Welcome back to The Modern Perspective! As we cruise down the highway of life, it's usually easy enough to spot road signs that warn when certain big "off ramps" are approaching. For me, the most important road sign was this:

Parenthood - 9 Months

That sign began ticking down shortly after I started writing. It ticked slowly at first, but it's alarming how quickly that number is dropping. Destinations that big require a great deal of time and attention. I hesitated to take on any other time consuming roles, such as hosting a Player Run Event, but my time wasn't spoken for yet. I continued to write, refining my ideas and article formatting.

With that important destination in mind, life continued. Further down the road, another sign appeared:

Job Promotion - 1 Month



This sign was nowhere near as special as the original finish line, but it certainly would help to stop here first to pick up supplies and prepare for the finish as much as possible. Once this stop became a definite conclusion, it was time to make some hard decisions.

Writing articles these last few months has been amazing. It's something I always wanted to try and I'm glad I worked up the courage to do it. However, now my time is becoming split by too many important tasks and something had to give. I knew eventually I would take a break from writing and it seemed that, a bit prematurely, that time had come.

So I settled on a final article and began the usual testing and writing. Things were on track. Then this week, Wizards made the following "weather warning":

!* Warning *!

* Hazardous Conditions *



Deathrite Shaman Banned

Wild Nacatl Unbanned

Bitterblossom Unbanned ! TRAVEL WITH CARE !

Unexpected perils are the sign of exciting times, but excitement sure can mess with a carefully laid plan.

Part I. Getting the Banned Back Together

Part II. Hate Now. Hate Later?

Part III. The Modern Land Prices

Part I. Getting the Banned Back Together

Usually, Wizards has been very cautious when it comes to the Modern Banned list. Other than the mass bannings at the creation of the format and the last few months of 2012, the announcements contained no more than 2 cards at a time. Up until the end of 2013, only one card had ever come back from being banned.

Our first announcement of 2014 shows that Wizards is willing to takes some chances.

Banned

- Deathrite Shaman



Unbanned

- Wild Nacatl

- Bitterblossom

This was very unexpected. Some people thought that one card could be unbanned. One unban, nothing else. Some people thought that banning Deathrite was possible. But probably not yet. Nobody expected three things to happen at once. With two high profile tournaments just weeks away, Modern has become unknown territory.

I once saw a post where somebody compared actively changing the Banned List to the way that companies make patches to Real Time Strategy games. Wizards can't go back and change printed cards the way an RTS can modify a unit or the time it takes for an ability to recharge. Instead, by shifting pieces in and out of the format, they can make changes in much the same way.

Deathrite Shaman is Banned

I mentioned it in "14 To Watch In '14", but I didn't think the prediction would come true so soon? Here we are though, with a new card on the Banned List. Deathrite Shaman doesn't look like much at first, yet, this one hybrid-mana creature is ridiculously good at defining an entire format. From Jund to Multi-Color Burn (yes, BURN DECKS run it), Deathrite provided damage, life and subtle hate towards multiple cards and strategies. This ban has upset many and even bewildered some. For most of us, it was obvious that this could happen someday. The card was just too good at what it does. The abilities were all undercosted compared to various cards printed in the past. While it was keeping some strong cards in check, it was also single handedly locking others out of the metagame. Shaman was legal for a little over a year; people have pointed out how powerful it was since Month 1. It didn't do well in one tournament and get banned a week later. With the Shaman gone, graveyard strategies become a bit more interesting again. I'm excited that my favorite creature, Knight of the Reliquary, might become the awesome utility-beater that it used to be. Vengevine looks more appealing than it has in ages. Goryo's Vengeance is an even scarier Boogey-Man than it was during the GP. Cards like Gifts Ungiven, Necrotic Ooze and Life from the Loam have new untapped potential. This new enthusiasm for GY strategies is probably enough early justification for the ban. I'd keep a close eye on Snapcaster Mage though, it was already very good and this strengthens it even further.

Wild Nacatl Unbanned

I talked about Nacatl a great deal in "Banned Aid - Part 1". I felt it could be cautiously unbanned and monitored over the next few months to see if it needs to go again before the PTQ season starts. The situation is proceeding as planned? The big difference between when I wrote that and now is that Deathrite isn't around to also cause problems....or keep the problems in check? It's hard to tell if Shaman's life gain and mana ramp were going to keep Nacatl in check, or if the color fixing and burn abilities were going to compound the damage of WN? Maybe Wizards tested it, maybe not? Regardless, for now, we are going to see what it's like without DS. With both a Pro Tour and a (presumably) huge GP on the horizon, we are going to get a lot of data concerning Wild Nacatl and current day Modern. Zoo could become the dominant deck, or perhaps the evolved meta of 2014 is prepared for the Cat?

These changes are a huge shake up to the format. Many players are upset about the Banning. Others are intimidated by the unbannings. These strong feelings are a good sign; it means people are emotionally invested in the format, good or bad. After many years of playing this game, the prospect of an unexplored meta, within a format that we are already familiar with, is intriguing. Sometimes formats become stale and lose their luster.

It seems we don't have to worry about that with Modern for the next few months.

Part II. Hate Now. Hate Later?

My original plan this week was to talk about G/W Hatebears. I'd done research into some of the builds that were doing well and found one that I liked:



I liked this list a lot. The Vial-Base mixture of Mono-White Death and Taxes plus the extra Green hate tickled my fancy. While it didn't run staple beaters like Loxodon Smiter, Mirran Crusader or Voice of Resurgence, the Vial and Flicker combos gave it a bit more play than straight forward aggro. Blade Splicer also provided some beat in "card advantage" to help with against grindier match ups such as UWR and Jund.

I made a few tweaks to the list and this into the Tournament Practice Room:



I removed a few Sunlance from the SB to add Dismember and some Finks instead of Red Akroma. I also ran Sword of F&I because I don't own a W&P.

How did it do?

Deck Type Record KCI Eggs 2-1 4 color gifts rock 2-1 3 color discard 2-0 Monoblack Discard 2-1 Jund-Vine 2-0 Living End 1-2 Bloody Humans splash B 0-2 Melira Pod 2-1 Nykthos Wave 0-2 Total Record 6-3

I almost made Day 2 of my "Grand Prix", but lost my last round to Nykthos Wave. It was the version that runs Fetches and I never saw Thalia or Arbiter, so I'm not sure if the match up is that bad or I got horribly unlucky?

I was going to do my usual discussion of how the deck played and some match up summaries...but why bother? With the format drastically changing in no time at all, my testing results from a week back aren't very useful. Thanks, Wizards! A tip to other Writers; plan accordingly when B&R Announcements are coming.

Since my testing is "invalidated", instead, I'll talk about some of the core G/W Hatebear cards and talk about their possible role in the possible future meta.

The Anti-Search Hate

Both Arbiter and Mindcensor will still be useful. How useful each winds up being will depend heavily on the meta. There is a lot of anticipation that Birthing Pod decks will become the new king of the format. If so, then these two cards continue to throw a wrench into that plan. Not only do they help diffuse Pod, they also hit hard on the 3-4 color mana bases. This hasn't changed. The two new decks entering the format do cause these creatures some problems. Zoo, while heavily dependent on its Fetch lands, also drops a T1 creature that can easily turn into a 3/3 that swings right past both of these. It also runs Lightning Bolt and some number of Lightning Helix, so if they have already done a little fixing, they can remove the nuisance and keep going. Only a very early Search Hater matters to Zoo and only if they have a poor opening hand. If straight U/B Fae becomes the best version, then it might not even run many Fetchlands, rendering Hate Search useless. Bitterblossom also does a solid job of stone-walling both of these creatures. Arbiter and Mindcensor may become SB only cards, but it's too soon to tell.

The Tax Creature

Thalia is going to face some challenges in the days ahead. If non-creature based combo stays strong, then she is great, but the two new decks both offer different challenges. 3/3's from Zoo run right over her if she can't be boosted. 2/x First Strike isn't enough to break through or even slow them down. She does slow down their Burn package, but not by much. Fae will run a variety of spells that Thalia could throw off their curve. 2 Power First Strike also does a number on most of the default 1 Toughness Faeries. On the other hand, Bitterblossom locks her out and she can't block any of the Flying Fae. Thalia will require a hard look at your meta to see if she will be MD, SB or run at all?

The Graveyard Hate Creature

Scavenging Ooze has a lot more pressure on it now that Deathrite is banned. Ooze can rise to the challenge though. It still does a great job of gaining life and disabling GY shenanigans. It needs to grow to about a 4/4 before it threatens most of the early Zoo drops, so that's something to keep in mind.

The Anti-Discard Cards

Both of these cards are already very good in general, but it's their "Hate" function that needs to be discussed. While some have discounted Liliana of the Veil, even though she is a still the best 'Walker in the format, that does mean you should cut these cards just yet. Now that Raven's Crime won't be picked off by Deathrite, I've been running into a lot more Dredge/Loam/Discard engines that are being tested in preparation. Add in the popularity of 8 Rack in general and these two are still good at what they do. Smiter can also handle the 3/3's from Zoo, but will also be ran in Zoo. 4/4's with nothing but upsides are pretty good.

The Super Protection Guy

I saw some people talking about how now that Jund is gone, they might remove this from the deck. Have you read those Protections? Those say Black and Green. Protection from most creatures in Zoo seems very good. Protection from Bitterblossom seems very good. Protection from Abrupt Decay just as useful, maybe even more so! Yes, Crusader still dies to Red and White based removal. But I wouldn't be removing him completely yet. Swinging right through both new deck types could be the future of G/W Aggressive strategies.

The Flicker Creature

Flickerwisp is in an odd spot. Unlike Restoration Angel, who is awesome thanks to being a 3/4 Flash Flyer, Wisp is mostly useful for the flicker and happens to be an ok flyer. A 3/1 can trade with some Zoo creatures and might flash a Kitchen Finks to turn the tide, so it isn't useless against Zoo. Fae shuts down almost everything about FW. The 1 Toughness dies to Tokens and you will rarely be able to do anything close to sneaky without a Vial. Who knows, maybe the strong synergy of the Vial builds will keep Flickerwisp at exactly the power level it is now? It might happen, or Wisp might fade into Modern obscurity this year?

Like all decks, G/W Hatebears will have to find a niche to carve out once the dust settles. By its nature, it requires the correct meta to function properly. I'm hoping that the Vial version I tested can stay relevant, because it was fun, but sometime slow to get going and that could be a huge liability in the months ahead.

Part III. The Modern Land Prices

All prices are from MTGOtrader.com. The version linked was the cheapest when the land was added, but be sure to check for the best available price!

The Zendikar Fetch Lands

The Fetch Lands are the lynchpin of most mana bases in Modern. Being able to fix your colors by finding a Ravnica Shock Land is critical to the various top tier multi-color decks. The Fetchlands also have great synergy with the best one drop creature in the format, Deathrite Shaman. The price of Fetchlands is often considered the defining cost barrier of Modern, however, on MTGO, they are usually cheaper than many high demand Mythics.

The impact of the BA hits the Fetches in many different ways. Catacombs drops, while Arid Mesa gets a huge leg up. I'd keep an eye on Catacombs; Green is still an important color for the format.

The Ravnica Shock Lands

The Shock Lands, with their dual basic land types, are very important pillars of the Modern format. The nickname is derived from the 2 life paid to put the land into play untapped compared to the 2 damage from the card Shock. After being reprinted in the Return to Ravnica block, the prices dropped dramatically and it is now much easier for players to acquire these lands with a modest budget.

Like many other U/B cards, Watery Grave gets a boost this week. With the paper release of BNG, we should see some change up in prices soon.

The Scars of Mirrodin Fast Lands

The Fast Lands are a great way to ensure two colors of mana in the first few turns of the game. Only available in allied color pairings, they see the most use for colors that have strong aggressive themes that are not affected by the drawback. The Fast Lands have a relatively low price threshold and are an inexpensive way to add mana consistency to a deck.

Darkslick Shores gets the Fae bump, while Gorge and Thicket both climb a bit as well. If they do see use in Zoo, it'll only be as 1's or 2's; Zoo wants those Shock lands to pump up the unleashed Nacatl.

The Worldwake Man-Lands

The ability to produce two colors and provide a creature with an ability makes these lands rather attractive. More useful in mid-range and control oriented decks that don't mind the drawback as much. Currently only one of these lands appears as a '4-of' in a deck; so while they have a moderate price threshold, keep in mind that you usually only need about 1-2 copies of each per a deck.

I'm so glad I picked up Tar Pits during the Flashback Drafts. They have almost gone right back up to their pre-draft prices. Tar Pit will be useful in controlling builds of Fae.

The Core Set/Innistrad Check Lands

While they do not provide mana on the first turn of the game, the Check Lands still have enough potential to see use in Modern. When combined with the Ravnica Shock Lands, the Checks are an inexpensive way to create reliable 2 color mana bases. Now that the Check Lands have rotated out of Standard, their prices are extremely low. Newer players to Modern, as well as those with very tight budgets, may want to start with these extremely cheap lands.

Bitterblossom might boost more than Fae; interest in B/W Tokens has increased the price of Isolated Chapel as well. Drowned Catacomb has some stiff competition in Modern, so it probably won't see much of an increase.

The Utility and Deck Specific Lands

This section covers Utility Lands, off cycle mana fixers and Deck specific lands that you might need if you want to build a Modern deck. Whether it's the Urza Tron Cycle, Affinity or you just want to know how much the most used lands that blow up other lands cost, this should give you some idea of what you are working with.

In a way, I'm glad that I'll be taking a break from writing; it means I don't have to figure out how to rearrange the above table in one week. There are probably a few lands that need to be dropped off the table and possibly three new ones. Only time will tell what lands are really defining the format, so everything should be settled by the time I return. As for the current state of prices, Mutavault now has another reason to be the most expensive card in M14. Tectonic Edge is recovering and Horizon Canopy is holding steady.

If I do find time to sneak in an article here or there, they probably won't have the Land Prices section included in them. While I intend to keep an eye on the prices for my own benefit, I can't begin to guess how big the gaps might be. This would make usefulness of the information...questionable? If you do enjoy Modern and want to plan out your budget, I'd highly recommend monitoring the cards you are interested in every 3-4 days. Spotting a down trend in prices can save you some money up the road.



Conclusion

Here we are at the end of my current run! This isn't the end, just a short pause. I'm hoping that sometime around May, that a new routine of everyday life will be in place and I'll be able to find time to write again, even if it will be sporadic at first? Who knows?

In the meantime, there are some great Modern Events on the horizon and I can't wait to see where the format goes next! I encourage anybody that does love Modern that has considered writing about it to give it a try!

While I don't intend for this to be the last article I ever write, I do want to take the time to thank the following before I vanish:

Joshua Claytor, our faithful site admin who continues to accept open writing submissions here at PureMTGO and who continued to accept every one I submitted after the first.

MTGOtraders for being great and sponsoring this site.

BlippyTheSlug, for holding great PRE's and writing the most unique Modern series on the web. (Bring back WAFFT!!)

ktkenshinx, Modern Forum Moderator over at MTGSalvation, who has gone out of their way to promote the work of community members like Blippy and myself. Working hard to create a great Modern Forum seems like a thankless job, but you lead with your left foot and hold back nothing, so thank you.

Kumagoro, for welcoming a new face and always offering constructive criticism. I know I made a better series thanks to you!

Every Hunters of PSO.

I hope to be back soon, but be good to each other in the meantime.

See you space cowboy....

- Gio

The Modern Perspective Archive