Source transparency: This Digest item is based primarily on reporting from MTG Rocks. TMF summarizes and interprets the news; original reporting remains credited and linked.
MTG Rocks’ November 11 report identifies a Modern use for Anthropological Mission that goes beyond its role as a value enchantment. In the reported shell, Six lets the deck turn spare lands into repeated casts of zero-mana artifacts, while the Mission rewards those casts with more looks at the deck. The article names a League pilot and describes the engine, but it does not provide a complete league record or establish how broadly the deck is being played.
Anthropological Mission gains a quest counter when you cast a noncreature spell. Its trigger draws and then discards unless the Mission has at least two quest counters, so from the second qualifying cast it can add a card to hand. On your turn, Six gives nonland permanent cards in your graveyard retrace. If you have one legendary Mox in play and another copy in the graveyard, tap the first for mana if it can produce any, then discard a land to cast the other. Keep the new copy under the legend rule and the older one goes back to the graveyard for another retrace. The cast triggers Mission even though only one Mox survives.
This is a resource engine, not an automatic infinite loop. Each retrace needs another land. Mox Opal needs metalcraft, and Mox Amber needs a suitable legendary permanent to produce mana. The source describes Jace, Wielder of Mysteries as a potential finish after drawing through the library. Graveyard hate, removal for Six and pressure on artifact mana can all break the sequence, so a list still needs a way to play when the pieces are separated.
The useful test is whether the Mission’s second and later triggers return enough resources to justify building around Six, rather than just whether the best draw works. The report establishes a plausible Modern shell and a distinct interaction to try; it does not establish a Modern trend or a result in another format.
Anthropological Mission gains a quest counter when you cast a noncreature spell. Its trigger draws and then discards unless the Mission has at least two quest counters, so from the second qualifying cast it can add a card to hand. On your turn, Six gives nonland permanent cards in your graveyard retrace. If you have one legendary Mox in play and another copy in the graveyard, tap the first for mana if it can produce any, then discard a land to cast the other. Keep the new copy under the legend rule and the older one goes back to the graveyard for another retrace. The cast triggers Mission even though only one Mox survives.
This is a resource engine, not an automatic infinite loop. Each retrace needs another land. Mox Opal needs metalcraft, and Mox Amber needs a suitable legendary permanent to produce mana. The source describes Jace, Wielder of Mysteries as a potential finish after drawing through the library. Graveyard hate, removal for Six and pressure on artifact mana can all break the sequence, so a list still needs a way to play when the pieces are separated.
The useful test is whether the Mission’s second and later triggers return enough resources to justify building around Six, rather than just whether the best draw works. The report establishes a plausible Modern shell and a distinct interaction to try; it does not establish a Modern trend or a result in another format.
Original source: MTG Star Trek's Overlooked Anthropological Mission Is Already Powering a New Combo Deck ↗MTG Rocks