Magic: the Gathering has had some really powerful sets printed in the past few years. From Throne of Eldraine to Kaladesh, standard has had some powerful sets come through it’s rotation. While these sets are incredibly impactful, they pale in the comparison to the most powerful set of all time, Modern Horizons 2.
Format Warping
My claim for this being the most powerful set ever printed is based around how it much it warps format around it more than any other set. Let’s look at Modern first.
Modern
Looking at how the Modern meta has evolved since the release of Modern Horizons 2, we’ve seen cards from the set take over.
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Whenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card.
Dash {1}{R} (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.)
,
Dragon’s Rage Channeler
Dragon’s Rage Channeler
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, surveil 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card into your graveyard.)
Delirium — As long as there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, this creature gets +2/+2, has flying, and attacks each combat if able.
and
Unholy Heat
Unholy Heat
Unholy Heat deals 2 damage to target creature or planeswalker.
Delirium — Unholy Heat deals 6 damage instead if there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard.
have become staple cards in any deck that can play them, and there’s quite a few.
Urza’s Saga
Urza’s Saga
(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.)
I — This Saga gains "{T}: Add {C}."
II — This Saga gains "{2}, {T}: Create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with 'This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control.'"
III — Search your library for an artifact card with mana cost {0} or {1}, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
has enabled a swath of new strategies centered around various 0 and 1 mana artifacts, and are some of the strongest decks in the format.
Shardless Agent
Shardless Agent
Cascade (When you cast this spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom in a random order.)
have helped enable a few different Cascade decks in the format that are also really powerful.
Endurance
Endurance
Flash
Reach
When this creature enters, up to one target player puts all the cards from their graveyard on the bottom of their library in a random order.
Evoke—Exile a green card from your hand.
is the example that I’ve chosen here, but all of the Evoke Elementals have been incredibly impactful in the format. They’ve slotted into multiple decks, and have even spawned some on their own.
READ MORE: 5 New Decks To Look Out For in Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Standard
Historic
A bunch of cards in Modern Horizons 2 have been added to Magic Arena, in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons. The impact of the set is being felt throughout the format as well. The entire format warped around Dragon’s Rage Channeler and Unholy Heat in the opening days of the set. There’s multiple archetypes that are utilizing this pair of cards across a few different colors.
Serra’s Emissary
Serra’s Emissary
Flying
As this creature enters, choose a card type.
You and creatures you control have protection from the chosen card type.
has helped bring the Jeskai
Indomitable Creativity
Indomitable Creativity
Destroy X target artifacts and/or creatures. For each permanent destroyed this way, its controller reveals cards from the top of their library until an artifact or creature card is revealed and exiles that card. Those players put the exiled cards onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
deck back into prominence as the best top end card to play.
Esper Sentinel
Esper Sentinel
Whenever an opponent casts their first noncreature spell each turn, draw a card unless that player pays {X}, where X is this creature's power.
has found homes in multiple decks from
Tempered Steel
Tempered Steel
Artifact creatures you control get +2/+2.
to Humans to
Collected Company
Collected Company
Look at the top six cards of your library. Put up to two creature cards with mana value 3 or less from among them onto the battlefield. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
decks, this powerful 1 drop has been a huge card advantage engine for those decks.
Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp
Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp
Modular 1
If a modular triggered ability would put one or more +1/+1 counters on a creature you control, that many plus one +1/+1 counters are put on it instead.
{R}: Destroy target artifact you control.
{W}: Zabaz gains flying until end of turn.
and other Modular creatures in MH2 have been instrumental to helping the
Hardened Scales
Hardened Scales
If one or more +1/+1 counters would be put on a creature you control, that many plus one +1/+1 counters are put on it instead.
decks finding footing in the meta.
READ MORE: The 10 Most Impactful Cards From Jumpstart Historic Horizons
Legacy
While the wide spread impact of MH2 isn’t quite felt as heavily in Legacy, the power house cards in the set definitely made an impact. With these 4 cards, Izzet Delver is now double the meta percentage than the next played deck, and this definitely was due to these cards entering the format. The card pool in Legacy is absolutely massive, so it makes sense that the set wouldn’t be able to do a wide spread take over.
READ MORE: Top 10 Most Annoying Magic: the Gathering Modern Decks To Play Against
At the end of the day, Modern Horizons 2 is the best selling set in Magic‘s history. It was incredibly well received by the player base and community, and I expect that Wizards of the Coast is keen to make another set just like this in the future. I do enjoy seeing metagames shaken up by sets, but I feel like having impactful set after impactful set doing what MH2 did to any given format isn’t healthy for the game. Hopefully Wizards can strike that balance of being good, but not format warping for other sets in the future.
What are your thoughts on this? Is Modern Horizons 2 too powerful of a set for the impact that it’s been having on the game? Or do you like having a massive shake up of formats with awesome new cards? Let us know in the comments!