Explore the Realm of Magic: The Gathering - Articles and Insights

Time flies with six Standard sets a year, and now that Edge of Eternities is here, we can dive into our usual guide to the Limited archetypes! We'll take a look at the ten color pairs in this new set, highlighting their mechanics and strategy, their key cards, and those that best fit the archetype. We'll also delve into some "combos" that will help you nail down the color pair's game plan and that you might be able to replicate at your events, as they only require commons and uncommons! Edge of Eternities is set in space, beyond the borders of the Multiverse, and it's characterized by four new mechanics, which I have already told you about in a previous article and which we will resume in the analysis of the archetypes. They are Station, Lander, Warp, and Void.

It really feels like we are still taking in everything from Final Fantasy. About a month ago we had MC Vegas and the collector boosters were all the craze, along with the pro tour. In less than five weeks, we have seen a bunch of cards banned, had rotation, and had a new set release. It is an eventful MTG Summer to say the least. Right now, it is that time that we all love where a new meta will be formed. I know that I usually release deck lists before the new set comes out, but this time I wanted to wait for the set to be released and test it a bit after rotation before I advised whether or not some of this stuff was worth burning wildcards on. The first list that I have for you is the discard list. We got some new tools in Edge of Eternities and in this post-ban/rotation meta we are going to have a better opportunity to get back to basics and try out some of the good old-fashioned mono black fun. My favorite thing about this deck is that we can turn our main engine into a creature when we are ready. There are so many good discard spells in the format right now. We are approaching a point where control decks are going to be relevant again because aggro decks are still good. It is part of my due diligence to find out a good control/discard deck for you. This is my first attempt. We are going to use our efficient threats to trade with problematic creatures, and remove them where needed. We will use our discard spells to help ensure that the opponent runs out of gas. Once they get to that point, we will punish them for having no cards in hand. This will eventually lead to them getting too far behind to simply beat us with a top deck. We even have some options for gaining life that will help us stay in the game. Let's take a look at some of the new cards that are making a splash early. Fun New Toys

EOE Cards Worth Building Around As of today, Edge of Eternities is live on MTG Arena, and we're just now getting a chance to tinker with the new cards. While deck lists will be forthcoming from me and others in the coming days, let's take a look at some of the individual cards to see what might be playable in Standard. I've had the privilege of playing in the Streamer Event last week, so I'll be pulling from my own personal experience in this analysis both as the player and the opponent to these cards. White Weenie Might be Back

At MagicCon Las Vegas, Wizards of the Coast unveiled the first glimpse of the upcoming space fantasy set, Edge of Eternities, and our first glimpse looks promising. While the vast majority of the set remains unknown, it seems only appropriate, as Magic: The Gathering fans, for us to look at the cards previewed and speculate wildly on how they'll affect Standard moving forward. Disclaimer: any predictions called out here are purely speculation. This exercise is especially challenging because we also have a banned and restricted announcement coming next Monday, June 30th, so the effective meta decks will likely be completely different by the time Edge of Eternities drops. All the same, we're going to have a great discussion and look at some fun cards, so let's get into it. Mother Flipping Shock Lands

Magic: The Gathering — FINAL FANTASY is coming to MTG Arena (June 10), and it’s time to dive into this year’s first Universes Beyond to find out what’s in store! As with every new release, I'll introduce you to the limited archetypes, describing each color pair, the cards that best lend themselves to each of them, and some intriguing little combos, using only commons and uncommons so that they are easier to actually replicate in a limited event. MTG—FINAL FANTASY takes characters, stories, and artwork from the namesake video game, including all material available to date, and spanning from FINAL FANTASY to FINAL FANTASY XVI.

I'll never forget what it was like to come back to magic a few years ago after taking a seven-year break to stumble across a meta that was so diverse, it had a deck that was centered around equipment, and the deck was actually really good. It was the golden age of Standard. Kaldheim was the most powerful set in the format by far, and the rares and mythics from that plane set the tone for what the meta would be in our beloved format. Sadly, it ended up rotating, and it did not get to stick around long enough to see the three-year rotation cycle like we have now. The good news is, we are going to try and bring it back! We will look to use cards that go all the way back in Standard so far to the point where the deck might only be playable for a couple of months. That's okay, we will have our fun while we can. I want to throw my hat in the ring for a powerful Boros Equipment list in our new Standard that comes out with Final Fantasy. I think there are too many powerful equipment both in this set, and that have come out within the last year to overlook giving this a shot. It may look a little different, and be a bit janky, but we have enough powerful cards to make this deck awesome. What I love most about it is that we will be able to tutor for equipment cards, and that is where we can kind of use a toolbox of equipment and have a few different one-ofs to diversify our threats. This also allows us to use our sideboard for additional equipment cards if needed. We should expect the deck to change as we see what the meta turns into after Final Fantasy is released. I believe that people are expecting change, and even if we don't get it in the first two months, we will also have rotation. That will guarantee change if nothing else does. We will take a look at the deck and then go over some of the new cards that are showcased within it, and we can see a pretty cool combo that will form. I included a lot of new cards in this deck, so forgive me if I don't get to all of them - but I promise that they all fit well for their own reasons. You can see that we definitely want to set things up early with this deck. The meta is very fast and we want to have our engines going on turns two and three and start trying to amass value from there. We will even try to get maximum value out of cards like Leyline Axe to try and get it going before we even lay our first land. Some of our creatures create their own equipment, and some creatures allow us to tutor for equipment. Some allow us to equip for free, and some even reanimate equipment from our graveyard, or allow us to attach them from our hand. We have many different ways to get value in this deck, so let's take a look at the key players. Key New Cards

We are about to embark upon the most unique set in Standard we have ever had, while also going into a new era where Universes Beyond cards are all Standard legal, and they are released multiple times a year. Many are up in arms about the game possibly being ruined, or losing its integrity. I personally am waiting to see how things play out, and doing my best to enjoy the new cards as much as I can. Final Fantasy is an interesting set for me. I haven't ever played a Final Fantasy game and I am completely in the dark on any of the lore or story in general. I've felt a bit left out in regards to the hype for the set, and I have been taking a different approach to the cards in the set as they are spoiled. I have strictly been looking at things from a card evaluation standpoint. One could say it's essentially the same as how I've always done it, but in this case it feels like I am an outlier. Although I don't know much about Final Fantasy, I was able to find a card with a mechanic that is near and dear to my heart. Gain and drain will always be my favorite mechanic/ability in MTG, and anyone who has been reading these articles long enough already knew that. Today we are going to look at everyone's favorite villain: Sephiroth. Trust me, I didn't know that before, my friend who is a Final Fantasy enjoyer told me all about it. We will use some other gain and drain effects, and some aristocrat creatures to hopefully drain out our opponent and flood the board with creatures that can go wide. We'll take a look at the deck and then I'll go over the new cards that I included, and why I think they'll be useful in Standard. Let's check it out! I tried to include a good amount of new cards for the deck. A lot of it was pretty easy to build around and the deck somewhat ended up building itself. It was refreshing to have support for this ability. Without further ado, let's check out these new cards and why they are good.  Relevant New Cards

Final Fantasy is right around the corner, and the time has come to theorize about what cards are going to see play once the set hits MTG Arena. The overall power level looks in line with the standard we've come to expect for Standard sets like this, which is to say, very powerful and very fast, but which ones will stand out from the crowd and make a meaningful impact on the Standard meta? While I can’t claim to know the future, here are my predictions and explanations for five cards that just might make the cut once the set drops on June 10th. Honorable Mentions