Making Magic in the Arena - Dimir Rogues

It's that time of year again. The Ravnica sets, including War of the Spark, and Core Set 2020 are out, and Zendikar Rising is now in. That's right: Standard Rotation has occurred. And though many powerful spells have left, still many more remain.

Having said that, it's also time to beginning experimenting with new decks for this bold new frontier. And while I'm not convinced it's the most powerful deck in the rotation with four-color Omnath out in the wilds, seeing a viable Rogue tribal deck coming together, and in my favorite two-color combination, how I could possibly play anything else.

That's right. It's time to play Dimir Rogues!

Commander Night Playback - Zendikar Rising Legends Night

Now that Zendikar Rising has officially released, a new set of legendary creatures has been released upon us for our amusement. And naturally, that meant it was a good time to have a theme night. Each of us built a deck based around one of these new legends, similar to how we had our Ravnican Guild Night a few weeks prior.

Just as before, we each rolled for the order we got to choose our commanders. While I didn't go first, I did get the commander I was most interested in. Oddly enough, the creature that stood out most to me as an interesting build around was Akiri, Fearless Voyager. Obviously, the deck focused on the use of equipment to power up and protect my creatures.

The other players chose Yasharn, Implacable Earth, Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager, Charix, the Raging Isle, and, of course, Omnath, Locus of Creation.

Juiced Up - Crash Team Racing - Part 3

Our favorite little dragon had to retire back to the Dragon Realms: Something about Gnasty Gnorc coming back for the umpteenth time. Nonetheless, Team Newdarkcloud still needs a new driver to continue our efforts to win the right to face Oxide for the fate of the planet.

Fortunately for both myself and my Marvelous Duo cohort, Acharky, we had another lined up for just such an occasion. Everyone's favorite unreasonably muscular, top-heavy gladiator, Tiny Tiger, is ready to represent!

Commander Night Playback - A Most Perplexing Commander

Most of the commanders you'll see played against you in a match have an obvious direction or set of directions the deck could go: A Yuriko deck is probably going to swarm the table with unblockable ninjas. A Teysa Karlov deck is likely to have some token element and some aristocrats element to out-value the rest of the table. A Korvold deck is going to end your friendship with its pilot. Whatever the case, it's easy to see what it's trying to do.

Other commanders require a little more thought in how they operate. Such was the commander I opted to run at the head of my deck in this last round: Mishra, Artificer Prodigy. I didn't get to show off just what kind of tricks can be pulled with him in this game, playing one of the most fair matches I have ever played. That said, I need you to trust me when I say that despite how the text reads, there are tricks one can pull with him in EDH. Hopefully, I'll be able to show off some of those tricks in the future.

Naturally, my opponents had ploys of their own. One of them was recently enchanted by Homura, Human Ascendant, and opted to build a mono-red deck utilizing him. My fellow graveyard-loving compatriot brought Kathril, Aspect Warper to the board. And last, but not least, the Melek, Izzet Paragon player from before was continuing to break in the deck and grow more comfortable with it.

Dragon Your Feet - Spyro Team Racing - Part 2

Move over, bandicoot! A new protagonist has seen fit to take the reigns. You could even say that he intends to reignite the race track and set the competition alight. That's right: Everyone's favorite purple dragon has made his way into a crossover than my childhood self could only dream of.

But I tire of dragon my feet. This week, let us continue our adventures in CrashSpyro Team Racing.

Making Magic in the Arena - Temur Elementals

The best side-effect of the recent bans that we talked about the last time we entered the Arena was that it forced experimentation and cracked open a standard that had remained pitifully stagnant despite the influx of new cards from Core Set 2021.

As a result, we're seeing decks that just didn't get played enough due to the homogeneity of the pre-ban environment, like Izzet Tempo and Control decks that actually run counter spells. But we're not here to talk about those decks today. 

Rather, I chose to focus on this rad Temur Elemental concept that's been making the rounds. The elemental-tribal package isn't going to be in Standard for long, since Zendikar Rising is due to come out soon. But since the tools are all here, let's enjoy the moment and play with them while we still can.

Magic the Gathering - Commander Night Playback - Mill Wins (Sometimes)

Recently, EDHREC added a new page to their website, detailing the most common and popular combos in the format. And, naturally, as one does when exposed to a new resource of valuable information, I perused it.

Two particular combos, both in Dimir colors, caught my attention, because they resulted in a victory via infinite mill. As someone who loves alternate win conditions (I ran Exodia in my old YuGiOh days), mill is always a strategy that holds my attention. Armed with this knowledge, my reptile brain immediately set to work building a mill deck that I could bring to bear against my Cockatrice playgroups.

To do so, I must of course worship at the altar of Phenax, God of Deception. Answering my prayers, the god jumped to the helm of my deck to help lead my forces into their unconventional battle.

The first of my adversaries ran Heliod, Sun-Crowned. Next, the player who ran Rakdos, Lord of Riots during the Ravnican Guild Night opted to pilot the deck again since he enjoyed running it last time. And finally, Bruna, Light of Alabaster brought up the rear.

Juiced Up - Crash Team Racing - Part 1

Start your engines, ladies and gentlemen. We're getting started with a new adventure starring the orange blunder from down under: Crash Bandicoot. Only this time, rather that scaling walls and leaping over bottomless pits, we're dodging missiles and bombs as we out-drive and outwit our competition on the race track.

I know I said we were done with PS1 nostalgia when we completed Crash Bandicoot: Warped, but I lied. Fortunately, I'm (mostly) not alone. Once he was finished watching Netflix, my good pal Acharky deigned to join us for these little go-karting escapades.

Adventures on the Pride - Furry Edition

It's been over a year since we last adventured upon the high seas. Rusty I may be, the ocean nonetheless calls to me. And I was not the only one to hear the call. The crew may be different (and fuzzier) than before, but no less prideful. 

The SS Pride is no worse for wear. Hoist the Rainbow flag and shove off for fortune and glory!