Nearly all formats of Magic: the Gathering have established decks or archetypes, from booster draft Limited to Modern, Legacy and beyond. In fact, cards that are great for the Modern meta are awkward to use in Standard or kitchen table Magic, and vice versa.

That may sound abstract, but once a new Modern player familiarizes themselves with Modern's typical decks and cards, they'll choose their own cards to suit the meta. Modern decks often deal with graveyard synergy, casting lots of non-creature spells in one turn, going wide, using powerful activated abilities, or using one- or two-drop spells, so a good Modern card will 'expect' the opposition to play that way. In addition, good Modern cards will have the meta in mind, whether they end up in the mainboard or the 15-card sideboard. Cards that cost 4-5 mana should be powerful enough to dominate the board, and cards with CMC of 6+ seldom see play unless they are cheated in somehow, such as a quick reanimation combo or a tutor effect (or the notorious Tron deck). Even an intrinsically slow deck, such as a midrange deck or a control deck, will want low-cost spells to cast from turn 1 onwards. What qualifications should a Modern card have? This format calls for cards that have a CMC, or converted mana cost, of 3 or lower. RELATED: Magic: The Gathering - What Converted Mana Cost Means

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