Wizards did it again: playable Modern cards: aproximately 0.
Duuude you're so wrong, best set since Innistrad, Modern playables (probably): Battlefield Thaumaturge, Prophetic Flamespeaker, red Eidolon, Athreos, Pharika, Tethmos High Priest... awesome
I understand that new sets have to cater to limited, but it still seems like the disparity between limited and constructed is roughly +2 or +3 cmc. In other words, they keep nerfing niche cards. Why? They're niche cards...
For a top down set, they sure created a lot of cards that panders to the mechanics (especially Heroic). If you take away all the Greek flavor, it feels more of a bottom-up set. And a poor one at that.
Look at the rares in JOU. Many of them are combat tricks.
For limited, I guess JOU is fine. Perhaps I may wanna skip BNG and play THS THS JOU instead.
This block as a whole is powered down. so its hard to find cards for modern here.
However I do really like this set.. the big problem I found with BNG was that it was theros.. but worse.. this set clearly makes itself different
The big problem I had with Theros was its interactions were obvious and linear, it was a really balanced limited environment it just wasn't very deep. BNG didn't really help it much, It made red the one weak spot in Theros much better but it also confused drafting so much with the awful tap enchants that I get cut every draft and confused three almost four colour drafting goes on and I miss 3 theros.
It was similar in constructed... devotion is obvious how to build with it, nothing interesting just play with powerful cards, use devotion or use both.
This set however finally gives the depth and complexity missing from the whole block. Such interesting bestow cards that make you possibily bestow opponents creatures, cards that can be used defensive and offensively. Powerful ways to sup up heroic and bestow in constructed. Very interesting cards that scream build around me.. the sweet flash enchants of old favourite enchantments that look to open up new constructed ideas.
so yeah after HATING Born of the gods.... I think Journey to Nyx is theros block done right.
Wizards did it again: playable Modern cards: aproximately 0.
Duuude you're so wrong, best set since Innistrad, Modern playables (probably): Battlefield Thaumaturge, Prophetic Flamespeaker, red Eidolon, Athreos, Pharika, Tethmos High Priest... awesome
Battlefield Thaumaturge depends on other cards to be good, therefor is bad for modern
Prophetic Flamespeaker is bad in modern, Bolt is around and this guy does nothing when he hits the board, it takes time, its a no go in modern
Athreos is a BIG MAYBE
Pharika no lol
Tethmos no
like Nyzzeh correctly said, Theros block sucks big time for Modern.
i dont expect goyfs in every set, but i do expect good cards, and if something is playable in Modern, trust me, it will be very good in Standard for sure.
Eidolon of the Great Revel MIGHT see some sideboard play but even that im not sure, same goes for Legacy format.
Whoa, when I first saw the art of Spiteful Blow, I thought it depicted a naked lady. The palm looked like an ass.
It also took me a while to see anything other than an ass (with a thong, not naked).
'Twas a mighty fart!
Dovakin !
I looked at the art and imagined a powerfull wrath effect, but the Ass reference kinda makes up for the disappointment just fine ;P
The R/G token spell rare is a giant disappointment aswell. After getting Army of the Damned, this feels like its just silly for the cost its WAY to weak. It could easily produce like 7 tokens instead of 4, its hard enough to get anything good out of 2/2 tokens.
This set has so many cool little story cards, but the powerlevel is just horrible low ; and then on some rares they tryd to make up for this, which feels lazy.
if something is playable in Modern, trust me, it will be very good in Standard for sure.
Deathrite Shaman was good enough to be banned in Modern, but has saw very, very little play in standard. Just because a card is good in a non-rotating format doesn't mean it'll take standard over.
I'd say this is the best set of the block, but that's not saying much. This block hasn't really had much that's seen play outside of Standard as of yet(not including EDH/tabletop)., and I don't see this set really changing that. Mana Confluence is the only thing I can see that will definitely be played outside of Standard I recently went through the top 300 cards in Modern and counted up how many times a card from each block appears. I realize Modern does not represent all of Magic (or even much for that matter), but I think the results are a good indication of the power level of the block, not to mention interesting for their own sake (at least I think so ). FYI...Cards that have been reprinted multiple times within the Modern timeframe are credited to their block of origin only (ie. Shocklands count towards Ravnica but not RTR block), older cards that were reprinted during the Modern timeframe count towards the 1st Modern block they appeared in (ie. Terminate counts towards Shards). The results are from MTG Top8.com. Here's the top 300 with top 100 appearances in parentheses:
Top 300 (Top 100)
Core Set: 31 (10)
Mirrodin: 23 (9)
Kamigawa: 8 (3)
Ravnica: 27 (17)
Time Spiral: 26 (5)
Lorwyn: 28 (10)
Shards: 17 (6)
Zendikar: 29 (11)
Scars: 28 (16)
Innistrad: 19 (8)
RTR: 15 (3)
Theros: 8 (2)
I realize the last set of the block isn't even out yet, and cards from Theros may become more powerful years from now when the meta has changed, but so far it has numbers comparable to Kamigawa as far as Modern is concerned, and that's not even taking into consideration the fact that the most powerful cards in Kamigawa are all banned in Modern. I'm not trying to complain here, the block was fun and all, I'm just trying to look at it from a competitive power level perspective.
What I'm getting from this data is that clearly core sets are awesome and WotC should print more core sets.
I'm pretty sure I'm sensing some sarcasm here. The funny thing is, Wizards apparently had the same idea back in 2009 when they started releasing yearly core sets instead of
bi-yearly. Personally, I wish they'd go back to bi-yearly, Wizards releases so much product these days its hard to keep up with, both financially and mentally. Unfortunately this seems to be going in the opposite direction with twice yearly duel decks, Premium Deck series, Commander, Planeschase, Archenemy, Conspiracy, Modern Masters, etc, etc, etc... I know Magic is a business, and businesses are supposed to make all the money they can, but I wonder if the market flood is good for the long term health of the game. I guess they know what they're doing though, after all they've been doing it successfully for 20 years now whereas I've been toiling away at my 9-5.
Edit: Again, I'm pretty sure you're joking about the Core Set thing, but I feel compelled to say, this list is including all Modern legal Core Sets, of which there are 8, most blocks only consist of 3 sets, therefore the Core Set card pool is much larger, which in turn gives Core Sets more opportunity to put cards into the top 300. Just sayin'.
(22 Total) - October 2014; December 2014; January 2015; April 2015; June 2015; August 2015; September 2015; November 2015; December 2015(T); January 2016; March 2016(T); April 2016; June 2016; October 2016; December 2016(T); February 2017; April 2017; December 2017; November 2018(T); January 2019; April 2019; June 2019
(8 Total) - May 2015; May 2016; June 2016; August 2016; October 2016; December 2016; October 2017; May 2019
(7 Total) - September 2015; October 2015; January 2016; March 2016; April 2016; July 2016(T); March 2019(T)
Eidolon of Rhetoric is a poddable Rule of Law that survives Bolt. It could easily replace Ethersworn Canonist.
Ha ha, no. There's a HUGE difference between dropping Canonist turn 2 vs. the new card on turn 3. The fact it survives bolt isn't that relevent because Storm decks will sideboard Pact of Slaughter or bounce spells for your problematic dudes.
bi-yearly. Personally, I wish they'd go back to bi-yearly, Wizards releases so much product these days its hard to keep up with, both financially and mentally. Unfortunately this seems to be going in the opposite direction with twice yearly duel decks, Premium Deck series, Commander, Planeschase, Archenemy, Conspiracy, Modern Masters, etc, etc, etc...
The Premium deck series is long gone; replaced with yearly Commander sets. Planechase, Archenemy, Conspiracy and Modern Masters all fill the same slot (summer supplement).
Typical release schedule in a year looks like this (Starting with the core set):
July - Core Set
August - From the Vault
September - Duel Deck (acts as a preview for the fall set), Fall Set (start of the block)
November - Winter Supplement (currently Commander)
February - Set 2 in the Block
March - Duel Deck (planeswalkers, highlights the previous block, which will soon rotate out)
May - Set 3 in the block
June - Summer Supplement (Original Commander decks, Planechase, Conspiracy, Modern Masters, etc.)
It's important to note that lots of these releases are all reprints (from the vault, planeswalker duel deck, modern masters, etc.) Those that aren't are designed to appeal to different segments of the market (and different formats). Wizards releases to much product because they want to cover all their bases in terms of pleasing different types of players.
I'm not quite getting the logic behind how they are using reminder text on cards.
Some cards with deathtouch have reminder text, others don't. Sometimes Hexproof has reminder text, other times it doesn't. Doublestrike is reminder texted at one point, and not at another. Flash has reminder text on a few cards, but not the Dictates. Given that they didn't feel the need to do this previously in the block with evergreens, it seems overly bizarre. Doubly so given that there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to *why* and *where* they are applying it. Some rares with a given keyword have reminder text, while commons and uncommons with the same don't. And vice versa. Some keywords aren't even given reminder text at all.
I understand reminder text is often a necessary beast, but it creates clutter and isn't as attractive to look at. Given the level of knowledge assumed by expert level expansions, it's just not used much outside of new abilities. And yet here we are. Third set in a block giving reminder text to evergreen abilities extremely inconsistently without rhyme or reason as to why. It's an annoyance for me, really. Either do it consistently, or don't do it. Not everything needs reminder text.
Wizards did it again: playable Modern cards: aproximately 0.
Duuude you're so wrong, best set since Innistrad, Modern playables (probably): Battlefield Thaumaturge, Prophetic Flamespeaker, red Eidolon, Athreos, Pharika, Tethmos High Priest... awesome
Battlefield Thaumaturge depends on other cards to be good, therefor is bad for modern
Prophetic Flamespeaker is bad in modern, Bolt is around and this guy does nothing when he hits the board, it takes time, its a no go in modern
Athreos is a BIG MAYBE
Pharika no lol
Tethmos no
like Nyzzeh correctly said, Theros block sucks big time for Modern.
i dont expect goyfs in every set, but i do expect good cards, and if something is playable in Modern, trust me, it will be very good in Standard for sure.
Eidolon of the Great Revel MIGHT see some sideboard play but even that im not sure, same goes for Legacy format.
While I'm not saying Battlefield Thaumaturge makes Modern 100% or anything, you can't look at cards like that. Don't be afraid to try out possibilities. That's how Goblin Electromancer in Storm was discovered, for example. It's now a 3-4 copy card in one of the most degenerate decks in the format. And on its own, its a UR Grizzly Bears. Synergies are a bit part of what make Modern so powerful (that and $200 Grizzly Bears).
Thaumaturge has a similar ability (cost reduction) but with very different implications for deck building. It may not get there no. But it's a 2/1 for 2 (Snap, Bob, etc) with an interesting ability, which doesn't make it scream UNPLAYABLE to me.
I think the biggest problem with the Block overall, IMO, is that Wizards played it TOO SAFE. The mechanics have way too many put a +1/+1 counter on this creature abilities and the few that aren't are overcosted or require additional hoops to be jumped through to get to work. There are way too many answers to everything in this block, how many exile enchantment effects do you really need to make the Gods not overpowered? I just feel that in their effort to control the limited environment (which from what I have seen did not come out too bad, but not great either) they neutered a lot of the features of the block both in card design and answers for the few designs that weren't even that risky to begin with (only a handful of Gods even see play and most of them are in sideboards, did we really need like 8 playable exile effects?). I don't like this kind of design at all, no you don't want another season of Caw Blade, but at the same time if you just print with caution in mind you make for a boring block that doesn't sell well(I REALLY doubt Theros, BotG, or JOU are going to break any sales records in the long run). Wizards does have to walk a tight rope on how much they can push blocks and sometimes it comes out too overpowered, but this time it came out as too underpowered. I give the overall block a 5/10 too much safety net and not enough gamble.
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Melek, Izzet Paragon
Oona, Queen of the Fae
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Rhys the Redeemed
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Sen Triplets
The Mimeoplasm WUBRGSliver OverlordGRBUW WUBRGSliver Hivelord(Superfriends)GRBUW
I'm pretty sure I'm sensing some sarcasm here. The funny thing is, Wizards apparently had the same idea back in 2009 when they started releasing yearly core sets instead of
bi-yearly. Personally, I wish they'd go back to bi-yearly, Wizards releases so much product these days its hard to keep up with, both financially and mentally. Unfortunately this seems to be going in the opposite direction with twice yearly duel decks, Premium Deck series, Commander, Planeschase, Archenemy, Conspiracy, Modern Masters, etc, etc, etc... I know Magic is a business, and businesses are supposed to make all the money they can, but I wonder if the market flood is good for the long term health of the game. I guess they know what they're doing though, after all they've been doing it successfully for 20 years now whereas I've been toiling away at my 9-5.
Edit: Again, I'm pretty sure you're joking about the Core Set thing, but I feel compelled to say, this list is including all Modern legal Core Sets, of which there are 8, most blocks only consist of 3 sets, therefore the Core Set card pool is much larger, which in turn gives Core Sets more opportunity to put cards into the top 300. Just sayin'. [/quote]
Thank god they got rid of the Premium Deck series.
In terms of this set it is just bad. The gods are not good, the will all be less than 5 dollars in a month. Nothing really good for EDH except Silence the Believers.
I am deeply disappointed in the lack of reprints in this set, and in the complete lack of any Modern staples. We were on such a great role with Mutavault in the core and Thoughtseize in Theros that I had hoped Born of the Gods was the abnormality. Nope. Le sigh.
The thing I like about this set is that, even though there aren't a ton of cards that are obviously Modern-playable, there are a lot of unique cards with reasonable CMCs (I've always begged for more interesting one- and two-drops during spoiler season). When I looked through the full spoiler, I often found myself thinking "even if this doesn't end up seeing play, I'm glad it exists. I'm glad I have the option to build with this."
Most of these wont' be playable, but they're all cheap enough to cast and reasonably powerful in a theoretical sense, and many of them have totally unique effects. They're interesting. And that makes me happy.
I'm not quite getting the logic behind how they are using reminder text on cards.
Some cards with deathtouch have reminder text, others don't.
Aspect of Gorgon and Felhide Petrifier as examples. Simply look at the text boxes. The minotaur has 7 lines of text without reminder, the aura 6 with reminder (the reminder itself adds a bit over one line). They try to put reminder whenever it fits, without making the card looking cluttered or needing to avert from the normal font size. That's all.
I am deeply disappointed in the lack of reprints in this set, and in the complete lack of any Modern staples. We were on such a great role with Mutavault in the core and Thoughtseize in Theros that I had hoped Born of the Gods was the abnormality. Nope. Le sigh.
I am deeply disappointed in the lack of reprints in this set, and in the complete lack of any Modern staples. We were on such a great role with Mutavault in the core and Thoughtseize in Theros that I had hoped Born of the Gods was the abnormality. Nope. Le sigh.
It's incredibly uncommon for them to do rare reprints in expert sets. If you look at the last 4 expert blocks (Theros, Return to Ravnica, Innistrad, and Scars of Mirrodin), there are a total of 3 rares that were reprints from previous sets (not counting the shock lands, which were reprinted because it was both a Ravnica set and because the shocks seriously needed a price drop). And of those 3 rares, one of them was the reprint of Mindslaver in Scars, which was a flavor reprint, since the block was set in Mirrodin.
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Duuude you're so wrong, best set since Innistrad, Modern playables (probably): Battlefield Thaumaturge, Prophetic Flamespeaker, red Eidolon, Athreos, Pharika, Tethmos High Priest... awesome
Look at the rares in JOU. Many of them are combat tricks.
For limited, I guess JOU is fine. Perhaps I may wanna skip BNG and play THS THS JOU instead.
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
However I do really like this set.. the big problem I found with BNG was that it was theros.. but worse.. this set clearly makes itself different
The big problem I had with Theros was its interactions were obvious and linear, it was a really balanced limited environment it just wasn't very deep. BNG didn't really help it much, It made red the one weak spot in Theros much better but it also confused drafting so much with the awful tap enchants that I get cut every draft and confused three almost four colour drafting goes on and I miss 3 theros.
It was similar in constructed... devotion is obvious how to build with it, nothing interesting just play with powerful cards, use devotion or use both.
This set however finally gives the depth and complexity missing from the whole block. Such interesting bestow cards that make you possibily bestow opponents creatures, cards that can be used defensive and offensively. Powerful ways to sup up heroic and bestow in constructed. Very interesting cards that scream build around me.. the sweet flash enchants of old favourite enchantments that look to open up new constructed ideas.
so yeah after HATING Born of the gods.... I think Journey to Nyx is theros block done right.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
Battlefield Thaumaturge depends on other cards to be good, therefor is bad for modern
Prophetic Flamespeaker is bad in modern, Bolt is around and this guy does nothing when he hits the board, it takes time, its a no go in modern
Athreos is a BIG MAYBE
Pharika no lol
Tethmos no
like Nyzzeh correctly said, Theros block sucks big time for Modern.
i dont expect goyfs in every set, but i do expect good cards, and if something is playable in Modern, trust me, it will be very good in Standard for sure.
Eidolon of the Great Revel MIGHT see some sideboard play but even that im not sure, same goes for Legacy format.
Right? It's such a nice-looking, colorful card too. At least give the thing 4 toughness. It IS a 5 drop.
Dovakin !
I looked at the art and imagined a powerfull wrath effect, but the Ass reference kinda makes up for the disappointment just fine ;P
The R/G token spell rare is a giant disappointment aswell. After getting Army of the Damned, this feels like its just silly for the cost its WAY to weak. It could easily produce like 7 tokens instead of 4, its hard enough to get anything good out of 2/2 tokens.
This set has so many cool little story cards, but the powerlevel is just horrible low ; and then on some rares they tryd to make up for this, which feels lazy.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
I'm pretty sure I'm sensing some sarcasm here. The funny thing is, Wizards apparently had the same idea back in 2009 when they started releasing yearly core sets instead of
bi-yearly. Personally, I wish they'd go back to bi-yearly, Wizards releases so much product these days its hard to keep up with, both financially and mentally. Unfortunately this seems to be going in the opposite direction with twice yearly duel decks, Premium Deck series, Commander, Planeschase, Archenemy, Conspiracy, Modern Masters, etc, etc, etc... I know Magic is a business, and businesses are supposed to make all the money they can, but I wonder if the market flood is good for the long term health of the game. I guess they know what they're doing though, after all they've been doing it successfully for 20 years now whereas I've been toiling away at my 9-5.
Edit: Again, I'm pretty sure you're joking about the Core Set thing, but I feel compelled to say, this list is including all Modern legal Core Sets, of which there are 8, most blocks only consist of 3 sets, therefore the Core Set card pool is much larger, which in turn gives Core Sets more opportunity to put cards into the top 300. Just sayin'.
Ha ha, no. There's a HUGE difference between dropping Canonist turn 2 vs. the new card on turn 3. The fact it survives bolt isn't that relevent because Storm decks will sideboard Pact of Slaughter or bounce spells for your problematic dudes.
Typical release schedule in a year looks like this (Starting with the core set):
July - Core Set
August - From the Vault
September - Duel Deck (acts as a preview for the fall set), Fall Set (start of the block)
November - Winter Supplement (currently Commander)
February - Set 2 in the Block
March - Duel Deck (planeswalkers, highlights the previous block, which will soon rotate out)
May - Set 3 in the block
June - Summer Supplement (Original Commander decks, Planechase, Conspiracy, Modern Masters, etc.)
It's important to note that lots of these releases are all reprints (from the vault, planeswalker duel deck, modern masters, etc.) Those that aren't are designed to appeal to different segments of the market (and different formats). Wizards releases to much product because they want to cover all their bases in terms of pleasing different types of players.
Some cards with deathtouch have reminder text, others don't. Sometimes Hexproof has reminder text, other times it doesn't. Doublestrike is reminder texted at one point, and not at another. Flash has reminder text on a few cards, but not the Dictates. Given that they didn't feel the need to do this previously in the block with evergreens, it seems overly bizarre. Doubly so given that there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to *why* and *where* they are applying it. Some rares with a given keyword have reminder text, while commons and uncommons with the same don't. And vice versa. Some keywords aren't even given reminder text at all.
I understand reminder text is often a necessary beast, but it creates clutter and isn't as attractive to look at. Given the level of knowledge assumed by expert level expansions, it's just not used much outside of new abilities. And yet here we are. Third set in a block giving reminder text to evergreen abilities extremely inconsistently without rhyme or reason as to why. It's an annoyance for me, really. Either do it consistently, or don't do it. Not everything needs reminder text.
While I'm not saying Battlefield Thaumaturge makes Modern 100% or anything, you can't look at cards like that. Don't be afraid to try out possibilities. That's how Goblin Electromancer in Storm was discovered, for example. It's now a 3-4 copy card in one of the most degenerate decks in the format. And on its own, its a UR Grizzly Bears. Synergies are a bit part of what make Modern so powerful (that and $200 Grizzly Bears).
Thaumaturge has a similar ability (cost reduction) but with very different implications for deck building. It may not get there no. But it's a 2/1 for 2 (Snap, Bob, etc) with an interesting ability, which doesn't make it scream UNPLAYABLE to me.
I Stream MTGO on Twitch: broodwarjc
I also post recordings of those streams on Youtube: broodwarjcavidgamer
Standard Deck:
BUPirates
Modern Deck:
B8-Rack
If Genesis Hydra is any indication of what to expect,
M15 could be the best core set in a long time.
I'm hoping so- I haven't liked one since M11.
Reprint Stasis!
Control needs more love.
EDH:
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Melek, Izzet Paragon
Oona, Queen of the Fae
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Rhys the Redeemed
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Sen Triplets
The Mimeoplasm
WUBRGSliver OverlordGRBUW
WUBRGSliver Hivelord(Superfriends)GRBUW
I'm pretty sure I'm sensing some sarcasm here. The funny thing is, Wizards apparently had the same idea back in 2009 when they started releasing yearly core sets instead of
bi-yearly. Personally, I wish they'd go back to bi-yearly, Wizards releases so much product these days its hard to keep up with, both financially and mentally. Unfortunately this seems to be going in the opposite direction with twice yearly duel decks, Premium Deck series, Commander, Planeschase, Archenemy, Conspiracy, Modern Masters, etc, etc, etc... I know Magic is a business, and businesses are supposed to make all the money they can, but I wonder if the market flood is good for the long term health of the game. I guess they know what they're doing though, after all they've been doing it successfully for 20 years now whereas I've been toiling away at my 9-5.
Edit: Again, I'm pretty sure you're joking about the Core Set thing, but I feel compelled to say, this list is including all Modern legal Core Sets, of which there are 8, most blocks only consist of 3 sets, therefore the Core Set card pool is much larger, which in turn gives Core Sets more opportunity to put cards into the top 300. Just sayin'. [/quote]
Thank god they got rid of the Premium Deck series.
In terms of this set it is just bad. The gods are not good, the will all be less than 5 dollars in a month. Nothing really good for EDH except Silence the Believers.
How To Keep Your FOIL Cards From Curling: http://youtu.be/QTmubrS8VnI
The Best Deck Boxes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEwgLph_Pjk
The Best Binders: http://youtu.be/H5IauASYWjk
There are some obviously powerful cards like Athreos, God of Passage, Iroas, God of Victory, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Eidolon of the Great Revel, Reprisal, and Banishing Light, but then there are cards like:
Launch the Fleet
Dakra Mystic
Aegis of the Gods
Brain Maggot
Bassara Tower Archer
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer (+ Rancor? Not bad...)
Riptide Chimera
Triton Shorestalker
Nyx-Fleece Ram
Crystalline Nautilus
Prophetic Flamespeaker
Hypnotic Siren
Master of the Feast
Dictate of Heliod
Dictate of Kruphix
Dictate of Erebos
Dictate of Karametra
Gnarled Scarhide
Mogis's Warhound
Hour of Need
Oppressive Rays (sort of like the Mana Leak of Pacifisms that also hits activated abilities...)
Kruphix's Insight
Spite of Mogis
Ritual of the Returned
Setessan Tactics
Squelching Leeches
Nyx Weaver
Disciple of Deceit
Pull from the Deep
Market Festival
Eidolon of Blossoms
Underworld Coinsmith
Hall of Triumph
Tormented Thoughts
Strength from the Fallen
Twinflame
Godsend
Sigiled Starfish
Pharika, God of Affliction (every time I hear this card's name, I imagine the god parading around in Affliction-brand clothing, like some Grecian Zoolander deity)
Most of these wont' be playable, but they're all cheap enough to cast and reasonably powerful in a theoretical sense, and many of them have totally unique effects. They're interesting. And that makes me happy.
Aspect of Gorgon and Felhide Petrifier as examples. Simply look at the text boxes. The minotaur has 7 lines of text without reminder, the aura 6 with reminder (the reminder itself adds a bit over one line). They try to put reminder whenever it fits, without making the card looking cluttered or needing to avert from the normal font size. That's all.
The did print cards with effects there were not in Modern before like:
Eidolon of the Great Revel = Pyrostatic Pillar
Reprisal which wasnt legal in Modern either
Just because they dont reprint staples and or print some ridiculous haymakers doesnt mean they dont give Modern new stuff.
It's incredibly uncommon for them to do rare reprints in expert sets. If you look at the last 4 expert blocks (Theros, Return to Ravnica, Innistrad, and Scars of Mirrodin), there are a total of 3 rares that were reprints from previous sets (not counting the shock lands, which were reprinted because it was both a Ravnica set and because the shocks seriously needed a price drop). And of those 3 rares, one of them was the reprint of Mindslaver in Scars, which was a flavor reprint, since the block was set in Mirrodin.