The Brothers’ War previews have just begun, and in that time Pioneer has produced some really great innovations. However almost all come from a singular archetype: Beatdown, otherwise known as Aggro. While normally not thought of very highly by most players, the goal of Magic is to make your opponent dead, and these decks do that in spades. Aggro has …
Jumpstart 2022: Jumpstart Restarted
During last week’s WeeklyMTG video, Wizards of the Coast Communications Director Blake Rasmussen confirmed Jumpstart 2022 will be out on Dec. 2 after being announced waaay back in August 2021. We’ll finally get a deserving sequel to Magic’s best new idea since Commander precons. A FRESH START Jumpstart 2022 signals a return to the strongest points of the original concept. …
Getting Started with Starter Commander Decks
Starter Commander Decks are coming on Dec. 2, but what exactly are they? Are they any good? Let’s dive in and take a closer look — first at the product overall, then at each deck. What Are These? The Starter Commander Decks are five, standalone Commander decks, designed to come in at a lower price point (somewhere in the neighborhood …
Evolve – MTG Keywords Explained
Evolve is a triggered ability that appears on creatures, and it means that whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, if it has greater power or toughness than the creature with Evolve, you put a +1/+1 counter on the creature with Evolve. And that’s the basics! As long as the new creature’s power is greater than the Evolve …
Fringe Format: 7-Point Highlander
Despite the online grumbling, Eternal Magic is a lot of fun! With the widest pool of cards legal to play, you can sleeve up the idealized version of your favorite strategy from the game’s entire 30-year history and take on the world. Of course, while sitting down to play doesn’t always work out quite as advertised, the 7-Point Highlander format …
The Five Spookiest Planes in Magic
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 …
This day in Magic history: Magic on ESPN (Oct. 21, 1997
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 …
Threat Assessment in Commander
Even as a social game, Commander doesn’t ask everyone playing to take up much responsibility. Knowing the basic rules of Magic and generally being a friendly person are the main baselines, but there is one more skill every Commander player should develop to keep games as enjoyable for everyone as possible: threat assessment. For those newer to the game, threat …
State of Standard: Post Meathook Ban
Wizards of the Coast banned The Meathook Massacre in Standard last week in the company’s first of such actions this year. This has created an interesting wrinkle in the format, since you were either playing Meathook before or trying to invalidate it. While not format breaking, the card acted as a barrier that prevented Standard from having more deck diversity. …
Fringe Magic Format: Heritage
Often here on Fringe Format, we’re covering ways of playing that have been around for a while, even if they haven’t received much attention outside a small circle of players. This time, we’re getting in on the ground floor with Heritage, a brand-new, community-driven Magic format that just had its first relatively major event this past weekend. But before we …