Quick Hits

• A PSA Gem Mint 10 Alpha Black Lotus sold for $2.2 million at Goldin Auctions on Saturday, Draftsim reports — the kind of number that makes even Legacy players flinch.
• Monday's Comprehensive Rules update formally defines the terms of Reality Fracture's new combat mechanic — EDHREC breaks down what changed and why it matters.
• Winota, Joiner of Forces is surging in cEDH again: EDHREC ties her SCGCon Baltimore comeback to longer games — more time for her engine to trigger and for counterspells to get sandbagged.
• 86 new legendary creatures are incoming — 73 in Reality Fracture's main set plus 13 from the Commander decks — and EDHREC ranks the best new commanders.
• Could a singleplayer MTG product ever happen? Mark Rosewater: "We've talked about it. Who all would enjoy that?" (via r/magicTCG)

Set News

• Reality Fracture's Multiverse Reforged precon hides a game-ending infinite combo built on two new creatures, per Draftsim — worth scouting whether you're piloting the precon or sitting across from it.
• Draftsim's staff picks for Reality Fracture close out a spoiler season the team calls "a thrill ride."
• Jace is "technically responsible" for the breakage: Draftsim catalogs every Shattered Mirror card and where to find them.
• With the Echoverse remixing fan-favorite characters, EDHREC's ranking of every color-shifted planeswalker couldn't be better timed.
• The set's Tarmogoyf reprint is already generating lore theories — see Design & Lore below.
• In other WotC news, the company and TCGplayer are hosting a charity drive for employees, per r/magicTCG.

Commander Corner

• Ingris Stingerquill leads Hexhaven's counterpart to Silverquill, where the desire for wit is replaced with "vicious cruelty" — Draftsim has the full deck guide.
• Vraska, Soul of Stone gets an Echoverse reimagining and a budget Jeskai "weaponized treasures" build from EDHREC.
• Is Sphinx's Approach a new Commander staple? EDHREC makes the case for a card with strong Timeshifted energy.
• Sometimes the best cards are ones you'll never cast: EDHREC spent two months iterating on a deck built around a package — anchored by Sandstorm Eidolon — it never plans to actually cast.
• Commander Clash Podcast 270 tackles the most annoying commanders — the ones that make you "consider scooping before anyone has even played a land."
• Am I the Bolas? returns with Kenrith, the Returned King to interrogate players who downplay their deck's power level.
• Budget corner: EDHREC serves a budget-trimmed Etali, Primal Conqueror build, while Draftsim ranks the 33 best red cantrips and the 18 best Jeskai combos.

Competitive Scene

• MTGGoldfish's Best Standard Deck Ever bracket hits the top 32, kicking off with Affinity (2004) vs. Jund (2009) — an aggro juggernaut against one of the field's last midrange decks standing.
• Single Scoop's thesis: formats are only as good as their mill decks — and by that measure, "Pioneer is still fun!"

Limited & Draft

• Draftsim ranks the best commons and uncommons by color for Reality Fracture draft — your pick-one cheat sheet for those 13-card packs full of new text.
• The 77th installment of a long-running cube set review covers Reality Fracture for cubes, finding "a lot of neat stuff" for power-motivated cubers.
• Toskicologist's interactive draft archetypes color wheel now includes Reality Fracture — bookmark it before your next pod.
• Rusty Sealed players are getting prerelease advice on r/magicTCG, including color-pairing guidance.
• MaRo math: at one basic per booster, an 8-person draft contains 24 basics.
• A cuber told MaRo that Ragged Short Spear is their card-of-the-year frontrunner; MaRo is passing the kind words to the designer.

Finance & Market

• MTGStocks ranks Pauper's five most expensive commons, noting that while Commander remains the biggest paper format, Pauper is "quickly gaining popularity."
• Draftsim refreshed two collecting deep-dives: the Reserved List history and complete listing and everything about Japan Showcase cards.

Design & Lore

• Why does Vryn keep slipping off the roadmap? MaRo: "It just doesn't have much of an identity, so it needs an idea that gives it one."
• Old lore said planeswalkers could only walk between touching planes. Still canon? "We've moved away from that, I believe."
• Is Flickering Hound a colorwashed Displacer Kitten — proof the Theorist knew about the D&D multiverse? "Parallel design. :)"
• With Tarmogoyf reprinted in Jace's hand-crafted Echoverse, is the Lhurgoyf a bootstrap paradox? "It's possible."
• Reality Fracture's true legacy: two Yargle days — March 9 and September 3, "an international standard."
• Will Mountain be reprinted in 2027? "No comment."
• And in the cutest blog item of the day, MaRo built an Emperor of Palamecia deck from old Scars of Mirrodin artifacts and rediscovered that "Myr are very cool."

Been countered for the eleven billionth time this week? This week's Wound-Up Wednesday thread is open for business.