Set News — spoilers, previews, announcements, bans, upcoming releases

Mark Rosewater confirmed that characters introduced through Omenpath—including the meme-beloved Fleem—are not off limits for future paper Magic sets. With Marvel cards now appearing on Arena and Omenpath as a product line reportedly winding down, this opens the door for some unexpected crossovers into black-border territory. (Source)

Speaking of Fleem, Draftsim published a heartfelt (and satirical) eulogy for the character, declaring "Fleem Is Dead. Long Live Fleem." It's exactly the kind of unhinged content the community needs right now. (Source)

EDHREC's latest Community Corner spotlights MTG Rookies and Garage The Gathering—two creators bringing fresh perspectives to the community space. Worth a read if you're looking for new voices to follow. (Source)

Commander Corner — EDH highlights, new commanders, precon reviews, cEDH updates

The crew at MTGGoldfish tackled the ultimate budget experiment: $1 vs. $10 vs. $100 vs. $1,000 Commander decks head-to-head. Turns out you can build a functional Commander deck for the cost of a vending machine snack—whether it can actually win is another story. (Source)

Draftsim ranked all 25 "You Lose the Game" cards in Magic, because some of us play this game to watch the world burn. From Nine Lives to Near-Death Experience, it's a love letter to the most self-destructive archetype in EDH. (Source)

Looking for your next brew? Draftsim also ranked the 34 best Soldier commanders and all 12 Orzhov planeswalkers. Sisay, Weatherlight Captain continues to be the go-to five-color goodstuff general, while Kaya remains the queen of afterlife mechanics. (Soldiers) | (Orzhov PWs)

Don't sleep on Secret Lair commanders either—Draftsim highlighted 5 underrated picks you probably forgot existed, led by Casal, Pathbreaker Owlbear. (Source)

Competitive Scene — tournament results, meta shifts, tier list changes, deck techs

Bonder's Ornament is now legal in Pauper, and Joe Dyer's first-week analysis suggests the artifact could reshape the format's mana-hungry strategies. The Pauper community is already buzzing about potential bans down the line. (Source)

SaffronOlive brought back the Superfriends archetype for Pioneer, arguing that every "fair" format needs a planeswalker pile to keep honest midrange decks on their toes. It's greedy, it's clunky, and it's beautiful. (Source)

Over in Modern, a new land destruction deck gives opponents lands… then steals them all back. It's the kind of chaotic energy that makes you want to sleeve up fetches and shocks just to watch the world burn. (Source)

Joe Dyer's latest Vintage 101 breaks down the current pillars of the format in 2026. If you've been sleeping on Vintage, this is your primer for understanding what's actually casting Ancestral Recall these days. (Source)

Rosewater also weighed in on intentional draws in tournaments, explaining that concessions create weird incentives in high-level play—especially when teams are involved. (Source)

Limited & Draft — draft guides, set reviews, pick tips, cube updates

Rosewater confirmed that Mood Swings is basically a love letter to Cube players—the owner customizes the deck, and everyone plays with it. If you've been sleeping on this product, it might be time to pay attention. (Source)

Draftsim published the Ultimate Guide to Drafting Peasant Cube, covering everything from archetypes to signpost uncommons. Whether you're building your first list or tuning an established staple, this one's worth bookmarking. (Source)

Finance & Market — price spikes, reprint news, buy/sell targets, Reserved List updates

MTGStocks' Weekly Winners reports that Commander staples dominated this week's gains, with one particular Goblin deck pushing prices higher across the board. Speculators are clearly positioning themselves around the red mob. (Source)

On the subject of Goblins, Rosewater addressed a potential functional reprint of _____ Goblin without stickers, responding with a simple "If. That produced too much mana." Don't hold your breath on this one. (Source)

Draftsim's Weekly Price Spikes column notes that the dust is settling from Modern's May 18th unbans, but the financial ripples are still being felt across secondary markets. (Source)

Draftsim also ranked the 34 best artifact combos in Magic—because when you're tired of fair Magic, Ashnod's Altar is always there for you. (Source)

Design & Lore — Rosewater insights, story beats, worldbuilding, flavor deep dives

Rosewater reflected on the pitch process for mechanics like Landfall and products like Mood Swings, offering advice on what makes a good pitch and how to stay resilient after rejection. He's added the topic to his (air-quotes) "short" list for a future Drive to Work episode. (Source)

Beyond Magic, MaRo revealed he was on the original design teams for Duel Masters, the Star Wars TCG, and the Transformers TCG. He also led design for a D&D trading card game that never saw the light of day. (Source)

On the Channel mechanic (pay life for mana), Rosewater cited "huge play balance issues" as the reason it rarely returns. Green would be primary, black secondary—which tracks with Treasonous Ogre confirming red as tertiary. (Source)

He also explained why Kicker isn't used more broadly despite its simplicity: R&D prefers keywords to be more focused rather than catch-alls. This is why we get bespoke mechanics like Cleave instead of Kicker with a hat. (Source)

For Un-set fans, Rosewater shared the origin story of D00-DL, Caricaturist: the idea was always to have players physically draw the token, with the quality of the drawing affecting the creature's abilities. The playtest name was exactly what you'd expect. (Source)

When asked about Triple Strike (First Strike + Normal + Last Strike) in black border, MaRo confirmed it would require an "extensive rewriting of the rules." Keep it in silver border where it belongs. (Source)

On Traps: Rosewater confirmed they were considered for the D&D sets. No word on whether they'll appear in a future product, but the design space is clearly still on R&D's radar. (Source)

And yes, Foods could one day get standardized rules text like Treasures did. Rosewater said "We might one day" when asked about carrying "2, T, Sacrifice: Gain 3 life" as inherent rules baggage. (Source)