While Commander’s grassroots origins make it different from many other Magic formats, it still has a ban list like the rest of them. However, since Commander is not a competitive format with tournament data to back up banning certain cards, some players are unsure why certain offenders end up on the list. So, let’s look at Library of Alexandria, one …
Hanukkah started last Sunday, so I thought it would be fun to take a break from my usual “This Day in Magic History” column and instead do something in commemoration of the holiday. In this post, we’ll look at my Hanukkah-themed Commander deck! Before we do, though, let me give you a brief history lesson on what Hanukkah celebrates. That …
Welcome to another edition of “This Day in Magic History.” Today is the 29th anniversary of the release of the very first Magic expansion: Arabian Nights. Before its release on Dec. 17, 1993, there was only one set of Magic cards (Alpha, Beta, Unlimited) printed several times. The release of an expansion was a major moment in the history of …
Welcome to another edition of “This Day in Magic History!” Today, we’re going to take a look at the December 10, 1993 release of Collector’s Edition. This set contained every single card from Beta, but they featured a different card back and they were not tournament legal. This should sound very familiar to you as it bears a striking resemblance …
Welcome to another edition of “This Day in Magic History!” Today, we’re going to look at Magic’s 2006 World Championship, which ran from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2 that year. In particular, we’re going to take a look at one of the wackiest tier one Magic decks of all time: Dragonstorm. Dragonstorm Before the 2006 World Championships In 2006, Dragonstorm …
With Thanksgiving later this week, I thought it would be fun to take a break from my usual “This Day in Magic History” column and instead write a Thanksgiving-related article. In this post, I’m going to give you a deck tech for my Thanksgiving-inspired Commander deck! The Host A Thanksgiving Commander deck definitely has to be about Food, so who …
Welcome to another edition of “This Day in Magic History!” Today, I’ll take a look at the release of Fallen Empires, which debuted to the world 28 years ago. Fallen Empires is much-maligned, largely because it only introduced a handful of cards that have had a significant impact on the game. However, today I’m going to tell you that Fallen …
This week, I’m taking a break from my “This Day in Magic History” series. Instead, I’m going to give my picks for the spookiest planes in the Magic multiverse! In Magic, planes are self-contained universes that serve as the settings for each set. These are the five planes you least want to be trapped on because they are home to …
Welcome to another edition of “This Day in Magic History.” Today, we’ll be taking a look at the first time ESPN broadcasted a Magic event. On Oct. 21, at 10:30 p.m.,a portion of the 1997 World Championship aired on ESPN2. While we are used to coverage of major Magic events today, this marked the very first time that a Magic …
Welcome to another edition of “This Day in Magic History.” Today, we’ll be taking a look at a piece of Magic’s competitive history: Pro Tour Chicago. The event ran from Oct. 10-12, 1997, and it matters more than most because it was the very first Pro Tour for the Extended format. As a result, it was largely dominated by the …
