Caretaker's Talent: Care-Taking Control of the Meta

Caretaker’s Talent: Care-Taking Control of the Meta

Tom AndersonModern, Pioneer, Standard

Caretaker’s Talent has been taking hold in multiple formats, becoming a cornerstone of multiple decks that Tom dives deep into here! The cycle of rare Talents have been frontrunners for Bloomburrow’s best constructed cards right out of the blocks. In the first week after the set released, I wrote about a string of upstart Standard decks that were already emerging …

The Best Self-Mill Cards in Magic

The Best Self-Mill Cards in Magic

Tom AndersonCommander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Standard

Graveyard decks have always been a huge part of Magic, ever since the first Animate Dead was used to cheat out the first Lord of the Pit or Shivan Dragon. But if you broaden your definition beyond simple reanimation, almost every deck has some way to get value out of the yard – and if yours doesn’t, you’re probably not …

Oswald's Big Score in Pioneer

Oswald’s Big Score in Pioneer

Tom AndersonPioneer

I don’t get to brew many decks for tournament Magic these days. The majority of my time and energy goes into Limited (check out our Outlaws of Thunder Junction Draft guide!), so if I do play Constructed I tend to just trust decklists offered by more invested players. But sometimes a new card (or a new set of cards) just …

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Updated Decks for Pioneer

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan: Updated Decks for Pioneer

Mason ClarkPioneer

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan prerelease begins Friday, and Pioneer Regional Championship season is just around the corner! So, today we’re going to break down three decks to try testing ahead of the next big event in Atlanta. Ramp Ramp is a deck we haven’t really had in Pioneer since the beginning of the format, with cards like Field of …

Pioneer Regional Championship Check-in: October 2023

Pioneer Regional Championship Check-in: October 2023

Mason ClarkPioneer

All eyes have been on Modern Regional Championship Qualifiers lately, but the first round of Regional Championships playing Pioneer wrapped up this weekend. There were some interesting, key developments worth mentioning, so let’s not beat around the bugs and jump right into exploring them.  Izzet Phoenix  Phoenix won the Canadian RC while also putting up good results in the EU …

Lost Caverns of Ixalan: Early Impressions

Mason ClarkModern, Pioneer, Standard

We continued our descent toward the Lost Caverns of Ixalan during the weekend at MagicCon Las Vegas. While we have still only seen a few previews, they point us in some fun directions, so we’re going to look at the potential standouts.  Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might  Now this is an exciting god. Ojer turns all your burn spells into Boros …

Wilds of Eldraine Pioneer Highlights

Wilds of Eldraine Pioneer Highlights

Mason ClarkPioneer

The last time we visited Eldraine, the set shook magic to its core. And while this time around Wilds of Eldraine seems much more tame, there are still plenty of cards worth looking at for the Pioneer format. Here are five to keep in mind as preview season wraps up. Sleep-Cursed Fae and Spell Stutter Pioneer players have been trying …

Banned and Restricted Update 2023

Banned and Restricted Update: August 2023

Mason ClarkLegacy, Modern, Pioneer

This week, Wizards of the Coast announced their last Banned and Restricted update before switching to a new, yearly cadence in October. But while conversation in the community was blowing up about targets for Modern and Pioneer, every possible option escaped the hammer. Instead, Wizards of the Coast actually unbanned two cards, one in Modern and one in Legacy. The …