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Birthing Pod Returns in Secret Lair, Vivi Cracks EDHREC Top 10, and Mood Swings Limited Revealed

· 25 sources

Summitfest Closing Ceremony previews are rolling in, and [Draftsim](https://draftsim.com/mtg-summitfest-closing-ceremony/) is highlighting a wild new Izzet combo card that introduces a powerful new mechanic to the gam...

Set News

Summitfest Closing Ceremony previews are rolling in, and Draftsim is highlighting a wild new Izzet combo card that introduces a powerful new mechanic to the game. EDHREC has a deck tech for the recently revealed "Tom, Bert, and William," a card sneak-peeked at MagicCon: Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Mark Rosewater confirmed that non-Mythic Rare planeswalkers will be returning to premier sets, though they are much more likely to be at rare than uncommon.

Commander Corner

The Final Fantasy invasion continues as EDHREC reports that Vivi Ornitier has cracked the top 10 most popular commanders. For the spikes out there, EDHREC breaks down the top 10 artifacts essential for cEDH builds. MTGStocks takes a look at what the new "Goblin Storm" Secret Lair commander deck needs to succeed. Also, if you're looking to build on a budget, check out EDHREC's Witherbloom spellslinger tech or their creatureless storm deck featuring Silverquill.

Competitive Scene

The RCQ season is heating up, but Quiet Speculation reports that Jeskai Blink is currently suffering an identity crisis in Modern. Draftsim published an op-ed discussing the "size problem" that is currently plaguing the Standard format. For a blast from the past, MTGGoldfish is running a bracket to determine the Best Standard Deck Ever, pitting Jace-era UB Control against Aetherworks Marvel.

Limited & Draft

For those looking to spice up game night, Mark Rosewater confirmed that the upcoming Mood Swings supports 4-player draft pods, provided you sleeve up for "duel play." Addressing community concerns about recent formats, Rosewater noted that while Secrets of Strixhaven is well-received, upcoming sets will return to the traditional ten two-color draft archetypes. Speaking of Strixhaven, he also clarified that the set actually supports ten archetypes, including wedge colors and alternate ways to play the schools.

Finance & Market

Hold onto your wallets: Draftsim reports that a new Secret Lair drop is bringing back the infamous Birthering Pod with a twisted new look. Draftsim also evaluates whether the new Commander Bundles are actually worth the price tag. On the blog, Mark Rosewater reiterated his stance that the Reserved List was a mistake, a sentiment shared by many enfranchised players.

Design & Lore

In a deep dive on worldbuilding, Rosewater defended the originality of Duskmourn, arguing that Valgavoth's story isn't just a retread of 80s horror films despite the aesthetic influences. He also touched on Bloomburrow, noting that while it draws heavy inspiration from Redwall, many players incorrectly assumed it was a wholly original concept. For the rules nerds, Rosewater confirmed that Urza's Science Fair Project could be printed in black border today thanks to the normalization of dice rolling.

Sources

Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
Are we allowed to send funny unset card name ideas? Without mechanical ideas obviously
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
“The challenge is what you do within the genre/subgenre you’re working with. Yes, every story/world leans into tropes, but how those are executed is the key.” I guess what I am trying to find the words to say is it definitely feels like there’s been a shift in how magic executes genre. The difference between worlds like Ravnica and Mirrodin and worlds like Thunder Junction and the Edge feel like night and day to me as a fan. The relationship that Mirrodin has to existing stories about artificial worlds feels very different to the relationship Duskmourn has to 80s horror.
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
Kamigawa was famously a setting that was created first and then the set was designed around the setting; given the fact that Universes Beyond sets are settings that were made first (albeit many many years prior) and the sets are designed around the setting, do you think a new in-universe set could be done like that again?
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
Will Urza’s Science Fair Project ever be black border? We have dice rolling and caring about what number the dice rolled in black border.
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
How has the reception been for the recent string of limited formats? Because I gotta tell you, the community is kind of in shambles at how bleak the outlook is. The small sets and lack of draftable archtypes have been crippling, and I’m worried that this is the new norm. I’ve been pretty ambivalent with UB being in standard, but it feels like concessions are being made that’s hurting the product as a whole. Thank you
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
I think one of the issues with how Magic has done specific genres and tropes over time is a lot of the older worlds have pulled from places most Magic players have no idea of. Bloomburrow is clearly Redwall-based, but many Magic players thought it was 100% original.
Draftsim · 2026-05-13
The 40 Best Instant and Sorcery Payoffs in Magic Ranked
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
What are the other 5 archetypes for SOS? Are they 3-colour or a secondary way to play the enemy pairs?
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
Do you have a favorite color pie break? Or do you just hate them all?
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
If you’re taking un-set card names, may I put forth Dessert Island?
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
“Only the “medium-sized” sets only had five archetypes. Lorwyn and Secrets of Strixhaven both had ten draft archetypes, albeit five of which got more focus.” Secrets of Strixhaven officially only has 5 draft archetypes. I am basing this off the MTGA event descriptions, which list the archetypes as “Silverquill Repartee Aggro”, “Prismari Opus Spellcasting”, “Witherbloom Lifegain Swarm”, “Lorehold Flashback Excavation”, and “Quandrix Incremental Value”. Accurate or not, this is what your marketing says.
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
Weird question incoming, but I was thinking about your truism that “restrictions breed creativity,” and it got me wondering: As a designer, do you believe there’s ever such a thing as “too much” testing / polling / player feedback? In other words, is there any concern that listening to players “too much” could jeopardize some of the weirdness, quirkiness and riskiness that led to previous successes? (Asking because I genuinely believe the designers in your employ know better what makes a good set than we do as players!) Thanks for your time as always!
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
In my personal opinion, Innistrad was the beginning of the trend I am trying to describe. Innistrad was a cool world, but it’s definitely closer to the Edge/Duskmourn camp than the Mirrodin/Ravnica camp. And I personally really enjoyed the Edge and Duskmourn! It’s just their relationship with genre and with their sources of inspiration feels very different than worlds like Alara and Mirrodin and Ravnica.
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
Un-card name suggestion: Net Troll
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
whats the color pir break do you regret the most?
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
In hindsight, shouldn’t the Plot and Foretell mechanics have each others’ names?
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
“If we made it today, it could be black border. We haven’t yet made a silver border black border without changing its name” Do you think there’s a big enough market for a product like Unsanctioned, except mostly renamed silver cards that work in black border?
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
“The Duskmourn story and world building is one of the most original things Magic has ever done” I absolutely loved Duskmourn, I thought it was very well done, and I can’t wait to get back there
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
“You can send me funny names, just no mechanical suggestions.” I think Infernal Combustion Engine and An Offer You Can’t Defuse sound like they could make fun cards
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
How does Rare-B-Gone interact with the old small sets (the five from Arabian Nights through to Homelands, and also Chronicles) that had only two print sheets? Some of the cards (eg Juzám Djinn, Hurkyl’s Recall, Blood Moon, Elvish Farmer, Autumn Willow, Revelation) are now considered rares but as originally printed they were just the least frequent cards on the uncommon sheet, appearing twice (Arabian Nights) or once (the other five). Does Rare-B-Gone simply miss cards from those sets altogether or should the rarities now stated in Gatherer be used instead?
Markrosewater · 2026-05-13
Is the City in a Bottle effect something that neither black-border nor acorn would do now? City in a Bottle, Golgothian Sylex and Apocalypse Chime all now have their own entries at 206.3 in the Comprehensive Rules so that Arabian Nights Mountains and Antiquities Urza’s Towers don’t work differently than other printings, but when Unhinged played in that space (and later Meet and Greet “Sisay” in Unfinity) it cared about the set the specific printing is from (or at least the expansion symbol used), not the set in which the card was originally printed.
Edhrec · 2026-05-13
The Best Faerie Combo Cards in Commander
Edhrec · 2026-05-13
The Mind Stone Is Underwhelming, and I’m Glad It Is
Edhrec · 2026-05-13
Am I the Bolas? - You Can't Shut Me Down, I Shut You Down!
Edhrec · 2026-05-13
Trimmed Trampling and Tremendous Trouncing With Baru, Wurmspeaker
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