Modern Horizons 3: Release Date, Spoilers, Commander Decks

Since it was first announced back in Gen Con in 2023, Modern Horizons 3 has been looming ever closer. Appearing on the horizon like a monstrous Eldrazi titan, many MTG players have long been scared of this impending release. Despite reassuring words from design leads, there have been real fears Modern Horizons 3 will force the format’s rotation again.

As the set has lumbered ever closer and its release date nears, sadly, this worrying possibility is all too real. Even before Modern Horizon 3’s spoiler season officially begins, we’ve seen a slew of devastatingly powerful spells. Between official reveals and a tide of leaks, this upcoming set appears to be one of the strongest in MTG’s history.

Despite all the leaks, there’s still a lot that this monumental 2024 MTG set has to offer. If anything, the hype for this set is at an all-time high thanks to what we’ve seen so far. With all eyes on the start of the spoiler season, players can’t wait to see just how busted MH3 truly is!

Thankfully, alongside all the cards we’ve seen, Wizards of the Coast has been rather forthcoming about the set’s details. Between the initial announcement and the more recent First Look, there’s plenty of information to know. So, whether you’re looking to keep up to date or cautiously fearing what’s to come, we’ve got you covered.

Here’s everything there is to know about Modern Horizons 3!

Modern Horizons 3 Release Date

Thankfully, following the preview at MagicCon: Chicago, Wizards has revealed all the dates for Modern Horizons 3. As a welcome change, this means we don’t have to speculate about when previews are going to start or end. Instead, we can just look at the dates below which reveal all!

MH3 Preview Events

Debut and Previews Begin on WeeklyMTG: May 21st
Card Image Gallery and Previews Complete: May 31st
Global Tabletop Launch: June 14th

MH3 Play Events

Prerelease Events Begin at Your Local Game Store: June 7th
MTG Arena Global Launch: June 11th
Open House Weekend: June 14th
Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3 at MagicCon: Amsterdam: June 28th – 30th

Modern Horizons 3 MTG Arena

As you may have noticed, within that list of release dates is one for MTG Arena. If that didn’t give it away, allow us to state it properly; Modern Horizons 3 is coming to MTG Arena! Launching just a few days before the global release, as usual, Arena players will be getting the entire set!

Given the precedent from past Modern Horizons sets, the cards within Modern Horizons 3 should be incredibly powerful. Due to this, it’s highly likely a lot of them will be pre-banned in Historic. Thankfully, since Timeless now exists as a format, this shouldn’t be the end of the world for MTG Arena players.

Sadly, at the moment, details about the MTG Arena release are fairly few and far between. Thankfully, according to Wizards, there will be more information to be shared later on. When exactly this “later” will be is currently unclear, but we’re certainly hoping for soon. At the latest, we can expect more details on May 21st.

Modern Horizons 3 Leaks

Before we get to the official spoilers, it’s best we address the Loxodon in the room: Modern Horizon 3’s leaks. Since late April, leaks for the set have steadily been appearing online as a number of players seemingly cracked packs and acquired decks early. As usual, these products weren’t leaked in their entirety with high-quality photos and videos. Instead, many of the leaks looked as if they’d been photographed with a potato…

Despite the quality of the leaks, many of them were still legible enough to command attention. For better or worse, many of the leaked cards looked obscenely strong, being poised to warp the Modern metagame as feared. On their own, these leaks were just scary, as while they could be real, there was technically no guarantee of authenticity.

That was the case, at least, until Wizards of the Coast miraculously broke cover and confirmed many of the leaks were real. Addressing the situation in a blog post, Wizards confirmed multiple leaked main-set and Commander cards were the real deal. Notably, while many cards were confirmed to be real, not everything has been authenticated by Wizards.

Thanks to Wizards’ confirmation, many leaks have been turned into officially sanctioned spoilers. Despite these reveals, however, many unconfirmed Modern Horizons 3 leaks remain dubious at best. Ultimately, we won’t know what the set has to offer in earnest until the spoiler season officially starts.

For reference, Modern Horizon 3’s spoiler season will begin on May 21st.

Modern Horizons 3 Spoilers

Now that the leaks are out of the way, there are plenty of official Modern Horizons 3 spoilers to talk about. From the looks of what we’ve seen, many of these are obscenely powerful and seemingly primed to warp Modern. More than anything, a new free spell cycle has the potential to massively upend the competitive order.

On top of the new Flare cards, such as Flare of Denial, Modern Horizon 3 features many Eldrazi cards. For better or worse, it seems unlikely these will bring about a new Eldrazi Winter, but that’s entirely possible. To top it all off with positives, five Planeswalkers are getting the double-faced treatment that was so loved in Magic Origins.

Even before the set’s spoiler season officially begins, we’ve certainly seen a lot of Modern Horizons 3. We’ve seen so much, in fact, that we can’t really cover it in just one place. So, if you want to learn more about what we’ve seen so far, take a gander at the articles below!

Modern Horizons 3 Commander Decks

During The Preview Panel at MagicCon: Chicago, Wizards of the Coast also revealed Modern Horizons 3’s Commander decks. In a curious change, rather than just releasing four decks as usual, Wizards is releasing eight this time around! Before you grab your pitchforks and or wallets, this isn’t as bad as it sounds.

Rather than having either unique decks, Modern Horizons 3 only has four main decks. Each of these is accompanied by a “Collector’s Edition” version of the deck. Similarly to those from the Warhammer 40,000 crossover, the cards in these decks are all foil. According to Wizards, these foils will be in a “new foil treatment” which hasn’t been shown off today.

With those initial details out of the way, here’s a little bit about each of the Commander decks from Modern Horizons 3.

Graveyard Overdrive

As if the name doesn’t give it away, this Jund deck is all about the graveyard. Considering this is a staple archetype within Commander and competitive formats, this deck could have some fantastic staples. If anything, we just have to hope that this deck won’t be too powerful compared to all the others.

Tricky Terrain

Not quite as on the nose as its brethren, Tricky Terrain is the land-focused precon in Modern Horizons 3. Like most ramp decks, this should mean a strategy that quickly builds into absolutely massive board-conquering threats. Alongside this, we’d also expect to see plenty of land creatures, both big and small, making an appearance.

Creative Energy

Once again given away by the name, Creative Energy is all about generating Energy to pay for massive bombs and effects. Given that Energy has just reappeared in the Fallout Commander decks, it seems this mechanic is having a major resurgence! Thanks to this, there should be no end of powerful tools and upgrades for this newfangled deck.

Eldrazi Incursion

Last but not least in this quartet of descriptively named decks, we have the latest Eldrazi-focused precon. Curiously, unlike the last one from Commander Masters, this deck has a full WUBRG color identity! While we haven’t seen the face Commander just yet, they already seem like an absolute bomb.

Modern Horizons 3 Booster Fun

Unsurprisingly, as a modern MTG release, Modern Horizons 3 includes a number of Booster Fun treatments to entice collectors. At the moment, Wizards has shown off seven different non-standard card variants, but that’s not all. As mentioned above, the new foil Commander cards will increase this already exhaustive count by one.

Retro Frame Cards – Beloved by some and hated by others, Retro Frame cards are returning for Modern Horizons 3. For better or worse, “many cards” will be getting this treatment, so expect to see them a lot.

Concept Cards – Debuted in Phyrexia: All Will Be One, the Concept art treatment is returning once again. Rather than being used for Praetor cards, this time the Eldrazi Titans are getting this unique look.

Frame Break Cards – Initially appearing in Commander Masters, Frame Break cards push the boundaries of where art can go. Beyond testing the limits, these cards also get fantastic and unique art which is usually utterly stunning.

Borderless Profile Cards – Also first seen in Commander Masters, the Borderless Profile cards are back. By putting the character’s face front and center on the card, this Booster Fun treatment is fantastic for Commander players.

Etched Foils – While rather divisive, this foil treatment has the potential to look absolutely amazing. We can only hope that Wizards uses the etching on the right cards.

Textured Foils – Textured foils are back for Modern Horizons 3! You can expect to see this foiling technique on the double-faced Planeswalkers and “a variety of cards.”

Serialized Double Rainbow Foils – With only 250 copies of each serialized card available, this foiling technique is undeniably the rarest around. As always, you can expect these serialized cards to be exceptionally expensive due to their manufactured rarity.

That’s All For Now

Sadly, that’s all we know about Modern Horizons 3 for now. Thankfully, as we mentioned throughout this article, it shouldn’t be too long before Wizards breaks cover and reveals more. Officially, the next information we can expect will be revealed on May 21st, so we’ll just have to wait until then. For now, thanks to the incredible cards we’ve seen already, the hype train has very much left the station.