Life is an important resource in Magic. We’ve seen how using your life total as a resource can break the game countless times over the years, from Necropotence to Gitaxian Probe. Lifegain is an underappreciated stratagem, and the history of...
Read moreDevotion is a fun, flavorful mechanic that rewards your, well, devotion to a color. It’s been in MTG for a little while, but it’s a popular and successful mechanic at the kitchen and tournament tables alike. What’s notable about this success is...
Read moreOnce Upon a Time, there was this game called Magic: The Gathering. The creators of this game decided to take fairytale-type stories and mend them with this game. The result was Throne of Eldraine. And with the fairytale-MTG mashup came an awesome...
Read moreEvery now and then, something illicit slips past R&D and curdles formats, warping them around its existence. These broken mechanics are infamous, often whispered of in the corners of the LGS lest you summon them back to print.
Read moreSome cards have restrictions placed on them in their text that prevent them from attacking, but still allow them to defend you or use their abilities. That’s what we call the defender mechanic, and that’s what today is all about.
Read moreWard became evergreen from the moment it hit Magic, and while it’s used maybe a bit too often these days, it’s a great alternative to the obnoxious protection abilities of the past.
Read moreDeathtouch is bound to appear in your games as one of MTG’s evergreen mechanic. It shows the flavor of venom or poison or just a deathly gaze.
Read moreMonarch is a mechanic that shines the brightest in multiplayer games, particularly for Commander. It’s a great way to give your game a more “political” dynamic. It creates incentives to build alliances and causes everyone to take action as soon...
Read moreToday I share all about activated abilities. What they are, how they work, and how you can identify them on your cards. Let’s just jump right into it!
Read morePersist was introduced in 2008 with Shadowmoor. The defining mechanic in a multicolor block, persist is featured in all colors and on creatures of all sizes.
Read moreAlmost every Magic player can agree that Ravnica has consistently been a clear display of successful design. Today I’ll be talking about a mechanic that saw its origin as a guild mechanic for the Selesnya Conclave: convoke.
Read moreProbably named after the famous Vivid lands, vivid is a new mechanic from Lorwyn Eclipsed that scales based on the different color amongst permanents you control. Perfect for people who just can’t help splashing.
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