Dominaria's Judgment

There are fifteen sets to cover and one intrepid host to cover them - a monologue on the hits and misses of the set, its implications for Magic, and the many weird little guys within Patreon / Discord 

With Ari attending to a baby sprite dragon and Dom left to judge on all his own, the streams crossed this week as former MTG Grindcast co-host Collins Mullen drops by to talk about requalifying for the PT at RC Minneapolis, Standard lessons for RC Hartford and beyond, and what preparing for tournaments looks/feels like as we all get older (and wiser?)Patreon / Discord 

No last hurrah would be complete without a timeless (...and somewhat overdue) theory article so here Ari shares what's on his mind as he gallops off into the sunset - the hard problems in Magic then, now, and in betweenSam Black on PlaystylesPatreon / Discord 

Bans have struck and every format is about to be caught up in a dragon storm... or are they? We go over the changes coming everywhere - including the podcast itself!00:00 Intro + Pauper05:15 Legacy27:55 Pioneer/Explorer30:50 Modern38:44 Standard + Tarkir1:15:15 Special AnnouncementPatreon / Discord 

With Dom on the move this week, Jarvis Yu joins the podcast to yell at clouds during the quarterly pre-B&R announcement airing of grievances. One format is safe from our ire, the others.... who knows, and that's even ignoring that Underworld Breach is finally over. Patreon / Discord 

As Breach's reign of terror drags on, we look to a post-ban and post-Breach future and ask whether Modern is fixable as it becomes the focus for RCQ grinders everywhere. After that, we have an exciting first batch of Tarkir: Dragonstorm previews to sink our teeth into - but first, yet another slippery character finds himself in the eye of the storm...00:00 Breach + post-ban Modern33:30 Wily Goblins40:45 Dragonstorm Previews Patreon / Discord 

There's a lot to catch up on this week - the Domain-ation of Standard at the PT, the sloppy and scandalous plays on- and off-camera, a smattering of previews from universes within and beyond, and a truly baroque Nonsense of the Year segment...00:00 Standard52:27 Limited1:04:30 "Sloppiness"1:14:36 Secret Lairs1:25:15 Previews PlanesPatreon / Discord 

It's Pro Tour weekend and Dom is finally qualified for a Pro Tour pundit take-a-thon again! The volatile chimera of Dom, Ari, and Jarvis tries to glimpse the future without too much boomer reminiscing about the past...Patreon / Discord 

After a barnstorming weekend for Breach silenced our local haters and doubters, it was actually a common Amulet W as Primeval Titan enthusiast Pete Husisian and his intimidatingly large arms held a tragically mislabelled trophy. The champ joins us to talk through the tournament, the deck, and preparing for all the tougher challenges his sun run just qualified him for. 00:00 RC Portland/Chiba + Aetherdrift impact57:55 Interview with PetePete's Portland VOD ReviewKeeping Bad Amulet HandsPatreon / Discord 

Dom's (so) back from Ottawa with a Pro Tour invite in tow and tales from the trenches of Ringless Modern. With the underworld officially breached and the weird space aliens in the ascendant, are the cute cats and dogs of Boros and Sewer the heroes now? And how has Amulet remained Tier 0 or 1 through formats will all of this nonsense?!Then, we're one-and-done with Aetherdrift spoilers as Dom finally finds his nemesis...00:00 Modern at/post RCs 1:14:05 AetherdriftRC report + post-RC list/guide on Dom's PatreonPatreon / Discord 

Modern RC season is in full swing and the underworld is open for business. We (Dom, his cat, and Ari) break down the hype around the latest and greatest Mox Opal deck, the curious case of the missing Faithless Lootings, and the deck Dom would play (if he wasn't locked on a deck that's hopefully remained Tier 0 or 1 through metas with Underworld Breach, Phlage, Abhorrent Oculus...). This is largely unedited to get this out before everyone hops on their planes and trains so excuse any issues with audio or take quality!Patreon  / Discord

There are weeks where decades happen, and last year had a lot of those. We revisit the sets, events, cards, and takes that defined the year - with a cheeky peek at 2025.Patreon / Twitter / Discord

Monday saw a much-needed hard reset in Modern and beyond, with many of its most notorious heroes and villains (?) set free. We do our best to break down this earthquake - with the help of some real-time nonsense of the day from the usual suspects. Patreon / Twitter / Discord

Ari came close to winning another Eternal Weekend, Dom smuggled the biggest and bestest bird into another deck/format with great results (including the impromptu return of Nonsense of the Week!), and Vexing Bauble joins the dark side. We also stand in solidarity with the brave vendors fighting off the hordes of greedy gamers trying to exploit their labour by buying sleeves from them.cftsoc BUG Yorion ReanimatorPatreon / Twitter / Discord

A great Worlds ends with a worthy and fervent champion (again) and a clean home run of a core set offers the most inviting experience for new players in years... only to be swept away in a tide of superheroes and hobbitses. How can a dopey newcomer like Dom prepare for Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, and Vintage all at once when he can't even tell what set a card is in?!Patreon / Twitter / Discord

After lurching wildly between different extremes, has Pioneer been restored to its natural order (Enchanties black midrange is back on top?!) just before its untimely death? And with Eternal Weekend NA around only a few corners, what did Ari learn when he suited up alongside young GOAT Nathan Steuer to commentate the DMV Legacy League (if not how to pronounce Wojciechowski)?DMV Legacy VODPatreon / Twitter / Discord

Spooky spoiler season is over and we have some fun and cute and totally innocent toys to talk about - including some delightful, beautiful enchanties!! Patreon / Twitter / Discord

With Eternal Weekends just around the RC corner, Jarvis Yu renounces his Jarvis correspondent role for a more traditional Legacy gamer hat and chats post-Grief Legacy with Ari. Have the bans actually fixed a format, are other MH3 cards keeping up with Psychic Frog, or should we all just be playing Nadu in the place they still let the dirty bird fly free?DMV Legacy League InvitationalPatreon / Twitter / Discord

After a spirited debate about the merits of Lizards and lizards, we dive into a ban announcement and explanation that will go down in Magic history. A light touch in Pioneer and Legacy leaves us wanting more - bans and/or answers - while Michael Majors' confessional about Nadu prompts many more questions. 00:00 NRG Madison + Lizards14:46 New B&R timing 37:26 Legacy (+ Vintage)1:00:22 Pioneer1:26:05 Modern + the Nadu debacle Aug 26 B&RMajors on NaduWeeklyMTG stream Patreon / Twitter / Discord

After SCG Baltimore left Ari with a bad case of bird flu and permanent psychic damage, he's back to squawk about how this stacks up against the most miserable formats, tournaments, and decks of all. For someone with over a decade at the top of competitive play it's not easy to make their WOAT rankings - but which villains have earned that dubious honour?Patreon / Twitter / Discord

After a hot and humid preview season we're back to break down a full set of freaky lil' guys with some accidental preview season speedruns for other sets along the way and a whirlwind tour of the week's Magic discourse for good measure.Patreon / Twitter / Discord

After flopping hard at yet another PT, Dom is off the train (and off it) which leaves him more time for creating #content!! We discuss the Nadu debacle, the strange state of Constructed and Organized Play, the hits and misses of MH3, and pay tribute to the best to ever do it. Patreon / Twitter / Discord

Dom is in Amsterdam to defend his place on the Pro Tour, and Jarvis Yu is back on the podcast to defend his title as Pro Tour prediction champion. Will Ari and Jarvis's Draft and Modern opinions line up with the Pro Tour consensus, or will this be a battle of who can be barely less wrong than the other?Patreon / Twitter / Discord

If you want to know how to 6-0 Draft at the PT, hear from someone who has done just that (as part of a striking ~Top 16 -> Top 16 -> Top 8 run in the last year of Pro Tours). If you want to know how to be a beekeeper... check out a beekeeping podcast, but stick around here to hear another British accent and take in the wisdom of Sean Goddard.Patreon / Twitter / Discord

After thoughtfully inspecting the big picture, it's time to dive in and get our grubby claws on Modern Horizons 3 cards. Come learn about the white lotus, forms of Amulet perversion you didn't know were possible, and the Nadus and don'ts of MH3 Modern. Patreon / Twitter / Discord

Modern Horizons 3 is officially here and it's time to give the takestakes that we can mock our past selves for during MH4 preview season. We put off talking about actual new Magic cards with an impressive resolve but still manage to give our takes on the set as a whole, the Modern Horizons project, and where our creative energy/Energy is aimed first.Patreon / Twitter / Discord

Magic writing was a lost art before some of the game's best players were even born so Dom invited one of its all-time greats, Jeff Cunningham, to reminisce about the craft of the tournament report, the tournaments and characters that gave rise to them, and his place in that lore.Find the hosts: Dom / (Ari) / JeffFind the podcast: Patreon / Twitter / DiscordFurther reading:The Grind / Part 2Invitational 2006 ReportLands and SpellsThe End of the Magic: The Gathering Pro TourGod of Magic - An Interview with Richard GarfieldLong Road Up / Part 2 (Gary Wise)

After everything that even looked like a sticker was unceremoniously booted from competitive Magic, we turn our attention to the MH3 cards that officially and allegedly exist. Hear how well Orim's Chant has aged in the last 20 years, how scary these new eldritch horrors really are, and why Dom is excited for a long lick of the Psychic Frog.Patreon / Twitter / DiscordDom on Patreon

Jason Ye (JasonILTG on Twitter) is sliming over competitive Magic at an alarming rate, winning the WOE Limited $100k in Vegas, almost Top 8ing the last Pro Tour, and actually Top 8ing in Seattle alongside podcast idol cftsoc with the delightful Slogurk deck that they created and pioneered together. Jason oozes forth on improvement in Limited, innovation in Constructed (ft. Slogurk's origin story), and processing this sudden but sustained success at high-level play.Jason's Site + PatreonSanctum of All PodPatreon / Twitter / DiscordDom on Patreon

Dom returns from two NRG tournament wins.... and about that many Pro Tour match wins. With lands-deck-master prowess, he breaks down what lead to his Amulet and Lands builds and the Team Sanctum of All Slogurk deck that put its designers cftsoc and Jason Ye into the Top 8 of Pro Tour Outlaws of Thunder Junction.Autum's Post-PT RetrospectiveClassic killgoldfish on the artistry of Time SpiralPatreon / Twitter / DiscordDom on PatreonCharity Legacy $7k with Jarvis and Ari on commentary, 5/11/2024 in Maryland

Jarvis Yu joins Ari this week for his typical role as pre-PT correspondent, but this time from the competitor field! Listen to where testing for Pro Tour Outlaws of Thunder Junction took Jarvis for Standard, and tune into the Pro Tour coverage to root on Jarvis and Dom in Seattle.Patreon / Twitter / DiscordDom on PatreonCharity Legacy $7k with Jarvis and Ari on commentary, 5/11/2024 in Maryland

Dom and Ari take a minute before the big Standard Pro Tour showdown (yeeehaw) to look at the current state of Modern and Pioneer. Has either format broken out of the stranglehold of Scion of Draco or Arclight Phoenix? Is Wild Nacatl headed for another ban? Is Niv Mizzet good or is claudioh just winning again? And most importantly, Dom's pre-PT vibes immaculate or in shambles?Patreon / Twitter / DiscordDom on Patreon

After a whirlwind, whistlestop tour of Thunder Junction and Big Score (featuring Bloomburrow and obliquely Modern Horizons 3 but absolutely NOT Assassin's Creed - yet) we are just about caught up on spoiler season and soon you can be too!Patreon / Twitter / DiscordDom on Patreon

When I see new cards, I think "yes". We manage to extend this thought for two hours, after a quick look at the Organized Play announcement and rant about the bizarrely concealed Arena Championships coming soon (?) to a Twitch channel (?) near you. Patreon / Twitter / DiscordDom on Patreon

This Monday's B&R update took a big swing at some weird aliens while ignoring the elephant in the room. We're back for some characteristically peaceful statements about the bans we did and didn't see and where Modern and Pioneer stand as they come back into the spotlight.Patreon / Twitter / DiscordDom on Patreon

Your hosts and many friends of the show spent a long weekend in Chicago winning and losing (and drawing... repeatedly...) with a lot on the line. Dom is finally back in Canada and on the air with war stories and hot takes before the axe understandably falls - a Pro Tour, a Standard not-a-GP, a MagicCon, and all the ear-splitting hooting and hollering around them. Patreon / Twitter / DiscordDom on Patreoncftsoc's truly splendid reclamation 

 The semi-regular Pro Tour predictions episode with Jarvis Yu returns to stakes some claims about Pioneer, Draft, and even a bit of Standard for the $75k Open at Magic Con Chicago. Join him and Ari as they prove themselves right (or wrong) about a wide spread of topics, even if they refuse to weigh in on the great pizza debate.Patreon / Twitter / DiscordDom's Patreon

Ari has restored his appreciation for Yawgmoth in Modern, and Jarvis Yu steps into the pod to discuss why the deck he is likely playing at the upcoming Regional Championship has gone from a solid combo deck with flaws to one of the undeniable best decks in the format.Patreon / Twitter / DiscordDom's Patreon

Nobody knows what the hell to do with most of the cards in Murders at Karlov Manor so we put our most dogged detectives on the case and let them yap for hours about the bizarre combo decks coming to a Twitch stream near you - plus, a look at the results from the first weekend of Modern RCs and the format's relative stability heading into Denver and Ottawa.  2:20:30 RC Ghent + Modern UpdatePatreon / Twitter / DiscordDom's Patreon

Standard season is full swing (allegedly but also actually?!) and there's somehow less Standard content than ever. We take a look at why that information isn't cascading any more and try to plug that gap ourselves with a tour of everything from Domain to the black midrange decks (in all the colours of the rainbow) and, inevitably, the Overslime itself. Patreon / Twitter / DiscordInformation Cascades (Chapin)Dom's PatreonDomain guide by Sean Goddard/BeekeeperSlogurk guide by Jason Ye ($, free over time)

A long and busy year for Magic is over and a new one is already underway so we thought we'd take stock before another wave of discourse overwhelms us all. We take a look at the cards and sets of 2023, the hits and misses, and the return of the Pro Tour (and the elephants holding it up).Patreon / Twitter / Discord

Dom and Ari were reunited in paper (...in the flesh? in person?) at Eternal Weekend along with hundreds of thrill-seeking gamers keen to enjoy the Cadillac of Magic. After reeling from his swift 0-3 (which was somehow not the most tragic exit from the tournament) and dabbling in Legacy, Dom found an even more fake format he can win in - does Santa have a Premodern episode in the pipeline?! Ari actually won a lot of matches, as he is wont to do, and gives a former EW Legacy Champion and epternal Legacy boomer's take on its current state. Plus Pioneer is stuck in a loop (or is it?) and the first big Modern not-a-GP post-ban is won by... Scam. Obviously. Patreon / Twitter / Discord

The prophecy has been fulfilled and bans are in. We're back for a not-so-rapid reaction to the changes, their explanations, and where Pioneer and Modern go from here.16:38 Pioneer41:38 Modern  Patreon / Twitter / Discord

Last week we all made a horrifying discovery of something we already knew (Cascade is kinda messed up!) and watched Pioneer collapse on itself as a result. Since this recording Geological Appraiser has passed the test while any hosts foolish enough to register Quintorius got their ivory poached and bans are confirmed for Monday. Until then, we catch up on Vintage and Legacy ahead of Eternal Weekend NA in Pittsburgh, singing the praises of some decks and bombarding others with broadsides.Patreon / Twitter / Discord

After no changes, it's time to turn and face the strain. Ban talk is at a fever pitch, every MTGGoldfish screenshot of a Scam-infested Modern Challenge racks up hundreds of retweets and growls, and Grief has never been more aptly named. Elsewhere, the Beans talkers are obsessed with how to get an edge in the 4C mirror - the only thing that matters when everything else is too free for the Beans. Who needs to be taken down, how should they do it, and will we like what comes next?Show NotesPatreon / Twitter / Discord

Dom made a pilgrimage to Madison, Wisconsin last month to defend the honour of King Charles or Cube trying. In this solo episode he gives a report from this four-day Cube extravaganza, the lessons for Cube designers and drafters, and reflects on why Magic and Cube are pretty cool if you think about it.00:00 An ode to Magic, Cube, and CubeCon 33:12 Wisconsin vs England!37:02 Companion CubeMain Event Day 1 42:50 - Changeling Cube + breaking (down) new formats58:45 - Artifact Cube + not hosing your own theme 1:03:25 - Creative Cube + the nature of synergy vs goodstuff Main Event Day 21:18:10 - Buildaround Cube + interaction in a world of synergy 1:27:27 - Cascade Cube + the joy of the unknown 1:36:19 - Tiny Leaders + curves1:42:43 - Interlude + Top 64 + Duplicate Team Sealed 1:46:25 - Vintage Cube but not as we know itDeck Pics/NotesCube ListsWritten Report + General Cube Stuff

Special guests are out and regular programming has resumed as your beloved hosts are back to break down an Ixalan set that actually has some cool cards this time! But first, a catchup on the discourse of the past few weeks, from play boosters (remember those?) to the Marvelisation of Magic past and present and even a vibe ranking of European cities that you might remember from a failed GP visit years ago (maybe not Berlin...)21:20 LCI PreviewsPatreon / Twitter / Discord

As Dom and Ari swap their absentee roles for a bit, Gavin "alfaphrog" Thompson steps in to chat about the world of competitive Magic Online cube. How different are the try hard queues from your normal Vintage cube leagues, and what can be learned about drafting and building cubes from the experience of aiming to win over drafting the coolest Storm deck?Patreon / Twitter / Discord

With Ari off scaling the beanstalks of the Mediterranean, noted JOTS (Jarvis of the show) Jarvis Yu steps in for a rapid reaction to Monday's announcements and non-announcements. The nature of Booster Draft may or may not be able to change forever while Modern is chugging along as our previous guests do everything in their power to show why this visit to Eldraine may cause lasting damage too.Patreon / Twitter / Discord

Simon Nielsen has always been a fan favourite but he's no underdog now - he's the 2023 Player of the Year in a season that also saw historic runs from several of his comrades on Team Handshake. He loves giving interviews and he was kind enough to give us one this week, taking Dom through his background as a rising star first in Denmark and then the European and global GP circuit to his domination of online OP and the Pro Tour after its return to paper. Competitive Magic with the Karnies (+ Simon) PT LOTR Draft Deep Dive Simon's YouTube channel Simon's coaching on Metafy Patreon / Twitter / Discord

Slow play is just one of many topics that consumed The Website this week so we went over Ari's article explaining how he avoided unintentional draws and all the awkwardness around them for years. What can designers, TOs, players, and judges do to address a problem that has plagued paper Magic since the beginning and is now a bigger problem than ever? We then turn to other timely and sobering threads: why coaching is/isn't a scam, and why all of competitive Magic is/isn't a scam, before raising a shared eyebrow at some of the early Pioneer RC results. 59:37 Discourse - Coaching 1:09:13 Discourse - Competitive Magic?!Show NotesPatreon / Twitter / Discord