Last week I unveiled Delirium Delver, my latest pile featuring Tarmogoyf and Serum Visions. It was Stormwing Delver that got me brewing again, and apparently I wasn’t alone. Today, we’ll explore Modern’s latest spell-attack renaissance by looking at what the tempo heads are slinging online. Clearly, there’s no shortage of options! Flipping the Table That’s […]

There are many old sayings about plans going awry. Even when it seems like everything lines up perfectly, there’s always a chance for something to go wrong. Throw in a global health crisis, and everything goes out the window. The shutdown seemed like the perfect time to run another banlist test. It’s been over a year […]

A trend I’m seeing in the published results from July is a marked uptick in spell-based aggro-control strategies. Most of those are of the UR Prowess variety, but plenty of Delver of Secrets decks are making the rounds, too. We’ll cover those more academically next week. Today, I’d like to unveil the build I’m currently […]

The greatest problem I face as an article writer is finding something to write about. Inspiration is fickle, as motivation can also be. This is made especially difficult by the pandemic choking off my easiest content source: actual Modern tournaments. Without much happening in greater Modern to discuss and limited source material, I find myself […]

Well, I’ve dutifully done my snooping, and am proud to present some of Modern’s new directions in a Snow-less world! Chomping at the bit for more? Ready the sails… if you dare! Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang “One, two, three and to the four / Boggart Harbinger and Conspicuous Snoop is at the door.” In […]

Earlier this week, David dissected RG Ponza, the format’s sleeper centralizer that may well overtake other Modern decks in the numbers soon. The deck exploits a peculiar vulnerability of Modern manabases: their softness to turn two Blood Moon. Of course, reliably powering out Moon effects isn’t something any old deck can do with great consistency. […]

Tracking events and collecting and then presenting data is all well and good. It’s how observations are turned into good science and how we analyze Magic’s metagame ecosystem. However, saying that Bant Snow and Eldrazi Tron are tied for most played deck is only half the story. Why this is happening is a far harder, […]

Earlier this month, we saw the early effects of the companion nerf, especially as they affected Yorion decks. Players have since transitioned away from companions for the most part, with some exceptions, as we’ll get to. Today, we’ll look at ten more spicy strategies to emerge from Modern’s rebuilding. Deck-to-Table Grassroots as brewing can be, […]

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 […]

“Comp-letely Nuts,” or the apparent consensus surrounding Ikoria’s flagship mechanic. Two weeks back, we looked at the interesting new decks popping up using companion, because why wouldn’t they? Today, we’ll explore the rest of May’s entrants in a final goodbye to companion in Modern as we know it. Mo’ Mana, Mo’ Problems You of anyone […]

Okay, so companions are everywhere. But looking past that acknowledged reality, I see a Modern bursting with possibilities, and even applying the different companions in brilliant, unpredictable ways. Let’s take a look at what May’s first half has had to offer us in terms of Modern ingenuity! One Tribe… Or Two One unexpected (at least, […]

Days before the impact of companion on Modern was impressed upon me, I came across an article over at Good Grief Games by Kenan Diab on his RG Prowess deck. The idea was simple: take the persistently successful Mono-Red Prowess deck and cover for some of its glaring weaknesses by accommodating green creatures, in this […]