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Recently I used Smokestack in EDH and had considerable trouble finding my copies of the card (the contents of the box they'd been in, which had remnants of some Vintage decks I'd been playing with, became hidden in the middle of some Eternal Masters cards when I packed up to move into my new...

Things were very different 20 years ago. I couldn't afford to buy many cards and didn't learn about most of the cards in a set until I happened to play against them. But I remember exactly where I first encountered Smokestack, because it was in Scrye magazine. Omeed Dariani (who seems to have...

If you really want a card to slow opponents down, keep them from being able to do what they want to do, and make them cry, then there's one iconic card that really stands out, perhaps the most unique card in the "prison" or "lockdown" category... Bask in the brown glory that is Smokestack...

Yikes. Well, second main I'll play a Forest and Undercity Troll. Done. Spidey: 12 Hand: 1 Library: 44 Battlefield: (T,T,U) Forest x3 (T,T,U) Plains x3 Pacifism (Enchanted creature can't attack or block) Pacifism (Enchanted creature can't attack or block) (S) War Oracle (3/3; Lifelink...

No response.

It occurs to me that most people here will probably be unfamiliar with the basic premise of Chain Veil Teferi, and it's pretty bizarre, so I should explain. Looking at at list like this, it's obvious that there's a lot of powerful blue control cards and acceleration, but it might not be...

This is my next deck for the West Coast Commander League. As detailed in the thread for my previous deck in this league (The End of Eternity), there's a new rotating weekly point for specifically casting the new Niv-Mizzet as one's commander, and I won't be going for that point. So I've...

Tap my Anointer to boost my War Oracle. If nothing else, then your Valeron Wardens and your Honored Hierarch die, you take 4, I gain 4, War Oracle becomes renowned, and I draw a card off my Valeron Wardens' trigger?

Block with Zombie token.

Yeah, I think that's exactly right. Should probably have led with that last paragraph. I don't know that I'll bring more explosive decks every single time from here on out. I had fun with some of the goofier concepts, especially "Epic." But I'm going to try something with more power at least...

So I screwed this one up. In reality, the points for the month were supposed to be these ones... Bring Friends (+1): Activate a planeswalker ability God Eternal (+1): Cast a God (creatures with modified creature types and changelings don't count) Oath of the Gatewatch (+2): Activate a minus...

For the West Coast Commander League, the month of May is going to feature some rather heavy-handed War of the Spark themes. This might mean some decks that depart further from my usual fare. To start off, alongside the usual non-rotating points, we've got... Bring Friends (+1): Activate a...

Titanic Growth on Citadel Castellan, pass priority.

My dragon! Curse you, Mooseman, for triggering Melkor's trap. Also maybe curse Melkor, now that I think about it. For casting the trap. And probably also for destroying the Trees of Valar. Jerk.

As it happens, Throg and Carrow can move faster than the other characters, so it would only take them two turns to get there. Will Revaethan be waiting to cross until they're in position? Also where will Ty and Kelgar be positioned? And someone decide where to place Jekaena and Tomas too...

Overall set analysis As sets go, this one has a pretty low level of emphasis on tribal synergies. Some of the new creatures are nice cards, but most of the really promising ones are competing for space in the deepest, most established creature types. Cards like Eternal Taskmaster and Krenko, Tin...

Spirit: Three new cards. They’ve got a lot of competition, with how powerful Spirit Tribal can be. Grateful Apparition could be useful in some decks, but my vision of what optimal Spirit Tribal would look like probably excludes that sort of thing. The other two new additions just aren’t that...

Insect: Just one new card and it’s Limited fodder. No impact. Leviathan: One new card. Doesn’t really contribute anything to the tribe. Manticore: One new card. Fits the existing pattern that makes Manticore Tribal so bad. More bad cards won’t help this miserable tribe. Merfolk: One card...

New additions to existing tribes Angel: This was already an especially strong tribe. Angels get two new members, and doesn't really need help. However, if an Angels deck does choose to include red, there's a new legendary creature with a powerful ability. Feather, the Redeemed has a unique...

By now, you've probably seen my original report on the possibility of arranging tribes in tiers for some kind of 60-card constructed format. Aside from some interesting insights from Mooseman, that thread didn't really go anywhere and things continue to be quiet. But even as I prepared that...