Standard rotation is here, and we’ll be saying farewell to many format-defining cards. The powerful shock lands, the record-high number of planeswalkers, even the big payoffs for decks like Sacrifice — all gone. Expect some really big shake-ups with this rotation. If you’re looking for a deck to play in the Arena queues this week, I have a couple decks ... Read More...

This past weekend’s Mythic Invitational brought a satisfying conclusion to one of pro Magic’s biggest storylines: the rise of Historic as a premier format. It seemed so unlikely at first; prior to the pandemic, Pioneer was the popular choice, while Historic was hampered by negative PR and a lack of clear direction. But with Historic available on Arena through this ... Read More...

The 2020 rotation is upon us with Zendikar Rising’s release, and the Standard format waves goodbye to many great cards. As Commander players, this is the moment we’ve been waiting for: it’s time to buy some new singles! Today, I’m going to be sharing my picks of the best cards to pick up this September. Rotation is a great time ... Read More...

We’ve been producing keyword ability primers for a couple months now on the CK Blog and on our YouTube channel. Our goal with this series has been to educate new and returning Magic players about the mechanics they’re most likely to run into while playing the game. But every now and then, we get a request from our audience that ... Read More...

Zendikar Rising is just upon us, and it’s looking to be a set that’s breaking new ground. Literally — it’s doing some weird new things with lands. While this may be a lower-power set compared to others from the past year, it’s already proving to have many useful and flexible new toys for us to play with. Most of the ... Read More...

Zendikar Rising is right around the corner, and I’m really excited to embark on a new adventure. With a new trip to Zendikar come new Expedition lands, and new modal double-faced lands, too! Today, I’ll be sharing why I’m so excited to return to Zendikar, and my thoughts on the modal double-faced lands.  Expedition Envoy Meets Expedition Envy I’d like ... Read More...

Pioneer has always had issues with ally-colored lands. It’s the reason why decks like Mono-Black Aggro or Mono-Red Aggro refrained from splashing black and U/W control hasn’t added red. Numerous times, we’ve been waiting for a Masters-style set to come out that would mitigate this problem, and multiple sets coming through Standard were under the microscope as well. Would we ... Read More...