How Edge of Eternities impacted the Modern format

Intro

When I first read the full spoiler of EOE, many cards caught my attention. The biggest one is definitely Quantum Riddler, which quickly became a multiformat staple. Riddler's strength, in Modern, comes from the possibility of playing a strong, midrange threat in a grindy format, which also can be cheated on in play for half of his cost. 

Decklist here

Quantum Riddler seems like the perfect addition to Esper Miderange/Blink. Not only does the deck already play Ephemerate/Phelia/Flickerwhisp, meaning you can often keep the Sphynx in play from turn three, but it’s also an important tool, since Esper topdeck is often dead interaction, and playing Solitude means you’re often left with few cards in hand.

Before we continue, I’d like to mention this interaction: 

Frog can manage the hand size to always draw two cards with Riddler, while growing the Frog. Having both onto the battlefield at the same time often means you can draw four cards in one turn. Considering how strong and impactful Riddler is itself, I can safely see this replacing Ketramose in BWx decks.

But what if we add even more value to Psychic Frog, making it an actual discard outlet for reanimate effects?

Decklist here.

Goryo has been for years an A+B deck, meaning that when everything goes your way, you could have Atraxa t2 and Atraxa t3, but often the deck delivers the worst hands (that you have to keep) followed by the worst topdecks. 
Quantum Riddler, being a “glue” card, is just perfect in this shell. Not only does it turn the deck into a more “midrange” concept, creating tough midgames, but also rewards the presence of Ephemerate, hardly justified otherwise. Riddler is also awesome at gaining back card advantage after you often traded 1x2 with FONs and Solitudes, and allows the deck to dig a bit deeper for functional hands. I do believe the deck is not “there” yet, but I am convinced that after the Pro Tour some more optimized lists will show up. 
In the meantime, Italian Pro Player Adriano Moscato (_IlNano_) went undefeated in two challenges in a row.

Another card I expected to pop was Tezzeret, Cruel Captain. Urza’s Saga last chapter with upsides seemed good enough for Tron decks, where a three-drop can often be played on turn two (sometimes even leaving one mana open). Tron decks started to play the card, but nowadays it seems everyone has abandoned it… But the archetype returned tier one once again!

Decklist here.

Why?
Well - big mana decks have historically had a fine matchup against Boros, the most played deck, and can easily stomp any midrange pile (like the Esper deck I posted in the first place) with powerful big spells. Playing Karn, the Great Creator gives you an out against combo decks, either by stopping them completely (if you’re playing against Belcher) or trying to have an out in time (T2 Karn into T3 double Disruptor Flute can sometimes be enough to beat Neoform / Storm). 
The deck doesn’t need to assemble Tron on turn three, but is much more keen on having four mana on turn two, and eventually assembling a lot of mana later. 
The MH3 cards Devourer of Destiny (Once Upon a Time at home) and Kozilek’s Command are a fantastic glue for the deck, other than being the best cards. 
I expect to see this deck a lot in the upcoming Pro Tour Atlanta - not sure if Tezzeret will show up. 
Ironically enough, all those lists share one Edge of Eternities card: Extinguisher Battleship. 
Colorless Wrath of God + Vindicate is for sure one of the biggest artifacts you can run in your Karn wishboard. 

My third prediction for Edge of Eternities was related to a cantrip that, in my mind, would revive control decks. Well, as always, I’ve been a bit too optimistic for the control revival, but let’s say every UWx deck you can check on the net is nowadays playing at least two copies of Consult the Star Charts. 
The card is just awesome in any control shell, because in the first turns you’re often busy dealing with what your opponent is proposing, while later on you lack something to do in your opponent’s End Step. Previously, control decks used to play Stock Up, but it was terrible considering the sorcery speed, or Memory Deluge, which is way less appealing than Consult because of its clunky 4 mana cost.  

Decklist here.

Consult is just awesome in a deck like this, mostly because a lot of cards work well paired with others. Consult can find Solitude + Pitch, Narset + Days, Orim’s + Teferi and so on. Eventually, you can cast Consult on curve to try to hit your third land drop on a greedy hand with a T3 walker. 
The only downside of Consult the Star Charts is that it works well only in control shells. While Stock Up can be played in tempo/midrange decks like UB Frog, I recommend listing Consult if you plan to hit your 4th land drop on the curve, and on average, to have 6+ lands in mid/lategame.

The Unpredictables

Now, let’s dive into some unpredictable cards that “broke” the format:

The first one I have to mention is Pinnacle Emissary. This three-drop (but virtually one drop) is probably the best spell ever printed for affinity in a long time. Emissary allows broken turn ones, that’s what the deck wanted to do before but couldn’t achieve; once you have a bunch of artifacts on turn one, you can win in various ways: 
- outvaluing your opponent with Thoughtcasts and Thought Monitors
- Urza’s Saga (that can often be played on turn one, if you have Springleaf Drum or Mox Opal, immediately spamming gigantic constructs)
- Superfast Kappa Cannoneer

Decklist here.

This is likely the strongest affinity deck since Mox Opal was banned years ago. The deck still struggles against Wrath of the Skies, and sometimes you mull into oblivion, but if it’s your day you will likely win the event. Take it or leave it!

Another card that totally blew up my mind when I saw people registering four copies is Icetill Explorer. 

This card, that at first glance seems a great Vintage Cube staple, might be actually very good in modern, of course in big mana decks like Eldrazi Ramp and Amulet.

In Eldrazi Ramp, you use the graveyard already with Malevolent Rumble, and milling each time you play a land is huge to ramp up to Emrakul. Plus, the second land drop grants a huge turn after you play Icetill (usually on turn 2-3). The body is good enough to be played in modern, since it doesn’t die to Phlage and blocks all the threats. And being a four drop is helpful to pay the Emerge cost of Herigast just 4, when Icetill value is over. 

In Amulet, Icetill is more often a 1-of you run playing Zenith, but the card can do some wonders, since the deck plays with the graveyard considering Lotus Field, Tolaria and more.

The last deck that caught me by surprise is definitely Hardened Scales. The archetype received an unexpected super gigantic boost from Edge, at the point that it’s probably the most impactful set for the deck since Kaladesh. In particular, two cards caught the attention of the Hardened Scales experts: 

Terrasymbiosis is a perfect grindy card, to never lose resource games like against Boros, Esper, or even control decks. 
Loading Zone is a much more aggressive card that can often be lethal on turn three. 
I tried the deck and it was awesome, even if the metagame is a bit hostile due to Karn, the Great Creator, and Wrath of the Skies being heavily present. 
Still, I am keeping this for a post-PT metagame, if both enemy cards do poorly.

Conclusion

Edge of Eternities was an unexpected, refreshing set for Modern, and what I pinpointed is probably just the tip of the iceberg. I expect some other cards to be present in a future modern meta (I already know someone is playing four copies of Aliya, Guided by Light in a martyr-energy midrange deck, doing well in the challenges), but it’s enough to make me enjoy the set.

But now, it’s time to playtest Spider-Man already, read Avatar cards and Lorwyn Eclipsed spoiler. Cool time to be content creators!