Wizards made a lot of promises when it founded Modern. Some of these were explicit, like providing a new non-rotating format for high level play. Others were implicit, such as actively supporting Modern with new cards that could improve existing decks. And others were so confusing we are still trying to figure out what Wizards […]

I’m a big fan of using MTGO data to analyze deck performance. But one of the biggest issues with data available on the Wizards website is it’s incomplete. We only see 4-0/3-1 decks, we only see one event per day, and we have no idea what matchups happened on the way to those finishes. Although […]

It’s impossible to prepare for every matchup in Modern; there are just too many viable decks and too many fringe strategies out there. And for the most part, it’s okay not to worry about having a positive win chance against every deck in the format. You’ll dodge some, get lucky against others, and lose one […]

It’s time for our second metagame update since launching our site! Although there haven’t been any major Modern Grand Prix or SCG Open events since the last article, the format has seen dozens of regional and local events in that time (not to mention all those juicy MTGO dailies). As with all metagame updates, data […]

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on April 1, 2015. As in, this April 1.  Modern is broken. I’m a statistician, so you can trust me when I say the numbers prove how screwed the format is. Did you see the attendance at Starcitygames’ Modern event this weekend in Richmond? 178 players?? What, did […]

Back when Monastery Mentor was spoiled, Modern players weren’t sure how the card would affect their format. Or even if the card would affect it. But on February 22, a rising Japanese pro player named Yuuki Ichikawa teamed up with Monastery Mentor to take down a 214 player Modern event. I stumbled across that Esper Midrange Mentor list while doing my metagame spreadsheet […]

I’ve always had a soft spot for Infect. It was the first deck I played in Modern, the first deck I built on MTGO, and the first Modern deck that proved to me how awesome Modern was going to be (rock on, Blazing Shoal!). Infect has changed since those early days of 2011 Modern, but […]

Wizards came, Wizards saw, and Wizards left the format untouched. The March 23 B&R Announcement is in, with no changes made to Modern. No bans, no unbans, and now almost four months until we start the whole circus over again. All things considered, this was exactly what I expected. Modern Nexus predictions are batting 100% […]

In last week’s article on MTGO statistics, I took a deep dive into the numbers to see if Mono U Tron was really the “best” deck on Magic the Gathering: Online. There was a pretty strong case to be made for Mono U Tron’s power, but we can go even deeper to see if we missed […]

If you came here looking for the exciting new Modern-only site, Masters of Modern, don’t worry! You are still in the right place. Modern Nexus is the same site with the same content, coverage, and quality that we promised in the original site. The only thing that we’ve changed is our name. [wp_ad_camp_1]   When […]

It’s that most wonderful time of the year again: Modern banlist updates. There is no topic in Modern, and arguably no topic in Magic (with one strong contender…), that is so controversial and polarizing as the Modern banlist. Ever since Wizards laid out its vision in two inaugural articles, Modern has been defined by its […]

MTGO daily data is awesome. If you like Magic and like numbers/statistics/math in any way, it’s hard to look at the mothership’s dataset and not nerd out. It’s updated daily! It has full decklists! It’s presented in a consistent format! It has average game win percentage for decks! Although there are certainly ways Wizards coould […]

I know a guy who calcuates deck prices in Tarmogoyfs. Affinity? That will be 2-3 Goyfs. RG Tron? 3 Goyfs flat. Burn? Whoa there, down to 1-2 Goyfs! When the moderately played version of a card is running for $165 with shipping included, you know you are either playing Legacy or you are talking about […]