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Hi, I'm Damien! I'm a Canadian television and voice actor turned streamer! I've been playing Magic: the Gathering since the early 1990's when the game first released, and was heavily involved in competitive Magic for many years.
Welcome Magic lovers!
Today we embark on a bit of a detour from our usual focus on the Standard format in order to take a look at the landscape of the Pioneer metagame, now that the massive 1800+ player Regional Championship Washington D.C. has concluded, and how it may impact players who are engaging with the as-yet-unsanctioned Explorer format on Magic Arena.
Regional Championships are massive affairs these days, with attendance and level of competition landing somewhere between a Pro Tour and the old Grand Prix system that many players enjoyed. With 1817 players enrolled in the tournament, it was one of the largest competitive events of the year, and thus yielded a ton of data, deck lists and direction for the Pioneer format moving forward. For Magic Arena players who aren't actually able to play Pioneer yet, there may yet be some interesting things to glean which could be applied to the pseudo-format that is Explorer.
Welcome Magic lovers!
What a week! As Duskmourn spreads its shadow across Standard, Pioneer and even Modern, it's fascinating to watch each format warp and buckle under the weight of the dual cycles of powerful Overlords and Leylines. Today, let's focus on Standard, as the Regional Qualifier Championship season is just over the horizon and approaching rapidly.
Welcome Magic lovers!
As Duskmourn Standard continues to take shape, with many players trying and testing new strategies and sideboards built around the pile of shiny, new toys we've just received, many others are sticking with proven decks and simply looking for ways to slot in some spicy new additions.
Welcome Magic lovers!
With the spoiler released, and our descent into Duskmourn only one week away, the competitive Magic community is turning their sights back on Standard, as it will be the featured format of the next cycle of Regional Championship Qualifier tournaments.
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Ah, yes, it's that glorious time of the…month when the Magic: the Gathering world is buzzing with excitement about all the new toys they'll soon be tinkering with and trying to determine which formats and deck archetypes will be most affected, as the upcoming Duskmourn: House of Horror set release is now less than a week away.
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With Bloomburrow barely a month old, and new Duskmourn spoilers already flooding the Magic: the Gathering sphere, it's safe to say that Standard is anything but stable. The evolution of the metagame over the past month has been interesting to watch unfold, and with no serious competitive play happening, aside from the odd Magic Online Showcase Challenge or real-life tournament in Japan, it's difficult to pin down exactly which decks are leading the charge.
Today, we will cover the current state the Standard format, which decks are seeing the most play online, and which decks can be expected to get better with the release of Duskmourn in just a few short weeks.
Welcome Magic lovers!
With the Standard Regional Championship Qualifier season still weeks away, there a lot of competitive play happening. However, this past weekend, a Standard Showcase Challenge took place; a large tournament with nearly two hundred players all vying for beefed-up prizes on Magic Online. That meant some serious competition, which produced some interesting deck lists.
While the top sixteen decks were almost entirely composed of different and low-curve midrange decks, there was one outlier: an innovative Jeskai control list that made it all the way to the quarterfinals.