Recently, we’ve seen no end of leaks from Modern Horizons 3. Despite spoiler season not officially starting for a few weeks, it seems we’re already deep in the midst of it. With new staples, flares, and Commander options being revealed, the hype for Modern Horizons 3 is at an all-time high! We just have to hope these MTG leaks don’t garner a problematic response from Wizards.
Unsurprisingly, as if we hadn’t already seen enough from Modern Horizons 3, the leaks haven’t exactly stopped. Over the weekend, a number of new MTG cards were revealed, along with a handful of Special Guests. As always, there’s technically no guarantee these new cards are actually new since they’re leaks after all. That being said, these leaks have a good chance of being more genuine than the rest.
Ultimately, until everything gets officially revealed, it’s best to remain somewhat skeptical about what we’ve seen so far. That being said, many MTG players already consider these leaks the real deal. Should this be the case, it seems inevitable that one, if not more formats is due for a major shakeup soon.
Scam Is Coming to Arena?!
Over the weekend, three new Special Guest cards were revealed thanks to a new leak. Included in this trio was the reveal that both Fury and Grief are Special Guest cards. Should this leak be genuine, which it does appear to be, this means a true Modern menace is coming to MTG Arena.
To speak briefly more about their authenticity, we basically already know that the Evoke elements are part of Modern Horizons 3. Specifically, these MTG cards are due to appear as five of the set’s Special Guests. While not outright confirmed, this was effectively revealed back in February when Wizards debuted Solitude as the set’s first Special Guest card.
Thanks to this prior reveal, it seems there’s no doubt that Fury and Grief are coming to MTG Arena in June. When this happens, the once-dominant Rakdos Scam archetype from Modern will be unleashed onto Timeless and potentially even Historic too. Considering the strength of the archetype and the Evoke Elementals, this is going to have some major effects on the format.
Even with the higher power level of Timeless, Rakdos Scam is still an insanely powerful deck that could easily flourish. Since Up the Beanstalk is still playable in the format, this deck has every potential to be a real menace. Considering how much Scam decks were a problem in Modern, Timeless could be in trouble.
Unsurprisingly, some MTG players aren’t too excited about these upcoming Special Guests coming to Arena. With u/VoiceofKane commenting “That’s going to be miserable,” it’s clear the archetype is rather problematic. For better or worse, not everyone is so worried about the expected return of Scam. As u/_4C1D notes, Timeless’ no ban philosophy may be the perfect place for Scam’s degenerate antics.
Even More Modern Horizons Special Guests
On top of Fury and Grief, a third Special Guest card was leaked; Persist. Hailing from Modern Horizons 2, this card offers a potent reanimation effect for any non-legendary creature. The only downside is that the reanimated creature gets a -1/-1 counter, but that’s hardly the end of the world.
Currently, Persist pretty much only sees competitive play in Modern, specifically in Creativity lists. Much like Fury and Grief, Persist could easily see play in Timeless in a reanimation-focused list. While such a deck isn’t popular in the format right now, Persist could obviously change that.
Right now, while there are some huge creatures in Timeless, the main threat from Indomitable Creativity decks is missing. Similarly hailing from Modern Horizons 2, Archon of Cruelty offers an insane ETB effect alongside a potent body. At eight mana, this card doesn’t come cheap, however, cheating it in for just two mana with Persist isn’t half bad!
Sadly, there’s no telling whether or not Archon of Cruelty will be one of the remaining four Special Guests. Considering these four cards could be anything, predicting the currently missing Special Guests is no easy feat. That being said, we’re still going to throw our hat into the ring and give some suggestions.
Alongside the Evoke Elements and Persist, we’d love to see [tooltipsMurktide Regent on MTG Arena. Considering Timeless is curiously trending toward being rather Modern-y, this card seems like a great fit. On top of this, if we’re reprinting Modern staples, Urza’s Saga surely has to be included too.
To round out the list, Dauthi Voidwalker and Academy Manufactor would also be great reprints, but we’re skeptical about those. Ultimately, we’re just going to have to wait and see what gets revealed.
MTG Arena Is in for a Major Change
Given the strength of the Special Guests cards have have been confirmed, MTG Arena is undoubtedly in for a major metagame shift. For better or worse, the ten Special Guest cards are hardly going to be the only ones causing problems. With every card from Modern Horizons 3 coming to Arena, this entire set is going to cause a huge metagame shift.
Unsurprisingly, considering the set’s power level, a lot of Modern Horizons 3 cards are expected to be pre-banned on MTG Arena. Even with this happening, Historic is sure to get quite a shake-up, and Timeless all the more so. Ultimately, we won’t know exactly what happens until the set actually launches on June 11th.
As if Modern Horizons 3 wasn’t enough to look forward to, MTG Arena has even more in the works. Not only is Pioneer Masters launching late this year, but there are also major developments planned for the far future. As Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks recently revealed, this includes multiplayer, collectability, and a refresh all inspired by Commander.
Ultimately, while the MTG Arena refresh is quite a way away, there’s still a lot players can look forward to. Hopefully, when Modern Horizons 3 does launch on Arena, it’ll be heralded as a welcome positive, rather than a format warping plight.
Read More: Modern Horizons 3 Leaks Boast Free Counterspell with Broken Applications!
