On June 14, 2019. players cracked the first packs of Modern Horizons, a set whose cards were printed directly into one of Magic the Gathering's most competitive formats; Modern. Powerful cards both new and old were injected into the scene, changing the format to its very bones, causing a rotation in what had been considered by many to be an "eternal" format. This experiment was generally regarded as a success and since then players have enjoyed two more like-minded sets, and now a fourth, Modern Horizons III is coming in hot.
Since June 7th is right around the corner and spoiler season is in full swing, our resident card goblins are watching with glee as the new cards preview at breakneck pace. Since we'll all have to wait a week before we can start cracking packs, here are some spicy cardboard rectangles we can't wait to get our claws on.
Arena of Glory
Did you know that on turn two, you can play a Ragavan and a Dragon's Rage Channeler, both with haste? I didn't either, but I guess now you can? MH3 is full of stronk lands, but we were blown away by Arena's utility in making up to two fast bois every other turn (assuming you're not doing shenanigans, but if you're running this card, you probably are.)
Flare of Denial
"Hey Buddypal, would you like another free counterspell to add to the pile? Yeah? Cool."
We actually have a whole new cycle of free/tribute spells to add to our Evoke Elementals and the "not your turn" Forces from MH2 and MH1 respectively, but because Denial echoes Force of Will, that redundancy puts this card over the top. The nontoken caveat is very interesting, since you'll want to either have creatures that pop (die) for value, or that have already done their cool thing (etb) that you weren't banking on abusing (with blink,) or that have graveyard synergies unto themselves.
Grist, Voracious Larva/Grist, the Plague Swarm
MH3 (I think you can tell) was already looking like a busted set, but then they showed off the cycle of flipwalkers, like those seen in Magic Origins. All of them are super easy to flip, and incredibly strong when ignited, but out of all of them, Grist has us the most apprehensively excited. Any unearth, persist, undying, or "fake your own death" type effect and boom, you have a chittering engine of removal up and running. The Plague Swarm does all the things that good planeswalkers should do, like protect themselves and disrupt your opponents plans, and then have an absolute haymaker of an ultimate should you ever need it.
Ripples of Undeath
The translation for this enchantment reads, "at the beginning of your precombat main phase, mill 3. Then you may pay 1 and 3 life. If you do, put a card from among those cards into your hand."
You know what that smells like?
No, it's not exactly the same, but that's perfectly fine because its better (at least for black's intended porpoises.) It's a Stitcher's supplier all of your first main phases, with the opportunity to pseudo-draw one of those cards if you're not better off having them in your graveyard. You know who likes having things in your graveyard, especially if they can come back? Grist, Voracious Larva, that's who!
Vexing Bauble
Remember all of those free spells we were talking about? Well now they're hosed. Its going to be interesting going forward to see if this artifact's impact will shift the meta, but so long as you're also ok playing "fair," you'll at least have a sideboard answer to all the freebies flying around in modern, commander, and legacy.
Party Thrasher
Last year with March of the Machine, we saw the return of the Convoke keyword, a cost-modifier mechanic that makes all of your creatures into mana dorks. In a token-heavy meta, this card sings with red's impulse draw abilities, making stormy turns stormier, while also adding some value to noncreature cards with plot or foretell.
Invert Polarity
What's better than a counterspell? A counterspell that lets you Aethersnatch the target half the time. While gaining control of symmetrical and nontargeted effects is next to useless, in most other situations this card is going to be super solid, whether its yoinking a big beater or dunking some damage to the dome. Run with any other counter spell and you're set.
Cranial Ram
Cranial Plating and All that Glitters were too strong for pauper, and this will be too. Gavin Verhey has already confirmed that it's on the day 1 "watch this sucker" list, so if you want to be the troll in the dungeon, just build rakdos eggs and grind til they announce the emergency ban.
Waterlogged Teachings/Inundated Archive
This whole cycle of MDFC hybrid duals is a super solid addition to those found in Zendikar Rising, broadening the range of tools you can add to your deck without compromising your mana base. Games are slower these days, which make the enters tapped clauses less of a headache, especially if you're content with a turn 1 dual, but with patience, timing, and maybe a bounceland or two, you can really shake up the mid-to-late-game with some poppin hybrid spells.
Kozilek, the Broken Reality
It's an MH3 post, so we legally have to point at an eldrazi and say "big eldrazi." This is it, a big eldrazi that for 9 mana draws you 4 cards and gives you 19 power across three bodies. He'll also wash your car if the local theater program is hurting bad enough. (We kid, but basically if you get this guy to resolve, he'll go above and beyond to win you the game. "That's the Titan promise!")
Emrakul, the World Anew
Actually though, Emrakul is going to be the new boogeyman of Modern. While combat isn't the cornerstone of the format, creatures are easily the most powerful permanents players plop on the bf, and yoinking all of your combo pieces in one fell swoop is gonna be backbreaking. Even if you somehow manage to destroy Emrakul, you don't get your guys back. You just get to start over, and hope you can recover from someone else piloting your deck for however long it took to deal with an impenetrable 12/12. This is format defining stuff here folks, and we are all super doomed.
Dog Umbra
Instant speed Pacifism, or instant speed don't die effect. Both are pretty solid effects, and having that versatility might make this a viable piece in some aura/voltron pauper decks since the only thing that gets in the way of your main guy is a) someone else's guy or b) someone else's killspell. Plus, it has dog right in the title, so you know it's good.
Bespoke Battlewagon
We just really like the art, (plus he's a mana rock/trading post for energy. How sweet is that?!)
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And we could go on! But alas, there's only so much time left to theory-craft, and the goblins are getting sleepy. Hopefully by the time we're all well rested, it'll be time to sit down, crack packs, and make super strong decks with extra sweet cards. Hope to see you there!
Pandemonium will be hosting Sealed Events of Modern Horizons three on Friday June 7th at 3pm, Saturday June 8th at 1pm and 6:45pm, and on Sunday June 9th at 1pm and 6:45 pm. Additionally, preorders for MH3 commander decks, collector and play booster boxes will be up in until Thursday June 6.
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Ben Doane has been a member of the Pandemonium Team since 2019, and has been playing wargames, rpgs, and tcgs since 2004 and earlier. When not blogging, Ben runs the wargames and mailing departments, and also puts together the store's newsletters. Her current favorite game is Frosthaven.