MTG enthusiasts have found that the three-mana Artifact Trinisphere is a highly effective counter against the popular Ruby Storm deck during the early stages of a game.
In 2024, the prices of numerous affordable Artifacts significantly increased as a result of Commander combos. The release of Universes Beyond: Fallout’s The Wise Mothman Commander sparked excitement among MTG players, as it offered a unique option for mill decks.
As a result, the prices of the Artifacts Altar of the Brood, Mindcrank, and Mesmeric Orb significantly increased due to their ability to enhance the strength of Mothman decks.
Trinisphere is another unassuming Artifact that is quickly increasing in value. However, unlike the previously-mentioned Artifacts that saw a rise in price due to their ability to enhance Mothman, Trinisphere is more useful as a counter to the current MTG meta rather than a component in a combo.
The price of Trinisphere has experienced a sudden increase due to its effective ability to significantly hinder the Ruby Storm deck’s speed.
A common strategy for Storm decks involves utilizing cost reduction and cantrips to maximize the Storm count, ultimately delivering a powerful and decisive blow.
Ruby Storm effectively utilizes mana generation and impulse draw to efficiently cycle through the deck and accumulate a high Storm count. However, Trinisphere significantly hinders this strategy by raising the cost of typically inexpensive spells to three mana each.
This unique tax effect has a significant impact in the initial rounds of the game, effectively stalling Ruby Storm and preventing it from dominating the game immediately.
Trinisphere is a valuable tax for Ruby Storm players as it has board-wide effects that impact all players, including the controller of the card.
Therefore, Trinisphere may not be suitable for several decks that would typically utilize it effectively against Ruby Storm. Instead, Tron players and other archetypes lacking in low-mana cards will be the most suitable choice for Trinisphere.
As MTG brings back the Storm ability to the forefront, players are scrambling to find ways to prevent the Ruby Storm deck from overpowering the competitive scene, as it is expected to continue growing in strength.
Ral, Monsoon Mage plays a vital role in this deck’s strategy, making it no surprise that the powerful Planeswalker’s value has significantly increased since the release of Modern Horizons 3. Ral is set to play a major role in the ongoing storyline of MTG, as evidenced by the leaked Storm-based Ral Planeswalker in the upcoming Bloomburrow set.
As long as Ral Zarek remains a prominent figure, the Storm mechanic will continue to play a significant role, meaning MTG players wishing for the end of Ruby Storm will be disappointed.
In addition to Ruby Storm, there is another dominant deck type making waves in MTG. Simic combo decks featuring the newly released Nadu, Winged Wisdom Creature from Modern Horizons 3 have been experiencing significant triumph in various formats.
The effortless combo potential of these Modern Horizons 3 decks is leading to their success. Nadu is already incorporating cards to counteract opponents’ interference, securing wins with just one explosive turn. Ruby Storm will likely continue to strengthen its win conditions, making a card like Trinisphere crucial for players who are not utilizing the power of MH3 cards.
Both Nadu and Ruby Storm demonstrate that disregarding Horizons sets can have deadly consequences for Magic players who want to maintain a competitive advantage. Though this may result in a sense of fear of missing out, it is undeniable that decks with and without the game-changing new cards from Modern Horizons 3 are vastly different in terms of strength.
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