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Persuasion Check: Unearthed Arcana – Races of Ravnica
With all the hype featuring the most ambitious crossover event in history, that being the upcoming Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica for D&D, it makes sense to get a set of playtest races from Ravnica for this month’s Unearthed Arcana. Any Magic: the Gathering player will surely recognize these iconic races, and seeing them playable for D&D is elating the inner nerd in me.
Some of each of these four races, those being Loxodon, Simic Hybrid, Vedalken, and Viashino, will compare directly to another race to see how they stack up while the others can be analyzed on their own. Analysis is a bit lighter today as these races appear a bit simpler in design than what we’ve seen in the previous few months, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad!
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Old School Brawl – 93/94 Commander: Mana Dorks, Mana Rocks, and Other Mana Acceleration
Having set forth which Legendary Creatures are eligible to Command your Old School Brawl deck, we turn our attention to the little dudes that make big things happen: Mana Dorks. Mana Dorks, and Mana Rocks, are great early-game plays in Brawl and/or Commander, because they aren’t threatening by themselves. In Commander, diplomacy is key! You shouldn’t draw too much attention from the other players just by amassing a bunch of mana. It’s only once you start to use it do you start to step on toes!
Old School Brawl – 93/94 Commander: Who are my Options?
I’ve written about Old School 93/94 before. I’ve written about Elder Dragon Highlander (“EDH”)/Commander/Brawl before. But I’ve never written about this format: Old School Brawl. The article that precipitated my article here was none other than DFB’s article: Old School Brawl — a 93/94 Commander variant — The Sentinel. After some very light research, it looks like Magnus de Laval got to it much earlier, as early as last year on February 22, 2017: Old School Mtg: Old School Commander. Discussion got going in a local Facebook group, New England Old School MTG (93/94), and now here we are! I highly suggest that you read those two articles for the rules. Let’s meet our contestants!
Persuasion Check: Unearthed Arcana – Races of Eberron
Although a tad late, July’s Unearthed Arcana still delivers! Not one, not two, but three revised races in addition to a brand new one! We have updated versions of Changelings, Shifters, and Warforged and for the first time we can play as Kalashtar! While we won’t be diving into the lore of these races (there’s a lot to cover here!), I would recommend giving those parts a read!
As is my usual way, I will not be comparing the revised options to their older versions, but rather seeing how they stack up to published options. If you would like to add your thoughts on how these stack up to their old versions we would love to hear it in the comments! Also please note, I’m not getting as analytical here as I normally would like to based on the sheer volume of races/subraces, though I try to provide insight into why I think they are fair or not in a way that promotes conversation. But without further ado, let’s dive in! Read More
[Casual] Shark Week Deck
It’s Shark Week! As an exclusive treat chum for our Instagram and WordPress followers, here’s a shark-themed decklist! Unfortunately, shark isn’t its own creature subtype, so these Fishy… shark… mutations… will have to do. Doubly unfortunate is that sharks somehow caught Sea Serpent’s terrible drawback which requires your opponent to control Islands before the Shark can do, well, anything. Thankfully, there are thematic cards which can turn the tide and bah that’s enough Shark idioms/jokes for deck. Here it is:
[Premodern] Red: Have fun by making sure that your opponent doesn’t!
eThis week, we take a look at Red’s contribution to Premodern and how great of a day you can have while ruining someone else’s. As always, this is not a definitive list of Premodern staples, it’s more or less just hitting the high notes while sprinkling in a couple sleepers. I’ll leave it to the brewers to do their thing. Red gives us some wonderful options for removal, creatures, and combos. Let’s take a look!
[VIDEO] 40k Doubles Tournament Report – June 2018
Another casual 40k Doubles Tournament behind him, Robb recaps how his Dark Eldar and Craig’s Death Guard did, what they could do better, and shows off some of the armies they played against. Read More
[Premodern] There’s more to Green than just Elves & Fatties!
Since I wrote our articles on White and Black, the Premodern scene has exploded. The Swedish Premodern Nationals took place on June 17, 2018. Coverage of the event in English was generously done by Martin Berlin of premodernmagic.com. Top 8 coverage can be found at twitch.tv/wakwakmtg and his written analysis can be found here! There is also now a Premodern subreddit at /r/premodernMTG. I can’t wait for similarly sized events to start popping up in the States!
In the meantime, let’s take a look at Green. As always, I try my best to hit cards that are obvious, drop some nostalgia and anecdotal evidence from my heyday about other cards, wildly speculate on even more cards, offer some budget alternatives, and a little bit of humor. So let’s channel our inner “Timmy,” become eco-friendly, and get ready to Go Green!
A Handful of Magic Items 8
We’re back with our 8th installment of magic items, and we’re dressed to impress with new boots, a new cloak, and a new belt! Whether its blazing a trail, reflecting a spell, or charging an enemy, we’ve got something for everyone!
Boots of Flamestride (requires attunement)
The wearer of these boots has the ability to walk on lava and magma as though they were solid surfaces and can also walk through fire, magical and non-magical, without injury.
If the wearer is attuned, they can activate the boots as an action, which causes them to leave a trail of fire in their wake wherever they move during this turn, up to 60 feet in length. This functions identically to the spell wall of fire cast at 4th level in that the wearer chooses a side for the fire to affect, except that it lasts for a full minute and the wearer is not required to make concentration checks. This ability cannot be used again until the wearer takes a long rest.
Persuasion Check: Unearthed Arcana – Giant Soul Sorcerer
June is looking to be BIG thanks to the new Giant Soul Sorcerer subclass in this month’s Unearthed Arcana! A quick glance got me excited since I firmly believe that the Sorcerer has some of the best potential for a wide array of subclasses.
As I keep stating, I always love seeing new player options from our friends at Wizards of the Coast. For one, it gives us a chance to see some of the more outlandish or cool ideas they have brewing in their heads. And secondly, it makes it easier for me to evaluate and provide options outside of the currently published materials for my players, rather than scrounging up ideas on the wild, wild, web. But enough about why I love Unearthed Arcana in general, let’s take a dive into the Giant Soul subclass! Read More
[Premodern] Staples: White
In our last Premodern article, we discussed my picks for what Black cards will impact the up-and-coming format. This time, we take a look at Black’s enemy color, White, and see how White plans to stand toe-to-toe with the best Black cards printed between 1995-2003.
25 Lawless City Adventure Seeds
A twist on a previous set, today’s Adventure Seeds take place in a Lawless City! Gone are the guards and the only law is don’t get caught!
As usual, I had a blast challenging myself with another setting. In many ways the seeds I came up with felt familiar; city settings give you a sense of comfort, after all. All adventures within do not need to involve combat so much as roleplay and mysteries. However, that changes a bit when you throw out the laws. They can and will involve combat and subterfuge where diplomacy and lending aid once were.
Plenty of assumptions this time, so buckle up:
- The city is “ruled” by a Bandit King/Queen, who are simply the most powerful figure in the city that can keep their detractors at bay,
- The only law is don’t get caught; if you do you’re at the mercy of those who also have no laws to follow,
- Children are, more or less, a bit free of being victims. That’s not to say they’re not stolen from, but they are generally spared any grimmer crimes,
- There are guards, most of which serve the Bandit King, but some who directly serve other lesser people of power,
- And no one is turned away at the gate; all coin is welcome here.
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