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Modern Horizons 2
 
 
 
 

Modern Horizons 2
Modern Horizons 2 logo
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description Two Modern Horizons symbols overlapping each other
Design Ethan Fleischer (lead[1])
Aaron Forsythe
Emily Teng
Allison Steele
Dan Musser
Development Aaron Forsythe (lead[1])
Corey Bowen
Jadine Klomparens
Michael Majors
Dan Musser
Ken Nagle
Ryan Printz
Adam Prosak
Reggie Valk
Art direction Cynthia Sheppard
Release date June 18, 2021
Plane Multiverse
Themes and mechanics Modern power level, +1/+1 counters, Dakkon Blackblade, multicolor
Keywords/​ability words Madness and multiple other
Set size 303 + 189 + 40
Expansion code MH2[2]
Development codename Decadent[3]
Straight-to-Modern sets
Modern Horizons Modern Horizons II The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
Secret Lair: Ultimate Edition 2 Modern Horizons 2 Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms

Modern Horizons 2, is a Magic booster set which was released on June 18, 2021.[4][5][6][7][8] Like the first Modern Horizons, this straight-to-Modern set was print-to-demand.[4]

Set details

MH2 Sketch showcase - Dakkon Shadow Slayer

Sketch showcase treatment.

Like Modern Horizons before, this set introduced new cards into Modern and eternal formats without them ever being legal in Standard.[7] It features a host of powerful new toolbox cards, strong themes to try out, and several throwbacks. The set was unique in its development in that it brought in four high-profile Magic personalities (Zac Elsik, Sam Black, Brian Braun-Duin, and Brad Nelson, the latter two of whom were in the Magic Pro League at the time) to consult;[9][10] Normally, those who have seen card files of future releases are forbidden from competitive play lest they gain an advantage by having foreknowledge of those cards.

This set contains 303 regular cards (101 commons, 100 uncommons, 78 rares, 24 mythic rares) and includes randomly inserted premium versions of all cards.[11] New cards and in-Modern reprints are numbered #001-#261, while the New-to-Modern reprints are numbered #262-#303. Alternate card frames have another card number than the original version. Borderless planeswalkers are numbered #304-306, followed by the other borderless cards #307-326. The (54) showcase "sketch cards" are numbered #327-380. The (61) retro frame cards are #381-441 and cards with extended artwork are numbered #442-480 and Bundle basic lands are #481-490[12], the Buy-a-Box card is #491 and the Bundle promo is #492. MH1 retro frame cards (only found in Collector Boosters) are numbered separately #1-40 with no set code.

All five enemy colored fetch lands appear at rare in the set and can be found in regular Draft Boosters.[4] The Set - and Collector Boosters include extended art versions and retro (pre-Modern) card frame treatments for the fetch lands and many other cards.[8][13] Another frame treatment is seen on the showcase "sketch cards". These feature the artist's sketch of the main card artwork and only is featured for new cards.[8][13] Instead of flavor text, they feature fragments from the art description that was sent to the artists when creating each card's artwork if space provides.

Modern Horizons II is also released on Magic Online. While the set was not released on MTG Arena, 128 cards included in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons were reprints from Modern Horizons II.

Storyline

MH2 Bundle

MH2 Bundle featuring Dakkon Blackblade key art

There is no storyline associated with this set, but there are several Dakkon Blackblade-related cards.[3]

Marketing

In addition to Draft Boosters, Modern Horizons II is sold in Set Boosters and Collector Boosters.[6][7] As such, this is the first supplemental set to feature Set - and Collector Boosters. Each Set Booster contains a guaranteed traditional foil, an art card, a New-to-Modern reprint, and a guaranteed rare/mythic rare.[12][14] Collector Boosters feature foil-etched, retro frame and sketch cards cards.[12][14] Another first for a supplemental set is that it features a Modern Horizons II Bundle.[12]

The Draft Boosters feature artwork from Dakkon Blackblade (key art), Geyadrone Dihada and Svyelun of Sea and Sky. The Collector Booster features artwork from Graceful Restoration, and the Set Booster from Chatterfang, Squirrel General.

MH2 Booster

MH2 Draft Booster featuring Geyadrone Dihada

MH2 Collector Booster

MH2 Collector Booster box

With the release of Modern Horizons II, 50 cards were rotated into The List, many of which were thematically or mechanically linked to the set.

Version Treatment Draft Booster Set Booster Collector Booster
Non-foil Regular {Tick} {Tick} {Cross}
Non-foil Borderless {Tick} {Tick} {Tick}
Non-foil Showcase sketch art {Tick} {Tick} {Tick}
Non-foil Showcase retro frame {Tick} {Tick} {Cross}
Non-foil Extended art {Cross} {Cross} {Tick}
Non-foil Card from The List {Cross} {Tick} {Cross}
Non-foil Art card {Cross} {Tick} {Cross}
Traditional foil Regular {Tick} {Tick} {Cross}
Traditional foil Borderless {Tick} {Tick} {Cross}
Traditional foil Showcase sketch art {Tick} {Tick} {Tick}
Traditional foil Showcase retro frame {Tick} {Tick} {Tick}
Traditional foil Extended art {Cross} {Cross} {Tick}
Traditional foil Showcase retro frame (MH1 reprint) {Cross} {Cross} {Tick}
Traditional foil Art card (stamped) {Cross} {Tick} {Cross}
Traditional foil Buy-a-Box promo {Cross} {Cross} {Cross}
Traditional foil Bundle promo (alternate art) {Cross} {Cross} {Cross}
Foil-etched Regular basic land {Cross} {Cross} {Tick}
Foil-etched Regular {Cross} {Cross} {Tick}
Foil-etched Showcase retro frame {Cross} {Cross} {Tick}
Foil-etched Showcase retro frame (MH1 reprint) {Cross} {Cross} {Tick}

Events

Promotional cards

Tokens

Modern Horizons II features 21 tokens.[17]

  1. {W} 1/1 Bird creature with flying, for Scour the Desert and Soul of Migration
  2. {U} 0/3 Crab creature, for Hard Evidence, Scuttletide, and Specimen Collector.
  3. {B} 0/0 Phyrexian Germ creature, for Batterbone, Kaldra Compleat and Nettlecyst.
  4. {B} 4/4 Eternalized Timeless Dragon.
  5. {B} 4/4 Eternalized Timeless Witness.
  6. {B} 2/2 Zombie creature, for Magus of the Bridge.
  7. {B} 0/0 Zombie Army creature, for Lazotep Chancellor.
  8. {R} 1/1 Goblin creature, for Goblin Traprunner.
  9. {G} 4/4 Beast creature, for Combine Chrysalis, Herd Baloth, and Hunting Pack
  10. {G} 5/3 Elemental creature, for Titania, Protector of Argoth.
  11. {G} 1/1 Squirrel creature, for Chatterfang, Squirrel General, Chatterstorm, Chitterspitter, Drey Keeper, Nested Shambler, Scurry Oak, Specimen Collector, Squirrel Sanctuary, Underworld Hermit, and Verdant Command.
  12. {R/W} 4/4 Golem artifact creature, for General Ferrous Rokiric.
  13. {B/G} 1/1 Insect creature, for Grist, the Hunger Tide.
  14. {C} Clue artifact, for Academy Manufactor, Fae Offering, Floodhound, Funnel-Web Recluse, Hard Evidence, Lonis, Cryptozoologist, Search the Premises, and Wavesifter
  15. {C} Clue artifact.
  16. {C} 0/0 Construct artifact creature with "This creature gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control," for Urza's Saga.
  17. {C} Food artifact, for Academy Manufactor, Fae Offering, Late to Dinner, Orchard Strider, Tireless Provisioner, and The Underworld Cookbook.
  18. {C} Food artifact.
  19. {C} 1/1 Thopter artifact creature with flying, for Barbed Spike, Breya's Apprentice, Etherium Spinner, Fairgrounds Patrol and Sweep the Skies.
  20. {C} Treasure artifact, for Academy Manufactor, Burdened Aerialist, Crack Open, Fae Offering, Jewel-Eyed Cobra, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Strike it Rich, Tavern Scoundrel, and Tireless Provisioner.
  21. {C} Treasure artifact.

Themes and mechanics

MH2 Draft Archetypes

Modern Horizons II draft archetypes

The set was announced to have a higher power level and greater complexity with even more of what players loved in Modern Horizons.[7][3] It had access to more mechanics, eventually featuring 59 named non-evergreen mechanics (listed here).[18][19] Some of them are mixed and matched. In addition, it makes more use of legendary creatures and leans a little heavier into multicolor.[3]

A new variant on an evergreen mechanic is Trample over planeswalkers (This creature can deal excess damage to the controller of the planeswalker it’s attacking).

With Caprichrome, the set also introduced the keyword variant Devour artifact, that changes the type that can be devoured from creatures to artifacts.

Junk Winder is the first card to feature Affinity for tokens.

Modern Horizons II features the following limited archetypes:[20]

Card types

Counter types

Cycles

Modern Horizons II has at least nine cycles, including four double cycles one vertical cycle, and a pair.

Cycle name {W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
Evoke Incarnations Solitude Subtlety Grief Fury Endurance
Five mythic rare Elemental Incarnation creatures, each with an evoke cost of exiling a card of the same color from your hand (i.e. a pitch spell.)
Suspend spells Resurgent Belief
(Replenish)
Inevitable Betrayal
(Bribery)
Profane Tutor
(Demonic Tutor)
Glimpse of Tomorrow
(Warp World)
Gaea's Will
(Yawgmoth's Will)
Five rare sorceries with suspend, no mana cost, and an effect of a powerful spell from Magic's past. Sol Talisman does the same thing for Sol Ring.
Converge spells Prismatic Ending Sweep the Skies Radiant Epicure Kaleidoscorch Glinting Creeper
Five uncommon spells with converge.
Basic landcyclers Landscaper Colos Mental Journey World-Weary Battle Plan Orchard Strider
Five common high cost spells with basic landcycling {1}M.
Cycle name {W}{B} {U}{R} {B}{G} {R}{W} {G}{U}
Enemy color fetch lands Marsh Flats Scalding Tarn Verdant Catacombs Arid Mesa Misty Rainforest
Each of these rare lands can be sacrificed along with a payment of 1 life to search for one of two basic land types. Reprinted from Zendikar.

Double cycles

Cycle name {W}{U} {U}{B} {B}{R} {R}{G} {G}{W} {W}{B} {U}{R} {B}{G} {R}{W} {G}{U}
Rare spells Moderation Master of Death Asmoranomardica-daistinaculdacar Territorial Kavu Sythis, Harvest's Hand Priest of Fell Rites Yusri, Fortune's Flame Carth the Lion General Ferrous Rokiric Lonis, Cryptozoologist
Ten rare spells.
Uncommon signposts Ethersworn Sphinx Lazotep Chancellor Rakdos Headliner Road // Ruin Arcus Acolyte Graceful Restoration Prophetic Titan Ravenous Squirrel Arcbound Shikari Combine Chrysalis
Ten uncommon spells, each one a signpost for its respective draft archetype.
Common signposts Chrome Courier Dihada's Ploy Terminal Agony Goblin Anarchomancer Captured by Lagacs Breathless Knight Storm God's Oracle Drey Keeper Foundry Helix Wavesifter
Ten common spells, each one a signpost for its respective draft archetype.
Bridges Razortide Bridge Mistvault Bridge Drossforge Bridge Slagwoods Bridge Thornglint Bridge Goldmire Bridge Silverbluff Bridge Darkmoss Bridge Rustvale Bridge Tanglepool Bridge
Ten common artifact taplands with indestructible.[21]

Pairs

Mirrored Pair Description
Out of Time ({W}) Suspend ({U}) Rare temporary creature removal spells that utilize time counters and the associating mechanics with them, vanishing and suspend respectively, in opposite ways. Out of Time is a board wipe while Suspend targets only a single creature.
Said // Done ({U}) Fast // Furious ({R}) Split cards with sorcery in one half and an instant in the other.

Vertical Cycles

Cycle name
Living Weapons Batterbone Nettlecyst Kaldra Compleat
3 living weapon artifact equipment cards that are callbacks to other cards.

Mega-mega cycles

The Mirran swords mega-mega cycle gets an allied colored addition.

Reprints

48 of the cards in the set are reprints, of which 43 are new to Modern. The latter all have a watermark of their original printing's set symbol, similar to Masters 25; except for Sanctum Prelate, which is only printed in the retro frame. These reprints occupy a unique slot in boosters.

Card New to
Modern
First printed Last seen Retro frame
variant
Extended art
variant
Borderless
variant
Notes
Angelic Curator {Tick} Urza's Legacy Urza's Legacy First ever reprint; common to uncommon.
Arid Mesa Zendikar Zendikar Rising Expeditions {Tick} {Tick}
Bone Shredder {Tick} Urza's Legacy Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs. The Coalition
Braids, Cabal Minion {Tick} Odyssey Eternal Masters
Cabal Coffers {Tick} Torment Planechase {Tick} Uncommon to mythic rare.
Chainer, Nightmare Adept {Tick} Commander 2019 Commander 2019 {Tick} First ever reprint; mythic rare to rare.
Chance Encounter {Tick} Odyssey Odyssey First ever reprint; new art; new flavor text.
Counterspell {Tick} Alpha Mystical Archive {Tick} Centralized rules text.
Cursed Totem {Tick} Mirage Sixth Edition New art; new flavor text.
Enchantress's Presence {Tick} Onslaught Commander 2018
Extruder {Tick} Urza's Destiny Urza's Destiny First-ever reprint.
Fire // Ice {Tick} Apocalypse Mystery Booster Common to rare.
Flame Rift {Tick} Nemesis Nemesis First ever reprint; common to uncommon; new art; new flavor text.
Goblin Bombardment {Tick} Tempest Mystery Booster Uncommon to rare.
Gorilla Shaman {Tick} Alliances Coldsnap/Theme decks
Greed {Tick} Legends Commander 2021
Hunting Pack {Tick} Scourge Commander 2020 New art; new flavor text.
Imperial Recruiter {Tick} Portal Three Kingdoms Double Masters {Tick} New art on the borderless version.
Karmic Guide {Tick} Urza's Legacy Commander Anthology
Marsh Flats Zendikar Zendikar Rising Expeditions {Tick} {Tick}
Millikin {Tick} Odyssey Mystery Booster New art; new flavor text.
Mirari's Wake {Tick} Judgment Commander 2017 {Tick}
Mishra's Factory {Tick} Antiquities Double Masters {Tick}
Misty Rainforest Zendikar Zendikar Rising Expeditions {Tick} {Tick}
Mogg Salvage {Tick} Nemesis Nemesis First-ever reprint.
Nevinyrral's Disk {Tick} Alpha Commander Legends
Patchwork Gnomes {Tick} Tempest Ultimate Masters Common to uncommon.
Patriarch's Bidding {Tick} Onslaught Onslaught First ever reprint; new art; new flavor text.
Quirion Ranger {Tick} Visions Visions First-ever reprint.
Riptide Laboratory {Tick} Onslaught The List New flavor text.
Sanctum Prelate {Tick} Conspiracy: Take the Crown Conspiracy: Take the Crown {Tick} First ever reprint; new art; new flavor text; buy-a box promo.
Scalding Tarn Zendikar Zendikar Rising/Expeditions {Tick} {Tick}
Sea Drake {Tick} Portal Second Age Portal Second Age First ever reprint; new flavor text.
Seal of Cleansing {Tick} Nemesis Mystery Booster Common to uncommon.
Seal of Removal {Tick} Nemesis Nemesis First ever reprint; common to uncommon.
Shardless Agent {Tick} Planechase 2012 Mystery Booster {Tick} {Tick} Uncommon to rare.
Skirge Familiar {Tick} Urza's Saga Urza's Saga First ever reprint; new art; new flavor text.
Solitary Confinement {Tick} Judgment Judgment First-ever reprint.
Soul Snare {Tick} Commander Commander 2021 {Tick} New art; new flavor text.
Squirrel Mob {Tick} Odyssey Secret Lair Drop Series: Secretversary
Sterling Grove {Tick} Invasion Invasion First ever reprint; uncommon to rare.
Titania, Protector of Argoth {Tick} Commander 2014 Commander Anthology {Tick} {Tick}
Upheaval {Tick} Odyssey From the Vault: Annihilation
Verdant Catacombs Zendikar Zendikar Rising/Expeditions {Tick} {Tick}
Vindicate {Tick} Apocalypse Masters 25 {Tick} Centralized rules text.
Wonder {Tick} Judgement Eternal Masters New art, uncommon to rare; new flavor text.
Yavimaya Elder {Tick} Urza's Destiny Commander Legends Common to uncommon.
Zuran Orb {Tick} Ice Age From the Vault: Relics New art; new flavor text.

MH1 reprints

There are also 40 retro frame reprints of MH1 favorites: they are reprinted with the MH1 set symbol and aren't part of MH2 proper. These are only available through Collector Boosters as foils or etched foils, and all commons are upshifted to uncommon.

Changes in rarity

Mythic rare to rare
Rare to uncommon
Rare to common
Uncommon to mythic rare
Uncommon to rare
Common to rare
Common to uncommon

Notes

^* MH1 reprint

Notable cards

Banned and restricted cards

  • Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer stood out as a powerful first-turn play that is often considered to be extremely dangerous to be hit with even once due to the Treasure given. While still hugely impactful in Modern and Vintage, Legacy's specific line of Volcanic Island, Ragavan, and Daze was considered too much to bear. It was banned in January 2022, and later pre-emptively banned in Historic when it was introduced to Arena through Multiverse Legends.
  • Fury was a format-defining card immediately, along with its cycle of Elementals, as a manaless anti-creature measure. However, unlike the other four, it was also an extremely fast clock, especially in conjunction with Undying Evil and adjacent effects; games could be stolen by simply casting a 4/4 double strike on turn 1 for the price of two other cards. The opportunity cost to do so meant that any creatures it could also kill were driven from the format, so it was banned in December 2023 from Modern.
  • Galvanic Relay and Chatterstorm were lower-powered Storm payoffs for various formats, weaker versions of Mind's Desire and Empty the Warrens respectively. That said, Pauper's storm engine is still sufficiently powerful that these needed to join the list of common Storm cards that were banned. Chatterstorm was banned in September 2021, and Galvanic Relay was banned in March 2022.
  • Sojourner's Companion is a strictly better Myr Enforcer through its landcycling ability, which upped the consistency of Pauper Affinity decks by finding the new Bridge lands. While in itself not the biggest threat, it was banned in September 2021 to slightly depower Affinity decks in a way that doesn't neuter them entirely.

Callbacks

Many cards in Modern Horizons II reference older cards.[24]

Card Inspired by Notes
Abundant Harvest Abundance A single triggering of Abundance in sorcery form.
Aeromoeba Aquamoeba A larger, flying Aquamoeba, with a similar flavor text scheme and abilities.
Altar of the Goyf Tarmogoyf, Akroma's Memorial A tribal Lhurgoyf card, which boosts it for most of Tarmogoyf's stats. Tribal was the least-populous type at the time and all were poor fits for a Tarmogoyf deck, giving an extra way to do so. It's also an artifact that grants creatures the ability of a popular card, similar to how Akroma's Memorial grants creatures the abilities of Akroma, Angel of Wrath.
Arcbound Javelineer Icatian Javelineers Javelineers, with similar artworks, enter with a counter that can be removed to deal 1 damage.
Arcbound Slasher Slash Panther 4M, 4-power red artifact cat creatures with haste. The Slasher can trade haste for an extra +1/+1 counter.
Arcbound Whelp Furnace Whelp An artificial Furnace Whelp.
Archfiend of Sorrows Drown in Sorrow A Demon that casts Drown in Sorrow at your opponents. The color scheme is similar.
Archon of Cruelty Cruel Ultimatum, Grave Titan A 6/6 Archon that casts a portion of Cruel Ultimatum with a "Titan trigger."
Batterbone Batterskull Both are living weapons with vigilance and lifelink. The new card is a cheaper and smaller version of the older card, with a diminutive naming scheme to match.
Blacksmith's Skill Karametra's Blessing {W} pump spells that are identically powerful for particular dual-typed creatures, but with the primary and secondary effects inverted.
Blazing Rootwalla Basking Rootwalla Both are one-mana 1/1 Lizards with madness {0} and a once-per-turn pump ability.
Blessed Respite Fog, Gaea's Blessing, Respite A merging of Fog and Gaea's Blessing, both in art and abilities; with its name taken from Respite, which also has a fog effect.
Bloodbraid Marauder Bloodbraid Elf Another Bloodbraid creature that can cascade, if you have delirium.
Blossoming Calm Blossoming Defense Effectively casts Blossoming Defense on a player, the two life mirroring the +2 toughness.
Bone Shards Bone Splinters A more versatile Bone Splinters.
Bottle Golems Bottle Gnomes 3-toughness artifact creatures that gain life upon death with similar art, flavor text and abilities.
Brainstone Mind Stone and Brainstorm A Mind Stone for Brainstorm.
Breya's Apprentice Breya, Etherium Shaper, Loyal Apprentice A loyal apprentice to Breya that is smaller, less flexible, and mono-red (ironically, the color not present in Esper, Breya's birthplace). The way Breya's Apprentice makes Thopter tokens is similar to the similarly-named Loyal Apprentice.
Break The Ice Sinkhole {B}{B} land destruction spells.
Cabal Initiate Putrid Imp Black creatures that can discard cards for a keyword and gain stats when Threshold is achieved.
Calibrated Blast Erratic Explosion, Explosive Revelation An Erratic Explosion that swaps the choosing and revealing, allowing it to be calibrated to the appropriate target - ironically, the new version randomizes the revealed cards whereas the previous template allowed selection. The same mana cost as Erratic Explosion and the card advantage of the flashback ability is reflected in the flashback cost being the same as Explosive Revelation, which drew the revealed card.
Captain Ripley Vance Vance's Blasting Cannons Both triggering after the third spell, with the Captain's damaging effect similar to Spitfire Bastion's activated ability.
Caprichrome Atog and its family A more conventional play on the urban legend of goats eating tin cans - this rumor was the inspiration of the Atog mechanical lineage.
Captured by Lagacs Saddleback Lagac Green spells that Support 2 upon entry. The name was intended to semi-rhyme like the original, but the playtest name ended up sticking[25].
Chatterstorm Chatter of the Squirrel and Crow Storm A storm version of Chatter of the Squirrel, similar to Crow Storm
Chef's Kiss Wild Ricochet Spells that copy and reselect the targets of a spell. Given the blowout potential, it seems to be named after the memetic phrase of when something goes perfectly.
Dakkon, Shadow Slayer Dakkon Blackblade The number of loyalty counters Dakkon, Shadow Slayer enters with is determined by the number of lands you control, like the original Dakkon Blackblade's power/toughness.
Damn Damnation, Wrath of God A smaller version of Damnation, which can overload into Wrath of God.[26][27]
Dauthi Voidwalker Dauthi Slayer, Leyline of the Void An aggressive shadow creature coupled with a graveyard hate ability.
Diamond Lion Lion's Eye Diamond Both artifacts force the controller to sacrifice the permanent and discard their hand to add three mana of one color. References Afari, author of the Tales of Jamuraa, for the first since Visions. The lion's pendant matches the earring in the original art.
Disciple of the Sun Sun Titan Sun Titan's disciple with lifelink and a cheaper cost but a downgraded ability from the titan itself.
Drey Keeper Deranged Hermit Both create Squirrel tokens and pump Squirrels. "Drey" and "deranged" are partial homonyms.
Dress Down Snakeform, Turn to Frog Reverses the trope where a polymorphed person no longer fits their clothing from the change in size, in that the creature doesn't change size but loses its "clothing" all the same. Has Flash as a pun regarding the exposing of oneself in a quick manner.
Echoing Return Echoing Decay et al Another spell dealing with cards of the same name, a first to target off the battlefield.
Endurance Gaea's Blessing[28] A graveyard-removing pitch spell that affects all the cards in the target player's graveyard, instead of just three.
Esper Sentinel Ethersworn Canonist, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben A new hatebear modeled after two of the most iconic; an artifact creature with conservative Esper leanings, and a Human Soldier that taxes noncreature spells.
Etherium Spinner Thopter Foundry Almost an anti-reference in flavor text: Etherium Spinner encourages expensive spells to make thopters, deriding the cheap, expendable artifacts desired for a Thopter Foundry.
Faithless Salvaging Faithless Looting A draw-and-discard spell, but rearranged to fit Red looting, or rummaging. Salvaging compensates for Looting's cheaper cost by being an instant, while the Rebound ability mimics Flashback.
Flame Blitz Curse of Opulence et al Depicts The Unluckiest.
Flametongue Yearling Flametongue Kavu A young Flametongue Kavu who can pump itself to deal higher damage when it enters the battlefield. The picture matches the original art.
Flay Essence Parting Thoughts 3-mana black sorcery removal spells with a bonus based on the target's counters.
Fodder Tosser Fodder Cannon Damaging artifacts that (directly or otherwise) cost cards, with instructions to use cousins as fodder.
Foundry Helix Warleader's Helix, Sacred Foundry A cheaper Warleader's Helix if an artifact is sacrificed; the name refers to the Boros shockland, whose name generally had little to do with the Boros.
Fractured Sanity Sanity Grinding, Decree of Justice et al A card that if cycled has a similar but lesser effect than if it was hard cast, like the decrees. The spell takes the mana cost, name, and effect (milling) from Sanity Grinding.
Fury Forked Lightning[28], Pyrokinesis Pyrokinesis on a cheaper, Evoke stick. One of two in the cycle to directly mimic a pitch spell, though the article cites a later, non-pitch version.
Gaea's Will Yawgmoth's Will A green suspended Will with updated templating, referencing the Time Spiral costless suspend cycle.[28]
Gargadon Greater Gargadon, Lesser Gargadon A smaller Greater Gargadon in name, art, and suspend ability. The lack of an adjective makes it come off as entirely average, given the lack of drawback or combo potential.
Garth One-Eye Black Lotus, Disenchant, Braingeyser, Terror, Shivan Dragon, Regrowth A character from the lore in 1994, shown to master five colors of magic - and so, has six iconic spells from all colors plus artifacts. Foreshadowed by Growth Charm and Tibalt the Chaotic.
General Ferrous Rokiric Hero of Precinct One A powered-up Hero, also from Ravnica. The art style is similar; a figure flanked by its summoned tokens.
Ghost-Lit Drifter Shinen of Flight's Wings, Ghost-Lit Warder, Arashi, the Sky Asunder A composite of all three channel designs - the function of the common, the name of the uncommon, and the single/X-to-all of the rare.
Glimmer Bairn Gilder Bairn, Atog Both Ouphes have art by Nils Hamm. Glimmer Bairn's token-sacrificing self-pump ability is similar to Atog's artifact-sacrificing self-pump ability.
Glimpse of Tomorrow Warp World, Ancestral Vision A one-sided Warp World[28], with suspend cost and art direction similar to Ancestral Vision.
Goblin Anarchomancer Goblin Electromancer Ravnican Goblins that make two distinct categories of cards cheaper. Both are important Storm enablers.
Grief Coercion[28], Unmask Unmask on an Evoke stick. One of two in the cycle to directly mimic a pitch spell. Like Coercion, Grief reveals the target player's hand and has its controller choose a card to discard from the revealed hand.
Healer's Flock Healer's Hawk, Llanowar Tribe Three Healer's Hawks stuck together, with all that entails. Unlike the previous "triple" creature, the abilities are not cumulative.
Hell Mongrel Wild Mongrel Dogs who discard cards to pump themselves. Hell Mongrel's Madness ability is a reference to how Wild Mongrel enabled the UG Madness deck and allowed cards with Madness to be played at instant speed.
Ignoble Hierarch Noble Hierarch Jund's answer to Noble Hierarch, the other shard where Green is off-center. The art forms a mirror in the staff, as does the flavor text.
Inevitable Betrayal Bribery, Mahamoti Djinn A cheaper costed Bribery[28], also referencing the costless suspend cycle, depicting the Djinn.
Jade Avenger Chub Toad, bushido A Frog Samurai playing off the joke that Chub Toad had Bushido 2 long before it was keyworded (and thus should be a Samurai).[29] Similar flavor text.
Kaldra Compleat Helm of Kaldra, Shield of Kaldra, Sword of Kaldra A mockery of the Avatar Kaldra, with a Germ inhabiting the entire equipment rather than the 4/4 Avatar wearing three pieces.
Legion Vanguard Viscera Seer, Tomb Robber Like Viscera Seer, a Vampire who can sacrifice a creature to manipulate the top of the library, both using the entrails (guts in flavor text, viscera in name). Also, a Dusk Legion counterpart to the pirate Tomb Robber, that too explores by expending cards.
Lightning Spear Searing Spear, Lightning Javelin Plays off the tendency for red burn spells to be named like weapons, now being actual equipment. All of them can be "thrown" for 3 damage.
Liquimetal Torque Liquimetal Coating Same mana value, art style, and ability to turn nonland permanents into artifacts.
Magus of the Bridge Bridge from Below Bridge from Below on legs.[30]
Marble Gargoyle Granite Gargoyle A color shifted version (and also made an artifact) of the original Gargoyle, which was a color bend in Alpha, as Red does not get small fliers nor the toughness pumping ability. A second paragraph on gargoyles from Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar's Underworld Cookbook makes up the flavor text.
Mine Collapse Cave-In, Thunderclap A mixing of the free spell costs from Mercadian Masques.
Monoskelion Serrated Biskelion, Triskelion A smaller Triskelion, only having 1/3 the counters and 1/3 the mana cost.[28] The name follows suit of previous -skelion artifact creatures.
Necrogoyf Lhurgoyf, Necrogen Mists A Lhurgoyf that feeds itself and others like it with its discard ability similar to Necrogen Mists.
Nested Shambler Nested Ghoul A zombie that keeps other creatures inside its chest cavity.
Nettlecyst All That Glitters, living weapon An equipment version of All That Glitters.
Nykthos Paragon Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Spear of Heliod Gives an anthem effect (like the Spear) whenever its controller gains life, like Heliod's second iteration.
Ornithopter of Paradise Ornithopter, Birds of Paradise The two combined into one, though losing the cheap mana aspect that made them Constructed staples.
Out of Time Parallax Wave Enchantments that remove creatures until they later expire, but with opposite purposes: Parallax Wave is a precision tool for creature decks, while Out of Time is a board wipe with a downside.
Parcel Myr Gingerbrute, Investigate Much like how Gingerbrute is the first creature that is Food-typed, Parcel Myr is the first Clue spell, both with the ability on the associated token.
Phantasmal Dreadmaw Colossal Dreadmaw (Rivals of Ixalan), Phantasmal Dragon An Illusion version of Colossal Dreadmaw that sacrifices itself upon being targeted. Captain Storm supplies similar quotes about its terrifying visage.
Persist Persist, Animate Dead Akin to the return of a creature with Persist after its first death, plus the -1/-0 that the reanimated creature has with Animate Dead. Part of a new trend of mechanic-named cards.
Piru, the Volatile Legends Elder dragons cycle (Chromium, etc.) Another of the Elder Dragons of Dominaria, with the same styled mana cost and upkeep cost, who was the life partner of Chromium Rhuell and slain by Dakkon Blackblade. The template used for the elder dragon cycle in Legends is updated to modern power level standards to give players a reason not to pay the upkeep cost of the costly creature. In Piru's case, is to cause a board wipe to nonlegendary creatures, making the downside a way to gain access to the upside.
Profane Tutor Demonic Tutor, the costless suspend spells from Time Spiral A spell with no mana cost and both a suspend cost and effect that mirrors Demonic Tutor.[28]
Prophetic Titan Prophetic Bolt If you have delirium, the Titan is Prophetic Bolt on a stick.
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Kari Zev, Skyship Raider Kari's pet, striking out on their own: the dash ability resembles Kari's ability to have Ragavan enter only for combat.
Raving Visionary Epiphany Storm, Prophetic Ravings Raving Visionary's first activated ability is the blue variant of the two rummaging auras: one for Therosian flavor and lightning-eyes artwork, and one for the name reference.
Resurgent Belief Replenish Replenish as a costless Suspend spell.[28]
Revolutionist Anarchist A larger Anarchist that can also get instants and has madness.
Rift Sower Search for Tomorrow The "searcher of tomorrow" as depicted, with the same mana and suspend costs.
Rise and Shine Animating Faerie Bring to Life on its own, and with overload.
Rishadan Dockhand Rishadan Port Rishadan Port on a stick.
Sanctifier en-Vec Paladin en-Vec En-Vecs who hate on black and red.
Sanctum Weaver Serra's Sanctum Both have a similar mana ability that scales with the number of enchantments.
Scion of Draco Draco, Scion of the Ur-Dragon Artifact dragons simliar in name, art, and domain mana value reduction ability. Scion of Draco is Draco's own Scion of the Ur-Dragon.
Search the Premises Thraben Inspector White cards that investigate - the inspector is the right-most of the searchers in the art, holding another gnarled mass of roots.
Serra's Emissary Iona, Shield of Emeria 7/7 Flying Angels with {W}{W}{W} in their cost that both "lock out" entire categories of cards upon entry.
Sinister Starfish Sigiled Starfish Colorshifted from blue to black. 1M 0/3 Starfishes that look at the top card of the library and put them elsewhere if the controller chooses to.
Skyblade's Boon Gryff's Boon, Sephara, Sky's Blade Auras that pump and grant flying with an activated ability that can return them from the graveyard. In a way, Skyblade's Boon is Sephara's own Gryff's Boon.
Sol Talisman Mox Tantalite, Sol Ring A Sol Ring which has been given the Mox Tantalite treatment, in name, art, and suspend ability.
Solitude Swords to Plowshares[28] An Evoke-pitch spell, using Swords as a basis. Because the original spell is an instant, this spell has flash.
Spreading Insurrection Insurrection Mass-stealing spells, both in name, art, and flavor text.
Squirrel Sovereign Goblin King (Fifth Edition) Lords with similar flavor texts involving taking the position of authority by force.
Steel Dromedary Quarry Hauler Camels who are involved with counters.
Step Through Vedalken Aethermage First reuse of wizardcycling.
Subtlety Hinder, Force of Negation Counterspells that put target spells on top of their owner's library. Subtlety only focuses on creature or planeswalker spells, to counterpoint the previous pitch spell's non-creature spells.
Sudden Edict Diabolic Edict, Sudden Death Another {1}{B} edict with the naming convention and split-frame art style of the split second spells. Flavor text is vaguely reminiscent of Sudden Death.
Suspend Delay, Suspend Spells that forcibly grant suspend to a target - another in the series of mechanic-named cards.
Svyelun of Sea and Sky Svyelunite Temple, Svyelunite Priest The goddess of Merfolk from Fallen Empires, granting Ward rather than the shroud of Svyelunite Priest.
Sylvan Anthem Crusade, Season of Growth Colorshifted Crusade with the scrying ability of Season of Growth.
Sythis, Harvest's Hand Karametra, God of Harvests Karametra's acolyte with an ability that triggers upon casting an enchantment spell instead of a creature spell.
Tavern Scoundrel Tavern Swindler Tavern-residing creatures who flip coins for a reward that's double its activated ability cost.
Terminal Agony Terminate Creature-destroying spells with similar artwork depicting a Sun Titan-like figure. Terminal Agony's Madness cost is Terminate's mana cost and will be also an instant if Madness is used.
Thought Monitor Thoughtcast Thoughtcast on a stick.
Thraben Watcher Always Watching One of the watchers depicted in Always Watching, who also shares the buffing lord-like ability.
Timeless Dragon Eternal Dragon Both creatures are 5/5 Dragons with flying, plainscycling {2}, and an ability that moves the dragon from the graveyard to another zone. The first creature with eternalize to return smaller than the original stats.
Timeless Witness Eternal Witness Similar in art and Regrowth-like ability, the second card to play off the use of Eternal in its name by giving it eternalize.
Tireless Provisioner Tireless Tracker Instead of Clues and a buff ability, produces Food and Treasure tokens from the landfall ability.
Tizerus Charger Underworld Charger {2}{B} 3-power Charger creatures that escape for {4}{B}.
Tormod's Cryptkeeper Tormod's Crypt Tormod's Crypt on a stick.
Tourach, Dread Cantor Hymn to Tourach, Order of the Ebon Hand Tourach himself: the kicker effect is Hymn to Tourach, while his stats as a 2MV 2/1 with protection from white reflects his alliance with the Ebon Praetor.
Tourach's Canticle Hymn to Tourach Another song dedicated to Tourach, also involves random discard.
Tragic Fall Tragic Slip A larger Tragic Slip that gets stronger with Hellbent instead of Morbid.
Underworld Hermit Deranged Hermit, Evangel of Heliod Creates Squirrel tokens equal to your devotion to black. Mana cost, ability, and art direction very similar to Evangel of Heliod.
Unholy Heat Alchemist's Greeting Burn spells involving alchemists from Innistrad using flames to attack, as Delirium was an Innistrad mechanic.
Unmarked Grave Entomb An {1}{B} Entomb for nonlegendary cards. Reflects how the most popular reanimation targets (Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Griselbrand, Iona, Shield of Emeria) are all legendary.
Vectis Gloves Trailblazer's Boots Equipment that grant a specific nonbasic type of landwalk.
Verdant Command Primal Command et al A modal spell in the vein of the original commands with similar art.
Vile Entomber Entomb Both cards tutor a card directly into the graveyard. The rising hand in Entomb is in the background of Vile Entomber.
Void Mirror Nether Void A permanent that counters spells symmetrically. The shape of the relic matches the wisps in the void.
Wavesifter Mulldrifter Blue Flying Evoke Elemental piscine creatures that generate two cards worth of card advantage upon entering the battlefield.
Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth A legendary land that causes all lands to be treated as a specific basic land type, in addition to their other types, based on a famous location on Dominaria.
Young Necromancer Young Pyromancer, Liliana Vess A young spellcaster who imitates a famous planeswalker and wears a brooch with her face on it, similar to Young Pyromancer.[31]

Reception

As of October 2022, Modern Horizons II was the best-selling Magic set of all time.[32] It became MTG’s first $200 million set in the first quarter of 2023.[33]

References

  1. a b Mark Rosewater (March 6, 2021). "You're the head designer of Modern Horizons 2?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  2. Information below the text box
  3. a b c d Mark Rosewater (May 24, 2021). "A Modern Approach, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  4. a b c Blake Rasmussen (September 1, 2020). "Zendikar Debut and Announcement Day Recap". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. The Zendikar Adventuring Party (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (September 1, 2020).
  6. a b c WPN (March 8, 2021). "Modern Horizons 2: All the Dates and Scheduling Info You Need". Wizards Play Network.
  7. a b c d Wizards of the Coast (March 18, 2021). "Strixhaven News + More". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  8. a b c d Adam Styborski (May 6, 2021). "Welcome to the Summer of Legend". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  9. a b Mark Rosewater (May 31, 2021). "A Modern Approach, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  10. Sam Black (June 3, 2021). "Cataloging My Work On Modern Horizons 2". StarCityGames.
  11. Jess Dunks (Jun 4, 2021). "Modren Horizons 2 Release Notes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  12. a b c d e Mike Turian (May 21, 2021). "Modern Horizons 2 Product Overview". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  13. a b Clayton Kroh (May 21, 2021). "Booster Fun of Modern Horizons 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  14. a b Mike Turian (May 21, 2021). "Collecting Modern Horizons 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  15. Gavin Verhey (June 4, 2021). "Modern Horizons 2 Prerelease Primer". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  16. WPN (May 6, 2021). "Modern Horizons 2: First Look". Wizards Play Network.
  17. Clayton Kroh (June 3, 2021). "The Tokens of Modern Horizons 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  18. a b Mark Rosewater (May 18, 2021). "Maro’s Modern Horizon 2 Teaser". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  19. Mark Rosewater (May 18, 2020). "Sorry, I need to clarify my question a bit.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  20. Weekly MTG: Modern Horizons 2 Previews on Twitch
  21. Dan Musser (May 26, 2021). "Bridges from Limited to Modern". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  22. Previewed in the Mystical Archive Jatis (March 26, 2021). "They announced via the stream [[Abundant Harvest]] will be printed in MH2.". Reddit.
  23. Aaron Forsythe (May 26, 2021). "Challenge Accepted!". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  24. 30 Sneaky References We Put In Modern Horizons 2! (Video). Good Morning Magic. YouTube (June 2, 2021).
  25. Andrew Brown (June 1, 2021). "Captured By Lagacs". Twitter.
  26. Editors of the Coast (May 28, 2021). "Damn". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  27. Ethan Fleischer (May 29, 2021). "DAMN". Twitter.
  28. a b c d e f g h i j Mark Rosewater (June 14, 2021). "On the Horizons, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  29. Ethan Fleischer (May 29, 2021). "Every couple of years, we have the same discussion, and it always turns out the same.". Twitter.
  30. Adam Styborski (June 1, 2021). "Magus of the Bridge". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  31. Paul Canavan (May 25, 2021). "Young Necromancer for Modern Horizons 2!". Twitter.
  32. Mark Rosewater (October 22, 2022). "Is Battle For Zendikar still the best-selling set of all time? If not, which set currently is?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  33. Mollie Russell (April 27, 2023). "Hasbro says “MTG is strong” after 16% Q1 revenue increase". Wargamer.com.

External links

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