Every few weeks, speculation begins to rise about the next Banned and Restricted Announcement. Whenever something actually does happen, I frequently see laments over being blindsided and calls for Wizards to implement a banning watchlist. While an official list will never happen as it would unduly influence the secondary market, I do think it useful […]
David Ernenwein
David has been playing Magic since Odyssey block. A dedicated Spike, he's been grinding tournaments for over a decade, including a Pro Tour appearance. A Modern specialist who dabbles in Legacy, his writing is focused on metagame analysis and deck evolution.
The Modern metagame cycles, though the process is slow and hard to see. This complicates determining which trends are just flashes in the pan and which must be accounted for and adapted to. Metagame-specific decks, like Death and Taxes at GP Las Vegas 2017, can look like real decks, at times frustrating players trying to […]
The competitive drive always burns, no matter how many setbacks I suffer. After all, what’s the point in doing anything unless you strive to improve and grow? So, it’s once more into the breach for the last PPTQ. I failed to win a PPTQ this year, but that didn’t mean giving up on making the […]
Between my banlist testing series and Thanksgiving, it’s been a heavy few weeks. For something lighter, this week I’m investigating the in-game mechanic known as velocity. Velocity is old news to Modern, but recently, a number of high-velocity aggro decks have gained prominence. Why is no mystery, as there is tons of red looting in […]
It is a common trap to look only to hard data when making decisions. After all, numbers are clear and unequivocal. However, they don’t tell the full story of the data. Confounding variables and intangible effects color the results and complicate the data. The data from my latest banlist test indicate that Green Sun’s Zenith […]
Finally, it’s time for everyone’s favorite part of the banlist test: the experimental data. After playing 500 matches with GB Elves over several months, I can finally put some data to the speculation about the impact of unbanning Green Sun’s Zenith. I will be revealing the hard numbers and their statistical significance. As always, these […]
It’s finally time for another banlist testing report. Back in May, readers chose
As the metagame shifts, decks rise and fall. Sometimes, that churning is explosive. Such events are exciting and foster discussion and articles. However, it is important to remember to temper excitement with reason. Spikes and oscillations are just that, and only matter if they’re sustained. After Golgari Grave-Troll was banned, Dredge dropped out of sight. […]
The Beginner’s Guide series offers advice to new to Modern players and dispels common myths about the format’s workings. This week, inspired by some consistent misplays I’ve observed, I am going to be tackling Modern’s control decks. There appears to be a perception that they’re something to tread carefully around. But control is just another […]
Every player has their own biases and preferences when it comes to deck selection. There’s nothing wrong with playing to strengths, and it is important to remember that Magic is a game. You have more fun playing something you enjoy. However, this goes both ways, and you can dislike a deck for less-than-rational reasons. I have […]
The metagame constantly cycles and decks rise and fall. Last year, Grixis Death’s Shadow was the deck-to-beat in Modern; today, it’s Humans. Sometimes, this fluctuation occurs because of players reacting to new decks or trends; sometimes, it’s because of new printings. With the release of Guilds of Ravnica, Modern seems poised for a major shift thanks to […]
There’s an old saw in Standard: play the best deck with the best cards. Standard is about the cardpool’s restrictions and the disparities in card power. Therefore, it makes sense to only play the most powerful cards, or to play as many as can work together. Modern’s far greater size means there are far more options […]
Oftentimes, new mechanics are set aside, to be discussed only in terms of their impact on cards. Today, I am going to flip the script and go into detail about surveil. This mechanic is the most interesting part of Guilds of Ravnica to me, and while it may not happen immediately, I expect that it will […]
