With Grand Prix Las Vegas in the books, it’s time to reexamine the metagame. 2,779 players in a single event provides a valuable data crucible. In theory, such an event would produce results very similar to the “real” Modern metagame. In theory. Reality is chaotic, and has given us something far more interesting to dissect: […]

At last, GP Las Vegas is upon us. Unfortunately, work-related complications mean I will not be going. But that won’t stop me from examining the latest Modern results to anticipate the metagame. While these results are not entirely unexpected, interpreting the data with care ensures a more accurate metagame read. The data from the past […]

Another SCG Regionals is in the books, and SCG Con is just days away. It’s an exciting time to be a Modern player, or at least a Modern data hound. Today, we’ll look at some of the cooler lists from Regionals, and I’ll give my thoughts both on the recent success of Colorless Eldrazi Stompy […]

There is an old proverb about the best-laid plans. I intended to examine the results from SCG Regionals this week, but at writing time, they had not been officially posted. The few forum and reddit posts provide patchwork at best data, so that article will have to wait. Instead, I will be discussing how I […]

With hard metagame data being increasingly hard to come by, having several events in a row is a relief. Rather than extrapolation and conjecture, data and fact can guide my recommendations. This string of Star City events will provide an excellent guide for those heading to GP Las Vegas, and preparation and information are the […]

I wasn’t kidding last week when I revealed needing to halve my tech article. Modern’s been a brewer’s paradise ever since the Jace and Bloodbraid unbans, and the last couple weeks of 5-0s have proven especially fruitful. This past week adds another smattering of interesting candidates to the fray. A Whole New Jund(s) First, let’s […]

As Magic tournaments are held and results gathered, certain decks establish themselves as the top contenders, and attract attention from anyone seeking an edge. The format then shifts to combat these best decks as players “metagame” against them. This phenomenon occurs in competitive gaming scenes ranging from small-scale FNMs to Grand Prix and Pro Tours. Correctly […]

Throughout Modern’s history, decks have risen and fallen in popularity. One of the most critical factors driving these shifts on the metagame ladder are changes to the card pool; a new set or a timely edit to the banned and restricted list can send a deck’s stock soaring or tumbling. However, not all of the […]

I fully intended to play in SCG Milwaukee last weekend. I’d been practicing and preparing for weeks, tuned my deck, and even made the travel arrangements. Then the two great powers of plan ruination, unexpected work and bad weather, derailed my plans. However, I’m not one to let all that work go to waste. Instead […]

The phrase “I know it when I see it” is rather cliché and typically unhelpful. It is also frequently true: there are phenomena that are easy to observe and record, but actually defining them is a struggle. For instance, physicists cannot agree on a Grand Unified Theory despite broad agreement on its components; philosophical debates […]

As the metagame continues to settle after the unbans of Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Bloodbraid Elf, an interesting dichotomy has arisen: some players claim that the presence of these powerful four-drops has made the format faster and less interactive, while another sector espouses the opposite belief. I took it upon myself to find out […]

Another weekend, another major event to review: this time, GP Phoenix. The paper metagame continues to be hard to pin down. There are significant changes from SCG Dallas which muddy the waters and makes any projection difficult. There appear to be some trends forming but anything can be a trend when you only have two […]

With SCG Dallas in the books, the process of deciphering the metagame can commence. True, there have been plenty of MTGO results to pore over, but selected lists don’t form a random sample. It’s curated with a goal in mind, and so not every deck has an equal chance of being included. In large tournaments, […]