Resident Master Wizard

MTGGoldfish Arcanist. Preview handler, metagame curator, producer, rules advisor, lore repository, and more. French. Custom card creator, character creator, world creator. Always available for questions.

[vorthosjay]

Hello! In the EoE story, the characters use Weft Travel, which I found quite clever. However, the mechanic is Warp, the opposite of Weft. Why is that? Does this suggest that the Edge at least has 5 dimensions in space and two in time?

I think warp was just a more resonant name that could be reused in the future.

[niuttuc]

Still makes me sad that this wasn't a concern at all in translation. Unless they worked backwards from the star trek set if it features there. The translation for Warp in French is "Hyperspace" which is, uh, much less reusable in different context than Warp is.

[vorthosjay]

Howdy, VorthosJay-

In the Invasion novels, there is glistening/ Phyrexian oil all over the place, and it's just oil.

When did they distinction get made that there is just regular "car oil" in Phyrexian creations and "magic oil" with some kind of conversion power? I have assumed it was a retcon since Mirrodin block, seeing as, again, spilling oil from the Weatherlight crew in battle was frequent.

Thank you, have a great day tomorrow and everyday!

Phyrexian Oil is shown to have almost an intelligence of its own and a distinct “scent” pretty early on. It’s also hinted to be nanomachines early on. There is also just regular machine oil, iirc, but it’s all sort of conflated because the distinction wasn’t relevant.

The idea of it as an infection began with the first Mirrodin novel, true. But it’s also indicated to be a distinct type of oil, the stuff left behind on Dominaria and perhaps Capenna was different.

[niuttuc]

Even back in The Thran, Yawgmoth talks up the properties of the oil mentioning that those that bath in it become stronger and more resilient. Nowhere near as virulent as we've seen it recently, but still something similar.

As far as theories, Phyrexian oil carries information, direction and some intelligence. For Old Phyrexia, that direction and intelligence all went back to Yawgmoth, which is how the deactivation of Phyrexians upon his death is explained after all. Yawgmoth saw completion as a reward for loyal services as much as a means to get assets under his control. That attitude is in turn reflected in old Phyrexia, Crovax's compleation is a reward, Davvol awaits his, even Gerrard gets "improved" as a reward by Yawgmoth after decapitating Urza. As such, the oil at that point might not have wanted to compleat anything it touched left and right, only when directed to do so.

After Yawgmoth's death, it might have reverted to base precepts prior to him, or went into a mode to preserve Phyrexia and its ideas, or become invigorated by Karn's spark, or something like that, and become a bit more active on Mirrodin. Either way, it makes some sense to have a big shift after Yawgmoth is out of the picture and no longer dominating the shared information and direction of the oil.

New phyrexia and its new leaders were very interested in growing and fighting its war against Mirrodin and conquering/compleating the plane. So the oil became more virulent. Jin studied how to complete planeswalkers, and communicated that through the oil at large from what we see in All Will Be One, so that might have pushed it further in that direction. We know it was getting worse because Melira mentions at some point even her magic is having more and more issues staving off compleation.

Finally, Norn takes the role of Yawgmoth leading all of New Phyrexia, and wants an army, fast, on all of the many worlds she invades. She wants soldiers fast and dirty, in and out of incubators and compleated. The oil complies, though once again it puts her in a similar position to Yawgmoth, central to all this oil and the ones it courses through. And just like his, her death deactivates it in her rushed compleations at least. We'll see whether or how it reactivates when WotC brings back Phyrexians in a decade.

[niuttuc]

Omens of Chaos

Finally received my copy of Omens of Chaos by @seananmcguire (over a month after my order due to delays from both the sender and the shipping company) and gave it a read. I was pleasantly surprised to find a command tower promo inside, as this was advertised as a NA-exclusive promotion and I'm not there.

What follows is a brief review/impressions without spoilers for the actual story of the book.

Overall, I found it good. Excellent when compared to the worst magic fiction has to offer, but that's not a very useful barometer. It takes a while to get going, the entire first half of the book is establishing the character into the routine the Plot will disrupt.

But it's also clearly trying to lay the foundations for people who would read the book unfamiliar with the Magic multiverse. Or as is more likely, familiar enough with the cards, but not with previous stories. For a complete layperson, the deluge of worlds, places, factions and characters the beginning of the book chains together might be overwhelming, even a bit above what Fantasy usually does, but then it aligns with the story of the book: young people being exposed to that amount of unfamiliar experiences and names, trying to make sense of it and not be overwhelmed. For someone just familiar with the card game who remembers the various factions and some important legendary creatures, it would likely work even better.

The book isn't without reference to existing lore, of course, if you're someone familiar with them, but it doesn't linger on them. Having someone who knows and cares about the Multiverse and its characters shows in the writing, with passing references to plenty of stuff that doesn't distract from the story, but enhances the texture for people who are familiar. It also has occasional interesting worldbuilding snippets I saved in case they are useful to me later.

One thing that I didn't like as much is how exaggerated and one note the portrayal of Fiora was at first impression. Though the book does do a decent job of deconstructing that a bit later on as a cursory impression of only one aspect of Fiora, the nobility more likely to interact with outsiders, and even then obeying its own rules. But it still felt a bit over-the-top by the end, and I do like myself some good Fioran intrigue and have experimented in the space myself.

The main cast of the book is on its face 5 characters because it's Magic and gotta keep things color-balanced, though it grounds itself in a single point of view character for the vast majority of the book, and we see much more of what feels like 3 characters out of the 5. The other two are important too but not as much of a focus.

The romance(s), as it was, felt natural and like they didn't take detract or distract from the story.

New characters to magic lore are also introduced with deftness that makes them potential candidates for future magic stories, ones I'd be glad to see again, without trying to force it. It is revealed around a quarter through the book why these students were picked to be invited to Strixhaven, and it offers an opportunity for future writers and stories if they (and wotc) wants it realized.

As a conclusion, I'd recommend it to any Vorthos, many magic players, and maybe a few people beside. Compared to the free online story, this book has more room to establish itself and resolve things at a more sedate pace, and as such feels much less rushed than those. It gets time to establish a norm firmly before disrupting it.

[markrosewater]

I would like some feedback on the Spider-Man set. Tell me everything you liked and didn’t like about the product.

[niuttuc]

Alright, a lot going on there, I'll start with some info on me relating to Spider-Man. I've been a magic player for decades at this point. I have read Spider-Man comics borrowed from my local library plenty of time growing up, I wouldn't consider myself a Spider-Man or Marvel fan or anything, but I came into this knowing likely a bit more than the average magic player about Spidey, and less than the average spider-man afficionado.

I'll start with what I liked most: the special treatments! Most of the special treatments for the set were great and did an incredible job paying homage to comics. In particular, the paneled Sagas are the high point of the set for me, bridging together mechanics, art, and what makes comics comics all in one.

The Source Material cards aren't universally great, but out of all the Source Material bonus sheets we've seen before or since, this one works the best for me, particularly using the comic book covers already intended for print and being readable at a glance on shelves, it translates better to magic cards than most.

Mechanically, Mayhem is a nice and reusable simplification of Madness. It feels like a cleaner design of it. Villains Conniving was also a neat touch. There are a lot of interesting designs, particularly at higher rarity.

Through the Omenpaths' arts and reflavoring is pretty neat and does a good job into translating designs into their Multiversal counterparts overall. There are a few vestigial weirdness like the Hero or Villain types that feel arbitrary (particularly annoying in limited if one tries to build around either type on Arena,) but other than that it makes it feel at home (if very spidery) into Magic.

It also allows me to pivot neatly into what I didn't like about the Spider-Man set.

Through the Omenpaths existing is BAD. Bad enough I'd prefer not having a set at all if the alternative is doing this (though I wouldn't prefer having the set only in paper, which I assume is why this choice was made.) As someone who plays both in paper and on Arena, having two different set of cards with different arts and names be functionally the same is bad enough for a handful of cards like a secret lair. It should be disqualifying for a set with hundreds of cards. It makes talking about the set and following talk about it almost impossible. Not only when it released but with even more confusions now, months later. I look back and I see a bunch of cards I do not recognize, both in paper and arena.

It makes it worse that future Marvel sets are already announced and more of this can be expected for them.

It being a small set brought up painfully to a small-but-not-tiny size partway through hurts it as well. The limited wasn't great, but I'm only an occasional limited player so I'll leave people more experienced talk on that. But it was felt even in constructed. As someone who plays a fair amount of standard, it didn't have enough meat to really build any deck around the set themes. Web-slinging has maybe ten cards in the entire main set, most of which are aimed towards limited. Mayhem had barely more. We have a dedicated self-discard deck in current Standard in Rakdos and it typically doesn't even use any Mayhem cards. Villains had some typal synergy, but not enough for a constructed deck. Not even necessarily a tier 1 deck, just one that could compete. Maybe spiders?

Maybe spiders, indeed, but then again, that was also an issue. Spider-Man is the central character of Spider-Man, yes, but there is such a concept as too much of a good thing. Just in the main set, over 20 cards in the 200 card set start their name with "Spider-", and there are 40 if we expand beyond just the first word. One card in five. It makes both discussing and remembering the set much harder. This only makes the Through the Omenpaths issue worse. I know Kavaero is really strong in Standard and beyond, I think he's a Spider-Man in paper. But which one? Something like "S... Spider-Man" I'm pretty sure. Is it Spectacular? Supreme? Sensational?

Flavor-wise, I'm not the staunchest opponent of Universes Beyond, but some of the more mundane elements of the set do feel a bit out of place in this fantasy card game. This isn't a problem unique to Universes Beyond, I've had issues with it in other sets before, but some notable offenders from this set range from the Passenger Ferry to Rent is Due.

Mechanically and as far as individual designs, the Soul Stone feels pretty egregious at Mythic. It was stated by WotC designers before that purposefully printing generic staples for commander made the format worse, with Arcane Signet being paraded as an example. Arcane Signet was a common. The Soul Stone doesn't go in every deck of every color, but it seems pretty purposefully aimed at the same area of design, and it has much more limited distribution as a mythic that is unlikely to see nearly as widespread reprints in the future. Just like Through the Omenpaths, it is made worse by knowing it is likely part of a tight cycle with other upcoming Infinity Stones in future Marvel sets.

More of a peeve than an actual complaint, but for the sake of mentioning everything I remember: Spectacular Spider-Man not appearing in non-borderless version in the main set unlike literally every other card is weird and I would rather have a normal version available.

[niuttuc]

Best Standard Deck Bracket

We're starting a new project on Goldfish on Monday I'm excited about. Every week, two of our players will battle 2 of the 64 best Standard decks across the history of magic in a best of five, along a single-elimination bracket that will take us over a year to complete.

The first match airs on Monday: Vivi Cauldron from 2025 against the infamous Caw Blade deck from 2011, two decks that required some pretty severe bannings to stop them.

[niuttuc]

You can find the list of all the decks that will be played at this link, as well as the full bracket.

The Best Standard Deck Ever Tournament and Decklists

Over the next months Richard and Seth are battling through a bracket of the 64 most iconic Standard decks from Magic's history! Here's the d

The bracket is also available as a spreadsheet you can copy and fill out to try to predict it before it starts!

Best Standard Deck EVER

[niuttuc]

Best Standard Deck Bracket

We're starting a new project on Goldfish on Monday I'm excited about. Every week, two of our players will battle 2 of the 64 best Standard decks across the history of magic in a best of five, along a single-elimination bracket that will take us over a year to complete.

The first match airs on Monday: Vivi Cauldron from 2025 against the infamous Caw Blade deck from 2011, two decks that required some pretty severe bannings to stop them.

[niuttuc]

You can find the list of all the decks that will be played at this link, as well as the full bracket.

The Best Standard Deck Ever Tournament and Decklists

Over the next months Richard and Seth are battling through a bracket of the 64 most iconic Standard decks from Magic's history! Here's the d

The bracket is also available as a spreadsheet you can copy and fill out to try to predict it before it starts!

Best Standard Deck EVER

[niuttuc]

Best Standard Deck Bracket

We're starting a new project on Goldfish on Monday I'm excited about. Every week, two of our players will battle 2 of the 64 best Standard decks across the history of magic in a best of five, along a single-elimination bracket that will take us over a year to complete.

The first match airs on Monday: Vivi Cauldron from 2025 against the infamous Caw Blade deck from 2011, two decks that required some pretty severe bannings to stop them.

[niuttuc]

One More Day

I had a hypothetical come into my mind, and I'm curious what other people think about it. (The poll is here for easy initial response, but if it's closed by the time you find this post, don't hesitate to answer anyway.)

Right before you die, you're given a magical opportunity. You are transported in time and space and get to live One More Day (24 hours) sometime in the future

In that day, you're in your prime and free of any illness, injury or weakness that came with age or accident. You are not a ghost then, you can act as normal. After that day, you will be returned to the moment of your death in the same condition you were before leaving and have no opportunity to do anything before it takes you. Geographically, you're put Somewhere Reasonable for the time you arrive, likely not at the bottom of the sea, in deep space or in a restricted area, unless it's far enough in a future when that's where people live and you can survive it. You can speak, read and understand the local language or typical means of communication.

You have one important decision: WHEN are you gonna live that extra day in the future?

(It is a magical gift, and cannot be cheated on. No future medicine or operation can save you past the time limit. Your consciousness cannot be transferred, cloned or altered enough to save you. Time dilation, physical, digital or otherwise, won't help you, neither will a partial or full stasis. After 24 hours of subjective or "objective" time, whichever is the shortest, that extra day will end.)

When do you want to live that day?

The next day (Say goodbye, do one more thing,...)

In a week to a year (See how people react to your death,...)

In 1 to 10 years (See the results of a decision or current event,...)

In 10 to 100 years (See how the world evolves in the near future,...)

In 500 years or more (See how the world will change on a longer term,...)

In 1 million years or more (Longer than humanity has been around)

In 1 billion years or more (See the world changed on a geological timescale)

Sometime specific in between the other options (Please specify when and why!)

Voting ended onJan 23

I'd be delighted to read what you picked, why and what you intend to do with that day in comments, reblogs or tags, even if you pick one of the main options! I've highlighted the more obvious reasons I could personally think of for the various options, but I'm sure there are plenty more I didn't think of.

[mtgsmash-or-pass]

Which one of these has NOT been featured on official Magic the Gathering™️ product?

Princess Twilight Sparkle

Megatron

Thanos

Jeff Goldblum

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo the Ninja Turtle

Cloud Strife

Strahd Von Zarovich

Dr. Eggman

Godzilla

Inigo Montoya

Hatsune Miku

Voting ended onDec 23, 2025

Reblog to get this out of mtg circles

When the poll is concluded I will share the cards!

[niuttuc]

A recent commissioned art by @looceyloo from @socialpoison and myself, featuring his Traenor and my Zarunpel. I've been wanting an official look and reference for Zarunpel for a while, and the piece turned out amazing as both its own thing and as a first official art for her (well, full body).

If you're interested in Zarunpel in specific, a quick sheet for her just went up, I was surprised I didn't have one already. For Traenor, I'm sure @socialpoison will have something linked somewhere, possibly in a comment or reblog!

[niuttuc]

And the cards to go with the art

[niuttuc]

This time with some details zoomed in!

[niuttuc]

A recent commissioned art by @looceyloo from @socialpoison and myself, featuring his Traenor and my Zarunpel. I've been wanting an official look and reference for Zarunpel for a while, and the piece turned out amazing as both its own thing and as a first official art for her (well, full body).

If you're interested in Zarunpel in specific, a quick sheet for her just went up, I was surprised I didn't have one already. For Traenor, I'm sure @socialpoison will have something linked somewhere, possibly in a comment or reblog!

[niuttuc]

And the cards to go with the art

[niuttuc]

This time with some details zoomed in!

[niuttuc]

I forget if I said this before but I also have an extus adventure list! Mine tries to loop through spells with cost reducers and sac outlets for kinda sub par value generation 😅

Yeah, the main issue with looping adventures for value with Extus is that you can't do that without casting the creature at some point, and more of them are... They are creatures that were printed in the game Magic: the Gathering. But it's a fun version and the synergy is neat!

[niuttuc]

The Coolest Reward in Magic

Magic was first sold in late 1993, and ended up being a success well beyond what its creator and publisher expected. Within a few years, they'd started a popular tournament circuit, with Pro Tours and World Championships. In 1997, they wanted to add another prominent event to the calendar, but their budget for that was relatively small. Even with only a handful of carefully-picked players, flying them in and renting the venue and preparing everything would already take most of the budget they had for the event.

So, to save money, they came up with a new idea for the prize won at this tournament, one that wouldn't cost them a penny! The winner would get to help design a magic card, and it would then be printed in a future set with them featured as the character in the illustration. The company was gonna make cards and commission artists anyway, so it didn't cost them anything. Thus, the Invitational was born, and because of a small budget, the coolest reward in Magic. To be immortalized forever, as one of the pieces of the game you proved yourself in.

The Invitational would return, at first every year, then every couple years, before finally being retired after 2007. But the idea was just too enticing to remain on the shelf forever. It would return unexpectedly in 2019, as a reward for winning the World Championship in 2018 and in future years! This time in ADDITION to prize money, the budget at WotC having increased a bit since the 90s. And with the name of the player featured on the card itself!

These cards are not just ceremonial pieces of cardboard either. They tend to be pretty unique, efficient and pushed for playability. Only a couple of these didn't see major tournament play in one format or another. Some became iconic cards of the game in general, I'm sure if you've played a bit of magic, even outside of tournament formats, you've encountered some of these and recognize them.

Sylvan Safekeeper/Olle Råde (the first one earned, despite taking a few years getting made) was a major player in its era and beyond, remaining a premium protection option to this day... As well as being a key player in a combo deck that took over a tournament in Modern just last year in 2024! Almost all of them, except for Rakdos Augermage/Terry Soh, sorry Augermage, saw some significant play in the Standard format they were in, some more than others. Some, like Solemn Simulacrum/Jens Thoren, Dark Confidant/Bob Maher and Snapcaster Mage/Tiago Chan, became icons of entire other formats and still are. Solemn Simulacrum is so iconic it was included in Magic Foundations, the recent product that aims to be the game distilled to its purest form. Dark Confidant was reprinted into Standard to... Some play, though less than the first time after two decades of power creep. All four of the world champion cards released so far have seen standard play, though Duelist of the Mind took a while to find a deck with the room for it.

The one that saw the least play of all is of course, the one for Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, Formidable Speaker, that will release in a few months. Though the card is definitely strong enough I'd be shocked if it doesn't find many homes, be it in Standard, Commander or even older formats.

Since it takes between one and three years for the process to get the art and cards made, we also have another one pending, and it's a first in Magic's history. For the first time ever, someone earned... A second card! After winning the 2018 World Championship and being immortalized as Fervent Champion, Javier Dominguez won ANOTHER world title in 2024, piloting a very cool deck! We'll have to see what that results in.

But what about 2025? Well, if you're seeing this post soon after I posted it, you're in luck! It isn't decided yet. The World Championship will start roughly one week after I posted this, on the first weekend of December 2025, starting December 5th and with the top 8 on December 7th, on the official Magic Twitch channel (and probably also streamed on Youtube though I don't have a handy link for that yet.) It will be primarily Standard, that was just shaken up by a broken deck being banned a couple weeks ago and then reshaped by a new set bringing enough powerful cards to make new decks emerge just last week. It will be an exciting tournament to see who will get immortalized into the game!

[niuttuc]

The Coolest Reward in Magic

Magic was first sold in late 1993, and ended up being a success well beyond what its creator and publisher expected. Within a few years, they'd started a popular tournament circuit, with Pro Tours and World Championships. In 1997, they wanted to add another prominent event to the calendar, but their budget for that was relatively small. Even with only a handful of carefully-picked players, flying them in and renting the venue and preparing everything would already take most of the budget they had for the event.

So, to save money, they came up with a new idea for the prize won at this tournament, one that wouldn't cost them a penny! The winner would get to help design a magic card, and it would then be printed in a future set with them featured as the character in the illustration. The company was gonna make cards and commission artists anyway, so it didn't cost them anything. Thus, the Invitational was born, and because of a small budget, the coolest reward in Magic. To be immortalized forever, as one of the pieces of the game you proved yourself in.

The Invitational would return, at first every year, then every couple years, before finally being retired after 2007. But the idea was just too enticing to remain on the shelf forever. It would return unexpectedly in 2019, as a reward for winning the World Championship in 2018 and in future years! This time in ADDITION to prize money, the budget at WotC having increased a bit since the 90s. And with the name of the player featured on the card itself!

These cards are not just ceremonial pieces of cardboard either. They tend to be pretty unique, efficient and pushed for playability. Only a couple of these didn't see major tournament play in one format or another. Some became iconic cards of the game in general, I'm sure if you've played a bit of magic, even outside of tournament formats, you've encountered some of these and recognize them.

Sylvan Safekeeper/Olle Råde (the first one earned, despite taking a few years getting made) was a major player in its era and beyond, remaining a premium protection option to this day... As well as being a key player in a combo deck that took over a tournament in Modern just last year in 2024! Almost all of them, except for Rakdos Augermage/Terry Soh, sorry Augermage, saw some significant play in the Standard format they were in, some more than others. Some, like Solemn Simulacrum/Jens Thoren, Dark Confidant/Bob Maher and Snapcaster Mage/Tiago Chan, became icons of entire other formats and still are. Solemn Simulacrum is so iconic it was included in Magic Foundations, the recent product that aims to be the game distilled to its purest form. Dark Confidant was reprinted into Standard to... Some play, though less than the first time after two decades of power creep. All four of the world champion cards released so far have seen standard play, though Duelist of the Mind took a while to find a deck with the room for it.

The one that saw the least play of all is of course, the one for Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, Formidable Speaker, that will release in a few months. Though the card is definitely strong enough I'd be shocked if it doesn't find many homes, be it in Standard, Commander or even older formats.

Since it takes between one and three years for the process to get the art and cards made, we also have another one pending, and it's a first in Magic's history. For the first time ever, someone earned... A second card! After winning the 2018 World Championship and being immortalized as Fervent Champion, Javier Dominguez won ANOTHER world title in 2024, piloting a very cool deck! We'll have to see what that results in.

But what about 2025? Well, if you're seeing this post soon after I posted it, you're in luck! It isn't decided yet. The World Championship will start roughly one week after I posted this, on the first weekend of December 2025, starting December 5th and with the top 8 on December 7th, on the official Magic Twitch channel (and probably also streamed on Youtube though I don't have a handy link for that yet.) It will be primarily Standard, that was just shaken up by a broken deck being banned a couple weeks ago and then reshaped by a new set bringing enough powerful cards to make new decks emerge just last week. It will be an exciting tournament to see who will get immortalized into the game!

[niuttuc]

The Coolest Reward in Magic

Magic was first sold in late 1993, and ended up being a success well beyond what its creator and publisher expected. Within a few years, they'd started a popular tournament circuit, with Pro Tours and World Championships. In 1997, they wanted to add another prominent event to the calendar, but their budget for that was relatively small. Even with only a handful of carefully-picked players, flying them in and renting the venue and preparing everything would already take most of the budget they had for the event.

So, to save money, they came up with a new idea for the prize won at this tournament, one that wouldn't cost them a penny! The winner would get to help design a magic card, and it would then be printed in a future set with them featured as the character in the illustration. The company was gonna make cards and commission artists anyway, so it didn't cost them anything. Thus, the Invitational was born, and because of a small budget, the coolest reward in Magic. To be immortalized forever, as one of the pieces of the game you proved yourself in.

The Invitational would return, at first every year, then every couple years, before finally being retired after 2007. But the idea was just too enticing to remain on the shelf forever. It would return unexpectedly in 2019, as a reward for winning the World Championship in 2018 and in future years! This time in ADDITION to prize money, the budget at WotC having increased a bit since the 90s. And with the name of the player featured on the card itself!

These cards are not just ceremonial pieces of cardboard either. They tend to be pretty unique, efficient and pushed for playability. Only a couple of these didn't see major tournament play in one format or another. Some became iconic cards of the game in general, I'm sure if you've played a bit of magic, even outside of tournament formats, you've encountered some of these and recognize them.

Sylvan Safekeeper/Olle Råde (the first one earned, despite taking a few years getting made) was a major player in its era and beyond, remaining a premium protection option to this day... As well as being a key player in a combo deck that took over a tournament in Modern just last year in 2024! Almost all of them, except for Rakdos Augermage/Terry Soh, sorry Augermage, saw some significant play in the Standard format they were in, some more than others. Some, like Solemn Simulacrum/Jens Thoren, Dark Confidant/Bob Maher and Snapcaster Mage/Tiago Chan, became icons of entire other formats and still are. Solemn Simulacrum is so iconic it was included in Magic Foundations, the recent product that aims to be the game distilled to its purest form. Dark Confidant was reprinted into Standard to... Some play, though less than the first time after two decades of power creep. All four of the world champion cards released so far have seen standard play, though Duelist of the Mind took a while to find a deck with the room for it.

The one that saw the least play of all is of course, the one for Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, Formidable Speaker, that will release in a few months. Though the card is definitely strong enough I'd be shocked if it doesn't find many homes, be it in Standard, Commander or even older formats.

Since it takes between one and three years for the process to get the art and cards made, we also have another one pending, and it's a first in Magic's history. For the first time ever, someone earned... A second card! After winning the 2018 World Championship and being immortalized as Fervent Champion, Javier Dominguez won ANOTHER world title in 2024, piloting a very cool deck! We'll have to see what that results in.

But what about 2025? Well, if you're seeing this post soon after I posted it, you're in luck! It isn't decided yet. The World Championship will start roughly one week after I posted this, on the first weekend of December 2025, starting December 5th and with the top 8 on December 7th, on the official Magic Twitch channel (and probably also streamed on Youtube though I don't have a handy link for that yet.) It will be primarily Standard, that was just shaken up by a broken deck being banned a couple weeks ago and then reshaped by a new set bringing enough powerful cards to make new decks emerge just last week. It will be an exciting tournament to see who will get immortalized into the game!

[niuttuc]

6, 7 and 16 for the ask game!

There are 25 questions here, and they’re made to be open for more than just yes or no answers, so one question should be plenty for an ask!

6. Do you have a property you’d like to see a Universes Beyond release for? What kind of product are you envisioning for it?

Generally speaking, I'm not one to get particularly excited at things like that. I don't hate UB, it's just that seeing characters I recognize on a piece of cardboard doesn't fill me with the urge to own it and give my money to whoever it takes to do so. At most I get a "neat."

The only somewhat plausible property I'd likely be genuinely excited for would be a full Discworld set, possibly with room in the future for more in the wider world if they focus the first on just Ankh-Morpork. It's fantasy, there is almost infinite material to build from with the thirty-some books from the main series, expansive worldbuilding to fill nonlegend slots, many many many characters so that there doesn't need to be repeat, and a very distinct feel to it.

7. What existing Magic world would you want to return to most? Do you have a concept for a new world you’d like to see?

Please return to Kaldheim already, and give realms other than Bretagard a chance to get explored. One set was clearly not enough, and I know it's accurate for Midgard to get all the development, but on our world that's because we live there. In a fantasy depiction every other world is more interesting than Human McHumanplace. It can have its share, just maybe not as big of one?

As far as a concept, I have built or helped build several worlds myself (Ocaelum, Moloni, Winrovah, Ferely, Geonne,...) for concepts I like, but WotC has already stolen(/j) enough bits and pieces from them since. If I spend the time coming up with an idea I like that isn't covered, I'd likely end up building up on it more. Plus, I know many more worlds of other people's creation that could also get explored, like a musical world where everything is tied to natural rhythms and melodies.

Let's say: Wherever the Speedbrood is from! They're neat, and I have to assume for the sake of my mental that the focus on speed and turning into specifically vehicles is a specialization of a narrow part of the species. The concept of insects changing into living hyper-specialized and complex forms is very neat though, and there could be a lot built from a society like that!

16. Which announced future set are you most looking forward to? What do you want to see most in it?

Lorwyn Eclipsed. In part for its own sake, I love Lorwyn a whole lot, but also in part because there isn't that much else to be excited about in what has been announced at this point.

TMNT I start with very negative expectations about, the Hobbit will likely suffer from the same kind of woes both the Spider-Man set and the Hobbit movies had, the Avengers set starts low because of how poorly the Spider-Man set was messed with but I am otherwise neutral on. Star Trek I think is a better choice than everything else as far as UB that year, I expect good things from it despite only having passing knowledge of Star Trek and not caring about it. But I still prefer Lorwyn.

Strixhaven is boring to me, the first one was already pretty unrelatable and unexciting for me as it focused exclusively on the school and its (very american-college-based) tropes and not larger Arcavios, I expect more of the same in this one.

Reality Fracture is frustrating in advance to me from what it seems to try to be. I'm tired of Multiverse-Spanning Story Arc Capstones that make caring about anything in the world they sell us pointless. If the entire universe completely shifts the status quo of everything every three years, and we only return to worlds at best every five or six years, there is no point to caring about any changes that happen within a set, it will be wiped away twice over by the time we next come back.

[niuttuc]

Re: MtG asks: 12 - Do you remember the first mythic you opened from a booster pack? Have you used it in any decks? Do you know where it is now?

I answered that one here!

I think the second I opened was shortly after when the store restocked on Zendikar which was a hot commodity at the time with the Fetchlands in standard. I opened a Chandra Ablaze. Not quite as useful as the first one, and this one I tried a few times and it's currently sitting in a binder where it'll likely remain until I get rid of the entire thing.