death and taxes | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com Play More, Win More, Pay Less Tue, 15 Jun 2021 16:00:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.quietspeculation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/favicon.png death and taxes | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com 32 32 Improving Aether Vial: MH2 Testing https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/06/improving-aether-vial-mh2-testing/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/06/improving-aether-vial-mh2-testing/#respond Tue, 15 Jun 2021 16:00:49 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=23227 As the paper release date for Modern Horizons 2 approaches, brewing and testing new decks is kicking into high gear. Players are eager to display their creations and figure out what Modern actually looks like after a year with paper play and numerous new sets. The online metagame is as always suggestive, but provably inbred […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/06/improving-aether-vial-mh2-testing/feed/ 0 Counterspell and Sanctum Prelate in Horizons 2 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/05/counterspell-sanctum-prelate-horizons-2/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/05/counterspell-sanctum-prelate-horizons-2/#respond Tue, 11 May 2021 16:00:09 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=22952

It would seem that Wizards is growing impatient. The stated beginning of Modern Horizons 2 previews was next week. However, as part of their announcement of the "Summer of Legend" (which trips my marketing gag reflex), Wizards gave us some early spoilers. Clearly intended to whet player appetites for what is to come, the spoilers were […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/05/counterspell-sanctum-prelate-horizons-2/feed/ 0 Introductory Modern Mechanics: Strixhaven Spoilers Week 1 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/introductory-modern-mechanics-strixhaven-spoilers-week-1/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/introductory-modern-mechanics-strixhaven-spoilers-week-1/#respond Tue, 30 Mar 2021 16:00:10 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=22824 Greetings students, and welcome to the first week of Strixhaven spoilers. As this is the first week, I'll be keeping things simple by going through the set's mechanics. I've made this a tradition for all new set spoilers, and it's particularly appropriate this time as the new mechanics are a both surprisingly straightforward and annoyingly indirect. […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/introductory-modern-mechanics-strixhaven-spoilers-week-1/feed/ 0 Testing Hypergenesis: Quantitative Data https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/testing-hypergenesis-quantitative-data/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/testing-hypergenesis-quantitative-data/#respond Tue, 02 Mar 2021 17:00:53 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=22740 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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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/testing-hypergenesis-quantitative-data/feed/ 0 Testing Hypergenesis: Experimental Setup https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/testing-hypergenesis-experimental-setup/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/testing-hypergenesis-experimental-setup/#respond Tue, 23 Feb 2021 17:00:29 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=22678 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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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/testing-hypergenesis-experimental-setup/feed/ 0 Practical Example: A League Story https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/11/practical-example-league-story/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/11/practical-example-league-story/#respond Tue, 10 Nov 2020 17:00:18 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=22324 Alright, now. Everybody exhale. Last week is over. We can all try to grind our way through the rest of the year. We've been through enough already. Now it's time for some lighter fare, especially the kind that used to be my bread and butter. Then, the lockdown rendered then impossible. I am of course […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/11/practical-example-league-story/feed/ 0 Reaper’s Auditor: Investigating Death and Taxes https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/10/reapers-auditor-investigating-death-and-taxes/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/10/reapers-auditor-investigating-death-and-taxes/#comments Tue, 13 Oct 2020 16:00:11 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=22252 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 […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/10/reapers-auditor-investigating-death-and-taxes/feed/ 2 A Moment of Zendikar Rising Spoilers, Pt.2 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/09/moment-zendikar-rising-spoilers-pt-2/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/09/moment-zendikar-rising-spoilers-pt-2/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2020 16:00:26 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=22138 With the new set fully spoiled, it's my turn to look at the spoilers. Normally, I'd have led off with a look at the new mechanics. It just wasn't applicable this time. Kicker and landfall have been around before, and party isn't really a mechanic. And the Spell lands aren't enough to carry a whole article. […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/09/moment-zendikar-rising-spoilers-pt-2/feed/ 5 Underestimation Escalation: Umezawa’s Jitte https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/07/underestimation-escalation-umezawas-jitte/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/07/underestimation-escalation-umezawas-jitte/#respond Tue, 28 Jul 2020 16:00:31 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=21970 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 […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/07/underestimation-escalation-umezawas-jitte/feed/ 0 Balance and Blades: Honing Stoneforge Mystic https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/10/balance-blades-honing-stoneforge-mystic/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/10/balance-blades-honing-stoneforge-mystic/#respond Tue, 22 Oct 2019 16:00:13 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=20882

Unbannings always trigger a surge of interest, articles, and brewing. When the card's utility and thus its home is obvious, the cards is quickly adopted, as was the case for Bloodbraid Elf. For those whose power is tougher to unlock, interest and visibility wanes while the hard work is done. Such is the case for […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/10/balance-blades-honing-stoneforge-mystic/feed/ 0 First Look at Stoneforge https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/09/first-look-stoneforge/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/09/first-look-stoneforge/#respond Tue, 03 Sep 2019 16:00:03 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=20619 The first week of the entirely new Modern is over and nobody has any idea where we're heading. So far all the excitement has been focused on the unbanning, and with good reason. I imagine most players are as tired as I am of the graveyard heavy format we've had for the past year and […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/09/first-look-stoneforge/feed/ 0 MTG Metagame Finance #26 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/mtg-metagame-finance-26/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/mtg-metagame-finance-26/#respond Thu, 03 Jan 2019 05:00:43 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90988

Eddie takes a look at some cards to pick up during the winter lull, and prepares us for more Ravnica Allegiance spoiler speculation.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/mtg-metagame-finance-26/feed/ 0 Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #12 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/09/hold-em-fold-em-12/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/09/hold-em-fold-em-12/#respond Thu, 27 Sep 2018 18:41:01 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=89698

Eddie weighs in on the latest developments in the finance world, from Guilds of Ravnica, to Worlds, to an odd new combo deck in Modern featuring Runaway Steam-Kin.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/09/hold-em-fold-em-12/feed/ 0 Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #5 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/08/hold-em-fold-em-5/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/08/hold-em-fold-em-5/#comments Sat, 11 Aug 2018 20:08:53 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=88907

Edward covers the latest shifts in the wake of Pro Tour 25th Anniversary, including a new section that highlights major targets he missed in earlier articles.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/08/hold-em-fold-em-5/feed/ 4 Back on the PPTQ Grind: Week Two https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/08/back-pptq-grind-week-two/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/08/back-pptq-grind-week-two/#comments Tue, 01 Aug 2017 17:00:56 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=15004

Another week, another PPTQ, another time I didn't get there. Which is good news for this article series, bad news for my desire to get back on the Pro Tour. Especially considering the announcement about the PT this season is feeding. Modern is back on the Pro Tour, and I'm elated. Not only will I get […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/08/back-pptq-grind-week-two/feed/ 5 Back on the PPTQ Grind: Week One https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/07/back-pptq-grind-week-one/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/07/back-pptq-grind-week-one/#comments Tue, 25 Jul 2017 17:00:16 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=14946

It's Modern season, time to grind for the Pro Tour! I've spent most of my career on the grind and this year is no different. Therefore I will be documenting my attempt to climb back to the Pro Tour for the rest of the summer. If my past experiences are an indication, this will be […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/07/back-pptq-grind-week-one/feed/ 5 Jund’s Demise: The Hidden Metagame Warp https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/07/junds-demise-hidden-metagame-warp/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/07/junds-demise-hidden-metagame-warp/#comments Tue, 11 Jul 2017 18:00:28 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=14825 Everyone is fixated on Grixis Shadow. And rightly so—the deck is very powerful and has been sitting at the top of every metagame chart since April. And I think this is incorrect. I have some reason to believe that Shadow is a symptom of the metagame, not the cause. The Modern PPTQ season starts at […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/07/junds-demise-hidden-metagame-warp/feed/ 19 Four-Event Recap: Metagame Shifts https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/07/four-event-recap-metagame-shifts/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/07/four-event-recap-metagame-shifts/#respond Thu, 06 Jul 2017 17:19:41 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=14765 Modern tournament decklists are flooding in to the point where the phrase “too much of a good thing” is starting to come to mind. Nah, who am I kidding. I love this stuff. I hope you do too, because today we’re going to dive right in. I plan on recapping and analyzing high-level Magic tournament […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/07/four-event-recap-metagame-shifts/feed/ 0 The Summer of Fringe: Reactions to Shadow https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/06/the-summer-of-fringe/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/06/the-summer-of-fringe/#comments Thu, 29 Jun 2017 20:19:07 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=14705 Modern is going through something of a shake-up right now. Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen the status quo turned on its head with the rise, and subsequent fall, of Grixis Death’s Shadow. For months before Grixis’ ascension, weekly results were the same bland mini-variation of Affinity, Dredge, and Eldrazi Tron. Death’s Shadow Jund […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/06/the-summer-of-fringe/feed/ 2 A Curious Trend: GP Vegas Prep https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/06/curious-trend-gp-vegas-prep/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/06/curious-trend-gp-vegas-prep/#respond Wed, 07 Jun 2017 16:00:14 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=14535 By the time this article goes live, it will be just over a week and a half until the Modern portion of Grand Prix Las Vegas. To close a previous thread, yes, I am going and yes, I did win two byes. Not because I actually won a GPT (I have a habit of getting […]

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