Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Tom Anderson”
With so many great commander options are being printed these days, the biggest challenge for a new precon deck is to stand out. Newer players want a strong identity to latch onto and guide their early card choices, while veterans want unique themes that let them approach deckbuilding and gameplay with fresh eyes. The Bloomburrow Commander decks answer this call …
If you ask “why is ‘bear’ accepted Magic slang for a 2/2 creature?”, the answer is simple. Grizzly Bears was printed as a vanilla 2/2 in Limited Edition Alpha and set the precedent for describing similar low-complexity combat creatures. But maybe that answer isn’t good enough, and you ask: “no, I mean why would that term be the one to …
It shouldn’t really come as any surprise that Modern Horizons 3 has been a transformative event for the Modern metagame. We’ve seen two previous examples of the format “rotating” after a set’s worth of new pushed cards were added – three if you count Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. It’s also clear that the designers of these sets …
For over two decades, phasing was a “dead” mechanic. It was a gruesome museum piece, maligned as an arch-example of archaic, confusing design. Even Time Spiral shied away from it when choosing old mechanics to highlight, despite it being a perfect fit for the time-manipulation themes of the block. So then why is phasing suddenly making a comeback? Not just …
Assassin’s Creed is the latest huge crossover event under the Universes Beyond banner, celebrating 17 years of the legendary gaming franchise. Given the series’ broad roots in historical fiction, this set also has the fun side effect of introducing famous names like Leonardo Da Vinci, Socrates and Cleopatra to Magic! No Pope or Doge cards though – guess we’ll have …
The Modern Horizons sets are some of the most unique Magic products ever released, concentrating years worth of archetype support and intricate new rules into a single expansion! Modern Horizons 3 keeps that high standard going, with a Draft format that can support a range of nuanced playstyles! Last week, I discussed how Modern Horizons approach to card and set …
Modern Horizons 3 boosters are about to hit shelves, chock full of electrifying new chase rares that are poised to shake up every format where they’re legal. They’re also draftable! And since this is going to be the first Modern Horizons set to get a full MTGArena release, it’s guaranteed to give many players their first taste of the unique …
What’s this? Commander precon decks (like Creative Energy) in MY Modern Horizons set?!? In the current Commander-forward era of Magic, it’s more likely than you’d think. Confusing product names aside, I think that it actually makes good sense to release new precons alongside MH3. The main, Constructed portion of the set has a strong focus on supporting some specific mechanics …
It’s a tricky job identifying Constructed playables from Modern Horizons 3, because (at least in theory) they all are! Even the more potent sets we’ve seen in recent years are mostly made up of cards that will clearly never make the cut in Standard, let alone Modern. They’re a couple of turns too slow, or they don’t have a sufficiently …
Have you ever looked at your deck and thought “do I have too many creatures here”? Unless you were playing way back when Shivan Dragon was the best threat available, the very idea of “too many creatures” probably sounds weird. The power and utility offered by creature cards has been steadily growing throughout Magic’s history, and expectations of their role …
