Krark-Clan Ironworks is now banned in Modern. Despite its dominance on the tournament scene, though, the deck failed to stamp out the format’s trademark diversity and innovation. Plenty of decks and deckbuilders brought exciting new tech to the tables this month, and we’ll ring in the new year right by unearthing some of it today. Tempo: […]

Alright Monday, what you got this time? Wow. They actually banned something for once. And something very significant at that. Even better, there’s an in-depth explanation attached. This certainly demands a deeper dive. I’ll start with the obvious part: nothing got unbanned. I’m sorry for those who have their hearts set on playing with Stoneforge […]

Another banlist announcement is just around the corner. While the last few announcements have proven unfruitful, I believe this time will be different; after all, it is January, and Wizards has a history of shaking up Modern around this time. I’m anticipating at least one unban, and wouldn’t be surprised if a ban occurred as […]

Editor’s note: from Humans to Ironworks to Arclight Phoenix, 2018 saw Modern’s power level rise dramatically. This year, deckbuilders learned to balance tension in their brews to devastating effect. Today’s article is a re-run of what I consider my most relevant article to that metagame development. Happy holidays! The Modern community is ruthless in its […]

The Modern metagame cycles, though the process is slow and hard to see. This complicates determining which trends are just flashes in the pan and which must be accounted for and adapted to. Metagame-specific decks, like Death and Taxes at GP Las Vegas 2017, can look like real decks, at times frustrating players trying to […]

It’s easy to identify with Ravnica’s guilds. The plane owes much of its popularity to that simple fact. In Modern, where color fixing is better than any other constructed format, players have more often aligned themselves with shards or wedges, such as Jund and Jeskai. But these days, decks tend to be defined less by […]

The competitive drive always burns, no matter how many setbacks I suffer. After all, what’s the point in doing anything unless you strive to improve and grow? So, it’s once more into the breach for the last PPTQ. I failed to win a PPTQ this year, but that didn’t mean giving up on making the […]

New aggro decks in Modern tend to be streamlined synergy machines full of critters. But “goodstuff”-style creature decks à la Jund, which wield Modern’s known best cards, do slip through occasionally. Perhaps the best-known example of this phenomenon is Traverse Shadow, a deck that blew Modernites away when it first reared its head over a […]

As the metagame shifts, decks rise and fall. Sometimes, that churning is explosive. Such events are exciting and foster discussion and articles. However, it is important to remember to temper excitement with reason. Spikes and oscillations are just that, and only matter if they’re sustained. After Golgari Grave-Troll was banned, Dredge dropped out of sight. […]

How many times have you heard something you disagree with? How often has it pertained to Modern? My answer to both questions is plenty. Lately, none spur me into debate more than the claims that countermagic is bad and midrange is dead. In this article, we’ll debunk each of these myths by examining theory, decklists, […]

The metagame constantly cycles and decks rise and fall. Last year, Grixis Death’s Shadow was the deck-to-beat in Modern; today, it’s Humans. Sometimes, this fluctuation occurs because of players reacting to new decks or trends; sometimes, it’s because of new printings. With the release of Guilds of Ravnica, Modern seems poised for a major shift thanks to […]

Another missed PPTQ means more time to test. In addition to refining my own decks, I’ve been looking into Modern’s hot discussion topics. We’ve seen time and again that Modern’s cardpool hides monstrous decks just missing a piece or two to become major players. Several such decks have recently emerged that appear to have found […]

Modern’s current aggro decks are led by two governing forces: Hollow One and Vengevine. While sometimes played in the same deck, these cards each helm their own archetypes, and continue the big-creatures-quick tradition established at Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch by Thought-Knot Seer and Reality Smasher. At Pro Tour 25th Anniversary, Hollow One and Bridgevine […]