Modern Horizons 2

Modern Horizons 2

 

Art Series

 

Card comparisons

 

Trivia

 

Modern Horizons 2
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Modern Horizons 2 logo.png}}|250px]]
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description	Two Modern Horizons symbols overlapping each other
Design	Ethan Fleischer (lead) Aaron Forsythe Emily Teng Allison Steele Dan Musser
Development	Aaron Forsythe (lead) Corey Bowen Jadine Klomparens Michael Majors Dan Musser Ken Nagle Ryan Printz Adam Prosak Reggie Valk
Art direction	Cynthia Sheppard
Release date	June 18, 2021
Plane	Multiversal
Themes and mechanics	Modern power level, +1/+1 counters, Dakkon Blackblade, multicolor
Keywords/​ability words	Madness and multiple other
Set size	303 + 189 + 40
Expansion code	MH2
Development codename	Decadent
Straight-to-Modern sets
Modern Horizons Modern Horizons 2 The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
Secret Lair: Ultimate Edition 2 Modern Horizons 2 Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms

Modern Horizons 2, is a Magic booster set which was released on June 18, 2021. Like the first Modern Horizons, this straight-to-Modern set was print-to-demand.

Set details

Sketch showcase treatment.

Like Modern Horizons before, this set introduced new cards into Modern and eternal formats without them ever being legal in Standard. It features a host of powerful new toolbox cards, strong themes to try out, and several throwbacks. The set was unique in its development in that it brought in four high-profile Magic personalities (Zac Elsik, Sam Black, Brian Braun-Duin, and Brad Nelson, the latter two of whom were in the Magic Pro League at the time) to consult; Normally, those who have seen card files of future releases are forbidden from competitive play lest they gain an advantage by having foreknowledge of those cards.

This set contains 303 regular cards (101 commons, 100 uncommons, 78 rares, 24 mythic rares) and includes randomly inserted premium versions of all cards. New cards and in-Modern reprints are numbered #001-#261, while the New-to-Modern reprints are numbered #262-#303. Alternate card frames have another card number than the original version. Borderless planeswalkers are numbered #304-306, followed by the other borderless cards #307-326. The (54) showcase "sketch cards" are numbered #327-380. The (61) retro frame cards are #381-441 and cards with extended artwork are numbered #442-480 and Bundle basic lands are #481-490, the Buy-a-Box card is #491 and the Bundle promo is #492. MH1 retro frame cards (only found in Collector Boosters) are numbered separately #1-40 with no set code.

All five enemy colored fetch lands appear at rare in the set and can be found in regular Draft Boosters. The Set - and Collector Boosters include extended art versions and retro (pre-Modern) card frame treatments for the fetch lands and many other cards. Another frame treatment is seen on the showcase "sketch cards". These feature the artist's sketch of the main card artwork and only is featured for new cards. Instead of flavor text, they feature fragments from the art description that was sent to the artists when creating each card's artwork if space provides.

Modern Horizons II is also released on Magic Online. While the set was not released on MTG Arena, 128 cards included in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons were reprints from Modern Horizons II. In may 2024, the fetch lands of the set were released on MTG Arena through the Enemy Fetch Lands Anthology.

Storyline

MH2 Bundle featuring Dakkon Blackblade key art

There is no storyline associated with this set, but there are several Dakkon Blackblade-related cards.

Marketing

In addition to Draft Boosters, Modern Horizons II is sold in Set Boosters and Collector Boosters. As such, this is the first supplemental set to feature Set - and Collector Boosters. Each Set Booster contains a guaranteed traditional foil, an art card, a New-to-Modern reprint, and a guaranteed rare/mythic rare. Collector Boosters feature foil-etched, retro frame and sketch cards cards. Another first for a supplemental set is that it features a Modern Horizons II Bundle.

The Draft Boosters feature artwork from Dakkon Blackblade (key art), Geyadrone Dihada and Svyelun of Sea and Sky. The Collector Booster features artwork from Graceful Restoration, and the Set Booster from Chatterfang, Squirrel General.

MH2 Draft Booster featuring Geyadrone Dihada

MH2 Collector Booster box

With the release of Modern Horizons II, 50 cards were rotated into The List, many of which were thematically or mechanically linked to the set.

Version	Treatment	Draft Booster	Set Booster	Collector Booster
Non-foil	Regular
Non-foil	Borderless
Non-foil	Showcase sketch art
Non-foil	Showcase retro frame
Non-foil	Extended art
Non-foil	Card from The List
Non-foil	Art card
Traditional foil	Regular
Traditional foil	Borderless
Traditional foil	Showcase sketch art
Traditional foil	Showcase retro frame
Traditional foil	Extended art
Traditional foil	Showcase retro frame (MH1 reprint)
Traditional foil	Art card (stamped)
Traditional foil	Buy-a-Box promo
Traditional foil	Bundle promo (alternate art)
Foil-etched	Regular basic land
Foil-etched	Regular
Foil-etched	Showcase retro frame
Foil-etched	Showcase retro frame (MH1 reprint)

Events

• Magic Online release: June 3, 2021
• Tabletop Prerelease: June 11–17, 2021
  • MH2 is the first non-Standard set with Prerelease Packs.

Promotional cards

• Prerelease promo: One random foil-stamped card out of a total of 60 rares and 20 mythic rares, including all of the new Modern Horizons II rares and mythic rares as well as the enemy fetch lands.
• Buy-a-Box: exclusive foil alternate art Sanctum Prelate with retro frame.
  • Isn't found in any other Modern Horizons II product.
• Bundle promo: foil alternate art Yusri, Fortune's Flame

Tokens

Modern Horizons II features 21 tokens.

1. 1/1 Bird creature with flying, for Scour the Desert and Soul of Migration
2. 0/3 Crab creature, for Hard Evidence, Scuttletide, and Specimen Collector.
3. 0/0 Phyrexian Germ creature, for Batterbone, Kaldra Compleat and Nettlecyst.
4. 4/4 Eternalized Timeless Dragon.
5. 4/4 Eternalized Timeless Witness.
6. 2/2 Zombie creature, for Magus of the Bridge.
7. 0/0 Zombie Army creature, for Lazotep Chancellor.
8. 1/1 Goblin creature, for Goblin Traprunner.
9. 4/4 Beast creature, for Combine Chrysalis, Herd Baloth, and Hunting Pack
10. 5/3 Elemental creature, for Titania, Protector of Argoth.
11. 1/1 Squirrel creature, for Chatterfang, Squirrel General, Chatterstorm, Chitterspitter, Drey Keeper, Nested Shambler, Scurry Oak, Specimen Collector, Squirrel Sanctuary, Underworld Hermit, and Verdant Command.
12. 4/4 Golem artifact creature, for General Ferrous Rokiric.
13. 1/1 Insect creature, for Grist, the Hunger Tide.
14. Clue artifact, for Academy Manufactor, Fae Offering, Floodhound, Funnel-Web Recluse, Hard Evidence, Lonis, Cryptozoologist, Search the Premises, and Wavesifter
15. Clue artifact.
16. 0/0 Construct artifact creature with "This creature gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control," for Urza's Saga.
17. Food artifact, for Academy Manufactor, Fae Offering, Late to Dinner, Orchard Strider, Tireless Provisioner, and The Underworld Cookbook.
18. Food artifact.
19. 1/1 Thopter artifact creature with flying, for Barbed Spike, Breya's Apprentice, Etherium Spinner, Fairgrounds Patrol and Sweep the Skies.
20. Treasure artifact, for Academy Manufactor, Burdened Aerialist, Crack Open, Fae Offering, Jewel-Eyed Cobra, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Strike it Rich, Tavern Scoundrel, and Tireless Provisioner.
21. Treasure artifact.

Themes and mechanics

Modern Horizons II draft archetypes

The set was announced to have a higher power level and greater complexity with even more of what players loved in Modern Horizons. It had access to more mechanics, eventually featuring 59 named non-evergreen mechanics (listed here). Some of them are mixed and matched. In addition, it makes more use of legendary creatures and leans a little heavier into multicolor.

A new variant on an evergreen mechanic is Trample over planeswalkers (This creature can deal excess damage to the controller of the planeswalker it’s attacking).

With Caprichrome, the set also introduced the keyword variant Devour artifact, that changes the type that can be devoured from creatures to artifacts.

Junk Winder is the first card to feature Affinity for tokens.

Modern Horizons II features the following limited archetypes:

• : "Artifacts matter" (including Affinity) (Ethersworn Sphinx)
• : "Self-discard" matters (Lazotep Chancellor)
• : Madness aggro (Rakdos Headliner)
• : Storm (Road // Ruin)
• : +1/+1 counters (Arcus Acolyte)
• : Reanimator (Graceful Restoration)
• : Delirium (Prophetic Titan)
• : Sacrifice, Squirrel tribal (Ravenous Squirrel)
• : Modular artifact aggro (Arcbound Shikari)
• : Number of token types matters (Combine Chrysalis)
• : Converge

Card types

• Modern Horizons II introduces the Dakkon, Dihada and Grist planeswalker types, and reintroduces the Ranger creature type.
• Modern Horizons II introduces the first black-bordered enchantment land (Urza's Saga). It functions both as a Saga and a land until it is sacrificed.
• The set also sees the first new tribal card since Rise of the Eldrazi (Altar of the Goyf), and the first new Incarnations since Lorwyn.
• Squirrels is a strongly supported tribe in MH2.
• Tokens created by Living weapon are errataed into Phyrexian Germs.

Counter types

• The set introduces Corruption counters and Void counters.
• The set introduces Acorn counters on a non-acorn card.

Cycles

Modern Horizons II has at least nine cycles, including four double cycles one vertical cycle, and a pair.

Cycle name
Evoke Incarnations	Solitude	Subtlety	Grief	Fury	Endurance
	Five mythic rare Elemental Incarnation creatures, each with an evoke cost of exiling a card of the same color from your hand (i.e. a pitch spell.)
Suspend spells	Resurgent Belief (Replenish)	Inevitable Betrayal (Bribery)	Profane Tutor (Demonic Tutor)	Glimpse of Tomorrow (Warp World)	Gaea's Will (Yawgmoth's Will)
	Five rare sorceries with suspend, no mana cost, and an effect of a powerful spell from Magic's past. Sol Talisman does the same thing for Sol Ring.
Converge spells	Prismatic Ending	Sweep the Skies	Radiant Epicure	Kaleidoscorch	Glinting Creeper
	Five uncommon spells with converge.
Basic landcyclers	Landscaper Colos	Mental Journey	World-Weary	Battle Plan	Orchard Strider
	Five common high cost spells with basic landcycling M.
Cycle name
Enemy color fetch lands	Marsh Flats	Scalding Tarn	Verdant Catacombs	Arid Mesa	Misty Rainforest
	Each of these rare lands can be sacrificed along with a payment of 1 life to search for one of two basic land types. Reprinted from Zendikar.

Double cycles

Cycle name
Rare spells	Moderation	Master of Death	Asmoranomardica-daistinaculdacar	Territorial Kavu	Sythis, Harvest's Hand	Priest of Fell Rites	Yusri, Fortune's Flame	Carth the Lion	General Ferrous Rokiric	Lonis, Cryptozoologist
	Ten rare spells.
Uncommon signposts	Ethersworn Sphinx	Lazotep Chancellor	Rakdos Headliner	Road // Ruin	Arcus Acolyte	Graceful Restoration	Prophetic Titan	Ravenous Squirrel	Arcbound Shikari	Combine Chrysalis
	Ten uncommon spells, each one a signpost for its respective draft archetype.
Common signposts	Chrome Courier	Dihada's Ploy	Terminal Agony	Goblin Anarchomancer	Captured by Lagacs	Breathless Knight	Storm God's Oracle	Drey Keeper	Foundry Helix	Wavesifter
	Ten common spells, each one a signpost for its respective draft archetype.
Bridges	Razortide Bridge	Mistvault Bridge	Drossforge Bridge	Slagwoods Bridge	Thornglint Bridge	Goldmire Bridge	Silverbluff Bridge	Darkmoss Bridge	Rustvale Bridge	Tanglepool Bridge
	Ten common artifact taplands with indestructible.

Pairs

Mirrored Pair		Description
Out of Time ()	Suspend ()	Rare temporary creature removal spells that utilize time counters and the associating mechanics with them, vanishing and suspend respectively, in opposite ways. Out of Time is a board wipe while Suspend targets only a single creature.
Said // Done ()	Fast // Furious ()	Split cards with sorcery in one half and an instant in the other.

Vertical Cycles

Cycle name
Living Weapons	Batterbone	Nettlecyst	Kaldra Compleat
	3 living weapon artifact equipment cards that are callbacks to other cards.

Mega-mega cycles

The Mirran swords mega-mega cycle gets an allied colored addition.

• Sword of Hearth and Home

Reprints

48 of the cards in the set are reprints, of which 43 are new to Modern. The latter all have a watermark of their original printing's set symbol, similar to Masters 25; except for Sanctum Prelate, which is only printed in the retro frame. These reprints occupy a unique slot in boosters.

Card	New to Modern	First printed	Last seen	Retro frame variant	Extended art variant	Borderless variant	Notes
Angelic Curator		Urza's Legacy	Urza's Legacy				First ever reprint; common to uncommon.
Arid Mesa		Zendikar	Zendikar Rising Expeditions
Bone Shredder		Urza's Legacy	Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs. The Coalition
Braids, Cabal Minion		Odyssey	Eternal Masters
Cabal Coffers		Torment	Planechase				Uncommon to mythic rare.
Chainer, Nightmare Adept		Commander 2019	Commander 2019				First ever reprint; mythic rare to rare.
Chance Encounter		Odyssey	Odyssey				First ever reprint; new art; new flavor text.
Counterspell		Alpha	Mystical Archive				Centralized rules text.
Cursed Totem		Mirage	Sixth Edition				New art; new flavor text.
Enchantress's Presence		Onslaught	Commander 2018
Extruder		Urza's Destiny	Urza's Destiny				First-ever reprint.
Fire // Ice		Apocalypse	Mystery Booster				Common to rare.
Flame Rift		Nemesis	Nemesis				First ever reprint; common to uncommon; new art; new flavor text.
Goblin Bombardment		Tempest	Mystery Booster				Uncommon to rare.
Gorilla Shaman		Alliances	Coldsnap/Theme decks
Greed		Legends	Commander 2021
Hunting Pack		Scourge	Commander 2020				New art; new flavor text.
Imperial Recruiter		Portal Three Kingdoms	Double Masters				New art on the borderless version.
Karmic Guide		Urza's Legacy	Commander Anthology
Marsh Flats		Zendikar	Zendikar Rising Expeditions
Millikin		Odyssey	Mystery Booster				New art; new flavor text.
Mirari's Wake		Judgment	Commander 2017
Mishra's Factory		Antiquities	Double Masters
Misty Rainforest		Zendikar	Zendikar Rising Expeditions
Mogg Salvage		Nemesis	Nemesis				First-ever reprint.
Nevinyrral's Disk		Alpha	Commander Legends
Patchwork Gnomes		Tempest	Ultimate Masters				Common to uncommon.
Patriarch's Bidding		Onslaught	Onslaught				First ever reprint; new art; new flavor text.
Quirion Ranger		Visions	Visions				First-ever reprint.
Riptide Laboratory		Onslaught	The List				New flavor text.
Sanctum Prelate		Conspiracy: Take the Crown	Conspiracy: Take the Crown				First ever reprint; new art; new flavor text; buy-a box promo.
Scalding Tarn		Zendikar	Zendikar Rising/Expeditions
Sea Drake		Portal Second Age	Portal Second Age				First ever reprint; new flavor text.
Seal of Cleansing		Nemesis	Mystery Booster				Common to uncommon.
Seal of Removal		Nemesis	Nemesis				First ever reprint; common to uncommon.
Shardless Agent		Planechase 2012	Mystery Booster				Uncommon to rare.
Skirge Familiar		Urza's Saga	Urza's Saga				First ever reprint; new art; new flavor text.
Solitary Confinement		Judgment	Judgment				First-ever reprint.
Soul Snare		Commander	Commander 2021				New art; new flavor text.
Squirrel Mob		Odyssey	Secret Lair Drop Series: Secretversary
Sterling Grove		Invasion	Invasion				First ever reprint; uncommon to rare.
Titania, Protector of Argoth		Commander 2014	Commander Anthology
Upheaval		Odyssey	From the Vault: Annihilation
Verdant Catacombs		Zendikar	Zendikar Rising/Expeditions
Vindicate		Apocalypse	Masters 25				Centralized rules text.
Wonder		Judgement	Eternal Masters				New art, uncommon to rare; new flavor text.
Yavimaya Elder		Urza's Destiny	Commander Legends				Common to uncommon.
Zuran Orb		Ice Age	From the Vault: Relics				New art; new flavor text.

MH1 reprints

There are also 40 retro frame reprints of MH1 favorites: they are reprinted with the MH1 set symbol and aren't part of MH2 proper. These are only available through Collector Boosters as foils or etched foils, and all commons are upshifted to uncommon.

• Archmage's Charm
• Ayula, Queen Among Bears
• Changeling Outcast
• Deep Forest Hermit
• Defile
• Ephemerate
• Etchings of the Chosen
• Faerie Seer
• Force of Negation
• Force of Vigor
• Generous Gift
• Giver of Runes
• Goblin Engineer
• Hall of Heliod's Generosity
• Ice-Fang Coatl
• Ingenious Infiltrator
• King of the Pride
• Lavabelly Sliver
• Llanowar Tribe
• Magmatic Sinkhole
• Plague Engineer
• Prismatic Vista
• Ranger-Captain of Eos
• Scale Up
• Shenanigans
• Sisay, Weatherlight Captain
• Soulherder
• Sword of Sinew and Steel
• Sword of Truth and Justice
• Talisman of Conviction
• Talisman of Creativity
• Talisman of Curiosity
• Talisman of Hierarchy
• Talisman of Resilience
• The First Sliver
• Tribute Mage
• Undead Augur
• Universal Automaton
• Urza, Lord High Artificer
• Weather the Storm

Changes in rarity

Mythic rare to rare

• Chainer, Nightmare Adept (Commander 2019)

Rare to uncommon

• Counterspell (Mystical Archive)
• Ephemerate (Mystical Archive)

Rare to common

• Abundant Harvest (Mystical Archive)

Uncommon to mythic rare

• Cabal Coffers (Torment)

Uncommon to rare

• Goblin Bombardment (Tempest)
• Shardless Agent (Planechase 2012)
• Sterling Grove (Invasion)
• Wonder (Judgment)

Common to rare

• Fire // Ice (Mystery Booster)

Common to uncommon

• Angelic Curator (Urza's Legacy)
• Faerie Seer (Modern Horizons)
• Flame Rift (Nemesis)
• Patchwork Gnomes (Tempest)
• Quirion Ranger (Visions)
• Shenanigans (Modern Horizons)
• Seal of Cleansing (Nemesis)
• Seal of Removal (Nemesis)
• Universal Automaton (Modern Horizons)
• Yavimaya Elder (Urza's Destiny)

Notes

^* MH1 reprint

Notable cards

• Aeve, Progenitor Ooze is the first creature with storm.
• Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar is the first creature spell with no mana cost, due to its name being too long.
• Dermotaxi is the first vehicle without crew.
• Fast // Furious may be seen as a nod to the series of movies of the same name.
• Imperial Recruiter's new borderless art depicts Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Pestermite, a well known combo with the recruiter.
• Parcel Myr is the first nontoken Clue.
• Power Depot is the first non-creature artifact with modular.
• Urza's Saga is an enchantment land and another in the line of cards with the name of a set. Its subtypes create a stealthy pun that also forms the name of the set and refers to the Urzatron lands.

Banned and restricted cards

• Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer stood out as a powerful first-turn play that is often considered to be extremely dangerous to be hit with even once due to the Treasure given. While still hugely impactful in Modern and Vintage, Legacy's specific line of Volcanic Island, Ragavan, and Daze was considered too much to bear. It was banned in January 2022, and later pre-emptively banned in Historic when it was introduced to Arena through Multiverse Legends.
• Fury was a format-defining card immediately, along with its cycle of Elementals, as a manaless anti-creature measure. However, unlike the other four, it was also an extremely fast clock, especially in conjunction with Undying Evil and adjacent effects; games could be stolen by simply casting a 4/4 double strike on turn 1 for the price of two other cards. The opportunity cost to do so meant that any creatures it could also kill were driven from the format, so it was banned in December 2023 from Modern.
• Galvanic Relay and Chatterstorm were lower-powered Storm payoffs for various formats, weaker versions of Mind's Desire and Empty the Warrens respectively. That said, Pauper's storm engine is still sufficiently powerful that these needed to join the list of common Storm cards that were banned. Chatterstorm was banned in September 2021, and Galvanic Relay was banned in March 2022.
• Sojourner's Companion is a strictly better Myr Enforcer through its landcycling ability, which upped the consistency of Pauper Affinity decks by finding the new Bridge lands. While in itself not the biggest threat, it was banned in September 2021 to slightly depower Affinity decks in a way that doesn't neuter them entirely.

Callbacks

Many cards in Modern Horizons II reference older cards.

Card	Inspired by	Notes
Abundant Harvest	Abundance	A single triggering of Abundance in sorcery form.
Aeromoeba	Aquamoeba	A larger, flying Aquamoeba, with a similar flavor text scheme and abilities.
Altar of the Goyf	Tarmogoyf, Akroma's Memorial	A tribal Lhurgoyf card, which boosts it for most of Tarmogoyf's stats. Tribal was the least-populous type at the time and all were poor fits for a Tarmogoyf deck, giving an extra way to do so. It's also an artifact that grants creatures the ability of a popular card, similar to how Akroma's Memorial grants creatures the abilities of Akroma, Angel of Wrath.
Arcbound Javelineer	Icatian Javelineers	Javelineers, with similar artworks, enter with a counter that can be removed to deal 1 damage.
Arcbound Slasher	Slash Panther	4M, 4-power red artifact cat creatures with haste. The Slasher can trade haste for an extra +1/+1 counter.
Arcbound Whelp	Furnace Whelp	An artificial Furnace Whelp.
Archfiend of Sorrows	Drown in Sorrow	A Demon that casts Drown in Sorrow at your opponents. The color scheme is similar.
Archon of Cruelty	Cruel Ultimatum, Grave Titan	A 6/6 Archon that casts a portion of Cruel Ultimatum with a "Titan trigger."
Batterbone	Batterskull	Both are living weapons with vigilance and lifelink. The new card is a cheaper and smaller version of the older card, with a diminutive naming scheme to match.
Blacksmith's Skill	Karametra's Blessing	pump spells that are identically powerful for particular dual-typed creatures, but with the primary and secondary effects inverted.
Blazing Rootwalla	Basking Rootwalla	Both are one-mana 1/1 Lizards with madness and a once-per-turn pump ability.
Blessed Respite	Fog, Gaea's Blessing, Respite	A merging of Fog and Gaea's Blessing, both in art and abilities; with its name taken from Respite, which also has a fog effect.
Bloodbraid Marauder	Bloodbraid Elf	Another Bloodbraid creature that can cascade, if you have delirium.
Blossoming Calm	Blossoming Defense	Effectively casts Blossoming Defense on a player, the two life mirroring the +2 toughness.
Bone Shards	Bone Splinters	A more versatile Bone Splinters.
Bottle Golems	Bottle Gnomes	3-toughness artifact creatures that gain life upon death with similar art, flavor text and abilities.
Brainstone	Mind Stone and Brainstorm	A Mind Stone for Brainstorm.
Breya's Apprentice	Breya, Etherium Shaper, Loyal Apprentice	A loyal apprentice to Breya that is smaller, less flexible, and mono-red (ironically, the color not present in Esper, Breya's birthplace). The way Breya's Apprentice makes Thopter tokens is similar to the similarly-named Loyal Apprentice.
Break The Ice	Sinkhole	land destruction spells.
Cabal Initiate	Putrid Imp	Black creatures that can discard cards for a keyword and gain stats when Threshold is achieved.
Calibrated Blast	Erratic Explosion, Explosive Revelation	An Erratic Explosion that swaps the choosing and revealing, allowing it to be calibrated to the appropriate target - ironically, the new version randomizes the revealed cards whereas the previous template allowed selection. The same mana cost as Erratic Explosion and the card advantage of the flashback ability is reflected in the flashback cost being the same as Explosive Revelation, which drew the revealed card.
Captain Ripley Vance	Vance's Blasting Cannons	Both triggering after the third spell, with the Captain's damaging effect similar to Spitfire Bastion's activated ability.
Caprichrome	Atog and its family	A more conventional play on the urban legend of goats eating tin cans - this rumor was the inspiration of the Atog mechanical lineage.
Captured by Lagacs	Saddleback Lagac	Green spells that Support 2 upon entry. The name was intended to semi-rhyme like the original, but the playtest name ended up sticking.
Chatterstorm	Chatter of the Squirrel and Crow Storm	A storm version of Chatter of the Squirrel, similar to Crow Storm
Chef's Kiss	Wild Ricochet	Spells that copy and reselect the targets of a spell. Given the blowout potential, it seems to be named after the memetic phrase of when something goes perfectly.
Dakkon, Shadow Slayer	Dakkon Blackblade	The number of loyalty counters Dakkon, Shadow Slayer enters with is determined by the number of lands you control, like the original Dakkon Blackblade's power/toughness.
Damn	Damnation, Wrath of God	A smaller version of Damnation, which can overload into Wrath of God.
Dauthi Voidwalker	Dauthi Slayer, Leyline of the Void	An aggressive shadow creature coupled with a graveyard hate ability.
Diamond Lion	Lion's Eye Diamond	Both artifacts force the controller to sacrifice the permanent and discard their hand to add three mana of one color. References Afari, author of the Tales of Jamuraa, for the first since Visions. The lion's pendant matches the earring in the original art.
Disciple of the Sun	Sun Titan	Sun Titan's disciple with lifelink and a cheaper cost but a downgraded ability from the titan itself.
Drey Keeper	Deranged Hermit	Both create Squirrel tokens and pump Squirrels. "Drey" and "deranged" are partial homonyms.
Dress Down	Snakeform, Turn to Frog	Reverses the trope where a polymorphed person no longer fits their clothing from the change in size, in that the creature doesn't change size but loses its "clothing" all the same. Has Flash as a pun regarding the exposing of oneself in a quick manner.
Echoing Return	Echoing Decay et al	Another spell dealing with cards of the same name, a first to target off the battlefield.
Endurance	Gaea's Blessing	A graveyard-removing pitch spell that affects all the cards in the target player's graveyard, instead of just three.
Esper Sentinel	Ethersworn Canonist, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben	A new hatebear modeled after two of the most iconic; an artifact creature with conservative Esper leanings, and a Human Soldier that taxes noncreature spells.
Etherium Spinner	Thopter Foundry	Almost an anti-reference in flavor text: Etherium Spinner encourages expensive spells to make thopters, deriding the cheap, expendable artifacts desired for a Thopter Foundry.
Faithless Salvaging	Faithless Looting	A draw-and-discard spell, but rearranged to fit Red looting, or rummaging. Salvaging compensates for Looting's cheaper cost by being an instant, while the Rebound ability mimics Flashback.
Flame Blitz	Curse of Opulence et al	Depicts The Unluckiest.
Flametongue Yearling	Flametongue Kavu	A young Flametongue Kavu who can pump itself to deal higher damage when it enters the battlefield. The picture matches the original art.
Flay Essence	Parting Thoughts	3-mana black sorcery removal spells with a bonus based on the target's counters.
Fodder Tosser	Fodder Cannon	Damaging artifacts that (directly or otherwise) cost cards, with instructions to use cousins as fodder.
Foundry Helix	Warleader's Helix, Sacred Foundry	A cheaper Warleader's Helix if an artifact is sacrificed; the name refers to the Boros shockland, whose name generally had little to do with the Boros.
Fractured Sanity	Sanity Grinding, Decree of Justice et al	A card that if cycled has a similar but lesser effect than if it was hard cast, like the decrees. The spell takes the mana cost, name, and effect (milling) from Sanity Grinding.
Fury	Forked Lightning, Pyrokinesis	Pyrokinesis on a cheaper, Evoke stick. One of two in the cycle to directly mimic a pitch spell, though the article cites a later, non-pitch version.
Gaea's Will	Yawgmoth's Will	A green suspended Will with updated templating, referencing the Time Spiral costless suspend cycle.
Gargadon	Greater Gargadon, Lesser Gargadon	A smaller Greater Gargadon in name, art, and suspend ability. The lack of an adjective makes it come off as entirely average, given the lack of drawback or combo potential.
Garth One-Eye	Black Lotus, Disenchant, Braingeyser, Terror, Shivan Dragon, Regrowth	A character from the lore in 1994, shown to master five colors of magic - and so, has six iconic spells from all colors plus artifacts. Foreshadowed by Growth Charm and Tibalt the Chaotic.
General Ferrous Rokiric	Hero of Precinct One	A powered-up Hero, also from Ravnica. The art style is similar; a figure flanked by its summoned tokens.
Ghost-Lit Drifter	Shinen of Flight's Wings, Ghost-Lit Warder, Arashi, the Sky Asunder	A composite of all three channel designs - the function of the common, the name of the uncommon, and the single/X-to-all of the rare.
Glimmer Bairn	Gilder Bairn, Atog	Both Ouphes have art by Nils Hamm. Glimmer Bairn's token-sacrificing self-pump ability is similar to Atog's artifact-sacrificing self-pump ability.
Glimpse of Tomorrow	Warp World, Ancestral Vision	A one-sided Warp World, with suspend cost and art direction similar to Ancestral Vision.
Goblin Anarchomancer	Goblin Electromancer	Ravnican Goblins that make two distinct categories of cards cheaper. Both are important Storm enablers.
Grief	Coercion, Unmask	Unmask on an Evoke stick. One of two in the cycle to directly mimic a pitch spell. Like Coercion, Grief reveals the target player's hand and has its controller choose a card to discard from the revealed hand.
Healer's Flock	Healer's Hawk, Llanowar Tribe	Three Healer's Hawks stuck together, with all that entails. Unlike the previous "triple" creature, the abilities are not cumulative.
Hell Mongrel	Wild Mongrel	Dogs who discard cards to pump themselves. Hell Mongrel's Madness ability is a reference to how Wild Mongrel enabled the UG Madness deck and allowed cards with Madness to be played at instant speed.
Ignoble Hierarch	Noble Hierarch	Jund's answer to Noble Hierarch, the other shard where Green is off-center. The art forms a mirror in the staff, as does the flavor text.
Inevitable Betrayal	Bribery, Mahamoti Djinn	A cheaper costed Bribery, also referencing the costless suspend cycle, depicting the Djinn.
Jade Avenger	Chub Toad, bushido	A Frog Samurai playing off the joke that Chub Toad had Bushido 2 long before it was keyworded (and thus should be a Samurai). Similar flavor text.
Kaldra Compleat	Helm of Kaldra, Shield of Kaldra, Sword of Kaldra	A mockery of the Avatar Kaldra, with a Germ inhabiting the entire equipment rather than the 4/4 Avatar wearing three pieces.
Legion Vanguard	Viscera Seer, Tomb Robber	Like Viscera Seer, a Vampire who can sacrifice a creature to manipulate the top of the library, both using the entrails (guts in flavor text, viscera in name). Also, a Dusk Legion counterpart to the pirate Tomb Robber, that too explores by expending cards.
Lightning Spear	Searing Spear, Lightning Javelin	Plays off the tendency for red burn spells to be named like weapons, now being actual equipment. All of them can be "thrown" for 3 damage.
Liquimetal Torque	Liquimetal Coating	Same mana value, art style, and ability to turn nonland permanents into artifacts.
Magus of the Bridge	Bridge from Below	Bridge from Below on legs.
Marble Gargoyle	Granite Gargoyle	A color shifted version (and also made an artifact) of the original Gargoyle, which was a color bend in Alpha, as Red does not get small fliers nor the toughness pumping ability. A second paragraph on gargoyles from Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar's Underworld Cookbook makes up the flavor text.
Mine Collapse	Cave-In, Thunderclap	A mixing of the free spell costs from Mercadian Masques.
Monoskelion	Serrated Biskelion, Triskelion	A smaller Triskelion, only having 1/3 the counters and 1/3 the mana cost. The name follows suit of previous -skelion artifact creatures.
Necrogoyf	Lhurgoyf, Necrogen Mists	A Lhurgoyf that feeds itself and others like it with its discard ability similar to Necrogen Mists.
Nested Shambler	Nested Ghoul	A zombie that keeps other creatures inside its chest cavity.
Nettlecyst	All That Glitters, living weapon	An equipment version of All That Glitters.
Nykthos Paragon	Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Spear of Heliod	Gives an anthem effect (like the Spear) whenever its controller gains life, like Heliod's second iteration.
Ornithopter of Paradise	Ornithopter, Birds of Paradise	The two combined into one, though losing the cheap mana aspect that made them Constructed staples.
Out of Time	Parallax Wave	Enchantments that remove creatures until they later expire, but with opposite purposes: Parallax Wave is a precision tool for creature decks, while Out of Time is a board wipe with a downside.
Parcel Myr	Gingerbrute, Investigate	Much like how Gingerbrute is the first creature that is Food-typed, Parcel Myr is the first Clue spell, both with the ability on the associated token.
Phantasmal Dreadmaw	Colossal Dreadmaw (Rivals of Ixalan), Phantasmal Dragon	An Illusion version of Colossal Dreadmaw that sacrifices itself upon being targeted. Captain Storm supplies similar quotes about its terrifying visage.
Persist	Persist, Animate Dead	Akin to the return of a creature with Persist after its first death, plus the -1/-0 that the reanimated creature has with Animate Dead. Part of a new trend of mechanic-named cards.
Piru, the Volatile	Legends Elder dragons cycle (Chromium, etc.)	Another of the Elder Dragons of Dominaria, with the same styled mana cost and upkeep cost, who was the life partner of Chromium Rhuell and slain by Dakkon Blackblade. The template used for the elder dragon cycle in Legends is updated to modern power level standards to give players a reason not to pay the upkeep cost of the costly creature. In Piru's case, is to cause a board wipe to nonlegendary creatures, making the downside a way to gain access to the upside.
Profane Tutor	Demonic Tutor, the costless suspend spells from Time Spiral	A spell with no mana cost and both a suspend cost and effect that mirrors Demonic Tutor.
Prophetic Titan	Prophetic Bolt	If you have delirium, the Titan is Prophetic Bolt on a stick.
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer	Kari Zev, Skyship Raider	Kari's pet, striking out on their own: the dash ability resembles Kari's ability to have Ragavan enter only for combat.
Raving Visionary	Epiphany Storm, Prophetic Ravings	Raving Visionary's first activated ability is the blue variant of the two rummaging auras: one for Therosian flavor and lightning-eyes artwork, and one for the name reference.
Resurgent Belief	Replenish	Replenish as a costless Suspend spell.
Revolutionist	Anarchist	A larger Anarchist that can also get instants and has madness.
Rift Sower	Search for Tomorrow	The "searcher of tomorrow" as depicted, with the same mana and suspend costs.
Rise and Shine	Animating Faerie	Bring to Life on its own, and with overload.
Rishadan Dockhand	Rishadan Port	Rishadan Port on a stick.
Sanctifier en-Vec	Paladin en-Vec	En-Vecs who hate on black and red.
Sanctum Weaver	Serra's Sanctum	Both have a similar mana ability that scales with the number of enchantments.
Scion of Draco	Draco, Scion of the Ur-Dragon	Artifact dragons simliar in name, art, and domain mana value reduction ability. Scion of Draco is Draco's own Scion of the Ur-Dragon.
Search the Premises	Thraben Inspector	White cards that investigate - the inspector is the right-most of the searchers in the art, holding another gnarled mass of roots.
Serra's Emissary	Iona, Shield of Emeria	7/7 Flying Angels with in their cost that both "lock out" entire categories of cards upon entry.
Sinister Starfish	Sigiled Starfish	Colorshifted from blue to black. 1M 0/3 Starfishes that look at the top card of the library and put them elsewhere if the controller chooses to.
Skyblade's Boon	Gryff's Boon, Sephara, Sky's Blade	Auras that pump and grant flying with an activated ability that can return them from the graveyard. In a way, Skyblade's Boon is Sephara's own Gryff's Boon.
Sol Talisman	Mox Tantalite, Sol Ring	A Sol Ring which has been given the Mox Tantalite treatment, in name, art, and suspend ability.
Solitude	Swords to Plowshares	An Evoke-pitch spell, using Swords as a basis. Because the original spell is an instant, this spell has flash.
Spreading Insurrection	Insurrection	Mass-stealing spells, both in name, art, and flavor text.
Squirrel Sovereign	Goblin King (Fifth Edition)	Lords with similar flavor texts involving taking the position of authority by force.
Steel Dromedary	Quarry Hauler	Camels who are involved with counters.
Step Through	Vedalken Aethermage	First reuse of wizardcycling.
Subtlety	Hinder, Force of Negation	Counterspells that put target spells on top of their owner's library. Subtlety only focuses on creature or planeswalker spells, to counterpoint the previous pitch spell's non-creature spells.
Sudden Edict	Diabolic Edict, Sudden Death	Another edict with the naming convention and split-frame art style of the split second spells. Flavor text is vaguely reminiscent of Sudden Death.
Suspend	Delay, Suspend	Spells that forcibly grant suspend to a target - another in the series of mechanic-named cards.
Svyelun of Sea and Sky	Svyelunite Temple, Svyelunite Priest	The goddess of Merfolk from Fallen Empires, granting Ward rather than the shroud of Svyelunite Priest.
Sylvan Anthem	Crusade, Season of Growth	Colorshifted Crusade with the scrying ability of Season of Growth.
Sythis, Harvest's Hand	Karametra, God of Harvests	Karametra's acolyte with an ability that triggers upon casting an enchantment spell instead of a creature spell.
Tavern Scoundrel	Tavern Swindler	Tavern-residing creatures who flip coins for a reward that's double its activated ability cost.
Terminal Agony	Terminate	Creature-destroying spells with similar artwork depicting a Sun Titan-like figure. Terminal Agony's Madness cost is Terminate's mana cost and will be also an instant if Madness is used.
Thought Monitor	Thoughtcast	Thoughtcast on a stick.
Thraben Watcher	Always Watching	One of the watchers depicted in Always Watching, who also shares the buffing lord-like ability.
Timeless Dragon	Eternal Dragon	Both creatures are 5/5 Dragons with flying, plainscycling , and an ability that moves the dragon from the graveyard to another zone. The first creature with eternalize to return smaller than the original stats.
Timeless Witness	Eternal Witness	Similar in art and Regrowth-like ability, the second card to play off the use of Eternal in its name by giving it eternalize.
Tireless Provisioner	Tireless Tracker	Instead of Clues and a buff ability, produces Food and Treasure tokens from the landfall ability.
Tizerus Charger	Underworld Charger	3-power Charger creatures that escape for .
Tormod's Cryptkeeper	Tormod's Crypt	Tormod's Crypt on a stick.
Tourach, Dread Cantor	Hymn to Tourach, Order of the Ebon Hand	Tourach himself: the kicker effect is Hymn to Tourach, while his stats as a 2MV 2/1 with protection from white reflects his alliance with the Ebon Praetor.
Tourach's Canticle	Hymn to Tourach	Another song dedicated to Tourach, also involves random discard.
Tragic Fall	Tragic Slip	A larger Tragic Slip that gets stronger with Hellbent instead of Morbid.
Underworld Hermit	Deranged Hermit, Evangel of Heliod	Creates Squirrel tokens equal to your devotion to black. Mana cost, ability, and art direction very similar to Evangel of Heliod.
Unholy Heat	Alchemist's Greeting	Burn spells involving alchemists from Innistrad using flames to attack, as Delirium was an Innistrad mechanic.
Unmarked Grave	Entomb	An Entomb for nonlegendary cards. Reflects how the most popular reanimation targets (Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Griselbrand, Iona, Shield of Emeria) are all legendary.
Vectis Gloves	Trailblazer's Boots	Equipment that grant a specific nonbasic type of landwalk.
Verdant Command	Primal Command et al	A modal spell in the vein of the original commands with similar art.
Vile Entomber	Entomb	Both cards tutor a card directly into the graveyard. The rising hand in Entomb is in the background of Vile Entomber.
Void Mirror	Nether Void	A permanent that counters spells symmetrically. The shape of the relic matches the wisps in the void.
Wavesifter	Mulldrifter	Blue Flying Evoke Elemental piscine creatures that generate two cards worth of card advantage upon entering the battlefield.
Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth	Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth	A legendary land that causes all lands to be treated as a specific basic land type, in addition to their other types, based on a famous location on Dominaria.
Young Necromancer	Young Pyromancer, Liliana Vess	A young spellcaster who imitates a famous planeswalker and wears a brooch with her face on it, similar to Young Pyromancer.

Reception

As of October 2022, Modern Horizons II was the best-selling Magic set of all time. It became MTG’s first $200 million set in the first quarter of 2023.

External links

• Mark Rosewater (June 21,2021). "Odds & Ends: Modern Horizons 2, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Mark Rosewater (June 28,2021). "Odds & Ends: Modern Horizons 2, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.