Last week, I wrote about the possible directions companions go in Modern now that their rules have been changed. It seems there has been plenty of stretching to make companion work despite the nerf, and today, we’ll take a look at some of the breakout decks wielding Yorion, Sky Nomad. Here’s a quote from my […]

In the wake of the companion nerf, in which Wizards announced the creatures would cost an additional 3 mana to tutor from the sideboard, David penned a piece discussing the pros and cons of keeping companions as companions given their hefty new price tag. Today, I’ll expand upon that idea, looking more closely at where […]

Here we are again: another set, another set of problems, and another banning… oh wait, nothing’s getting banned in Modern. Awkward. And more to the point, a waste of a perfectly good rant setup. Why am I even bothering… oh right, something else happened this time around. And it is consequential. Though not in the […]

Another week of data, another update to the Ikoria metagame. The trends had been moving towards companion stabilizing in Modern. Last week, the individual companion cards seemed volatile in terms of usage, but the mechanic itself appeared to have achieved saturation. We observed some signs suggesting that companions might be been fading in Modern, which […]

When working with data, scale is everything. Just as an area looks very different when using Google Streetview versus Google Maps, the context, meaning, trends, and ultimately the conclusions reached from the data will depend heavily on the scale it’s examined on. This is the reason that economics is split between micro and macro level […]

In the absence of data, speculation and rumor thrive. It’s time to correct that problem with a deep data dive. I have been collecting metagame data for the past month, and today I’m going to share my findings. The rhetoric about companions has been flying thick since they were revealed, but their actual impact was […]

Modern is on fire. I’ve come to expect this declaration every time there’s a noticeable shift in the format. Sometimes it’s justified. Sometimes it isn’t. And sometimes its semi-literal. Burn appears to be dominating Modern at the moment. Red decks have been doing well since Oko, Thief of Crowns was banned, but it was Prowess […]

*Sigh* Oh, Magic Online. It is only now, with paper Magic shut down, that I am forced to regularly use you. And remember that I love/hate you. The ability to pick up and play my preferred format anytime, and against anyone in the world, is a true joy. Having to navigate your stubbornly obtuse command schemes […]

Well that was fast. It’s only been two months since Oko, Thief of Crowns was banned. It’s pretty rare for Wizards to issue Modern bans in consecutive announcements, except for during emergencies like Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis’s reign of terror. So I wasn’t actually expecting anything to happen in Modern. However, last Thursday, that changed; I […]

As a new sets come out, the entire Magic writing world speculates on the spoilers. Why wouldn’t we? There’s not always much else going on during spoiler season, and brewing with new cards and ideas is a significant part of the game’s appeal. Plus, if Wizards is going to hand us easy content, it would […]

Another event, another set of data, another reexamination of the Modern metagame. As the time of actual Modern Opens and Grand Prix approaches, Modern players are increasingly seeking to find the new rules for the format and whatever edge they can. I’ll be tracking those changes as the data comes in, looking for developments and […]

Last week, we made a forecast about Modern in 2020. And with a starting point established, we can now begin tracking developments! I previously concluded that the SCG circuit was overplaying Amulet Titan, and that Modern players were forgetting to pack their graveyard hate. This week, I will be adding to the data with additional […]

Everything has to begin somewhere. The Modern metagame is no exception, and last week I used the MTGO metagame as a bellwether for the emerging format. The five decks I examined have done well online. However, as I noted, the data isn’t necessarily accurate or indicative of what players will encounter at a Modern event. […]