Playable Magic

Board Wipes, Part I

January 6January 7 by Jordan

New Perspectives

On this site, we encourage our readers to build their own suites of removal, ramp, board wipes, and the like (unless a certain card is applicable to the topic at hand). This is mainly because we don’t want to recommend the same six to ten cards every time we’re writing about a certain color, but it’s also because we want to leave room for creativity in our articles. We want readers to feel free to build a deck that feels like their own, based on our ideas. Today, however, I want to show you what I think are the best options per color when it comes to clearing the board in a game of Commander.

Karona, False God

January 2January 2 by Bob

Mind over Commander

In the time since Commander became a recognized format, Wizards has provided players with several good five-color commander options to choose from. Access to every color allows players to make use of any card in the game to implement their preferred strategy: Morophon enables any creature type tribal, Golos can cast any big spells you want for free, and Ramos, Dragon Engine grows huge in a hurry while fueling your future spells, too. Those commanders’ abilities help players crush their opponents using all the best available cards… But Karona, False God is not one of those commanders.

Attrition

December 30December 30 by Jordan

Eye of the Stack

Hey everyone, it’s Jordan. This week, I’m taking over Eye of the Stack and trying something different with it; rather than the nitty-gritty rules breakdowns, I’m going to explain a strategic concept! Today I’ll be talking about the concept of attrition, and how to use it to your advantage.

Jeska, Part III – Phage’s End

December 20January 16 by Bob

Lore Seeker

This article is the third in a series about the sprawling story of Jeska, the planeswalker whose art was spoiled for the Commander Legends set. If you haven’t read them already, I recommend starting at the beginning.

Azor, the Lawbringer

December 16December 30 by Jordan

Mind over Commander

I live for defying expectations, but that doesn’t have to mean i’m doing something more effective or better than expected. For example, if I pulled out a Commander deck lead by Azor, the Lawbringer, would you immediately think I’m going to lay down my own interpretation of the law in the form of control spells and board wipes? Well, you’d only be half right.

Replacement Effects

December 12December 12 by Bob

Eye of the Stack

A few weeks ago, Jordan wrote an article about Torbran, Thane of Red Fell. In that article I added an editor’s note that said you could stack Torbran’s ability with Furnace of Rath so that he would add four additional damage instead, but a sharp-eyed reader informed us that that’s not actually true: The player who would have the damage dealt to them chooses how to stack those abilities! While looking for the rule behind this ruling I found several strange rules about replacement effects, which gave me some ideas for how to abuse them! Let’s get started.

Mirage Mirror, Part II

December 9December 9 by Jordan

New Perspectives

Ever since this card was given to us in Hour of Devastation I’ve been waiting for players to find wild ways to use it. It is a card that can be used quite ridiculously, but for whatever reason it hasn’t “broken out” and performed in the way I expected. In fact, the research I’ve done has revealed that players are just using it to “copy something good once a turn” and that just won’t cut it for me. So what else can we do?

Phage the Untouchable

December 5January 16 by Bob

Lore Seeker

Last time on Lore Seeker, we explored the story of Jeska the barbarian woman. She stopped her brother Kamahl’s Mirari-induced rampage, was captured by the Cabal, and was transformed into a new entity known as Phage. Phage was totally loyal to the Cabal, and anything she touched died and rotted away. Her story pits her against an army of mutant centaurs, a man who can shape reality to his will, and an angel from a dream made manifest. Let’s get into it!

Vial Smasher & Ludevic

December 2December 3 by Jordan

Mind over Commander

Vial Smasher, the Fierce is one of my favorite partner Commanders. Her ability allows us to impact the game without singling out one opponent; we can simply say “I didn’t tell her to throw vials at you!” Searching for the perfect partner for her is always a fun experiment, and while Thrasios holds a warm place in my heart, this time I want to talk about how well Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist pairs with her.

Food

November 25January 16 by Jordan

New Perspectives

It’s nearly Thanksgiving folks! This week on New Perspectives I decided to take you through the most fitting mechanic for the holiday: Food! I’m going to show you as many weird and interesting ways to use Food as I can think of, so you’ll be well-equipped to feast this Thursday.