by Johnny Cycles, May 6th, 2024

Modern Horizons 3 is on the…horizon. Surely I’m the first to make that terrible pun, right?

Modern Horizons 3 is set to release June 11 and spoilers have already begun, first with Wizards giving us a teaser back in February and only just this past week confirming some previously leaked cards. And with the latest edition of one of Magic’s most impactful and controversial sets, I’m here with my very first wish list!

What’s Wrong with Modern?

I’ll make this as brief as possible. Traditional Midrange is dead. Free(ish) spells have warped the format. Modern is the new Legacy with 1- and 2-drop creatures dominating the format.

For a more in-depth discussion, check out this article I wrote before the banning of Fury. Many of my points are the same, even after that banning and the most recent one, which saw Cascade decks get nerfed.

What is Needed to Fix Modern?

Midrange needs more support, both in hate for the oppressive, Legacy-style decks currently dominating the format, and in the kinds of creatures printed. Modern doesn’t need any more busted 1-drops and 2-drops, a la Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer and Dauthi Voidwalker. The only 1-drops that need to be pushed are mana dorks (more on that in another video). Midrange creature cards (4- and 5-mana creatures) need the same power ups that the abovementioned 1- and 2-drop creatures have gotten in order to be playable.

Wish List Item #1

We’ll get to the creatures in a later article/video. Our first wish list item is some much needed hate targeting all the free spells. A big shout out to mtgcardsmith.com for the great looking, realistic Magic: The Gathering card!

Magic is in desperate need of tools to fight against the free spells Wizards has printed in the past two Modern Horizons sets, and which are set to get their third iteration in MH3.

Leyline of Tithes is a sideboard option in the vein of Leyline of the Void specifically designed to hate on strategies like X/B Scam, Cascade (Rhinos or Living End), and 4- and 5-Color Control.

But that’s not all it would be good against.

Tired of playing against Izzet Murktide and their long, early turns where they follow up a Dragon’s Rage Channeler with multiple Mishra’s Baubles, not to mention a fetch land or two?

And Wizards isn’t saving free spells only for Modern. The recent Plot mechanic, while technically not free, does allow us to cast cards for free after we’ve plotted them.

Leyline of Tithes would give players a powerful new tool to fight against the increasing number of free spells out there.

Currently, Magic has some cards that punish players for their greedy free spells, but all are color restrictive.

Why a Leyline?

The decks looking to abuse free spells are just as interested in playing them in the early game as the late. Obviously, the Scam decks want a turn 1 Grief every game. But even some of the other decks will gladly pitch a Blue card to cast Force of Negation targeting Utopia Sprawl or Amulet of Vigor, or a White card to cast Solitude on a mana dork.

Variations

Wizards could take a card like Leyline of Tithes and shift its power up or down. Adding the entire textbox on Lavinia, Azorius Renegade would include Domain decks in its range of hate and make it much more powerful. Shifting it from a Leyline-type card to an artifact similar to Void Mirror would downgrade its power considerably. Unless they priced it at .

Restricting it to a specific color would bring along its own limitations.

Likelihood Wizards Prints It

Will Wizards print a card like Leyline of Tithes in MH3?

Unlikely.

Wizards appears to be very invested in adding to the number of free spells available to Modern players. Even after the banning of Fury and the absurd power of an otherwise innocuous 2-drop enchantment (Up the Beanstalk) thanks to the Evoke Elementals, Wizards continues to double and triple down on this kind of card.

I imagine they will provide answers to the free spells by printing more free spells.

The introduction of Sylvan Safekeeper in Modern is perhaps a sign of things to come. If not a free spell, then Wizards will give us another way to interact for no mana cost, this time as a means of protection against cards like Solitude.

Conclusion

What do you think? Is Leyline of Tithes a good hate card that deserves to be printed? How would you tweak it? What is the best way to fight against the free spells dominating Modern? What card(s) are you hoping get printed? Let me know in the comments or email me at johnnycycles16@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading and watching!