infect | Quiet Speculation

Remember Me: Forgotten Lessons

David Ernenwein — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 16:00:31 +0000

The time after a set release or a major ban is always exciting. The format is in flux, the metagame undefined, and everything seems playable. This is even more true right now, thanks to the ban taking away a metagame pillar. This has in turn renewed interest in Modern, bringing an influx of players and […]

The post Remember Me: Forgotten Lessons first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Best of 2019: Twin’s Role in Modern

David Ernenwein — Wed, 01 Jan 2020 17:00:39 +0000

Editor's Note: The Twin ban remained highly controversial into 2019, especially among what I assume to be an extremely vocal minority of Modern die-hards. That sentiment pushed David to revisit Twin's previous role in the format with a thorough, data-driven approach. Also included in this re-run are David's thoughts headed into 2020, which deal with […]

The post Best of 2019: Twin’s Role in Modern first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

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 […]

The post The Metagame Experience: MCQ Report first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Emergent Decks From Modern Horizons

David Ernenwein — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 16:00:56 +0000

New metagames can be hard to pin down, as fresh cards lead to new brews and new tech, forcing established decks to adapt. This forces the new decks to adapt to the new pressure, and their success or failure creates ripples through the metagame. With War of the Spark and Modern Horizons released in quick succession, Modern […]

The post Emergent Decks From Modern Horizons first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Stitched Together: Early Successes from Horizons

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 16:00:15 +0000

Modern Horizons becomes legal today in the paper world, but it's been tearing up Magic Online for a good week. Wizards has published two events since then: a Modern Challenge and a league. Today, we'll scour each for the hottest tech stirring up the format. Scourge of the Format? In the very first Horizons-featuring event […]

The post Stitched Together: Early Successes from Horizons first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Modern Horizons and the Road Ahead

Christopher O'Berry — Fri, 17 May 2019 14:15:13 +0000

Chris makes his final picks before Modern Horizons spoiler season starts this weekend.

The post Modern Horizons and the Road Ahead first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Tales from the Buylist #8 – Commander Moves the Needle

Christopher O'Berry — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 16:50:21 +0000

We're awash in information and spoilers from War of the Spark, and that means price movements in response. Christopher looks at the notable trends to recommend some pickups.

The post Tales from the Buylist #8 – Commander Moves the Needle first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Call the Police: Twin’s Role in Modern

David Ernenwein — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 17:00:31 +0000

Assumptions and collectively-held beliefs are fickle and powerful things. They can affect perception and, in a way, become reality if unchallenged. Therefore, it is critical for the skeptical mind to evaluate and investigate these ideas for validity, especially in the wake of recent bannings. After being challenged on long-held beliefs about Splinter Twin's effect on […]

The post Call the Police: Twin’s Role in Modern first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Old Dogs, New Tricks: January Tech Report, Pt. 1

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 25 Jan 2019 17:00:19 +0000

Krark-Clan Ironworks is now banned in Modern. Despite its dominance on the tournament scene, though, the deck failed to stamp out the format's trademark diversity and innovation. Plenty of decks and deckbuilders brought exciting new tech to the tables this month, and we'll ring in the new year right by unearthing some of it today. Tempo: […]

The post Old Dogs, New Tricks: January Tech Report, Pt. 1 first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

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 […]

The post MTG Metagame Finance #25 first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

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, […]

The post Green Sun’s Zenith Testing: Experimental Setup first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Colorless Matchup Guide: Burn and Infect

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 16:00:09 +0000

Along with Affinity, Burn and Infect once made up the Holy Trinity of blitzing wins in Modern. Times have certainly changed. The Affinity we knew now relinquishes most of its shares to Hardened Scales; Infect's loss of Gitaxian Probe and inherent softness to Fatal Push put a serious dent in its former reign; Burn has […]

The post Colorless Matchup Guide: Burn and Infect first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #11

Edward Eng — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 18:30:11 +0000

For this week, Eddie brings more Guilds of Ravnica spoiler talk and a dive into one of Magic's newest formats to crop up, Premodern.

The post Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #11 first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #10

Edward Eng — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 09:00:45 +0000

Eddie weighs in on how the bombshell new tool for BGx decks, Assassin's Trophy, will affect other cards, all while covering his latest holds and folds for the week.

The post Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #10 first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #8

Edward Eng — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 20:44:51 +0000

This week Eddie circles back around to rotation to highlight Standard and Modern. He also provides a new way to keep tabs on cards he mentions in his articles with a public spreadsheet.

The post Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #8 first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Spirits vs. The New Hotness: Testing Perspective

David Ernenwein — Tue, 14 Aug 2018 16:00:04 +0000

Another missed PPTQ means more time to test. In addition to refining my own decks, I've been looking into Modern's hot discussion topics. We've seen time and again that Modern's cardpool hides monstrous decks just missing a piece or two to become major players. Several such decks have recently emerged that appear to have found […]

The post Spirits vs. The New Hotness: Testing Perspective first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Video Series with Ryland: Infect

Ryland Taliaferro — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 16:00:18 +0000

Aaron Barich took down the Invitational this past weekend infecting the competition in the Top 8. He is no stranger to the deck, but his performance is a good reminder that the deck is by no means dead. The loss of Gitaxian Probe over a year ago now was followed by a steep decrease in […]

The post Video Series with Ryland: Infect first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Relics of Prodigy-Ness: Eccentricity at Regionals

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 10 Nov 2017 19:14:14 +0000

Another SCG Regionals is in the books. I had to change that link, by the way—in some crazed stupor, I accidentally waded through the results of the Season One Regionals tournaments from February (yes, the ones I even placed in) and wrote a 3,000-word article about all the rogue decks at those tournaments, which I […]

The post Relics of Prodigy-Ness: Eccentricity at Regionals first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Testing the Mind Sculptor: The Data

David Ernenwein — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 18:15:22 +0000

At last, the time has come to reveal the data about my Jace testing. As a reminder, these data come from 500 matches, well over 1000 individual games played over five months. I publish my methods so that you can replicate my experiment if you disagree with the results, but I have to warn you […]

The post Testing the Mind Sculptor: The Data first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Modern Metagame Breakdown: 2/6/17 – 3/12/17

Jason Schousboe — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 21:49:45 +0000

Welcome back for another metagame update. I'm calling today's the "February update," even though it encompasses a week-and-a-half of March data as well. As we had extended last month's data, it made sense to do so this month too in order to avoid a three-week metagame with scant data. The astute reader will notice that […]

The post Modern Metagame Breakdown: 2/6/17 – 3/12/17 first appeared on Quiet Speculation.