Magic has been around for long enough to spin off hundreds of unique mechanics, each with its own unique advantages, dedicated support cards and memorable payoffs. But when you throw them all together in the grand melting pot that is Commander, a few mechanics clearly stand out from the pack. They offer versatile deck building options, consistent performance in different …
Commander Archetype Inspection: Group Hug
Recently, I’ve used this blog to examine some of Commander’s most powerful and fearsome strategies. Building your deck around mechanics like treasure, cascade, or looting unlocks lines of play which are so good, they’re almost unfair. But isn’t that the natural conclusion of the multiplayer metagame? How do you win a fair fight when you effectively have to beat three …
How Important Are Blockers in Commander?
Kristen has some thoughts on how a good blocker is more important than ever in Casual Commander. In short, blockers are good. Play more of them! That’s not why you clicked, though – you’re more interested in my reasoning. So let’s just jump straight in. THE STATE OF CASUAL COMMANDER Casual Commander in 2024 is in a good place, but …
Relentless Assault – Red’s New War Economy in Commander
Anyone who’s seen enough spy movies or political dramas has heard the line: war is brutal, but it’s good for business. War allows you to capture territory, resources or valuables from your enemy as spoils of victory, and as history’s oldest jobs program it often sparks a boom in national economies. This thinking doesn’t typically apply to Magic, where combat …
Map Tokens and Explore – MTG Mechanics Explained
Map tokens join treasure, food, clues, and blood as a predefined token. Map tokens come with an ability that lets you (at sorcery speed, so in your main phase with nothing else on the stack) pay 1 mana, tap the map token, and sacrifice it. When you do, a target creature you control explores. And, well, that means we’re asking… …
Top New Standard Performers from Lost Caverns of Ixalan
Every Magic set goes through an excitable honeymoon phase, and it’s only after the first few weeks of events that you can really measure their impact on the metagame. The top minds in Constructed Magic have had some time to thoroughly explore Lost Caverns of Ixalan, so which shiny new decks have emerged to flash their tournament potential? More importantly, …
Ten Sorcery Spells That Are New Classics in Commander
What new Sorcery spells should be making the cut in your Commander decks? Kristen is here with a list of ten of the best! Last week, I looked at ten Sorcery spells that had aged really well in Commander. This time around, I will cover ten new classics: sorceries that have landed with impact, and continue to impress me. Sorceries …
Craft – MTG Mechanics Explained
Craft is a double-faced card transforming mechanic that’s first appearing in Lost Caverns of Ixalan. While it could theoretically appear on any permanent type, for now (as of the time of me writing this script), it appears solely on artifacts. Like most double-faced transforming cards, cards with craft will normally enter on their front face – which in this case …
Regenerate – MTG Mechanics Explained
Regenerate is odd. A formerly evergreen way to protect a creature that is often telegraphed to your opponent, with old removal spells designed specifically to counteract it and a lot of confusion around how it actually functions (especially for newer players), let’s unravel this a bit, shall we? Regenerate is a replacement effect that can be put on a permanent …
Four Bean Soup: How to Play Up the Beanstalk in Modern
Modern has been dominated by one card over the last few weeks, and Up the Beanstalk is taking format by storm. The powerful, two mana enchantment rewards players for casting to expensive spells. Luckily, for the beans players, there are a ton of cards that cost 5+ mana in theory, but far less (zero to one) in practice. With that …