We're headed back to the Time Spiral block to talk about how a single card created an archetype.  Mystical Teachings doesn't look like it should be incredible.  Four mana instants that don't directly impact the board typically aren't even good, let alone format defining.  This, however, is the exception.

Building Blocks

Episode Sixty Seven: Mystical Teachings

Coleman still won't let me do Thepths, so instead you get to listen to us blather on about a Tier 2 deck that deserved better.  Vampires are here!

Definitely Not Thepths

One of the most important things Wizards does to attract new people to Magic is the prevalence of pre constructed decks.  This idea has been around for practically all of Magic history in various forms - starter decks, tournament decks, duel decks, the list goes on.  We're going to talk about one of the later iterations of this idea, the Event decks from Mirrodin Beseiged to Battle for Zendikar.  There's as many hits as there are misses, but definitely all interesting!

Episode Sixty-Five: Event Decks

One of the oldest adages for deckbuilding is to split the types of spells into thirds - twenty creatures, twenty spells, and twenty lands.  What if you just cut out almost all of the spells and put more creatures in?  You'd probably end up with a deck looking like the one this episode.  Long before terrorizing Modern players, Champion of the Parish had a more than respectable run in Standard at the helm of a different human-centric aggro deck.  Hold on to your life total, it's probably running away from you soon, Naya Blitz up to the plate!

Episode Sixty-Three: Naya Blitz

We're joined by a special guest this episode - Melvin the Muppet from the Ponder Podcast!  He's here to talk about the most important cards in any Standard format, lands.  Lands really do impact how a format is shaped.  We're covering the last five years of Standard and giving a brief overview of the ways that those particular formats were shaped by the lands available.

Episode Sixty-Three: Lands

Stop us if you've heard this before.  Cheap artifact creatures benefiting from a powerful two mana artifact practically takes over a tournament, sending four people into the final day of Worlds.  We've already covered the most famous instance of this scenario, but this is one we enjoy more.  How powerful can an anthem really be?  When there's a bunch of two power creatures attacking, the answer is quite powerful indeed.

Episode Sixty-Two: Tempered Steel

About six months ago, we took a break from our normal programming to refresh our brains by asking some questions about the other person's Magic career.  We're taking another one this week, the topics of discussion include the worst punt in a PTQ, what song is playing when brewing, and what decks shaped our early Magic memories.  Enjoy!

Episode Sixty-One: Q&A, Part Two

What do you do against Jund?  That was the question on the mind of the players at Worlds 2009.  Play Mono Red and try to sneak under Sprouting Thrinax?  Play some kind of Spreading Seas deck to attack the manabase?  The mirror?  All of these options have their strengths and weaknesses, but none of them won the tournament.  That honor belongs to the subject of this episode, a Mike Flores designed Naya deck featuring some of the more overlooked creatures in the format.  Baneslayer Angel and Bloodbraid Elf on the same side of the field?  Sure thing.  Lightsaber is here to slice up Jund!

Episode Sixty: Naya Lightsaber

How can a card like Prism Ring possibly be good?  Life gain artifacts basically never are, especially post-new world order card design.  On first look, it doesn't look like that much of an upgrade - only one mana, but it doesn't count your opponent's spells.  However, when you combine it with a high velocity deck and a slower paced format, the potential of the deck can shine.  It may have been a flash in the pan, but what an odd flash it was.

Episode Fifty-Nine: Prism Ring

We're finishing up our discussion on Modern Horizons 2, focusing on the rest of the notable cards in the set.  From Cursed Scroll to Quirion Ranger, we've got hot takes and lightning rounds a plenty!  If you haven't listened to the first part, we highly recommend you do so, as that's where the mythics are discussed.  Enjoy, and have a happy prerelease!

Episode Fifty-Eight: Modern Horizons 2, Part 2

Just about the whole Magic world is excited about Modern Horizons 2, and we're no different.  With the prerelease this weekend, it's the perfect time to gather our thoughts about the set.  We have a fair bit of them, as this episode is going to be split into two parts.  This first part is mostly focused on how the Mythics might impact the Modern metagame.  The second part of the discussion will be coming out later in the week!

Episode Fifty-Seven: Modern Horizons 2, Part 1

Following up on our last episode, we're taking a look at the time when the inspiration for Fauna Shaman was Standard legal.  We're jumping all the way back to before the dawn of the millennium to talk about the combination of Survival of the Fittest and Recurring Nightmare that won the 1998 World Championships in the hands of Brian Selden.  These two enchantments obviously are a phenomenal pair, but how well did the rest of the cards age?  That's what's in stock this week!

Episode Fifty-Six: Rec-Sur

A creature with an ability banned in Legacy has to be good in Standard, right?  The answer to that question is a combination of multiple factors.  Fauna Shaman got both an injection of great cards and awful luck.  Having access to Vengevine and Stoneforge Mystic is fantastic, but the format it was in was truly unfortunate. We're also premiering a new, as of yet unnamed segment where one of the hosts asks the other to name an obscure card with some kind of nonsense ability from the format.  Feel free to play along!

Episode Fifty-Five: Fauna Shaman

With the latest Invitational card being printed in Strixhaven, we thought it would be a great time to talk about the cards that previous versions of the tournament gave us.  For ten years, the winner of the event would be able to design a card that would be printed in an upcoming set.  The catch?  You had to beat the best players in the world in some...unique formats.  From Sylvan Safekeeper to Snapcaster Mage, we're going to talk about all the cards that came out of this tournament! Credit to @MTGHistory for the artwork.

Episode Fifty-Four: Invitational Cards

What was the first tournament you attended?  What cards were played?  This episode, we're tackling the first time players sleeved up some Standard decks.  Taking place later in Magic's history than expected, some of the deck choices stand out for how well they've aged.  Some, however, stand out for the opposite reason.  Madness and Psychatog aren't the only decks alive at GP Milwaukee 2002!

Episode Fifty-Three: GP Milwaukee 2002

Welcome! This is a podcast dedicated to exploring Magic history through innovative Standard archetypes. Join hosts Jason and Coleman as they discuss all the different ways players have changed how we view deckbuilding in the modern era. Any comments are welcome, you can send them to either the show or the hosts individually through Twitter.

hubhopper

Building Blocks

hubhopper