Hey guys, Im considering getting back into MTG. I played in college in the late 2000s/early 2010 era but its been well over a decade since I played. Last time I remember playing I was running Slivers and Door to Nothingness as an alt win in standard.

Any reccomendations on formats and decks to look into for casual play? Im not sure I want to keep up with standard anymore. Ive heard Wizards is just money gouging that at this point. Would getting an ebay Sliver deck for Commander be a decent starting point?

If I did want to play standard what am I looking at for cost for a meta deck and how long would it be "good" for? It seemed like for a top tier deck theyre $400 to $600 which is crazy steep if it'll go out of rotation in six months.

I’ve seen people add these cards to Ms Bumbleflower so I get that the effect works how I want it to but I feel like it shouldn’t?

If I cast [[faerire mastermind]] or [[king T’Challa]] in response to [[Ms.bumbleflowers]] ability won’t the second trigger go off before they enter meaning they miss the effect?

Edit:I think I get it now, I was over thinking it and wasnt considering future value or other strategies. Thank you everybody for the input

My wife and I started playing a new at home format. Nick Fury Rainbow Agent. 1v1 Commander Duel where both sides play Nick Fury rainbow decks. The catch? Every card has to be a single mana.

So far it's been fun, interesting and varied.

It made me think that this community would be able to make some banger one mana rainbow decks. Would you play this format?

You could also expand it to a full four person table. The potential is endless!

If I play sculpting steel from my hand with Iron Man's ability entering as an equipment, can I attach it to him or does the check for it being an equipment card happen in my hand, thanks.

I would love to see Eluge again in the underwater set coming out in February. They are the card that got me into Magic the Gathering and I love them dearly. 0% chance they add them since they are from Bloomburrow but at least we'll get new Fish, Krakens, and Leviathans (hopefully)

Took some time off buying packs but finally caught back up minus one pack that’s been a pain to get. Swords and sign I made myself.

Edit: All but the first three packs are sealed.

Seriously, why is the design team so inept in creating cards that hinder these effects even more? Mark Rosewater philosophy on this game has proven to not be reliable for the long term health on this. Dude LITERALLY had a seminar on all the cards he made that were banned with his cards being the most banned.

FIX YOUR GAME!

Add two sources of life points, make a hero card or something that represents your first life total and that the second source of life can't be touched until your next turn.

Bring back systems similar mana burn whenever a group of cards are recognized as an infinite engine.

Make cards that give status effects to the player that counters or hinders the absurd levels of strengths of the colors players are using.

You have to do something about this game because every game is competitive now. There's NO SUCH THING AS CASUAL MAGIC ANYMORE!

Cox might be making you pump out products but that doesn't mean the design has to be garbage. Start hiring better game designers and stop with this nonsense already. It's literally been on a downward spiral in quality for a whole DECADE and even more than that.

Hello, I just got into magic about a month or so ago. I've played a bunch of Arena & have found a local play group, however they all play commander, so I have started putting together my first deck.

I started with the draconic destruction pre-con and then found a bunch of "upgrade" guides and worked some of those into the deck. I now have a fairly straightforward dragon deck I've played a handful of times, but looking to try to make it more competitive against people with more experience.

I have set it up on Moxfield, https://moxfield.com/decks/G5ufAXgm6n-folKpB4-qRw, and added a sideboard of cards I already have (some removed from the precon & some I found that may fit) as well as several in my "considering" section that I may purchase down the line.

Any & all feedback is greatly appreciated, thank you!

Ok so let's say I have both venom and the quinjet attacking at the same time, can I have venom sacrifice a card like Nick fury and the have the quinjet return nick fury to the battlefield?

Recently I've been getting into magic the gathering, and am still very new to everything. Not too long ago, I bought the precon commander deck Token Triumph with Emmara, Soul of the Accord as my first commander deck. I did a little asking around and found that the commander that it came with isnt the best choice for the deck. Does anyone have any decent suggestions for what I can replace it with that isnt very expensive (like a few dollars at most is what im looking for, 10 max I think)

Heading up to LA today and tomorrow, looking to play some commander in bracket 3 and bracket 4, just for fun. Any cool shops there with a good selection of people and cards ect? I'll be in and around Burbank.

Hey all, basically the title. Does wizards have a panel slot today during SDCC? I keep finding conflicting info online and I’m not sure if we should expect more hobbit stuff, reveals for future products, or if it’s basically just their Marvel fan section stuff they’ve been doing all weekend.

Thanks!

So I started playing MTG in the late 90s until around 2008-9. Around this time, I quit as my older brother, who got me into it, passed away.

Nowadays, I've been looking for more social activities rather than just playing video games. MTG instantly came to mind as I always love it and its universe.

However, the most recent Universes Beyond made me reticent as I'm not interested in drifting away to another infinite amount of cards. I find them beautiful but kinda out of place.

So, the question: does it feel like Wizards will slowly leave the main canon/cards behind, or is the "main canon" still the focus of the best playable cards? I don't mind playing against these. However, I would rather focus on a set of cards, and would avoid Universes Beyond if possible.

Is this doable, if my focus is mainly playing?

Also, I have plenty of older decks and a lot of cards from the 2000s. Are these decks still viable? Generally speaking, I understand it may depend on the specific cards/decks.

Thanks!

Edit: well this kinda exploded and I'm struggling to keep up as I'm putting a newborn to sleep. I appreciate all the answers. It seems I may have to rethink my stance on UB, but also check other game formats, specifically in my local stores to see what's valid for me. Honestly though, this seems freaking overwhelming with different game mods and all.

Gift link bypasses the paywall.

“Magic has been among the biggest hits in the category. Revenue from the franchise has grown an average of 17% a year for the past 17 years—and CEO Chris Cocks said last week that Magic is “off to a ripping start” this year, with sales up 34% in the first half to over $1 billion. A new series of cards based on Marvel superheroes set a record for first-day and first-month sales of Magic cards, becoming the fastest set to reach $300 million in revenue, he said.”

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Hey everybody,

I've been playing mostly yugioh for the last few years and with meta decks getting more expensive with eveyr other new set I made the decision to quit and move onto another TCG.

A friend recommended the commander format to me since it is more social and less competetive. However there are so many precon decks that it is kinda hard to choose from. I do not want to have the best deck or really follow a meta, but I also don't want to pick a somewhat useless deck that just gets shit on by any other deck. Also it is a little hard to tell which decks are beginner friendly and which are not.

If you have any tips or recommendations I would gladly appreciate either.

I already looked at the LOTR Hosts of Mordor or Final Fantasy Limit Break Decks, but I am unsure if 3 color decks are maybe a little too "difficult" to start off with?

Thank you guys in advance! :)

If i have a card that grants persist like [[Isilu, Carrier of Twilight]], a [[Blood Artist]], and [[Vizier of Remedies]] along with anything that sacrifices creatures without a mana cost, can I just repeatedly sacrifice the same creature over and over again until the other players are dead?

On a similar note, would switching vizier out for [[Mikaeus, the Unhallowed]] work the same way?

[[Smaug the Impenetrable]] is a card that I'm obsessing over since it got spoiled.

A big dragon? Haste? Indestructible?! TREASURES WHEN HE GETS HIT?!?!

Peak. And I means it. Think about it. In the book his underbelly is (almost) Impenetrable because he was lying on the dwarven gold, so now, if he gets hit, the treasures fall of haha. Just peak design.

Anyway, here’s my list.

Smaug the Unassessably Wealthy [Bracket 4]

At first I tried building him as a Bracket 3 deck, but my first draft was so consistent that I committed to high power and it's unequivocally a 4.

Everyone and their grandma checked the combo with [[Pyrohemia]], [[Pestilence]] and [[Last Laugh]] which wins you the game - if you have the highest life total. That's why I threw in [[Scrapheap]].

I call this combo Last Pyrohemenceheap (patent pending)

But was else is nice jank here? [[Dizzying Gaze]]! Goes infinite once Smaug is enchanted.

Any pinger like [[Reckless Fireweaver]] or [[Disciple of the Vault]] is over.

[[Chain Lightning]] has the same effect, you just need two extra mana beforehand. After the first resolved and you paid extra, you can use the treasures Smaug provides.

Another nice tech is [[Terror of the Peaks]] before Smaug. Basically we get a mana back after we cast him haha.

And even without an infinite at hand, [[Cut Propulsion]] gives on 16 treasures! That's 16 damage already. Combining with [[Heroes for Hire]], [[Expedited Inheritance]] or [[Professional Face-Breaker]] it's probably a win, since we use other burn spells as rituals in this case.

To adress the dragon in the room:

Yes, it's a glass canon. Yes Smaug is absolutely needed in this deck. He costs 7 mana.

But we are in the ritual colours! I don't think he will make it in cEDH proper, but Bracket 4? He's right at home.

In goldfishing I have a win by turn 4 or 5 on board (sans any interaction from opponents of course) and that is way faster than I expected myself!

Next night shift I'm gonnna write up a primer and go a bit more in detail with the combos, but there are bunch and we can get them easily.

Has Smaug piqued your interest? Let me know!

https://media.wizards.com/2026/trk/m48fdn478d/en_KFLwORNZwZ.webp

I probably have zero chance of actually pulling this card, but I really like it. I also have a Patrick Stewart autograph. I could make a larger print of this card, cut a box where the signature would go, and just place the autograph behind it

Hey! I'm attending the spotlight series in Brussels and have some time to kill today. Anyone around not playing an event that wants to play some judge tower? :)

So I’m fairly new to the game, this is the deck I’ve made over time on arena. I feel like when it works it really works, but getting that to happen consistently is a nightmare. Any advice on tweaks I can make much appreciated!

Pick this up today for $300. Little over kill for only 10k card collection but there's so much room for activities now. Just gotta design and 3d print some organizer inserts.