izzet phoenix | Quiet Speculation

June ’20 Brew Report, Pt. 2: Cheater’s Paradise

Jordan Boisvert — Wed, 01 Jul 2020 16:00:15 +0000

Earlier this month, we saw the early effects of the companion nerf, especially as they affected Yorion decks. Players have since transitioned away from companions for the most part, with some exceptions, as we'll get to. Today, we'll look at ten more spicy strategies to emerge from Modern's rebuilding. Deck-to-Table Grassroots as brewing can be, […]

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Metagame Tide’s Changing: GP Calgary

David Ernenwein — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 16:00:35 +0000

Nothing lasts forever; the mighty will eventually fall; time erases all wounds; change is the only constant. All such platitudes mean for Modern is that one deck can only remain on top of the format for so long. Eventually, the format either adapts to the deck, there's a structural change to the metagame, or the banhammer […]

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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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Slow and Steady: Metagaming against Phoenix

David Ernenwein — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:00:39 +0000

Modern is vast and diverse enough to make metagaming a frequently terrible idea. However, sometimes it is warranted. With Izzet Phoenix, followed by Dredge, consistently dominating the big tournaments in a way that Modern hasn't seen in years, it makes sense for the first time in a long time to actively target the top decks. How to […]

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Ashes to Ashes: Should Wizards Address Phoenix?

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 16:00:18 +0000

Each tournament, Izzet Phoenix's impressive, sustained numbers start to look less like an outlier and more like a pattern. Patterns like these have a history of being addressed by Wizards via the banlist. So how does Izzet Phoenix stack up against past offenders? Do the deck's decriers have a case for caging the bird? Let's […]

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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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Metagame Snapshot: SCG Regionals Analysis

David Ernenwein — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 16:00:51 +0000

With data reduced to a relative trickle and the overall metagame picture clouded, there hasn't been much information to work with. However, the data from SCG Regionals is always a strong indicator of the US metagame, so today I'll be looking at the data. While there is very significant result to dig into, the overall […]

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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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MTG Metagame Finance #28

Edward Eng — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 03:02:49 +0000

Eddie preordered a good amount of cards from Ravnica Allegiance. Find out why this time is a bit different than other sets. He also makes some bold predictions.

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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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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 Metagame Finance #22

Edward Eng — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 21:11:24 +0000

Eddie covers the latest movements in his MTG portfolio and again shares his recommendations for holds and folds. And be sure to tune in for office hours later!

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Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #17

Edward Eng — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 14:59:19 +0000

It's time for another Hold 'Em & Fold 'Em! With a recent rotation, what's on Eddie's mind this week?

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