[Official] State of Modern Thread (B&R 07/13/2020)

User avatar
drmarkb
Posts: 634
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by drmarkb » 4 years ago

Oko would not be an issue in Standard if they printed cards that actually punished planeswalkers rather than going one for one at 3 mana after they have had an activation out of them. Spyglass effects would be fine if the things cantripped -like Tsabo's Web. Sadly, what Wizards hate is new players getting frustrated- having a card in hand that does nothing because of the opponent's actions is frustrating- which means everything has to do something, which means that in Standard we see the best something with the best something and a bunch of underpowered answers, which leads to bannings of cards like Field, when all they really needed was a suitable number of solid cards that remove land.

What Mtg needs in all formats is cards to punish best creature+ best planeswalker decks. This is why I quite enjoy degeneracy in Modern, even if I don't play it myself- there is *NOTHING* worse than endless midrange mush vs. midrange mush vs extreme aggro, and after they ban degeneracy in Standard that is what we always get. Modern at least stops people playing this game, but at the price of decks playing solitaire.

Legacy sorts the issue out with cards- with a large number of hate cards, acceleration for every deck-not just Mox Opal decks- where every threat has an answer- Chalice, 3 sphere, Moon, Tabernacle, Force, Wasteland, Hymn, Swords, Uncounterables, and the solitaire decks have to interact to win.


Play design won't solve the issue unless the powers WOTC allow a bit more of "this is annoying, let us print it to stop X", and more so with Planeswalkers than any other. They may not want to punish people for playing with signature cards, but they need to.

User avatar
Arkmer
Opinionated and Wrong
Posts: 327
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Minnesota

Post by Arkmer » 4 years ago

drmarkb wrote:
4 years ago
Play design won't solve the issue unless the powers WOTC allow a bit more of "this is annoying, let us print it to stop X", and more so with Planeswalkers than any other. They may not want to punish people for playing with signature cards, but they need to.
I agree pretty well with that. I think a problem they have with hate like this is that they go straight for "you just can't do it anymore" and that leads to prison like decks. If they went with a Pithing Needle that allowed them to do the thing but only if they pay 3, then I think they skate the line between letting it run rampant and reining in an effect.

Only issue after that is that Oko (and a few others) seems to already be built to fight an artifact exactly like that. "Sure, here's your 3/3 for a pause on my turn. Back to being super annoying." Maybe it also gains Hexproof from that card, then at least they need something other than itself to solve the issue.

Mtgthewary
Posts: 220
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Mtgthewary » 4 years ago

Scg at this moment has best player 10:0 and second 9:1. Rest is 8:2. Both of them are urza decks. I believe only lost of place 2 was versus this other urza deck. Like Kanister sayed some weeks ago on stream , fire with fire, only urza can stop me

User avatar
ktkenshinx
Posts: 571
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: West Coast
Contact:

Post by ktkenshinx » 4 years ago

I know there are many users here and in other online venues that like to point out issues with Modern, whether its alleged lack of interactivity, alleged high variance, alleged price points, etc. Out of curiosity, what is a current example of a good Magic format and why? From what I'm seeing online, vocal elements of the online community as a whole (Twitch, Twitter, Reddit, forums, articles, etc.) has been notably negative to Magic as a whole this year with a few exceptions. One exception was a short period of Standard this year that was relatively healthy and open. Another was praise for SFM's unbanning, although that was certainly tempered with complaints about how long it took and the state of Modern generally. But between initial complaints about MH1, constant ban suggestions, a deplorable fall 2019 Standard, MH1's negative impact on Legacy, WAR's negative impact on even Vintage (not to mention Standard), questionable decisions with MTG Arena/Historic/Pioneer/etc., I'm struggling to find positive 2019 Magic moments. At least, struggling to find positive moments that the community at large remembers more than the negative ones.

What are some positive 2019 Magic/Modern moments we can look for as a reference point? What dynamics are driving the negative narratives we're seeing this year? I don't want to go so far as to say the negative narratives are in a majority, but at least to me, they've felt louder than in previous times. At the risk of bringing too much social commentary and politics into the picture, Magic has felt very tribal this year like much of America's political discourse, and not in a Goblins/Merfolk kind of way. What's going on with our game?
Over-Extended/Modern Since 2010

User avatar
Arkmer
Opinionated and Wrong
Posts: 327
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Minnesota

Post by Arkmer » 4 years ago

[mention]ktkenshinx[/mention]
To directly answer your question, I think you'll only find good experiences at the LGS level. The experiences are going to be so broken up that it'll be tough to really find a collective "this was good" on topic beyond anything you've mentioned already.

People used to talk about "the big three" in modern. Some said it was a bad thing, some said it was a good thing, the results were mixed. Personally, I think the idea of "the big three" (or four) is a good thing. Having three decks at the top be rock/paper/scissor with variance is much better than having a clearly best deck. At least you could brew something that fights one of them well enough. Maybe it's matchup lottery that gets some people down, but I think matchup lottery is better than losing to whatever the Tier 0 list is or being forced to play it as counter to itself.

About Urza in particular and by extension a few others recently this year, people have complained that it attacks lethally (or to quickly/resiliently) on too many axis. It's a reoccurring theme that recurring things from the grave is continually abused. The yard is just frequently difficult to compensate for because the cards that do it well enough to be effective are often taking slots from some other matchup and that degrades the list enough that you either over compensate for Urza (something that has been shown is a bad idea) or you fight the rest of the meta and let Urza squish you.

Too many axis to defend from; that's basically the idea I'm trying to convey here. Phoenix was grave/explosive openings+burn/2cmc fatty+board wipe, Hogaak was wide/tall/mill, Urza is wide/infinite life/Tezzeret/Constructs/endless EE. All of those are relying heavily on the grave to do multiple of their strategies. The Looting ban, I think, was a fine way to rein in much of that, maybe it depowered Phoenix an undeserved amount, Dredge I think is healthy for the format in it's various levels of power, but continually we see many axis of attack and graveyard abuse.

Circle back to "the big three". Twin was combo/burn, accounting for the grave was almost irrelevant save Snapcaster. Jund has evolved recently to be more grave centric but it's past forms were fighting the grave and only picking some delirium and Kommand benefits, nothing compared to today's grave interactions. Pod was bringing things back in it's long chain, but grave hate either wasn't necessary or was good enough to stop them.

Often when I put a deck together now, I realize I have to throw enough artifact hate to get through Welding Jar, Academy Ruins + Crucible of Worlds, and then attack the thing that I need to actually get rid of. I also need some dedicated and often static grave hate, but those either are insufficient or are easily destroyed with high difficulty of getting them back. Realistically, how much room is left after that? We saw this during Phoenix/Dredge/Hogaak; Surgical was good for some, Leyline/RiP was good for others (sorta). So how many slots do you dedicate to fighting that? You really can't without losing to too much else.

I think the cause of much of our woes in the format is grave interaction creating difficult sideboard situations because of too many angles of attack. Everyone knows that player removal is the best removal, so you just devolve into linear attack. The only other options are to play Prison or the top deck that's causing the issue.

Going forward, I hope to see fewer things that come back from the grave or cost actual mana if they do. Not all graveyard interactions are too powerful. Kommand has been a solid performer for a long time, Athreos isn't even a top card, there are tons of examples of reasonable grave interaction but I'm willing to bet they are either fragile (like Finks combo), are slow churning advantages, or cost mana in a non-free way.

User avatar
Simto
Posts: 396
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Simto » 4 years ago

I've been having a ton of fun playing Modern FNM's here, but I'm pretty lucky that my local game store has a very friendly competitive level and people do a lot of homebrewing, so you're always playing against a lot of different stuff.
There's of course a couple of guys playing the top decks, but they're pretty few and far between. Guess I'm just the lucky one, or maybe people are just too negative, who knows.

Yawgmoth
Posts: 170
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Yawgmoth » 4 years ago

Positive 2019 Moment: Modern Horizons

Modern Horizons was the most fun I have had playing magic perhaps ever. With every set, my wife and I like to buy a box or two and then build decks with only the cards we open, sort of our own "sealed" format. MH was a complete blast to play, so many fun new cards and interactions.

Because of how much fun MH was, we started playing Modern together (the last time I played modern was 5 years ago). I see people complaining about the format but I don't really see any major differences from 5 years ago. There were always the top tier decks that were crazy expensive but a good bet to win and the wonky home brews. I love the over powered broken games that modern leads to, that's what I've always liked about it.

I see a lot of people complaining about the game but I think it's because they are allergic to actually having fun or acknowledging that they like something. As if liking something that wotc does is "uncool."

If I didn't have perspective on modern from 2014 I might think that the format has gone down the drain based on all the negative commentary. However, I think that some people just like to complain about everything and the happy people just keep quiet and keep playing so it gives a skewed view of the world.

Mtgthewary
Posts: 220
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Mtgthewary » 4 years ago

Come on Stopp all. Just watched urza infinitive thopter token with only 1 land. So into top 8. I repeat O-N-E land. This is not fun. It's not our fault, it's because of their design. Mox into mox into tap emry mox... Please guys, cards like emry are really bad design and everyone could see it immediately. Only wotc not? Same happens now with oko and wrenn too. They need to stop this, it doesnt ruin only modern, it's a danger for our game in each format
Last edited by Mtgthewary 4 years ago, edited 5 times in total.

User avatar
cfusionpm
With that on the stack...
Posts: 1182
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: California, USA
Contact:

Post by cfusionpm » 4 years ago

Simto wrote:
4 years ago
I've been having a ton of fun playing Modern FNM's here, but I'm pretty lucky that my local game store has a very friendly competitive level and people do a lot of homebrewing, so you're always playing against a lot of different stuff.
There's of course a couple of guys playing the top decks, but they're pretty few and far between. Guess I'm just the lucky one, or maybe people are just too negative, who knows.
I've said a number of times that Tier 2 decks bashing into each other is the best experience Modern has to offer. That is an extremely lucky place to be. My store has been overrun with 31 flavors of Urza decks, and it's pretty awful.

Edit: I know single events don't define things.... but holy Urza.
thisisfine.jpg

Mtgthewary
Posts: 220
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Mtgthewary » 4 years ago

We are now all surprised? I hope not, because it's so stupid this meta. Sorry, but Stopp wotc printing cards like emrys, okos, mox Ambers and urzas

User avatar
drmarkb
Posts: 634
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by drmarkb » 4 years ago

ktkenshinx wrote:
4 years ago
I know there are many users here and in other online venues that like to point out issues with Modern, whether its alleged lack of interactivity, alleged high variance, alleged price points, etc. Out of curiosity, what is a current example of a good Magic format and why? From what I'm seeing online, vocal elements of the online community as a whole (Twitch, Twitter, Reddit, forums, articles, etc.) has been notably negative to Magic as a whole this year with a few exceptions. One exception was a short period of Standard this year that was relatively healthy and open. Another was praise for SFM's unbanning, although that was certainly tempered with complaints about how long it took and the state of Modern generally. But between initial complaints about MH1, constant ban suggestions, a deplorable fall 2019 Standard, MH1's negative impact on Legacy, WAR's negative impact on even Vintage (not to mention Standard), questionable decisions with MTG Arena/Historic/Pioneer/etc., I'm struggling to find positive 2019 Magic moments. At least, struggling to find positive moments that the community at large remembers more than the negative ones.

What are some positive 2019 Magic/Modern moments we can look for as a reference point? What dynamics are driving the negative narratives we're seeing this year? I don't want to go so far as to say the negative narratives are in a majority, but at least to me, they've felt louder than in previous times. At the risk of bringing too much social commentary and politics into the picture, Magic has felt very tribal this year like much of America's political discourse, and not in a Goblins/Merfolk kind of way. What's going on with our game?
Legacy is, and has been, a fantastic format. It is a member's club, but the club members are actually happy.
Minor grumbles from established Miracles and Grixis players over Narset and tef3 actually gave way when the format online when towards 4 col goodstuff, thus reestablishing the Brainstorm hegemony. Now the minor grumbles are that goodstuff decks dominate-online, but they remain minor grumbles. Complaints about Tef and Narset were complaints that in order to beat them you needed to run your own, and both cards are poor against non Brainstorm strategies. Thus they weakened blue, a cardinal sin in the eyes of many. However, soon enough the goodstuff decks and Temur/UR delver came about, Brainstorm and blue were saved- the answers to Narset and Tef being to either run all the removal (4 col) or to stick some True Names alongside some burn. Now the only moans are about w6 making the meta hostile to D n T, Elves and others. The latter has, however, developed an annoying habit of making 20/20s, the former has just changed its critter suite. Of course there are still people who won't accept it when Miracles or whatever is a bad choice, but by and large the community is well balanced.

In paper it is so hard to change from one deck to another that meta movements mean little. You enter with what you have, or want to play. It is still the format where tier 3 and below can win at a 50 player event- where the online lists regularly have spice.

By and large the vociferous moaning characterising Modern is just not present in draft fora, either. Opinions vary, but there are very few who were critical of the last few sets, with perhaps War being an exception but even then not to any great extent.

There is much dissatisfaction about Mtg. It is due in part to sets like MH1 - its pricing was poor in the US, unforgivable elsewhere. Wallet fatigue is real and collectors editions, mythic edition cock-ups and other things not related to the playing of the game soured the waters to the point that it only takes a few grumbles or cock-ups about the game itself to make things seem awful. Since they screwed the pooch with Urza (although the card itself is fine if it were not for the support cards like Mox Opal), and Hoogy, MH1 gets a lot of stick, but really these new cards were just highlighting problems that existed in the Modern pool, problems that will always exist as long as they don't print powerful full on hate cards or enough fixing/filtering to draw them reliably. How long have we got to wait before Modern gets a Cursed Totem or Humility type card hat nerfs criiter abilities including mana generation? One mana white enchantment making all creatures lose abilities and an Enlightened tutor to get it and we don't have the issue of Emry or Urza.
But they would never print it because of their own warped philosophy of answers must not be hateful.

User avatar
Tzoulis
Posts: 323
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Tzoulis » 4 years ago

cfusionpm wrote:
4 years ago
Simto wrote:
4 years ago
I've been having a ton of fun playing Modern FNM's here, but I'm pretty lucky that my local game store has a very friendly competitive level and people do a lot of homebrewing, so you're always playing against a lot of different stuff.
There's of course a couple of guys playing the top decks, but they're pretty few and far between. Guess I'm just the lucky one, or maybe people are just too negative, who knows.
I've said a number of times that Tier 2 decks bashing into each other is the best experience Modern has to offer. That is an extremely lucky place to be. My store has been overrun with 31 flavors of Urza decks, and it's pretty awful.

Edit: I know single events don't define things.... but holy Urza.

thisisfine.jpg
If anything that's more of a hit on toolbox/prison elements of Whir and the idiocy that is Oko's +1 that can deal with anything, rather than Mox/Outcome.

The Simic Urza build is a mix of a control deck (Cryptic, Explosives, Oko) and artifact synergies with a combo finish (sounds familiar?). This deck relies mostly on the egregious mistake that is Oko to combat the normal hate and it hast mostly the same weaknesses as Whirza, Stony/RiP and big mana.

Oko and Goose create artifacts which helps with reducing the effective number of artifacts you need to run for Opal, so you run controlling cards like Cryptic. It's ingenious as it is a completely new way of deck building. Still, %$#% Oko, should never have been printed as is.
drmarkb wrote:
4 years ago
One mana white enchantment making all creatures lose abilities and an Enlightened tutor to get it and we don't have the issue of Emry or Urza.
But they would never print it because of their own warped philosophy of answers must not be hateful.
As much as better and generalized answers are needed, cards like the one you mention would invalidate 50%+ of magic. That's why you'll never see them not because of their philosophy.

Their philosophy has lead them to designing for 4 colors (White's a joke, SB cards don't count as an identity) or refuse to focus on the stack interaction of blue's color pie. Over correcting to such obnoxious and overpowered cards like Humility or Tabernacle is bad design.

Oko is such a bad design and if anything, this weekend's SCG is a testament to that, along with the mess that is Standard,

Mtgthewary
Posts: 220
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Mtgthewary » 4 years ago

1 shadow versus 3 whirza in top 4. So awfully

metalmusic_4
Posts: 279
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by metalmusic_4 » 4 years ago

Legacy and modern have been my favorite formats for a long time. Legacy is bigger and has more answers so it hasn't had as many problems IMO. Moderns ban list has been so random from the beginning it has cultivated a culture of complaining. There have been legit reasons to complain, but still.... culture.

iTaLenTZ
Posts: 252
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by iTaLenTZ » 4 years ago

Mtgthewary wrote:
4 years ago
Please guys, cards like emry are really bad design and everyone could see it immediately.
And this is why I strongly believe Forsyth and Maro need to go. Utter failure after failure for 3 years straight needs to have consequences.

User avatar
cfusionpm
With that on the stack...
Posts: 1182
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: California, USA
Contact:

Post by cfusionpm » 4 years ago

Tzoulis wrote:
4 years ago
The Simic Urza build is a mix of a control deck (Cryptic, Explosives, Oko) and artifact synergies with a combo finish (sounds familiar?). This deck relies mostly on the egregious mistake that is Oko to combat the normal hate and it hast mostly the same weaknesses as Whirza, Stony/RiP and big mana.
This version of the deck looks absolutely amazing. And if I wasn't absolutely certain one or more elements will be banned from it, I would drop the literal thousand dollars to build it in a heartbeat. This is everything I would want out of a deck. Reactionary, grindy, combo kill options, Cryptic Command loops, but also has random mana fixing and acceleration. It may be missing Bolts and Snaps, but this shell is exactly what I would love to play. Shame it's going to get banned.

User avatar
pierreb
Posts: 280
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Up North

Post by pierreb » 4 years ago

Grixis Shadow won SCG vs 4 Urzas. The games were so beautiful, extremely well played by the grixis player. Such a boon to see it beat Urza repeatedly. Nice change to GDS:

- mystical dispute. Not a veil of summer, but still really good as it counters oko, urza and the fish girl and whirr.
- the royal scions. All modes are relevant: loot, pump and trample and the ultimate kills.

Edit: urza whirr plays snapcaster mage. It's just that it costs 0, is a common land, gives flashback a turn later, but does not exile the card and can be fetched. Dman trone of eldraine is full of semi-broken cards.

metalmusic_4
Posts: 279
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by metalmusic_4 » 4 years ago

cfusionpm wrote:
4 years ago
Tzoulis wrote:
4 years ago
The Simic Urza build is a mix of a control deck (Cryptic, Explosives, Oko) and artifact synergies with a combo finish (sounds familiar?). This deck relies mostly on the egregious mistake that is Oko to combat the normal hate and it hast mostly the same weaknesses as Whirza, Stony/RiP and big mana.
This version of the deck looks absolutely amazing. And if I wasn't absolutely certain one or more elements will be banned from it, I would drop the literal thousand dollars to build it in a heartbeat. This is everything I would want out of a deck. Reactionary, grindy, combo kill options, Cryptic Command loops, but also has random mana fixing and acceleration. It may be missing Bolts and Snaps, but this shell is exactly what I would love to play. Shame it's going to get banned.
Me too, I'd really like to put this together. I just need urza's, mox's and oko's then I'll have it all. Wait, that is going to cost me 1.5 mortgage payments and eat a ban..... I'm going to wait this one out I build hogaak, colorless eldrazi and other obviously broken top decks during their haydays but none of them had this kind of price tag.

It may not be the UG version of whirza that convinces WOTC to make a ban, it could be the 4 color version or another version not made yet since its still evolving, but the question is which card will they ban? In my mind it would either be 1)urza, 2)mox opal or 3)oko, but those all have reasons to not ban them so they could target other things.

Lord Seth
Posts: 18
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Lord Seth » 4 years ago

drmarkb wrote:
4 years ago
Oko would not be an issue in Standard if they printed cards that actually punished planeswalkers rather than going one for one at 3 mana after they have had an activation out of them. Spyglass effects would be fine if the things cantripped -like Tsabo's Web.
I don't think that's required. Spyglass and Needle saw play in Standard and did just fine against planeswalkers without a cantrip. Had Spyglass been legal, I doubt Aetherworks Marvel would have needed banning and it's possible Smuggler's Copter might have dodged banning as well. Spyglass is a great answer to planeswalkers.

The big problem is that it can't do a thing against planeswalkers' passive effects. Obviously a Nissa or Teferi is a lot worse if you can't activate it, but it means you're spending 2 mana and a card to weaken an opponent's planeswalker rather than effectively destorying it.

Mtgthewary
Posts: 220
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Mtgthewary » 4 years ago

So you waste a turn paying 2 mana and calling planeswalker with spyglass, and if you are lucky he had it in hand, so he doesn't need to play it. Seems really bad. You waste something, he doesn't. Other possibility he played it and allready used it, bevore you spyglass. Again bad. It's not a solution. Or you use it and he doesn't have his walker in hand... Or he plays another one. Bad bad bad allways

User avatar
Ym1r
Posts: 153
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Ym1r » 4 years ago

cfusionpm wrote:
4 years ago
Tzoulis wrote:
4 years ago
The Simic Urza build is a mix of a control deck (Cryptic, Explosives, Oko) and artifact synergies with a combo finish (sounds familiar?). This deck relies mostly on the egregious mistake that is Oko to combat the normal hate and it hast mostly the same weaknesses as Whirza, Stony/RiP and big mana.
This version of the deck looks absolutely amazing. And if I wasn't absolutely certain one or more elements will be banned from it, I would drop the literal thousand dollars to build it in a heartbeat. This is everything I would want out of a deck. Reactionary, grindy, combo kill options, Cryptic Command loops, but also has random mana fixing and acceleration. It may be missing Bolts and Snaps, but this shell is exactly what I would love to play. Shame it's going to get banned.
An honest question, if Simic Urza is exactly you want from a deck, and from what I've been given to understand over the years you want fair grindy magic at the core of modern, then why do you see Urza as a problem? Literally the best in the format atm is the deck you would want to play.

I also think this type of deck can be soft to very hard control strategies as Narset answers a lot of their card, t3f3ri answers cryptics/whir, PtE deals with Urza/Emry, and counters can generally deal with Oko (mana leak early, dovin's veto).

Not saying that Urza is not the absolutely best deck in the format, but this Simic version is a break-out and we have to see whether it is possible for the meta to react to it, much like it had happened with JDS. JDS had taken a GP by storm, and then eventually it balanced out. Maybe Simic urza will be the same.
Counter, draw a card.

User avatar
Simto
Posts: 396
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Simto » 4 years ago

Yawgmoth wrote:
4 years ago
Positive 2019 Moment: Modern Horizons

Modern Horizons was the most fun I have had playing magic perhaps ever. With every set, my wife and I like to buy a box or two and then build decks with only the cards we open, sort of our own "sealed" format. MH was a complete blast to play, so many fun new cards and interactions.

Because of how much fun MH was, we started playing Modern together (the last time I played modern was 5 years ago). I see people complaining about the format but I don't really see any major differences from 5 years ago. There were always the top tier decks that were crazy expensive but a good bet to win and the wonky home brews. I love the over powered broken games that modern leads to, that's what I've always liked about it.

I see a lot of people complaining about the game but I think it's because they are allergic to actually having fun or acknowledging that they like something. As if liking something that wotc does is "uncool."

If I didn't have perspective on modern from 2014 I might think that the format has gone down the drain based on all the negative commentary. However, I think that some people just like to complain about everything and the happy people just keep quiet and keep playing so it gives a skewed view of the world.
I agree, I thought Modern Horizons was pretty damn rad other than the big Hoe dominating. I'm just sad about the prices of the individual cards hehe.

Oh yeah I forgot, a 2019 Magic Highlight for me was Karn, The Great Creator I love that card so much :) did a mega HHHNNNNNGGGG when it was first spoiled.
Wish I could get a playset with the stained glass art like in my avatar. I actually can't believe Wizards had all those stained glass artworks made and didn't print them........

Also, not really related to modern, but in terms of highlights. The "card series" from War of the Spark that follows Gideon leading up to his attack on Bolas was some of the most metal %$#% I've ever seen in Magic. Even riding on Rakdos himself with the black blade held over his head. It had the right amount of "oh %$#% he's going to make it!!" but also a tragic undertone that "Oh %$#% he's going to get %$#% up now!!"
Too bad the cards with that artwork suck, but the artwork and story is really cool. Really want Gideon Blackblade to be good, but mostly because I think the art is dope.
I also think War of the Spark made all the Gideon haters warm up to him. Too bad he died lol!

User avatar
ZephyrScarlet
Posts: 12
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by ZephyrScarlet » 4 years ago

Mtgthewary wrote:
4 years ago
So you waste a turn paying 2 mana and calling planeswalker with spyglass, and if you are lucky he had it in hand, so he doesn't need to play it. Seems really bad. You waste something, he doesn't. Other possibility he played it and allready used it, bevore you spyglass. Again bad. It's not a solution. Or you use it and he doesn't have his walker in hand... Or he plays another one. Bad bad bad allways
??? Something tells me you haven't even stopped to read what the card actually does and jumped straight ahead to the bashing. In hindsight, with your post history that seems to be the case every time. Just so you know, none of your scenarios will happen, because Spyglass lets you look at your opponent's hand before naming something. So it should go like this:
Mtgthewary wrote:
4 years ago
you waste a turn paying 2 mana and calling planeswalker with spyglass, and if you are lucky he had it in hand, so he doesn't need to play it. Seems really bad. You waste something, he doesn't.
You look at their hand, see if there's a planeswalker that needs a nip in the bud, then name it. No luck involved. If there isn't a planeswalker you can either name something he does have in hand or preemptively name a walker that gives you problems. You don't "waste" anything since you've laid a proactive hate piece that makes a card in their hand literally unplayable, and can disable up to three more copies of the same card. How is wasting a draw step in a blank card bad? Furthermore, how is being on the play and naming Wrenn and Six when the opponent just had one that they hoped resolving since they kept a two lander?
Mtgthewary wrote:
4 years ago
Other possibility he played it and allready used it, bevore you spyglass. Again bad. It's not a solution.
It is a solution in the sense that you just blocked all future activations of that walker. Oko not being able to steal whatever you drop to pressure him, or not being able to elk your hatepieces / threats suddenly looks a lot less menacing. Would you rather let it run rampant? Trophy it so you give your opponent a land and then just plays another one and goes off again?
Mtgthewary wrote:
4 years ago
Or you use it and he doesn't have his walker in hand... Or he plays another one. Bad bad bad allways
Again, you can literally look at your opponent's hand to see if he does or does not have it or if he has more urgent issues going on that you can nail. I fail to see how this is "bad always", although you could've saved me this post if you just RTFC,

User avatar
Bearscape
Posts: 233
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by Bearscape » 4 years ago

Positive 2019 Magic Moments is a fun discussion

For Modern, pre-Hogaak was a fine format. Although Phoenix was IMO the clear best deck and the point where Looting should have gotten banned, it was a fair ruler and it could be challenged. Similarly, early post Looting Ban was awesome, although Urza was already looming and did eventually take over. Modern Horizons itself I also still see as a success, with a bunch of good additions to Modern, where Hogaak was the one true "what the hell were they thinking" design; Urza himself is honestly a great card design, it's just that there's too many busted awfully designed card that synergise with him.

After 3 weeks of holiday I do need to vent negatives too, however. Eldraine was an atrocious set for Modern, maybe the worst since Oath of the Gatewatch. I loathe basically every single card of it that has proven Modern playability. Once Upon a Time, Mystic Sanctuary, Enri and most of all Oko are all fundamentally obnoxious and awful designs that should never have seen the light of day.

User avatar
pierreb
Posts: 280
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Up North

Post by pierreb » 4 years ago

I agree with bearscape, except I think Urza is also a mistake. Basically, anything that turns artifacts into moxes is a mistake given the number of zero-costs artifacts ans how easy it is to recur them from the GY. Sure, Emry is the most efficient one, but other wise we'd see scrap trawler and the like.

I cannot phantom what Wizards was thinking when they put gilded goose and oko in the same standard set. Even in standard, that results in an endless stream of 3/3 starting on turn 3. In modern, with free eggs on turn 1 (mishra's bauble for example), it starts churning 3/3 on turn 2.

Basically, Urza Whirr is the best mid-range deck (makes endless 3/3 from turn 2 or 3), with a combo (thopter sword) and a big mana toolbox (urza + free artifacts + whirr). Oh, and it incidentally can gain ton of life off food tokens, so screw you burn and aggro. It attacks on too many angles.

And yet GDS beat it, so I guess it's okay? TBH, the games were hairline close. A single counter or removal difference every game would have resulted in GDS getting ejected.

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “Modern”