Simian Spirit Guide | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com Play More, Win More, Pay Less Fri, 28 Oct 2022 02:22:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.quietspeculation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/favicon.png Simian Spirit Guide | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com 32 32 Generational Magic: Experiencing Vintage on a Budget https://www.quietspeculation.com/2022/10/generational-magic-experiencing-vintage-on-a-budget/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2022/10/generational-magic-experiencing-vintage-on-a-budget/#respond Fri, 28 Oct 2022 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=122544

Tony visited another LGS this past weekend to try out a format and deck he's never played before. Check it out and see if Budget Vintage might be for you!

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2022/10/generational-magic-experiencing-vintage-on-a-budget/feed/ 0 Everything’s Relative: Card Power Examined https://www.quietspeculation.com/2022/01/everythings-relative-card-power-examined/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2022/01/everythings-relative-card-power-examined/#respond Tue, 18 Jan 2022 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=108968

As Modern crawls with red one-drops, David tries to answer the question burning in everyone's mind: is Ragavan or DRC king among them?

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2022/01/everythings-relative-card-power-examined/feed/ 0 Unmuddle Modern with Pillar Thinking https://www.quietspeculation.com/2022/01/unmuddle-modern-pillar-thinking/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2022/01/unmuddle-modern-pillar-thinking/#respond Mon, 17 Jan 2022 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=108649

Jordan applies pillar thinking to Modern, identifying five distinct macro-archetypes to carve out a holistic picture of the format.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2022/01/unmuddle-modern-pillar-thinking/feed/ 0 Spell Spotlight: Prismari Command https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/05/spell-spotlight-prismari-command/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/05/spell-spotlight-prismari-command/#respond Wed, 19 May 2021 16:00:37 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=22973

When it was first spoiled, Prismari Command wasn't particularly exciting to Modern players. But this month, we're seeing the card on a noticeable uptick, with players registering two to even the full four copies in archetypes as strategically diverse as value, combo, and control. Clearly there's something to this three-mana instant! Today, we'll take a […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/05/spell-spotlight-prismari-command/feed/ 0 Testing Hypergenesis: Qualitative Data and Conclusion https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/testing-hypergenesis-qualitative-data-conclusion/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/testing-hypergenesis-qualitative-data-conclusion/#respond Tue, 09 Mar 2021 17:00:24 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=22779

And now, to wrap things up. I've talked about the setup and the hard data, but that doesn't tell the whole story. It's usually the intangible or at least unquantifiable observations that most inform decisions. I made a number of observations and ancillary impacts during my testing that changed how I see Hypergenesis. Today, I'll […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/testing-hypergenesis-qualitative-data-conclusion/feed/ 0 Friendly Fire: The New Banlist’s Splash Damage https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/friendly-fire-new-banlists-splash-damage/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/friendly-fire-new-banlists-splash-damage/#respond Wed, 03 Mar 2021 17:00:13 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=22769

The latest banlist announcement did a number on Modern's top decks, decimating the Uro piles which week and again would claim top of the heap as well as the new bullies on the block, cascade-powered decks abusing the latest Tibalt cards. In order to solve for these displays of power, though, Wizards took an unconventional […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/friendly-fire-new-banlists-splash-damage/feed/ 0 Alien Zoo: Colorless Eldrazi Stompy Post-SSG Ban https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/alien-zoo-colorless-eldrazi-stompy-post-ssg-ban/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/alien-zoo-colorless-eldrazi-stompy-post-ssg-ban/#respond Mon, 22 Feb 2021 17:00:30 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=22685 On February 15, 2021, Wizards banned a card near and dear to my heart: Simian Spirit Guide. The Asking-for-It Ape was featured prominently in my go-to Modern deck, Colorless Eldrazi Stompy, which must mutate dramatically if it is to keep pace in the format. With a week of testing under my belt, I'm ready to […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/alien-zoo-colorless-eldrazi-stompy-post-ssg-ban/feed/ 0 Nuked From Orbit: The February ’21 Banning https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/nuked-from-orbit-february-21-banning/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/nuked-from-orbit-february-21-banning/#respond Tue, 16 Feb 2021 17:00:36 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=22686 Wow. There are bannings, and then there are bannings. This was definitely the latter. Wizards looked at non-Standard Constructed, saw that it was poor, and nuked it. All of it, Historic, Pioneer, Legacy, and most importantly, Modern. Vintage also saw an unbanning. Because somebody had to get thrown a bone. Monday morning, Wizards dropped the largest […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/nuked-from-orbit-february-21-banning/feed/ 0 February 15, 2021 Banned and Restricted Announcement Thoughts and Analysis https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/february-15-2021-banned-and-restricted-announcement-thoughts-and-analysis/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/february-15-2021-banned-and-restricted-announcement-thoughts-and-analysis/#respond Mon, 15 Feb 2021 23:16:28 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=97339

Wizards just announced a swath of exciting bans hitting Historic, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, and Vintage. Today, Joe takes a look at the bannings, celebrates Oko finally leaving Legacy, and discusses what these bans could mean for the MTG Finance world.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/february-15-2021-banned-and-restricted-announcement-thoughts-and-analysis/feed/ 0 The Trouble with Tibalt: A Case Study https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/trouble-with-tibalt-case-study/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/trouble-with-tibalt-case-study/#respond Tue, 09 Feb 2021 17:00:44 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=22660 It's always interesting to see how spoiler predictions play out. You can have all the experience in the world with which to judge a card, but miss some corner interaction that just blows up. Or there's an application that you never considered. The only constant is that predictions will be off and there will be […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/02/trouble-with-tibalt-case-study/feed/ 0 A Breakdown of the Zendikar Adventuring Party Video https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/09/a-breakdown-of-the-zendikar-adventuring-party-video/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/09/a-breakdown-of-the-zendikar-adventuring-party-video/#respond Fri, 04 Sep 2020 16:53:43 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=95933

This week brought a ton of new information about Zendikar Rising and the roadmap of Magic up to 2021. David breaks down the highlights.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/09/a-breakdown-of-the-zendikar-adventuring-party-video/feed/ 0 Fool Me Once: Introducing GR Eldrazi Stompy https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/01/fool-me-once-introducing-gr-eldrazi-stompy/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/01/fool-me-once-introducing-gr-eldrazi-stompy/#comments Fri, 17 Jan 2020 17:00:03 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=21205 Just when I figure out an Oko shell I like, Wizards drops the hammer on the card I'd built around! Not that I think Oko was particularly balanced in Modern; I did endorse the walker as my candidate of choice as face of the 2020 metagame, after all. Fortunately for me, plenty more Modern game-changers […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/01/fool-me-once-introducing-gr-eldrazi-stompy/feed/ 2 Modern Horizons: Spoilers and More! https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/05/modern-horizons-spoilers-and-more/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/05/modern-horizons-spoilers-and-more/#respond Sat, 25 May 2019 11:28:26 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=92775

Modern Horizons spoilers officially start May 19th. Be sure to check back with Quiet Speculation as the info rolls in!

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/05/modern-horizons-spoilers-and-more/feed/ 0 MTG Metagame Finance #32 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/03/mtg-metagame-finance-32/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/03/mtg-metagame-finance-32/#respond Fri, 01 Mar 2019 11:30:11 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=91796

Eddie has decided to take a break from writing, but not before leaving us with one more article. Today he discusses Mythic Championship Cleveland and the London mulligan rule.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/03/mtg-metagame-finance-32/feed/ 0 The Case Against Power https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/02/the-case-against-power/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/02/the-case-against-power/#comments Fri, 22 Feb 2019 10:00:20 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=91686

Today's article subject spawned from a discussion that began in the QS Discord chat. One of our members was contemplating stepping away from the game for a while and wanted to know the best place to park his money and/or what to trade into. As expected, a lot of people immediately jumped to Power. The general […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/02/the-case-against-power/feed/ 16 What’s Next #2 – Slot Machine https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/02/whats-next-2-slot-machine/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/02/whats-next-2-slot-machine/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2019 18:01:05 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=91719

Mox Opal and Ancient Stirrings are on the rise again in Modern via a new combo deck. Find out if you should join 'em or figure out how to beat 'em.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/02/whats-next-2-slot-machine/feed/ 4 Ravnica Allegiance: Spoilers, Facts, Specs & More https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/ravnica-allegiance-spoilers-facts-specs-more/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/ravnica-allegiance-spoilers-facts-specs-more/#comments Sat, 12 Jan 2019 12:00:24 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90531

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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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/ravnica-allegiance-spoilers-facts-specs-more/feed/ 29 MTG Metagame Finance #26 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/mtg-metagame-finance-26/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/mtg-metagame-finance-26/#respond Thu, 03 Jan 2019 05:00:43 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90988

Eddie takes a look at some cards to pick up during the winter lull, and prepares us for more Ravnica Allegiance spoiler speculation.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/mtg-metagame-finance-26/feed/ 0 MTG Metagame Finance #25 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-25/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-25/#respond Tue, 25 Dec 2018 17:44:01 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90930

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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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-25/feed/ 0 MTG Metagame Finance #24 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-24/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-24/#respond Fri, 21 Dec 2018 01:05:52 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90841

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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