What IS Incubate?!

Incubate – MTG Mechanics Explained

Card KingdomStrategy

Incubate is an ability that could appear on any card type, and will always be written with a number – so, “Incubate N.” When an effect or ability tells you to Incubate, you create a colorless artifact token named Incubator, and put a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to the Incubate number. Incubator tokens are predefined, like food …

March of the Machine, flavor check

March of the Machine: Flavor Check

Jason KrellCommander, Design, Standard

As Magic players, most of us primarily care about how the game actually plays. However, so much more goes into a set than the cards themselves — from worldbuilding to characters and the places they intersect. Often, these qualities outside of gameplay are called flavor, and they help sets taste different, even if they are similar in some ways to what has …

Fringe Format: Wacky Races

Fringe Format: Wacky Races

Tom AndersonDesign

Arguably the best thing about Magic is the sheer variety of ways to play it. Even ignoring the growing range of officially-supported formats, Magic’s “rules engine” and massive card pool make perfect building blocks for inventing all sorts of wacky new scenarios! That’s just what a player named “Perodequeso” was up to back in 2016 when he invented Wacky Races.  …

Battle – MTG Mechanics Explained

Card KingdomStrategy

Battle is a new card type in Magic, something that hasn’t happened since Planeswalkers came out in Lorwyn. For now, every Battle that’s coming out in March of the Machine has the subtype Siege. In the future, different subtypes could work differently, but we’ll cross that bridge later. For now, here’s what we’re working with.  All Siege battles are double faced …

Top 10 Showcase art styles in Magic

The Top 10 Showcase Art Styles in Magic

Janel SantaCruz CampbellStandard

Showcase art styles are some of the most flavorful elements of any Magic: The Gathering set since their first appearance in Throne of Eldraine. In March of the Machine, which showcase art treatments are we most excited to see return? As March of the Machine draws near, we’ll soon see heroes across the multiverse of Magic: The Gathering join forces. …

Melee – MTG Mechanics Explained

Card KingdomStrategy

Melee is a combat mechanic that appears on creatures. Whenever a creature with Melee attacks, it gets +1/+1 until the end of the turn for each different opponent being attacked that turn. So in one-on-one Magic, this will always be +1/+1. In a four-player Commander game, this could be +3/+3 if you send attackers at each opponent. It is possible …

The five best aggro decks in Modern

The Five Best Aggro Decks in Modern

Michael RappModern

Aggression has always been a common play style in Modern, but it has outgrown hyper-linear decks that “try to kill your opponent as fast as possible without interacting” — decks like Burn. That’s why you won’t see the famous archetype on this list of the best Aggro decks in Modern despite the fact that it’s still around and seeing play. …