The unveiling of new set mechanics is always my favorite part of spoiler season, since their quality has a huge impact on how we perceive that expansion. The new rules need enough flavor and novelty value to turn heads, but also to be balanced, and offer interesting play patterns that can hold up over the next 2-3 years of Standard. …
Discard effects are essential to the balance of competitive Magic, and to the color identity of black as a whole. Whether it’s Duress, Thoughtseize, Grief, or Inquisition of Kozilek, almost any black decklist will find room for these powerful tools somewhere in their 75. But as popular as these targeted discard spells have been through the years, they are usually …
Standard is in a really interesting place right now – and not least because it’s not the one I or many other people expected. The post-Bloomburrow format has begun to settle after its long-awaited rotation, and while GB Midrange and Atraxa Ramp remain top contenders, they are surrounded on all sides by hyper-aggressive aggro decks! It’s true that aggro is …
Over the years, Magic has invented a multitude of mechanics to build decks around, each with its own unique advantages, dedicated support cards and memorable payoffs. But when all of those archetypes are thrown together into the grand melting pot of Commander, a few top-tier choices stand out. They offer versatile deck building options, consistent performance across different areas of …
Standard is in a chaotic place right now. Even if Bloomburrow had zero cards in it, it still would have been the most impactful set since 2022 – purely because it triggered the first proper rotation of the 3-year Standard era. Many of the cards and decks which had calcified in place at the top of the metagame are now …
Bloomburrow was one of the most hotly-anticipated sets I can remember from the very first announcement, and the product itself hasn’t disappointed. The fuzzy critters who inhabit the land known as Valley are cute – but not always so cuddly! This set has fierce field mice and resolute rabbits dicing it up with spooky squirrels and rowdy raccoons, and that’s …
Over the years, Magic has invented a multitude of mechanics to build decks around, each with its own unique advantages, dedicated support cards and memorable payoffs. But when all of those archetypes are thrown together into the grand melting pot of Commander, a few top-tier choices stand out. They offer versatile deck building options, consistent performance across different areas of …
With so many great commander options are being printed these days, the biggest challenge for a new precon deck is to stand out. Newer players want a strong identity to latch onto and guide their early card choices, while veterans want unique themes that let them approach deckbuilding and gameplay with fresh eyes. The Bloomburrow Commander decks answer this call …
If you ask “why is ‘bear’ accepted Magic slang for a 2/2 creature?”, the answer is simple. Grizzly Bears was printed as a vanilla 2/2 in Limited Edition Alpha and set the precedent for describing similar low-complexity combat creatures. But maybe that answer isn’t good enough, and you ask: “no, I mean why would that term be the one to …
It shouldn’t really come as any surprise that Modern Horizons 3 has been a transformative event for the Modern metagame. We’ve seen two previous examples of the format “rotating” after a set’s worth of new pushed cards were added – three if you count Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. It’s also clear that the designers of these sets …
