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Return of Paper: Analyzing MTG Las Vegas

David Ernenwein — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 17:00:16 +0000

Results are in from the largest Modern event since the start of the pandemic. What decks made it to the top tables? David has all the details.

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Don’t Level Yourself: Metagame Limitations

David Ernenwein — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 16:00:26 +0000

How valuable is metagame data? What can it actually tell us? How does studying it translate into winning more games? David answers these questions and more.

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A Modern Split: July ’21 Metagame Update

David Ernenwein — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 16:00:16 +0000

New month, new metagame update. It is the way. And I'd like to kick this one off by tempering expectations. The near-perpetual spoiler season we now inhabit did spit out another set. However, Adventures in the Forgotten Realms is no Modern Horizons 2, and did not have that much impact on Modern. The resulting July metagame […]

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Testing Hypergenesis: Qualitative Data and Conclusion

David Ernenwein — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 17:00:24 +0000

And now, to wrap things up. I've talked about the setup and the hard data, but that doesn't tell the whole story. It's usually the intangible or at least unquantifiable observations that most inform decisions. I made a number of observations and ancillary impacts during my testing that changed how I see Hypergenesis. Today, I'll […]

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Testing Hypergenesis: Quantitative Data

David Ernenwein — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 17:00:53 +0000

Having finished the appetizer, it's time for the main course: the data from my Hypergenesis test. This is the hard, quantitative data, and I've done statistics on them to determine the validity of the test. For the stats people out there, I do a multiple significance test, but will report the z-test here. There's never […]

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Testing Hypergenesis: Experimental Setup

David Ernenwein — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 17:00:29 +0000

It's been quite a while, but your eyes do not deceive: this is another full banlist test series! It's been almost two years since I did one of these. Not for lack of trying, mind you, but there are only so many viable test subjects in the first place, and I've done a few already. […]

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Performance Review: Companion Errata Checkup

David Ernenwein — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 16:00:13 +0000

Alright, no more distractions. It's time to find out if the companion rules change actually worked. When the change came down, I hypothesized that there would be a general drop-off in playability, but companions would remain a factor in Modern. Lurrus of the Dream-Den would take the biggest hit, while Obosh, the Preypiercer would be […]

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Companion Modern: Consistency vs. Certainty

David Ernenwein — Tue, 26 May 2020 16:00:25 +0000

Another week of data, another update to the Ikoria metagame. The trends had been moving towards companion stabilizing in Modern. Last week, the individual companion cards seemed volatile in terms of usage, but the mechanic itself appeared to have achieved saturation. We observed some signs suggesting that companions might be been fading in Modern, which […]

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The Companion Effect: Metagame Update

David Ernenwein — Tue, 12 May 2020 16:00:50 +0000

In the absence of data, speculation and rumor thrive. It's time to correct that problem with a deep data dive. I have been collecting metagame data for the past month, and today I'm going to share my findings. The rhetoric about companions has been flying thick since they were revealed, but their actual impact was […]

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That Which is Not Dead: MC Weekend

David Ernenwein — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 16:00:56 +0000

For the first time in quite a while, I have a massive data dump to analyze! The past weekend contained a Modern GP, an SCG Open, and the Mythic Championship. With all the shocks finally wearing off, we can start to get a handle on the new metagame. But not without first noting that this […]

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