If one alludes to an article, one needs to follow-through. In literature, the principle is known as Chekov’s Gun. Last week, I created expectations for an article about my experiences testing Humans, so this week I have to actually write that article. Which is fortunate; I’ve tested enough that I’m able to discuss the various […]
Brewing
As the paper release date for Modern Horizons 2 approaches, brewing and testing new decks is kicking into high gear. Players are eager to display their creations and figure out what Modern actually looks like after a year with paper play and numerous new sets. The online metagame is as always suggestive, but provably inbred […]
All decks aren’t created equal: some are Splinter Twin, others are Mono-Green Aura Stompy. The same goes for every set: some are Dominaria, others Legions. Thus, the impact of every new set will be felt unequally both by Modern as a whole and by individual decks. Not every set can have Modern-playable cards, and not every […]
It’s time for that quarterly tradition of reviewing the latest spoilers! Which for the past few iterations has been oddly trepidatious. Prior to 2019, Modern never had to worry about a new set coming out. We maybe had one or two cards make lasting impressions, which kept the format stable. Then Wizards seemed to lose […]
Shortly after the card became legal, I ran a piece on Scourge of the Skyclaves that illustrated the many homes it was sure to find (and had already tried out) in Modern. Of those, Rakdos Prowess has risen head-and-shoulders above the rest of the competition, that build now rebranded as Scourge Shadow. Still, as a […]
Halfway through the month, October seems to be following in September’s footsteps, giving us new decks from the new cards and interesting takes on existing archetypes. Today, we’ll look at developments in ramp, midrange, fish, and combo. Let’s get to it! Come Om, Come All Omnath, Locus of Creation is more than just a Standard […]
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 […]
A house is not a home, they say, and what is Modern if not a format that houses some of the baddest cards banned from Standard? Well, it’s also got Standard newcomers, be they banned or not. And one among them has had its heart set on turning our beloved format into its own sweet […]
Magic can get weird at times. There are utterly incomprehensible cards like Ice Cauldron. Sometimes it’s rules weirdness, like Blood Sun not stopping Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth’s ability. Other times it’s a deck that makes no sense, like Inverter of Truth combo. And sometimes it’s because of logical paradoxes and other contradictory truths. Case in […]
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 […]
Zendikar Rising spoilers are officially underway! That also means summer is ending… but what great outdoor plans did we have that weren’t ruined by a global pandemic anyway? There’s never been a better time to forget about real-life exploration and lock ourselves inside to peruse new cards at a glowing computer screen! Flip Top Rising’s […]
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 […]
August seems like the Month of Stoneforge, with recent format adjustments suddenly favoring the once-banned underdog. At the same time, blue mages lacking a taste for steel are finding their way in this shuffled metagame. Read on to explore the more exciting developments in Modern this month! Blade Runner 2020 As David noted last week, […]
