

I like winning as much as the next guy. Maybe even more. That’s why, since even before the Gitaxian Probe ban, I’ve brought Colorless Eldrazi Stompy to three local tournaments a week. In doing so, I’ve racked up more store credit than I know what to do with, and gained a reputation around Boston as […]

When Amonkhet spoiled, Vizier of Remedies sparked interest among Modern players as a possible redundancy boost to Abzan Company, the grandchild of beloved Modern archetype pillar Birthing Pod. It’s been nearly a month now since the set was released to Modern, and Vizier seems to have succeeded in improving Abzan Company… as well as in spawning some Company variants […]

For all their clickbait connotations, “best of” lists have always resonated with the Magic community. Something about us—perhaps as spell-slingers, or maybe just as humans—simply adores scrolling through a list… whether that scrolling induces nods of agreement, disapproving tsk-tsks, or furious keyboard mashing. Modern Top 5 is a series I’m starting today in honor of that infatuation. It will cover […]

As I said last week, an opinion is worthless without evidence. This means that I have to actually test whether my initial opinions about Amonkhet cards are valid. I am starting to think I need to keep my pen quiet more often, as this is now a much bigger project than I envisioned. Last week I […]

Idle speculation accomplishes nothing. Speculation is just untested opinion, and is therefore invalid. With that in mind, I’ve decided to test my opinions about Gideon of the Trials and find out if my initial impressions actually hold weight. I don’t have enough data to make any definitive conclusion, but my testing should shine some light on Gideon’s […]

I’ve been playing a ton of MTGO recently (mostly with Esper Control) and have come across some…strange decks. Seeing a rogue list 5-0 a League event here and there can be a fun distraction from “business as usual,” but most of these lists tend to be “flash in the pan” rather than “harbinger of the […]

Greetings, Nexites. We have some exciting things in the works this week, but today I merely get to bring you another Deck of the Week. Much as I wanted to highlight something novel from Grand Prix San Antonio, it seems an avalanche of Death’s Shadow and Affinity decks were the going fare throughout much of […]

To my mind, few archetypes exemplify the spirit of Modern better than Eggs. For anyone not already familiar with the deck, just looking at a list is likely to induce head-scratching and incredulity. Just how, exactly, does this utterly insane pile of unplayable chaff win a game of Magic, our hypothetical newcomer to Modern may ask. […]

Last week, I introduced a new build of Temur Delver that runs black for Death’s Shadow, the Avatar’s partner-in-crime Thoughtseize, and Modern’s shiny new removal spell, Fatal Push. With another week of experience testing under my belt, I have plenty more insights on the deck. This new experience has inspired a few changes to Temur Shadow, and even a new […]

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 […]