Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Tom Anderson”
Typal decks are one of Magic’s great strategic standbys, and one of the greatest times to be playing them was during the original Lorwyn block. It featured the game’s deepest and most powerful creature types in merfolk, elves and goblins alongside new choices like treefolk and faeries, and introduced the Tribal (now Kindred) card type to strengthen them. The changeling …
Depending on what parts of the Magic community you tuned into over the past month, the most likely topics of conversation have been either the post-ban Standard format or Avatar: The Last Airbender. My own articles have mostly been concerned with ATLA, discussing the set’s Limited format and how it fulfills the promise of Universes Beyond. But just as I …
Universes Beyond has been the biggest talking point in Magic for years now – it’s been inescapable both in my writing and my casual conversations about the game. This does at least mean we’ve got a lot more experience with the reality of how different UB products have fared. The discussions we have around them can be much more nuanced …
Welcome to the Card Kingdom draft guide for Avatar: The Last Airbender – the Magic set! I’ve already written and thought about this set and its mechanics quite a bit, moreso than I usually do before writing the draft guide. If you’ve been reading those pieces, then you’ll know my early opinion on A:TLA is very positive – and I’m …
Nothing about the set previews or communicated design priorities would make you think that Avatar: The Last Airbender is an enchantment-focused set. It doesn’t have any new enchantress cards, or even other support cards specifically synergizing with enchantment-heavy decks. And still, a significant chunk of the set’s power is contained in a series of powerful rare enchantment cycles! From the …
I write more than a few blogs on this site where I discuss deckbuilding and strategy for Commander. But I rarely focus on my own personal decks as an example for others to follow. The way I see it, every Commander player has different priorities: I build my decks based on an idea I think is cool, and I tailor …
In terms of aesthetics, Magic has perhaps the broadest range of any tabletop game. And it gets broader all the time. From its high fantasy roots, traveling to different sets and planes have allowed us to see science fiction, westerns, classic mythology, magitek, cyberpunk, fairytales and even other pop culture IPs through Magic’s cardboard lens. But by far the most …
Besides just the fanservice element, one cool thing about Universes Beyond is how drastically different source material leads to some highly diverse Magic sets. Avatar: The Last Airbender will feature its fair share of legendary characters and beloved moments drawn from the TV show. But Avatar also has a power system that’s just as iconic and memorable as its main …
Does Magic ever get more exciting than spoiler season for a “return to” set? Not for my money. I’ve been fortunate enough to cover several “returns” on this blog over the years: Theros: Beyond Death, Ravnica Allegiance, Wilds of Eldraine, most recently Tarkir: Dragonstorm. But other than when we finally went back to (cyberpunk) Kamigawa for Neon Dynasty, none of …
I find myself saying this a lot, but the defining trait which elevates Magic above other card games is the sheer scale of its history and card pool. In a genre about exploring the range of gameplay possibilities and customizing decklists, simply having way more unique cards available is its own selling point. Of course, not all the these cards …
