Nadu richly deserved to be banned, and the August metagame data proves it. However, Grief is a more speculative ban but will cause a stronger metagame shift.
Nadu Breakfast is confirmed as a Tier 1 deck. Sorta. Magic Online never behaves as expected. However, the metagame's direction is quite clear. August 26 looms.
Modern Horizons 3 has released and the metagame has dramatically shifted. There's a large problem looming over Modern, but the metagame is looking healthy.
With Modern Horizons 3 near, the Modern metagame is holding its breath. Players are choosing to play established decks and coast to the metagame's finish.
Modern's metagame has fallen back on old favorites. With Modern Horizons 3 coming soon, players are holding their breath for the new shakeup. The data is clear.
Violent Outburst is banned, and the Modern metagame is adjusting. However, from the data it's clear that players have little idea which direction it's heading.
I haven't had to do that many metagame updates for February, it being the month where bans tend to happen. That wasn't the case this month, though I suspect that the data will add fuel to the banning call fires. I understand, but I'd caution everyone to consider the...
There is a clear metagame warp in January's data. However, it appears to be driven less by actual metagame forces than Magic Online being Magic Online.
Time to close the books on 2023. It's been quite a year. We saw two of the biggest sustained warps in Modern's history, banned and restricted policy reverted to an earlier form, and we had the first unban since 2019.
With Fury and Up the Beanstalk banned, Modern is set to dramatically change. The data clearly shows how necessary the bans were, though the impact is uncertain.