Oko | Quiet Speculation

Uro on MTGO: Lessons from the MOCS

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

Continuing on with article types that have been vanishingly rare this year, it's time to look at the lessons from a specific tournament. I haven't done this since February because there just haven't been any Modern tournaments. Wizards has neglected every other format in order to push Arena. Which means that other competitive formats have been neglected. […]

The post Uro on MTGO: Lessons from the MOCS first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Delver Delivers: Flipping Out in 2020

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 17:00:38 +0000

A scratching at the window. A fluttering of tiny wings. A grating of jagged teeth. Does anyone else hear what I hear? Perhaps 2020 is Delver's year! Okay, so maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit. But there sure is a lot of Delver in the recent dumps. Today, we'll look at the different varieties […]

The post Delver Delivers: Flipping Out in 2020 first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

N’Oko: Parsing the January Bans

David Ernenwein — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 17:00:53 +0000

Well, everyone should have seen another ban coming. There was no way that Wizards wasn't going to let their last scheduled banned and restricted announcement go by without doing something about Oko, Thief of Crowns. However, I didn't expect it to go this far. Three cards banned would be a fairly substantial shift by itself, […]

The post N’Oko: Parsing the January Bans first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

My 2020 Racehorse: Simic Urza

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 27 Dec 2019 17:00:57 +0000

With the new year just days away, every Modern player's got something on their mind: which new goodies will we get next? What's the deal with Pioneer? How are winning grinders tweaking their decks going into 2020? While we'll cover all that in the coming weeks, today I want to focus in on the format […]

The post My 2020 Racehorse: Simic Urza first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

A Guide to Renting on MTGO: Part III

Kyle Rusciano — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 12:00:05 +0000

Part III is here! Kyle goes beyond the basics and explores a few more "advanced" applications of renting, strategies useful to both investors and players alike.

The post A Guide to Renting on MTGO: Part III first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Christmas Comes Early: A Tournament Report

David Ernenwein — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 17:00:21 +0000

The competitive season has come to an end, but that doesn't mean that Magic just stops in December. Local tournaments and MTGO never end. And some competitive scenes don't have official Wizards support or the backing of a massive store. Some are built by and for the local players. The Colorado Magic scene, deprived of Star City […]

The post Christmas Comes Early: A Tournament Report first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Modern Top 5 (Christmas Edition): Green Cards

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 17:00:32 +0000

Ho, ho, ho! Welcome to another edition of Modern Top 5, this one held together by tinsel-thin Christmas allusions. Although it's no "illusion" which color's on top at this year's end! Today, we'll break down the format's piniest players. Trimming the Tree Our first gift is actually a hand-me-down: an older Modern Top 5 metric […]

The post Modern Top 5 (Christmas Edition): Green Cards first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Modern Top 5: Best of 2019

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 17:00:08 +0000

With the new year fast approaching, I figured I'd follow in Spotify's footsteps and call out the biggest cards of 2019. We've got many possible entrants between Throne of Eldraine and Modern Horizons. Read on for hot takes on the year's greatest and how they might fare in 2020! You Are Now Rocking With the […]

The post Modern Top 5: Best of 2019 first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Modern Banlist Watchlist: 2020 Edition

David Ernenwein — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 17:00:11 +0000

The competitive year has come to a close for Modern, and now it's time to look ahead. This means it's time once more to informedly speculate on the future of Modern's banlist. It's been a wild year for the list, and while I always hope that the metagame can adapt to new decks, I don't […]

The post Modern Banlist Watchlist: 2020 Edition first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

November Brew Report: Icy-Fresh Brews

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 17:00:15 +0000

The metagame is settling down, and players are learning how to attack the top dogs. So November was a slower month for brews. It still possessed Modern's telltale spark of ingenuity, though. Today, we'll look at the most exciting online winners from this month. New Takes on Aggro Standbys Playing Ol' Faithful's all well and […]

The post November Brew Report: Icy-Fresh Brews first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Metagame’s End: GP Columbus Analysis

David Ernenwein — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 17:00:33 +0000

The end of the year is approaching, and with it a slowdown in competitive Magic. In fact, GP Columbus was the last Modern event of the year. As such, it is the final opportunity to look at the metagame before 2020's SCG Columbus, so GP Columbus provides extremely important data. It not only defines the […]

The post Metagame’s End: GP Columbus Analysis first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

The Cycle’s Sick: Introducing Six Shadow

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 21:34:46 +0000

The concept of personal preference heavily influences how I see the world, and subsequently, Magic. So I'm no stranger to writing about playing what you love. Nonetheless, I have felt a bit lost in Modern for the last few months: my colored pet decks lost a key card in Faithless Looting, and the second coming […]

The post The Cycle’s Sick: Introducing Six Shadow first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Inviting Change: SCG Invitational Analysis

David Ernenwein — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 17:00:44 +0000

An analysist goes to work with the data he's given. With Modern on the competitive backburner for the past few weeks, I've lacked the means to properly dig into the metagame ahead of GP Columbus this weekend. As a result, I am looking a bit further afield into events that I normally wouldn't analyze. Fortunately, […]

The post Inviting Change: SCG Invitational Analysis first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Profile of a Thief: Oko in Modern

David Ernenwein — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 17:00:41 +0000

It's been an odd year for Magic. Modern struggled through a series of bans while Standard was doing well. Once things started looking up for Modern, Standard began its collapse under the weight of Throne of Eldraine. Some of those effects are now leaking into Modern, with uncertain implications. Urza may be the talk of […]

The post Profile of a Thief: Oko in Modern first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

October Brew Report, Pt. 1: Melting Pot

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 21:00:50 +0000

Why do I write a Brew Report every month? Because Modern is brimming with innovation every month! While many of the decks featured in this column may not go on to win a GP, or even to carve out a sustainable metagame share, they all performed well at least once; it’s not always a cakewalk […]

The post October Brew Report, Pt. 1: Melting Pot first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Dismantling the Bomb: How to Fight Urza

David Ernenwein — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 17:00:25 +0000

Urza is everywhere. As the latest it deck in Modern, it's getting most of the attention when eyes can be torn away from Magic's new baby, Pioneer. The deck's impressive results do recall the banned Krark-Clan Ironworks deck. Today we'll examining how to fight Urza, starting with the overall archetype and then looking at specific […]

The post Dismantling the Bomb: How to Fight Urza first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

QS Flash Cast: Pioneer’s First Bannings

Christopher O'Berry — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 09:00:23 +0000

Join Chris O’Berry and Sam Lowe as they talk about the new non-rotating format, Pioneer and its first Banned & Restricted announcement.

The post QS Flash Cast: Pioneer’s First Bannings first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

How Cheap Planeswalkers Are Warping Modern

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 01 Nov 2019 16:00:43 +0000

To me, the breakout Modern development of 2019 wasn't the long-awaited Stoneforge Mystic unban, the rise and fall of Arclight Phoenix, or the frightening flash of Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis. Rather, it was the introduction of cheap planeswalkers on a massive scale. Beginning with War of the Spark, Wizards unleashed on the format gameplay the likes […]

The post How Cheap Planeswalkers Are Warping Modern first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Forming the Meta: Regionals and Atlanta

David Ernenwein — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 16:00:21 +0000

It has been a frustrating year for analyzing the Modern metagame, as multiple bannings and an influx of new cards have churned its natural state. Things are finally starting to stabilize, which means that a reasonable picture is forming. We've got a burst of new data to thank for that quieting down. Nonetheless, the new […]

The post Forming the Meta: Regionals and Atlanta first appeared on Quiet Speculation.