storm | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com Play More, Win More, Pay Less Wed, 09 Jun 2021 16:00:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.quietspeculation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/favicon.png storm | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com 32 32 The Losers from Modern Horizons 2 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/06/losers-modern-horizons-2/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/06/losers-modern-horizons-2/#respond Wed, 09 Jun 2021 16:00:33 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=23211 All decks aren't created equal: some are Splinter Twin, others are Mono-Green Aura Stompy. The same goes for every set: some are Dominaria, others Legions. Thus, the impact of every new set will be felt unequally both by Modern as a whole and by individual decks. Not every set can have Modern-playable cards, and not every […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/06/losers-modern-horizons-2/feed/ 0 Chain of Smog: From Bulk to Broken https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/chain-of-smog-from-bulk-to-broken/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/chain-of-smog-from-bulk-to-broken/#comments Fri, 26 Mar 2021 11:00:21 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=97673

Kai examines the recent spike of Chain of Smog from Onslaught, its infinite combo potential with Professor Onyx, and what that will mean for prices the near future.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/03/chain-of-smog-from-bulk-to-broken/feed/ 1 Heroes Arise: Theros Beyond Death Spoilers https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/01/heroes-arise-theros-beyond-death-spoilers/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/01/heroes-arise-theros-beyond-death-spoilers/#respond Tue, 07 Jan 2020 17:00:21 +0000 https://quietspeculation.com/?p=21150 Happy New Year! I'll be kicking off 2020 by leaping into spoiler season. Spoilers for Theros: Beyond Death began trickling in while everyone was on holiday break. Now, with our holiday hangovers but a painful memory, the flood has begun. There appears to be considerable potential for Modern cards, and given how 2019 went, I'm […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/01/heroes-arise-theros-beyond-death-spoilers/feed/ 0 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 Final Check-in: Pre-London Cleanup https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/04/final-check-in-pre-london-cleanup/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/04/final-check-in-pre-london-cleanup/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2019 16:00:57 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=19953

This is a very busy week. War of the Spark is now completely revealed, and so I have a few final cards to discuss. There have been a number of interesting cards for Modern, but we haven't seen any obvious all-stars. Of course, that may be a lot to ask for, and more role-players are always […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/04/final-check-in-pre-london-cleanup/feed/ 8 Tales from the Buylist #8 – Commander Moves the Needle https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/04/tales-from-the-buylist-8-commander-moves-the-needle/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/04/tales-from-the-buylist-8-commander-moves-the-needle/#respond Thu, 04 Apr 2019 16:50:21 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=92129

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.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/04/tales-from-the-buylist-8-commander-moves-the-needle/feed/ 0 MTG Metagame Finance #23 (Free Giveaway #2!) https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-23-free-giveaway-2/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-23-free-giveaway-2/#respond Fri, 14 Dec 2018 10:00:16 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90756

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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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-23-free-giveaway-2/feed/ 0 Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #16 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/10/hold-em-fold-em-16/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/10/hold-em-fold-em-16/#comments Thu, 25 Oct 2018 12:08:51 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90134

The SCG Dallas Open showcased some interesting developments in several formats. Eddie takes stock of new technology and logs the changes to his portfolio in response.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/10/hold-em-fold-em-16/feed/ 4 Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #15 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/10/hold-em-fold-em-15/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/10/hold-em-fold-em-15/#comments Thu, 18 Oct 2018 21:04:39 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90031

Another week of Guilds of Ravnica, another set of recommendations. Eddie provides the latest moves in his portfolio, including some Modern breakouts and a few odd foils.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/10/hold-em-fold-em-15/feed/ 2 Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #8 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/08/hold-em-fold-em-8/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/08/hold-em-fold-em-8/#comments Thu, 30 Aug 2018 20:44:51 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=89301

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.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/08/hold-em-fold-em-8/feed/ 2 Answering Combo: A Beginner’s Guide https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/07/answering-combo-beginners-guide/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/07/answering-combo-beginners-guide/#comments Tue, 10 Jul 2018 16:00:27 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=18310 The Modern PPTQ season begins at the end of July. For consummate grinders like myself, this is a call to break out the tech and start polish decks. It's also a call to start playtesting, both to understand how my own deck works and to understand how other decks operate. One of the greatest challenges […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/07/answering-combo-beginners-guide/feed/ 5 GP Las Vegas and the Ironworks Conundrum https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/06/gp-las-vegas-and-the-ironworks-conundrum/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/06/gp-las-vegas-and-the-ironworks-conundrum/#comments Tue, 19 Jun 2018 16:00:23 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=18200 With Grand Prix Las Vegas in the books, it's time to reexamine the metagame. 2,779 players in a single event provides a valuable data crucible. In theory, such an event would produce results very similar to the "real" Modern metagame. In theory. Reality is chaotic, and has given us something far more interesting to dissect: […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/06/gp-las-vegas-and-the-ironworks-conundrum/feed/ 9 Blood Sun: First Impressions https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/01/blood-sun-first-impressions/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/01/blood-sun-first-impressions/#comments Fri, 05 Jan 2018 17:00:22 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=16992 Yesterday, Eli Shiffrin spoiled Blood Sun, a new card from Rivals of Ixalan. Modernites were quick to give the internet a piece of their mind, with thoughts ranging from the expectant "Wizards squandered an opportunity to nerf Tron" to the meme-level "I don't want to be THAT guy, but this card will probably need a […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/01/blood-sun-first-impressions/feed/ 6 Metagame Developments: The Regionals Update https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/11/metagame-developments-regionals-update/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/11/metagame-developments-regionals-update/#comments Wed, 08 Nov 2017 18:15:51 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=16023 So, here it is, the big update. After today, we will definitely have enough data to make actual conclusions about the metagame. I won't go as far to say that it is the definitive metagame—it's not that big. However, this will show what you can expect going into Grand Prix Oklahoma City. The online metagame has […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/11/metagame-developments-regionals-update/feed/ 4 King of the Hill: Using Your Flex Slots in an Open Meta https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/11/king-hill-using-flex-slots-open-meta/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/11/king-hill-using-flex-slots-open-meta/#respond Tue, 07 Nov 2017 19:00:42 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=16013 If you’ve been playing Modern over the last few months, you may have noticed an interesting trend in the metagame results: no one deck is top dog. While a familiar cast of characters inhabits the top of the charts, it seems as if any one of them can do well in a given tournament, all […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/11/king-hill-using-flex-slots-open-meta/feed/ 0 The Strange Case of the Metagame and the Unbannings https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/10/strange-case-metagame-unbannings/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/10/strange-case-metagame-unbannings/#comments Tue, 31 Oct 2017 16:30:21 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=15865 It begins, gentle seekers of glory. Today is a day of great opportunity and gangrenous rot. The pallid sun meekly illuminates the great ravenous hordes as they linger, eager and anxious, waiting for their moment, when they shall be unleashed upon the world to slack their unending hunger for inadequately-proportioned sugary confections. For those whose […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/10/strange-case-metagame-unbannings/feed/ 18 Metagame Developments: SCG Cincinnati Analysis https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/10/metagame-developments-scg-cincinnati-analysis/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/10/metagame-developments-scg-cincinnati-analysis/#comments Tue, 24 Oct 2017 16:00:40 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=15789 Another week, another Star City Open, another round of data collection. As a general observation, the metagame diversity on display is remarkable. As the data will show, there are numerous viable archetypes and considerable diversity within those archetypes. However, clear front-runners are emerging. Should these continue through Regionals I think the metagame tiering will emerge. […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/10/metagame-developments-scg-cincinnati-analysis/feed/ 13 Testing Preordain: Quantitative Results https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/10/testing-preordain-quantitative-results/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/10/testing-preordain-quantitative-results/#comments Tue, 03 Oct 2017 16:00:44 +0000 http://quietspeculation.com/?p=15538 The time has (finally) come to actually reveal the results of my latest banlist test. Looking back, testing two different decks made this harder than it needed to be. Focusing just on Storm would have yielded more satisfying data, though not a more significant result. As you will see, it appears that Preordain would not […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/10/testing-preordain-quantitative-results/feed/ 5 Beginner’s Guide: Managing Deck Complexity https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/05/managing-deck-complexity-beginners-guide/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/05/managing-deck-complexity-beginners-guide/#comments Tue, 30 May 2017 21:15:34 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=14488

Welcome back to the Beginner's Guide. Once again, it is time for some general advice for those making the transition from Standard to Modern. As always, my intention is to provide a foundation for newer players to build on. Once this is established, only then are you ready to talk about all the nuance that aficionados […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/05/managing-deck-complexity-beginners-guide/feed/ 2 It’s Time Again: Banlist Options https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/05/time-again-banlist-options/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/05/time-again-banlist-options/#comments Tue, 16 May 2017 16:15:06 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=14360 Tilt is quite a mighty thing. Re-reading my fevered scrawlings from last week proved deeply concerning. I knew I was unwell, but I didn't know how unwell. While I'm better now, I may need to refocus before things get worse. Therefore, it's time to torture myself by beginning another Banlist Test. In Moby Dick, Ishmael goes to sea […]

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