With Kaladesh set to come out tomorrow, we are on the eve of a possible shake-up in the Modern landscape. Still, the decklists keep coming, this time in the form of multiple World Cup Magic Qualifier events worldwide! These events are always high-level, as players fight valiantly for the chance to represent their home country […]

In my opinion, recent sets have done a great job of influencing the Modern format. The two-block model increases the need for flagship cards in individual sets, which lines up with the fact that more Standard-legal cards are making their way into Modern. Some recent additions to the format have been less welcome than others, though I […]

When it comes to Delver decks in Modern, Snapcaster Mage is the most obvious second creature to feature, though over the years I’ve rounded out the threat base in a lot of different ways. Tasigur has been great for me as of late, though I’ve put Young Pyromancer, Monastery Swiftspear, and even Vedalken Shackles to […]

I know, I know. How could I get any more boring than boring old Abzan, scourge of Modern and Standard alike (seriously, I can’t have been the only one to heave a colossal sigh of relief when Siege Rhino rotated). Abzan has certainly been a mainstay in Modern for some time, presenting the pointed contrast of Path to […]

Another PPTQ last weekend saw me again go 4-2 with Monkey Grow. I beat Jeskai Control, Affinity, and two Burn decks, dropping matches to Delirium Jund and Bant Eldrazi. The matches were interesting, but I’m wary of writing too exclusively for one niche. So I’ll spare you the tournament report and unveil a new brew: […]

Without the need to grind after winning an early PPTQ, I’ve been free to brew and experiment. As always, some of these new ideas are good. Most are not. But you never find out unless you indulge your inner Mythbuster and proverbially throw your deck at the wall to see if it works. Never actually throw your […]

One of my favorite things about Modern: the power level is high enough to allow us to play with Lightning Bolt, but low enough for Standard sets to consistently impact the format. Eldritch Moon injected some welcome lifeblood into my pettest deck, Monkey Grow, with Bedlam Reveler. The set also gave a boost to another of my […]

In case you missed the news yesterday, Inquisition of Kozilek is back! Yes, IoK is being upgraded to a rare for its printing with brand-new art in Conspiracy: Take the Crown, aka Conspiracy 2. While cards from this set are not usually Modern-legal, this time we have a reprint that is obviously geared toward the Modern crowd. Moderners have […]

Sometimes, innovation takes time. Endless nights of preparation, countless hours of practice, hundreds of games contributing to spreadsheets of statistics that inform close, calculated changes. In Magic (and Modern especially), this is the most common form of innovation we see. Death’s Shadow Zoo lists tend to fall in one of two camps, but within those […]

In my early experiments with delirium, I found Tarfire invaluable as a card that efficiently stocked the graveyard with card types. Its especially Modern-relevant effect soon made the card an obvious include in most of my Traverse the Ulvenwald brews. Another card I tried, Architects of Will, also guaranteed two types in the graveyard for a one-mana investment. But […]

In my last article, I gushed about Bedlam Reveler just a couple days after he was spoiled. It’s been a week since then, and I’ve had plenty of time to improve my Temur Traverse build with the walking Treasure Cruise. Today, we’ll talk achieving delirium in Modern and building around Bedlam Reveler, and continue to explore Temur […]

After months of chaos, Modern is starting to settle into a groove. Splinter Twin and Amulet Bloom have only been dead for six months, and in that time we’ve seen the Eldrazi menace come and go, numerous challengers to the throne rise up and be defeated, and more plot twists and surprises than a Game […]

I’m always both sad and relieved when preview and spoiler season ends. Sad, because it’s fun watching the trickle of cards throughout the day and getting the big story and set staple reveals. Relieved, because it’s painful to watch people misappropriate the Bolt Test, evaluate cards without either testing or any metagame context, and make one […]