Are Magic Players Moving to Riftbound? Plus, Marvel Drafts, MaRo on Set Success, and the Secret History of Expansion Symbols!

July 6, 2026 · 13 sources

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

Are Competitive Players Moving to Riftbound? Jim Davis and the Brainstorm Buddies crew tackled a burning question for the spikier crowd: are MTG players migrating to Riftbound? It's a highly relevant watch if you've been wondering why competitive 1v1 formats feel like they're languishing lately. (Reddit)
Marvel Mechanics and Misprints: Players are still diving deep into the Marvel Super Heroes set, figuring out rules interactions like using Shang-Chi's mana for Spider-Man's abilities. There's also a fun conspiracy theory floating around that [Daredevil, Fearless Fighter] might not have originally been concepted as Daredevil. On the quality control front, players are finding mysterious "gunk" on cards from the Marvel Beginner Box, and one player used Avengers Tower so much they accidentally wore it down and memorized their deck order! (Reddit, Reddit, Reddit)

Rebuilding Rafiq with Marvel: The recent Marvel Super Heroes set heavily pushed the "attacking alone" strategy, making it the perfect time to rebuild classic commanders. EDHREC has a great new piece on updating Rafiq of the Many with fresh Marvel cards to voltron your way to victory. (EDHREC)
Phasing Out Lightning Greaves: A tried-and-true staple since Mirrodin, Lightning Greaves might be losing its luster. One EDHREC writer makes the case for cutting the zero-mana boots from your lists more often, citing a shifting meta where haste and shroud aren't always worth the deck slot. (EDHREC)
Budget Bangers and Top 10s: If you're looking to upgrade your lists without breaking the bank, check out the best budget pickups from Modern Horizons 3. Also, if you're a fan of the 40k crossover, EDHREC broke down the top 10 most played Warhammer cards in the format—which includes cEDH all-star Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph. (EDHREC, EDHREC)

Jamming Legacy Sneak and Show: Looking to brain some opponents with Griselbrand and Emrakul? A new "Don't Think, Just Jam" video dives into the classic Legacy Sneak and Show archetype on MTGO. It's a great primer if you've ever wanted to windmill slam an early Show and Tell in Magic's most powerful eternal format. (Reddit)
Pioneer's Starting Point is Locked: Don't hold your breath for Return to Ravnica block or Innistrad to be added to Pioneer. Mark Rosewater shut down speculation about expanding the format's starting point, noting that R&D is highly skeptical of changing the chronological cutoff for established formats. (Blogatog)

Drafting Marvel Super Heroes: The Limited format for Marvel is officially a hit. Even Mark Rosewater noted that drafting the set with work friends over the holiday weekend was a huge success. If you're looking to crush your next pod, the MTGGoldfish crew has a new "Backseat Drafting" episode to help you navigate the X-Mans archetypes. (MTGGoldfish, Blogatog)
The Death of the Block: A player recently thanked MaRo for retiring the three-set block, noting that drafting a single large set three times makes for a much better play environment. Rosewater wholeheartedly agreed, solidifying that the current standalone set draft paradigm is here to stay. (Blogatog)

European Market Shifts: European players are sounding the alarm on rising prices at CardTrader. Many long-time users have noticed steady price creep on the platform, arguing that the convenience of the CardTrader Zero system is starting to come with a premium compared to CardMarket. (Reddit)
Maximizing Arena Economy: If you're grinding the digital cardboard to build your Standard or Historic decks, Draftsim updated their guide on the best ways to get cards in MTG Arena. Knowing how to efficiently spend your gold and gems is half the battle to going infinite. (Draftsim)

The Secret Origin of Expansion Symbols: We got a fantastic history lesson on how the iconic Arabian Nights scimitar came to be. It turns out, the symbol was a last-minute addition by production manager Dave Howell—prompted by the mechanical needs of City in a Bottle—and was literally faxed to Carta Mundi at full-page size to make the printing deadline! (Blogatog 1, Blogatog 2)
Worldbuilding Pacing vs. James Bond: MaRo defended Magic's current fast-paced worldhopping story structure, comparing it to James Bond films where each act changes locations. While some players want more time to explore a single plane, Rosewater stated the data is loud: players are simply happier when we jump around to new settings. (Blogatog)
Tarkir vs. Eldraine: When asked which recent set was more successful—Wilds of Eldraine or Tarkir: Dragonstorm—Rosewater initially tried to dodge the question by answering "Lorwyn Eclipsed." When forced to actually pick between the two, he conceded that Tarkir: Dragonstorm took the crown. (Blogatog)