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Performance Review: MH2 Edition

David Ernenwein — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 16:00:04 +0000

Nobody enjoys performance reviews. Even if they're positive. There's just something existentially distressing that comes with being assessed, aside from any professional implications stemming from said review. And they're also frequently boring for everyone involved. (From personal experience.) However, they can be useful for fostering improvement. Especially when they're self-administered in a public setting, so […]

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An Adventure to Remember: AFR Spoilers

David Ernenwein — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 16:00:17 +0000

I'm in an unusual position this spoiler season. Two weeks ago, barely anything had been spoiled; today, the whole set is not only spoiled, but available online. Such are the breaks when spoiler season happens over the first week of a new month. As such, this will be a different kind of spoiler article. I […]

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MH2 Overview, Pt. 2: Playing the Part

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 16:00:13 +0000

To quote a great doctor, "the M.H. saga continues." Yesterday, we considered the decks to be impacted and created by Modern Horizons 2, and today, we'll look at at the many role-players present in the set. Let's begin with the Incarnation cycle (ranked!), after which we'll check out new removal, utility, and build-around options. Finally, it […]

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MH2 Overview, Pt. 1: Home Cooking

Jordan Boisvert — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 16:00:27 +0000

The bars are opening, and with them, certain among the FNM registry's many stinky basements. In other words, it's officially Christmas. And if you don't celebrate Christmas, well, it's time to start: Modern Horizons 2 is fully spoiled as of yesterday! On that note, I'm thrilled to welcome you, fellow Modern fanatic, to the first […]

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Paying Tuition: Strixhaven Spoilers Part 2

David Ernenwein — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 16:00:40 +0000

And now, back to the spoilers. The full spoiler is now out and Strixhaven launches online this Thursday. In turn, this means that brewing and experimentation is already underway. Which means that the fruits of discovery will begin to make themselves known for next month's metagame update. Having just typed that sentence, I'm worried that my […]

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Introductory Modern Mechanics: Strixhaven Spoilers Week 1

David Ernenwein — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 16:00:10 +0000

Greetings students, and welcome to the first week of Strixhaven spoilers. As this is the first week, I'll be keeping things simple by going through the set's mechanics. I've made this a tradition for all new set spoilers, and it's particularly appropriate this time as the new mechanics are a both surprisingly straightforward and annoyingly indirect. […]

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Holy Moly: Kaldheim Spoiler Review

Jordan Boisvert — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 20:10:55 +0000

Kaldheim is finally here and legal, and there's a lot to unpack in this relatively innocuous set. Among the cards I'm most excited for are a set of juicy effect lands, an intriguing foretell spell, some promising hate cards, and a new cycle of Gods more tailored to Modern than any previous incarnation. Let's dive […]

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No Middle Ground: Kaldheim Spoiler Week 2

David Ernenwein — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 17:00:48 +0000

It's an odd set where there doesn't appear to be anything amiss. As I'm writing this sentence, there is nothing that even vaguely resembles anything dangerous. Which is not a bad thing. It's just weird, given that we've had the companions, Astrolabe, Uro, Oko, and Hogaak in the past two years busting everything. And that's […]

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Snow-Thing to Consider: Kaldheim Spoiler Week 1

David Ernenwein — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 17:00:46 +0000

It's time for that quarterly tradition of reviewing the latest spoilers! Which for the past few iterations has been oddly trepidatious. Prior to 2019, Modern never had to worry about a new set coming out. We maybe had one or two cards make lasting impressions, which kept the format stable. Then Wizards seemed to lose […]

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A Moment of Zendikar Rising Spoilers, Pt.2

David Ernenwein — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 16:00:26 +0000

With the new set fully spoiled, it's my turn to look at the spoilers. Normally, I'd have led off with a look at the new mechanics. It just wasn't applicable this time. Kicker and landfall have been around before, and party isn't really a mechanic. And the Spell lands aren't enough to carry a whole article. […]

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Investigating Confounding Conundrum

David Ernenwein — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 16:00:49 +0000

Ah, spoiler season. The time when I don't have to stretch myself doing statistical work. Just looking at the new cards, doing some basic analysis, and speculating about whether there's a place in Modern for them. Simple and low-pressure, just what this year's called for. Then, something had to come in a ruin everything: a […]

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Zen Again: Zendikar Rising Spoilers, Pt. 1

Jordan Boisvert — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 16:00:22 +0000

Zendikar Rising spoilers are officially underway! That also means summer is ending... but what great outdoor plans did we have that weren't ruined by a global pandemic anyway? There's never been a better time to forget about real-life exploration and lock ourselves inside to peruse new cards at a glowing computer screen! Flip Top Rising's […]

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Here Be Questions: Ikoria Spoilers, Week 2

David Ernenwein — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 16:00:00 +0000

Well, that was fast. Normally we have three full weeks of spoilers, but Wizards has really rushed out Ikoria. I'm guessing the quarantine is a factor here and they're in a bit of a scramble. In any case, the entire set is now out. And it's a little mediocre, Modern-wise. As I mentioned last week, this […]

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Here be Monsters: Ikoria Spoilers Week 1

David Ernenwein — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 16:00:30 +0000

Alright Magic world, it's time to screech to even more of a halt: it's spoiler time again. That means you, Timmy and Tammy! Particularly you, since this set is tailor made to your preferences, they being giant monsters and the making thereof. The pickings are a bit thinner for Spike this time around, but that's fine […]

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Spoiler Scouring: Two New Ikoria Brews

Jordan Boisvert — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 16:00:44 +0000

As starved as many are for distractions in this day and age, distractions also abound, and got the better of me this time. Like a silent, scaled predator, this set crept up on me. I had to double-check if Ikoria, Lair of Behemoths was even slated to be sanctioned in Modern. Wait a minute... Behemoths? […]

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Beyond First Impressions: Theros Review

David Ernenwein — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 17:00:21 +0000

With the Prerelease out of the way the actual work of exploring Theros: Beyond Death has begun. As Jordan previously noted, there are a number of interesting role players in Theros. However, there don't appear to be any unequivocal home runs. Considering how 2019 went, that's a very nice change; I'd like a chance to finally catch […]

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U Mirin’: Theros Beyond Death Spoilers, Pt. 2

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 17:00:45 +0000

Theros: Beyond Death spoilers are well underway. David covered the heavy-hitters earlier this week, but more cards have been revealed, and the set seems packed full of low-level goodies that stand to very marginally improve some of Modern's many strategies. Let's take a look at at some of the most underrated tech in the new […]

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Best of 2019: Evaluating One-Mana Beaters

Jordan Boisvert — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 17:00:03 +0000

Editor's note: 2019 was perhaps Modern's wildest year ever, featuring such meta-defining decks as UR Phoenix, Hogaak, and Whirza thanks to monumental shakeups in the form of Modern Horizons and other expansions. That chaos wasn't without its constants, including one critical element of new spoilers: card evaluation. In this re-run of my favorite self-published article […]

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Happy Endings for Throne of Eldraine Spoilers

David Ernenwein — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 16:00:25 +0000

All good stories must come to an end. Hopefully, they'll be paced better than Game of Thrones's was. The Throne of Eldraine prerelease is this weekend and the spoiler is finished, so it's time to wrap up my set review. There haven't been many interesting individual cards spoiled since my last article, but a number of […]

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Tall Tales: Throne of Eldraine Spoilers, Week 2

David Ernenwein — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 16:00:20 +0000

Thrones of Eldraine spoilers are rolling on, and I'm having more fun watching them than any other set I can remember. That's not to say that Modern Horizons was boring nor War of the Spark lacking content. Rather, there are more opportunites to make your own fun with Eldraine than the other sets. Rosewater showed how the cards […]

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