Modern Horizons sets are always a very special sort of release.

Your average Magic set always has a handful of exciting cards, poised to make small impacts across various formats while providing a fun draft format. While the range of formats that Modern Horizons will affect is smaller than your average set, the magnitude of the effect is much higher. Modern, Legacy, Commander, and Pauper are about to get a huge infusion of powerful cards, and for the first time a Modern Horizons set will also be coming to MTG Arena and be legal in Historic and Timeless as well.

Modern Horizons 3 will also be getting the full Pro Tour treatment, meaning that the new Modern format as well as the draft format will be immediately on display on Magic's biggest stage.

As of writing this, the majority of the set has been previewed, meaning we've got a pretty good look at the set as a whole. This means it's time for first impressions in the form of my love/hates! Note that these are not just static rankings. The point is to shed light on cards I think are being over or undervalued based on first impressions. The point of my Love/Hate article is not just to call cards good or bad, but to view cards based on the first impressions people have been having or are likely to have. The goal is to dispel undue hype or to draw attention to cards that are being overlooked.

Let's get started!

Love - Amped Raptor

Energy returns!

The powerful mechanic first premiered in Kaladesh returns, providing you with an additional resource to manage. Energy cards tend to be somewhat parasitic, in that they only really play super well with themselves, but a few were good enough on rate to be played as the only energy card in a deck.

Amped Raptor is one of those cards.

Think of Amped Raptor like a mini-Bloodbraid Elf. You get to play a reasonably well sized 2-drop creature, but then also get an additional spell for free. This provides both card advantage and tempo, as getting a card and the mana to pay for it all in one shot is very valuable.

The only catch? You must either play a deck with all spells that cost 2 mana or less, or play other ways to generate energy. However, the fact remains that a 2-drop 2/1 first strike that comes with another spell and mana to cast it all in one is way above rate.

Hate - Ugin's Labyrinth

Firing up the hot take cannon here I see!

Ugin's Labyrinth is one of the most hyped cards in Modern Horizons 3, and rightfully so. Ancient Tomb is one of the most busted lands ever printed, and with cards like Chrome Mox and Simian Spirit Guide banned, Modern is designed to be a format where 2 mana on turn one isn't really possible. This card looks to break that rule.

I'm by no means saying that Ugin's Labyrinth is unplayable or anything, but I think people are vastly underestimating the deck-building constraint it creates. In order to have the card be more than a Wastes (Snow-Covered or otherwise), you're talking about needing an amount of seven+ mana cards well into the double digits. This is very extreme, as even big mana decks like Tron rarely get into the double digits.

The success case - a pain-free Ancient Tomb on turn one - is incredible, but the fail cases of drawing three seven-drops and no Labyrinth is going to happen far more often I fear; Ugin's Labyrinth is going to be very hard to get into decklists.

Love - Nadu, Winged Wisdom

One thing about Modern Horizons sets is that you will see things that would never fly in a "normal" Magic set. Take Nadu, Winged Wisdom; modern day Magic designers are very cognizant of keeping unbounded loops in check. They are possible, but usually require a lot of work across multiple cards.

Nadu isn't technically unbounded, but it will not be hard to trigger an extreme amount of times in a single turn.

Without much thought, both Shuko and Outrider en-Kor come to mind as ways to repeatedly trigger Nadu, with the former being super cheap and searchable with Stoneforge Mystic, and the latter allowing you to do a cycle of targets on your opponents turn as well, giving you four triggers for each creature you control each turn cycle.

And of course, this is all not even mentioning the fact that it's a 3/4 flyer for 3 mana that draws you a card when your opponent tries to kill it.

Nadu is absurd and probably one of the most pushed cards in the entire set.

Hate - Washed Up Classics

In a lot of ways it is super fun to see old classics like Decree of Justice back in action. I know I can't wait to draft one!

However, it's also a bit sad seeing these one-time powerhouses reduced to almost nothing. Isochron Sceptor is a legal card in Modern, but what was once a format-defining card alongside Orim's Chant is nothing more than a relic. They could also print an "always threshold" version of Fledgling Dragon these days and it's doubtful it would see any play.

They say never meet your heroes, and while it's fun to see some old classics, don't think about dragging them out of retirement if you plan on actually winning games.

That being said, there are some certifiable bangers on the "New To Modern" sheet, so don't discount all of them!

Love - Tune The Narrative

Our last card of the day is going to be one that's very easy to overlook.

Tune the Narrative doesn't kill an opponent on turn three, or lock out all their spells, or do something flashy. However, there's a reason that Attune with Aether was banned in Standard. Being able to exchange a single mana for a card and some extra value up front is extremely powerful, which is exactly what Tune the Narrative is all about.

If your deck cares about energy, and there are a lot of cards in the set that do, Tune the Narrative is the ultimate grease-the-wheels card. It will also be undoubtedly powerful in limited, providing you with energy, prowess effects, extra draw triggers, and so much more for only a single mana. It may feel weird for the best Blue draft common in a set to be a simple cantrip, but it's happened before a few times in the last few years with cards like Birthday Escape.

Don't overlook this one!

Complete Set Review And More!

New sets are always very exciting, but getting to delve into one across multiple formats while also getting to see how all the exciting reprints shake out is going to be a blast.

I'll be doing my complete set review next Tuesday live on stream and it will be going up on YouTube on the same day, as I get to get into the nitty gritty of every single card in the set for both Constructed and Limited.

I will also be doing my usual Ten New Brews for this set, but because of how many formats it is going to effect I'll be splitting them up. Next Wednesday will be MTG Arena day on the Early Access event and I'll be building and playing 3 Historic and 2 Timeless brews, while I'll be doing 5 Modern brews on Friday on the Magic Online Early Access event. All of that will also be live on Twitch and later on YouTube, and my article right here on CoolStuffInc.com will go over all ten decklists with my detailed thoughts on each!

With Bronze to Mythic to follow, as well as a trip to Amsterdam for the Pro Tour, this is going to be a very busy month!