Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths introduced three new mechanics – companion, mutate, and ability counters – that have fundamentally changed Magic: The Gathering gameplay. But it also included a returning mechanic that is making waves in Standard and beyond. Today, we’re going to learn how to cycle. What is Cycling? Do you ever draw a card that just isn’t right for ... Read More...

Hello readers — and please give a warm welcome to our new friend, Core Set 2021! They’re gonna need that warmth, because it is hard to be a new Standard set right now. Simply put, the new core set is entering one of the most powerful Standard environments ever. It’s not just the per-card power level of a format which ... Read More...

Pioneer has changed drastically since the companion rules change earlier this month. Dimir Inverter is still one of the top dogs, but Lotus Breach, Mono-Red, Mono-White, and Mono-Black are all going strong. In fact, the format looks more or less the way it did before Ikoria was released — and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  But now that Core ... Read More...

Wilderness Reclamation in Modern? It isn’t as strange as it sounds!  After the reign Wilderness Reclamation had in Standard, Modern decks are starting to utilize it as a way to go even bigger than opposing midrange decks. Unlike its Standard counterpart, Sultai Reclamation isn’t committed to maxing out on Wilderness Reclamation to enable a large combo turn; instead, this midrange ... Read More...

Since the introduction of Collector Boosters with the release of Throne of Eldraine, Magic collectors and art buffs have added some new crown jewels to their collections. Each major expansion brings new borderless and alternate-art cards for us to collect, admire, and add to our decks. Looking for the coolest cards in Core Set 2021? Let’s take a tour through ... Read More...

Getting into Magic can be a chicken-and-egg situation: you can’t play without a deck, but how do you build a deck without knowing what any cards do? The upcoming Jumpstart set solves this issue in a fun and natural way, meaning this might be the best product ever for teaching new players! Jumpstart gives curious first-timers their titular boost by ... Read More...

The companion mechanic has been the talk of the Magic: The Gathering community for the last several months. It’s a mechanic that stretches the rules of Magic, and it’s so powerful that it resulted in a major ban decision a mere hour after it was announced. But if you’re brand-new to Magic, like many readers of this column, your main ... Read More...