Modern Horizons Announced

Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum

Posted on Feb. 28, 2019, 8:33 p.m. by CastleSiege

A new Modern-legal set, skipping Standard.

Official previews start at the end of May.

Releases June 14, 2019.

Draft pre-release weekend: June 8-9.

254 card set, all of which are new to the Modern format. All reprints are of cards that are not currently Modern-legal.

Buy-a-Box promo will be a reprint.

MTGO price will be $6.99 per pack.

Many new cards will be throwbacks to old cards or characters from the lore (see the two spoilers from today).

Sources:

Official Modern Horizons Announcement

Magic | WeeklyMTG - Modern Horizons

February 28 Spoilers:

What character do you think is featured here?

saj0219 says... #1

ToolmasterOfBrainerd It's definitely a shame it's not in black - I was really looking forward to Baleful Strix . With that said, I don't think three color is out of the question, as long as you don't run anything too demanding on your manabase (e.g. a base of 12 fetches and 12 fetchable snow lands in your colors can turn this on pretty consistently... I think). Of course, that would mean no Cryptic, which is probably not worth it...

I do love the flash on this though - I feel like I often want to keep mana up T2, and this lets you do that and still play a threat if you don't need the counter!

May 20, 2019 12:25 p.m.

Maybe Bant with Noble Hierarch ? 3 Islands, 2 Forests, 1 Plains (all snow of course) and 14 fetch lands. 4 Misty, 4 Flooded, 4 of the new one, and 2 Field of Ruin (or 2 Windswept Heath). Maybe 4-3-1 on basics or 4-2-1.

I'm pretty disappointed with the lack of reprints. Goblin Matron and Flusterstorm are the only 2 (playable) cards so far. But I'm not exactly surprised. This is WOTC, after all. All the same, I'd like reprints of cool cards, not watered-down callbacks. Cabal Therapist is the biggest offender.

May 20, 2019 12:40 p.m. Edited.

Whoah...Morophon is really cool. Best Werewolf commander to date! Plus you could now run white and blue prohibiting effects like Fatespinner or Eidolon of Rhetoric .

May 20, 2019 1:11 p.m.

ToolmasterOfBrainerd there have been maybe 10 new cards spoiled and a couple commons and uncommons to show some of the returning mechanics. I would put a bigger emphasis on the “so far” as you say.

Definitely like the idea of Force of Vigor as a tool for Amulet Titan getting out from Blood Moon .

May 20, 2019 1:40 p.m.

saj0219 says... #5

I can die happy. Fact or Fiction is legal in modern.

May 20, 2019 2:15 p.m.

mymanpotsandpans alright I concede you were right and I was wrong. C'mon wizards keep those reprints coming!

May 20, 2019 2:26 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #7

I am pleased that Diabolic Edict is being introduced to modern, since it is not too powerful, but I am very displeased that Fact or Fiction is being reprinted in this set, since I really wish that it had been kept only for eternal formats.

Is WotC seriously attempting to blur the lines between modern and legacy? I do hope that they attempt to keep the two formats distinct from each other.

May 20, 2019 10:33 p.m.

ZendikariWol says... #8

DemonDragonJ Imma be real with ya chief, modern at this point is just slightly lower-power legacy. Equally unfair. Equally ridiculous. Equally boring to watch and stifling to play.

May 21, 2019 12:32 a.m.

Boza says... #9

I have to wonder - FoF is a powerful card, but does it have any place in modern? It is too slow for modern for sure. Diabolic Edict would be nice, if they haven't just printed the strictly better Liliana's Triumph .

I am personally most excited for Exclude reprint.

However, Maro has said that the set is 80+% new cards, so there are not a lot of reprints as a whole.

May 21, 2019 3 a.m.

The goose is on the loose in modern now!

May 21, 2019 10:20 a.m.

They're completing the Horizon Canopy cycle. Wow.

May 21, 2019 10:54 a.m.

saj0219 says... #12

So that's where Primsatic Vista fits in; it's the fifth rare land in the set (since they can't reprint Horizon Canopy itself)

May 21, 2019 12:19 p.m.

Caerwyn says... #13

saj0219 - the new Horizon Canopy cycle is enemy colours, not allied colours like the original. As such, we can expect all five enemy coloured pairs to be represented.

May 21, 2019 12:22 p.m.

saj0219 says... #14

Good point! I didn’t even notice that. Pretend I didn’t say anything :)

May 21, 2019 1:03 p.m.

enter image description here

They actually went and did it...

May 21, 2019 2:22 p.m.

CastleSiege says... #16

They did not disappoint with Urza. For commander, I think he's going to be the most powerful mono blue commander ever printed. Holy nuts.

May 21, 2019 3:11 p.m.

ZendikariWol says... #17

And can we TALK about that art!? OH it’s so cool. WHOOOOO boy, if this baby wasn’t guaranteed to be 1,000,000 dollars, I would pick up a foil copy for sure.

May 21, 2019 5:58 p.m.

sylvannos says... #18

Bruh

After reading the comments on Mythic Spoiler, I'm just over here like bruh...you set this card up with Jace, the Mind Sculptor to cast two Ancestral Vision or Restore Balance or Wheel of Fate or any other degenerate sorcery that normally has a steep cost. You could even be super durdle troll and play double Savor the Moment .

May 21, 2019 6:05 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #19

I see that my earlier wish was nearly granted; those lands are very nice, and I am certain that, given how expensive Horizon Canopy currently is, they shall be expensive, as well. Hopefully, there shall be four more allied-colored lands printed in the near future, to complete the cycle, and, at this point, I believe that it is very safe to presume that there shall be a full cycle dedicated to Nimbus Maze and Grove of the Burnwillows , as well, but not river of tears, since that land is not a particularly good one.

Also, prismatic vista is very nice, as it is almost entirely better than Terramorphic Expanse and Evolving Wilds , due to the fact that the land that it finds enters the battlefield untapped, which is easily worth the cost of 1 life. However, why does prismatic vista have a multicolored frame, while the other two lands have colorless frames? That makes no sense.

Great gods, WotC actually printed a card of Urza himself in a black-bordered set! This is amazing! It is powerful, as everyone expected it to be, since he is one of the most famous characters in the entire game. I am displeased that he is mono-blue, since the card of Mishra was three colors, and this will only reinforce the old idea that blue is overpowered compared to all the other colors of the game. Does this mean that there may eventually be a black-bordered planeswalker card of Urza (hopefully multicolored)?

As with Serra, I feel that a card of Urza should have been kept only for the eternal formats, given his status and legacy in the lore of the game, but I should not complain, since many players, including myself, have been desiring such a card for many years, and our wish has finally been granted.

May 21, 2019 8:10 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #20

Yes, there is a new card with protection! I am so happy! This is also the first time that the phrase "protection from colorless" has ever appeared on a card, which is a major ability, because it protects from not only artifacts, but also colorless non-artifact cards, lands, Planechase planes, Archenemy schemes, and planeswalker emblems. It is unfortunate that giver of runes cannot protect herself, but that is a small sacrifice to make for her expanded ability over Mother of Runes .

Lightning skelemental is seriously awesome, and definitely shall replace Blightning in my red/black deck.

May 21, 2019 9:57 p.m.

My favorite part of Giver of Runes is that it's not a human. Well done wizards. Also it's balanced because it can't target itself. Mother of Runes is busted because of that.

May 21, 2019 10:30 p.m.

I have always said that if they make an Urza (and Yawgmoth) card that it must be broken. Otherwise the card would be disappointing given the character's stature. Well I am glad to see WotC feels the same way. This Urza is busted, like instant cEDH busted. He may even be better than Teferi making him the best mono-blue commander printed to date.

May 21, 2019 10:57 p.m.

sylvannos says... #23

Regrowth

It's about damn time. Only took them 8 years after Snapcaster Mage .

May 22, 2019 6:10 a.m.

saj0219 says... #24

And we have the white card in the “Force of ___” cycle. Force of Virtue, a enchantment with flash that gives your creatures +1/+1 and can be cast on not your turn by exiling a white card instead.

Seems... not great. Then again, these types of cards never excite me so what do I know.

May 22, 2019 7:22 a.m.

Man, maybe it's because I have a Bosh, Iron Golem EDH deck, but Goblin Engineer seems pushed. This is will be a Daretti, Feldon, and Bosh staple for sure. I wouldn't be surprised if a whole new modern deck revolving around this guy and Trash for Treasure pops up. I hear that a T3 Blightsteel Colossus is pretty good.

May 22, 2019 8:46 a.m.

Caerwyn says... #26

Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor - Curious, how do you intend to use those two to get the T3 Blightsteel Colossus ? Blightsteel Colossus 's replacement effect gets in the way of such graveyard shenanigans--however, it is early and I have not had caffeine yet, so I might be missing some part of your plan.

I think Goblin Engineers will be a solid card for Commander, provided you have enough recursion and can deal with things like Rest in Peace . For Modern, I am not so sure--while there are ways to recur artifacts in Modern, I feel you'd still be better off ramping with Tron.

May 22, 2019 9:03 a.m.

Caerwyn says... #27

enter image description here

Translation:

Until end of turn, target creature you control becomes a Wurm with base power and toughness 6/4.

Overload 4GG


Notice how nothing in the text modifies the abilities of the creature(s). As such, Slippery Bogle will still have hexproof and Glistener Elf will still have infect.

Fun times.

May 22, 2019 10:16 a.m.

saj0219 says... #28

Hello five-color sliver commander deck! enter image description here

May 22, 2019 11:16 a.m.

Caerwyn says... #29

saj0219 - First Sliver is going to be better off as a Food Chain commander. It far surpasses both Niv and Tazri as the Food Chain commander of choice, since you can use its own cascade ability to cast every single card in your deck.

For slivers, I think Overlord is still a better bet than First Sliver.

May 22, 2019 11:18 a.m. Edited.

I'm not one to preorder cards all that often, prices tend to come down quite a bit but man, nostalgia hype has serra (a card most are saying will have little/no impact on modern) is 30 bucks and good ole Urza is a tidy 79.99 over at card kingdom...

Wonder if hell stay there, be banned, go up? Hes usefull in multiple formats... gonna watch this one pretty close

May 22, 2019 11:47 a.m.

ZendikariWol says... #31

Love the fact that every sliver commander that comes around is crazy broken. And also is definitely gonna cost about 705$. Love that.

May 22, 2019 12:12 p.m.

Well you see cdkime the combination I mentioned works by not working at all! haha. That was a 3 hours of sleep post and I clearly was not thinking straight. I still the the Goblin Engineer is a very strong card though.

May 22, 2019 3:46 p.m.

Yeesh, that grammar in my last post...Anyways, it looks like the mysterious "tree character" that everyone was speculating about (pictured at the top of this forum) is indeed a Planeswalker and definitely not Gaea (I believe Maro stated that the second PW will be a new character). At least that is what I have concluded after seeing this card:

May 22, 2019 5:54 p.m.

DuTogira says... #34

That apprentice can cheat in Kaya, Ghost Assassin permanently... but it’ll cost 2RR for it total so that’s not much of an upgrade over 2BW... guess any shenanigans he does will be pretty fair.

May 22, 2019 10:28 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #35

As with Urza, I feel that Sisay should have been kept for eternal formats, but her new card is still awesome, and also has access to all colors for EDH decks that wish to use her as their general. I also wish that Regrowth had not been introduced to modern format, but at least it is not as severe as introducing Fact or Fiction to that format.

Good-fortune unicorn is nice, but I feel that Juniper Order Ranger is definitely worth 2 additional mana over it because it makes itself more powerful in addition to doing the same for other creatures.

The first sliver is insane, and will definitely make sliver decks even more formidable than they currently are.

May 22, 2019 10:48 p.m.

DemonDragonJ - but this set isn't just for Modern. It's for all eternal formats. Maro specifically stated that.

A couple quick thoughts: Altar of Dementia , Crypt Rats , and Squirrel Nest are nice reprints, the green Force is amazing, Glacial Revelation might be the card that makes a snow deck viable in modern since it hits lands too, it looks like the tree PW's name is 'Ayula', and we now have a snowman land!

May 23, 2019 10:49 a.m.

Caerwyn says... #37

Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor - we just had Ayula spoiled. She's a (slightly more legendary) Grizzley Bear .

enter image description here

May 23, 2019 10:54 a.m.

ZendikariWol says... #38

Welp. That’s fanservice all right. Not that I mind or anything...

May 23, 2019 11:25 a.m.

sylvannos says... #39

EVEN MORE JANK

...and another new toy for Sea Stompy mwahahahahahahaa!

@DemonDragonJ: Unicorn has 3 CMC vs. 5, so it can be hit by Collected Company and combo off for infinite life via Kitchen Finks .

May 23, 2019 4:31 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #40

Today has been another day for awesome previews!

First, I am very glad that WotC finally acknowledged that Beast Within is a violation of the color pie, and has created a more appropriate replacement for it, but, if the original card generated a green token, should not the new card generate a white token?

The new variation of splice is very nice, due to being much more flexible than the original incarnation, so I hope that that is an indication that it may return again in future sets.

A red variant of Juzam Djinn is very nice, and also much more appropriate to the color pie, today, but, by today’s standards, it is nothing spectacular, which would explain why it is an uncommon, not a rare.

Umezawa’s charm is very nice, and I am very glad to see a reference to a famous character from the story and his signature weapon. Will there be a complete cycle of charms, or is that a stand-alone card?

It is nice to see a card with the overload mechanic that is not red or blue, as this is not the first time that a mechanic that originally was used by a guild of Ravnica appeared outside of that plane, and this set also marks the first time that a replicate cost is not exactly identical to the card’s normal casting cost.

If I could find one negative thing about today’s spoilers, it is that I feel that Altar of Dementia is another card that should not have been introduced to modern, but even that is a fairly minor complaint. Hopefully, this year’s Commander set shall have some great cards for eternal formats.

Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor, yes, I am glad for that, but this set is introducing cards to modern, and, at this rate, the differences between modern and legacy are very minor at best, so I wish to WotC would make an effort to keep those formats distinct from each other.

May 23, 2019 8:42 p.m.

DemonDragonJ - fair enough. As a side note, I LOVE the fact that Generous Gift gives an elephant token. Otherwise the joke the card is referring to wouldn't work.

cdkime - well I am so glad that I am wrong about Ayula. A bear tribal commander is fantastic!

May 23, 2019 9:34 p.m.

saj0219 says... #42

DemonDragonJ, I'm not sure Generous Gift is WotC saying anything about Beast Within ... As far as making a 3/3 green creature, Rapid Hybridization has something to say about that. It seems green 3/3s are the the order of the day when you destroy something this way, regardless of your original color :)

I'm also thrilled with the spoilers so far - so much nostalgia. I also love the new Pyrophobia. I can't think of a single "Coward" creature, but then someone pointed out to me that cards with Changeling would count as cowards...

I would gently push back against the assertion that there are only minor differences between modern and legacy. Consider that the four most commonly played cards in legacy (and six of the top 10) are not modern legal. Decks like ANT, Sneak and Show, Stoneblade, and Turbo Depths would like to have a word with you as well... Joking aside though, I do think the two formats encourage (or at least, are defined by) fairly different play patterns.

May 23, 2019 9:42 p.m.

DemonDragonJ How does that acknowledge Beast Within is a break in the color pie? When it doesn't even break it to begin with, please explain.

May 23, 2019 10:53 p.m.

saj0219 says... #44

I’m loving Winds Of Abandon... for when you’re just not sure whether you want Path to Exile or Wrath of God ... why not have both for just s bit more mana!

enter image description here

May 24, 2019 7:19 a.m. Edited.

Great design for decks that might want to chalice on one but also want to run a path. It pops up every now and then.

May 24, 2019 9:51 a.m.

mymanpotsandpans in the article by WOTC that spoiled the new white version they said that it was a color fix of beast within, which breaks the color pie.

Personally I don't really think beast within breaks the color pie either, but WOTC thinks so.

May 24, 2019 11:36 a.m.

Did some research on it ToolmasterOfBrainerd and see where they are coming from. I read one of Rosewater’s old post on it. Both to some degree bend what their color can do. Green flat out destroying creatures and white flat out destroying individual lands are both not common things in each color. Both card’s flavor is on point, with a tad strech in their share of the color pie.

Still don’t really agree that white is the more appropriate home for it, but I don’t necessarily believe a Beast Within colorshifted into any of the other colors would be perfect either.

May 24, 2019 12:22 p.m.

saj0219 says... #48

More entries into the Sword of and cycle? Yes please.

enter image description here

May 24, 2019 7:32 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #49

This game now has a zombie ninja! That is so awesome! I would now like to see a vampire samurai, if that is not too drastic of a request.

Who are Wrenn and Six, and who do they resemble Sorin turned into an eldrazi?

I see that Umezawa’s charm is, indeed, part of a cycle, so I shall be eager to see every card in it.

I dislike how hexdrinker makes Progenitus less unique in the same way that Vraska made Phage less unique.

I believe that Pillage is too powerful for modern, becuase WotC has said that they do not wish to continue printing land destruction that is that mana-efficient, but I cannot control WotC’s decisions on that matter.

Nature’s chant is better than both Disenchant and Naturalize , and I like it very much.

mymanpotsandpans, green is not supposed to be able to destroy creatures unconditionally, and Mark Rosewater himself acknowledged that, here.

saj0219, I practically had an orgasm when I saw that sword, and I am certain that Atraxa did, as well; as long as that card is not too expensive, I am definitely putting it in my Atraxa EDH deck. I also very much like how the artwork of that sword maintains the unique status of Sword of Light and Shadow being the only sword in the cycle whose blade is pointing downward in the artwork, which makes it look much more ominous and deadly.

May 25, 2019 1:06 a.m.

Pillage probably isn't better than Fulminator Mage , so I don't think there's any harm in introducing it to modern.

The sword isn't very exciting to me, but I'm a modern and legacy player, so the bar for being exciting is pretty high.

Hexdrinker is kind of scary. The potential to be a really powerful card is there. I want to try to use it like a True-Name Nemesis , but I'm not quite sure what to do with it yet. Could it be played like a Delver of Secrets  Flip? A small creature that becomes a deadly threat if left unchecked?

I wonder what the black mythics will be.

May 25, 2019 2:52 a.m.

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