This upcoming Friday, July 3rd, marks the release of Core 2021 (which you can still preorder now!). And the twentieth core set packs a suite of legendary creatures that tick all my boxes when I’m perusing the previews for my next commander: Cheap to cast Thematic (Mostly) mono-colored The Wheeler philosophy of Commander is centered on taking advantage of the …
4 Standard Brews for Core 2021
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 …
Checking In: Theros Beyond Death in Modern
It has been a month since Theros Beyond Death was released, and some of you may remember the “Top Five Theros Beyond Death Cards for Modern” article I wrote around that time. I thought this would be a fun opportunity to check in and ask, “Where are they now?” As it turns out, all five of these cards have seen …
Commander 2019: Upgrading Merciless Rage
It’s 2007, and college me is looking at one of my Torment cards from high school. The movie 300 has been released recently, and I smile at a silly idea for a card alter. I draw a “no” symbol over the card’s keyword and write beside it: “THIS. IS. SPARTA!” The keyword on that card? Madness. Flash forward to now, …
Tomik in Standard and Legacy
Tomik, Distinguished Advokist generated quite a buzz when he was previewed last Friday. A 2/3 flying creature for two mana will always get Magic players’ attention, but Tomik’s ability to protect lands makes him valuable beyond Standard. Magic Designer Melissa DeTora provided some useful context about Tomik’s card design and some hints about how he might affect competitive formats. Today, …
If Planeswalkers Played Baseball
This week, two great baseball teams – the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers – will face off in the World Series. Now, you may be asking, what does any of this have to do with Magic: the Gathering? Aren’t most gamers not really all that into sports? Well, first of all, there are many of us out there …
Red Mages Quarterly: Hour of Devastation
Reports of the Red Deck’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. While much of this past Standard season was defined by the Aetherworks Marvel in the room, my red-deck-minded associates and I were enraptured by an entirely different strategy. I am of course talking about the SaffronOlive special, Two Tix Red. Despite some initial skepticism on my part, I’ve seen lists built …
Army of One
Hi, I’m Adam, and I’ve been playing Magic for over twenty years. I also enjoy creating things, and I’ve spent much of my spare time designing custom cards, mechanics, and sets. I also love to create new ways to play Magic and building new and exciting decks for unexplored formats. I enjoy winning, of course, but I prefer to win in …