Set News

The Marvel Super Heroes hype train keeps rolling! EDHREC is doing God's work tracking the set's massive commander pool, predicting the popularity of the new heroes while already brewing up spicy lists like Villain typal with Loki, the Deceiver and Top 10 Suspend enablers for Kang Prime. Need a refresher on mechanics? Draftsim has you covered with a deep dive into the rules and history of Transforming MDFCs like Ghost-Spider, as well as a comprehensive breakdown of all 13 major Artifact tokens in the game. If you're attending MagicCon Amsterdam, don't miss the return of the incredibly useful Archidekt Artist Finder to track down your favorite illustrators.

Commander Corner

It's officially Jodah day over at EDHREC! Whether you're looking for a data-driven Fire and Ice breakdown of hot and cold cards or want to give your old WUBRG pile a Commander Makeover, they have you covered. Looking for a new deck to pilot? Check out the new Ureni of the Unwritten Dragon deck guide, or take Sivitri off the bench for some off-meta Dimir Dragon shenanigans. In a massive Blogatog Q&A, Mark Rosewater confirmed that 2-3 color Legendary Slivers—and potentially Sliver partners—are a matter of "when," not "if." Start saving your spec budget now.

Competitive Scene

Despite recent format shakeups, the Modern metagame is holding steady as Energy continues to dominate both paper and Magic Online. If you prefer your formats a bit older, MTGGoldfish is highlighting the switchover to vehicles, taking a look at Blue Car decks in Vintage and going vroom vroom with Cars in Legacy. You can catch top-tier Eternal gameplay this weekend during the Eternal Mania and European Legacy Masters Finals coverage on the Bazaar of Boxes Twitch channel.

Limited & Draft

A player recently asked Rosewater why R&D is experimenting with small sets again (citing upcoming Universes Beyond drops like Spider-Man, TMNT, and The Hobbit). MaRo clarified that the real experiment was March of the Machine: Aftermath, and the overwhelmingly negative response to that set is dictating how they handle these new, self-contained limited environments moving forward.

Finance & Market

If you cracked a copy of The Ten Rings at your prerelease, it's time to cash in! Draftsim reports that Marvel’s chase draw engine has seen a massive price spike, doubling in cost since release weekend. In other finance news, they're also tracking two recent black mythics that have breached the $100 mark and breaking down the cheapest Collector Booster boxes available if you're chasing premium foils and showcase treatments.

Design & Lore

In a massive lore drop, Mark Rosewater revealed that Shocklands were given basic land types simply because he was feeling Johnny and wanted to enable fun interactions—admitting he totally missed the massive power bump it granted alongside fetchlands. Speaking of lands, Rosewater also confirmed that R&D once fiercely debated whether the original Invasion taplands were too powerful to print. Early Magic design was truly the wild west! Finally, for the rules nerds, MaRo addressed the complexities of layering and flatly stated that a 2-mana Memory Lapse is still considered too strong of an effect for White to ever see a true color-shifted print.