Wrenn and Six – Modern Horizons MTG Review

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

Wrenn and Six seem to be encouraging graveyard-based decks in red and green, which is an interesting new dimension. Having said that, decks like Dredge don’t really care so much about colors in general! Their abilities lend themselves to a slower style of play rather than the explosive offense Dredge is known for, but they are all subtly powerful. Their +1 is an extra Life from the Loam effect that an opponent will need to interact with in a different dimension from the original, and the ultimate enables some crazy powerful turns once you get there. While it’ll take time to build up to a point where you can use the former to truly fuel the latter, competitive Modern decks are also known for being heavy on fetchlands, so there is always likely to be something for them to do. Their -1 is the most straightforward, but keep their low mana cost in mind: it’s perfect for shooting down cards like Dark Confidant and Noble Hierarch before they get out of control. I’d say that Wrenn and Six have a lot of potential for tournament play, with the right support around them (and considering Modern now is bigger than Legacy was in 2003, there’s plenty to choose from!).

Construted: 3/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
EDH/Commander: 3/5

While Serra getting a planeswalker drew the most attention pre-release, Wrenn and Six is the one getting the most attention for constructed applications post-release. A good part of this is the fact that they’re the second two-mana planeswalker ever printed…and magnitudes better than the infamous Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded.

Coming in at 3 loyalty is already a pretty good place to be, particularly when their +1 pushes them out of bolt range. Recurring land cards is something that can be quite good in Modern, thanks to the ubiquity of fetch lands, and it even can be used to get back a cycling land in Limited. The -1 doesn’t look flashy, but it puts in work; Birds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch, Llanowar Elves, and Dark Confidant all go “splut” to one point of damage, and being able to aim it anywhere gives you the option to grind out games. The ultimate is a bit weird, but pairs well with the +1 and can end games then and there if you have a bunch of burn spells; going off at -7 means that this is a bit of a grind to get there, but coming down on turn two can help a lot that way!

Wrenn and Six is honestly pretty solid overall, providing good incremental advantage points for decks in red and green, be it as just a Gruul-colored deck or as something like a Naya, Temur, or Jund-colored deck. It can sort of protect itself, but coming out on turn two with a potential impact on the board will likely shape a lot of Modern, as creatures soft to Wrenn and Six may have a hard time keeping up.

Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 3.75
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander: 4.25