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The Losers from Modern Horizons 2

David Ernenwein — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 16:00:33 +0000

All decks aren't created equal: some are Splinter Twin, others are Mono-Green Aura Stompy. The same goes for every set: some are Dominaria, others Legions. Thus, the impact of every new set will be felt unequally both by Modern as a whole and by individual decks. Not every set can have Modern-playable cards, and not every […]

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And So It Begins: Metagame Starting Point

David Ernenwein — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 17:00:22 +0000

Everything has to begin somewhere. The Modern metagame is no exception, and last week I used the MTGO metagame as a bellwether for the emerging format. The five decks I examined have done well online. However, as I noted, the data isn't necessarily accurate or indicative of what players will encounter at a Modern event. […]

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Season’s Greetings: Early Metagame Indicators

David Ernenwein — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 17:00:42 +0000

That Modern is changing should be obvious: there's a lower-power set coming out and we just had a major banning. But how Modern is changing is an open question. The only major Modern events for the next month are SCG Classics and Team Opens, which aren't the most reliable sources for data. So we'll have […]

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Colorless Matchup Guide: Hogaak and Dredge

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 16:00:29 +0000

Hogaak has been nerfed by a Bridge from Below ban, but the deck is still out in force. While its apparent volatility may contribute to a plummeting of metagame shares in the near future, I personally know many players who continue to swear by the strategy. And Dredge is also on the upswing, profiting from players' […]

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The Metagame Experience: MCQ Report

David Ernenwein — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 16:00:21 +0000

This is an odd feeling for me. For all its flaws, the PPTQ system meant that grinders like me always had competitive level events to grind and keep our skills sharp. The MCQ system is functionally the same as the old PTQ system, which means very few events and very spread out. Since I'm a […]

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No-Gaak: Early Metagame Observations

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

With Core 2020 and the London mulligan finally legal, the metagame can begin to take shape. Begin being the key word there. So much has changed in Modern over the past month that it is impossible to predict what exactly is changing. At the end of this week, GP Denver looms. I'm not playing the main […]

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Bridge Collapse: Banning Reaction

David Ernenwein — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 16:00:24 +0000

I had planned to spend today's article discussing Hogaakvine: what it does, how it does it, how to play against it, and how I'd build decks given Hogaak's rise. However, that article was mooted this morning by Wizards. Instead, let's examine what's happened and where it leaves Modern. Also, once again, nothing got unbanned. This […]

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Mulligans, Modern, and the Mythic Championship

Christopher O'Berry — Wed, 01 May 2019 12:05:38 +0000

With Mythic Championship II in the books, Chris takes a look at the decks that benefited from the London Mulligan, and their key cards he's considering as specs.

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Brew Report: March Metagaming Madness

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 16:00:58 +0000

Is Modern solved? Is Modern stale? Any amount of time spent on a Magic forum or subreddit these days seems to offer countless arguments from both sides of the debate. Indeed, this Phoenix/Dredge/Stirrings (in that order) metagame has proven the most divisive I can remember since Siege Rhino briefly served as hyper-acting format manager in […]

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Firebird’s Shadow: GP Weekend Analysis

David Ernenwein — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 16:00:43 +0000

One weekend. Three events. So much data. With an SCG Open and two GPs this weekend, I can better evaluate whether the extreme trends seen in the Regionals data actually have weight, or were the outliers I speculated. Is Phoenix really as good as it looks? The Day 2 Picture For unknown reasons, Channelfireball decided […]

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What’s Next #1

Edward Eng — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 17:37:09 +0000

Spinning off from a section in article #23, Eddie starts this new What's Next series by looking into what could be in store for Modern after the KCI banning.

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Ravnica Allegiance: Spoilers, Facts, Specs & More

Edward Eng — Sat, 12 Jan 2019 12:00:24 +0000

The sequel to Guilds of Ravnica and the 80th expansion set in Magic: The Gathering's history is due to release on January 25, 2019. Here's what we know about Ravnica Allegiance (RNA) so far, including any cards in the spoiler, the guilds represented, and cards to speculate on before the full spoiler is released. The Guilds […]

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MTG Metagame Finance #25

Edward Eng — Tue, 25 Dec 2018 17:44:01 +0000

The holidays are in full swing and the new year is right around the corner. And as some of you may know, the stock market has been a bit shaky in the last month or so. But it seems Magic is still doing pretty well during this slightly volatile time. I think a good portion […]

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MTG Metagame Finance #24

Edward Eng — Fri, 21 Dec 2018 01:05:52 +0000

Ultimate Masters is still in full bounce back mode, and the last World Magic Cup has come to a finish. Plus, some sweet Ravnica Allegiance spoilers have hit the market so there’s gonna be a nice mix of things to talk about again in this piece. Owing to the spoilers, this might be a little […]

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What to Watch: 2019 Banlist Candidates

David Ernenwein — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 17:00:42 +0000

Every few weeks, speculation begins to rise about the next Banned and Restricted Announcement. Whenever something actually does happen, I frequently see laments over being blindsided and calls for Wizards to implement a banning watchlist. While an official list will never happen as it would unduly influence the secondary market, I do think it useful […]

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MTG Metagame Finance #23 (Free Giveaway #2!)

Edward Eng — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 10:00:16 +0000

Ultimate Masters has hit the market and there’s already been a lot of movement. The prices of the reprints dropped as they usually do when a set first hits the market. But it seems like the prices have started to rebound a lot quicker this time around. There’s a slight possibility they could drop again […]

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MTG Questions: What’s an Easy Way to Sell Bulk?

Edward Eng — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 10:00:42 +0000

This is the first article from my new series, MTG Questions. You might be familiar with the Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em series (rebranded as MTG Metagame Finance), which takes a tournament-oriented perspective. I decided to start this series to focus on more general aspects of MTG finance. The two series will work together, as when […]

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Final Grind: LCQ and Metagame Shifts

David Ernenwein — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 17:00:10 +0000

The competitive drive always burns, no matter how many setbacks I suffer. After all, what's the point in doing anything unless you strive to improve and grow? So, it's once more into the breach for the last PPTQ. I failed to win a PPTQ this year, but that didn't mean giving up on making the […]

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Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #21 (Free Giveaway #1)

Edward Eng — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 14:37:16 +0000

So much value this week! Eddie goes deep on the implications of UMA. Plus, a giveaway!

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The Arclight Factor: Containing Velocity

David Ernenwein — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 17:00:40 +0000

Between my banlist testing series and Thanksgiving, it's been a heavy few weeks. For something lighter, this week I'm investigating the in-game mechanic known as velocity. Velocity is old news to Modern, but recently, a number of high-velocity aggro decks have gained prominence. Why is no mystery, as there is tons of red looting in […]

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