I grew up around collectible card games. My dad played Star Wars CCG, an incredibly complex, infinitely customizable card game from Decipher. It was the greatest game I never played: I was too young to grasp the game during its heyday. By the time I was old enough to play, Decipher had sadly moved on to […]

One of the biggest questions to come out of GP Charlotte was the viability of Grixis Control. Although Patrick Chapin piloted his deck to a 9th place finish, there were no other Grixis Control representatives in the Top 32, and the deck itself made up just 1.9% of the Day 2 metagame. Chapin is also […]

I didn’t get to tune in to GP Copenhagen this weekend, but from what I’ve seen of the Day 2 metagame, the Top 8/Top 16, and the archived coverage, it was summer Modern at its finest.  Last weekend, we were treated to GP Charlotte with Ad Nauseam in the Top 8 and Elves winning the whole […]

Wizards loves to talk about the openness and diversity of Modern. Both the GP Charlotte and GP Copenhagen Day 2 Metagame Breakdowns made claims like this about the format, stating that Modern was “packed with a diversity of archetypes” and that the breakdown “shows the immense diversity of the Modern format.” Although we Modern players like […]

The internet has a widespread Magic community, but there are still differences when it comes to tournaments and live play. Today we start a journey through live tournaments and metagame breakdowns with an eye on the differences between Europe and America.

GP Charlotte confirmed something I’ve felt about Modern all year: if you’re not casting Tarmogoyf, and you’re not casting Blood Moon, you’re losing. Obviously the rule has exceptions; many linear decks hope to “get under” Goyf and Moon decks by attacking from angles Modern’s interactive top dogs haven’t prepared for. But at the end of the […]

There are many things I love about Magic. The infinite possibilities that come from access to a diverse card pool, branching decisions trees that spread from one singularity, and the delicate balance of resource management. While each Magic format has its own unique qualities and characteristics, the one attribute of Modern I appreciate most is […]

Today Mike Lanigan looks at the five double-faced planeswalkers from Magic Origins. These cards look like a doozy to evaluate for Constructed play, and he dives right in.

Most of the buzz to come out of GP Charlotte was on the awesome decks in the Top 16. Ad Nauseam combo? Elves? Griselbrand? Did we just wander into a Legacy tournament? Or maybe a kitchen table match, with stuff like Nourishing Shoal and Codex Shredder? Twin, Affinity, Burn, and all the familiar top-tier faces […]

Prison enthusiasts rejoice as a viable do-nothing deck emerges in Modern

Brian DeMars finished in the money at GP Charlotte. He shares his thoughts on Modern as a format and what cards may jump in price should a ban be in the works.

It would be hard to pick a “best” moment at GP Charlotte. With all the awesome feature matches (big props to Starcitygames for the coverage), interesting deck techs, online buzz, and general community involvement in the event, it really felt like an interactive experience even for those stuck at their desks. Although Charlotte was not […]

GP Charlotte didn’t just meet expectations. It set a new bar for Modern tournaments. We saw Collected Company and Splinter Twin. We saw Cryptic Command and Kolaghan’s Command. We even saw Ad Nauseam (whoa), Nourishing Shoal (wait, what?), and Lantern of Insight (…wut), and all in the Top 16. GP Charlotte was one for the […]