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  • Enhance Your MTG Strixhaven Commander Deck Through Completing and Solving

    Enhance Your MTG Strixhaven Commander Deck Through Completing and Solving

    Some prebuilt Magic: The Gathering Commander decks are great, but they often have hidden potential that can be unlocked with a few smart card additions. All it takes are a few well-chosen upgrades to improve each deck and make it more powerful.

    In this guide, we’ll look at three key upgrades for each of the Secrets of Strixhaven Commander decks. For each deck, we’ll suggest one budget option, one mid-priced choice, and one high-end upgrade to cover all spending levels.

    Note: Prices listed are the lowest and highest bids on TCGPlayer at the time of writing.

    Prismari Artistry

    Shark Tycoon — $1.50–$14
    This inexpensive enchantment is surprisingly flexible. For six mana, it creates X/X flying shark tokens whenever you cast a noncreature spell, with X equal to the mana cost of that spell. You can also cycle Shark Tycoon for X plus two mana to create a shark token with power and toughness equal to X.

    Insurrection — $8–$18
    If you can cast it, this spell turns the tide of the game. It gains control of all creatures, untaps them, and grants them haste for the turn. Though it costs eight mana, having this in hand can be a game-changer when the moment is right.

    Improvisation Capstone — $13–$26
    A bit costly, but very powerful, this card provides you with several free spells each turn, depending on luck. It costs seven mana, but its ability to give you multiple free plays can win clutch games if you resolve it.

    Cards to Remove:

    • Solemn Simulacrum
    • Surge to Victory
    • Twinflame
    • Chaos Warp
    • Prismari Charm

    Quandrix Unlimited

    Broodguard Elite — $0.20
    A budget-friendly pick that helps grow your army fast. Playing this card early helps you put counters on Zimone, which amplifies the power of your X-cost spells. Despite its low cost, it can have a big impact if you draw it early.

    Doppelganger — $5–$50
    This card lets you create tokens copying other creatures, turning threats into your own forces. It requires some math to figure out exactly how many tokens you’ll make, but in mana-rich Commander games, Doppelganger can cause serious trouble for opponents.

    Kalonian Hydra — $5–$29
    A significant upgrade to existing large creatures, Kalonian Hydra enters with four +1/+1 counters and doubles the counters on all your creatures when attacking. Thanks to Trample, it’s a major threat on the green battlefield.

    Cards to Remove:

    • Eureka Moment
    • Quandrix Apprentice
    • Open the Way
    • Curse of the Swine
    • Zimone, All Questioning

    Silverquill Influence

    Ethereal Armor — $0.40
    A perfect addition for enchantment-heavy decks, this card grants a creature +1/+1 for each enchantment you control and gives it First Strike. It’s a cheap upgrade that packs a punch, especially with many enchantments in play.

    Light Paws, Emperor’s Voice — $2–$20
    A versatile two-mana creature, it can fetch other auras with lower or equal mana value each time an aura enters the battlefield, then attach it to Light Paws. In Commander, its ability can quickly empower your enchantments and creatures.

    Sigarda’s Aid — $16–$66
    This enchantment allows you to cast equipment and auras at instant speed, making your plays more flexible. It bypasses many costs associated with attaching items, enabling quick and surprising game-changing moves.

    Cards to Remove:

    • Keen Duelist
    • Anguished Unmaking
    • Firemane Commandos
    • Breena, the Demagogue
    • Mangara, the Diplomat

    Witherbloom Pestilence

    Blech, Loafing Pest — $0.49
    A budget creature that benefits from life gain and +1/+1 counters, Blech accumulates counters each time you gain life, while so do Pest, Bat, Insect, Snake, or Spider tokens you control.

    Vito, Dusk of the Thorn Rose — $9–$59
    A Golgari staple that can create infinite life-loss combos or become a persistent threat. You can activate his ability for five mana to give all your creatures Lifelink, or use him to chip away at opponents’ life totals.

    Sephiroth, Fabled Soldier / One-Winged Angel — $25–$93
    A somewhat unusual choice, Sephiroth thrives on creature sacrifices and life gain. With each of his minions that dies, he chips away at opponents. Once he transforms, he grants you an emblem that makes his ability permanent and can start sacrificing creatures when attacking.

    Cards to Remove:

    • Gilded Goose
    • Nether Traitor
    • Bloodghast
    • Night’s Whisper

    Lorehold Spirit

    Ghost Vacuum — $3–$20
    A slightly pricier inclusion, Ghost Vacuum exiles cards from graveyards and can be sacrificed to return exiled creatures as spirits, benefiting from all buffs on the battlefield. It’s a strong way to control graveyard interactions and resurrect threats.

    Caretaker’s Talent — $8.49–$10
    An enchantment that benefits token strategies by allowing you to draw a card whenever a token enters the battlefield. Higher levels enable copying tokens and boosting all creatures, adding consistency and power.

    Esper Sentinel — $65–$92
    A high-value upgrade that draws you a card whenever an opponent casts their first noncreature spell each turn unless they pay mana equal to its power. It’s a powerful economic tool, especially in multiplayer formats.

    Cards to Remove:

    • Moonshaker Cavalry
    • Secret Rendezvous
    • Lorehold Charm
    • Primary Research
    • Bitterthorn, Nissa’s Animus

    Summary

    With just a few targeted upgrades, each of these decks can reach new heights. Replacing less impactful cards with these recommended choices will give you more options and stronger plays, helping you better control the game and come out ahead.

  • Complete Breakdown of the Fantastic Four Commander Deck in MTG: Solving & Completing

    Complete Breakdown of the Fantastic Four Commander Deck in MTG: Solving & Completing

    Another Magic: The Gathering Commander preconstructed set is coming, this time inspired by the Marvel Super Heroes. It offers more than just two main Commander options—it features The Fantastic Four with each hero in the deck able to serve as a capable four-color Commander. So, whether you decide to lead with Mister Fantastic, The Thing, Human Torch, or the Invisible Woman, your deck won’t be restricted by your choice.

    Early impressions suggest this could be the most versatile and diverse deck yet, but we’ll have to wait until spoiler season reveals the full deck list to be certain.

    Fantastic Four Deck List

    Right now, only six cards from the Fantastic Four Commander deck are known, but more details are expected as spoilers are released, likely arriving in early to mid-June.

    Card Name Card Type
    Mister Incredible Creature
    The Thing Creature
    Human Torch Creature
    Invisible Woman Creature
    Sol Ring Artifact
    Arcane Signet Artifact

    It’s probable that upcoming releases, similar to the Secrets of Strixhaven Commander decks, will include valuable reprints to enhance the sets without flooding them with new cards that could impact deck balance or set integrity.

    Unlike the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles deck, none of The Fantastic Four cards have the Partner ability, so only one hero can be your Commander at a time, limiting multi-Commander options for this set.

    Commander Breakdown

    Choosing from four different Commanders can be challenging, but each hero’s abilities are straightforward, which makes decision-making easier.

    • Mister Fantastic is a three-mana blue 2/4 creature with Vigilance and Reach. If you’ve cast a noncreature spell this turn, you can draw a card at the start of combat. He also has an ability to copy a target ability twice, choosing new targets for each copy.

    • Human Torch is a four-mana red 3/2 creature that gains Double Strike, Flying, and Haste if you’ve cast a noncreature spell earlier in your turn. When he attacks and deals damage, you can deal the same damage to each other opponent.

    • Invisible Woman is a three-mana white 3/3 creature that creates a 0/3 Defender/Reach wall at the start of combat if you’ve cast a noncreature spell that turn. She can also boost a creature’s power and make it unblockable based on the number of creatures you control.

    • The Thing is a six-mana green 5/5 with Trample. If you’ve cast a noncreature spell earlier, he gets four +1/+1 counters. He can also double the counters on any of your permanents.

    All four heroes share the same activation cost—one green, white, red, and blue mana—and Mister Incredible must be tapped to activate his ability. This shared cost ensures you can maintain a four-color deck regardless of which hero you choose as your Commander.

    Strategy Focus

    Based on the packaging, this deck is built around noncreature spells, such as instants, sorceries, enchantments, and artifacts—all of which are spells that don’t involve creatures and have a casting cost. Activations happen from your upkeep through combat stages, depending on which hero’s ability you use.

    While specific protection spells are not confirmed, with access to four of the five mana colors, the deck could include a wide variety of spells. Blue may feature counterspells and bounce effects, white might offer indestructibility grants, green could focus on granting Hexproof to creatures, and red might include damage negations or protection effects.

    This deck’s design clearly revolves around casting a variety of noncreature spells to fuel hero abilities, offering a flexible and thematic gameplay experience centered on Marvel’s Fantastic Four.

  • The Five Colleges of Hexhaven in MTG: A Complete Solving Guide

    The Five Colleges of Hexhaven in MTG: A Complete Solving Guide

    A lot of new lore for Magic: The Gathering was revealed during MagicCon Vegas, focusing on the upcoming Reality Fracture set. One new universe introduced is the Echoverse, a creation of Jace Beleren that feels somewhat self-indulgent. Within this universe lies Hexhaven, a mirror image of the beloved Strixhaven College, which we recently explored in Secrets of Strixhaven.

    Hexhaven is a school with five colleges, each mirroring one of Strixhaven’s original colleges. Here’s an overview of each one, including their names, mana identity, and what they represent.

    Theorix

    School of Esoteric Mathematics

    Theorix is the mirror image of Quandrix, but instead of being green and blue, it is blue and black. The description of this college is a little vague, but since it shares a focus on esoteric mathematics with Quandrix, we can expect similar themes. The main difference is the color shift from green to black, which likely means more spells that target creatures’ power and toughness rather than adding counters to them.

    Each of the Hexhaven colleges keeps one part of Strixhaven’s color identity but flips the other into a contrasting color. Outside of Hexhaven and Strixhaven, black and blue usually represent the Dimir guild, which often focuses on milling and surveil mechanics. Whether new mechanics will be introduced to help Theorix establish its own identity remains to be seen, especially if colleges become a significant part of the set.

    Stingerquill

    School of Painful Words

    Stingerquill is the red and black counterpart of Silverquill, which is typically black and white. Where Silverquill emphasizes using words to avoid trouble, Stingerquill might lean toward taunting opponents—forcing them to attack or send creatures into battles they wouldn’t normally choose.

    Mark Rosewater has hinted that Reality Fracture won’t develop the colleges with as much depth as Strixhaven did, so these might be more straightforward archetypes. Rakdos decks, for example, tend to focus heavily on sacrificing creatures and self-damage to boost attacks and spells, but those themes might not fit perfectly with a Silverquill mirror like Stingerquill.

    Konstrari

    School of Constructive Arts

    Konstrari is the red and green mirror of Prismari, swapping out blue for green. This college is expected to focus heavily on spell-slinging, with a likely emphasis on artifacts. The name “Konstrari” hints at construction, perhaps involving vehicles or other construct-themed mechanics, especially since the Gruul identity often revolves around building and crew-based strategies.

    Images suggest a vibrant, vehicle-heavy theme, with plenty of art and construction motifs. It’s expected that spells and artifacts will play a major role in Konstrari’s identity.

    Vigorbloom

    School of Invasive Healing

    Vigorbloom is the inverse of Witherbloom, adopting a green and white color identity instead of black and green. The name “Invasive Healing” suggests an interesting combination—perhaps involving lifelink, creature combat, and healing strategies that can be perceived as invasive.

    Green often focuses on beefing up large creatures, while white can emphasize lifelink and damage prevention. Combining these themes could lead to a deck that uses aggressive creature combat to gain life, providing a counterbalance to Witherbloom’s sacrificial and decay theme.

    Fatehold

    School of Future History

    Fatehold is the white and blue counterpart of Lorehold, which uses red and white. The term “Future History” hints at mechanics like scry and foretell—playing into themes of future planning and manipulating the top of your deck.

    We haven’t seen foretell mechanics since Kaldheim, but it’s a sound mechanic that allows players to set aside spells for later turns. The combination of scry and foretell suggests that Fatehold might focus on planning and anticipation, allowing players to prepare spells in advance and manipulate their decks to gain an advantage.

    Each college in Hexhaven offers a fresh twist on familiar themes, with color substitutions and new mechanics likely to make for exciting gameplay and storytelling.

  • How To Play the Cyberpunk TCG: Completing and Solving Strategies

    How To Play the Cyberpunk TCG: Completing and Solving Strategies

    The Cyberpunk Trading Card Game (TCG) has gained massive attention on Kickstarter, becoming the most funded card game in the platform’s history. But how exactly is the game played? Let’s explore the main phases of gameplay, along with details about the cards, play areas, and mechanics.

    Interestingly, the game shares some similarities with Disney Lorcana, but it develops its own identity through unique features and mechanics, ensuring it stands apart from other trading card games.

    Reading a Cyberpunk TCG Card

    Understanding a card is key to playing well. Here’s how to read a typical card:

    • Cost (Top Left): The number of Eddies needed to play the card.
    • Sell Tag (Below Cost): Cards with this can be played face down as Eddies.
    • Tags (Under Card Name): Indicate which groups the card belongs to and can influence gameplay.
    • Keywords/Abilities (Below Tags): Describe any trigger abilities or special effects, like “Play,” “Attack,” “Flip,” “Blocker,” or “Go Solo.”
    • Type (Top Right): Indicates whether the card is a Legend, Unit, Program, or Gear.
    • RAM (Below Type): Your deck can include cards with a RAM value equal or less than your Legend’s RAM, matching its color.
    • Power (Bottom Right): Used for attacking and defending; the higher power wins.

    Other details include rarity levels — seven in total: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic Rare, Secret Rare, Iconic Rare, and Nova Rare. The collection number at bottom left helps track sets, with future expansions likely to have their own unique numbering.

    Terms You Need to Know

    Here are some key terms:

    Term Meaning
    Spend Turning a card 90 degrees to show it’s used this turn.
    Ready Turning a spent card back upright to reuse it next turn.
    Attack When a unit declares an attack, any trigger abilities are resolved first.
    Blocker Only cards with this keyword can block attacks or be declared as a blocker.
    Play Cards with this keyword resolve their effects when paid for during your turn.
    Go Solo Allows a card to attack on the turn it’s played, similar to haste in Magic: The Gathering.
    Flip Ability that triggers when a card is flipped face-up.
    Gig The dice used to win the game when the goal of six gigs per zone is achieved.
    Legend Special leader cards placed in a set zone.
    Unit Cards capable of attacking.
    Program Instant effect cards discarded after use, playable during your turn.
    Gear Equipment cards that boost units or grant abilities.
    Street Cred The number on your gig dice; can change during play and interact with card effects.

    Play Area Layout

    The game’s play area is divided into eight zones, as shown in the diagram:

    • Legends: Your three Legend cards at the start.
    • Eddies: Where you keep cards used as currency.
    • Fixer: Starting area for gig dice.
    • Field: Play area for your active cards until they’re discarded.
    • Friendly Gigs: Tracks your gigs.
    • Rival Gigs: Tracks your opponent’s gigs.
    • Deck: Your main draw deck.
    • Trash: Discard pile for used or destroyed cards.

    Having a clear picture of zones helps in understanding the flow of the game.

    How to Play

    The game unfolds in several phases:

    Setup:
    Shuffle your three Legend cards and place them face down. Position your gig dice in the fixer zone. Shuffle your main deck and draw six cards as your starting hand. You can mulligan once to redraw if needed.

    Ready Phase:

    • Draw one card; no hand size limit.
    • Take a die from your fixer area (excluding the D20, which is taken last) and roll it to set its Street Cred, then place it in your gig zone.
    • Prepare your cards: turn spent cards back upright, except on your first turn, where you start with two Legend cards spent to prevent an unfair advantage.

    Play Phase:

    • You may sell one card as Eddies per turn by showing it, then placing it face down in the Eddies zone; use it immediately if you want.
    • You can call a Legend for two Eddies, flip it face up, and activate its abilities.
    • Play other cards from your hand by paying their Eddies cost, using Legend cards as Eddies if needed. You can spend two face-down Legends to pay for one Legend card, flipping one of those Legends to ready/face-up state afterward.

    Attack Phase:

    • Decide if you attack your opponent’s spent units or directly.
    • Spend your units or Legend cards, resolve any attack triggers.
    • The opponent may use a Legend or blocker to intercept.
    • Winning is determined by comparing the power levels; the higher wins, and the loser, along with any attached gear, goes to the trash.
    • Attacks on your opponent directly follow similar rules, with the possibility of stealing gig dice based on the attacker’s power.

    Turn sequence continues until a player begins their turn with six gigs or one player runs out of cards in their deck.

    Early Access and Store Involvement

    Players interested in trying the game early can download alpha decks from the official website. The print-and-play cards, along with a few dice, give a good feel for the game before the full release later this year.

    Stores wanting to carry the Cyberpunk TCG and host events can register through the developer’s website, promoting local gameplay and competitions.

  • How to Play Disney Lorcana: Solving and Completing Strategies

    How to Play Disney Lorcana: Solving and Completing Strategies

    Disney Lorcana has quickly become a leading trading card game, thanks in part to its unique approach to gameplay compared to Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon. Its foundation is built on a beloved Disney IP, allowing for a lot of creative freedom that has resulted in some highly collectible cards.

    The game is designed to be accessible for players of all ages and experience levels, making it easy for friends and family to join in, which is one of the reasons it’s so popular with us.

    Updated March 6, 2026, by Niall Walsh:
    It’s been a while since we last updated this guide, so we’ve refreshed it to include changes since Lorcana was released nearly three years ago.

    Reading a Lorcana Card

    Lorcana cards feature various stats and abilities crucial to understanding gameplay. Knowing how to read them is essential.

    Detail Description
    Cost Shows how much ink you need to play the card. Cards with a circle (Inkwell icon) can be placed into your Inkwell to be used as ink.
    Name The card’s name; only four copies of the same exact name can be included in a deck.
    Strength Indicates how much damage the character deals during a challenge.
    Willpower How much damage the character can take before being banished.
    Classifications Types that specify the card’s category, e.g., character classes, songs, or actions.
    Ink Represents the card’s ‘color’; each deck is limited to two inks.
    Abilities Main actions the card can do, triggered by other game actions or activated on your turn. Some are keyworded, like Evasive or Ward, working the same every time.
    Lore Value The amount of lore generated when a character quests.
    Set Information Details about the card’s set, such as artist, card number, and language.
    Rarity Rarity level: grey (Common), white (Uncommon), bronze (Rare), silver (Super Rare), gold (Legendary).

    Building Your Deck

    Your Lorcana deck needs at least 60 cards. You can only include up to four copies of any specific card by its exact name, including subtitles. For example, you can have four Mickey Mouse, Wayward Sorcerer cards and four Mickey Mouse, Brave Little Tailor cards in one deck.

    Your deck is made up of three types of cards:

    • Characters: Your main force for challenging opponents and questing for lore.
    • Items: Can’t challenge but have effects and abilities.
    • Actions: Single-use cards, played for effects and then discarded. Songs are a subtype of Action and can sometimes be played for free by exerting a character with a matching cost.

    Your deck can only contain cards with two different inks. Each card belongs to one of six inks, each with its own strategic flavor:

    • Amber (Yellow): Buffs and protects.
    • Amethyst (Purple): Uses abilities and actions to control the table.
    • Emerald (Green): Adaptive, effective at moving cards between zones.
    • Ruby (Red): Fast, aggressive, deals direct damage efficiently.
    • Sapphire (Blue): Focuses on playing and using items.
    • Steel (Grey): High defense, challenging to overcome with brute force.

    Each ink has unique strengths suited for different strategies.

    How to Win

    The game offers two main ways to win:

    1. Accumulate 20 Lore before your opponent does. This usually involves questing your characters each turn with a solid board presence.
    2. Opponent runs out of cards in their deck. If you try to draw a card but have none left, you lose immediately.

    Starting the Game and Adjusting Your Hand

    After both players—ideally two, but more are supported—prepare by shuffling your deck and drawing seven cards for your opening hand. If it’s your first game, you must keep this hand. Otherwise, you may choose to put any number of cards on the bottom of your deck and redraw an equal amount. You can only do this once per game.

    Decide randomly who goes first. Once the game begins, proceeding with gameplay is straightforward.

    Turn Structure

    Your turn is divided into two main phases: Starting and Main.

    The Beginning Phase involves three steps:

    • Ready: Turn any exerted cards upright.
    • Set: Resolve any start-of-turn abilities.
    • Draw: Draw the top card unless it’s your very first turn.

    The Main Phase is where most actions occur:

    • Play cards by paying ink.
    • Reveal cards from your hand into your Inkwell (face-down).
    • Activate abilities of characters and items (must have been in play since the start of the turn).
    • Quest characters for lore.
    • Challenge opponent’s characters.

    There’s no formal end step; your turn ends once you’ve exhausted your options. End-of-turn effects conclude, and the turn passes to the next player.

    Timing and Priority

    All actions are restricted to your turn—the game does not permit using instant-speed effects during opponents’ turns. The only exception is if a character’s ability triggers due to an opponent’s action, like a reaction to a challenge.

    Making Ink and Playing Cards

    To play any card, pay the ink cost shown in the top-left corner. Instead of gathering resources, Lorcana allows you to convert cards from your hand into ink:

    • Cards with an ornate circle (Inkwell icon) can be revealed and placed face-down in your Inkwell once per turn.
    • Each ink card can be exerted to produce one ink, which pays for other cards or activates certain abilities.
    • Exerted ink cannot be challenged, but it replenishes at the start of your next Beginning phase.

    Playing cards involves sacrificing ink, but with proper management, you can generate enough to perform powerful plays.

    Singing Songs

    Songs are a type of action with potent effects. They can be played without paying ink if you exert a character whose cost matches the song’s required exertion level, potentially for free. Maintaining diverse ink costs on your board ensures you can always play the songs you want for maximum advantage.

    Questing

    Questing is mainly how you generate lore. Each exerted character produces lore equal to its Lore Value, moving closer to victory. Characters can only be exerted for one purpose—either questing, challenging, or using a special ability that requires exerting—per turn.

    Some characters have unique abilities related to questing, such as reducing the cost of items or reordering cards in your deck, adding strategic depth.

    Challenging

    Instead of attacking directly, challenges in Lorcana are used to keep exerted characters in check:

    • You can challenge only exerted characters.
    • Your challenge must be initiated during your main phase.
    • To challenge, exert one of your characters; both involved characters deal damage equal to their Strength.
    • If a character’s damage exceeds its Willpower, it is banished (discarded) and removed from the game.
    • Damage remains across turns—meaning you can chip away over time, but beware that your heavy hitters may accumulate damage and be banished.

    Characters can only challenge once per turn, but multiple characters can challenge the same exerted character if needed.

  • How to Build a Gruul Landfall Deck in MTG: Completing and Solving Strategies

    How to Build a Gruul Landfall Deck in MTG: Completing and Solving Strategies

    The Gruul Landfall deck in Magic: The Gathering is one of the toughest to face. If you make even a small mistake or skip a turn, your opponent’s creatures can quickly become huge threats, swinging with massive power to reduce your life total.

    Playing with this deck is just as challenging. You need to find the right balance between being cautious and taking aggressive actions. With some helpful tips and lots of practice games, you’ll start winning more matches and climbing the ranks fast.

    Gruul Landfall Deck List

    Here’s a typical list for this deck:

    • Llanowar Elves — 4 copies
    • Sazh’s Chocobo — 4 copies
    • Bristly Bill, Spine Sower — 4 copies
    • Tifa Lockhart — 4 copies
    • Mossborn Hydra — 4 copies
    • Traveling Chocobo — 4 copies
    • Icetill Explorer — 2 copies
    • Worldsoul’s Rage — 4 copies
    • Snakeskin Veil — 4 copies
    • Escape Tunnel — 4 copies
    • Terramorphic Expanse — 2 copies
    • Mountains — 1 copy
    • Forests — 14 copies
    • Evolving Wilds — 1 copy
    • Fabled Passage — 4 copies

    (Make sure to check the latest card choices as they may change with new sets.)

    How the Deck Works

    This deck’s main goal is pretty straightforward: get landfall creatures on the battlefield, play your lands after those creatures, and protect them so they grow bigger and stronger. Landfall triggers abilities whenever you play a land, often giving you benefits like gaining life, dealing damage, or buffing your creatures.

    Having a lot of fetch lands can maximize this effect. These lands trigger landfall when they hit the battlefield, and if you sacrifice them to search for a basic land, you trigger landfall once more.

    Cards like Traveling Chocobo can even double the number of landfall triggers, giving you up to four activations per turn if you use fetch lands while Traveling Chocobo is on the field.

    Key Cards and Strategies

    Tifa Lockhart is vital, despite her modest appearance. When you play a land, she doubles her power until the end of the turn. As a 1/4 creature, she might not seem impressive at first, but with cards like Snakeskin Veil or Bristly Bill that add +1/+1 counters, she can quickly turn into a giant threat.

    If you can activate landfall multiple times each turn, Tifa can reach over ten power very fast, especially with trample. This makes her almost certain to deal significant damage during combat.

    Snakeskin Veil is more than just a way to add a +1/+1 counter. Its real strength lies in providing hexproof until end of turn, protecting your creatures from spells or targeted removal. Since it’s playable as an instant, you can use it reactively to shut down a threatening spell, making it a handy defense tool.

    Keep in mind that Snakeskin Veil is the only protection spell in this deck, so use it wisely. You might consider adding more protection cards if you want your creatures to be even safer.

    Ideal Opening Hands

    The best starting hand for this deck tends to have at least:

    • One basic land
    • One fetch land
    • One low-cost creature

    Remaining three cards should be flexible but low-cost to keep your early game pressure strong. Ideally, your opening hand should give you three turns of potential plays, especially to counter slower decks or control strategies early on.

    Changes You Can Make

    One key upgrade is adding more protection spells. Things that deal damage to blockers, grant hexproof, or make your creatures indestructible can give you an edge.

    While Gruul doesn’t have direct counters like blue decks do, you can still improve your deck’s resilience. Consider swapping or adding cards like gladiolus or Tannuk, Memorial Ensign, which can bring new dimensions. As legendary creatures, just one or two copies are enough, so you could replace some forests with extra mountains if needed.

    Adjusting your deck’s creature lineup and protective spells can make a significant difference in how well your Landfall strategy performs.

  • What Is Blight in MTG? Exploring Completing and Solving Strategies

    What Is Blight in MTG? Exploring Completing and Solving Strategies

    Magic: The Gathering regularly introduces new mechanics, and Blight is the latest addition from the Lorwyn Eclipse set. This mechanic plays a significant role in the set, with one of the new Commander pre-constructed decks built around it.

    Blight is a keyword that involves sacrificing and typically involves placing -1/-1 counters on your own creatures. Despite its simplicity, it offers a surprising level of strategic depth, enabling powerful combos in both Standard and Commander formats.

    What Is Blight?

    Blight is an action that lets you put a number of -1/-1 counters on a creature you control, with the number specified on the card. When you activate Blight, you can target any creature you control, not necessarily the one receiving the counters. Unless the card says otherwise, the counters are placed on a creature you own.

    You’ll mostly see Blight on black and red cards in Lorwyn Eclipse, but it only appears on 23 cards overall. This limited presence means it’s not overly disruptive, yet there are enough cards to build a useful deck around it.

    How To Use Blight

    Using Blight effectively depends on how your deck is built. For example, a card like Dawnhand Dissident, a low-cost black creature, can Blight to perform specific actions. It can Blight to either surveil (look at the top card of your deck and decide to keep it or put it somewhere else) or exile a card from a graveyard. Since it’s a weak creature with low toughness, sacrificing it to perform these effects is not costly.

    Another card, Gristle Glutton, can Blight to discard a card and draw a new one. This is especially useful in aggressive decks that want to cycle through their cards, even if they’ve already played their mana-accumulating lands. With a toughness of three, Gristle Glutton can be Blighted three times before being destroyed if it’s your only creature, or you can distribute the counters to keep it alive longer.

    Maximizing Blight’s potential depends on deck design. For example, pairing it with other effects that modify counters or manipulate graveyards can create powerful synergies.

    If you’re interested in seeing how this ability fits into top-tier decks, check out our guide to the best Lorwyn Eclipse archetypes, which showcase some of the most effective ways to use Blight.

    Will Blight Appear in Future Sets?

    It’s unlikely that Blight will become a common feature in future sets. Adding -1/-1 counters mixes poorly with abilities that add +1/+1 counters, which is probably why no new +1/+1 counter cards appeared in Lorwyn Eclipse, according to Mark Rosewater. The mechanic’s limited use and awkward synergy mean it probably won’t return until Lorwyn itself is revisited in a future set.

    Most keywords tend to be tied to specific sets or plane themes, such as Foretell on Kaldheim or Ninjutsu on Kamigawa. Similarly, Blight’s future appearances are uncertain, and it’s reasonable to expect it to remain a Lorwyn-specific mechanic until the plane gets featured again.

  • Completing Legends: An Overlooked Digital Card Game Adventure

    Completing Legends: An Overlooked Digital Card Game Adventure

    Earlier this year, Bethesda closed its digital card game, The Elder Scrolls: Legends. This game was set during the Great War and was special because it combined a story with battles against AI, filling in details between Oblivion and Skyrim.

    Despite being well-received with an average score of 80 on Metacritic, the game struggled to build a player community, leading Bethesda to decide that they could no longer keep the servers running. When it was shut down, even the offline components were taken away, making large parts of the Elder Scrolls lore unavailable except on YouTube.

    This includes “The Fall of the Dark Brotherhood,” which provided interesting insights into what happened before Skyrim’s events.

    Luckily, fans are stepping up to address this issue. About four months ago, u/RenianVZ announced a project called The Elder Scrolls: Legends Reborn. This community-based effort aims to bring the card game back online. “I’ve been working on a server emulator since the game was delisted,” they shared. “I wanted to give a quick update to anyone interested in our progress. There’s a lot of work ahead, but it’s a glimmer of hope for the community.”

    There’s Still No Word On A Release Date, Though

    They have been posting updates regularly about their progress, which they describe as featuring “a lot of trial and error” as they work to rebuild the servers. Some people are worried that Bethesda may have concerns about the project, but it seems unlikely since the company has supported the fan-made Oblivion remake. “I’d be surprised if it was ever on their radar,” u/RenianVZ said.

    While the game is no longer available, it was free-to-play, so there are still ways to download it on Steam.

    The latest update came over the weekend in the form of a 24-minute video showcasing a working multiplayer match with randomly-generated decks. This shows big progress compared to the error message players usually see when starting the game, but there’s still a lot of work remaining. When asked if they have “any idea when we might see a release,” u/RenianVZ responded, “Not yet; we’re still working as much as we can.”

    Despite the challenges, this effort is a significant win for preserving games. It brings back an overlooked Elder Scrolls spin-off just months after it was taken offline. Since it holds some key narrative moments from the 4th Era outside of Skyrim, it would have been disappointing to lose Legends so soon. Hopefully, this fan project will succeed whenever it is ready to launch.

    The Elder Scrolls: Legends
    • Released: March 9, 2017
    • ESRB: M
    • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
    • Engine: Unity
    • Multiplayer: Online Multiplayer

    For more information, check out the game on Steam.

  • Completing the Challenges: Banned and Restricted Cards in One Piece

    Completing the Challenges: Banned and Restricted Cards in One Piece

    The One Piece Card Game lets you experience thrilling battles just like in the anime, allowing for fast-paced confrontations with your opponent. Luckily, the game’s rules are straightforward, making it easy to learn. As you become familiar with the gameplay, you may find yourself wanting to build your own custom decks in addition to using the starter options available.

    You can include up to four copies of the same card in your deck, a standard rule shared across most trading card games. Similarly, the One Piece Card Game also has certain cards that are either banned or restricted. This guide will outline these important rules for you.

    Understanding Banned and Restricted Cards

    Like other trading card games, the One Piece Card Game features different formats. When aiming to join official tournaments or seeking more competitive play, it’s essential to follow these formats. Being aware of the restrictions on cards while building your deck ensures a balanced gaming experience. Cards are categorized as either banned or restricted for this purpose.

    Banned Cards are those that you should never include in your deck. If you’re playing casually, you might decide to use them, but be careful if you plan to participate in tournaments, as they are prohibited in that setting.

    When constructing your deck, you can typically add four copies of the same card, but this rule doesn’t apply to Restricted Cards; you may only use one copy of these cards in your deck.

    Occasionally, restrictions on some banned and restricted cards can be revised as new cards are introduced to balance the game. As new sets become available, additional banned and restricted cards may be added. This guide will provide you with a comprehensive table of those cards.

    Complete List of Banned Cards in the One Piece Card Game

    Banned cards often have effects that can disrupt gameplay balance. Their removal helps maintain fairness and challenge in matches. These cards are so powerful that they can create a significant advantage for one player, making the game unfair. Some cards, like Trafalgar Law and Gecko Moria, have been banned due to their ability to drastically alter the number of cards in play.

    Card

    Set

    Set Type

    Card No

    Release Date

    Nami

    Romance Dawn

    Booster Pack

    OP-01-016

    December 2, 2022

    Curly Dadan

    Paramount War

    Booster Pack

    OP-02-005

    March 10, 2023

    Moby Dick

    OP-02-024

    Cabaji

    OP-02-052

    Ice Age

    OP-02-117

    Great Eruption

    Absolute Justice

    Starter Deck

    ST-06-015

    March 10, 2023

    Enies Lobby

    Pillars of Strength

    Booster Pack

    OP-03-098

    June 30, 2023

    Trafalgar Law

    The Three Captains

    Starter Deck

    ST-10-001

    November 10, 2023

    Sakazuki

    Awakening of the New Era

    Booster Pack

    OP-05-041

    December, 2023

    Kingdom Come

    Memorial Collection

    Booster Pack

    EB-01-059

    May 3, 2024

    Gecko Moria

    Wings of the Captain

    Booster Pack

    OP-06-086

    March 15, 2024

    Reject

    OP-06-116

    Jinbe

    500 Years in the Future

    Booster Pack

    OP-07-045

    June 28, 2024

    Complete List of Restricted Cards in the One Piece Card Game

    Restricted Cards are less impactful than banned cards, but they can still create imbalances. Using multiple copies of these cards in your deck may lead to an unfair advantage, which is why they are limited.

    Card

    Set

    Set Type

    Card No

    Release Date

    Radical Beam

    Romance Dawn

    Booster Pack

    OP-01-029

    December 2, 2022

    Edward Newgate

    Paramount War

    Booster Pack

    OP-02-004

    March 10, 2023

    Marco

    OP-02-018

    Marco

    Pillars of Strength

    Booster Pack

    OP-03-013

    June 30, 2023
  • Understanding Exhaust in Magic: The Gathering Explained

    Understanding Exhaust in Magic: The Gathering Explained

    Magic: The Gathering takes speed to a whole new level with the Aetherdrift expansion. This fast-paced addition will have players gripping their seats as they race through intense gameplay. Get ready for an exciting new keyword that might just leave you breathless.

    That keyword is “exhaust.” Similar to using a nitrous booster, you can only leverage this ability once before it’s done for good. Of course, if you can recast the creature or find a way for it to leave the battlefield and then re-enter, you can reset its exhaust ability. Right now, hold on tight for what is arguably the most thrilling keyword introduced in Magic since monstrosity.

    What Is Exhaust?

    The exhaust keyword is an activated ability introduced in Aetherdrift. What sets it apart from other activated abilities is that you can only activate it a single time. Once you use the exhaust ability, it cannot be activated again.

    Unless you recast the creature or make it leave play and come back, the ‘new’ version of the permanent will not have activated its exhaust ability yet, allowing you to trigger it again.

    Exhaust works somewhat like monstrosity in that it usually involves adding one or more +1/+1 counters to a creature, but this is not the case for every card. For instance, Loot, the Pathfinder does not receive counters when using any of its three exhaust abilities.

    Aetherdrift features 28 cards with the exhaust ability, which can be found on either creatures or artifacts.

    How To Use Exhaust

    You can activate exhaust at any time, placing the activation on the stack just like other activated abilities. This flexibility allows you to respond to your opponents instead of only using it during your own turn.

    However, many exhaust abilities are best employed in preparation for an assault. Take Draconautics Engineer, for example; it grants all your other creatures haste when you activate its first exhaust ability. Similarly, Boom Scholar gives your creatures and vehicles trample until the end of the turn.

    Most exhaust abilities typically grant one, two, or three +1/+1 counters to the creature that exhausts, providing a quick and significant boost in power. Because these are +1/+1 counters, exhaust can enhance decks designed around utilizing counters effectively.

    Some cards, like Elvish Refueler, Adrenaline Jockey, and Ranger’s Refueler, feature additional abilities that enhance or trigger from exhaust activations.

    Best Cards With Exhaust

    With numerous cards containing the exhaust mechanic, we’ve highlighted a few notable ones to consider.

    Draconautics Engineer

    This card provides your team with the crucial haste needed to potentially secure a game-winning turn. The combination of a 4/4 Dinosaur Dragon token and a 3/3 Goblin Artificer allows you to strike with a total of seven power for just seven mana on the turn it enters the battlefield.

    Loot, the Pathfinder

    Depending on how you play Loot, it can offer three mana, deal three damage, or allow you to draw three cards. While it’s unfortunate that this ability is a one-time use (unless you have a card like Conjurer’s Closet), trading one mana for three cards has historically been a solid deal.

    Mindspring Merfolk

    Offering the option to pay X mana to draw X cards, this deal is one that most blue wizards would love. Moreover, Mindspring Merfolk fits right into either a merfolk or wizard-themed deck for just one mana, making it an excellent choice.

    Redshift, Rocketeer Chief

    At two mana for a 2/3 with vigilance, this card packs a punch. Tapping it to produce X mana equal to its power is advantageous, particularly if you can increase Redshift’s power. But dumping your hand into play for 12 mana is incredibly powerful—expect to see this card in many Commander decks.

    Sita Varma, Masked Racer

    Another good deal at 2/3 for two mana, Sita Varma provides the blue-green team with a one-time X-pump for all your creatures, along with a generous supply of +1/+1 counters for Sita. This card is a solid kill option for green-blue decks.

    Winter, Cursed Rider

    This card offers the intriguing potential to clear the board by removing artifact cards from your graveyard. Although this isn’t your standard blue/black Commander ability, it’s unique enough for players looking for something fresh. Plus, the artwork is strikingly impressive.