Strixhaven’s Secret Sauce is Red Mana

Kristen GregoryCommander, Design

Strixhaven looks to have a smorgasbord of powerful and exciting Magic cards. It seems to Kristen, though, that red is currently Magic’s Golden Child.  Looking through the previews for Strixhaven, it’s occurred to me that all of the most exciting designs involve red mana. It’s no secret that red has been the second-most maligned color from the players’ perspective in …

What’s Banned in Commander (And Why)

Kristen GregoryCommander

If you’ve found yourself on this page, chances are you’d like to know exactly what cards are banned in Commander. Below we have a rundown of what cards are banned in Commander, followed up by some explanations of why we think they’re banned. Latest Update, 9/23/24: Mana Crypt, Jeweled Lotus, Dockside Extortionist, and Nadu, Winged Wisdom Banned Cards Legal in …

Commander 2021’s New Legends

Kristen GregoryCommander

Strixhaven previews started last week, and we’ve already seen some super exciting cards. The main takeaway for me so far is just how fresh some of these designs feel — not just for their colors, but also for multiplayer. Let’s look at what has me hyped about the new commanders from Commander 2021.  Commander 2021: Strixhaven It looks to me …

How to Pick a Board Wipe in Commander

Kristen GregoryCommander

When it comes to picking a board wipe for your Commander deck, it can sometimes feel like there are too many options. There are 116 cards alone that have the words “destroy all creatures” on them, and that’s for starters. When you factor in damage wraths, exile wraths, bounce wraths, and the more niche cards too? That number increases by …

Learning from Limited in Commander: UW Flyers

Kristen GregoryCommander

We all have a favorite Limited archetype, and whether that’s Blue-Red Spellslinger, Five-Color Green, or Blue-White Flyers, there’s something satisfying about the gameplay that keeps us coming back for more. Today, I want to look at how to capture one of those archetypes in an EDH deck. We’ll look at how to “scale up” that archetype for Commander, what cards …

Time Spiral Remastered Preview Cards

Kristen GregoryProducts

It’s Time Spiral Remastered preview week, and Kristen takes us back to 2006 with her free preview cards. Time Spiral originally released in 2006, and I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t even aware Magic existed back then. But 2006 was when I really started to get into internet culture, and I’m sure that’s the same for a lot …

Aura-n’t You Missing Something: Reexamining Auras in EDH

Kristen GregoryCommander

In days gone, enchantments — and auras, in particular — were often deemed quite risky, especially if you had to untap with them to get any value. I’d say those days are over. OLD SCHOOL EDH When I first started playing Commander around five years ago, the game was centered around enter-the-battlefield effects, incremental value, recursion, and combos. It might …

Leveraging Virtual Card Advantage in Commander

Kristen GregoryCommander, Strategy

I’d like to talk about something a little different today, and that’s the idea of virtual card advantage.  I recently put together a draft list of a Boros flicker deck, helmed by Archangel Avacyn. My goal was to have a little fun, running lots of cool ETB creatures like Dualcaster Mage and Wildfire Devils. Instead of the usual “greatest hits” …