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Friday, May, 24, 2024
Modern Horizons 3 Spoilers and Set Information
Last updated on May 24, 2024
Modern Horizons 3 Key Art | Illustration by Ryan Pancoast
The Modern Horizons sets have been contentious since their very inception, printing cards directly into Modern while bypassing Standard. You’ve now had two and a half of them (if you count The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth at all) and can expect Modern Horizons III this summer.
What is known about it so far, and is it going to be another game-changer for Modern like Modern Horizons and Modern Horizons II? Let’s take a look.
Modern Horizons 3 Basic Information
Modern Horizons 3 Key Art | Illustration by Chris Rallis
Set Details
Set Symbol | |
Set Code | MH3 |
Hashtag | #MTGMH3 (Estimated) |
Number of Cards | 261 (80 Commons, 101 Uncommons, 60 Rares, 20 Mythic Rares) |
Rarities | Common, Uncommon, Rare, Mythic |
Mechanics | Adapt, Affinity, Afterlife, Annihilator, Ascend, Bestow, Collect Evidence, Connive, Cycling, Devoid, Devotion, Dredge, Emerge, Energy, Entwine, Escalate, Escape, Eternalize, Evoke, Evolve, Extort, Fabricate, Flashback, Imprint, Improvise, Kicker, Kindred, Lieutenant, Living Weapon, Madness, Mentor, Morbid, Modified, Outlast, Overload, Proliferate, Prototype, Reconfigure, Reinforce, Shield Counters, Storm, Support, Transform, Umbra Armor, Unearth |
Important Dates
Event | Date |
---|---|
First Look | February 23, 2024 |
Previews start | May 21, 2024 |
Full gallery available | May 31, 2024 |
Prerelease week | June 7, 2024 |
Available on Draftsim's Draft Simulator | June 7, 2024 |
Digital release date | June 11, 2024 |
Paper release date | June 14, 2024 |
Open House Weekend | June 14, 2024 |
Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3 at MagicCon: Amsterdam | June 28-30, 2024 |
About the Set: The Story
Solitude | Illustration by Evan Shipard
Sets like Modern Horizons are format-specific expansions meant to deliver a diverse and unique set of cards. They aren’t limited to any specific plane or even any particular time. They can contain cards from any point in history and from any of Magic’s many worlds, or even hint at new planes and characters. The eldrazi titans come up in a big way, even though two of them have been canonically destroyed (spoilers)!
For this non-Standard set, the stories come in from many different places and times. Wizards chose to add fresh imagery and reshare 30 stories from their library. Binge read three “seasons” of eldrazi stories with The Eldrazi Awaken, Battles at the Brink, and Zendikar's Last Stand.
Set Mechanics
Like the previous Modern Horizon sets, no mechanics are off the table here, and anything can be included. A lot of previous cards even contained interesting takes on past mechanics, or two mechanics from different sets combined in interesting ways, as with Modern Horizon II‘s Kaleidoscorch. That said, there are often overarching themes for each Horizons set, like MH1 had a lot of snow mechanics, MH2 had a lot of madness/graveyard mechanics, and MH3 brings updated cards with kindred instead of tribal and umbra armor to replace totem armor. These changes were already in place, but now there are reprints to show for it. There are about 45 mechanics, many of which you'll want to look up, but here are some standout ones:
Annihiliator
With many eldrazi, the scariest part is the annihilator ability. Nulldrifter has the smallest value of annihilator, but sacrificing a permanent going into the declare blockers step is always tough.
Bestow
You bestow upon your creature the powers of an enchantment creature. Basically, you have the option to play a creature as an aura, you get a bit of insurance from being 2-for-1'd since if the target creature you would enchant is removed, you still get the creature with bestow.
Double-Faced Cards
Double-faced cards are a big inclusion in a Horizons set for the first time, including a new cycle of exciting transforming planeswalkers like the ones in Magic: Origins.
Emerge
The Herigast, Erupting Nullkite gets to emerge a touch sooner if you sacrifice a creature. It gives an equal emerge cost to your other creatures which means… you likely care about either how many times you can emerge or have aristocrat themes.
Energy
Energy returns, and I expect to see it on a good number of cards, not just Scurry of Gremlins. It’s a mechanic that’s difficult to do in small quantities, and it also has a Commander deck to go alongside it.
Escape
The graveyard play is strong with this one and escape is a big part of this. Escape allows you to play the lhurgoyf multiple times a game, but will exile cards that would have contributed to the stats on Nethergoyf.
Imprint
When you play Ugin's Labryinth, the exiled card is what is imprinted on the land. This is fast mana and an interesting way to set aside one of your best colorless cards.
Improvise
Can you say Blastoise in Magic? Improvise is convoke with artifacts, so while you want to play artifacts after Kappa Cannoneer, playing some of your best artifacts beforehand can help reduce the mana cost greatly.
Lieutenant
That Commander format sure is popular, and controlling your commander is usually an achievement players strive for each time they play. The lieutenants give you great payoffs for playing your commander and with Siege-Gang Lieutenant, you get a pair of sweet hasty goblins for each of your declare attackers steps.
Modified
What is really great about modified is that if it shows up in just one triggered ability, it lets you care about a lot of other pumps and buffs a little more. It's quite widespread and easy to modify a permanent, give it a +1/+1 counter, the worst (or best) equipment in your deck, and of course those cheap auras.
Speculation
What is official about the set at this point is filling in gaps and spoiler season will soon come to an end. WotC acknowledged a bunch of juicy morsels of info that are ripe for speculation!
Double-faced cards are coming, and you'll at least get to have some more cards that transform into planeswalkers. WotC is giving us “a cycle” of them, but I suspect this could mean you'll see more than five. Caring about controlling one other colored permanent is a big clue. You can see Ajani, Nactal Pariah now, which cares about one other color, but I think the designers couldn’t resist adding in a transforming Karn planeswalker… Possibly even one that transforms from an artifact that’s not a creature?
The color of your cards looks to be pretty important, so I'm excited to see the different ways to care about the color of my other permanents.
There are so many possibilities, let's see some spoilers!
Official Spoilers
May 24, 2024
May 23, 2024
- Mandibular Kite
- Copycrook
- Sowing Mycospawn
- Estrid's Invocation
- Toxic Deluge
- Guide of Souls
- Shriek Mobile
- Shifting Woodland
- Tempest Harvester
- Galvanic Discharge
- Triton Wavebreaker
- Roil Cartographer
- Temperamental Oozewagg
- Expanding Ooze
- Reckless Pyrosurfer
- Disruptor Flute
- Razorgrass Ambush // Razorgrass Field
- Sink into Stupor // Soporific Springs
- Fell the Profane // Fell Mire
- Sundering Eruption // Volcanic Fissure
- Bridgeworks Battle // Tanglespan Bridgeworks
- Rosheen, Roaring Prophet
- Cranial Ram
- Cursed Mirror
- Reef Worm
- Imskir Iron-Eater
- Pyretic Rebirth
- Primal Prayers
- Signature Slam
May 22, 2024
- Deep Analysis
- Strix Serenade
- Drowner of Truth // Drowned Jungle
- Legion Leadership // Legion Stronghold
- Revitalizing Repast // Old-Growth Grove
- Rush of Inspiration // Crackling Falls
- Glasswing Grace // Age-Graced Chapel
- Strength of the Harvest // Haven of the Harvest
- Stump Stomp // Burnwillow Clearing
- Bloodsoeaked Insight // Sanguine Morass
- Waterlogged Teachings // Inundated Archive
- Suppression Ray // Orderly Plaza
- Drossclaw
- Worn Powerstone
- Wirewood Symbiote
- Barbarian Ring
- Cephalid Coliseum
- The Necrobloom
- Emperor of Bones
- Unstable Amulet
- Collective Resistance
- Argent Dais
- Wrath of the Skies
- Ophiomancer
- Skoa, Embermage
- Warren Soultrader
- Conduit Goblin
- Victimize
- Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury
- Voltstorm Angel
- Amped Raptor
- Eldrazi Ravager
- Essence Reliquary
- Marionette Apprentice
- Path of Annihilation
- Spymaster's Vault
- Tamiyo Meets the Story Circle
- Tune the Narrative
- Kami of Jealous Thirst
May 21, 2024
- Abiding Grace
- Aether Refinery
- Arna Kennerüd, Skycaptain
- Apex Devastator
- Archon of Cruelty
- Azlask, the Swelling Scourge
- Basking Broodscale
- Bloodbraid Challenger
- Brainsurge
- Breya, Etherium Shaper
- Cayth, Famed Mechanist
- Coram, the Undertaker
- Crib Swap
- Deserted Temple
- Detective's Phoenix
- Disa the Restless
- Disciple of Freyalise / Garden of Freyalise
- Dismember
- Dog Umbra
- Dragon's Rage Channeler
- Dress Down
- Drowner of Hope
- Echoes of Eternity
- Eladamri, Korvecdal
- Emerald Medallion
- Endurance
- Esper Sentinel
- Evolution Witness
- Expressive Iteration
- Flare of Duplication
- Flare of Fortitude
- Flare of Malice
- Flusterstorm
- Frogmyr Enforcer
- Fury
- Genku, Future Shaper
- Glimpse the Impossible
- Grief
- Grim Servant
- Grist, Voracious Larva / Grist, the Plague Swarm
- Hard Evidence
- Hideous Taskmaster
- Izzet Generatorium
- Jet Medallion
- Jyoti, Moag Ancient
- Kaalia of the Vast
- Kozilek, the Broken Reality
- K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
- Mogg Mob
- Munitions Expert
- Pearl Medallion
- Persist
- Petrifying Meddler
- Pearl-Ear, Imperial Advisor
- Powerbalance
- Prismatic Ending
- Omo, Queen of Vesuva
- Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
- Ral, Monsoon Mage / Ral, Leyline Prodigy
- Ruby Medallion
- Sapphire Medallion
- Satya, Aetherflux Genius
- Scurrilous Sentry
- Serum Visionary
- Shadow of the Second Sun
- Six
- Sling-Gang Lieutenant
- Sorin of House Markov / Sorin, Ravenous Neonate
- Strike It Rich
- Subtlety
- Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student / Tamiyo, Seasoned Scholar
- Thief of Existence
- Thought-Knot Seer
- Thraben Charm
- Tireless Provisioner
- Trickster's Elk
- Unholy Heat
- Ulalek, Fused Atrocity
- Ulamog, the Defiler
- Unholy Heat
- Volatile Stormdrake
- White Orchid Phantom
- Witch Enchanter / Witch-Blessed Meadow
- Wheel of Potential
- Wurmcoil Larva[/card
May 18, 2024
- [card]Corrupted Shapeshifter
- Kozilek's Unsealing
- Oblivion Sower
- Writhing Chrysalis
- Wumpus Aberration
May 16, 2024
April 30, 2024
- Chthonian Nightmare
- Flare of Denial
- Final Act
- Herigast, Erupting Nullkite
- Kappa Cannoneer
- Kudo, King Among Bears
- March from Velis Vel
- Meltdown
- Nethergoyf
- Null Elemental Blast
- Nulldrifter
- Orim's Chant
- Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd
- Planar Nexus
- Siege-Gang Lieutenant
- Spawn-Gang Commander
- Sylvan Safekeeper
- Ugin's Labyrinth
- Urza's Cave
- Wight of the Reliquary
- Winter Moon
February 23, 2024
- Ajani, Nacatl Pariah / Ajani, Nacatl Avenger
- Priest of Titania
- Emrakul, the World Anew
- Flare of Cultivation
- Laelia, the Blade Reforged
- Psychic Frog
- Scurry of Gremlins
- Flooded Strand
- Polluted Delta
- Bloodstained Mire
- Windswept Heath
- Wooded Foothills
- Plains
- Island
- Swamp
- Mountain
- Forest
Unofficial Spoilers/Leaks
Notable Cards
Eldrazi
You may know of at least three legendary eldrazi, including Emrakul in the card Emrakul, the World Anew, and I would be surprised if the other two legends were anything other than her titan siblings. Going alongside the eldrazi are Snow-Covered Wastes, so who knows what that’s going to mean, or even if it’s just a seed for yet another future set.
Emrakul, the World Anew is a big creature with a lot of effects and can end the game in many many ways. You’re going to see two more titans, which will definitely make an impact somewhere. There’s also Flare of Cultivation, and the rest of that free spell cycle, which seems safer than previous free spells, but still has plenty of potential to be broken.
Free Spells and Fetch Lands
Reprints-wise you’re looking at the allied fetch lands like Polluted Delta, which have grown in value over the last nine or so years since they last had a substantial reprint. They go in mana bases not only in Modern, but also Commander, Legacy, and Vintage. They’re constantly in demand, and although the enemy-colored ones printed in MH2 are still much lower than they were before their reprint there, they’re still over $10 each.
Evoke Elementals
You must see that evoke elementals from MH2, such as Solitude, are coming in the special guest slot. These won’t show up in a lot of boosters, but are certainly notable!
Available Products
Play Boosters
Like the recent Standard sets, Modern Horizons 3 will have play boosters instead of draft and set boosters. These boosters contain 14 cards with the following:
- 1-5 cards of rarity rare or higher
- 3-6 Uncommon cards
- 5-9 Common cards
- Land card (traditional foil land replaces a land in 20% of boosters)
- 1 card of any rarity is traditional foil; borderless fetch land in <1% of boosters
- YOUR NEW FOREVER FAVORITES—Introducing a heaping helping of exciting cards for Modern, one of Magic’s most celebrated formats, plus the return of competitive favorites, there’s something for everyone to love in Modern Horizons 3
- POWERFUL CARDS FOR MODERN CONSTRUCTED, LIMITED & COMMANDER PLAY—Spice up your deck with powerful New-to-Modern cards, host a supercharged Booster Draft with friends, or discover Legendary Creatures with striking special treatments to inspire your next Commander Deck
- MODERN’S NEVER BEEN MORE MARVELOUS—Expand your horizons with novel twists on classic mechanics and more cards for beloved Modern strategies
- FUN TO OPEN. FUN TO PLAY—Get the best of Draft and Set Boosters, combined into one! Play Boosters are great for Limited play and fun to open, with a possibility of Art cards, striking alt-frame cards, and more
- MODERN MIGHT THAT SHINES BRIGHT—Both powerful and flashy, every MH3 Play Booster includes 1-5 cards of rarity Rare or higher and 1-2 shining Traditional Foil cards
Collector Boosters
Modern Horizons 3 Collector Boosters are your place for the blingiest foils. This is where the big money cards will be, and will contain 15 cards in the following breakdown:
- Up to 2 foil-etched cards
- 10-12 traditional foil cards
- 5 cards rarity rare or higher
- 3-5 Uncommon cards
- 4-6 Common cards
- 1 Land card
- Serialized card in <1% of boosters
- MODERN’S NEVER BEEN MORE MARVELOUS—Introducing a heaping helping of exciting cards for Modern, one of Magic’s most celebrated formats, plus the return of competitive favorites, there’s something for everyone to love in Modern Horizons 3
- BEAUTY AND BRAWN—Crush with a deck full of gorgeous special treatments; every Collector Booster contains 7 alt-frame cards, including the possibility of Retro-Frame, Borderless Profile, Borderless Frame Break, Borderless Concept Eldrazi, and Borderless Fetch Land cards
- MODERN MIGHT THAT SHINES BRIGHT—Both powerful and flashy, every pack contains 10-12 Traditional Foil cards and may contain Collector Booster exclusive, like Foil-Etched cards, a Textured Foil card, or even a foil Serialized card
- POWERFUL CARDS FOR LIMITED, CONSTRUCTED & COMMANDER PLAY—Spice up your deck with powerful New-to-Modern cards or discover Legendary Creatures with striking special treatments to inspire your next Commander Deck
- GET DIRECT ACCESS TO THE COOLEST CARDS—Collector Boosters give you direct access to the most desirable Modern Horizons 3 cards, including 5 cards of rarity Rare or higher in every pack
Commander Decks
You get the standard four Commander precons with Modern Horizons 3, which came as a bit of a surprise for some. These include a 5+1 color Eldrazi deck, a Jeskai Energy deck, a Simic lands matter deck and a Jund graveyard matters deck. Each deck will contain:
- 1 ready-to-play deck of 100 Magic cards (2 traditional foil legendary cards, 98 nonfoil cards)
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack
- 1 foil-etched display commander
- 15 new-to-Magic cards
- 10 double-sided tokens
- 1 deck box
- 1 Life Wheel
- 1 strategy insert
- 1 reference card
- POWERFUL RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX—Battle your friends with powerful creatures and spectacular spells with four 100-card Commander Decks that are ready to play right out of the box
- GET ALL 4 MODERN HORIZONS 3 DECKS—Fill your graveyard and avenge the dead with Graveyard Overdrive, ramp lands and grow value with Tricky Terrain, use energy counters for powerful payoffs with Creative Energy, or unleash Eldrazi to devour all in your path with Eldrazi Incursion
- INTRODUCING 60 COMMANDER CARDS—With all 4 Modern Horizons 3 Commander Decks, you’ll get a total of 60 never-before-seen Commander cards, with 15 in each deck (including 2 foil Legendary Creatures)
- COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Modern Horizons 3 set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- YOUR NEW FOREVER FAVORITES—Introducing a heaping helping of exciting cards plus the return of competitive favorites, there’s something for everyone to love in Modern Horizons 3 Commander Decks
Collector's Edition Commander Decks
Not only are you getting EDH precons, you can drool over Collector's Edition versions of Modern Horizons 3 Commander Decks. They are exactly the same as the normal versions, but contain a ‘brand new foil treatment’ on each card and two borderless profile cards.
- COLLECT ALL 4 COLLECTOR’S EDITION DECKS—Get a bundle of 4 Modern Horizons 3 Collector’s Edition Commander Decks (Graveyard Overdrive, Tricky Terrain, Creative Energy, and Eldrazi Incursion)
- EXCLUSIVE COLLECTOR’S EDITION FOIL TREATMENT—All 100 cards in each Collector’s Edition deck feature a special foil treatment introduced for the very first time—Ripple Foil cards that gleam in a pattern like ripples in a pool of water
- BORDERLESS PROFILE COMMANDERS—Meet the new stars of your collection with an up-close, profile view of your commanders. Each deck includes 2 Legendary Creature cards featuring a striking Borderless Profile alt-art treatment and dressed to impress in Ripple Foil
- INTRODUCING 60 COMMANDER CARDS—These decks introduce a total of 60 never-before-seen cards to Magic: The Gathering, with 15 introduced in each deck
- POWERFUL RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX—Win with style with powerful all-foil decks that are ready to defeat your opponents right out of the box
Prerelease Pack
MH3 is getting a prerelease, including prerelease kits. These are pretty typical for prerelease kits:
- 6 Modern Horizons 3 play boosters; each play booster contains 14 Magic cards
- 1 foil, year-stamped rare or mythic rare
- 1 Magic: The Gathering Arena code card (only available in select regions)
- 1 deck box
- 1 spindown die
Bundle
Modern Horizons 3 Bundles are coming if you’re looking for something a little smaller than a full box of boosters. Much like the bundles you see for Standard-legal sets, they contain:
- 9 Modern Horizons 3 play boosters
- 1 Traditional foil card with bundle-exclusive alternate-art
- 15 Traditional foil basic land cards (5 with full-art)
- 15 nonfoil basic land cards (5 with full-art)
- 1 oversized spindown life counter
- 1 card storage box
- 2 reference cards
- Each play booster includes a combination of 1–5 cards of rarity rare or higher and 3–6 uncommon, 5–8 common, and 1 land card. 1 card of any rarity is traditional foil. Foil borderless mythic paneswalker in <1% of boosters. Traditional foil land replaces a land in 20% of boosters. List card included in 20% of play boosters.
- YOUR NEW FOREVER FAVORITES—Introducing a heaping helping of exciting cards for Modern, one of Magic’s most celebrated formats, plus the return of competitive favorites, there’s something for everyone to love in Modern Horizons 3
- NOW WITH PLAY BOOSTERS—Get the best of Draft and Set Boosters, combined into one! Play Boosters are great for Limited play and fun to open, with a possibility of multiple Rares and at least 1 shining foil card in every pack
- FULL-ART LANDS & SPECIAL ALTERNATE-ART CARD—Every Bundle also comes with 1 Traditional Foil promo card featuring Bundle-exclusive alternate art, and 10 of the 30 included Land cards feature stunning Full-Art (5 foil, 5 nonfoil)
- EXCLUSIVE ACCESSORIES—In addition to cards from the set, each MH3 Bundle comes with exclusive accessories, including a special die to track your life total and a sturdy box to store everything in
- POWERFUL CARDS FOR MODERN CONSTRUCTED, LIMITED & COMMANDER PLAY—Spice up your deck with powerful New-to-Modern cards, host a supercharged Booster Draft with friends, or discover Legendary Creatures with striking special treatments to inspire your next Commander Deck
Gift Bundle
We’re also getting Modern Horizons 3: Gift Edition Bundles. Just like most versions of Gift Bundles they are essentially normal Bundles with a bonus Collector Booster. For a full breakdown, they contain:
- 9 Modern Horizons 3 play boosters
- 1 Modern Horizons 3 collector booster
- 1 Traditional foil card with bundle-exclusive alternate-art
- 15 Traditional foil basic land cards (5 with full-art)
- 15 nonfoil basic land cards (5 with full-art)
- 1 oversized spindown life counter
- 1 card storage box
- 2 reference cards
- Each play booster includes a combination of 1–5 cards of rarity rare or higher and 3–6 uncommon, 5–8 common, and 1 land card. 1 card of any rarity is traditional foil. Foil borderless mythic paneswalker in <1% of boosters. Traditional foil land replaces a land in 20% of boosters. List card included in 20% of play boosters.
- Collector booster includes up to 2 foil-etched cards and 10–12 traditional foil cards. Includes 5 cards of rarity rare or higher and 3–5 uncommon, 4–6 common, and 1 land card. Serialized card in <1% of boosters.
- GIVE THE GIFT OF MAGIC—The perfect present for any Magic fan, this Gift Bundle is full of exclusive accessories and the coolest cards from Modern Horizons 3, including a Collector Booster packed with Rare cards, shiny foils, and alt-art, alt-frame cards
- MODERN’S NEVER BEEN MORE MARVELOUS—Introducing a heaping helping of exciting cards for Modern, one of Magic’s most celebrated formats, plus the return of competitive favorites, there’s something for every fan to love in Modern Horizons 3
- A COLLECTOR BOOSTER FULL OF TREASURES—Both powerful and flashy, the included Collector Booster is packed with only the coolest cards and is the only place fans may find Foil-Etched cards, Textured Foil cards, or Serialized cards printed with a unique number
- BOOSTERS FOR PLAYING & BUILDING DECKS—Play Boosters are the best packs for playing Magic with friends and are fun to open, with a possibility of multiple Rares and at least 1 shining foil card in every pack
- FULL-ART LANDS & SPECIAL ALTERNATE-ART CARD—Every MH3 Bundle: Gift Edition also comes with 1 Traditional Foil promo card featuring Bundle-exclusive alternate art, and 10 of the 30 included Land cards feature stunning Full-Art (5 foil, 5 nonfoil)
Gazing to the Horizons
Modern Horizons 3 Key Art | Illustration by Pindurski
Is Modern Horizons III something you’re eagerly looking forward to? Or are you worried that it’s going to warp your favorite format? The previous two incarnations have both been big news for Modern, as well as Commander and Legacy, and have also been pretty popular draft formats. Maybe Wizards has learned from the previous two sets and will approach this one with a different strategy. You'll just have to wait and see what comes.
I know there’s going to be some discourse about this one! What do you want to see? Reprints? What do you not want to see? Let me know your thoughts down below or over in the official Draftsim Discord! And while you’re watching, stay tuned here for all the latest news!
The post Modern Horizons 3 Spoilers and Set Information appeared first on Draftsim.