Making Magic in the Arena - Azorius Control

Standard has been broken wide open. With Oko, Thief of Crowns, Once Upon a Time, and Veil of Summer sitting comfortably on the ban list, half of the top tier competitive decks have been obliterated overnight and the field is wide open for new strategies to take over.

My plan was to bite the bullet and play Sultai Food prior to the announcement. Now that the bannings have taken effect, I figured now is the best time to give an old-school Azorius Control deck a shot. It might not seem novel, but when Veil of Summer was legal, counterspells were impossible to run, completely eliminating the strategy.

Let's see how well we do with this decklist from MTGGoldfish.

You're All Bones - Medievil (PS4) - Part 3

Our bonely friend Sir Daniel Fortesque needs our help in his quest to rid the Kingdom of Gallowmere of the evil sorcerer Zarok. And as valiant heroes in our own right, who are we to refuse the call?

And where we are, things are looking positively eldritch.

Magic: The Gathering - Commander Night Playback - Two Quick Rounds with Grismold and Mirri

Last night's EDH session was a short, but sweet one. While 2 of our number couldn't make it due to illness and prior obligations respectively, the remaining three of us had enough time to get in two matches that left me feeling satisfied by the end of it.

The first match had me bring a new Voltron/Token/Aristocrats-y deck I built, based on Grismold, the Dreadsower, after seeing it perform during the game against Hapatra from last week. My opponents were Zada, Hedron Grinder and my friend's Uzra, Lord High Artificer deck we affectionately call "Swordbot".

Making Magic in the Arena - Esper Dance

It's been a while since we've stepped foot into the Arena, and it's looking less like a place to do battle and more like a ballroom. Then again, I suppose a duel can be thought of like a dance, both contestants moving to their own rhythm.

Join me for a tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme... Dance of the Manse.

That's right. We're in Esper colors, and having a ball.


You can find the decklist here.

You're All Bones! - Medievil (PS4) - Part 2

Sir Daniel, why are you turning all of your enemies into Roast Chicken!? Oh wait, it's because you're all bones!

Today, in our journey across Gallowmere, we encounter several powerful foes on our way through some of the best and worst Zarok has to offer.

Magic: The Gathering - Commander Night Playback - Esper Colors Represent!

For this week, one of our playgroup couldn't attend due to personal business that needed tending to. When factored in with the schedules of a few of our other members, it was a night of tons of 3-player games.

It was an interesting change of pace, quite literally. The accelerated speed of our games meant we got more rounds in than usual. And also, by sheer coincidence, the two decks that I bought to bear this session also happened to be in Esper colors.

You're All Bones! - MediEvil (PS4) - Part 1

Though the spooky season has wound down, there's still plenty of time for Fall Frights. In that spirit, I feel it is appropriate to play a game that Sony has opted to resurrect from my childhood. While not the best, it was a franchise that heavily appealed to me in many ways.

Let us join my friend, Sir Daniel Fortesque on his quest to save Gallowmere in the 2019 remake of MediEvil.



(This is a remake of a game I wrote about years ago, in case you were interested.)

Magic: The Gathering - Commander Night Playback - Elsha Plays Tops and Marisi Flops

It's another weekend, and another exciting session of commander with my table. Going with neither tutors nor budget has been working wonders for the table, with everyone having a noticeably better time than they were previously. Without the added consistency of tutors, the threat level has evened out.

This week, we managed to get a solid 4 rounds at the table, with a healthy mix of colors in each matchup.