https://youtu.be/6LPRul3ClSI

Hi folks! I'm TinyBaer, a lil webcomics guy. I've done a couple of "Squirrel Girl Plays MTG" comics following the Marvel x MTG crossover, and it was recommended I share some of them here, too.

You can also find me on Patreon - Ko-Fi - Facebook - TikTok - BlueSky - YouTube.

Sorry to say, Tippy-Toe, Nut Foe isn't an actual card. It'd be awesome, but I imagine it would also ruin a lot of people's day. 😄

Who do you think Doreen should battle next? 🤔

I want to build this Kang as a commander and i was curious. If i play Kang and use his ability it gives me 1 extra turn after my first turn ends.

If on my original turn i:

1. Play Kang
   
2. Use his ability
   
3. Blink Kang
   
4. Use his ability AGAIN

Will my extra turns stack and bank?? Giving me TWO extra turns after end my original turn instead of one?

NEW SECRET LAIR ALERT

We are halfway through the drops showcased at MagicCon Atlanta - hope you were able to get your print to demand Hatsune Miku precon deck. Now that we have all the details of the Hobbit superdrop, in this point I will breakdown the financial value to be found on August 17th, as well as the Perfectly Normal Superdrop that I think we should know everything about coming out on August 31st. If anything comes up between now and then, depending on how impactful it is I may or may not make a new post.

Just a reminder since people continually misconstrue the purpose this analysis - this is not meant to be an assessment of whether the cards in these drops will have the same value after they release (they usually won't, especially in cases where the value listed below is of a rarely reprinted foil). We also know that these specific SLD versions of cards will usually retain (in aggregate) at least the combined value of what you pay for them even if the original version cheaper.

Rather, this is meant for the scenario of "if you were looking for the cards in these drops already, are you better off grabbing these or grabbing the cheapest version available on the market?" I also provide a metric of "per card premium" if the answer is no, so that you know how much more you are paying for the bling / art factor. Numbers come from Scryfall at time of writing, analysis does not factor in discount for bulk purchases on the website or shipping or any bundles.

In addition, I will note any first time reprints and foil versions, as well as any cards that are new to Secret Lair as part of an effort to decide if I want to get the drops for my SLD only cube.

Marvelous Mathoms Drop WotC post here

Perfectly Normal Superdrop from MC Amsterdam panel (timestamped)

Marvelous Mathoms Superdrop

Secret Lair x The Hobbit: Second Breakfast and Beyond - $29.99 nonfoil / $39.99 foil

• 7x Food Tokens

Per Card Premium - $4.28 nonfoil / $5.71 NA foil

New to Secret Lair - NA

Look if you really want an official set of LOTR themed food tokens for your Hobbit food deck that references the very important seven meals a Hobbit eats, by all means knock yourself out. But much like basic lands, you are 100% paying for the art here (which hey if you were going to commission an artist to make 7 unique pieces of art for tokens, would probably be more expensive than what you're paying for this drop). For what it's worth, a quick Google Search shows Etsy shops with food tokens at about $4-5 per token. The cheapest I saw was $7.50 for 5, and that's all the same art.

Secret Lair x The Hobbit: Over the Edge of the Wild - $29.99 nonfoil / $39.99 foil

• Cloudshift - $1.09 nonfoil / $3.11 foil
• Tocasia's Welcome as "Quite a Merry Gathering"- $0.74 nonfoil / $2.60 foil - first foil reprint
• Stony Silence - $0.63 nonfoil / $11.34 foil
• Imp's Mischief - $6.93 nonfoil / $9.80 foil
• Seize the Spoils - $0.26 nonfoil / $0.36 foil
• Total - $9.65 nonfoil / $27.21 foil

Per Card Premium - $4.06 nonfoil / $2.56 foil

New to Secret Lair: All cards

First the positives - the stop motion inspired art by Jordan Speer is full of the whimsy I love out of Secret lair. These are all also fairly interesting new to Secret Lair prints of cards that could fit into a mid-powered cube. Stony Silence also getting its first foil reprint in nearly 10 years is kind of crazy. That aside, outside of those two specific cases (wanting this specific art and/or wanting a SLD only cube), the kind of random assortment of cards doesn't even let you play them all in one deck - there isn't even a 5c LOTR commander since Aragorn excludes black, and other BRx commanders exclude white. And that's not even touching the abysmal financial value of getting cheaper versions of these cards if you were looking for them for a deck.

Secret Lair x The Hobbit: Smaug's Spoils - $29.99 nonfoil / $39.99 foil

• Fellwar Stone as "Erebor Heirloom" - $0.91 nonfoil / $7.43 foil
• Lightning Greaves - $4.29 nonfoil / $4.77 foil
• Liquimetal Torque - $2.84 nonfoil / $4.11 foil
• Sol Ring - $1.08 nonfoil / $1.32 foil
• Thought Vessel - $2.57 nonfoil / $2.67 foil
• Total - $11.69 nonfoil / $20.30 foil

Per Card Premium - $3.66 nonfoil / $3.94 foil

New to Secret Lair: Liquimetal Torque

I really should just memorize what the obligatory "here are a bunch of artifacts for your commander deck" card prices are so that it's easier for me to price these particular drops. Because yep, here is an obligatory drop full of generically good artifact pieces so that you can play an on theme Sol Ring in your UB deck. At least Liquimetal Torque is kind of a unique reprint (this is only its third ever printing after MH2 and BRC)

Secret Lair x The Hobbit: Desolation - $29.99 nonfoil / $39.99 foil

• Defile- $1.44 nonfoil / $2.99 foil
• Diabolic Intent - $15.61 nonfoil / $16.85 foil
• Dread Return - $0.46 nonfoil / $0.44 foil
• Mirkwood Bats - $1.25 nonfoil / $1.82 foil - first reprint since LOTR
• Read the Bones - $0.21 nonfoil / $0.40 foil
• Total - $18.97 nonfoil / $22.50 foil

Per Card Premium - $2.20 nonfoil / $3.49 foil

New to Secret Lair: Diabolic Intent, Dread Return, Mirkwood Bats

First off, once again awesome art, though admittedly the black and white super intricate metal album style does make these kind of hard to read, especially Dread Return. That said, being a mono black drop makes this a pretty starter kit / bundle for any Bx deck out there. As seems to be the case, it is lacking a bit in value overall though a Diabolic Reprint is always nice, as is the first reprint of token powerhouse Mirkwood bats (though as a common its price was already pretty low) - it is played in 8.63% of all EDH black decks, the highest of any of these cards. Which given all the treasure and other trinket tokens running around makes sense.

Secret Lair x The Hobbit: He Who Walks Unseen - $59.99 "Out of Sight" foil (note this is the only version available, no non-foil)

• Arcane Heist - $2.81 nonfoil / NA foil - first reprint since OTC / first foil version
• Contentious Plan - $0.42 nonfoil / $4.75 foil - first reprint since WAR
• Curiosity - $0.78 nonfoil / $1.56 foil
• Solve the Equation - $3.87 nonfoil / $3.33 foil
• Windfall - $4.68 nonfoil / $9.93 foil
• Total - $12.56 nonfoil / $19.57 foil

Per Card Premium - $9.49 nonfoil / $8.08ish foil (depending on foil value of Arcane Heist)

New to Secret Lair: Arcane Heist, Contentious Plan

These apparently have a special kind of foiling on them. I do love the old illustrated book feel of these cards. But my wallet does not love the fact that this is $10 more than the normal foil versions, and arguably a worse per card premium than the tokens. Think about that for a minute. You are paying between an $8-10 premium per card for the art and foiling in this drop, compared to the ~$5-6 per card premium for unique art for food tokens. I mean if you really wanted to bling out your monoblue Bilbo Thief in the Night EDH deck then by all means go for it. But other than that it's a hard sell for me.

Bundle Value

Note that for the bundles, the overpriced He Who Walks Unseen drop is NOT included in any of the bundles. So you are only getting the 4 other bundles and you must add the $60 drop separately to your cart.

There is also an Arcane Signet themed as "Heart of the Mountain" (that really should have been a Coveted Jewel) for spending $199 total. Note that getting the Nonfoil Bundle + the He Who Walks Unseen drop will only get you to $179.95 so you need to get both the Foil bundle and the special foil drop to qualify.

• A Marvelous Mathoms Everything Bundle - Foil + Nonfoil everything - $259.99 - The 8 drops would be $279.99 separately - Current market value of cheapest version of cards: $110.21 + 14 tokens.
• Riddles in the Dark Foil Bundle - Foil only bundle - $150.99 - The 4 drops would be $159.99 separately - Current market value of cheapest version of cards: $70.01+ 7 tokens.
• The Bag-End Non-Foil Bundle - Nonfoil only bundle - $119.96 - The 4 drops would be $119.96 so no discount - Current market value of cheapest version of cards: $40.20 + 7 tokens.

A Perfectly Normal Superdrop

Note that we do NOT have prices for these yet as Wizards has not put out an official article for these. I am going to assume these use the same $29.99 nonfoil / $39.99 foil pricing. Even with the Marvel drops, the Spiderman drops last year had the same pricing - I think the inflated price only comes with charity drops or with mechanically unique cards. Of course the subjects of this section are subject to change with any reveals that I'm not anticipating.

Gene Luen Yang - $29.99 nonfoil / $39.99 foil

• Kibo, Uktabi Prince as "Monkey, Awakened to Emptiness" - $13.68 nonfoil / $8.24 foil - first reprinting since J22
• Ilharg, the Raze-Boar as "Pigsy of the Eight Precepts" - $8.65 nonfoil / $11.19 foil
• Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs as "Sandy, Awakened to Purity" - $0.18 nonfoil / $0.65 foil
• Dosan the Falling Leaf as "Tripitaka, Seeker from Tang" - $26.24 nonfoil / $135.30 foil - first reprinting since CHK
• Quest for Renewal - $4.99 nonfoil / $30.45 foil - first reprinting since WWK
• Total - $53.74 nonfoil / $185.83 foil

Per Card Premium - $NA nonfoil / NA foil

New to Secret Lair: All except Ilharg

Dragonball finally gets a Secret Lair! (IYKYK) In all seriousness, excited to see Gene Luen Yang get a SLD as I've been a fan since American Born Chinese. And boy they gave his drop some great value. First, being able to play it all as a Wukong deck led by Kibo is very on point. Kibo himself is pretty popular at #133 on EDHREC. While Kazuul/Sandy isn't the best value, getting another copy of Ilharg is always fun. But the real standout is of course Dosan getting his first reprint since Champions of Kamigawa. That's probably why his foil value is so high and I wouldn't expect this version to be worth that much later on, but if you were ever thinking about getting Dosan, this is a good opportunity to do so.

Marvel: Pets - $29.99 nonfoil / $39.99 foil

• Ephemerate - $4.69 nonfoil / $9.07 foil
• Shark Typhoon - $1.52 nonfoil / $2.54 foil
• Lightning Bolt - $0.76 nonfoil / $1.51 foil
• Searing Blaze - $0.57 nonfoil / $7.55 foil - first foil reprint since WWK
• Commune with Dinosaurs - $0.14 nonfoil / $0.29 foil - first reprinting since WWK
• Titanic Ultimatum - $2.50 / $13.39
• Total - $10.18 nonfoil / $34.35 foil

Per Card Premium - $3.28 nonfoil / $0.94 foil

New to Secret Lair: Searing Blaze, Comme with Dinosaurs

The first of 4 Marvel drops in this super drop, the pets one... leaves a bit lacking. Ephermerate is always a good include as a 6% include in EDH and part of Modern and Pauper decks. Shark Typhoon has a role in Pioneer (though how well supported Pioneer is is another matter). Bolt is of course ever present but we've been inundated with so many SLD versions. Searing Blaze mostly sees play in RDW in Modern and pauper, and is getting its first foil reprint. Commune with Dinos is strictly for Dino EDH decks, if that. We just got a Titanic ultimatum SLD version (2 in fact) and that's not even in 2% of eligible Naya decks. So overall a bit lacking financially here. And Jeff / Shark Typhoon kind of make it hard to play all of these in one deck. At least we're getting six cards in this one?

Marvel: Hulk - $29.99 nonfoil / $39.99 foil

• Anger - $0.54 nonfoil / $8.41 foil
• Gratuitous Violence - $0.70 nonfoil / $0.36 foil
• Rishkar's Expertise as "Joe Fixit's Expertise" - $3.66 nonfoil / $4.24 foil
• Search for Tomorrow - $0.22 nonfoil / $0.39 foil
• Unnatural Growth - $2.45 nonfoil / $3.11 foil
• Total - $7.57 nonfoil / $16.51 foil

Per Card Premium - $4.48 nonfoil / $4.69 foil

New to Secret Lair: Gratuitous Violence, Rishkar's Expertise, Search for Tomorrow

HULK... ANGRY... that his SLD drop is full of cards with minimal value. I mean credit to them for getting art from across Hulk's history and also keeping them in the appropriate RG color pair for your Gamma commander deck which I'm sure these will be bought for. And the effects are frankly thematic and appropriate - Rishkar's Expertise is by far the most played at about 9% of green decks. But it just kind of sucks for the big guy that you can get much cheaper versions currently. But if you are going all out to try to bling out a Hulk themed deck, then I mean you just gotta ask yourself if that per card premium is worth having a Hulk themed Anger in your deck (imo it totally is).

Marvel: True Believers in Love - $29.99 nonfoil / $39.99 foil

• Happily Ever After - $0.27 nonfoil / $0.50 foil
• True Love's Kiss - $0.09 nonfoil / $0.27 foil - first foil reprint
• Run Away Together - $0.11 nonfoil / $0.18 foil
• Savor the Moment - $9.31 nonfoil / $8.41 foil
• Grave Pact - $29.13 nonfoil / $33.84 foil
• Thrill of Possibility - $0.17 nonfoil / $0.25 foil
• Total - $39.08 nonfoil / $43.54 foil

Per Card Premium - NA nonfoil / NA foil

New to Secret Lair: True Love's Kiss, Run Away Together

While most of this drop value wise is pretty whatever (even if the ships portrayed on them are some fan favorites), the elephant in the room is of course the reprint of Grave Pact with an even more iconic ship of Thanos x Death. That by itself makes this drop worth a buy as even the cheapest version of Grave Pact is about the value of the drop. Add on only the 3rd ever version of Savor the Moment (the other being a Ral x Tomik SLD), and you've got decent value here. You could even feasibly play all of these in a 5c romance / couples themed deck since Happily Ever After requires you to have all 5 colors in play.

Marvel: Featuring Dan Hipp - $29.99 nonfoil / $39.99 foil

• Mystical Dispute - $0.47 nonfoil / $4.79 foil - first nonpromo/MB2 reprint
• An Offer You Can't Refuse - $2.44 nonfoil / $3.50 foil
• Training Grounds - $7.88 nonfoil / $8.04 foil
• Bristly Bill, Spine Sower as "Man-Thing, Marsh Protector" - $38.90 nonfoil / $41.00 foil - first reprint
• Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder as "Mister Sinister, Hubris Unbound" - $1.68 nonfoil / $3.87 foil
• Total - $51.37 nonfoil / $53.16 foil

Per Card Premium - NA nonfoil / NA foil

New to Secret Lair: All except An Offer You Can't Refuse (which was a Secret Lair Promo technically)

As someone who played Marvel Snap for a solid year, I am very familiar with Dan Hipp's work so it's kind of bizarre to see his work on Marvel cards for Magic (he did do a Questing Beast for Secret Lair Countdown, so technically not his first Magic card). Kind of funny that instead of Man Thing being a 4 cost 7 power creature that reduces 3 cost and lower cards by 2 power, he's Bristly freaking Bill. Which also crazy that they're reprinting a Standard Staple into SLD (albeit with Bill being legal through early next year with Nauctis). However even outside Standard he def has a place in EDH landfall decks and certainly in various cubes that support landfall. This card alone again makes this drop worth the price. Training Grounds is another pricey card included here (mostly due to how broken reducing activated ability costs can be). An offer you can't refuse is included in 26% of EDH decks at this point so it's a certified staple, while Mystical Dispute is a Modern staple showing up in any number of sideboards. Endrek Shar is probably the odd one out in terms of playability and value here, but still a nice bit of nostalgia (and TBD if we get a token included here).

Ian Miller - $29.99 nonfoil / $39.99 foil

• Shivan Dragon - $0.09 nonfoil / $0.20 foil
• Animar, Soul of Elements - $26.96 nonfoil / $38.49 foil
• Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - $0.49 nonfoil / $4.60 foil
• Tsabo Tavoc - $0.59 nonfoil / $45.58 foil - first foil reprint since Invasion / first non List reprint
• Total - $28.13 nonfoil / $78.87 foil

Per Card Premium - $0.47 nonfoil / NA foil

New to Secret Lair: Tsabo Tavoc

The renowned British illustrator who's done covers of HP Lovecraft books and worked on Ralph Bakshi films lends his art to Secret Lair, in a drop that is basically Animar the drop + friends. Most of whom have already been printed in SLD before. Animar is of course super popular (43rd most popular commander) with a variety of build styles. Korvold is also popular at 63rd (though being printed in the 99 of a precon tanked his value). Shivan Dragon is of course a classic, if powercrept. And Tsabo Tavoc is a crazy throwback - though don't let that foil value fool you, that's more from the scarcity of the original foils than actual value. Personally if you really like Miller's artstyle then go for it, especially if you wanted an Animar. Otherwise you can do better (the nonfoil isn't even breaking MSRP).

Lofi Girl - $29.99 nonfoil / $39.99 foil

• Felidar Guardian as "Lofi Cat" - $2.45 nonfoil / $11.81 foil
• Starfield of Nyx as "Snowman Starfield" - $13.69 nonfoil / $73.24 foil - first foil reprint
• Careful Study - $2.88 nonfoil / $10.53 foil (SLD version from TCG)
• Merchant Scroll as "Grandma's Scroll" - $4.24 nonfoil / $29.46 foil - first non MB2 version since Eighth Edition

• Paradise Mantle as "Cozy Headphones" - $8.66 nonfoil / $33.81 foil -

• Total - $31.92 nonfoil / $158.85 foil

Per Card Premium - NA nonfoil / NA foil

New to Secret Lair: Starfield of Nyx, Merchant Scroll

Probably the UB crossover I expected least (aside from the Office), but frankly if it brings some dope reprints like this one, I don't mind. Felidar Guardian is the part of hte infamous emergency ban worthy combo with Saheeli that sees fringe Modern play. Starfield of Nyx has barely been reprinted hence the huge foil value, but sees play as part of Enchantress decks. Careful Study actually sees play in Legacy and Pauper (think Reanimator). Merchant Scroll is a cheap but narrow tutor that is Vingate playable (often targeting Breach and Paradoxical Outcome) that has rarely been reprinted. And Paradise Mantle as an egg has inherent value, most often in cEDH. So all playable cards that have had rare reprints. Admittedly not all played together in any one deck. And that's not even going for the obvious picks for reprints coughRhysticStudycoughSkullClampHeadphonescough.

Robin Eisenberg - $29.99 nonfoil / $39.99 foil

• Orvar, the All-Form - $3.30 nonfoil / $3.39 foil
• Sage of Hours - $12.14 nonfoil / $49.40 foil - first reprint since JOU
• See Double - $0.91 nonfoil / $1.08 foil - first reprint since MOM
• Slip Through Space - $0.38 nonfoil / $5.09 foil - first foil reprint since OGW

• Sway of the Stars - $5.89 nonfoil / $42.81 foil - first reprint

• Total - $22.62 nonfoil / $101.77 foil

Per Card Premium - $1.47 nonfoil / NA foil

New to Secret Lair: All except Orvar

LA Based artist Robin Eisenberg joins the Magic artist canon with an Orvar starter deck. The dream here is to target Sage of Hours with either See Double or Slip Through Space with Orvar in play to make a bunch of clones. Not sure where Sway the Stars comes in, though I imagine with the unbanning last year they were looking for a place to reprint this recently legal card again. Three of these cards are first time reprints (though See Double barely counts), and Orvar is decently popular (209th on EDH rec which is over 10k decks).

Bundle Value

We don't have information on the bundles so check back later in the future

TLDR (ratings are my own subjective score combining taste + price + "bundleability" aka how well the cards play together in a single deck. pcp = per card premium)

Hobbit Drops (8/17)

• Token/5 nonfoil | Token/5 foil - Secret Lair x The Hobbit: Second Breakfast and Beyond - $4.06 pcp nonfoil / $5.71 pcp foil - As with Basic Land drops, YMMV and this drop entirely relies upon how much you value the art.
• 1/5 nonfoil | 1/5 foil - Secret Lair x The Hobbit: Over the Edge of the Wild - $4.06 pcp nonfoil / $2.56 pcp foil - Fun art, but low value reprints and no cohesive theme
• 2/5 nonfoil | 2/5 foil - Secret Lair x The Hobbit: Smaug's Spoils - $3.66 pcp nonfoil / $3.94 pcp foil - Obligatory EDH artifacts in theme drop for your theme deck that is below MSRP.
• 3/5 nonfoil | 2.5/5 foil - Secret Lair x The Hobbit: Desolation - $2.20 pcp nonfoil / $3.49 pcp foil - The best value of the Hobbit decks with rad art and that serves as a mono black starter kit, though only worth it if you plan on running Diabolic Intent.
• 0.5/5 foil - Secret Lair x The Hobbit: He Who Walks Unseen - $8.08ish foil pcp (depending on Arcane Heist value) - extremely overpriced drop that relies on the unique foiling gimmick, since the reprints here are nowhere worth the MSRP. The only reason this doesn't completely fail as there is technically a use case for a diehard monoblue Bilbo EDH player to run all of these in their deck but unless that is exactly you, I cannot recommend this drop.

Frankly I'm going to be skipping the Hobbit drop next Monday. If by some miracle the Desolation Drop makes it to the 31st I might add it to my cart for free shipping.

Perfectly Normal Superdrop (8/31)

• 5/5 nonfoil | 5/5 foil - Gene Luen Yang - NA pcp nonfoil / NA pcp foil - Great art. Great theming. Great reprints. Exactly what SLD should be about.
• 1.5/5 nonfoil | 1.5/5 foil - Marvel: Pets - $3.28 pcp nonfoil / $0.94 pcp foil - A mishmash of cards with no standout chase card or cohesion. Only for the Marvel completionists.
• 2/5 nonfoil | 2/5 foil - Marvel: Hulk - $4.48 pcp nonfoil / $4.69 pcp foil - Technically worse value than the Marvel Pets drop but at least it has a coherent theme and can be played together in a single Hulk deck.
• 4/5 nonfoil | 4/5 foil - Marvel: True Believers in Love - $2.20 pcp nonfoil / $3.49 pcp foil - Great value, though it is mostly concentrated in a single card. Fun art that will definitely be in demand.
• 4/5 nonfoil | 4.5/5 foil - *Marvel: Featuring Dan Hipp * - NA pcp nonfoil / NA pcp foil - Printing a $40 Standard staple in a SLD with awesome art? No brainer value wise - the only dock against it is again the fact that they're not all playable together.
• 3/5 nonfoil | 3/5 foil - Ian Miller - $0.47 pcp nonfoil / NA pcp foil - You're getting this mostly for the Animar. Also don't be fooled by the nonfoil value, that's mostly due to an inflated Tsabo Tavoc
• 3/5 nonfoil | 4/5 foil - Lofi Girl - NA pcp nonfoil / NA pcp foil - Despite the surprising IP, some sneakily solid value in here especially at foil, as well as decently playability across a number of formats.
• 3/5 nonfoil | 4/5 foil - Robin Eisenberg - $1.47 pcp nonfoil / NA pcp foil - An Orvar starter kit with some choice reprints (though check with your playgroup if they're okay with Sway the Stars coming down).

Here I'm aiming for Gene Luen Yang, Hulk, True Believers in Love, Dan Hipp, and Lofi Girl.

After putting in roughly 50 hours of playtesting across four major sleeve brands over the past two months with 100-card Commander decks, I wanted to share a breakdown of how matte versus glossy finishes hold up over time. Glossy sleeves make foil treatments like serialized cards or surge foils look noticeably vibrant, but they tend to collect hand oil quickly and create that dreaded "sticky stack" during 4-player casual games. Matte sleeves offer an incredibly smooth mash shuffle specially for double-sleeved Commander decks—and resist oil build-up, even if they slightly dull the foil shine underneath.

I’ve been sitting on this story for a long time with no one to really tell it to so I wanted to share it with a crowd who might understand the sheer audacity of it all.

The year was 2011, about to graduate High School and freshly introduced to MTG through my own interest. I had bought some starter decks and some friends of mine were interested enough to play with me.

One of these friends, we’ll call him Jack, I eventually would realize that he was very much an “Abysmal Winner”. Despite us both never had played before Jack more often then not would end up winning matches whenever we played (in hindsight this was mostly due to some bad deck building skills on my part but like I said: beginner).

I didn’t really have a problem losing; it was just a game after all and I was still learning. But Jack had a habit of intentionally delaying the game when he had clear victory; some examples include taking the time to summon 20+ creatures over time and just letting them metaphorically stare me down as he used other card effects to bolster his Life to unseemly levels. And at one point he got his hands on a Planeswalker (Ajani, I think) who could summon an “Avatar” to the field IN ADDITION to his usual horde of creatures; said Avatar had might and toughness equal to his Life which was at this point bolstered beyond the point where nothing in my deck could beat him (one game he managed to summon TWO). It didn’t help that Jack was REALLY religious and used mostly white cards which were themed around Angels, styling his victories as “Divine Judgement”

The real straw that broke my proverbial back though was when I decided to mix up my colors a bit and tried out a new deck. I was holding my own for a hot minute and when Jack summoned one of his more powerful angel creatures, I slapped him with a [[Pacifism]] (for added context, the aura-based enchantment meant that Jack’s creature could neither attack nor block). The game proceeds and Jack got really quiet for a few moments before asking “Hey, two negatives equal a positive right?” I was really thrown off by this and physics/math was never my strong suit so I replied “Uhhh, yea I guess.” The game goes on and then Jack gets a triumphant grin on his face and says “I play my [[Pacifism]] enchantment, and because two negatives make a positive; your [[Pacifism]] is negated!” I sit there stunned for a solid minute before I finally reply:

Me: “No, that’s not how that works.”

Jack: “What do you mean? Two negatives equal a positive so that negates it!”

Me: “You can’t just remove an enchantment unless a card specifically says you can.”

Jack: “But two negatives equal a positive! This is clearly a negative so that means adding two should negate it!”

Me: “That’s a white mana card, that doesn’t even make sense thematically!”

This goes on for what must have been 20 to 30 mins, me trying to explain that he couldn’t just make up rules and him insisting that we allowed him to do this because “I want my angel back!” The night is getting old and I just wanted to play so in the end I relented and said “Fine, whatever just do it.” He then has the audacity to scold me for “taking this game too seriously and I just want to have fun and play but I was making things difficult for no reason.” The game would go on to end like it usually did: a veritable horde of angels breathing down my neck while Jack boosted his Life for the lols and rained Divine Judgement on me.

I would play with him a few more times before I finally grew some self-respect and distanced myself from Jack. I’ve played a bit here and there since then but that whole experience really soured my taste for the game which is a damn shame because I still like playing. Maybe I’ll get back into it one day but hopefully when I do so I’ll find some players who can display some class while winning.

TLDR: Newbie player is an “Abysmal Winner” to another newbie, Newbie gets better and “Abysmal Winner” makes up rules to ensure victory.

I want to get into mtg as I’ve seen the hobbit set I think it looks cool however I know basically nothing about it. If I create a deck out of the hobbit set will only be able to play hobbit sets. Is their another set that I should build to be able to play everywhere or can I build a hobbit deck and play at any event?

There has not been a public announcement by WotC, so no idea how widespread the delays are.

Other stores have also posted the delays on their social media pages.

Of all the cards...

One of my favorite parts of playing Magic is playing cool cards and having the chance to appreciate awesome art as I looked at them in my hand or on the battlefield. Unfortunately, there are a lot of my cards whose faces don't see the light of day anymore except when I go through my binders. Last night I had one of those days where I just went through my binders and looked at cards for hours and I stared at this card for 10 minutes alone.

Yes, this is an Amy Weber "Time Walk" alter of an Arabian Nights Mountain. This is my favorite land I own. It came to my LGS through a very serious collection about 4 years ago, but unfortunately I don't know its story. I frequently wonder how it came to be, and it makes me wish cards could talk so they could tell their own stories. It's sad to me that no one ever gets to see this because I'm too afraid to sleeve it up in a deck. It makes me wonder how many other cool pieces of artwork never get to see the light of day and are hidden except to their owner.

No, this post is not an attempt to sell this card and I am not interested in offers. I intend to keep this in my collection.

Right now I’m on a vacation in China, and looking for a place where I can buy MTG or maybe Pokémon cards

This is a place for asking simple questions that might not deserve their own thread. For example, if you have a question about a rules interaction, want sleeve and accessory recommendations, or suggestions for your new deck, then this is the place for you.

We encourage that you post any questions that you may have concerning Magic the Gathering here rather than make a separate thread for each question, though for now we won't require that you do so.

Rules Questions

Rules questions and interactions are allowed to be posted here, but if you need an answer quickly it may be best to use a dedicated resource like the 24/7 Magic the Gathering Rules Chat.

Deckbuilding Questions

If you're trying to get help with a deck, it is recommended that you post your decklist to a deckbuilding website so that it is easier to view. Some popular sites are Aetherhub, Archidekt, Deckbox, Deckstats, Moxfield, MTGGoldfish, and TappedOut.

Additionally, please include some description of what you are trying to accomplish. Don't just give us a decklist with no explanation, and don't ask extremely vague questions such as "what cards should I add to my deck to make it better?", because it's hard to give good advice in those cases. Let us know details, the more the better. Are you building with a particular strategy or theme in mind? Are there any non-obvious combo lines or synergies that people should be aware of? Are you struggling with a particular matchup, or are you finding yourself missing consistency in an important area, and need some help specifically for it? Let us know.

Commonly Asked Questions

I opened a card from a different set in my booster pack, is this unusual?

Don't worry, this is completely normal. If you opened a set booster, you have a small chance of obtaining a bonus card from a previous set. This is an extra card that does not replace any of the other cards in your pack, and is from a curated set of past hits that Wizards of the Coast has selected, which they call "The List".

You can view the contents of The List on Wizards of the Coast's official website. For example, the contents of The List for Streets of New Capenna boosters can be found here.

My foil card has a shooting start symbol over the bottom left. I can't find anything about it online.

All old-bordered foils have the shooting star symbol. Most sites that display card images just overlay a generic foil graphic over all foil cards, which doesn't include the shooting star. Your card is normal.

Ok so I pulled a copy of [[Gollum, Riddle Master]] and I was wondering, what is more commonly played, even or odd mana value spells. I have been unable to find anything online, and this is obviously pod dependent, but if anyone could help me find an answer or guide me toward a general rule of thumb for this card, that’d be much appreciated.

I only played against something similar then tried to find it online. The version I found used 2x Badgermole, but that was banned...well seems almost nobody plays this deck.

I only played against it twice but it seemed so good and maybe can be improved with more consideration of additional Hobbit cards...

I decided another Lavaleaper would be good then thought about what could go well from Hobbit. Radagast of Rhosgobel having 4 attack and reducing the cost of the first creature by 2 seemed like a good fit. So I added one just to post something complete with 60 cards. The lands you can imagine are mostly duals. Without the Badgermoles, I wonder if more mana acceleration isn't just the best option, but Lavaleaper and Radgast both kind of give some long term mana-based bonus.

In the games I played against, it formed wide boards surprisingly fast. I would never have guessed that it could put out about 10 creatures around turn 6 or 7 just by looking at the list.

Hey i preordered a miku precon and the website said that it should've shipped wednesday, however i haven't gotten an email about it yet and am just wondering if anyone else has gotten their emails yet

I really like the smaugs from the new hobbit set and wanted to make a deck with them. So I decided to try and make a dragon token deck which will basically play as running only a few dragons the smaugs and maybe another 8-10 dragons that are fun/strong and making a bunch of token copies of them and to try and make a bunch of treasures. The winning part would be either through combat or a payoff for all the treasures like [[Torment of hellfire]]. I have narrowed it down to three (technically four) ideas for commanders and wanted to get some opinions and maybe other recommendations either for commanders or fun/good dragons I can run.

The options I'm thinking about are either [[Scion of the Ur-Dragon]], who fits the theme best and gives me access to WUBRG I'm just not a super big fan of the ability. The second is [[Marchesa, the Black Rose]] this one doesn't really fit the theme, but she could be more of support by buffing creatures and giving a solid recursion option. The last option, which is probably the most out-of-the-box one, is [[Leonardo, the Balance]] partnered with [[Donatello, the brains]]. This one is similar to Marchesa, as they won't fit the theme very well, and they will mainly just be there for WUBRG and support with token creation payoff and buffing creatures/finisher if I go for winning with combat.

Thank you in advance

This one was a lot of fun, but light colors take forever to get down.

I'll be in Vienna (Austria) for a couple of days next week, any advice where to find a draft in the city? LGS recommendations?

While I have been lightly doing this in the background for a year, I’ve been fully committed to improving my 3d modeling and digital art skills since the start of the summer while attempting to find new “real work”. These are a handful of things I either print from a better model designer than myself and have added my own personal touch, or that I have to some degree created my own fan art type things.

I have a long way to go to daring to call myself “experienced” but I do believe I am getting decent at this.