Modern Horizons 1 absolutely torn up the landscape of what the Modern and Legacy formats looked like following its release. Cards like Wrenn and Six, Arcum's Astrolabe, and Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis devastated these formats and even beyond for some time after the set's release. When Modern Horizons 2 was announced, it was met with as much trepidation as it was excitement. This set offered even more earth-shatteringly powerful cards, many of which were relegated to the mythic rarity. Many of these mythics proved so powerful they were even banned, and today we're going to rank them all!

Let's get straight to it!

• 25. Geyadrone Dihada
• 24. Dakkon, Shadow Slayer
• 23. Sanctum Prelate
• 22. Thrasta, Tempest's Roar
• 21. Garth One-Eye
• 20. Sword of Hearth and Home
• 19. Mirari's Wake
• 18. Serra's Emissary
• 17. Imperial Recruiter
• 16. Chatterfang, Squirrel General
• 15. Svyelun of Sea and Sky
• 14. Titania, Protector of Argoth
• 13. Tourach, Dread Cantor
• 12. Kaldra Compleat
• 11. Cabal Coffers

Number Ten

Grist is almost more of an interesting design than it is a good card. The fact that Grist is a creature anywhere except the battlefield opens it up to unique possibilities with cards like Chord of Calling, Agatha's Soul Cauldron, and more. It just so happens that the card itself is quite good as well, making for a one-of-a-kind Magic card that's made a solid home in a variety of formats, competitive and casual alike.

Number Nine

There's almost certainly a very strong argument to be made that Endurance should be higher on this list. The first of the pitch evoker elemental cycle, this powerful creature forces players to put their graveyard back into their libraries. This proved to be a mighty foil against graveyard-centric decks like Living End and Yawgmoth Combo and eventually enabled loops in Nadu, Winged Wisdom decks. I'd personally argue that its uses have become a touch more niche than the other cards in the cycle, thus it ranks the lowest, but make no mistake: Endurance is one hell of a card.

Number Eight

Players everywhere took one look at Subtlety and expected it to dominate thanks to its obvious similarities to eternal format staples Force of Will and Force of Negation. Thankfully, Subtlety proved to be a much more tame option. While it was still certainly quite powerful, it felt like a much more modest alternative in the context of this particular cycle.

Number Seven

Gone are the days when Griselbrand was the big creature everyone wanted to cheat into play, and Archon of Cruelty was a big reason for this. Getting a copy of this off of a reanimation spell or else cheating it into play via something like Indomitable Creativity would often spell certain doom for your opponents. Not only would this card become massive in Modern, but it also proved to be a powerful finisher in formats like Legacy and Cube as well.

Number Six

Scion of Draco was somewhat overlooked as a card for a period of time, but it didn't take players long to find a home for it in Domain Zoo decks. This would be taken into the stratosphere a few years later with the release of Leyline of the Guildpact in Murders at Karlov Manor. The interaction between Scion of Draco and the Leyline proved so powerful prior to the release of Modern Horizons 3 that many players tried shoving it into just about any deck they could, cementing the card's legacy as one of the most impactful mythics of the set.

Number Five

One of the benefits of Modern Horizons sets is how they're able to bring beloved classics to the Modern format. Modern Horizons 2 brought great powerhouses like Counterspell, Shardless Agent, and Cabal Coffers into the mix. Many players hoped they might see the powerful removal spell Swords to Plowshares enter the format. Instead, we got Solitude: a Swords to Plowshares you can play by pitching a spell or just by casting it outright. As with many of the pitch evoke cycle, players found ways of getting additional value by flickering it or reanimating it for further creature exiles and a cheap yet powerful beater.

Number Four

It's no secret that delve is perhaps one of the most broken mechanics in the history of Magic. The powerful spells of Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time have both been banned in multiple formats and others like Gurmag Angler, Temporal Trespass, and Tasigur, the Golden Fang have remained tournament staples. Murktide Regent continues this pedigree, becoming the de facto finisher for many Blue-based tempo decks over the last several years. The card continues to see play as one of the major players of the Modern format, particularly with the recent printings of Psychic Frog and Abhorrent Oculus.

Number Three

Funny as it seems in hindsight, most people laughed at Fury when it was first previewed. To many, it seemed like the runt of the litter with an ability that seemed mediocre at first glance. Then as people began evoking it - and returning it back to the battlefield with cards like Undying Evil and its ilk - the card's power became abundantly clear. Picking off whole swaths of creatures and then being left with a massive double striker proved too much for many decks to handle and eventually led to Fury being banned in Modern in December 2023.

Number Two

Forget the arguments over the most powerful 2-drops of all time, what about the most powerful 1-drops of all time? To many players, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer is without question a top contender for this debate. This sneaky little monkey was inescapable in Modern for months after the release of Modern Horizons 2 and pushed Legacy Delver decks so hard that it was eventually banned from the format. These days, the card's power has diminished slightly, but it still ranks among the better things you can be doing in Modern today.

Number One

Figuring out where to put the top handful of cards felt quite challenging. Each of the top three has a tremendous resume that feels deserving enough of the top spot. In the end, though, I felt like I had to give it to Grief. The card stood out to many players for its power right out of the gate and it didn't take long to prove just how powerful it was. Grief dominated Modern and proved a force to be reckoned with even in a format like Legacy. While it wasn't the first pitch evoker to be banned from the set, many felt Fury ate a ban in Modern that should have gone to Grief instead, and that would eventually prove true with Grief's banning in both Modern and Legacy.

Paige Smith

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