#and mardu commander deck!!!!!

[leafdrake-haven]

ALMOST TARKIR PRE-RELEASE TIIIIIIME!!!!!

[rosyfacedlovebird]

thinking about Alesha

[lexiconarchitect]

Today will be looking at Mardu! Our commander is Queen Marchesa when it ETBs we become the Monarch. So, at our end step we will draw a card and whoever deals combat damage next will then become the Monarch. At the beginning of our upkeep if we are not the Monarch we will generate a haste/deathtouch snake. This allows us to create blockers and draw cards by sacrificing the token. Wilds of Eldraine gave us a lot of nutty enchantments that we will utilize in this deck! Keep a lookout for the deck tech later today!

[mrskayathefrog]

ok, fine. I'll build a Modern legal anime girl deck based around Spellstutter Sprite.

Magic: The Gathering deck whose theme is maximising the number of smug anime girls present in the illustrations while still having something resembling a coherent game plan.

[stormcrow13]

I was inspired by the showcase frames to make pride flag versions. And give Alesha and Death Greeter's Champion digital alters in the showcase frame and pride flag versions

It's not clear what Betor's Canon gender since they use the Collective We and plural They/them so agender, genderqueer, and enby

Ureni is canon enby and I prefer their standard card art so I made a pride and clan color version with their standard art

Eshki canonically has a wife

Felothar is Tarkir's second canon Transwoman clanleader. made a version without the people in the background and her commander deck card since I want to use that version to make a deck

Had to make versions for MtG's first confirmed trans character Alesha (Xancha appeared earlier but wasn't confirmed to be trans until after Alesha got a card). Gave her clan colors as well. Gave her Laughs at face Mardu and Kolaghan versions

And can't forget MtG's first Transman the unnamed Death-Greeter's Champion

[craccoonofficial]

Tarkir: Dragonstorm doesn't make any sense from a lore perspective. At least, the previewed cards don't make sense. Like, back in the last two Tarkir sets, the clans were abolished by the dragonlords. They don't exist anymore. Let's take the Abzan for example. Dromoka did a couple of things when she took over. Like the other dragonlords, she banned the old name of the clan, but most notably, she also banned the practice of necromancy by punishment of death. The spirit dragon in the Abzan commander deck reanimating stuff from your graveyard would be treason. And there are no khans anymore, the very word was outlawed by the dragons. I considered that the commander decks were from the old khans timeline, which would make sense with Zurgo as leader of the Mardu, but the Sultai, Abzan, and Temur all have different leaders than in the Khans timeline. The watermarks are the ones of the old khans, too, instead of the new dragon ones.

[niuttuc]

Niuttuc's Paper Commander Decks

I've made short threads over on Bluesky about my paper commander decks at this point, so figured I would also compile a list of links to them on this blog. The link for each will point to the thread, and will also include a direct link to the decklist for each for convenience.

Barrin's Bounce and Breakfast (bottom left, dark blue deckbox), a mono-blue control deck headed by Barrin that bounces its own creatures for value and the opponent's for protection. Bracket 3. Decklist

The Graveyard Gang (bottom center, bright green deckbox), a golgari self-mill graveyard deck with ten different commanders and one companion, with only creatures and lands. The commander for the deck is selected at random before each game, and the others go in the 99. Bracket 3. Decklist

Nyx-Lit Narset (center left, clear deckbox), an Aura Voltron deck in Jeskai that uses either timeline's Narset to buff up and beat face with. The deck does not have any extra turn or extra combat effects to avoid OG Narset instantly winning the game when she attacks. Bracket 3 with OG Narset, 2 with Exile. Decklist

Hand Over the Spoons (left, starprint deckbox), a mono-black theft deck headed by Lobelia that will primarily steal cards from opponents' libraries and graveyards, but can also nab things from hands, battlefields or even command zones! Bracket 2 (technically with a Game Changer) Decklist

My Best Defense is your Best Offense (top right, orange deckbox), a Bant counter deck that aims at its own permanents, but can also manipulate combat by giving counters to other players thanks to its commander, Kros. Bracket 2. Decklist

Only Doing It For The Triggers! (Top right, purple deckbox) A four-color Yidris deck all about getting value out of combat damage triggers and attack triggers. The value is often tempting enough it's hard to resist the temptation of attacking to be able to block and not die. Bracket 2 (technically with a Game Changing Yuriko in the deck (and two other ninjas in the entire deck)). Decklist

Seeing Double? It's not the Halo (center left, red deckbox), a mono-red value deck helmed by Jaxis. It will generate value from copying creatures with enters, attack or death triggers, from dragons, titans and other artifacts. It can do very explosive things when everything lines up. Bracket 2. Decklist

Utilitown (top center, grey deckbox), a five-color deck that's really a colorless deck. It focuses on colorless utility lands, but its primary wincon is to repeatedly Door to Nothingness opponents. Led by Kyodai, mostly for the colors and to look non-threatening. It's a really weird one. Bracket 3. Decklist

Tap, Untap. Concede? (top left, purple deckbox), an esper combo deck all about tapping and untapping sweet creatures and artifacts, like its commander Merieke Ri Berit. If left alone, the deck eventually ends up generating infinite everything and winning the game. Tentative Bracket 4? Decklist

Kodama does Kodama Things (bottom right, green deckbox), a mono-Green all permanents deck that tries to exploit the already strong Kodama of the East Tree to the extreme, with an artifact token subtheme that helps Kodama get more land drops and the secondary commander Ich-Tekik be a wincon. Bracket 3. Decklist

Extus's Wonderful Adventures (center right, purple and yellow deckbox), a Mardu control deck focused on the front side of the MDFC commander that uses Adventures as both things to get back with him, and fuel for its spellslinging trigger. Bracket 2. Decklist

Rhys (2018) (center right, black and white deckbox), a nostalgic Selesnya token deck that has been kept unchanged since 2018, as a time capsule of both my deckbuilding at the time, and the format as it felt then. It is still capable of holding its own. Bracket 2. Decklist

The Bookkeeper (top center, purple deckbox), a five-color gimmick deck led by Garth One-Eye that challenges me to keep track of increasingly crazy board states with as many different named mechanics as possible. Bracket 1. Decklist

Feel free to give your thoughts on any of these, some I've already mentioned or made dedicated posts about on Tumblr in the years prior.

[radncoolaesthetic]

Sidisi, brood tyrant; my beloved, I built the deck when KTK released and she lets me do my favorite thing in magic which is to move cards from one zone to another, and also make a hoard of zombie tokens to brutally murder my friends with 🖤💚🩵 (fun gimick the deck is over 50% creatures and doesn't run sol ring)

So there are more tumblr mtg players than I anticipated, it turns out. What's everyone's favourite commander?

I'll go first, Juri of the Revue.

(Honourable mention to my meme deck where you have to get a date for Jenson Carthalion, Druid Exile by swiping left or right with his scry ability.)

[devilcat3d]

Never apologize for anything ever and your rambling is excellent. I took your advice and splashed green into my main deck for more token blockers, varied removal, and creature tutors. Though on second thought white would also give me what I need, just in a different way. You mentioned your favorite color is black. Is there a particular deck you like? I’m hoping it’s just as silly as the Gandalf polycule deck.

awww thank you im glad you liked my rambling <3 and omg that's awesome congrats!! splashing new colors is a great way to make your deck more interesting and fun. green is a very good color in commander especially due to its incredible ramp so i hope that it gives your deck the boost you are looking for!!

and yeah the color i tend to play the most is definitely black (even tho a lot of the time i say red is my favorite color lol) and i have built a lot of decks with it, but unfortunately they are not nearly as interesting or fun as the gandalf polyamory deck. i tend to build my mono black decks as very value heavy decks full of themes or cards i like but i have yet to find a gimmick that matches gandalf in terms of sillyness in those colors so im sorry to disappoint lol. i do have many decks with the color black on my archidekt page if you want to take a look, ive been building lots of mardu lately so theres lot of black there for sure!! i also built two very recent mono black decks in old flitterfang and rev, tithe extractor!! i also have old decks like braids, arisen nightmare (i also have her in paper!!) and valgavoth, terror eater but they are old and need updates. thank you for the ask!!

[inventors-fair]

Bad Pun Commentary: Stand-Up Designs

I was kind of surprised by the number of entries that we had this week, but I feel like I've been saying that a lot. Regardless, with that number there's a lot of variety in how we approached puns and wordplay this week, and there were quite a few swings of the pendulum.

The best cards, I feel, blended strong Magic worlds/designs with the wordplay as a means to bring the card's strengths to light. Having done all the commentary already, I can also say that a lot of people latched onto specific puns and then designed around them in a way that might not have taken all of the Magic aspects into consideration. Maybe that's just me, though, and I wonder if I took some of these too seriously. Still, a good card evokes emotion after the mechanics have been thoroughly established, and the conversation between what a card IS and what it DOES should flow naturally.

I've narrowed down a few Judge Picks this week, for cards that I want to commend for various specifics in their design. Thanks for your patience with commentary—I love doing these, but getting the time to do them all really is getting to me. Still, we sally forth:

@bergdg — Fell Crow

I think that this card groks pretty well. I thought the wording would have to be a little bit different, but I suppose you don't have to specifically attach it because of the ability that it's attached to a creature you don't control. Really cool tech there. I'm a fan of creatures becoming auras upon return, and while the design space isn't the widest, it's not the narrowest either. Interactive auras are the name of the game. Depending on what other themes may be present, a pseudo-free Disfigure on a flier is really strong. Not a first-pick but really amazing support if you're going into that midrangey black style that likes to control combat.

PUN FACTOR: I almost wonder if the flavor text could've used something about zombies and the dead "sticking around" for it. Either way, I feel the wordplay but not necessarily the whole thematic cohesion. Maybe it's just me and velcro not having the most Magic-themed relationship?

~

@capnsoapy — Arcane Swan

Well, we're definitely in Commander territory, and I expected that we'd see a few Commander-oriented cards this week. The whole trifecta that you've got going on here is pretty wild—consistent, though! Just about everything here is bird-themed enough to make sense. The pseudo-offspring to get the Cygnet is a fair enough choice, although mild note, you are missing the second quotation mark there in the rules text. Getting a spare mana rock on turn 4 or earlier is fine with the bodies. As our second 2/2 flying Bird for three mana in this commentary (and yes, I know, that's where the similarities end lol), it's a perfectly serviceable way to ramp. Not exactly ideal for what your deck might want to do for four mana, but perhaps Bant Birds is in the market for it.

PUN FACTOR: I will admit that asking someone if they're going to use the Signet or the Cygnet is pretty funny. The naming of the token, despite being necessary for the joke, kinda makes me want to consider just Arcane Cygnet (or maybe something like Arcanist's Cygnet?) as a stand-alone card over that. Still, unfortunate that Offspring wouldn't really produce that kind of token.

~

@corporalotherbear — School of Thought (JUDGE PICK)

I really like this card, actually. The on-curve illusory fliers solidifies a place in my nostalgic heart. A big school breaking into little fish feels pretty on-theme, and I can visualize the massive group of fish that would make this up. Blue's rate of fliers has been a little less aggressive compared to other colors recently, or maybe that's just me whining because I've been hardlining Mardu for the last couple weeks at FNM. Regardless: getting fliers and baiting out necessary removal is big. It can kinda suck to have an on-curve creature die from something that wouldn't otherwise kill it, but if they can't interact, then you've got some awesome beats. And if they can, you still have a couple ways to go wide! Great little card you've got there.

PUN FACTOR: Historic basis plus a subtle, pleasant image makes this one a huge in in my books. There's just enough to make it a smile-worthy pun with a strong background in, well, Magic's own school of thought.

~

@deg99 — Fae Smasher

Or enchanted by Faeries! But seeing as Flitterstep Eidolon is a spirit... Anyway. Big on-curve green dudes—what more is there to say? I know you had mentioned something about the world where this came from, maybe Dominarian, maybe Eldraine, but a world in which Orcs and Faeries are interacting at all means that this thing's a beater and that's that. I'm sure that there's some niche interactions for it, but I won't harp on about the ways in which this card impacts limited, because yeah, it's pretty obvious that we're mostly based around the joke. I will say that giving this thing reach is pretty cool considering that you might also need a blocker as a deterrent for Faerie shenanigans. A better choice than vigilance or haste or what have you, I'll say. A touch more subtle.

PUN FACTOR: The name is a thumbs-up. "Face Smasher" to "Fae Smasher" isn't the twistiest turn of the tongue, but it works. I feel that the flavor text isn't quite reaching me; I love that Kr'Ogg loves the sparkles, but we get that he hits the pixies and sprites. Could've been slightly trimmed and/or given a more poetic touch.

~

@dimestoretajic — Banana Appeal

I've seen a Kibo deck play. I've seen so much unintentional misery from that Kibo deck after a game's gone on for a thousand turns. Either way, thank goodness that this card is here to make that slightly faster. The second ability should be worded "Whenever a player sacrifices an artifact token" to start, I believe, but it's fair to say that you've got some Banana nonsense on your hands. Actually, I thought this gave haste and not trample, because I was going to make a Xenagos comparison, but looking at Xenagos it should also be "...target creature you control gains haste and gets +X/+X until end of turn" there too. Either way, the trample is interesting, because Kibo tends to be lower to the ground, and I can imagine this being in other lower-to-the-ground decks that aren't as common in Commander for that reason. Going tall can be a little more wild than going wide if you've got this kind of evasion, after all. Token builds? Voltron? I think you've got a few potential options.

PUN FACTOR: There is indeed an amount of appeal there. I'm not guffawing, but I'm smirking. IT's certainly well-themed and I'm positive that Kibo players would love playing it both mechanically and thematically.

~

@dphkraken — Living Daylights (JUDGE PICK)

Sometimes I wish that this effect was better in its respective formats, because I love blinking and I love returning things, and in limited you're not always in the best spot when you're saving your stuff like this. But you get to be a little aggressive, you get to be on-curve, and as a bear this one is pretty darn funny. The fact that you can return itself like a mini-blink really feels on-theme for it, and despite this paragraph mostly being about mechanics I gotta say that the theme connection is tickling me a bit. It's momentarily here, and then it's not. Protection as long as it's untapped is really interesting too, and while the gameplay aspect of that probably isn't going to be as relevant as the ETB, you've got a fun little block potential for those interactive black aggro/control decks matching white's curve. What a neat little card.

PUN FACTOR: "You scared the living daylights out of me! How do I know? It's right there!" I didn't expect anything like this card and I'm pleasantly surprised. The flavor text gave me a sensible chuckle as well. Lovely little card you've got.

~

@fluffycattens — Airlift Supplies

As far as I can tell, you do indeed need to list out the token types in a bulleted list. I like the notion of making these things, though, and I also like "choose one that hasn't been chosen this turn" effects in just about all colors. The ability to get multiple Swords onto the battlefield honestly feels like a sleeper hit in limited when you can get permanent buffs to move around for your creatures. Maybe it's a bit of a mana investment, but that's just what you need sometimes to swing for the win if you don't have any specific combat tricks up your sleeve. I feel that this one should definitely be a rare, because getting resources every time a creature enters feels like a bit more of a boon than uncommon should support, especially if you have any kind of token creature creation as a main theme, which fits well for the Mardu.

PUN FACTOR: The tone of the flavor text evokes Duskmourn in a way that doesn't feel cohesive to Tersa's character as we've seen on flavor text. "Dragon drop" is kinda funny, but only on places where "drag and drop" would also make any kind of sense, and Tarkir really isn't the right environment. I'm honestly not sure how one could make this work fully.

~

@fractured-infinity — Ghastly Prison

I was baffled about the wording between this and things like Blood Reckoning, but then I read Kazuul and now I'm even more baffled as to why Kazuul doesn't just say the same thing. There's probably a really obvious reason that I'm missing but I won't get into that now because, well, turns out that your wording is totally correct aside from the "you are" instead of "you're" there. An attacker's tax is still pretty good, and I imagine that this is more of a Commander-oriented card, although the power that you can get from playing this in limited is pretty wild. Throwing it down turn four on the play means that your opponent really has to crawl back to something that resembles a decent attack. Quite an interesting problem, but them's the breaks.

PUN FACTOR: I don't think the wordplay is as strong as it could be on this card. Ghasts are usually spirits, and there's already Ghostly Prison as the base for it. The flavor text doesn't really ring in anything for me, either. Fine card, but as far as puns go, I'm not feeling it.

~

@genericaura — Lights Out (JUDGE PICK)

Weirdly enough, Teleportal is the only other card that's quite as comparable to this, at least as far as I can tell. There are other sorts of effects that make your opponents' creatures unable to block, but that's no exactly what this does. And on that note, I really like that mechanical bend! Personally, I like it being an instant, because I love making my opponent try some pre-blocking shenanigans before I hit them with the secret combat trick. That said, play design would mostly likely make this a sorcery for intuitive purposes. I do wish that this card had flavor text, but it's not egregious without it, I suppose? As a Dimir card, it's pretty excellent, and a good way to turn your little not-as-evasive spies into game finishers provided that you don't need to use this to blow something up. Not bad, not bad at all.

PUN FACTOR: More on the "clever" side than the "funny" side, but really great as it stands. The dual meaning with the uncertainty of the image is really well-done!

~

@grornt — Treasure Haunt

Yeah, perfectly serviceable as a black uncommon, and a real pain in the butt in limited when you're on the receiving end of an aggro build. The death-to-Treasure pipeline is pretty great for both helping with the pun and encouraging continued aggression, because at the turn that your opponent might be able to get something to block this creature, you can then ramp your second main into something else that they're gonna have to deal with on top of drawing a card. It's not great in the late game and it's not supposed to be—this card is something you want on turns 2-4 to get yourself swinging. Welkin Tern with ramp/draw on death in black is actually really great, and I think this card can go straight to print! Just about every archetype could find a use for it.

PUN FACTOR: The flavor text really does good work for this card. I sometimes find it frustrating that the good English words are already game terms, but that's my neuroses about variety as it appears on cards. It's definitely cute, and the whole package really brings the mood together. If this was a pirate-themed contest, it'd be a runner-up at the very least.

~

@harunakonomi — Marrow

It's fascinating how Lord f Extinction really changed the whole Lhurgoyf experience, and at the same time it didn't change it at all. Cards in graveyards mattering has never been so simple. Did you feel smart for this card? Honestly, you should. It's amazing to find that space that seems like it should've been tread already, and yet just doesn't exist in the same way. Is this card necessarily good? It'd be good in draft and I'm sure that someone would find a way to make it work in Commander for a big casual beater; other than that, it is just a vanilla creature. But lordy does it just feel good to see and play. Maybe it would stay around 6-7 P/T at the top end in an average draft game. But that's still worth a rare slot and worth the fascination. I enjoy the fact that you've shown me this card immensely!

PUN FACTOR: Not gonna lie, though—someone had to explain this to me. I'm a fake Magic player and 100% forgot about Maro. As far as that goes, the callback is clever enough for me to give it a nod, even if I personally feel embarrassed that it wasn't obvious to me. Good flavor text, too. Just the right amount of gravitas.

~

@helloijustreadyourpost — Bear Witness

Capenna? Arcavios? Where have all the good bears gone? Seriously though, I'm surprised that there isn't a specific bear world. Let's make one up then! I wondered if a bear witness would return a 2/2 creature from graveyard to hand, but I think I actually designed that a few years ago. All the same, scrying upon criming is pretty reasonable. She sees your actions, boom. Scrying is a little weak for uncommon, IMO, but that may be just me. I like the Citizen typing as well to fit the character. For a card that's exuding a more silly vibe, all the pieces come together enough for me. The P/T fits, of course, and I can envision a U/G detective-themed archetype with criminal choices. I really do think this could be a common with crime reminder text.

PUN FACTOR: Honestly I think I've seen this name on at least three custom cards before, so the surprise factor may have been diminished. Still, that was before crime was a mechanic, and I appreciate you bringing that together. The flavor text might have been stronger with a different bear-themed pun. "And then, the dramatic paws—" ...okay, maybe not that, but.

~

@hypexion — Towering Wickerfolk

"Creatures with flying can't attack you" is an absolutely bonkers line of text. As someone who is trying to get back into Brago combo, I see this card and I'm seething immediately. Now, Sandwurm Convergence is already a card, and I had to double-check to make sure that the rules said what I thought they said, so this isn't exactly new ground, but I'm still incredibly happy to see it on a body like this. At the very least this card is an on-curve evasive creature that ruins blue's time because it essentially makes all of their fliers useless. If this is ground-to-ground combat, then you're still in for an awesome time. Perhaps it's not the most combo-centric card, no, but it doesn't have to be. Big green straw machine. I can picture the art, too, even without a description—giant scarecrows are underrated.

PUN FACTOR: It's evident that the scarecrow-to-flavor-text connection is the basis for this entire card. And you know what? I'm not complaining. For being a well-tread dad joke, the "field" of terrifying people is probably ironic enough for this to get at least one smirk. Fitting for what it's trying to do.

~

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Foreshadow

Positives: the name being the name of the creature and not the verb is a nice little twist. It is the Foreshadow—yeah, it's a little bit off the beaten path for those sorts of names, but it's evident that you ran with it in the best way you could. Multiple copies can definitely help to get more counters, and this can pick off some of your opponent's smaller creatures quite easily, and/or make the eventual combat that you play this a bit stronger. I feel that the Shade type could've worked better (there is no current "Shadow" type). As an on-curve rare, it feels clunky for general removal and it's not the most efficient use of mana, but it's doing exactly what the flavor wants it to do, and that's kinda the name of the game here. Between this and Tetzimoc I think I'd be fine with either, although Tetzimoc is a bit more immediate. Very minor note: you forgot the period in the first ability.

PUN FACTOR: Heh, guess I already mentioned this in the previous part. I do kinda like it in the end. The flavor text adds that insidious little wink, and I feel that it's as good as it can be. The name as a noun being verbally connected with Forecast as a verb ability is slightly confusing but that's just English for ya.

~

@izzet-always-r-versus-u — Crunching Numbers (JUDGE PICK)

I'm only starting off with this as a caution to double-check precedent, but someone did point out how much this flavor text was similar to the flavor text of Oversimplify. Now that aside, the punny nature of Strixhaven cards, and especially Quandrix cards, is still very much alive and well here, and the connection you made between the art description, Magic's "bite" effects, and the flavor of Quandrix all adds up quite well—mediocre pun intended. The number are indeed crunching. Let's talk mechanics! I imagine that if you need to take out a big creature with your own big creature, a three-mana bite sorcery is going to be fine, and whaddaya gonna do, it's limited. Using a massive creature to take out a smaller creature and get a body and trigger any kind of +1/+1 synergy and/or ETBs and/or token creation... You get the picture. The ability to get a big body off of this and remove a small blocker turns your board presence up to the max. Very fun mono-green advantage.

PUN FACTOR: Like I mentioned before, it really does all come together sans flavor text, and knowing you I'm sure you could come up with something exactly as clever. These kinds of puns for this contest, the ones that really blend what's established with what's witty, make me smile.

~

@lanabutnotdelray — Loan Ranger

This is going to sound weird, but I feel that this could've been an uncommon. I'm comparing it to something like Generous Plunderer, which is of course doing its own thing, but giving your opponents Treasures is a really risky thing. Attacking with a 2/2 that has to ramp your opponent in order to not be blocked is, well... I can say for certain that unless my opponent is at exactly two life, I would never once use that ability. Ramp and fixing is absolutely not something you want to give to your opponent without massive upside to you, and a single instance of small evasion isn't enough of an upside to justify this. Maybe if you were looking to get into more of a connection with the name, you could punish your opponents for using the Treasures, either by causing a negative effect or giving yourself more of a bonus. This current iteration isn't strong enough for the cost.

PUN FACTOR: I can picture the mustache-twisting character here, that kind of Graywater vibe. Aside from that, I feel that this card could definitely have leaned on flavor text to determine whether this character is more villain or charlatan. It's definitely imaginative, though, and I didn't expect this reference.

~

@lemurking — O-Mai, Lord of Good Heavens

Oh my, good heavens, dear God, holy crap, great scott. We'll get to that part in a second. Within these colors, the BG Food build is available—where does the Food come from? A token generated upon death doesn't actually help build into the activated ability that O-Mai is asking you to do. I don't mind the general idea of an inverse/draining Food token—and if there were some kind of Abzan Food build-around archetype, then sure, I'm all for it. Still, and this is a personal thing, I don't think I'm on board for making literal divine poop tokens by eating food. That kind of flavor is... Well, I won't be too vulgar. The bottom line is that for a mythic that has a specific archetype, not being able to specifically support that archetype without a multitude of support cards feels like a miss to me.

PUN FACTOR: "O-Mai" and "Deer God" would have been enough. It was enough, and then the joke didn't stop, and I think that "less is more" is the lesson I want to pass on here. The flavor text is entirely nonsensical, and like, I get it, it's all part of the sayings—what's necessary here? You can have punny cards that still feel like cards. The snowballing expressions all add up here but not in a way that makes O-Mai feel like it's coming into its own.

~

@phyrexiandreadthot — Bear Arms

What is it about bears that draws puns out? Is it just the word? I honestly couldn't begin to tell you. Well, now we have a bear with a, uh, type of firearm! Fantastic. And that's less sarcasm than good-intentioned snark. Anyway, I feel that the snap-on could've been "When this Equipment enters, if you control no creatures, create a 2/2 Bear token and attach this Equipment to it. If you don't create a token this way, attach this Equipment to target creature you control and untap it." I don't know why, but it feels like it groks better. The long and short of it is that you've got a pretty annoyingly strong buff for this cost, but whatever, it's a big flashy equipment and you can stand for it. The colored equip cost is definitely a hinderance, one that may or may not be necessary, and I actually appreciate it. It's hard to see the whole in-universe flavor of this card, but something tells me that this wasn't intended to be part of a particular world.

PUN FACTOR: I mean, it's exactly what it says on the tin, right? There's a lot going on here, and in the end the card itself doesn't really serve the pun; it could've been any bear-themed equipment and it would've felt fine. I'd have liked to see you emphasize some other aspect of the pun, some other dimensionality.

~

@piccadilly-blue — Once Upon a Crime

I've got a lot to say about the flavor here, but the first thing I'd like to say is: THANK you for including reminder text for non-evergreen mechanics. Phew. Right, now: this card allows you to commit a crime without actually countering the spell, a la Fatal Push wording, which is clever as hell in itself. The twobrid cycling is something that I don't think we've ever seen, either—so maybe nonblue decks can run this just to draw a card, sure, great limited resource there. A two-mana counterspell is always strong, and the ways to make crimes happen is abundant enough for this to be a fun possible-include for control decks in this theoretical set's era. It is just a counterspell, sure, but sometimes that's all you need.

PUN FACTOR: The flavor text and art depicting a flashback feels really unique to me, pleasantly so. Maybe the art is kinda vintage-y, depicting a character who has a legendary card in the same set as an adult... I might just be tickled by the cool perspective, honestly. The actual pun is decent, if not a knee-slapper. The whole vibe leans on the serious side of detective pulp—and I mean that as a compliment! It's cohesive in a way that's worth acknowledging.

~

@real-aspen-hours — Barry, the Hatchet

Mechanically, this is actually an interesting card that helps with both sacrifice effects, delirium effects, and general aggro all at once. I'm honestly quite impressed with how this turned out on the mechanic side of things! The ability to get a new body and get a free evasive attacker that may or may not need to stick around is really powerful. I think it's a good idea to keep this legendary for sure. Facing off against two of these would be a nightmare, even if sacrificing one axe to the other could be funny. Regardless, I really like the way that this card would play out. Quite a strong design. I don't really understand the flavor of what you're going for. Is it supposed to be a possessed weapon? I guess that would make the most sense.

PUN FACTOR: The name doesn't have anything to do with the flavor, and is in fact the opposite of what the adage means; if it's going for irony, then it's still a little too on-the-nose with the homophones. Additionally, the English appropriation of the indigenous story-turned-saying may be more off-color than perhaps intended. Might be something to be aware of in the future, these things happen.

~

@reaperfromtheabyss — Treebuttal

Yep, it's a kindred Treefolk spell, at least in spirit, and wouldn't yew beleaf, you don't have to branch out to make a decently funny card. In all seriousness, I like the trend of cards that are objectively better in X scenario even though they can be played in YZ deck just fine. This card is a slightly upgraded Hunt the Weak, being an instant with a Treefolk bend, and it's nothing new but it's also still very good. I'm not personally a believer in four-mana fight spells, and as a result I've often been on the receiving end of many powerful four-mana fight spells that have made me lose horrifically. Not much I can do about that but accept that it's a decent rate! The flavor name and the fact that it's an instant tie into each other well, I like that.

PUN FACTOR: I might have liked a little bit of AD or FT to really solidify the humor of the image, but it's something I hadn't considered going into this contest and something I haven't seen before wordplay-wise. I'll admit, I'd love to tap mana and have the conversation of: "Do you have a response?" "Better than a response—I have a TREEBUTTAL" and get a groan from an opponent. That's fun.

~

@stareyedesper — Deadnought

It's interesting, actually—a quick skim shows that the original "Dreadnought" name is just "fear not" in origin, and it's a pretty valiant name for such a sinister-sounding origin. Magic's non-UB dreadnoughts are limited to two actual ships and Phyrexian Dreadnought... Hm. Did this intend to be more shiplike? I'm not quite seeing that, unless it's more that this is just a nickname for some big brutish thing, in which case...well, Dreadnought's actual meaning is kinda strange here. But I'm getting off-topic, because this is supposed to be mechanics. Right. The only real critique is that I think the indestructible should come before the tap, like on Popular Egotist. Aside from that it's a pretty cool big mono-black Zombie bomb, and there's nothing wrong with that at all. I'm imagining that it's more of an amalgam in design, perhaps, something cobbled and stitched into a giant form. But that's just my imagination.

PUN FACTOR: Like I mentioned, it's a little strange to have this not quite related to ships, but only because I looked up what kind of ship it was. If we're going to just start calling all kinds of juggernauts "___nought," then that's fine by me. Wait, where does "Juggernaut" come from, then? I keep getting distracted by etymology... [Edit: it's Sanskrit in origin, really cool Hindu history, bastardized into English. Check it out.]

~

@tanknspank — Mourning Wood

Well, it had to come up sooner or later. Day and night is one of the mechanics of all time—and look, I actually really liked Day/Night in limited. I was a fan. Whether or not it was good was another story, but the fact remains that I personally thought it was cool. The one thing that mattered was that the cards that cared about Day/Night actively made it so that it would get started, and this land isn't relevant by itself because of that. Womp. I don't know if it would be too wordy with it, honestly, but that doesn't matter because it's more or less necessary for these kinds of cards to function. As far as the day/night stuff goes, why would untapping do anything if it goes off between turns? Are you going to float upkeep mana, untap during an opponent's turn for...reasons? I'm not sure I "get" this card's intentions on a mechanical level, but maybe I'm missing something.

PUN FACTOR: "Wallow in grief," is that what they're calling it? I snorted and contemplated the appropriateness, but we're here now, so—yeppers. Heh. Fine, it's funny, I'm still smirking, take that as a consolation prize.

~

@wildcardgamez — An Otter You Can't Refuse

One mana to counter a creature spell is quite powerful. I mean, we've got Strix Serenade as probably the closest equivalent to this card, right? It's far narrower, and the creature that it gives is smaller with no evasion, and... Hm. I wonder how strong this card is, and then I remember: one-mana creature counter. There's a lot to ponder there but a prowess Otter really isn't going to get through much. I think this card's really trying to push those limits and I'm down for it. It's incredibly annoying to play against, sure, but it's mostly a limited problem; constructed formats can deal with it and play around the holdup. It doesn't stop combat tricks and it doesn't stop other control decks with their shenanigans, so I'm on the side of it being powerful-not-broken.

PUN FACTOR: Am I being offered an otter? Well hot damn, sign me up! It's cute enough to be a fair reference, even if I'm a little concerned that the last time we saw prowess-Otters they were sapient. What kind of otter am I being offered, hm? I'm not saying no, I'll take the otter, but I want details. And a little hat.

~

@yd12k — Pinafore Stranger

Well, the majority of the card is based around the joke, but as far as the Omen goes, it's a little odd to have that kind of color-hate at common, IMO. There's precedent for it sometimes but tapping and drawing is still okay? I guess? So my issue in discussing this card's mechanics is that it's so central to me understanding the flavor of the pun at the center that the actual card itself feels like it got lost in the shuffle. A vanilla 2/3 whose omen taps a creature is fine, and the multicolored common spells, I'm on board with. The theoretical environment might not want as many omens, but I'm sure there are enough to make it work with multicolored pairs at common if they're not too complex. Tapping an allied color doesn't grok well to me, but I get that it's all in service of the rhyme.

PUN FACTOR: I have no idea if there's a cultural reference that I'm missing or if the wordplay between the creature and omen name is just that. Either way, I don't feel that this was the best approach.

~

@yourrightfulking — Corvid-19, the Ill Omen

So it discourages you from attacking with two or more creatures as well? I guess you have a two-powered evasive flier, and then you're in a standoff with each player only really able to attack with one creature at a time. Honestly, I get the stax aspect of this card, but I don't feel that it necessarily leads to better gameplay. I can see how this would grind down games over time until both players have a massive board and nobody really wants to swing until they can guarantee good blocks, which is far less likely with this thing putting counters on attackers. If there's any kind of larger -1/-1 counter theme, too, it's probably a nuisance to lose your synergistic creatures. I get that it has to happen sometimes. I just don't think this card specifically is the way to deal with that.

PUN FACTOR: I feel that this card is in poor taste, and I'm not sure how the humorous aspect is supposed to come across here. I get the wordplay—it's the reference that's not doing it for me.

~

Thank you all for your entries! Was it just me or did we have a lot of green this week? Either way, enjoy your mechanical designs this week.

@abelzumi

[jeskaim]

Tarkir: Dragonstorm

For the people that actually read my blog I apologize for the lack of posts on Aetherdrift. To be honest the whole set was kind of "meh" for me. Plus besides Radiant Lotus and the new Amonkhet gods there weren't that many notable cards.

I've been MUCH more interested in the next set: Tarkir: Dragonstorm because Khans of Tarkir was the latest set when I first got back into Magic over ten years ago and I can't wait to go back. Obviously I can't wait for the new support for dragons and to see how the five clans have evolved since last time.

First off the card that's getting the most attention: a new Mox artifact and a card with the Storm mechanic. I honestly don't know which one is more surprising. I guess it has to be a card with Storm being in a standard-legal set with Stormscale Scion. The last time we saw Storm was in Bloomburrow on the Ral Emblem but that only gives other cards Storm while this one has it printed on the card. At six CMC it's not the cheapest dragon but Storm is a mechanic that's so powerful a scale was named after it to judge how likely mechanics are going to be seen in a Standard-legal set. For Mox Jasper I can definitely see it being used more in commander than 60-card formats like Standard and Modern since dragons don't see that much play. Who knows? With how many dragons that are bound to be in this set we may see a deck put it to use. These two are definitely going into my Sarkhan deck.

Return of the Clans

With our return to Tarkir it's a given that we're seeing the five clans again. Back in Dragons of Tarkir when Sarkhan went back in time to prevent Ugin from dying and as a consequence prevented dragons from going extinct we saw the dragons Kolaghan, Silumgar, Atarka, Ojutai, and Dromoka as the head of their clan counterparts but according to the story that's been released they've all died and the originals clans are back along with the clan watermarks. I'm obviously excited for the new Jeskai cards (it's literally in my username) but I'm also excited to see what other cards we get for each clan.

(Former) Planeswalkers

With our return to Tarkir it's no surprise we see its two resident planeswalkers: Sarkhan (who was originally a member of the Mardu before his spark ignited for those who don't know) and Narset. Sarkhan definitely fits more into dragon decks but Narset is definitely a powerhouse. That ability to let you draw cards at the end of your turn for each spell you cast if you discard your hand can easily be abused.

Now for the last two cards that have been revealed so far. I'm glad to see Sieges come back as two-colored enchantments that let you choose a clan with those two colors. I assume we're going to see more color combinations like UR for Jeskai and Temur or BG for Sultai and Abzan and we do they remind me of the "Bond" cycle from War of the Spark where we saw two guilds that share a color teaming up and fusing their symbols to combine their power to help defeat Nicol Bolas. Rally The Monastery looks interesting. I'm glad to see the return of 1/1 white Monk creature tokens with prowess like we first saw on Monastery Mentor back in Fate Reforged and March of the Machine. Since Narset is in the artwork it's obviously suited for Jeskai decks.

We're still a few weeks away from release so I'll post more cards as we get them but for now that's all. I can't wait to see more cards because I'm super excited for this set.

[the-worst-gayest-clown-ever]

Just played a game of magic with my new ooos all orks deck and I gotta say, I get why people like orks now. Whaaagh is correct

[foxelfprincess]

my top 10 favorite new commanders from 2024

as we wrap up the year, i wanted to take a moment to celebrate some of my favorite new cards of the year! notably, i'm only going to be considering commanders i actually built or at least theorycrafted. i do tend to at least theorycraft anything that really catches my eye, but this list is going to be heavily weighted towards what i personally enjoy playing rather than what might broadly be considered the “best” or most powerful commander.

10. (tie) kellan the kid & yuma proud protector

i agonized over this last cut for a while, i even looked really hard at the rest of the list just to make sure i wasn't being too precious about any of the other commanders, but in the end this is just a straight-up tie between my two favorite cards from outlaws of thunder junction. (ok, yuma is technically from the commander set not the main set. shush. you know what i mean.)

these two are also notable for being in my two favorite color identities, bant (the color identity i currently associate myself with the most) and naya (the color identity i used to associate myself with the most). and for both being led by characters i loved from the official story. (maybe you can read about that in a forthcoming post! who can say?)

 lands are my favorite card type by a pretty wide margin so a lands-matter commander like yuma is always going to get my attention. kellan, on the other hand, is just a fun commander who cares about casting spells from places other than your hand. he encourages unique play patterns (one of my favorite things a commander can do), and he made me look at a lot of cards i wouldn't really have considered in most decks.

9. the infamous cruelclaw

if mere power alone were my primary consideration, cruelclaw would be at or near the top of my list. i like to tell people that selesnya is my guild and rakdos is the guild i flirt with at parties in hopes they'll take me home & leave me with some hot bruises, and perhaps nowhere is that better illustrated than in my ninth favorite new commander of the year.

ok, let's get this out of the way. this weasel is hot. i mean, just look at him. and he's a sadist on top of that??? genuinely unfair, wizards. y'all knew exactly what you were doing.

as for how he plays, clearly he is quite a bit spikier than most of the commanders i build. you're just looking to connect with him once and then cast bonkers value for free. imagine a turn 3 eldrazi titan or sheoldred. yeah, oof.

cruelclaw is a kill-on-sight commander, and it's pretty rare for me to go into a game wanting to establish myself as the archenemy on turn 0, so it keeps him from being much higher on this list. but he's also a character who is so pretty he makes me dumb and a commander that emcorages a very unique, very fun (for the person playing him) play pattern, so there was just no way i was leaving him off my list of favorite new commanders of the year.

8. alesha who laughs at fate

speaking of how rakdos is the guild i flirt with at parties, why hello magic's first canonical trans woman (and star of a lot of people's favorite mtg story of all time) appearing on your second card ever! i built old/mardu alesha into probably the most cedh-adjacent deck i've ever built, and she's a beast. capable of winning (or at least knocking one player out) out of literally nowhere. as much as i love the character and as proud as i was of the deck, i very quickly felt like i got as much out of it as i really could, so i'm really happy to see one of my favorite characters of all time get a less powerful but still very fun card.

reanimator is not an archetype i build very often, but i really like the design of this version of alesha. her raid trigger is essentially a drastically less broken version of her old card's reanimator effect. for instance, she doesn't enable the master of cruelties combo that is capable of one-shotting an opponent out of nowhere. but she's still a value engine of a commander who encorages you to swing in every turn, which is just an incredible translation of lore to game mechanics.

also i know this is the gameplay list not the story list, but i'm a vorthos so any list i make is gonna be at least a little bit vorthosy. and i just gotta say, the clues that alesha is somehow still going to be alive when we go back to tarkir thanks to some timey wimey shenanigans are really starting to pile up, and i am so ready to be right about a tin foil hat theory i've had since march of the machine for the absolute dumbest reasons.

7. thurid mare of destiny

i built this one for my boyfriend, not myself, but it's so great to finally have a deck that can unite all the horse girl creature types and the end result is dang fun to play. forget clunky lifegain & +1/+1 counter synergies, how about getting a copy of every single horse, unicorn, or pegasus you cast? i'm a sucker for kindred decks, but thurid brings something genuinely unique to the table for some of the game's most neglected creature types.

6. baylen the haymaker

i love token decks, but it's hard to do much better than my beloved cadira caller of the small as a token commander. fortunately baylen goes about being a token commander much differently than cadira and many other token enablers. rather than simply trying to flood the board with a lethal bunny army (in fact, he doesn't even generate tokens himself or amplify other ways of generating tokens), baylen gives you ways to capitalize on the tokens on your board to generate resources. tapping two untapped tokens gets you a mana of any color, three draws you a card, and four gives your bunny boy commander a +1/+1 counter and trample.

cadira is arguably my best deck, and  even the clunkiest build of them threatens to steamroll decks of theoretically similar power levels thanks to the inherent snowball effect of their triggered ability. i like playing them at a stronger power level because opponents usually have the boardwipes and other ways of dealing with their adorable but deadly bunny army to keep the game fun & balanced.

baylen can absolutely be built to be a beast of a deck, but you can also build him to play against precons & battlecruiser decks like i did. that kind of versatility, plus the fact that the game's designers are still able to find new design space in an archetype that's been around for literal decades, makes baylen one of my favorite new commanders of 2024.

5. delney streetwise lookout

first of all i feel personally attacked by the fact that this card dropped this year. karlov manor feels like it was years-plural ago, not at the beginning of this one.

i love building monocolor because the manabase doesn't bankrupt you and there are so many interesting cards that only make sense in a monocolor deck. i loved building delney specifically because it gave me a reason to look at basically every single white creature with a power less than or equal to 2, and because they're a canonical enby whose entire vibe is just so effortlessly cool.

and who doesn't love getting to say “trigger, trigger” every time an ability triggers because it's happening twice?

4. helga skittish seer

ok yeah ok fine this is a vorthos list, i'm sorry, every list i make is secretly a vorthos list. but if you've read the bloomburrow story and don't think helga is the best character ever, i just don't know what to tell you. (and if you haven't read the bloomburrow story, i know exactly what to tell you: go read the bloomburrow story!)

helga was a very fun deck to build because her entire deal is basically “if you aren't a ramp spell or an expensive creature, i don't want you in this deck.” pretty straightforward! she's also in my colors, and to reiterate she's a wonderful bean and i would protect her with my life.

3. ms. bumbleflower

i love so many things about this commander and the kind of deck she wants you to build around her. the entire idea of group hug decks is wonderful (though i had to make some pretty major changes to the precon to make it actually a group hug deck), and i take some genuine pride in the fact that i simply would not have been able to pilot this deck effectively a couple years ago.

2. voja jaws of the conclave

a commander for two of my favorite types? in one of my favorite color combinations? with very strong story connections to my guild? wizards, you shouldn't have!

look, i know some folks are salty about voja's perceived power level, but seriously please calm down all the way down? he's a 5 mana commander who doesn't do anything until you untap with him. he's not getting played at cedh tables. and if you don't find the idea of a wolf bossing a bunch of elves around hilarious, i kind of don't want to be friends.

1. dionus elvish archdruid

as awesome of a commander as dionus is, there is a world in which they* didn't even make this list instead of being on top of it. 

i'm an elf player, so as soon as dionus was previewed, i knew i needed them. but i already have so many great elf commanders i was thinking of them in the 99 of one of my decks, not the head of their own. what kept  them from sharing the fate of the year's other exciting new mono green elf legendary (eladamri korvecdal) was exactly one letter: u (for uncommon).

for those who don't know why that's significant, that makes them a valid commander for pauper commander. and folks, they are busted in pauper commander. but what makes them my favorite new commander of 2024 is they are the elfiest elf that ever elfed. they reward you for tapping creatures? are you serious? how did we not think of this until now? elves get tapped so often you'd better take them out for dinner first. i'd be jealous if i weren't an elf! what an absolutely perfect concept for an elf commander, and that's why dionus elvish archdruid is my favorite new commander of 2024.

*dionus has exactly zero lore that isn't flavor text attribution, so i have no idea what their pronouns are.)

[goqmir]

2023's additions to your magic the gathering interaction suite: trinkit's top five control pieces you should be playing now!

There's been a lot of interesting and delightful removal and counterspell cards printed in 2023, and as a sendoff to the year as your resident control player i'd love to talk about the new cards that i'm playing in my interaction-heavy commander decks :) this takes the form of a countdown list because it's fun and clickbaity and consumable but every card on this list is fun new (largely spell-based) interaction i have played with in commander decks and recommend you give a try!

starting off with our honorable mention: Invasion of New Capenna! while not a card i feel i can recommend in just any deck, this plays so well in Incubate-heavy decks, which is one of my favorite new mechanics introduced this year! this card is an auto-include in Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos, which has been a favorite deck of mine this year. Two mana exile removal on either artifact or creature, which you can easily sac a white dork (or untapped incubate token!) for the casting cost. furthermore, Invasion of New Capenna (inky for short) is the only battle i have ever transformed-- it's legitimately very good as a typal equipment (especially for incubate phyrexian tokens!). if you have an orzhov tokens deck this likely flew under your radar and i'd recommend giving it a shot :)

number 5 on the list is Cyber Conversion, a new blue staple removal piece. if you're in white or black, you'd be hard pressed to add Cyber Conversion over the other available options-- but this measures up very, very well against the other blue options! it's incredibly playable, allowing for niche interactions, preventing commanders from going back to the command zone until they can kill the cyberman, getting past indestructible (difficult in mono blue!), and generally being a cute little card. @devilkittydeckbuilding is more hype on this card than i am, so feel free to send it an ask about its favorite niche Cyber Conversion interaction, it can easily be the best option in a lot of scenarios. a Witness Protection at instant speed feels very good in hand.

number 4 is my personal favorite new interaction piece, Bronzebeak Foragers! this is like if a Oblivion Ring did everything you wanted it to-- and i already adore Oblivion Ring effects :3

Bronzebeak makes its appearance in so many of my games, and it constantly pulls its weight. it's a Grasp of Fate you can block with, it's a Fiend Hunter you can junk the exile with, it's a Banisher Priest that gains you life. this might be simultaneously one of the nonlegendary cards i have cast the most in the last couple months and the one that's pulled its weight the best. it's a body, it hits nonland permanents, it hits every opponent, it can junk the item, it can gain you life! what more do you need <3

where Bronzebeak tends to overperform is in my Oloro, Ageless Ascetic control deck, where junking a card with its activated ability gains you life, which you can use to draw a card with Oloro! every part of the card feels really good, especially in dedicated control decks-- you should play this card.

3rd on our list is a delightful card I adore slotting into every nonblue deck I can fit it in-- Reprieve!

Reprieve feels good to play. returning to hand is obviously not going to save you the game every time, but it does in a very good number of them :3 and the little extra bits they added to the card to supplement it feel wonderful too-- letting you cantrip it makes it feel so much better to slot in to your interaction suite, and the fact that it bypasses "cannot be countered" (especially when it's used to send back an uncounterable game-ending Thassa's Oracle) is very niche but feels so fucking good when it comes into play.

i've been building a lot of red/white decks lately (i've been on a bit of a mardu kick :3) and i tend to play reprieve alongside Lapse of Certainty and Tibalt's Trickery (and Red Elemental Blast sometimes) as a very delightful to resolve boros counterspell suite which has been incredibly fun.

#2 is Guff Rewrites History!

they've really been pushing removal lately.

hitting each opponent at the table is really. really good. maybe a bit better than wotc is giving it credit for at the moment-- because the table tends to shake when you resolve Guff Rewrites History for the low cost of three mana.

first of all, the rules text on this card doesn't really convey right away that you are basically sacking any random token for a cascade trigger for any cmc. I don't actually play GRH (pronounced as a dog barking growl "grrrh!!!" when at a table of trans girls) outside of decks that provide me with solid sac fodder-- it's performed for me recently mostly by sacking food tokens in my Rocco, Street Chef and 1/1 humans in my Silvar & Trynn. so that's the first boon-- minimal cost cascade in a deck that's built around it.

second, you hit nonenchantment, nonland for /each player/ which is an insane trick for red to get. this might be one of the best feeling interaction spells i've ever resolved. this thing pulls its weight and then some-- sac a token to it as soon as you can.

the best interaction piece of the year is not a particularly exciting one nor a surprising one-- Stroke of Midnight.

i like Stroke. it does the thing. it's cute! cinderella's silly moment :3 what if Generous Gift couldn't hit lands (not a big deal) and in return the token it gives them is way, way, way worse (a big deal!)

this is a pretty easy addition to any deck. it's nonland permanent, it's minimal downsides, it's instant speed, three mana-- what more do you want?

here's hoping for a fox themed boros removal spell 2024 <3

[skullfacethermiehead]

I had a really.good weekend. was the release of the new mtg set and i had a blast jailbreaking the mardu precon commander deck and playing it with My friends! Somwtimes having your own little playgroup of folks you enjoy playing kitchen table magic with csn be the best!

[ikilledgods]

Won my first game of Magic last night!

Playing Mardu for the Tarkir prerelease, i got to a total of 7 rounds and i won one of them

Got my first commander deck in December, still haven't won in commander or standard.

But i have one win under my belt!