Jeskai Fires Deck Guide

Anthony LowryStandard

Editor’s Note, May 11, 2020: This article was originally published on December 19, 2019. We want to ensure you have the most up-to-date information about popular decks, so we’ve updated this article and re-published it on May 11, 2020. Editor’s Note: June 1, 2020: Fires of Invention and Agent of Treachery have been banned in Standard and Historic. Read the …

Companions in Standard

Chantelle CampbellStandard

Editor’s Note, June 1, 2020: Wizards of the Coast has announced a change to the companion mechanic. Companions may no longer be cast from the sideboard; instead, players must pay 3 mana of any color to put a companion from their sideboard into their hand. Since the release of Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, companions have been shoehorned into every deck …

Red-White Cycling Deck Guide

Tom AndersonStandard

I’ve been thinking these last few days about a popular phrase: “a good problem to have.” Some of the best players in Magic have made earnest complaints about Zenith Flare — the all-star uncommon of Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths — and the cycling-heavy deck which has arisen around it. The deck is certainly winning a lot in the last week …

Playing Tap Lands in Aggro Decks

DeQuan WatsonStandard

Sometimes, in Standard, we have access to a lot of lands that come into play tapped. These are exciting for deck-building purposes because they give you access to more colors of mana, which, in turn, provides players with a ton of flexibility. But lands that enter the battlefield tapped have major downsides. You don’t have immediate access to the mana …

B/R Aristocats Deck Guide

Tom AndersonStandard

Editor’s Note, 4/29/20: This article was originally published on October 28, 2019. We want to ensure you have the most up-to-date information about popular decks, so we’ve updated this article and re-published it on April 29, 2020. Editor’s Note, 8/3/20: Cauldron Familiar has been banned in Standard effective August 3, 2020. Read the full announcement from Wizards of the Coast …

What to Play in All Access Standard

Hallie SantoStandard

With more Magic players battling online these days, we’ve seen an explosion in online organized play opportunities. From MagicFest Online Qualifiers to the Brawler’s Guildhall to independently organized events, there are tons of options for players across the casual-to-competitive spectrum. One of these events is FNM at Home: a weekly event on MTG Arena that keeps players connected to local …

Bant Ramp in Standard

Felix SlooStandard

For a while, I had been struggling to find a deck I liked in Standard. Mono-Red Aggro, UW Control, Jeskai Fires, and Temur Reclamation are all cool in their own way, and each has a consistent game plan. I don’t mind playing one of them in a big tournament — in fact, I brought UW to DreamHack Anaheim just a …

MTG Challenger Decks 2020

Card KingdomStandard

Challenger Decks are back for 2020, and Magic players are already excited about what this new batch of decks has to offer. All four decks are currently available at Card Kingdom individually or as a set of four for just $99.99. Challenger Decks are preconstructed Standard decks, built to be competitive out of the box at Friday Night Magic. As …

Top 10 Theros Cards at Worlds

Hallie SantoStandard

It’s taken quite a few weeks to gauge the impact of Theros Beyond Death on Standard. Magic’s most popular competitive format took a backseat to Pioneer in the week’s following Theros’s release due to a trio of highly-publicized Regional Player’s Tours. But last weekend, at the Magic World Championship in Hawaii, we saw long-forgotten strategies surge back to the forefront …

“Hurricane Harold”: Brewing with Storm Herald

Tom AndersonStandard

“This is the story of the Hurricane… and it won’t be over ‘til he wins a game…” Magic is an amazing creative outlet, which is a big part of how the game has found success over the past few decades. Casual players love formats like Commander for the freedom it grants to play whatever cards or archetypes they can think …