In the world of MTG, every Constructed format has its own unique feel. As a rotating format that utilizes a minimal number of sets, Standard is constantly in flux with regards to the overall metagame. Pioneer provides players with a chance to play a non-rotating format, but one that only features sets that were previously legal in Standard. Modern opens the door for extremely powerful sets like Modern Horizons II and Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth to add a slew of elite cards.
Legacy takes this idea even further, allowing players to use any card throughout MTG’s history, minus a handful of banned cards, of course. All in all, each format has a different identity that helps maintain their uniqueness. That being said, this doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities to take cards from older formats and reprint them in a way that makes them legal in formats with smaller card pools. For instance, Imperial Recruiter was reprinted in Modern Horizons II, making it legal in Modern for the first time.
With Modern Horizons III coming up on us rather quickly, this is a perfect chance for some highly sought after cards to make their way into Modern. Recently, a Reddit post sparked some discussion about what some neat inclusions to the format could be. Today, we’re going to take a look at some of the cards with the highest potential to make their way into Modern, as well as some that could theoretically help address certain issues the format is currently facing as a whole.
Aura Mutation
My initial thought on Aura Mutation, as well as Artifact Mutation, were that these cards were simply too efficient for the effect they provided. Two mana to answer an opposing permanent is pretty reasonable, but the added bonus of developing your board, potentially in a significant way, was too much. However, there are a few factors that might ultimately make these cards reasonable to reprint.
First of all, these cards are pretty restrictive in what they can target, especially Aura Mutation. There simply aren’t that many Enchantments that regularly see play. In many cases, you will be removing something with a small mana value, such as Urza’s Saga or Sigarda’s Aid, netting very few Saprolings in the process.
Additionally, the competition is extremely high for Artifact and Enchantment hate for green decks nowadays, as Force of Vigor is outrageously efficient and versatile. Aura Mutation at least opens the door for some cool tricks, like answering an early Leyline Binding and netting a bunch of Saprolings for your troubles.
Going even deeper, five-color Zoo decks could run Artifact Mutation in conjunction with Scion of Draco as a way to generate 12 Saprolings, while still being able to answer opposing Artifacts when necessary. As such, these seem like relatively cool additions to the format that aren’t overwhelmingly broken by any stretch.
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Cabal Therapy
Since the printing of Cabal Therapist was a complete flop, there’s at least some potential that Cabal Therapy could make its way into Modern. On the surface, Cabal Therapy is an interesting and rather skill-intensive card. Being able to nab cards from the opponent’s hand twice thanks to Flashback is incredibly powerful, and the drawback of having to name a card ahead of time means that you may end up whiffing completely the first time you cast it.
As such, when used as intended, Cabal Therapy is certainly a cool card. Where things get awkward, though, is when the card is used unfairly. For instance, graveyard-centric decks can end up with a [Thoughtseize effect that they can regularly cast for zero mana. By milling over Cabal Therapy with Stitcher’s Supplier or Dredge cards like Stinkweed Imp, you now have access to a powerful effect at very little cost.
Not to mention, given that these styles of decks typically run recursive threats like Prized Amalgam or Vengevine alongside Narcomoeba which comes into play for free, paying the cost of sacrificing a Creature to Flashback Cabal Therapy is rather trivial. In this sense, adding it to the format may not be the best idea, even if it seems interesting at first glance.
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Price of Progress
Price of Progress is an interesting card that would likely be super controversial. In Legacy, the card is sometimes used as a sideboard card to punish slower decks with greedy manabases. Sometimes, casting a single copy of Price of Progress can deal the opponent 10 damage or more, which obviously has a massive swing on the game. Given that the card is technically a symmetrical effect, not every deck can play it.
Similarly, if you go out of your way to accommodate the card within your manabase, then it can end up being quite strong. The hope is that the card adds another way to punish players for freely Fetching Triomes and Shocklands at will, much like Blood Moon. Unfortunately, I don’t think Price of Progress would ultimately have a beneficial effect on the format.
Dealing two damage per non-basic Land is incredible on rate. Burn decks having access to a card that can win the game almost singlehandedly would be a bit concerning. As such, Price of Progress is a card that I think should be avoided when adding cards to Modern.
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Helping Typal Creature Decks
The type of cards that I personally most want to see added to Modern are those that might help give Creature decks an edge. Even with the banning of Fury, non-combo decks that try to go wide with Creatures have mostly fallen by the wayside. Merfolk has gotten a bit more popular, but other typal decks like Humans and Goblins have been mostly nonexistent over the course of the past few years.
In this sense, these strategies clearly need a bit more help, especially in a format with elite, reactive spells like Solitude. One cool addition to help aggressive Creature decks could be Broadside Bombardiers. Broadside Bombardiers is unique in the sense that it both adds pressure to the board while simultaneously allowing you to interact with pesky blockers from the opponent. The card has been an elite addition in Legacy, but without cards like Chrome Mox and Ancient Tomb in the mix, is likely much fairer in Modern.
To specifically help bolster Aether Vial decks that once upon a time were relevant tier one strategies, Recruiter of the Guard could be a nice addition to the format. It’s a bit slow but works perfectly with Vial. Being able to search for Solitude or Flickerwisp is a huge boon in its favor in comparison to Imperial Recruiter.
Furthermore, even something like Rishadan Port could help give Aether Vial decks a bit of an edge. Unlike Wasteland, Port takes a more specific approach to maximize. It requires extra mana investment from your end to use, making it much fairer. With Vial in play, though, you can advance your board while still using Port to slow the opponent down.
The reality is, there are a ton of potential cards that could make their way into Modern in the coming years. It’ll be interesting to see if any of these cards await us in Modern Horizons III.
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