Planeswalkers changing for the better

Planeswalkers Changing for the Better

Tom Anderson Commander, Legacy, Strategy

With March of the Machine and its Aftermath now both revealed, 2023 looks very much like the end of an era for Magic’s Planeswalkers. Many were casualties of the struggle against Phyrexia, including some who lost their spark and were demoted to mere legendary creatures. But even the survivors can tell their role in the multiverse has changed. In fact, …

Top 20 Mana Rituals in Magic

Top 20 Mana Rituals in Magic

Tom Anderson Commander, Legacy, Modern, Standard

Mana rituals! These distinctive, potent and strategically narrow cards are most often used to accelerate the endgame of combo decks. Perhaps due to that dangerous power, new rituals have become something of a rare sight in recent sets, no longer something Wizards of the Coast’s design team feels needs to feature prominently in Magic. However, they are an elemental building …

Faerie Mastermind and the Pantheon of Invitational Cards

Faerie Mastermind and the Pantheon of Invitational Cards

Chris Cornejo Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Standard

With the recent sneak peek at March of the Machine, one particular card stood out a bit to me. All right, a lot of cards stood out for a lot of reasons, but Faerie Mastermind caught my eye because it’s an Invitational card.  Invitational cards have been a part of the game since near the dawn of Organized Play, and …

This Day in MTG History: Collectors' Edition

This Day in Magic History: Collectors’ Edition (Dec. 10, 1993)

Jacob Lackner Legacy, Products

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 …

Fringe Format: 7-point highlander

Fringe Format: 7-Point Highlander

Tom Anderson Commander, Legacy

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 …

Fringe format Heritage

Fringe Magic Format: Heritage

Chris Cornejo Legacy

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 …

Magic's Biggest Boogeymen

Magic’s 13 Biggest Boogeymen

Tom Anderson Commander, Legacy, Modern, Standard

As a game with plenty of dark, fantasy roots, Magic has overlapped plenty with Halloween. Just look at how often we return to Innistrad, or Innistrad: Double Feature’s attempt to evoke that classic monster movie vibe. But despite our familiarity with ghouls and ghosts, demons and devils, vampires and Vorstclaws, Magic still holds certain horrors which can frighten the sleeves …

What we wanted banned

Magic Banned and Restricted assessment: October 2022

Michael Rapp Legacy, Modern, Pioneer

Wizards of the Coast updated the Banned and Restricted list on Monday, which naturally led to the kind of discussion that always comes up when this happens  — whether the update hit everything players wanted. Naturally, some players ended up happy while others wondered if this approach was enough. Many players expected bans across Pioneer and Legacy, too, with additional …