Welcome to the Overview of Modern! My name is Reid Duke, and I’ve been an avid Modern player ever since the format’s inception at Pro Tour Philadelphia way back in 2011. 

To say that much has changed in that span of time would be an understatement. Cards like Wild Nacatl and Bitterblossom were once banned; now they’re rarely seen for the quite-different reason that they’re often too slow to be competitive! But even when things change, understanding the evolution of the format helps you understand what makes things tick, and which strategies have the tools to be successful in the long run.

Along those lines, it’s great to be back at Spikes Academy after a hiatus of several years. Back in 2018, I created a comprehensive video course about the Modern format. Naturally, some aspects of that course have become outdated, and the decks I referenced back then won’t be the same decks that I present in this Article. (With a handful of real classics as exceptions!). That said, my original course was designed to stand the test of time. From the introduction video:“My goal is to help you become an expert in Modern in general, and not simply an expert with one particular deck.” 

It’s not necessary to take the old course before engaging with this Article. However, now that it’s discounted to 20% of its original price ($20, down from the original $100), it’s still a good place to turn for supplemental material, and long-run mastery of Modern. You can find it below...

This Article will pick up where the old course left off, and will be much more focused on understanding the format as we look towards the first half of 2022. Among other things, I’ll cover the four broad categories of decks which I feel define competitive Modern right now. You can also expect a number of updates to come, which will help keep the content fresh for as long as possible.