Modern Horizons 2

 The full set has been spoiled and can be reviewed here!

Whoooooo there's a bunch to unpack, isn't there? I'm not even certain I know where to start.

So let's look at the reprints, first. 

I'm happy to see the reprints of the saclands, of course-everyone is. But Cabal Coffers and Riptide Laboratory are welcome reprints and Mishra's Factory has been a staple in decks in every format it's been usable in. Nice little 'something for everyone' suite of cards.

The artifacts are a bit lackluster but feel like they fit in the Limited MH2 ecosystem, with the exception of Cursed Totem. I'm not sure what kind of impact that will have on Modern: the card is fringe at best in Legacy, but perhaps Modern's smaller card pool will allow for the Totem to make a bigger splash. It could be Cursed Totem is there for Commander players, who could find that card very useful.

The multicolor cards have a nice range of options: Mirari's Wake is a clear offering to Commander players and the card is getting expensive enough to warrant one. Shardless Agent and Fire/Ice are great reprints for more competitive minded players (or just people like me who think they're cool). Decent cards that can fill a few roles. 

Green looks more like the artifact selection: Titania, Protector of Argoth is amazing to see, but these cards really look to fill the Limited environment, with the possible exception of Enchantress's Presence. That card, along with the new cards in MH2 might just help spawn an enchantment deck in Modern and that's pretty cool.

Red reprinting Gorilla Shaman feels a bit like a thumb of the nose: "look we gave you tools to deal with artifacts..." No. No, you didn't. When it costs 5 mana to get rid of a Liquimetal Torque, that is not a good rate. I'm not exactly sure who these reprints are for, save Imperial Recruiter, which commands an unbelievable price tag that should be repressed at every turn.

In Black, we have Braids, a fan favorite, but also...Greed? Did we need another reprint of this? However, as with Green, we have Patriarch's Bidding, which may spawn a new deck, and Skirge Familiar which...could be an engine for something. It has been in the past, but cheating it into play was key. 

The suite of Blue cards are, I believe, quite good. Upheaval is the Commander card everyone wishes you weren't playing, but Counterspell, Seal of Removal, Wonder; these are all bona fide good. Sea Drake is an interesting reprint-is it good? It's interesting so that'll have to do.

Finally, White's reprints don't bring us much, either-except for Solitary Confinement. This was the basis for an old school prison deck and it's pretty clear to me that the tools are there for it to exist in Modern. Will those tools be enough? That I don't know. But the deck has what it needs to stave off aggro decks now, so I suspect people will be tinkering with it. 

The other reprints aren't awful but are they exciting for people who love the color? Maybe it doesn't matter, since there are a lot of other cool cards. 

Yike. Those are just the reprints! Let's save the rest for next time.