It's time, once again, for us to take a minute to talk about something real. I'm talking about the daily that is being a member of the Dinosaur hype train as a Standard player. Sure, we've got , but in a Standard environment that seems to be a rock-paper-scissors match between Ramunap Red, Temur Energy, and UB Control. Sure, and see play in a few fringe ramp lists, but all in all it seems to be that the general consensus is that Dinosaurs just don't have the stuff to play on the same level...
Both Canadian and US Nationals have come and gone, and they left us with something not at all surprising - the revelation that Temur Energy is still really strong. Shocker. It's equally unsurprising that UB Control made a very strong showing, and that Abzan Tokens proved itself once again as a legitimate contender in Ixalan Standard. Same old, same old, I know. BUT - Did you know that in the US Nationals there was not one, but two lists that made Top 16? And did you know that one of those lists...
Pirates? In Magic? Is this the real life, or is this just fantasy? Oh, it is real? And should people stop taking any excuse to quote Bohemian Rhapsody? That doesn't really matter to me... to meeeeeee... But yes, Pirates galore, me hearty! , , and a whole host (or should I say fleet?) of creatures have arrived with the Pirate subtype, and I fully expect them to give Dinosaurs a run for their money. These primarily Grixis-coloured swashbucklers are the epitome of piracy. With names like ), , ,...
It seems like at least once per block, a card comes along that's just fascinating. It's not especially powerful, or particularly viable, and is sometimes just way too situational - I'm looking at you, - but it still manages to get people talking about it, and more importantly, making some bad brews with it. This week's Farewell to Standard features another such card, this time in the form of . We've all seen the number crunching that's been done on this card. In order for you to be able to...
Get your boots on and tell your islands to expect to get tapped on your own turn for once, because Ixalan is about to unleash wave after wave of wet warriors and watery wizards all over Standard. The scourge of so many formats before it, the traditionally low-casting cost tribe of Merfolk is known for two things: Great lords, and ridiculous synergy. Let's take a walk swim through memory lane, shall we? Fish as an archetype is pretty deadly in Modern. It uses (or should I say abuses?) low-cost...
is back, this time in the form of . Did I specifically combine it with Enrage cards so that I could make a deck called 'Primal Rage' full of dinosaurs and fiery death? Yes, yes I did. All that aside, does it have a chance as an archetype once Ixalan hits? I definitely think so. Do you remember the Primal Rage video game from the 90's? I sure do. It's a classic fighting game where players choose their characters, and proceed to beat the bodily fluids out of their opponents. Oh, and all the...
We all know that guy at our LGS who latches on to an obscure subtype or archetype and just barrels down. With Ixalan around the corner, don't expect those guys to go anywhere. Every tribe, no matter how obscure, gains something from so many of the new Ixalan cards, either in the form of new cards that actually belong to the archetype - such as Shamans, Druids, Clerics, and Scouts - or just by virtue of having access to new tribal support cards. This week, I want to talk about a particular...