You can find previous entries into this series here: Alpha to The Dark, Fallen Empires to Weatherlight, Tempest to Prophecy, Invasion to Scourge

Hello and welcome to the final week of the History on the Horizon series! I'm covering as many sets as possible, scouring for possible cards that could show up in the upcoming Modern Horizons set. If you've read my past articles in the series, there's been some serious spice to go around! These supplemental sets are no different, much less so given that they're scaled to a much more modern-day power level.

Aside from a handful of promos in the early-to-mid 90's, Magic had never really had any cards that entered the game outside out Standard. The Portal sets count somewhat, but even those were only made actually legal for tournament use long after they were initially released. As such, it was a genuine shock when it was announced that Commander 2011 would have brand new cards printed for the game in the decks. Nowadays, it's quite the normal fare, so much so that we'll even be seeing brand new cards, not just reprints, in Modern Horizons. Some of these special sets have a bit less to offer, but others have plenty to go around.

With that, let's dive on in!

I want to start off by mentioning these old promos that were unique to the game at the time of their printing. By modern day standards, these are all bad and will see zero play. What would see play and be absolutely and absurdly broken in the format would be this:

There's no way this card is happening. It's banned in Legacy and arguably should be banned in Commander as well. That said, it should almost certainly be reprinted soon because the price tag on the card is absolutely absurd. It has no business being nearly $200 when the demand is almost exclusively Commander and Cube. If it was merely printed and immediately banned, even though we all know that wouldn't happen, it would be welcome to drive the price back down.

Commander 2011

The biggest boon of the original Commander set was, well, the Commanders! Every single one of the face cards was a slam dunk home run in one way or another. Each one was reasonably costed, had great abilities, and an all-around excellent card. For virtually all of them, this actually translates well into the Modern format as well. Normally busted Commanders like Animar and Kaalia are somewhat manageable in a format where Lightning Bolts pick them off with ease, but still provide a massive threat if you can untap with them.

Even someone like Damia, Sage of Stone, arguably the most costly of the bunch is back-breakingly good if you can get her out easily. Drawing a full grip every turn is no joke, after all. Even Zedruu can find a home in the right shell, just waiting to pass out goodies, controlling the board, and staying in the game. Will they all make it? No, but they do provide plenty of sick build around options which is more than welcome in my book.

Likely to be more playable, though, would be some of the smaller two-color pair legendaries. Each of these, particularly Edric, is especially strong at generating a board advantage one way or another and at little to no cost.

Commander sets aren't all about the Commanders themselves, though. With these sets, we get plenty of strong cards. Many of which have even been Legacy viable! Take Flusterstorm for example, an anti-Storm spell that stops opponents going off. While it could be a strong tool for many decks, I don't think it'll happen if only because resolving it can be a real nightmare at times, especially on Magic Online.

On the other hand, Chaos Warp could be a great tool for Red decks to use against serious problem cards. The only problem with the card is that it's pretty much a straight up color break, making it hard to justify in an actual set. Soul Snare, on the other hand, is a cheap and effective tool at battling back opponents' creatures and could be much needed these days with so much graveyard shenanigans going around the format.

Champion's Helm doesn't add a whole ton extra to the format, but being able to take certain legendary creatures and make it difficult for your opponents to interact with them has some degree of potential. If there's one card I really like, though, it's Riddlekeeper. Mill is an actual strategy in Modern and giving it more tools is always very welcome. Disincentivizing your opponent from attacking or risk milling for a ton is a very real thing. From there, Homeward Path would make a great tool for metas where opponents like to steal cards. It doesn't happen often, but we have seen cards like Threads of Disloyalty and Gonti, Lord of Luxury in the past.

In the more utilitarian side of things, Stranglehold stops players searching decks cold. Shadow of Doubt has been used at times and while Stranglehold is likely a bit too slow, it's a great card to shut down things like Vannifar Pod, Chord of Calling, or even just fetch lands. Tribute to the Wild is a bit corner case, really, since you're not often dealing with multiple players and targeted removal is just better in most cases. Lastly, Avatar of Slaughter isn't doing anything for Modern necessarily but it's a really cool Commander card we haven't seen a reprint of yet that could be fine here without affecting Modern much. Same goes for cards like Martyr's Bond and Crescendo of War.

Planechase 2012

Planechase gave us these two great cards that have come to somewhat define Legacy as of late. Baleful Strix especially sees tons of play in Grixis Control lists. It seems really innocuous being just a 1/1 but the truth is it basically reads "sit on the board, deter your opponents from attacking, remove their best creature if they do attack, and otherwise cantrip." it does a lot in such a small package and would likely a bit too strong for the format.

Shardless Agent on the other hand would likely be fine. The only times we really see Cascade in action these days are in the Living End and Restore Balance decks. We could see a Shardless deck with Ancestral Vision pop up but it's harder to set those up than in Legacy where you have cards like Brainstorm and Ponder at your disposal. I think it would be a great card for decks to have without completely tearing up the Modern metagame.

These are some other excellent cards. Beetleback Chief could tie in well to the tribal aspect if the set does indeed feature that. Brindle Shoat isn't much different from something like Raptor Hatchling, but it's in the much more on-color Green. Just as well, due to the low print and the fact that it shows up in some Pauper Stompy lists could help make the cards cheaper to pick up. On the far opposite end would be Maelstrom Wanderer. The card is a mainstay in the Commander format, but is way too expensive to be cast effectively in the Modern format. A fine choice if Wizards wants to put more out there.

These two are some more cute options for Bogles. Dreampod Druid is great for filling up a board if you need some blockers while Felidar Umbra is largely a Lifelink with some serious upside. Not the greatest but some cool options worth considering all the same.

One card that would be a really sweet reprint would be Sakashima's Student. Did you know this card is roughly $20 nowadays and climbing? For a sweet Clone, that seems a bit much, and I think it could provide some really sweet options to what players can do in the format.

Commander 2013

Let's be real here: True-Name Nemesis isn't coming into Modern. This card was a downright mistake and arguably should be banned in Legacy even as it stands currently. Adding it to a format already defined by uninteractivity just feels like a recipe for disaster.

I could, however, see these Legacy players. Unexpectedly Absent is a reasonable removal spell, allowing you to tuck a card however you see fit. Toxic Deluge is a really strong sweeper effect. Well costed, I think this would be welcome to deal with a number of absurdly fast creature decks. From the Ashes might be too slow, but will often wipe out land bases for a number of decks and wouldn't be unwelcome in this format.

These cards would also be pretty sweet. Ophiomancer is a value engine on its own, being able to keep non-flying creatures comfortably in check. It also doesn't actually have a token printed in paper yet, something players have been clamoring for some time now. Angel of Finality is a one-stop creature that deals with graveyards. Comparable to Remorseful Cleric, this is more expensive and lacks the relevant creature type, yet it has an immediate impact the moment it hits the board. Darksteel Mutation is also a really neat piece of removal that would be great to have.

The first two cards here, Bane of Progress and Primal Vigor, are both Commander favorites. I personally don't think either would do insane things in a format like Modern, but even just reprinting them here, especially Primal Vigor, in order to throw Commander players a bone would be welcome. Unlike those, Sudden Demise is a really clean board wipe to deal with a specific problem color. With cards like Pyroclasm and Anger of the Gods at our disposal, this might not be enough, but not hitting your creatures can also be a really big deal as well.

Lastly, a few legendaries. Derevi is almost certainly the best of the bunch, being a cost effective creature with a sweet ability. I could see it showing up in some of the Bant decks out there. Nekusar and Prossh are likely too pricey for the format, but do a lot and would have big impacts on games where they show up. With critical mass of Underworld Dreams and Spiteful Visions effects, I could definitely see Nekusar creating some neat build-around strategies.

Conspiracy

These cards are all quite good on their own and would almost assuredly see play. Council's Judgment is some of the best removal we could hope for while Dack deals effectively with artifact decks while also filtering your draws every turn. Coercive Portal is clean and effective draw every turn for you and you alone and can serve as a board wipe if you need it, an effect that would likely be very welcome in control decks.

These legendary creatures are all great. Brago especially is a build around creature who you can generate insane value with if you set him up right. Selvala and Muzzio are both unique abilities that, while likely aren't what Modern wants, are worth looking at all the same.

Dethrone is a pretty cool mechanic. I think that most of the cards with it aren't quite playable enough to warrant a printing, and that the Dethrone ability itself is largely going to be a one-time affair if ever, but they're neat all the same. Dack's Duplicate is notable, though, for being a Haste Clone and Treasonous Ogre is a literal mana engine.

These cards are all worth looking at though. Magister of Worth seems a bit too costly at first blush, but clearing a board and leaving a 4/4 flier is big game. It's killed me plenty in Cube drafts as is and would be sweet if you can reliably get it onto the battlefield. Tyrant's Choice gives Black Burn players more fuel with a cheap four damage spell. Deathreap is likely too slow, but with Golgari, Jund, and Abzan Midrange builds already prevalent in the format, it could generate tons of late game card advantage with something like Liliana, The Last Hope easily.

Commander 2014

Commander 2014 had some really, really sweet cards. You don't need to look much further than Containment Priest to see why. Players have been clamoring for it since Modern Horizons was announced and it's easy to see why. More hate for Phoenix, Dredge, Hollow One, and more, it would definitely have a sizeable impact on the meta.

Dualcaster Mage was and is a really cool riff on Snapcaster Mage and would be great for something like Burn, even if it's a bit on the slow side. Song of the Dryads is amazing removal in a color that usually doesn't get it. Given that the card's price has also been creeping up, it would be a welcome reprint for all the other formats it's played in.

The set was also home to some amazing legendaries. It even had some really strong planeswalkers. Daretti, Scrap Servant rummages, filtering your hand while also acting as a Goblin Welder that can be activated the moment it hits the battlefield. Freyalise is a bit pricey, but that's not hard in a Green ramp deck like Elves. Token generation, artifact and enchantment hate, and massive card draw all make her way more than worth it, though, and I could absolutely see her being played.

The other three here are all great creatures with unique abilities. Feldon creating token copies has plenty of potential and Gisa can easily fill a board with Zombies quickly. Titania sees a bit of Legacy play which makes plenty of sense when looking at the ability. That format has Wasteland, sure, but we still have Ghost Quarter and, of course, fetch lands in Modern. Making lots of powerful tokens makes her mana cost more than worth it and I would absolutely run her, were she printed.

Each of these cards feels a bit more utility-based as well. Hallowed Spiritkeeper is a creature with great stats that fills your board with Spirits when it dies. It's seen play in Legacy Death and Taxes and would be welcome in Modern Taxes builds as well. Malicious Affliction is largely just a super effective removal spell but that's fine enough on its own. Masterwork of Ingenuity would only see play if equipment became more prevalent, which I don't see happening, but is a great tool to have all the same. Copying a Batterskull or Sword always feels great.

Commander 2015

Each of the face Commanders here are priced to move. Most are reasonably costed, or else have an effect so strong it's worth the higher cost. Daxos could be a great finisher for enchantment decks, Ezuri is great for small creature decks (like Elves, obviously), and Kalemne goes in for serious damage. Meren and Mizzix are both serious engines that take over the game if left unchecked. Some of the other legends are solid too, but largely too expensive to deal with. These ones, however, all seem excellent and many of them could stand to have a reprint soon for the Commander players.

The set was also home to the Confluence cycle. Some of these are clearly more powerful than the others, but each is a build your own Command card and would certainly see play.

Centaur Vinecrasher has shown up in Legacy decks here and there. Without decks that regularly get lands into the graveyard, this isn't quite as good as it might want to be, but alongside Knight of the Reliquary there's a possible deck in the works. Karlov is the one other legend that seems reasonably costed and has some great effects. Gaining life isn't hard, and Karlov gets big fast. This would definitely create some interesting build around decks on its own. Lastly, with decks like Dredge and Hollow One floating around, Scourge of Nel Toth really isn't all that hard to get onto the battlefield if you think about it. Saccing some Bloodghasts to bring it out seems really, really awesome for a two-mana flying 6/6 only to play a land and bring those Bloodghasts right back.

Conspiracy: Take The Crown

If I'm being quite honest, I'm not expecting too much to come from the second Conspiracy set this time around. There's a couple cute little cards like these:

Ultimately, though, the set was by and large cards that are meant to only be good in draft, were supposed to be strong reprints, or else super strong on their own. There isn't much middle ground.

We could see these ones but they seem either way too strong or otherwise still have too much of a recent feel to them, even if they came out nearly three years ago now. Recruiter could be a nice inclusion, though, given that we just got Imperial Recruiter in Masters 25 last year, but these are super powerful Legacy staples.

These would make great inclusions due to price demands but even that seems like a stretch option to me. Kaya seems great because you can alternate her arts this time so players can get foils of the original and non-foils of the alternate piece. In a world where we're pulling old characters, though, I doubt we'll see her and instead get either a new card for an old character or just something like Freyalise from Commander 2014.

One thing I do want to touch on real fast though is the Monarch mechanic. This mechanic has been somewhat controversial since it was introduced, having been featured in both Legacy and Pauper decks. Well-known players, even pros, have stated they don't like the existence of this mechanic in actual competitive Magic. I personally feel it, at least in Pauper, has and also has the potential to be tremendously meta and even game warping, creating a subgame all on its own. I'm not sure it would be welcome in the format, but I know plenty of players would like to see it make an appearance.

Commander 2016

Commander 2016 is a weird one as far as the actual Commanders go. Four-color legendary creatures aren't likely to show up in a set meant for Constructed events. Not only that, but a lot of the Partner creatures are fairly weak on their own merits, but are good in conjunction with each other and in go-long Commander games. I do think one worth including, however, is Vial Smasher. The card puts in a lot of work and was even banned in 1v1 Commander on Magic Online. It's not as broken here without the command zone being a factor, but still a real strong contender.

One other sweet idea would be these cards. Basic landcycling is a sweet mechanic, even if it isn't super useful a lot of the time when we have access to plenty of fetches. Unlike, say, Sylvan Bounty, each of these cards can actually be played somewhat reasonably with a strong effect if you don't use them for Cycling should a game go long enough to warrant their use.

These cards aren't going to do too much in most games of Modern since, let's face it, the format is fast as hell. That said, they're cool cards with largely unique effects that would be welcome to have access to.

Commander 2017

Unfortunately, each of the face Commanders in this set are much too expensive to see real play. Inalla, Archmage Ritualist could see potential play if you can manage to have enough Wizards on the board by the time you cast her. I do think, however, it's always just going to be better to play Burn instead. Mirri, Mairsil, and Mathas are all on the cheaper side with interesting abilities. Even if they don't see much play, having them as a toolbox option is always plenty worth it.

Kess, Dissident Mage, on the other hand, would be extremely welcome. She's even seen occasional Legacy play as she's basically a repeatable Snapcaster Mage. Grixis Control builds would love her, and what's more since she sees some Legacy play, putting a non-foil version into circulation for play at events would be highly welcome.

Unlike the Curses from Commander 2013 these ones are both extremely cost efficient and have some really good effects. Of them, only Curse of Vitality is the only somewhat medium ability, but I'm very much a fan of cheap Treasure and Zombie tokens, card draw, and mass untapping effects.

Cats rule here! Alms Collector acts as a sort of Notion Thief for White decks, stopping an opponent from drawing multiple cards off a Jace, the Mind Sculptor or something like Expansion // Explosion. Hungry Lynx fills your opponent's board, sure, but if you can put out enough creatures to fight back, then it's negligible. Killing the Rats also makes your board bigger so it can be a huge boon. Imagine this alongside the likes of Wild Nactl in a Zoo build. Stalking Leonin offers solid stats with a sweet one-time ability. It's likely too slow for a format like Modern, but would be a great tool to have at its cost all the same.

Introducing Phasing into Modern would be bold, and something a number of players, commentators, and everyone in between would need to learn. Yet this effect is really strong and has seen some fringe Legacy use here and there in addition to being a powerhouse effect in Commander. Not only that, but the card itself commands a high price tag, having only been printed once in this set and once as a judge foil.

Battlebond and Commander 2018

Unfortunately, as it stands, these sets are far, far too recent now to expect them to really show up. Commander 2017 is a bit fringe itself when Modern Masters sets never went earlier than four years back. What's more, many of the cards worth printing are rares and mythics, unlikely to have a large showing in a major set like this. Cards like these could be great for the next time around, though:

Despite that, I do think it's possible we'll see a small showing of solid and/or Limited-based cards for this set. This card in particular seem solid for a few reasons:

Fumble seems like a really sweet bit of removal. Bouncing an opponent's creature is fine enough on its own as needed, but also taking any of their equipment if they had any is gravy. In certain metagames, it could even have a small impact.

I hope you've enjoyed this series! Modern Horizons is very exciting and filled with an absurd amount of possibilities, from old school reprints to entirely new versions of cards or characters. Seeing a new Baron Sengir card or a proper Urza card at last would be amazing. They could even go ahead and rework a silver-bordered card into a black-bordered one, much like they did when they turned The Cheese Stands Alone into Barren Glory. What do you think of all these card choices and more importantly, what would you want to see in the set?

The possibilities are literally quite endless and I can't wait to see what the set brings us in June. But in the meantime, War of the Spark is coming, and there's tons to talk about. I've got some sweet tech I'm dying to talk about, so I'll see you then!