Modern Horizons 3 Predictions/Wishlist
Modern forum
Posted on Aug. 13, 2023, 10:01 p.m. by Icbrgr
So With Modern Horizons 3 Officially announced to be on the Horizon (No I'm not sorry) I was wondering if anyone had any hot takes/predictions or just a general wish list of cards they would like to see in the upcoming set.
Personally I have no Idea what to predict in terms of Brand new/never before seen cards... not even really sure what kind of theme/mechanic Modern needs or feels like its missing...not even really sure I can think of a cycle I would want to be finished... But I am always in favor of Tribal support... I genuinely believe Treefolk are only a powerful staple or two away from being a competitive deck IMO.
I have been building Burn in paper recently so for selfish reasons I think it would be neat for some legacy Burn staples be printed into Modern.
Im not sure If these cards would be considered "Too powerful for Modern" but I more so just fear that it would take away from "Legacy's Identity"... idk but these are just my from the hip thoughts.
I'd personally like to see more SIDEBOARD targeted cards that answer certain archetypes. I'd also really like to see a 2 CMC you can't pay life type of card, which would start to punish greedy manabases in a way we haven't seen before. All of the current "you can't pay life" cards are just too slow.
Another thing I would really like to see is a revisit to the color specific hate cards. There's not enough that see play anymore because they've mostly been power-crept into oblivion (plus they were mostly forms of removal which is now free thanks to MH2 elementals).
I can't say I am happy about MH3, since they will probably just print cards that are pushed way too much, instead of filling the gaps that we actually need. I don't want to see the format sped up any further, and will be very disappointed if they do so. Pushed cards sell money though, so I won't be surprised.
I'd much rather see niche powerful cards than all-encompassing staples. Hopefully some cards can fill the gaps I've outlined above, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.
August 13, 2023 10:36 p.m.
@wallisface would a new and improved Imperiosaur help 5 color soup or just make it better? lol
color shifted Blood Moon could be neat... especially for black acting like a differnt/additional Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth?
Frankly after getting hit with rakdos scam decks I almost don't even think Smokestack/Winter Orb would be any worse lol... but with all do respect please no i pray those cards don't come to modern.
@nbarry223 I also really could do without anymore "POWER" added to modern... at least in the generic sense... i like your take on sideboard cards and power boosts to niche archetypes
August 13, 2023 10:43 p.m.
wallisface says... #5
Icbrgr I don’t think any Imperiosaur clone could ever realistically have any presence in modern unless it was pushed to ridiculous levels. To move modern away from 5-colour-soup you both need a bunch of appealing cards that work better in decks running less colours, as well as more hate for greedy mana bases.
To an extent the incarnation cycle helped promote playing less colours, as you need a same-coloured card to pitch to them. Unfortunately this whole premise is overshadowed by amazing multi-colour creatures like Omnath, which render the evoke restriction fairly trivial.
August 13, 2023 11:16 p.m. Edited.
I think low costed "you can't pay life" or "you can't sacrifice permanents" types of effects would go a long way to fixing the problem with greedy manabases. Fetchlands have gone unpunished for far too long. If there was a way to actually punish running so many fetches, Blood Moon becomes more powerful as well, and I think it would be enough to make people think twice about the amount of greed their manabase contains.
Something around 2 CMC that affects both players seems reasonable to me. Yasharn, Implacable Earth is the most playable form of hate I am aware of, but turn 4 is just too late. Such a card can't really be at 1 CMC either, since someone on the play could lock their opponent completely out potentially.
August 13, 2023 11:30 p.m.
certainly an interesting thought with a 2CMC Yasharn, Implacable Earth... Im not sure how I feel about it though... I am a huge fan of the card Blood Moon itself But back in the day with "Free win"" Mono-Red Prison or ponza lists that cheated out Blood Moon early with Simian Spirit Guide... idk i think that feels toxic.
August 13, 2023 11:54 p.m.
Going off the previous Modern Horizons, I expect some outside-of-Modern cards to be pulled in (Eladamri's Call, Enchantress's Presence), some lower-tier strategies to be given a push (Cloudshredder Sliver, Unmarked Grave), and some pushed cards (Force of Negation, Fury, and a bunch of generically good filler.
Some cards that could be Modern-ized (and probably keeping my failed prediction streak going):
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specific or general typal utility stuff (Daru Spiritualist or Pact of the Serpent, for example)
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some cards from recent non-Modern sets with generic names or Wizards IP (Rampaging War Mammoth).
Eyeballing some possible strategies that could use a bump:
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weenie
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or mill
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something non-Eldrazi non-artifact colorless
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Big Spells (mana value 5+ instants/sorceries, sorta like Prismatic from Strixhaven).
Some cards that might be pushed and generically good filler: I have no idea. That's for the designers to know.
August 14, 2023 12:22 a.m.
We don’t have any early accelerator cards left in the format beyond Chancellor of the Tangle and Gemstone Caverns (which both weaken consistency at the cost of explosiveness, completely balanced). A 2 cmc card that only punishes fetches and cards like that wouldn’t be too broken.
Also, people could adjust away from fetches if they saw the card too much, but like I said that makes Blood Moon more powerful. The problem with fetches is they can fetch basics against the hate, basically blanking it in most cases.
This would allow them to still play fetches, but they wouldn’t be able to produce mana with them without some type of Prismatic Omen, Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, or Dryad of the Ilysian Grove effect.
There’s enough ways to work around (or remove) such an effect, but attacking greedy manabases from multiple fronts is something I think we need.
August 14, 2023 7:36 a.m.
An interesting side effect to a 2CMC effect like this could maybe open up the idea of Mental Misstep returning to the format?
All in all I just personally find the idea horrifying (not exactly saying I disagree with where your coming from though).... I could just be biased/Traumatized though because there is a really good Ponza player at my shop and I find him hard enough to beat/play around let alone giving him an new angle to pressure.
August 14, 2023 2:28 p.m.
I don’t see any cards like Mental Misstep ever returning to the format. It literally became who had the most of them to win counter wars at a certain point. A spell that requires no colors or mana investment just doesn’t have a place in modern.
MH2 elementals and the like at least require the rest of your deck to have that color, where Mental Misstep and Gitaxian Probe do not.
I cannot see a time when either is acceptable ever again. As much as I like phyrexian mana, when have you ever seen someone not pay the 2 life.
August 14, 2023 5:55 p.m.
I’d honestly want the effect to be color-locked similar to Blood Moon. I could see it fitting in green or white. White dealing with life and green with unable to sacrifice permanents. Whichever we think is more realistic.
August 14, 2023 5:57 p.m. Edited.
jethstriker says... #13
A color shifted pseudo-Blood Moon already exists: Back to Basics. They could introduce that to Modern.
With the rising power of Modern due to its non-rotating nature, I think it's not unreasonable anymore to ask for Eternal format answers. Cards like Price of Progress, Swords to Plowshares, Wasteland, Daze, or even Force of Will will inevitably needed as time goes by. Might as well start to legalize them now little by little.
August 15, 2023 12:01 a.m.
Honestly I think you just cracked the code jethstriker. +1
August 15, 2023 3:08 a.m.
I've been hoping for fireblast for a few horizons now,
With all the free spells in modern now, why the hell not.
Would Goblin Welder be too far?
I think another free creature like one of the kobolds or Phyrexian Walker would be interesting.
The Fiery Confluence cycle would be cool and I don't think would affect much,
(I'm basically using that as a placeholder because there's been a couple commander-product cards printed over the last few years I've thought would be cool in modern but I can't remember any of them right now)
I would love to see pyroblast but I don't know if they'll feel obligated to print hydro too,
Personally, I would also love to see an interesting combo piece like Helm of Obedience,
And maybe something weird for combo/control like Arcane Denial.
I think a second Gravecrawler might be interesting and hopefully wouldn't lead to superlong turns,
I would LOVE a two-mana Doran, the Siege Tower more than any other card,
I think a strictly-better Wild Nacatl / Kird Ape wouldn't hurt nobody,
And I think Chain Lightning would be sweet.
I KIND of want that legacy infect spell that gains the opponent life, but that might be too far. Maybe Berserk? Deaths shadow wouldn't mind
I think there's design space for a bauble-like enchantment, but unholy heat kind of ruined that.
An electromancer with ward would be sweet, but wizards would never encourage storm gameplay so maybe with the text "you can only cast two spells a turn"?
Also, I think back to basics would be awesome, I don't care what would happen.
August 16, 2023 3:13 p.m.
Back to Basics could be a blue blood moon. The rest of the horizon lands would be great
August 16, 2023 7:05 p.m.
wallisface says... #17
I’m hoping/expecting them to be reprinting the allied fetchlands over printing more horizon lands
August 16, 2023 10:49 p.m.
Selfishly, I'd love to see a version of Slippery Bogle, either to have a cheaper version of the deck or to boost a Bant Bogle build. It'll never happen, but I can dream :p
August 22, 2023 4:39 p.m.
well, wizards has gone on record saying 1-mana hexproof creatures were a mistake,
so it could be likely for one to show up in a modern horizons set
August 23, 2023 4:06 a.m.
I know it has been powercrept, but I would love to see Flametongue Kavu come to Modern in the uncommon slot. OG artwork would be amazing. I don't think it should be printed as a common because I do think it would be a little too pushed for Pauper, nor should it be a rare for the fact it is mostly powercrept and would waste a rare slot.
August 27, 2023 1:16 p.m.
Also, wolfhead mentioned Berserk. As someone who has been playing Jund Death's Shadow for 5 years, I would LOVE to see that brought to Modern. DS is one of my favorite Modern decks and to see it get a boost would be great!
August 27, 2023 1:21 p.m.
I’d like to see more powerful specific hate cards. Effects that target 1-2 enemy colors, or target things that are too prevalent in the format is what I’d like to see.
For example, some 2 CMC enchantment that counters everything no mana was spent on (in white because white gets nothing and taxing makes sense).
Another form of non-basic hate restricted to a specific color. Maybe another color hoser like Choke.
I would like an adventure style powered down Land Tax as well. If your opponent has more lands than you, search your library for a land and put it into play (3 cmc white sorcery) and a creature with power and toughness equal to your opponents lands (would be beefy in EDH) for maybe 5 cmc green.
I’d be okay with card designs where they push limits like that, but aren’t super overpowered and/or answer needed gaps. I do not want to see more designs like ragavan and MH2 elementals that speed up the format even further.
Control really needs love in today’s meta game and I hope they get some tools from MH3.
August 31, 2023 8:39 a.m.
Honestly, I could see cards like Swords to Plowshares, Back to Basics, Toxic Deluge, Archaeomancer's Map, Tainted Pact and Animar, Soul of Elements being downshifted to modern. Anything that either: 1. Empowers control, 2. Encourages deck diversity instead of 4 copies of everything, or 3. Encourages go wide creature strategies would be a positive for the format in my opinion. Right now, the format is far too many tempo aggro type decks, with combo coming in as a close second (usually with tempo/control elements to back up the combo).
Control is near non-existant if it isn't there to slow you down enough for them to get their combo off. I'm not asking for something like Celestial Colonnade to become the all star finisher of a control deck again, but I would like to see an uptick in control to rebalance the current meta. Honestly Animar, Soul of Elements is probably too slow for the format, but you should get my point.
wallisface says... #2
I’m really hoping they implement some cards/strategies to incentivise playing less colours in a deck, as we’ve been increasingly migrating towards a 5-colour-soup environment.
To that end i’d really like them to have devotion as one of the larger themes of the set. I’d also very much like to see a colour-shifted Blood Moon style effect in Black (or possibly Blue?).
Outside of that the only cards i’d like to see added to the format are degenerate nonsense like Smokestack and Winter Orb. Imo Smokestack would be pretty safe in modern, but also conceivably far too miserable to play against to probably warrant adding to the format. Winter Orb could probably only come in as a “fixed” version of the card, like what was done with Lions-Eye.
August 13, 2023 10:31 p.m.