Modern Horizons 2

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
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.

This set contains 303 regular cards 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 2 is also released on Magic Online, but not on MTG Arena.

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

Marketing
In addition to Draft Boosters, Modern Horizons 2 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 2 Bundle.

The Draft Boosters feature artwork from Dakkon Blackblade (key art), Geyadrone Dihada and. The Collector Booster features artwork from Graceful Restoration, and the Set Booster from.

With the release of Modern Horizons 2, 50 cards were rotated into The List, many of which were thematically or mechanically linked to the set.

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 2 rares and mythic rares as well as the enemy fetch lands.
 * Buy-a-Box: exclusive foil alternate art with retro frame.
 * Isn't found in any other Modern Horizons 2 product.
 * Bundle promo: foil alternate art

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

Themes and mechanics
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 the 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 <c>Caprichrome</c>, the set also introduced the keyword variant Devour artifact, that changes the type that can be devoured from creatures to artifacts.

<c>Junk Winder</c> is the first card to feature Affinity for tokens.

Modern Horizons 2 features the following limited archetypes:
 * "Artifacts matter" (including Affinity) (<c>Ethersworn Sphinx</c>)
 * "Self-discard" matters (<c>Lazotep Chancellor</c>)
 * Madness aggro (<c></c><c>Rakdos Headliner</c>)
 * Storm (<c>Road // Ruin</c>)
 * +1/+1 counters (<c>Arcus Acolyte</c>)
 * Reanimator (<c>Graceful Restoration</c>)
 * Delirium (<c>Prophetic Titan</c>)
 * Sacrifice, Squirrel tribal (<c>Ravenous Squirrel</c>)
 * Modular artifact aggro (<c>Arcbound Shikari</c>)
 * Number of token types matters (<c>Combine Chrysalis</c>)
 * Converge

Card types

 * Modern Horizons 2 introduces the Dakkon, Dihada and Grist planeswalker types, and reintroduces the Ranger creature type.
 * Modern Horizons 2 introduces the first black-bordered enchantment land (<c>Urza's Saga</c>). 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, 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.

Cycles
Modern Horizons 2 has at least nine cycles, including four double cycles and one vertical cycle.

Mega-mega cycles
The Mirran swords mega-mega cycle gets an allied colored addition.
 * <c>Sword of Hearth and Home</c>

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, which is only printed in the retro frame. These reprints occupy a unique slot in boosters.

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. •

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Changes in rarity
•
 * Mythic rare to rare


 * Rare to uncommon

•
 * Rare to common

•
 * Uncommon to mythic rare

•
 * Uncommon to rare

•

•

•


 * Common to rare

•
 * Common to uncommon

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Notable cards

 * <c>Aeve, Progenitor Ooze</c> is the first creature with storm.
 * <c>Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar</c> is the first creature spell with no mana cost, due to its name being too long.
 * <c>Dermotaxi</c> is the first vehicle without crew.
 * 's new borderless art depicts <c>Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker</c> and <c>Pestermite</c>, a well known combo with the recruiter.
 * <c>Parcel Myr</c> is the first nontoken Clue.
 * <c>Power Depot</c> is the first non-creature artifact with modular.
 * <c>Urza's Saga</c> 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.

Callbacks
Many cards in Modern Horizons 2 reference older cards.