Once again, it is time to start rolling out my results from the latest Banlist Test. As usual, I will start with the experimental setup and the unquantifiable results. I know that what most readers care about are the hard numbers, but I’m not done gathering the data yet. That will be coming sometime in […]

This is a very frustrating week for me. You see, I have a very good result to report on and an embarrassingly bad one as well. It’s not the ideal result, but much better than previous weeks. I almost got there, but that just isn’t good enough for me. I’m massively competitive and will never be […]

Another week, another PPTQ, and another failure to qualify. On the one hand, this is nice: I don’t have to actually think about my article week to week. On the other, I’m still not qualified for the RPTQ. With the good comes the bad, I suppose. Anyway, before I get into my tournament, lets talk […]

Another week, another PPTQ, another time I didn’t get there. Which is good news for this article series, bad news for my desire to get back on the Pro Tour. Especially considering the announcement about the PT this season is feeding. Modern is back on the Pro Tour, and I’m elated. Not only will I get […]

Everyone is fixated on Grixis Shadow. And rightly so—the deck is very powerful and has been sitting at the top of every metagame chart since April. And I think this is incorrect. I have some reason to believe that Shadow is a symptom of the metagame, not the cause. The Modern PPTQ season starts at […]

Hey, everyone! I recently got back from the highly anticipated SCG Season One Invitational in Roanoke. While the namesake event did not go well for me with my usual weapon of choice (Jund Shadow), my choice for the Open performed much better. Today I’ll discuss what led me to try my hand at UW Control at […]

The Oracle at Delphi was always correct. Every ancient Greek source confirms this truth. No matter what you asked the Oracle, the answer would accurately foretell the future. However, thanks to surviving prophecies, we now know she owes this accuracy to vagueness. The Oracle answered questions in ways that could mean anything. When asked about the outcome of a battle, […]

Tilt is quite a mighty thing. Re-reading my fevered scrawlings from last week proved deeply concerning. I knew I was unwell, but I didn’t know how unwell. While I’m better now, I may need to refocus before things get worse. Therefore, it’s time to torture myself by beginning another Banlist Test. In Moby Dick, Ishmael goes to sea […]

The line between genius and madness is indistinct. The line between epiphany and world-class tilting-off is blurry. I’m in something of a fugue, and uncertain of where I stand anymore. While I am personally certain of the veracity of my forthcoming statement describing the Modern metagame, my ability to perceive normal reality is compromised. I’ll […]

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 […]

April 24th came and went, and besides some misguided grumbling about Death’s Shadow, most Modern players were content. Without one deck consistently surpassing 10% of the metagame, a “no changes” banlist announcement was easy to predict. But Wizards went the extra mile with this particular announcement, including a blurb about Modern despite choosing not to shake it up. […]

To celebrate the impending release of Amonkhet, I thought it’d be fun to put our brewing caps on this week. I’ll get back to metagame/decklist analysis soon, I’m sure, but recently I’ve been taking a look through the Amonkhet spoiler in the hopes of finding something that tickles my interest. Overall, I haven’t been that enthused. […]

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 […]