And now, back to our regularly scheduled metagame analysis. Let me just take a look at what’s been winning… oh. MTGO’s reporting system is bugged; there’s been no new data since March 10. Huh. Ok, well, let me just see what’s happening in the community… wait, really? Heliod Company is considered the best deck now? […]

The time after a set release or a major ban is always exciting. The format is in flux, the metagame undefined, and everything seems playable. This is even more true right now, thanks to the ban taking away a metagame pillar. This has in turn renewed interest in Modern, bringing an influx of players and […]

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 […]

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 […]

Having finished the appetizer, it’s time for the main course: the data from my Hypergenesis test. This is the hard, quantitative data, and I’ve done statistics on them to determine the validity of the test. For the stats people out there, I do a multiple significance test, but will report the z-test here. There’s never […]

It’s been quite a while, but your eyes do not deceive: this is another full banlist test series! It’s been almost two years since I did one of these. Not for lack of trying, mind you, but there are only so many viable test subjects in the first place, and I’ve done a few already. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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.

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 […]

Hot on the heels of my practical examination last week, it’s time to formally close the books on the old metagame. Or at least that expression of the old metagame. Who knows how Kaldheim will actually affect Modern, but regardless, the old metagame will see turmoil and change. I expect whatever emerges from Kaldheim to be similar […]

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 […]

It’s a new year for Modern, and brewers haven’t wasted a moment’s time. Early January’s biggest novel developments were among attacking decks, ranging from basement-low Swiftspear decks to grindier Uro piles while featuring a rare twist that’s been murmured about since the format’s creation! Sligh Fox Let’s start from the bottom. Mono-Red Prowess and its […]