Modern mania in prep for SCG Dallas!

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Newsletter
Thursday, March 9th

Modern is back at #SCGDFW, and Modern Masters 2017 is right around the corner! Ban discussions, Grand Prix Orlando, Amonkhet on the horizon—how great is it to be a Magic player right now? Modern is so awesome at the moment, Patrick Chapin wants to add cards to the format instead of ban them! Chris Lansdell is hard at work in finding holes in Standard's so-called established metagame, and we've got Michael Majors bringing you the sideboard guide to end all other sideboard guides!

— Danny West, Content Coordinator

What If They Were Modern-Legal?
By Patrick Chapin  

When you're facing Remand, Mana Leak, or Negate, you can alter your play to try to minimize the impact their permission spell will have. If you can correctly determine what they have, you can sometimes find spots to play around it. Likewise, if you are playing a variety of permission spells, it can be very challenging to pick the right one to use in each spot.

There is a lot less "playing around" Counterspell. There is a lot less artistry to deciding which counterspell to use when they are all just Counterspell. There is less metagaming while tweaking your deck when the right answer is mostly to just start with four Counterspells.

Absorb would not be likely to revolutionize the Modern format or anything, but it would provide another fringe option, like Counterflux, for tweaking one's deck for a particular metagame. Want a little extra percentage in your Jeskai deck against Burn? Replace that Counterflux in the sideboard with an Absorb!

March 24-26
KLD/AER Limited

April 8-9
Legacy

April 29-30
Standard

When Brewers Attack! (An Established Metagame)
By Chris Lansdell  

It's important at this step to not fall into the trap of just jumping on our pet cards. For example, it would be a true statement to say that Drana, Liberator of Malakir is currently not seeing play. It would also be a true statement to say that she likely should not be seeing play when so much of the removal is well-positioned to kill her. Instead, let's look for cards that are not being played in the top decks and figure out if that absence gives us an in.

For example, sweepers are at an all-time low in Standard right now. Radiant Flames is sometimes seen in some sideboards, Flaying Tendrils even less so, and the feared dominance of Yahenni's Expertise has not materialized. Fumigate is not in the maindeck of any of the top decks, though Mardu does have it in the sideboard. That suggests that the format might be weak to a powerful aggressive strategy.

Smart Sideboarding For Every Deck
By Michael Majors  

This process can be dramatically different based on which stage of testing you are in. As far as the big picture, your 75-card deck in its entirety is your resource for any given tournament. It should go without saying that, barring some extreme pairings, you should be utilizing every part of your 75.

The initial construction of a sideboard largely has to do with what cards you want to remove from your maindeck, not what you want to add from your sideboard. If you've ever found yourself in a situation where you have six cards to add in a matchup but only five cards you want to remove, you haven't done your homework. Perhaps it is still better to remove an additional maindeck card for that sixth sideboard card while in the tournament, but it is possible that you could have netted additional percentage points in the field by utilizing that slot elsewhere.

To some extent, it might appear like I'm ironically advocating that you build your own personal sideboard guide. Well, that's true, at least to begin with.