A new set of staples is coming along the horizon… the Modern Horizon. Bad puns aside, Magic the Gathering’s big set Modern Horizons III brings us new cards to explore for the Modern format. While Modern is the focus of this set, we’ve noticed that there are also products made for Commander. Today we’ll be checking out some of the revealed cards, and give our thoughts on the new products that are coming out.
Firstly, we need to talk about the big news. Fetch lands are back! All the fetch lands printed in the Onslaught block are making a return. For the uninitiated, fetch lands are lands that you can pay one life and tap to go find a different land, unless stated otherwise the land you found comes in untapped. These lands can be tapped in response to any game action that allows you to respond. These mana fixers have been going for around $30 CAD in the secondary market because of their universal utility. These cards are staples in every format of magic just because there is almost no multi-colored deck where you would not want to have all the colors required for you to execute your gameplan.
One huge highlight card coming from this set is Ajani, Nacatl Pariah. This creature is one of the few that transforms into a planeswalker, the last one we’ve seen was Nicol Bolas in 2019. This version of Ajani, however, is so powerful because it is so easy to flip him into his planeswalker form. Magic has a plethora of ways to kill a creature, and depending on how you build your deck, Ajani may be flipping over the turn he enters the battlefield. Ajani in his planeswalker form is so powerful because he is creature advantage, removal, and a board wipe all stapled into a two mana card. We think that this card has the potential to disrupt the Rakdos scam decks that have been dominating the format. This card has the ability to deal with many of the popular cards found in that deck like: Ragavan Nimble Pilferer, Orcish Bowmasters, and Fury, especially with its 0 planeswalker ability.
On the topic of shutting down Rakdos Scam, some new cards have also come in to slow down the deck even more. Many new stax pieces are being introduced to make it harder for people to run away with the game on their starting turns (Figure 3). These pieces are going to be integral to countering the fast decks that can win turn 4 and earlier. Additionally, these new pieces are not expensive mana sinks, to assure that you have a fighting chance against the aggro decks and combo decks that thrive off of fast mana.
Colorless is also getting some love this time around. With some new lands, creatures, and a new counterspell. The counterspell; Null Elemental Blast is our standout card here. While generally quite situational; because it can only target multicolored spells and permanents, and many of the most powerful cards in Modern are monocolored. This card is great for Commander because many of the most popular commanders, in both casual and competitive formats, are multicolored. While this card may not see too much play in Modern, it certainly has a place in other formats.
A new surprise also joins us this time around. Commander precon decks! It’s intriguing that Wizards of the Coast is keeping commander players in mind as they are creating this set. This move has been controversial but many cards from Modern Horizons II are already staples in commander (Esper Sentinel, Dauthi Voidwalker, Academy Manufactor, etc.). The commander format has been Magic’s most popular format in recent years, and is the format most responsible for bringing in new players into the game. That being said, we don’t believe that this set will become overly commander focused, but here are our guesses for how the decks are going to play and what they may introduce.
The Speculation Shelf
Creative Energy: We think that unlike the prior energy deck, this one may have a greater focus on wider strategies with energy payoffs.
Much like the Modern Horizons sets of the past, the new cards are designed with fast and powerful play in mind. The new cards made for this set are looking great, and many of them may just become staples in other formats like legacy, pauper, and commander.
As always, Top Shelf Co. will be carrying these products when they release, but if you want to secure your spot, and make sure that you get your products for this upcoming set, you can always Pre-Order Here. Hope you are all as excited as we are to see where this set takes the format. See you next time!
