In Defense of Three-Mana Planeswalkers

Tom AndersonDesign

Oko, Thief of Crowns appeared in 69% of decks at Mythic Championship VI. Simic-based Food was the obvious best deck going into the high-stakes event, so the elite field of competitors were highly incentivized to beat Oko any way they could. (In the end, an unprecedented majority chose to join him instead.) The Oko build of Urza combo is arguably …

Knights in Magic: Then and Now

Bradley RoseDesign

*Boom, boom, clap**Boom, boom, clap* It’s 2001, and Queen’s “We Will Rock You” echoes throughout a theater a beaming twelve-year-old me is in. The opening credits of A Knight’s Tale set the tone of a medieval times movie with modern storytelling. Its story demonstrated what it took to become a knight. It’s 2019, and a menacing version of Frankie Valli’s …

Throne of Eldraine Card Spotlight: Clackbridge Troll

Tom AndersonDesign, Standard

As one of the staple baddies of fantasy and myth since olden times, the mighty troll gets a bad rap in Magic. Since Sedge Troll debuted in Alpha, these hulking menaces have been constantly on the sidelines, while fairytale contemporaries like goblins, elves and giants have flourished. Even the troll’s signature ability, regeneration, has been removed from modern Magic design; …

Adventure on Eldraine

Tom AndersonDesign

Like children who can’t wait to hear their favorite bedtime story, the Magic community is once again giddy with excitement over spoiler season. Throne of Eldraine is looking to be one of the most flavorful sets of all time, tapping beloved fairy tales and Arthurian legend for resonant top-down designs. Just the thought of beating down with The Gingerbread Man …

Garruk Returns in Throne of Eldraine

Hallie SantoDesign

Throne of Eldraine previews have officially begun, and one of our favorite Planeswalkers made quite an entrance. After a five-year hiatus, Garruk Wildspeaker is back on the hunt on the plane of Eldraine and has been captured on the new card Garruk, Cursed Huntsman. When we last saw Garruk, he was the face of Magic’s 2015 Core Set, and he …

10 Cards to Bring Back with Brought Back

Tom AndersonDesign

It seems as though every new set nowadays is jammed full of “project cards.” These cards do weird, but powerful things, tempting players to try and build new decks to harness them. In Core Set 2020, one such card still waiting for time in the spotlight is Brought Back.  Just look at this thing! The power level and mana cost of …

The Cavalier Cycle in Core Set 2020

Robby RotheDesign

The headlining mythic cycle of Core Set 2020 revolves around five different Cavaliers, one for each color. It’s common practice for Magic to have a cycle of creatures or spells headline their set, and it’s certainly not new with Core Sets. These creatures have some unique qualities and a ton of rules text, so let’s break them down and see …

Purifying Light: Protection in Magic

Card KingdomDesign

This week, we’re kicking off our Festival of Colors here at Card Kingdom with White Mana Week: a celebration of all things fair, balanced, and orderly. In today’s article, we’ll talk about one of the quintessential White mechanics from Magic’s history – protection from other colors – and share a few exclusive preview cards from Core Set 2020. (Thanks for …

Top 10 Callbacks in Modern Horizons

Alex KatzDesign, Modern

Modern Horizons is all about celebrating Magic’s history. It’s packed with exciting mechanics and references to old cards that the player community remembers fondly. Here are the ten references that the Card Kingdom community is most excited about. Collected Conjuring Collected Company has made its mark in Standard and Modern alike. Collected Conjuring does the same thing as Collected Company, …

War of the Spark: Flavor & Function

Justin BagnallDesign, Magic Story

I’ve always been intrigued by cards whose function matches their flavor. When I was a new player, I remember casting Ambush Viper during my main phase, and a friend showed me how much more powerful the effect would be if I cast it after she declared attackers. “Imagine my creatures charging across the battlefield. Then, out of nowhere, this little …