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Metagame’s First Look: SCG Indianapolis Analysis

David Ernenwein — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 16:00:26 +0000

With a few weeks of online events and an SCG Team Event, the metagame is finally taking shape. It's nowhere near enough for any real analysis to take place, but it is a good starting point. With SCG Indianapolis in the books it's time to start pulling apart the data and contextualizing it. Modern has […]

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The Death of KCI: Banlist Reaction

David Ernenwein — Wed, 23 Jan 2019 17:00:58 +0000

Alright Monday, what you got this time? Wow. They actually banned something for once. And something very significant at that. Even better, there's an in-depth explanation attached. This certainly demands a deeper dive. I'll start with the obvious part: nothing got unbanned. I'm sorry for those who have their hearts set on playing with Stoneforge […]

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Green Sun’s Zenith Testing: Quantitative Results

David Ernenwein — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 17:00:34 +0000

Finally, it's time for everyone's favorite part of the banlist test: the experimental data. After playing 500 matches with GB Elves over several months, I can finally put some data to the speculation about the impact of unbanning Green Sun's Zenith. I will be revealing the hard numbers and their statistical significance. As always, these […]

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Green Sun’s Zenith Testing: Experimental Setup

David Ernenwein — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 17:00:18 +0000

It's finally time for another banlist testing report. Back in May, readers chose Green Sun's Zenith as the next banned card to test, which I'll just call GSZ from here on out. I've spent the intervening months grinding games and recording results to test its effect on Modern. This week, I'll explain my test procedure, […]

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Complexity, Power, and Playability

David Ernenwein — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 16:00:54 +0000

There's an old saw in Standard: play the best deck with the best cards. Standard is about the cardpool's restrictions and the disparities in card power. Therefore, it makes sense to only play the most powerful cards, or to play as many as can work together. Modern's far greater size means there are far more options […]

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Guilds Under Surveillance: Surveil in Modern

David Ernenwein — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 16:00:14 +0000

Oftentimes, new mechanics are set aside, to be discussed only in terms of their impact on cards. Today, I am going to flip the script and go into detail about surveil. This mechanic is the most interesting part of Guilds of Ravnica to me, and while it may not happen immediately, I expect that it will […]

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Return to the PPTQ Grind: Week 2

David Ernenwein — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 16:00:28 +0000

After a week off, it's time to get back on the grind. While there were PPTQ's last week, they were well outside my willingness to travel. I instead used that time to refine my decks and get a feel for where the metagame was going. I intended to hit both Modern PPTQ's this weekend, but […]

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Return to the PPTQ Grind: Week 0

David Ernenwein — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 16:00:45 +0000

The Modern PPTQ season starts this weekend for me. Just like last year, I will be documenting my grind for the RPTQ invite, with all the lessons learned and deck tweaks that entails. Hopefully this edition doesn't go the whole season, but that's Magic. In this kick-off article, I will be examining the metagame with an […]

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Bloodbraid Month, Pt. 4: Quantitative Data

David Ernenwein — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 17:00:30 +0000

Alright, time for the big reveal. With comment section chatter over possible unbannings increasing, it's time for the hard data to make its own argument. I had less fun with this test than with previous efforts, mostly because I have a long and difficult history with Bloodbraid Elf. That said, the testing was comparatively easy […]

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Bloodbraid Month, Pt. 3: Qualitative Data

David Ernenwein — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 17:00:32 +0000

It has come to this. Time to start rolling out the results of the latest banned card test. Conducting this test has been weird for me. Having a hard deadline was actually a blessing as it helped discipline the testing period and we got done much faster than expected. However, this wasn't a fun experience […]

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December 2017 Metagame Update

Jason Schousboe — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 00:13:48 +0000

Welcome back for the December metagame update. This month saw two large-scale Grand Prix delineate an extremely diverse metagame. Perhaps it's just my own personal bias, but I believe Modern is in a great spot right now—healthy, diverse, with interactive games and relevant decisions in deckbuilding and sideboard construction. This is the "metagame to beat" as […]

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November Metagame & Announcements

Jason Schousboe — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 02:00:23 +0000

Well, it's been a long time since I've written the full metagame update, but you folks haven't gotten rid of me that easily. Know that our plans here at Nexus have always been to resume these and make them regular, but in a way that was sustainable moving forward. Rather than make speculative promises I […]

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A Complicated Metagame: Invitational Weekend Update

David Ernenwein — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 17:00:18 +0000

Once again, it's time to update my paper metagame table! Magic's had a busy weekend---between the SCG Invitational and the World Magic Cup, it was easy to miss the Roanoke Open. Which feels very odd to say, considering how popular and pervasive Opens are, but it's the truth. Not that it matters; the data it […]

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Metagame Developments: The Regionals Update

David Ernenwein — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 18:15:51 +0000

So, here it is, the big update. After today, we will definitely have enough data to make actual conclusions about the metagame. I won't go as far to say that it is the definitive metagame—it's not that big. However, this will show what you can expect going into Grand Prix Oklahoma City. The online metagame has […]

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The Strange Case of the Metagame and the Unbannings

David Ernenwein — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 16:30:21 +0000

It begins, gentle seekers of glory. Today is a day of great opportunity and gangrenous rot. The pallid sun meekly illuminates the great ravenous hordes as they linger, eager and anxious, waiting for their moment, when they shall be unleashed upon the world to slack their unending hunger for inadequately-proportioned sugary confections. For those whose […]

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Metagame Developments: SCG Cincinnati Analysis

David Ernenwein — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 16:00:40 +0000

Another week, another Star City Open, another round of data collection. As a general observation, the metagame diversity on display is remarkable. As the data will show, there are numerous viable archetypes and considerable diversity within those archetypes. However, clear front-runners are emerging. Should these continue through Regionals I think the metagame tiering will emerge. […]

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What’s Winning, Why, and How to Beat It

Trevor Holmes — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 16:00:57 +0000

The Star City Games Charlotte Open results are in, and there are numerous other Modern events on the horizon. In a few short months, we’ll have a Modern Pro Tour on our doorstep as well. Summer is over, fall is here, and Modern is back in the spotlight. It is time. This week, I’ll be […]

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Shifting Metagame: SCG Charlotte Analysis

David Ernenwein — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 19:45:46 +0000

You may not have heard, but there's a Modern Pro Tour coming up. This is leading to an influx of interest in our beloved format and increased tournament support. The past weekend had an SCG Modern Open in Charlotte; next weekend there's another in Cincinnati, SCG Regionals are in November, and then the SCG Invitational and GP […]

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Testing Preordain: Qualitative Results

David Ernenwein — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 16:00:37 +0000

Once again, it is time to start rolling out my results from the latest Banlist Test. As usual, I will start with the experimental setup and the unquantifiable results. I know that what most readers care about are the hard numbers, but I'm not done gathering the data yet. That will be coming sometime in […]

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Modern on a Budget: Playing Gifts Storm

Jim Casale — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 18:42:25 +0000

Most of my articles are related to the financial aspects of Magic, and this one won't stray too far, at least in spirit. Building Storm is an inexpensive way for a player to get into Modern without giving up much on the competitive front. I honestly believe this deck is a great option right now. I […]

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