Zendikar Rising has had a notable effect on Modern, but it’s been mostly positive. Whether it’s making Death and Taxes finally viable or shaking up the Prowess decks, the new additions seem to be providing the right incentives without being oppressive. However, one card is drawing ire, mostly by association rather than anything it’s actually […]

Halfway through the month, October seems to be following in September’s footsteps, giving us new decks from the new cards and interesting takes on existing archetypes. Today, we’ll look at developments in ramp, midrange, fish, and combo. Let’s get to it! Come Om, Come All Omnath, Locus of Creation is more than just a Standard […]

I love it when a deck finally comes together. When all the faith is finally rewarded and the years of suffering and disappointment finally pay off. Mostly because it typically happens to decks that move from mediocre to barely viable. Think of Belcher, Ad Nauseam, the good stuff piles, or Ponza; decks that have been […]

The second half of September 2020 brought us swaths of new decks, as Zendikar Rising did more than its fair share in shaking up the Modern metagame. Today, we’ll explore new combo options and view the myriad directions ramp strategies are starting to take. Kombo Krazy We’ll start with Belcher, a deck that recently received […]

A house is not a home, they say, and what is Modern if not a format that houses some of the baddest cards banned from Standard? Well, it’s also got Standard newcomers, be they banned or not. And one among them has had its heart set on turning our beloved format into its own sweet […]

Magic can get weird at times. There are utterly incomprehensible cards like Ice Cauldron. Sometimes it’s rules weirdness, like Blood Sun not stopping Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth’s ability. Other times it’s a deck that makes no sense, like Inverter of Truth combo. And sometimes it’s because of logical paradoxes and other contradictory truths. Case in […]

New sets always inspire brewing and changes of pace, but this month, I was pleased to see that some of the ideas I’ve had about future metagame developments seem to be more realistic than I’d thought! If these decks have legs now, imagine what they’ll look like when Zendikar Rising drops… maybe quite similar, and […]

Ah, spoiler season. The time when I don’t have to stretch myself doing statistical work. Just looking at the new cards, doing some basic analysis, and speculating about whether there’s a place in Modern for them. Simple and low-pressure, just what this year’s called for. Then, something had to come in a ruin everything: a […]

Earlier in the month, we saw Stoneforge Mystic come to form the backbone not just of popular UW and Stoneblade decks, but of Colossus Hammer combo decks and bulkier flash strategies. Blue aggro-control decks also had an interesting month, with Arclight Phoenix making a comeback and Devotion to Blue rearing its head. The latter trend […]

With all the talk of generalities, such as metagame numbers and new decks, it’s easy to overlook the specifics. So let’s talk about Monastery Swiftspear. Indeed one of the most pushed combat creatures ever, Swiftspear reigns supreme among Stage 1 beaters and has come to define the majority of Modern aggro decks. If you want […]

Decks come, and decks go. The metagame has no sacred cows. A deck must find its niche and then hold it to maintain relevance. Strength in a vacuum doesn’t matter, nor does the dedication of the player base. Three years ago, Grixis Death’s Shadow was an absolute monster of a deck, to the point that […]

August seems like the Month of Stoneforge, with recent format adjustments suddenly favoring the once-banned underdog. At the same time, blue mages lacking a taste for steel are finding their way in this shuffled metagame. Read on to explore the more exciting developments in Modern this month! Blade Runner 2020 As David noted last week, […]

I’m a firm believer in playing what you love in Modern, and in Magic. For me, that often means Tarmogoyf, although I do occasionally try other flavors. Among my Goyf-related pet projects is Rogues, a longstanding deckbuilding challenge with a simple rule: run 4 copies each of Thieves’ Fortune and Tarmogoyf. Creating and holding to […]