Summary
Magic: The Gatheringsets have become gradually more and more complex over time, and the Modern Horizons sets are a prime example of how complexity can be a net positive for the design of a Draft set. Modern Horizons 3 (MH3) is the least complex Horizons set, but still above-average in the grand scheme of Magic Limited formats.
Despite having pretty straightforward and well-defined two-color archetypes, MH3 offers loads of deep deckbuilding potential, with a few standout cards that usually fly under the radar unless you know what they’re capable of. Identifying those combinations of cards can open up opportunities to draft ‘hidden’ decks that aren’t as readily apparent as the intended two-color strategies.
10Essence Reliquary Interactions
Value On Repeat
Essence Reliquary is an unassuming artifact that looks sketchy, but plays exceptionally well in the context of the format. On its surface, it lets you reuse enter-the-battlefield abilities or save a creature from aura-based removal, but there’s so much more going on here.
Reliquary can ‘pick up’modal double-faced landsthat you’ve already played as a land, letting you cast the spell later that game. It also lets you loop Utter Insignificanceif you stack the abilities correctly, and you can even ‘reset’ sagas back to chapter one if you’d like to cycle through them again.
Essence Reliquary can be activated at instant speed, but only during your turn. You can use it in response to removal or interaction during your own turn at any time.
9Infernal Captor + Sacrifice Outlets
Mind The ‘No Returns’ Policy
Red/black is billed as an artifact strategy, but there’s a secret ‘steal-and-sac’ package revolving around Infernal Captor. Captor requires a sacrifice to steal an opponent’s creature, after which you can thenfind a way to sacrifice the creatureyou’ve borrowed.
Black has plenty of sacrifice outlets, from Dreadmobile, Victimize, and Eviscerator’s Insightat lower raritiesto Warren Soultrader and Phyrexian Tower at rare and mythic, respectively. If you plan to employ the steal-and-sac strategy, it’s best to prioritize the cheapest sacrifice effects you can get, ideally those between zero to one mana.
8Shrieking Drake Interactions
Not For Everyone, Definitely For Someone
Shrieking Drake is one of the ‘New-to-Modern’ cards that appears in a specific slot within MH3 Play Boosters, so it doesn’t show up too often. It also doesn’t shriek any particular strategic synergy, so it’s easy to pass on it, but it has a home in plenty of decks.
For one, you can always use the Drake to retrigger an enter-the-battlefield effect, which is very useful for creatures that make energy upon entering. You can also pair it with Molten Gatekeepers to shoot your opponents for a point of damage for each blue mana you can spend.
7Nesting Grounds Interactions
A Commander Card Adapted For Draft
Original printedin a Commander precon, Nesting Grounds makes its first Limited appearance in MH3 as an uncommon. Colorless mana is already useful for a subset of Eldrazi decks, but there’s some interesting potential with different types of counters in the set.
you’re able to shift around +1/+1 counters, which makes it a perfect fit for the black/green archetype. You can alsomove lore counters off of Sagas, allowing you to repeat the same chapter multiple times. Then there’s the pairing with Obstinate Gargoyle, where you can generously donate the -1/-1 counter to an opponent’s creature.
6Pinnacle Monk Interactions
They Get Knocked Down, But They Get Up Again
Pinnacle Monk’s design shows up often in Limited sets, and usually plays well. Making the card an MDFC is a huge boon to the typical effect, making it a pretty safe inclusion in most decks. It also combos with instant- and sorcery-basedrecursion spells, of which there are plenty.
Victimize, Gravedig, and even Special Guest Persist have the potential to loop with Pinnacle Monk. The Monk gets back the recursion spell, the recursion spell gets back the Monk, rinse and repeat. Even better if it’s an effect with additional upside, like the removal ability on Pyretic Rebirth.
5Guardian Of The Forgotten Infinite Combo
Obtuse But Achievable
If you’re looking for something convoluted to try out, there’s a four-card ‘infinite’ combo involving nothing but commons and uncommons. The cards you’ll need are Guardian of the Forgotten, Metastatic Evangel, Propagator Drone, and Basking Broodscale.
This combo involves a lot of moving pieces, but the net result is near-infinite colorless mana and the ability to manifest every card in your deck. You’re unlikely to ever actually assemble this would-be Avengers tagteam of creatures at the same time, but it only involves two colors of cards and no rares or mythics, so dream on.
4Eviscerator’s Insight + Draw-Three Triggers
Blue/Black’s Key Draw Spell
The blue/black draw-three deck can be difficult to manage, especially if you’re overlapping with another drafter in your pod. If you do find yourself moving in on blue/black, Eviscerator’s Insight isone of the best draw spellsyou can pick up.
Sneaky Snacker and Mindless Conscription are cards that put a creature on board when you draw your third card, but they also provide the perfect fodder for Eviscerator’s Insight. You can sacrifice a Snacker or the Army from Conscription during your turn, draw two cards, and trigger those payoffs to put the bodies right back on board.
Unlike Unfathomable Truths and Brainsurge, you’ll need to cast Eviscerator’s Insight during your own turn in blue/black, since your normal draw step will be card number three.
3Distinguished Conjurer
For Trainwreck Drafts That Need A Plan
Distinguished Conjurer doesn’t into any of MH3’s specific archetypes, but it’s also not a complete dud if you may find the right cards to pair with it. It shouldn’t be a high priority, but if your draft’s not going well, you might consider backdooring into a Conjurer mini-strategy.
The cards you’re looking for are creatures like Skoa, Embermage, which can remove other creatures or burn your opponent upon entering, or Refurbished Familiar, which caneat cards from the opponent’s hand. Conjurer can be activated at instant speed, so you even can blink a Familiar during the opponent’s draw step!
2Metastatic Evangel Interactions
Proliferate Time And Time Again
Metastatic Evangel is one of those cards that either does nothing at all or completely warps a game in your favor. The generic curve-out example is playing it on turn two, following up with another creature on turn three, then dropping Aerie Auxiliary on turn four for two +1/+1 counters on two creatures.
You can also proliferate energy counters, which makes this a great addition to blue/white or red/white energy decks. It won’t contribute to that gameplan directly, but it’ll essentially make every energy creature enter play with another energy counter, which is a great starting point.
1Landscape Interactions
Elevate Your Mana-Fixing
The Landscapes are excellent mana-fixers in MH3, bridging the gap between multicolor decks and ones that need access to colorless mana. They’re generically good and highly sought after, but a keen drafter will look for ways to eke even more value from these lands.
There are seven landfall cardsin the set, all of which get double triggers from a single Landscape. These lands also form a micro-synergy with Brainsurge, sculpting a new hand and shuffling away your unwanted cards. Even cards like Skittering Precursor and Genku, Future Shaper trigger when you sacrifice a Landscape.
