Wow. There are bannings, and then there are bannings. This was definitely the latter. Wizards looked at non-Standard Constructed, saw that it was poor, and nuked it. All of it, Historic, Pioneer, Legacy, and most importantly, Modern. Vintage also saw an unbanning. Because somebody had to get thrown a bone. Monday morning, Wizards dropped the largest […]
titan of nature’s wrath
And now, to formally close the books on a terrible year. Yes, it is in fact 2021; time did truly progress, and we’re not trapped in a Doctor Who-style loop. However, a new month means a new metagame update, which means that I must remind everyone of the past year. Sorry! The data set is […]
Final article of the year! Good riddance, 2020. Hopefully, things start to turn around quickly and we can have the gathering part of Magic: The Gathering back again. But, this isn’t about a virus or vaccine. Today, I have business that must be finished before 2021 begins. For the third year running, it’s time to update my […]
It’s important to consider alternative solutions to any problem. No matter how clear the solution to a given problem may be to you, never discount the possibility of other perspectives offering insight. Or that biases can blind to us to potential solutions. Either way, entertaining alternatives can get the creative juices flowing. Which is why […]
My last article was about Scourge of the Skyclaves… and it still opened by acknowledging that Modern’s general narrative currently revolves around Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath. Yes, Uro is everywhere, and Modern players seem up on the fact that it’s incredibly strong—if they aren’t playing it, they’re finding ways to beat it, or more […]
Continuing on with article types that have been vanishingly rare this year, it’s time to look at the lessons from a specific tournament. I haven’t done this since February because there just haven’t been any Modern tournaments. Wizards has neglected every other format in order to push Arena. Which means that other competitive formats have been neglected. […]
Alright, now. Everybody exhale. Last week is over. We can all try to grind our way through the rest of the year. We’ve been through enough already. Now it’s time for some lighter fare, especially the kind that used to be my bread and butter. Then, the lockdown rendered then impossible. I am of course […]
Zendikar Rising has had a notable effect on Modern, but it’s been mostly positive. Whether it’s making Death and Taxes finally viable or shaking up the Prowess decks, the new additions seem to be providing the right incentives without being oppressive. However, one card is drawing ire, mostly by association rather than anything it’s actually […]
The second half of September 2020 brought us swaths of new decks, as Zendikar Rising did more than its fair share in shaking up the Modern metagame. Today, we’ll explore new combo options and view the myriad directions ramp strategies are starting to take. Kombo Krazy We’ll start with Belcher, a deck that recently received […]
New sets always inspire brewing and changes of pace, but this month, I was pleased to see that some of the ideas I’ve had about future metagame developments seem to be more realistic than I’d thought! If these decks have legs now, imagine what they’ll look like when Zendikar Rising drops… maybe quite similar, and […]
Ah, spoiler season. The time when I don’t have to stretch myself doing statistical work. Just looking at the new cards, doing some basic analysis, and speculating about whether there’s a place in Modern for them. Simple and low-pressure, just what this year’s called for. Then, something had to come in a ruin everything: a […]
It’s the start of a new month, and that means it’s time for a new metagame update. Yes, I do intend this to be a regular monthly feature. Based on how discussions are going, there’s never been a greater need for clear data. Additionally, I’ve been doing it piecemeal via events for quite some time […]
Earlier in the month, we saw Stoneforge Mystic come to form the backbone not just of popular UW and Stoneblade decks, but of Colossus Hammer combo decks and bulkier flash strategies. Blue aggro-control decks also had an interesting month, with Arclight Phoenix making a comeback and Devotion to Blue rearing its head. The latter trend […]
