Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Strategy”
The Commander format has one really fundamental problem: it’s explosive. And it’s only getting worse as time ticks on. I don’t just mean that the community discourse is liable to blow up at the slightest provocation (although, true). I mean that multiplayer Magic, especially with the card pool and ruleset present in this format, naturally trends toward explosive play patterns …
The weekend of Jan. 13 brought us the most competitive Modern tournaments than we’ve seen in a long time. SCG Con New Jersey had both $20,000 and $5,000 tournaments while the LMS Open Qualifier took place in Trieste and the NRG Champs closed things out. Naturally, each high level Modern tournament offers worthwhile results to parse through. Modern is in …
Awaken is an ability that appears on Instants and Sorceries, and gives an alternative casting cost for the spell. Whichever cost you pay, you get the normal effect of the spell. If you pay the Awaken cost, you then put a number of +1/+1 counters equal to the awaken number of that spell onto a land you control, and that …
Kristen lends a few thoughts on how to navigate a game of casual Commander based on what seat you’re in. I’ve been thinking, lately, about how useful data can be when reviewing games of Commander. A lot of theory and observations on the format skew toward subjectivity and anecdote, and as we all know, that’s not the most reliable type …
SCG Con New Jersey, the first large Modern tournament of the year, is taking place this weekend, and I’ll be in attendance. Naturally that means figuring out what deck I am going to play — a task I’ve been working on for a couple weeks. Those who know me can tell you I have a bad habit of waffling between …
Renown is a creature keyword that triggers when a creature with it deals combat damage to a player. When it does, if it isn’t already renowned, it gets a +1/+1 counter and becomes renowned. As renown only triggers if the creature isn’t renowned already, this is a one-time thing. That’s it for the mechanic specifically, but some creatures with renown …
The start of the new year just so happens to coincide with the start of the new Regional Championship Qualifier season, so I thought we could also start off 2023 with a new mindset. These are tips I’ve put together after my time spent grinding the competitive Magic circuit, and I hope you can use them to find success yourself. …
Dash is actually three different abilities all in one keyword. First, it’s an alternative casting cost. Then, if that cost was paid, the permanent with it has haste. Lastly, if that cost was paid instead of its normal casting cost, return it to its owners hand at the beginning of the next end step. So to boil it down, Dash …
Despite a Standard focused San Diego Regional Championship on the horizon, we’re back to Pioneer Regional Championship Qualifier season again! With eyes turning back to this format, we made a tier list of all the top decks to see where things have shaken out post Dreamhack Atlanta. That way, when the season starts on Jan. 7, you’re ready to lock …
As the old year comes to a close, this is traditionally a time to look forward and figure out some resolutions for the new year. There are plenty of life resolutions to go around, but we’re here to talk about Magic. So here’s some Magic resolutions that all can feel free to apply as needed to themselves in 2023. I …
