There are many reasons why Magic, more than any of its competitors and imitators, has stood the test of time for more than a quarter-century. But the fundamental balance and choice provided through the five-color system stands out as by far the most important. The color pie allows players self-expression, a sense of identity. It creates variation between top decks ... Read More...

As the decade comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on the last ten years of Magic history. Specifically, I’ve been thinking about all the new game mechanics that have been introduced. Did you know that Wizards has produced over a hundred new mechanics since 2010? (I counted!) But what mechanics stand above the rest? The ones that created the ... Read More...

Competitive Magic tends to slow down around the holidays, as players take a well-deserved break from the grind. As such, I thought this would be a good time to take a step back from my normal strategy content and write something a bit more fun. I reached out to the community in request of some categories that I could use ... Read More...

This article is part of a series of profiles of major characters in recent Magic sets. Today we’re looking at the life and death of Elspeth Tirel, a knight who fought evil and injustice across the Multiverse. Elspeth, Knight-Errant Elspeth grew up on an unknown plane that had been conquered by the Phyrexians. As a child, she was taken from ... Read More...

The clock will soon strike 2020! As we approach the new year, let’s take a moment to reflect on the Magic cards released in 2019. Plenty of these cards are excellently designed, but I wonder — which are the best of the best? Whether common or mythic rare, the following ten cards are groundbreaking in at least one of these ... Read More...

In today’s column, I’m speaking from my soul. Enchantments are my favorite card type in Magic, and I want to be able to play more of them! While creatures are the fundamental drivers of interaction and decision-making in most formats, enchantments add layers to those decisions, making them more complex. That also applies to card evaluations – I love how ... Read More...

Oko, Thief of Crowns was recently banned in Standard and Brawl, to the joy of players tired of losing to Simic and Sultai food-based decks. But not everyone is rejoicing. Some players invested heavily in cards for Oko decks and are now disappointed that they can’t use those decks any longer. Fortunately, there are plenty of other uses for Oko ... Read More...