Top 8 Cards that Should NOT Be in Modern Horizons

With the announcement of Modern Horizons, many players have compiled a wishlist of cards they want to see reprinted. I, for one, am grateful that these people were not in charge of selecting reprints for the set. Today, we’ll go through eight of the more common reprint suggestions that would be a bad idea for Modern.

8. Hymn to Tourach

This isn’t one I’ve seen suggested a ton, but I’ve been shocked to see it suggested at all. Hymn is an absolutely miserable card that would in no way improve or diversify Modern. At a time when Wizards is using Arena and new mulligan rules to try to cut down on the number of non-games, there’s no way that Hymn to Tourach, king of, “Oops, you discarded your only land(s)? Do you want to scoop now or watch me play for a bit?” gets the green light for Modern.

 7. Brainstorm

Almost as surprising as Hymn, I’ve seen people wistfully wishing for Brainstorm to enter Modern. Repeat after me: the goal of Modern Horizons is not to turn Modern into Legacy. In a format where Ponder and Preordain are already banned and Faithless Looting is on the shortlist to get the axe, why in the world would they print Brainstorm into Modern? This is a great example where if people actually got what they wanted, they would be begging for WotC to take it away shortly after.

 6. Back to Basics

Modern has Blood Moon. Aside from (most) of the people who play Blood Moon, people hate Blood Moon. Back to Basics is essentially a Blue version. While it would be funny to play Blue Moon with both Blood Moon and Blue Blood Moon, this card would not improve the format at all. We have Blood Moon already, and I’d be surprised to see Wizards double down on egregious design mistakes.

 5. Ancient Tomb

Once again, this would be a reprint that would go directly against what Wizards wants for Modern, judging by the banlist. After Eldrazi Winter, Eye of Ugin was banned, though Eldrazi Temple, a more restrictive Ancient Tomb, was also considered. As such, I think it’s safe to say that Wizards is unlikely to print any Sol lands into Modern, as, by definition, they lead to degenerate play patterns.

 4. Swords to Plowshares

I’m not sure Swords to Plowshares would be all that awful for Modern, but it certainly wouldn’t make the format better in any way. It would most likely just displace Path to Exile as the default white removal spell of the format, and Path’s downside is one of the things that helps keeps it fair and distinguishes Modern from Legacy. Again, Modern Horizons is not trying to turn Modern into Legacy and, as such, we don’t need Swords in the format.

 3. Wasteland

No. Just no. Already in Modern, we’re seeing the format drift toward an obsession with one-mana spells. Izzet Phoenix, Dredge, and Grixis Death’s Shadow, leading to a resurgence of Chalice of the Void. Wasteland would only further force players into playing one-mana spells, thus increasing the degenceracy and speed of the format. Wasteland would, by itself, play a substantial role in eliminating deck diversity and morphing Modern into a truly different format, which is not what Wizards wants. As such, there should be no Wasteland in Modern Horizons.

 2. Mother of Runes

Mother of Runes is an incredibly powerful card. If you don’t answer it the turn it comes down, it shuts off spot removal for the rest of the game. Modern is already pretty close to “Goldfish – the Format,” and Mother of Runes would only further discourage interaction. Additionally, Mother of Runes is a Human, and it could very well push Humans into an oppressively good position, as interaction is currently the best way to combat the deck. Shutting off that axis of interaction seems like an awful idea. Just imagine T1 Mother, T2 Meddling Mage/Kitesail Freebooter. Pure. Misery.

 1. True-Name Nemesis

Some have pointed to True-Name Nemesis as a possible reprint to strengthen Merfolk. That’s like saying, “I think I’d like to be a little more confident this year,” and then buying a tank, crushing a city, and then building an army to take the capital. True-Name is horrible, horrible design for two-player formats. It is nearly impossible to interact with, plays fantastic offense and defense, and warps deckbuilding around itself in any format that it’s in. True-Name would see play in Merfolk, sure, but it would see play in many other blue decks as well. It would reshape Modern, and further limit interaction, which, again, is not something that Wizards wants for the format.

Which cards are you hoping to see reprinted in Modern Horizons? Which cards do you not want to see reprinted?

Ryan Normandin is a grinder from Boston who has lost at the Pro Tour, in GP & SCG Top 8's, and to 7-year-olds at FNM. Despite being described as "not funny" by his best friend and "the worst Magic player ever" by Twitch chat, he cheerfully decided to blend his lack of talents together to write funny articles about Magic.