The previous four days of spoilers from Wizards of the Coast and various content creators for the newest Magic: The Gathering set, Modern Masters 2017, have been full of excitement and hype as more and more Modern format staples were revealed to be receiving much-needed reprints. From cards such as Cavern of Souls to Blood Moon, to Liliana of the Veil, just about every archetype and deck received some attention in this set - even the Legacy format got a little love, as the Miracles deck utilizes quite a few of the cards reprinted in Modern Masters 2017.
Today, Wizards of the Coast released the full set spoiler, making every card not previewed by themselves or by content creators available for evaluation. While a full evaluation of the set, both in terms of Limited play-ability as well as impact on the secondary market, will be dealt with at a later date, we can take a look at something immediately noticeable - the high amount of rarity downshifts, compared to rarity upshifts.
Typically when a card is reprinted in another set, it either undergoes a rarity upshift (as is the case with Snapcaster Mage, which went from a rare in Innistrad to mythic rare in Modern Masters 2017) or a rarity downshift (as is the case with Mortician Beetle, which went from being a rare in Rise of the Eldrazi to a common in Modern Masters 2017). According to this compilation by reddit user TechnomagusPrime, a total of 19 cards were upshifted in rarity, while 24 cards were downshifted. Previous reprint compilation sets have been favored towards rarity upshifts, so to see Modern Masters 2017 spread the value out in the uncommons and rares, as opposed to a few chase mythics, is very surprising.
Modern Masters 2017 is set for release on March 17, 2017, with the digital release for Magic: The Gathering Online coming on March 23, 2017. TechRaptor's set review of Modern Masters 2017 will be out within a few weeks after the set release.
Stay tuned to TechRaptor for more news on everything Magic: The Gathering.
Quick Take
For Modern Masters 2017, Wizards of the Coast again used the accelerated preview schedule they used with Aether Revolt, finishing the set preview within a week as opposed to the two weeks that have been historically used. While I still feel that one week isn't enough time to fully take in a new set, it does work better for a reprint compilation set such as Modern Masters 2017, rather than a completely brand new set like Aether Revolt - these are cards we've seen before, and feature mechanics that we're familiar with. I'm still holding on to the hope that this isn't the new norm for preview schedules and that Wizards of the Coast returns to the two-week schedule with Amonkhet.What are your thoughts on the full Modern Masters 2017 set? Let us know in the comment section below.