Last week, an old Magic buddy texted me out of the blue, asking if I was interested in going to SCG Baltimore at the end of the month to play some live Modern. My first reaction: “Can’t do it, I’ve got way too much going on…” But then I remembered that it’s summer, and I […]

I’m back this week with more of my popular financial set review, now tackling the Modern Masters 2017 rares. I won’t cover each rare in the set, but I will review the most important ones in depth. I also want to talk about a few choice uncommons, so grab your calendars and wallets. You’ll need them to plan out the […]

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 […]

Last week, I suggested Grixis Death’s Shadow as one of a shortlist of archetypes that I felt was strongly positioned against the major players in the format. A combination of disruption, cheap threats, and a proactive gameplan that can mold to fit a variety of matchups seemed very appealing in a Modern format full of […]

Immediately following its mainstream introduction to Modern by Josh Utter-Leyton and his crew at GP Vancouver, Death’s Shadow gained significant footing in the metagame. The explosion of Jund Shadow onto the paper scene at roughly 10% has since cooled, with the deck taking a more reasonable 8% share when lumped in with Abzan Shadow builds. Part of the reason for […]

Mike breaks down the many big spikes we’ve seen in Standard plus a few Modern Masters 2017 cards worth keeping an eye on. Check it out!

Hey guys, I’m here this week to give you my set review of the critically acclaimed Modern Masters 2017! It might seem a little weird reviewing a set so far after release, but I have found many people asking the same questions over and over about the cards contained within. I wanted to take the time […]

The line between genius and madness is indistinct. The line between epiphany and world-class tilting-off is blurry. I’m in something of a fugue, and uncertain of where I stand anymore. While I am personally certain of the veracity of my forthcoming statement describing the Modern metagame, my ability to perceive normal reality is compromised. I’ll […]

For all their clickbait connotations, “best of” lists have always resonated with the Magic community. Something about us—perhaps as spell-slingers, or maybe just as humans—simply adores scrolling through a list… whether that scrolling induces nods of agreement, disapproving tsk-tsks, or furious keyboard mashing. Modern Top 5 is a series I’m starting today in honor of that infatuation. It will cover […]

I’m not one to play the “best deck.” Usually, that’s because I’m packing some form of control, tempted by the cruel mistress that is card advantage. Oftentimes, this obsession translates directly into uphill battles and short Saturdays, but that’s neither here nor there. Still, my time spent attacking the format from the outside has given […]

Back-to-back deck techs!? You betcha! I’ve been putting some more thinking into what Iconic Masters means for Magic, and how Wizards of the Coast could have approached it. I think there could be some pretty important reprints in that set that will help Eldrazi Tron the most, and I want to talk with you about them! Overview Eldrazi […]

Publication does not mean that an experiment is complete. Oftentimes readers see trends or have insights that never occurred to the author. Other times feedback leads to epiphanies which requires additional investigation. As a result, in academia it is important to revisit old papers and reexamine conclusions. Therefore, I’m going to spend today following up on […]

The B&R update last week shook up a lot of formats, but not Modern. With the format stable for the time being, it’s worth a closer look to see where there may be opportunity.