Chaz presents some interesting and/or crackpot theories about the connection between Zendikar and Innistrad, and the possible appearance of Emrakul in the next set…
Opinion
Somewhere between answering comments to Monday’s article, talking Magic with my pals, and battling waves of forum doomsayers, I realized I’d yet again been lured into the ban discussion trap. Didn’t I just promise, and then re-promise, to stay clear of banlist mayhem? Darn you, Wizards and your colorless hordes! Even beyond the warped Pro […]
Metagame diversity is my preferred measure of Modern health. More specifically, diversity as determined by the data analysis methods you’ve come to expect from Modern Nexus’ Top Decks and metagame breakdown projects. Let’s get this out of the way early: Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch does not meet those standards. No matter how you parse the Day 1, Day 2, or […]
What makes a good event? I’ve been thinking a lot about goals recently, and my developing interest in content production and editing has me looking behind the curtain at the factors at play behind “spectacle” events. For regular readers of my column it should be no surprise that I often branch out in my topics, […]
I made a New Year’s resolution to minimize participation in ban discussions throughout 2016. Modern has more than enough banlist din in Twitch chat, Reddit threads, and article comment sections across the content-sphere. Then the Splinter Twin banning happened. Wizards’ announcement has made it impossible to discuss any aspect of 2016 Modern without some reference […]
My Saturday morning kicks off a lot like yours. I roll out of bed, throw on some Future, have a latte. Get on Facebook. Then, my inbox starts exploding. “Is Modern dead?” “How do you feel about the ban?” Dead? What ban? Wait, there are links. Links from Magic players I’ve never met. The same link, […]
Today I will attempt to outline my perspective on the recent Modern bannings, and hopefully provide an interesting counter-argument to the general emotionally charged language running around the Internet. As always, my opinion is my own, and I present it to you not in an attempt to argue or sway others to my side, but […]
By now you’ve read at least a dozen articles, a hundred tweets, and a thousand forum posts about the January 18th banlist update. The response to Splinter Twin’s banning is likely to surpass the reaction to all previous Modern ban announcements combined, as the community rages, celebrates, and grieves for for months to come. I […]
A man can’t even have a peaceful Friday night without the entire Magic world exploding due to easily the worst Modern-related announcement in the format’s history. Wizards has never made a Modern update or announcement that has forced a “Well then, I really think I’m going to quit” reaction out of me. That is, until […]
By the time I publish my next article, the Modern collective will already be deep in the throes of rage, elation, shock, and joy after reading the January 18th banlist update. Monday can’t come soon enough! The last time I was this excited about a scheduled announcement was the first Force Awakens trailer. As for […]
A reckoning is coming. After months of ban mania, speculation, theorycrafting, and general rage against the Wizards machine, the January 18, 2016 banlist update will decide if Amulet Bloom is an acceptable Modern deck. Many authors players have vehemently opposed the combo strategy since Justin Cohen’s February run at Pro Tour Fate Reforged. Others, including […]
New Year’s resolutions are the high point of every January 1st celebration. Or maybe that’s just champagne. Or bowl game blowouts so outrageous they make Jeff Hoogland’s weekend loss to Bobby Fortanely’s Amulet Bloom look fair. Whether you prefer the booze or the club bashes to the boring promises, I’m sure you made at least […]
I thought about marking up my work calendar with a countdown to January 18, but that felt too nerdy even for me. It’s just so hard not to get excited about the upcoming January 18 banlist update and its probable impact on Modern. Since last week, ban and unban speculation has been relatively quiet throughout […]
