Modern Horizons is releasing soon and today I would like to talk about some of my favorite cards in the set. As opposed to doing complete set reviews like some, today I am going to be more concise and just focus on the cards I think are likely to make an impact on Modern.

This article is going to have two sections. The first is going to cover the cards I feel pretty confidently will be showing up in the format. They are all either powerful or flexible enough to break into a format like Modern. The second section is cards that look sweet and fit into a specific niche, but might not be strong enough to really make a lasting impact.

Likely Staples

In Magic, the things that are most busted are often things that let us cheat on the mana system. This means cards with alternative costs to make them free are often great. However in 2019 Wizards might have finally figured out how to make free spells OK, but not busted. In Horizons we have the "Force" cycle of free spells that one the surface appear to range from bad to playable. Specifically I think both the Green and Blue forces are likely to see some play:

I think Force of Vigor is likely the most powerful of this cycle. Not only is killing Artifacts and Enchantments relevant in a variety of matches in Modern, but because this kills two things when we utilize it's "free" mode we are still maintaining card parity. Perhaps most importantly for decks like Amulet Titan - the fact that this can be cast without paying mana means it is an out when we are locked out by a Blood Moon.

Force of Negation is obviously a fixed Force of Will. The question is has it been "fixed" enough that it will still see play? On the surface this card appears to fail to enable the powerful Delver style tempo decks that love Force of Will in Legacy. Not only does this card fail to counter creatures, but it also does not have the ability to protect a threat on your own turn. I expect Force of Negation will see some amount of play, but likely just as a sideboard card in decks that previously played Negate and have the Blue count to support Force's alternative casting cost.

Speaking of counterspells in Modern Horizons though - I think Force of Negation is likely runner up to this very reasonable card:

While triple Blue mana is somewhat prohibitive to cast, Blue decks in Modern have been casting Cryptic Command for ages now which means with minor tweaks Archmage's Charm should also be castable. Charm has the flexibility fair cards need to show up in Modern. A counterspell that can also impact the board or simply turn into other cards when none of its text is relevant seems very good.

Another fantastic modal card in Modern Horizons is this gem:

While none of these abilities on their own are worth a card, two of them together often will. Being able to main deck this as graveyard hate that will also be an ace in gaining life against Burn is nothing to scoff at. Modern is the format where sideboard slots are often stretched and this card will be good in a variety of matchups - likely enough to even see some main deck play.

As someone who has had a love for creature toolbox decks in Modern for some time now, this next card makes me very happy for all the Chord of Calling players out there:

I think this card will very easily be an instant format staple. Stony Silence has frequently been one of the best sideboard cards in Modern and Ouphe is simply this effect attached to a 2/2 body. While this is easier to interact with than Stony, the fact that we can find the Ouphe with Chord of Calling and Collected Company means that it will certainly see play.

On the topic of Artifact hate - we have another card that will likely see some amount of sideboard play in Modern:

In the matchups where you want to destroy artifacts in Modern - you often would love to destroy an artifact every draw step for the rest of the game. With Shenanigans you can do just that! This card is notably very reasonable against Lantern of Insight as well as allowing Dredge to Dredge into an answer against Grafdigger's Cage.

Next we have another card that will likely slot into various creature decks in the format:

Notably, and very likely intentionally, Giver of Runes is not a human. That being said - I could see this card slotting into Humans still. It could also end up being reasonable in a deck like Spirits to protect their lords and Spell Quellers. While Giver of Runes will is unable to protect herself, in game anywhere she goes unchecked she will make combat a nightmare for our opponents. Making their attacks worse and frequently making one of our attackers unblockable.

Then we have a small upgrade for colored Eldrazi and two color decks in the format:

Because this card fetches any basic land - it is the first fetch land in Modern to find a Wastes. Bant Eldrazi is a deck I have liked some in the format and this will be a welcome addition to its mana base - helping some against Blood Moon.

Past Eldrazi decks, two color decks like Fae and Control are likely interested in a couple copies of this card to replace the off color fetches they have played historically.

To wrap up my first section I want to spend a bit talking about some highly anticipated lands from this set:

These cards feel like the poster children of what this set is intended to be. None of them are going to define new archetypes on their own, but they will be small subtle upgrades to existing decks. They will allow fair decks to play more lands, while risking flooding less often. They will enable combo decks to trade health early for extra looks in the late game.

Most notably perhaps though is that these lands will likely be the biggest addition to Burn in long time. Not only will Burn likely play four or more of these, the fact that other people will be paying life for their mana makes Burn a bit stronger in many matchups.

Unlikely Staples

While we are on the topic of lands, I would like to open this section with that topic. To start we have another cycle that I have long missed in Modern:

These cards are very reasonable alongside the card Life from the Loam - turning it into a five mana draw three when you want. That being said - this type of grindy card advantage is rarely good in Modern. This means I would not be surprised if these fail to make any lasting impact outside of Loam enthusiasts that also hate Dredge.

Speaking of Loam enthusiasts we had two other neat cards in this set for that archetype:

To clear a very low bar, Wrenn and Six is likely the strongest two-mana planeswalker ever printed. Alongside a fetch land the +1 effectively draws a card every turn. The -1 can impact the board. In the right shell the -7 eventually wins the game.

Ayula's Influence is likely an easier to cast Seismic Assault that also closes out the game fairly quickly alongside Life from the Loam.

The problem with these cards is that because Dredge is such a good deck in Modern, the graveyard is an incredibly targeted zone out of most sideboards. This means that the power level you get from the graveyard often isn't good enough to make up for how much hate you are going to see in the post board games.

Speaking of Dredge - there might be a chance that this deck is interested in a couple copies of this bomb:

Dredge is a deck that can easily meet the requirements you need to actually cast this card. The fact that we can cast it from the graveyard means that it is another threat we can Dredge into. The downside to this card is that in order to cast it we need to already have two Black creatures in play, which could possibly make it a win more threat.

Up next we have an old school powerhouse that is potentially here to remind everyone that Modern is a lot more fast and brutal than formats of years past:

For those who have never played with or against Fact or Fiction before - the key part to keep in mind is that the person casting gets to pick which pile they get. This means if there is an important card in the top five cards of your deck you always get it. That being said, four mana is a lot in Modern. In a format where Jace, the Mind Sculptor struggles to be good enough, I am not sure Fact or Fiction has what it takes to keep up in terms of efficiency of what it does.

Then we have a card that is decidedly not the Stoneforge Mystic we deserve, but is the ugly Goblin we get:

This card feels like a weird mix of Stoneforge Mystic and Goblin Welder. In Modern it seems like it could fit nicely into a Red Prison style deck that is interested in leaning on card like Ensnaring Bridge to lock out the game. Other hate cards such as Damping Sphere and Trinisphere are potentially also useful with this little guy.

He could also slot well into something a little bit different as a tutor to assemble Sword of the Meek alongside Thopter Foundry.

Next we have a card that I almost put in the first category, but wasn't quite confident enough to do so:

Before many people settled on Phoenix as the Bird deck of choice in Modern, there were a number of Mono-Red variations running around that Lava Dart could slot naturally into. The fact that this is two spells in a single card is good not only with Prowess creatures, but also for getting Arclight Phoenix back into play from the graveyard.

Then we have what could be a small upgrade for Bridge-Vine enthusiasts:

In terms of attacking, Carrion Feeder is much better than previously enablers like Viscera Seer for providing a sacrifice outlet. Whether trading off some consistency scrying one provides for extra points of power is worthwhile is something that will need to be tested.

Finally I would be remiss if I did not mention this minor upgrade for Chord of Calling fans everywhere:

While an 0/4 that draws a card is nothing new to Modern, the fact that this one can convoke for Green mana means that it is a solid upgrade over Wall of Omens for creature toolbox players everywhere.

Wrapping Up

Overall while I do not think Modern Horizons is going to create any large change in the Modern format, I do think it is going to provide a number of interesting cards that will slot nicely into existing archetypes to improve them in various ways.

What cards do you like out of Horizons for Modern? Did I cover them all here or did I miss something important?