One aspect of Magic that always seems to cause confusion are the so-called freeze effects. Suddenly players don’t remember that you can’t untap the creature. Today I’m taking a look at how this new mechanic came to be and what it’s trying...
Read moreMarch of the Machine introduced the MTG community to the first transforming double-faced token. And incubators turned out to be pretty cool!
Read moreWhen I came back to playing Magic around the Innistrad and Return to Ravnica era, I met populate for the first time. I’m very fond of Selesnya decks and mechanics and, despite loving convoke more, there’s a lot to like about populate.
Read moreLife 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 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.
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