MTG Grindcast: Recent Episodes
MTG Grindcast
The MTG Grindcast is a spicy new podcast focusing on competitive Magic: the Gathering, with special emphasis on the SCG Tour. Hosts Chris Castro-Rappl and SCG standout Collins Mullen break down all the latest decks, metagame shifts, and technology you're gonna need for whatever tournament you're playing in this weekend. Check us out, and happy grinding!
We had to come back for Lee's Edge of Eternities lore dump. And I guess there were some standard bans?Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Still taking a break, don't be misled by us recording and editing and uploading a full episode!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
CCR has...thoughts about the Final Fantasy set.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Our friend Jesse qualified for the PT and he did it in style, smashing through Hartford with his beloved Roots deck. We're talking Roots, his run two weeks before with Monument, and a sprinkling of Final Fantasy in the mix. Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Get hype for the 20 minute cold open featuring us trying to remember which guy is from which final fantasy!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
This week! We're breaking down standard LIVE as it develops at the height of RC season. Prowess put up a breach-like metagame share in Minneapolis but did not continue delivering breach-like numbers, so what should we play going forward? Find out on this episode!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
We've got our first RC results, so we're looking at how the stage is set for high level standard season! Newcomer Izzet Prowess is lighting the tables up, but does it have what it takes in the format for the long haul?Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
We kind of go all over the place on this one, but land squarely on amulet talk for a healthy portion. Will CCR finally learn how to cast Primeval Titan? Find out this week!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
It's postban modern RCQ season! We're playing all sorts of bad decks this time around, from Hardened Broodscale to Coretapper Control. Well, Lee is playing those decks while CCR goes long on Prowess. Come check out the format with us!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Ooooh they banned Underworld Breach and nothing else? Should we tell everyone? Should we throw a party? Should we invite Bella Hadid?And Dragonstorm spoilers!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYR
We're here, hanging out on Tarkir, bringing you the hottest spoilers while dodging dragonstorms and trying to make sure Sarkhan doesn't notice us.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Lee held CCR at gunpoint so it's a lore episode with some modern thrown in for good measure! Why can't Jace tell anyone what he's up to until he throws the multiverse into chaos? Why does Tarkir get restored offscreen? Why does Sarkhan get beaten not by a character but a random series of events? We don't answer any of those questions! But we sure do ask them.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
There was only one type of episode that made sense the week after Jesse won the RC with Breach! We got her on the cast to talk about the tournament, her 5-year arc as a Breach main, and what the future holds. And there are a lot of bits.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
RC Charlotte is almost here! We're talking all the recent developments in the format, including a 2U counterspell that has captured our imaginations. A perfect listen on your drive to the tournament!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
It's the week after the Pro Tour! We break down the winning, losing, and confusing strategies from this past weekend's big standard tournament. Is this town big enough for them all?Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Join two final fantasy experts as we mostly avoid talking about chocobos and delve into standard (upcoming pro tour!) and modern (almost time for our RC!) and don't even complain about how good breach is!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
This week! Abe Stein joins us off a top 64 finish in Portland with a deck that has risen to the top of the format, and we take his words and turn them into clickbait. Come for the hot takes on the modern format, stay for the thoughtful discussion of how to properly beat Breach.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
We're zooming around from card to card, trying not to just talk about which ones are good to put under an Agatha's Soul Cauldron (we also talk about what cards are good with Ketramose!)Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
We got modern results! And Lee played standard! And Aetherdrift spoilers! Kachow!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Our friend Nick has won the inaugural Atomic Empire modern invitational, and he did with with Boros Energy which remains...really, really good. We talk about the tournament, the breach matchup, and how modern is looking going forward from here!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Lee's got a Modern invitational coming up! And he's...not playing breach! And we talk about standard! Let's goooooThanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Hot on the heels of his second place finish at Spotlight Foundations, our friend Scott is here to talk about his extremely sweet hybrid Dimir deck! We talk matchups, stories, and wax poetic about just how good Stormchaser's Talent is with This Town Ain't Big Enough. Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
It's New Year's Eve! (as of recording) So we're breaking down this past year of sets: the hits, the misses, the cowboy hats and detective's phoenixes of it all. Sit back and unwind as we bring in the new year by reveling in the last one.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Can you imagine? A world without The One Ring, and one in which your (yes your!) favorite card was never banned from Modern? Well, my friend, that world is THIS world, and we're gonna talk about it. Together.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.g
Hey everyone! With RCQ season kicking into gear, we wanted to share our experiences and try to equip you with some tools that have helped us be successful in RCQ seasons past. If you're thinking of grinding for that qualification, whether you're a grizzled vet or have never made an RC before, I think there's something in here for you.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
It's still early in the standard format, and the red decks aren't letting us forget it. But players are fighting back with Preachers and Bezas and Sheoldreds and we break it all down for you. Plus! We review all the standard-relevant cards from Foundations that you can't open in Foundations packs.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
We all love standard! So let's chat about it at the onset of RCQ season, and not spend too much brainpower trying to figure out exactly which cards are in Foundations.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Mark is here! And we're chatting about his first Worlds experience, this standard format, and why he actually kinda loves Arena. Distract yourself from reality with the soothing sounds of the MTG Grindcast.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Wooooooof what a news week. Somehow next year's sets managed to overshadow a pretty sweet Worlds, with cataclysmic shifts to magic as a whole. We go over the latest ways Magic is DyingTM.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
We're back, from the exotic lands of Iceland and Wisconsin, respectively, and we're here to talk standard and cube! Respectively.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
It's here! Simultaneously late (for a set review) and early (in the week!) we're going over all our spookiest favorite cards from the new set. Don't miss out!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
The RC's coming, and CCR's playing Enchanties! Get the inside scoop on the deck and all the weird places Pioneer has gone over the past week.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
It's...commander ban week? Ok, I guess that's what we're talking about because we must engage with the Discourse, it's in our contract.But we talk Duskmourn cards too, don't worry!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Collins is here! And he's been pioneering up a storm to prep for this RC. He shares his thoughts on the format and we talk through which Duskmourn cards are looking to make a splash.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Spoiler season continues, even as the thought of how much Pioneer CCR has to play this month manifests dread within him.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Duskmourn is coming out soon! OOoooOOoo! Lee played lantern in a 7 round RCQ this weekend! Eeeeeek! CCR's focusing on Pioneer all month long AAAUUUGGgghhhhhhhhh!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
It's ban discussion time! Thank goodness no one got a podcast episode out on this before we did! Get ready for some fresh, unsullied takes on legacy, modern, and pioneer!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
We did it sniffThanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Lee won his RCQ with Nadu...and he ENJOYED IT. How dare he? Join me in angrily shaking our fists at him, and then talking about Duel Commander and Standard because optimizing Nadu builds sounds just awful to me.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Definitely don't miss this one, because we're tackling all the problems one by one and fixing them up, all for YOU!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
You otter listen to this oneThanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Standard is rotating, everyone take cover! Will Domain survive the loss of triomes? Is there any way to make Aftermath Analyst work? Can you Relic without Gurk? All this and more!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
More Bloomburrow cards! A lot of them are bats! Boy is it a shame the Orzhov creature land sucks so much!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
It turns out Bloomburrow is the next set after all! This episode has it all: Mouse Knights, Frogs eloping, hot takes on decklists. Grab some dandelion cordial and come hang out!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Pro Tour MH3: Complete. Nadu: unbeatable. Probably. We're talking about our expectations for modern over the next few weeks, along with plenty of discussion of the newly-announced MTG Foundations and what that means for standard.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Mark is back! We're talking all things modern in the runup to Pro Tour MH3, but we've also got some time to talk about the recent ban announcements as a pressure release for Lee before he explodes. This is a fun one!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
It's here! The set is out and it's getting played and we delayed this episode just enough that we could cheat a little before wildly guessing at which cards are good or not. Don't worry though, there's still a hot take or two to carry the episode.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
MH3 is here! But we haven't talked about all the interesting cards yet, so we're catching up today! One last overview of the set before our big honkin' set review next week. We've got Takes, Opinions, and What Have Yous.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Adam came to hang out! Fresh off of qualifying for the pro tour, we're talking Gurk, swapping stories, and then diving into the cards we're most excited for from MH3. Come hang out!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
We're breaking down CCR's standard prep, his deck choice for the RC, and then a bunch of MH3 cards! Don't miss out! Woo! Magic!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Previews are finally here! So let's talk about some of the cards that we've known about for weeks from blurry daguerreotypes someone sent in to Internet headquarters by stagecoach.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
It's (technically) the largest ban announcement in magic history! We're talking the, frankly, confusing B&R announcement and then digging into some standard results!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
It's back to our roots for a classic Lee and CCR episode, where we're going over the last week of standard and some Modern Horizons 3 spoilers!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
With Pro Tour OTJ in the books we grabbed Jarvis to talk us through it! We're talking Esper, Domain, SLOGURK, and even a little Orzhov Bronco today.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Jake is here! And he's sharing his prep for Pro Tour: Outlaws of Thunder Junction. What new cards will come out to play this weekend? What draft strategies are we wielding? Come find out!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
OTJ is out! And we're doing our best to keep up, with reports coming in of Slickshot Showoff and Satoru in older formats and a whole lot of brainstorming about Annie Joins Up in standard. Come hang out!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Howdy! This week we're going through our top cards in OTJ and have come up with one absolute, uh, tumbleweed of an episode. From scorpion dragons to cactus people that aren't people, come check out all the hits!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
More legends! More colors! More Thunder Junction previews!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
It's preview season! We're looking at all the rootin'est, tootin'est cards from OTJ, preparing ourselves mentally for convoke with a playable manabase, and trying to figure out the easiest ways to commit crimes.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Announcements! Post-ban modern results! Worldsoul's Rage! This episode has it all DO NOT MISS ITThanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Oh no, they banned Violent Outburst! We served up our hot takes as fresh as possible this week!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
We were too busy talking about Chicago last week to get to all the previews. But fear not! We're talking about your favorite criminals dressed up in adorable cowboy outfits and also a card based on the concept that Psychatog sounds like you're saying "psychic frog" wow maybe I can design cards one day too!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
CCR is back from Chicago, and he's got stories to tell! From a decent run in the 75k to Pro Tour birding to adventures in cubing, there's plenty to talk about. And that's not even getting into the Vein Ripper or 68 card Slogurk of it all!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Mark was kind enough to stop by again and give us the inside scoop on his pro tour prep. We talk a LOT of Pioneer UW control, with a bit of Modern and MKM limited for spice. See you all in Chicago!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
I told you we'd get around to it! MKM is here, and it's already making waves in Standard and Modern. We explore all the darkest mysteries (like where are all the good black cards?) and the funniest detective caps. Come hang out!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Collins is back, and he's here to talk about everyone's favorite otter! We do responsibly talk about modern in general for a bit, but then it's all business: singleton card choices and why Tombstalker is better than Jace the Mind Sculptor. Don't miss this one!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
With the European RC in the books it's time to check in on Modern, magic's...most stale format? Ok, maybe that's going a little too far but this looks like the most constricted modern format in a while. Don't worry, though, we've also got plenty of MKM previews to get through in this episode!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
CCR and Lee have been having success with very different standard decks, so we can't not talk about the format for a bit. But! We've got hella MKM cards, including a mana leak, adds for monogreen and maybe Incarnation in Pioneer, and a bunch of neat standard nonsense!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Whoa! Tannon stopped by today and we're talking about the RC system, the ins and outs of covering magic tournaments, and a pet topic: Deck Difficulty and You.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
CCR's coming off of a top 16 and top 32 in this weekend's standard challenges, and we're both prepping for our standard RCQ season that starts this week! Is domain dead--or just dead on magic online? Can this Bant deck featuring unplayable creatures and worse mana really be good? All that and more!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!We're back and ready to talk about standard! RCQ season is finally here and we've got, uh, two RCQs to prepare for locally. Maybe it wasn't worth ordering five hundred dollars' worth of standard cards?If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Hey everyone! We traditionally take off for Christmas week, but CCR sat down with Stan of the Dive Down and Oaf McNamara to talk Phoenix at the close of Pioneer season. We figured we'd drop the episode into our feed as well in case you're jonesing, but make sure to check out their other episodes--the Dive Down does great deck dives and often has on awesome guests like D00mwake and Aspiringspke. See you in the new year!
Pioneer season is finally over! And although CCR couldn't quite close out RC Atlanta after a decent start, Mark took Phoenix all the way to the finals. We talk through prep, the tournament, and the Pioneer format with him in an extra large episode!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
In the wake of major Pioneer and Modern shakeups we're taking a look at how things are shaping up, especially with a new Splinter Twin-esque combo making big waves just before the RC!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Huge ban update in Modern and Pioneer! We saw some of these coming (because they...told us) but it's time to talk through the implications. Will the Fury ban free creature decks in Modern? Is Smuggler's Copter good enough for Pioneer? Let's find out!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
Fresh, hot takes following the ban announcement announcement! Appraiser: gonna get banned. Karn: gonna get banned. But, like, not now. In a week. Probably. Strike through all the show notes that CCR created comparing different discover builds and sleeve up your lotus field deck because it's time for chaos at the RC baby!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
While Pioneer is on fire we took a little break to talk through the modern banlist. Our opinion: banning Grief isn't gonna work. The whole thing could use a once-over, and a lot of cards could come off the list. Are we totally off-base or did we just fix the format? Come yell at us in Discord!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
With the whole set released and legal on Magic Online it's time for our fully vetted and evidence-based set review! Only the finest pure gut takes as we look at everything from terrible pioneer combos to straight upgrades for the best deck in modern. Let's go spelunking!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!If you’d like to support the podcast, check out our patreon at patreon.com/mtggrindcast. Subscribers get swag and bonus content! And whether you subscribe or not, you’re invited to join our discord, where we’re building a community of friendly people all looking to improve at the game we love. Check it out here: https://discord.gg/Uq8x2RHYRU
We're back with more LCI previews! We now have more than enough discard outlets to do whatever you want to do with the graveyard, infinite two-drops to curve into Raffine, and a solid three-and-a-half playable dinosaurs for your dino birds of paradise!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Ixalan's back and it's...really cool? And an artifact set for some reason? We're going over the biggest hitters previewed so far, from a great one-drop for pioneer humans to--wait, an upgrade to modern scam? That can't be right. Spooky!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Fresh takes here! We've got Marvel cards incoming and what kind of podcasters would we be if we didn't have Opinions on them? Plus Lee's got stories from cubecon and whoops almost forgot Ixalan previews just started. Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
No changes to any format! But, by the way, draft is changing forever! We're going over everything from this past week including the all-new play booster. Come hang out!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Ok we're actually not really mad about Dr. Who but maybe a clickbait title will rocket us to fame and fortune in podcasting. We're talking about the tournaments we played this weekend, a bunch of nonsense in the twittersphere, and why do the Dr. Who cards...look like that?Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
We're keeping up with modern, and CCR talks about his favorite build of scam and the reasons behind the card choices. Plus we've got our first results from pioneer RC season and there's plenty to talk about!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Jarvis is back from Vegas to regale us with stories of Ragavans and Princess Bride cards and Bean-based shenanigans. We're talking about new products, an itty bit of standard, and plenty of randomly interjected asides. Come hang out!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Hey, would you look at that! PT Champ Jake Beardsley stopped by to talk about his Worlds prep. He answers all of our hard-hitting questions from "is the cascade deck real" to "would you ever draft UW in Wilds of Eldraine" and we even get to hang out with his cat!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
The "least impactful modern set ever" is making a bit of an impression on the format. From triggering our beans to putting ballistas in the cauldron, there's a lot of nonsense happening in the format, and Rakdos Scam is also here to tell everyone to chill. Join us as we start gearing up for RCQ season and check out what's going on!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
That's right, it's a 2.5 hour episode jam packed with adventures and mana rocks and thoughts about Doom Foretold decks and a million other things. Hope you have a long commute!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We're back at it with our second full preview episode, checking out all the adventures, bunnies, and horrifying candy monsters of the upcoming set. Will a 4 mana uncommon enchantment make a splash in modern? Can we make Doom Foretold playable in pioneer? All this and more!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We've got: adventures, beanstalk innuendos, otters with prowess, and pigs in blankets. And Jesse! Truly an episode with a little something for everyone.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
While Rakdos and Rhinos trample over modern, we turn our eyes to some shiny new Wilds of Eldraine spoilers to distract ourselves! From gingerbread knights to goose hydras, this set's got a little something for everyone.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
TOO MANY THINGS this episode: three years of sets, modern and legacy unbans, MtG Ambassadors, how much we both loved Lorwyn. You know, all the most important bits to talk about.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Dom Harvey is here! Coming off an amazing top 4 run in Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings, we're talking about tournament prep, bringing amulet to a Rakdos-infested field, and wow man we talk a lot about Tron in this episode.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Nick is here! Due to unfortunate visa shenanigans he can't go to the Pro Tour he's qualified for, but instead of letting all his prep go to waste we brought him on to talk about Modern (and a little limited) on the eve of the PT.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Rakdos scam has risen to the top of the post-LotR modern heap, riding the mighty Orcish Bowmasters to victory against a slew of One Ring decks. What's the best choice in the new meta? Could it possibly be Rhinos (no)
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Jarvis joins us this week fresh off a top 8 for an extra large episode where we're talking four color, modern, and we even check in on what's going on in legacy! Come celebrate our tricentennial or whatever you call it when a podcast turns 300 episodes old 🎉
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
CCR won his RCQ this weekend! We're talking pioneer Boros Pia, Banh Mi, and then we're diving back into modern for a look at all the different ways you can abuse the One Ring.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
LotR is here for real, and having an outsized impact on Modern! From landcyclers to Orcish Bowmasters to The "One" Ring, there's a hell of a lot going on in the format, and we're breaking it all down!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
We're finally talking about LotR cards today! Ok, we're mostly talking about The One Ring, but a bunch of hobbits are going to find their way into modern decks an we're not gonna miss out on them. Come on an adventure with us!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
This week! We're joined by Jesse Robkin and going over approximately a bajillion pioneer tournament results as the past two weeks saw the rise of fair Lotus Field, Crackling Drake, and, oh yeah, monogreen is still great. Plus, join us as we manage to talk more about the Gollum game than any actual Lord of the Rings cards!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Regionals is almost here, and Chris and Collins are hanging out in an echoey room, talking about the pioneer format days before the tournament. Come hang out!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
This week! We're walking through the Pioneer format, including the latest and greatest successor to Hogaak in the "putting 14 power on the board on turn 2" class of decks. Is convoke real? Who knows! We also dive into the Gearhulk Creativity deck CCR's been investing a ton of time into.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
It's a super serious, very prepared episode this time around! We do update you on pioneer, what we've been impressed by and less impressed by lately, and try not to spend toooooo much time talking twitter and other nonsense.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
A lot to talk about this week! From a hell of a standard PT to an extra year of Fable of the Mirrorbreaker in standard to some spicy pioneer brews to Magic's newest, weirdest set. Come hang out!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
We're talking pioneer! Polukranos is here, blocking fliers and generally making everyone's life miserable against monogreen. We've also been Magma Opusing, Lotus Fielding, and Rakdos'ing and we share what we've picked up over the last couple weeks.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
We're back with our Top 5s for March of the Machine! Which praetor lands on top? Which removal spells did we begrudgingly add to our list? Why are the blue cards so bad? All this and more!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Ok, not exactly preview season since the cards are out and legal. But we had to take a break for regionals, so we're doing some remedial card previews. Lee even likes a white card this time!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Regionals weekend has come and gone and the storyline has big plot twists at the end of standard season. Blade of Shared Souls makes its debut and Rakdos reanimator finally comes into its own. We're breaking down what has proven to be a fantastic standard format.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Collins is back! (again)And this time he's sharing his takes on standard in the run-up to US Regionals. We go over your best bet between Rakdos and Grixis, his preferred build of monowhite, and everywhere you can get an edge in this format.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
China and Canada both had RCs this weekend, presenting wildly different metagames. We look at the lists and check out how (and why) we got here.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
With Shadows over Innistrad (kind of) coming out on Arena and an upcoming Explorer qualifier season, we take a look at Magic's oddest format, where some pioneer decks are allowed to rampage untouched, and others are missing key pieces that keep them from existing. Can anything keep up with Rakdos cards? Probably not, but we talk about the options!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
This week! Join us to talk about TCGPlayer's union and management's lame response, legacy bans, standard after three more RCs and, of course, Lord of the Rings spoilers. It's a full one so get hype!Thanks as always to Wave sunray for our music
This week! Nick Price joins us fresh off of his SEA Regionals top 8 run! We're talking about RCQ structure, playing magic in the Philippines, and lots of standard!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Standard is pretty good, and it's the next RC format! This rare combination of quality and relevance has brought Collins out of retirement, so he stopped by to talk about his San Diego prep. Plus! CCR's RCQ win with 5x Wall of Omens. Don't miss this one!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
This week we're getting deep into the weeds on both pioneer in the wake of the Pro Tour and also for some reason all of the worst cards Jesse has registered in tournaments. We are...not the best at staying on topic.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Bobinchese is back on the cast, talking about his first time preparing for a PT draft, why he's not playing enchanties this weekend, and a tight five on why Atraxa is so good. Come get ready for battle!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We're here with our classic top 5s (or top 3 in the case of red in this set) episode! Do we believe in poison counters? How many green seven drops will we try to jam into a single deck? All this and more!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
More cards! From six mana planeswalkers to seven mana planeswalkers, this preview episode has it all!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
New cards! From swords to 4 color angels to incredibly cool dragons that they're not letting us play with, there's a lot of neat stuff in the new set. So let's talk about it!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Our war correspondent is back, with fresh information from the field after finishing 2nd at NRG champs! Jesse's here to share about her testing process, modern and pioneer, and the ins and outs of a 3 hour finals match. Come hang out!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Join us as we do the requisite looking back on the sets of this past year, and forward to Phyrexia, the Flesh Well, Organized Play, and hopefully more record-breaking booster pack prices. Happy New Year!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
This week, we're talking about practice. Ashe joins us to talk about the way magic players practice and why it's...so bad. And what we can do to improve it! Maybe. Potentially. Change is hard. But we believe in you, more than we believe in ourselves.Ashe's article: https://shuddermtg.substack.com/p/how-bad-practice-can-make-you-worse-085Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
This week! We're joined again by Jesse Robkin to talk all things Modern and the upcoming NRG champs! Unfortunately not as much tierlist discussion as you might hope, but still a good episode.Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
There's drama afoot, and we're here to lightly acknowledge it and move along! Lukewarm takes abound as we take on a 24-hour spoiler season, Explorer Anthology 2, and a mechanic called checks notes "taking the initiative. Fun!Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
It's the start of the slow season for MTG so we're mostly goofing off! We scroll through some results, look at some decklists, joke about how unnecessarily grim Ichor Wellspring's flavor is. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
This week! A bit of RC chat followed by A LOT of new card discussion. Get out top 5s hot fresh and here!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
It's time for the first Regional Champs! We're going over all of Pioneer in anticipation of this weekend and CCR is sharing his thoughts after putting a ton of work into Phoenix. Listen to us on your drive down!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
'tis the season! Santa came (very) early this year for pioneer monogreen mages. We're going over the must-haves for your karn board just in time for regionals, and plenty of other new cards!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Preview season is upon us! From new artifacts for Karn boards to efficient removal to a LOT of soldiers, there's plenty of neat stuff already. Come check out the new cards with us!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
With Yorion banned, it's now Keruga's time to shine! Join us as we descend the next rung on the companion ladder. We're breaking down modern and pioneer in a classic MTG Grindcast goof-around.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Our good friend Alan took down a local RCQ with, you guessed it, Underworld Breach! We're chatting with him about the different builds of the deck, their places in the meta, and tips and tricks you can use to grind(ing station) through your own tournaments!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
The bird serpent is banned and, though we spend a fair bit of time this episode working through pioneer results, we spare a few words to remember he who will not really be missed, as well as a few other words for the companion mechanic as a whole.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
With RCQ season 1 all wrapped up, we're here with our thoughts--the good, the bad, and what we'd like to see in the future from paper organized play. And yes, we do talk about thousand dollar booster packs.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
RCQ Season 2 is just about to kick off! And if you're hopping on the grind we're here to help you get started. Whether you're playing sealed, standard, pioneer, or modern, we share how we prepare for weekend tournaments where, if you ain't first, you're last.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
It's our quarterly limited episode! CCR's been drafting too much DMU, so we've got plenty to talk about, even if all the decks are kind of the same. But sometimes you're five color spells, and other times you're five color creatures, and every once in a while you get to attack!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Rakdos is still here, and it's better than ever! We're going through the latest pioneer results and lists and talking about how we're approaching the format to start preparing for the upcoming Regional Championship.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
It's here! Our lengthy breakdown of all our favorite cards in the set for constructed, early enough that you can listen on your drive to work this morning! Don't forget to wish Lee a happy birthday!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Collins is back! (temporarily) Fresh off of an RCQ win of his own, he's here to talk Rhinos, Lutri, and some Dominaria United spoilers. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Previews are here! After the longest drought on record it's raining planeswalkers, painlands, and, uh, something else that starts with P. And we're here for it all! Come check it out with us.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We're qualified for the Regional Championship! And even with two set releases between now and then it's never too early to get to work. But you gotta be smart about it, and this week we go over what we can do to start building the baseline knowledge to be ready when the tournament comes around.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
CCR did it! He brought Living End to a first place finish at a local RCQ, and this week we're talking about the tournament, tournament organization generally, Magic30, and a million other things. Join us for a victory lap and a bunch of chill hangs.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Jarvis just took down an RCQ with 4c Delirium, and he's here to talk about his build, attacking the Modern format, and playing to the clock. We also fit in some old man reminiscing!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Our friend Nick just won an RCQ with modern's hottest new deck, and he's here to talk about maximizing your Archons, playing Wrenn and Six in a (gasp) 60 card deck, and the pleasures of a Dwarven Mine manabase.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
It's an all modern episode! We're coming off a weekend of playing and commentating modern tournaments and have plenty of thoughts to share on cascade decks, the power of ledger shredder, the shifting value of sideboard staples and more!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Ok, it's not an entirely Ledger Shredder-based show. But we do sing the praises of the bird who churns, along with its best friend Treasure Cruise, which took CCR to exactly one fewer match win than he was hoping for this weekend.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
It's episode 250! And we're not doing anything special, don't worry. We haven't checked in on pioneer since the ban, and with a couple local RCQs coming up this seemed like the right time to take a look at Magic's only delve-based format.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
It's almost time to start qualifying for Regionals! And we're a bit confused about how to go about doing that. From the Wizards Event Locator to our European friends' woes, we've got some bones to pick!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
It's MOCS time again! And Will Krueger was kind enough to join the cast to go over prepping modern and vintage cube (!!) for the highest stakes 8-man of the year. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
"The Modern metagame continues to show great playstyle diversity, with aggro, tempo, combo, control, and ramp all represented in the ten most played decks." So why don't I feel like playing modern? This week we're exploring the current format and why it's just...not all that fun, especially at the competitive level.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
We're getting a feel for Explorer! With no decklists available on any corner of the internet whatsoever, it's a bit of a crapshoot. But CCR's been deep in the queues, here to bring you the best (and only?) Explorer content around.
The last set championship is in the books, #wotc is trending on twitter, and we have some bones to pick. From Arena's inability to rebuild matches to WotC's less-than-stellar fan content policies, if you want to be mad about something this is the episode for you!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
We made Dom an offer he couldn't refuse, and he's joined us today to talk about his prep for the New Capenna Set Championship! Will historic ever get a new deck? Is three-color midrange the name of the game in standard? All your questions and more answered on this episode!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
CCR has been in the draft trenches because it's competitive limited season, baby! We've got all the takes on this hyper-aggressive, not-really-three-color format, including his subversive Cake/Soufflé theory of limited. Come draft with us!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
New Capenna is here! Since we missed a week, we're going over the Arena OP announcements and then wading into the midrange swamp of standard.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
The full set is here! We're counting down our favorite charms and ascendancies and pinstriped demons. Or counting up. Lists are weird! But we've got em.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Preview season, baby! We've got gangsters and limousines and prohibition and cool suits and maybe tommy guns? All kinds of stuff! And new cards to talk about!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
The Pro Tour is back, baby! Paper play, draft rounds, Deadmau5--what more could we ask for? Jarvis joins us as we break down our responses to the new organized play pyramid scheme, our hopes for it and our concerns.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
This week! We grabbed Jesse Robkin, (relatively) fresh off of her SCG Modern top 8 with Breach to talk to us about the deck. We go over matchups, sideboard choices, the history of the word "bear," all the important stuff!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Are we going to criticize the Arena economy for the first 45 minutes of this episode? Yes. Are we going to immediately segue into talking about the new Alchemy cards for the second 45 minutes of this episode? Also yes! But on the bright side it's a 90 minute episode!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
It's time to check in on modern! How are we doing without everyone's favorite cat nightmare? Was Death's Shadow perhaps too strong given that it still won the ptq after having its best card banned? Who can know!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
The Neon Dynasty set championship is coming up, so we grabbed our friend IAmActuallyLvl1 to tell us everything he knows about Alchemy and Historic. Which is, admittedly, maybe not as much as he'd like to. But we also talk about transitioning to tournament prep on Arena, spend some time praising the Zoomers, and generally get hype for this weekend.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Somehow we've never had Dom as a guest before, but he's here to talk with us for two hours about the present and future of competitive MtG content and coverage. We work though some tough truths and also engage in an inappropriate amount of gallows humor.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Week one of new standard and we've got a little bit of everything peeking its head out, from old favorites like Izzet and sacrifice, to brand new enchantment theme decks and gasp two-color aggro. We break down this weekend's results and work through all the neat decks and developments.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
The future is here! And in our dystopian timeline it's basically impossible to get decklists, so we've been in the trenches of watchin' streams to bring you all the NEW CARDS seeing play in various constructed formats. Are red cards back in standard? Is an Expressive Iteration deck...still really good? We don't really know! But we're doing our best.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
It's time for top 5s! How many do-nothing little artifacts and enchantments can we fit on our lists? A whole hell of a lot! Get our takes while they're hot, and before they're proven wrong!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Preview season is here! We're going over new planeswalkers, rat ninjas, hoverbikes and more in Magic's cyberpunk set. Do we know what formats we're evaluating the cards for? No! Do we let that stop us? Also no!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Full disclosure: we don't really talk all that much about Ragavan himself. But we spend plenty of time on the Standard bans, goofy Alchemy buffs, and the Modern no-bans, so there's lots of fun to be had!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
This week! We've brought in known Hammertime aficionado Will Krueger, aka Xwhale, to break down the deck and its place in the metagame. We talk about its matchups, different builds and card choices, and how to play with or against it. BONK
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
As the first episode in our Dexperts (Deckmasters? we're still workshopping the name) series, we pulled some strings and grabbed Connor Mullaly to break down the ins and outs of Pioneer Lotus Field, a powerful combo deck for magic's most recently un-abandoned format.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
We're talking SCG, Huey's hiring, Kamigawa, and the resurgence of Pioneer as a format. Happy New Year!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
It's a set review kind of thing! With VERY LITTLE complaining about Alchemy, we swear. It's mostly just jokes, and we think we're very funny.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Alchemy is here and it's...something. We're giving our takes on Magic's newest, digital-only format and, you know, kind of hoping we're wrong about it. But on the bright side CCR has cool gamer lighting in his office now!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Another fake PT, another format breakdown! Rumors of the demise of Alrund's epiphany seem to have been greatly exaggerated. With standard caught between the extremes of Izzet and Faceless Haven, can anything show up to split the difference? Plus we somehow manage to talk about historic, despite the complete lack of events and decklists. That's just our level of commitment to you.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
All the standard tournaments got cancelled because Arena is not a functional piece of software, so that means one thing: time to talk about modern! From Amulet's renaissance to UW control splashing Wren and Six, to the upcoming rise of Blood Moon, we've got all your modern info right here!
We're only a week in, but standard is...pretty good! Epiphany is fading into the margins and we can do weird grindy stuff like generating one vampire token per turn or sacrificing our clerics to pyre of heroes. Is this the standard season that will get Lee to register a BW dual land? Find out here!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
After a spookily short preview season we have the full spoiler for Crimson Vow, so you know what that means. Time for some top 5s! We're going over what we like in the set and crossing our fingers that we're not wildly wrong, lest we be held accountable and banned from creating magic the gathering content forevermore.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
We're back from Roanoke! For some, this was a wildly successful invitational weekend. For others, this was a wildly successful CubeCon. But we're back with stories to tell and, more importantly, Innistrad Crimson Vow spoilers!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We're back, baby! This episode's out a day early because we're traveling to the SCG Invitational, and we're talking about our deck choices, final sideboard slots, and what we're looking forward to eating over the weekend.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
CCR's been hard at work playing every version of Alrund's Epiphany there is, and he's here to share everything he's learned while prepping for the invi. From tips to keep from confusing your galvanic and expressive iterations to the role of Goldspan Dragon, we're going over every inch of this weird standard deck.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Yuta!!! One of the greatest tempo players of all time just took down worlds with a completely under-the-radar deck. Goldspan dragon is back, baby!
How kind of WotC to "accidentally" leak the Worlds decks just in time for us to record! We've been putting standard through its paces and we're ready to give our takes on the decks our players brought to the table in this exciting three deck metagame, featuring monogreen, epiphany, and other.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Get your scariest decks together, because the SCG Invi is on Halloween AND has a vaccine mandate. What a combo! We're going through our starting places in standard and modern, and how we're going to approach our prep for this big ol PAPER duel format tournament.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Midnight Hunt is heeeere! Eldraine is gone for good! We're talking standard, with a little sprinkling of draft because we can't help ourselves. But mostly standard!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
The Hunt is here! And Eldraine is gone! We go through our top 5s in each color from Magic's spookiest new set, celebrating how playable each card is in a world without Bonecrusher Giant or Emergent Ultimatum.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
It's spoiler season! Again! Time to look at some werewolves and some vampires and some zombies gah Innistrad is back, baby!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
This week we're checking in on Magic's online-est format to see how historic is starting to shape up with the new Jumpstart release. Is creativity too powerful for the format? Do tribal decks have a shot? All this and more (but the more is also magic the gathering related).
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
It's vintage this week, so we invited Jarvis over to give us an update on magic's goofiest format! But first we have to spend some time talking about the possibilities of Yakuza Moonfolk and whether WotC can pull of an anti-war story with The Brothers' War.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
There's nothing going on this week! So we've prepared a lovely mix of weekend modern anecdotes, cube thoughts, and listener questions! We'll be back with our hard hitting journalism next week, but for now just come vibe with us.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
How many sets can be spoiled at the same time? I think it's, like, a lot of sets. So many. And we're great at keeping track of them all!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Lee just top 8'd a paper modern tournament! And Jumpstart 2: Historic Boogaloo is going to make historic, uh, a lot like modern. So Lee will probably be great at that too!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We're hearthstone now baby! Conjuring, seeking, perpetually weeping: it's time to complain. Ok, we're actually pretty ok with this stuff, except for the distribution model. But what's a description without a little drama?
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Zach's here! And he's been back at it, testing a ton of paper modern so we thought we'd sit down with him ahead of this week's modern Manatraders tournament. This week we're talking through some of his favorite decks in the format, some unexplored strategies, and how to beat Hammertime!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We're back! And we're, uh, super excited about Dungeons and Dragons. Ok, that's not exactly true. But if you want to hear WHY we're not excited about Dungeons and Dragons, look no further than our constructed set review!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
This week! With paper magic finally returning we're looking at the format from a fresh perspective: how do you buy back into the format without throwing your money away? The format's been a minefield of bans and strategies that get left behind, so we want to help give you some confidence before you send in your order.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
This week! We're joined by special guest Sean Hunter to chat about all the nonsense that MH2 has brought to Modern and to Pauper. We laugh, we tell jokes, we complain about Organized Play. It's fun!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We've got a couple weekends of challenges to talk about and while Modern isn't exactly settling down, we're getting an idea of what's good enough and what isn't. Maybe you aren't supposed to play Urza's Saga in UW control. But maybe if you play Brainstone...
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Modern Horizons 2 is here! And we've got a full 3 hour episode talking about our top cards from the set, from free spells to lands that make free creatures to creatures that cast free spells. Don't miss this epic saga!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We've got a persistent preview schedule going and we're back with even more pitch elementals and weird artifact things and suspend versions of old broken cards (and we will not be talking about Faithless Salvaging).
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
It's Lee's favorite time of year: Modern Horizons spoiler season! We've got some bonkers stuff, some commander plants, and a wild and wacky future for modern.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
OP is dead. Long live OP. With the axing of the MPL system, the possibilities for competitive Magic's future have opened up. Are we optimistic? No! Are we going to fantasize about the system we'd like to see? Yes!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We've got preview cards for three different releases (ok Historic Anthology 97 doesn't really count but bear with us). From straight up Counterspell to the newest in busted artifact enablers there's something nutty for everyone here.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Ok, maybe that's a little optimistic. But we're taking a look at Modern today! Is Heliod still the best deck? Almost certainly yes. Is prowess still around. Also yes! But there's some fun details to catch up on, and even--gasp--an Orzhov deck or two!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Ok, we don't spend all that much time talking about Rogues in this episode but there's a good couple seconds where we can't for the life of us remember the name of Soaring Thought-Thief, so that's pretty good.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
CCR has been playing a ton of historic and the format is great, so we spend the first half of the episode going on about torrential gearhulk and archon of emeria. But then our legacy correspondent Jarvis Yu stops by to give us the scoop on legacy before Manatraders this weekend!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
It's an even split this time: 50% grumping about Magic Organized Play and 50% getting WICKED PUMPED for new Historic. We go over the archetypes we're excited for and the card choices we think will make the difference (especially in Phoenix!)
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Oh, huh, there's an entire set of standard-legel cards connected to the Mystical Archive. I guess we should take a look at those!
Is...is historic about to be fun? Who knows! But we're excited to try it. Before that, Lee and CCR share the benefits of their years of playing with janky cards through every format. We talk about what it'll take to make each of these cards good and try to figure out what they mean for the historic format.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Nick Price was kind enough to sit down with us and talk about his prep for the PT this weekend. Please don't cancel him for his love of Uro.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
We're here and we're ready to yell about/thoughtfully analyze all of JMM's decisions that led him to a MOCS title this weekend. And then we dive into some pioneer lists and try to find out what's what in that format and, of course, go over the weirdest places we've ever played magic.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Dylan stopped by just before he plays for 20 grand this weekend. The formats? Modern and Vintage Cube! We talk with him about prepping for an 8-man invitational and what it's going to be like playing cube for the highest stakes.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Mike Braverman's here! We pick his brain about standard after his recent Bash Bros tournament win and the MIQ weekend, and we chat about what we saw in this weekend's Manatraders modern tournament.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
We've been playing some modern, and we're here to share what we've found before the Manatraders modern tournament this weekend. What's the best lava dart deck? What's the best Omnath deck? What's the best, uh, Auriok Champion deck? We don't know! But we'll make some wild guesses.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Well, it took a solid year, but magic's most hated titan has finally been unprinted everywhere (except legacy). He took a bunch of friends with him on his way out, so we're talking about the future of all these formats and what the bans unlock.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Are you sick of cascading into spells that cost less than your cascade card? What if I told you, with one simple trick, you could be cascading into a seven drop and winning games of modern on turn two? You'd say that sounds like it would ruin the modern format. Well. Hmm. Ok, I don't really have a good response to that.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Winter has come, it's been a couple of days, and we've wasted no time! We break down our early takes on what's working and what isn't in standard, and start going deep on five color snow in draft. Bring a jacket!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Look, we tried to have a serious talk about what's going on in vintage magic. It's not our fault that every card reminds us of a story, and that it's literally impossible not to tell a story when you think of it. This was unavoidable.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
New stuff! It feels like nothing's been going on in magic for months and months, but now we've got a whole set dumped on us, and you know what that means! We're counting down our top 5s in each color, getting some stuff right, getting a lot of stuff wrong. Exciting stuff!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
It's finally preview season! We've waded through the spoilers to bring you only the frostiest and most refreshing of the lot. Here are the old gods of legend, powerful weapons, grand tales, and one big green guy from another plane that makes them all look like little babies.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Holy crap, Manatraders is gonna be Vintage this month. We don't know anything about Vintage! But if you thought that was going to stop us from talking about it you obviously don't know us very well.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
There's not a ton of magic going on right now, and with preview season still on the horizon we figured we'd do an end-of-year wrap up! All our favorites and least favorites of the year, from MTG stuff (eh) to Hades (woo!) Come hang out and ring in the new year!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Zach stopped by this week to give us the skinny on modern, including but not limited to how good running 8 crabs in your deck is. Plus we talk about his upcoming draft challenge, where he'll be racing against hall of famers and other magic luminaries to collect the most vintage cube trophies. Don't miss this one!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Well folks, we're never beating this one. From the Zendikar Rising Championship to pooping softballs, this episode has a little bit for everyone. Or, you know, the two main categories of people: Magic players and weirdos.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Is it a Pro Tour? Is it...something else? Who knows! But it's two formats and a bunch of good players, so we're taking a look at the standard and historic lists we've managed to pull off of twitter so far. Let's find out if Dimir Control is better than Rogues, if Gruul is truly dead, and whether the Troll King is going to rule standard this weekend!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
...ok so we don't actually have the answer to that question. But we are breaking down the format, the best decks, and our concerns with it now and going forward. Plus! A bit of legacy, the fairest format in the land, after this weekend's Manatraders tournament.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Kaladesh Remastered is here! We've been jamming artifact decks and Bomat Couriers in historic and are reporting back with our findings. Spoiler: Bomat Courier is really, really good. Plus we add our voices to the teetering pile of MOCS discussion!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We're checking on on Magic's Oko-est format in preparation for the Manatraders Legacy series this month!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Let's check in on everyone's favorite format that we barely get to play anymore! With various titans and four-armed elementals around it's become a format of heavy hitters, but there's still some play to it. We also take a look at Kaladesh remastered and speculate on how some old favorites will impact historic.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Unbelievable, we're like two weeks in and standard has more than one deck! In this celebratory episode we're going over the individual card choices you can make to customize the top decks in the meta depending on what you expect to play against. And we talk about video games!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Standard has become a race to be the biggest, grindiest deck possible--but watch out for rogues and those pesky aggro decks who like nothing better than punishing people for playing seven mana spells. The format's changing every half hour or so, but we go over strategic evaluations and matchup breakdowns to help give you the tools you need on any given day!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We got the bans that we asked for! And an extra one, just in case! What a deal! We're breaking down our new, super fair standard this week, and answering all your questions. Is Kroxa good? Yes. Should you play rogues? See question one. And more!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Here's a preview of our latest patron-only bonus episode! If you'd like to hear the full 2 hour episode (and all our monthly bonus episodes) head over to patreon.com/mtggrindcast and pledge at any tier. Thanks so much for your support!
Well, no, probably not. But the results are in from the first weekend post-Uro ban and they are...inconclusive. It's possible that Omnath isn't the only deck you're allowed to play, and that's something, right? We're taking a look at standard and even a little historic in the leadup to this weekend's Grand Finals!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Timecodes 5:30 Grand Finals 8:00 Standard/Uro Ban 11:00 Rakdos Midrange 19:35 Gruul 25:15 Scutate aside 26:45 Monowhite 32:30 Omnath decks 40:00 Monogreen vs Gruul 43:50 Rogues 50:00 Dimir and Grixis 56:00 Mill 1:02:00 Historic 1:12:30 BS’ing about Hades
All right, we got our ban. And...it's just Uro. But don't let an abandoned standard keep you from getting excited for, uh, mechanically unique The Walking Dead Secret Lair cards? Am I reading this right?
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Zendikar's not even out yet but new standard is in full swing, with one particular four color, four-armed elemental swinging harder than the rest. We also take a look at modern, the opposite format of current standard, where you can play damn near anything and have a shot.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
It's here! And you can't play it on arena yet for some reason so you might as well listen to the set review. We're going over our top 5 cards in each color, and trying to make not all of them MDFCs. And it's all complete with a surprise spooky ending!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Our first ever Patreon-exclusive episode is up, and we posted this teaser to let you know what you're missing out on. We go over sideboarding with linear decks, from combo decks to engine decks to aggro decks, with a healthy supply of examples from our own magic history. If you're not a patron yet, hopefully this is a good excuse to become one! Head over to patreon.com/mtggrindcast to listen to this episode and get sent some stuff!
With the first historic Mythic Invitational this weekend and some SCG historic lists to look at we break down Duel Decks: Goblins vs. Mayhem Devil. Er, the historic format. But mostly we talk about NEW CARDS!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
With approximately a dozen new sets on the horizon, we've got a ton to explore in this episode! From Jace shoes to Yargle secret lairs to, uh, actual spoilers for standard legal cards there's a little something for everyone here.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
This week! We're joined by legacy aficionado Anuraag Das, who's giving us the rundown on the format leading up to the Manatraders tournament this weekend. We're packing as many 2019-2020 cards as we can into this episode about Magic's (ostensibly) oldest format.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
This week! We're going a little off the beaten path and bringing you a Topic. Are you tired of your opponent countering all your spells, killing all your creatures, and reloading with some bonkers blue planeswalker? This week we're talking all about how to beat control. Sniffing out countermagic, taxing their mana, diversifying your threats, we've got a little of everything control mages hate.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
A week after one of the biggest ban announcements in magic history, and we're examining the wreckage left behind. Is Sultai midrange really unbeatable? I mean, realllly? Plus how the clock has been turned back on Pioneer, and we finally define what it means to have fun.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
In one of the biggest (and most surprising) ban announcements since Mirrodin, Standard, Historic, and Pioneer have all been turned on their heads. Is Uro going to loom over each of those formats? Uh, yes. The answer is yes. But there's other stuff that we talk about too!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
This week we're breaking down where Modern has gone post-Astrolabe ban, including the 5(!!) different colors of prowess decks that showed up in the Manatraders tournament. Plus we complain about standard and give our takes on Historic!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Astrolabe took a ban, and now Modern is wide open. Well, wide open-er. We've got goblins and titans and sprite dragons all making a bid for the top of the heap, and Lee and CCR are looking at their favorites.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
It's a new era! Lee's first episode as a host of the podcast, and we're talking about bans, cards that weren't banned, formats that Wizards has abandoned, and the big Organized Play announcement.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
It's kind of hard to believe, but this is Collins's last episode! We're talking about future plans, the work we've done and, because we don't want to get away from our roots, we're talking about Magic too.
Collins, it's been awesome. You will be missed.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
For the first time ever, CCR and Collins are digging into the Historic format. With the Lotus Box Invitational coming up we've got to have at least some idea of what the format's about, so we dig into some lists and prepare to get some matches in. Is the format Nexus v Gruul, or can we pull out some nuance?
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
M21 is here, and Chris and Collins are taking a look! How much will a set full of Baneslayers impact a meta full of Elspeth Conquers Death? Let's find out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We're in a gap week: two PTs last weekend, two PTs this weekend. What can we learn in the meantime? Well, Temur Rec is pretty good. Pretty really good. Is there any way to keep up?
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Zan is hanging out with us as he shares his prep for the PT--which he says will be defined by misinformation. Come get the scoop on standard and stick around for some m21 spoilers!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
That big announcement is here and it's a wild one! A couple of bans to standard and historic, and a companion nerf to every format. But is it enough?
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Big changes for Organized Play, some of them unavoidable, some of them...extremely avoidable. Lee and CCR sit down and talk over everything that's happened in this very full week.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Collins had to sit this one out so Lee joins CCR to talk modern in a world of...Rakdos prowess and Temur Scapeshift? Plus, bans! Arena opens! And our top recommendations for video games you should play!
We're catching up on all things Modern before the Lotus Box Modern tournament this weekend! Thrill as we recite all the Lurrus and Yorion decks, gasp as we mention that Ad Nauseum is good against burn. Ok but...there actually are a lot of different Lurrus decks and we don't know what that means.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
We're looking at the pioneer meta from the second tournament in Lotus Box League's Season 1, plus the Jeskai decks making standard treacherous for any midrange player. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
The Lotus Box League Pioneer tournament is next week, so we're breaking down all the Lurrus decks, all the Yorion decks and, uh, the one deck without a companion you can play. Come on, we're doing the best we can with what we've got.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
They're here. It's not all just some fever dream: companions have taken over every format as quickly as they've arrived. Look, we're not JUST complaining about them but a sober discussion about their incredible power level surely is worth having, right?
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Clocking in at over three hours, it's our Ikoria constructed set review! We go over all the monsters, all the mutations, and more! You've got plenty of time to kill, so let us into your earholes for an afternoon.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Niv Mizzet is (apparently) in control of modern, and other monsters are running rampant in Ikoria! TONS of spoilers to talk about on this episode, so come check them out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Lotus Box League is a whole series now, and the Grindcast (and Jeremy) is doing coverage! Chris and Collins break down the tournament from a coverage perpsective, then go over what we've been working on in standard, modern, and pioneer.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We're stuck inside, with no tournaments to play in or watch, so there's only one thing to be done: run our own! We're talking about the first Lotus Box Patreon Championship and what it's like playing in and doing commentary for an all-online tournament. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Magic, along with...everything else in the world has been disrupted. But there's no reason we can't keep talking about it! And maybe even run an online tournament or two?
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
No bans! Well, not in Pioneer at least. We're looking at what the bans will do to modern, and then spending our time talking about the handful of decks we would play in Pioneer. This episode may or may not have been recorded before Baltimore was canceled.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Abe and Collins have been working hard to figure out if this Breach deck is the real deal, just in time for Regionals! There's something there, but is it ready for primetime? Plus we're talking about all the rest of the format's bogeymen, and wildly speculating about next week's bans!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Add one more top 8 to Collins's portfolio, this time with a deck he tried his hardest not to play. But Dimir Inverter's just the best you can do in Pioneer, at least for the moment. Plus! We're getting back to modern as we prep for SCG Regionals.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
The first e-sports World Championships are all finished up, and it's hard to imagine a more deserving champion. Chris and Collins are talking about the whole thing: the decks, the spectacle, the tournament structure, and we've got no shortage of opinions. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Collins is back from PT Phoenix! He didn't quite win the whole thing, but he did day 2 and he's back with stories from the trenches of the first US Player's Tour. Come hang out as we break down the latest pioneer tech!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Collins is q'd and he's been working hard on pioneer, so he sits down to educate CCR (and you!) on the ins and outs of the format after its first weekend on the big stage. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
It was a true ordeal, but we're here with a full constructed set review of Theros Beyond Death! Breaking down all the cards in all the formats, we promise that this episode is educational AND enchanting.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Oko is banned from modern, and he took some friends with him! This week we're joined by Mox Opal aficionado Lee McLeod as we go over what these huge bans mean for the modern format going forward. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
This week we're breaking down all the strongest strategies for winning in modern, which include +2'ing Oko, +1'ing Oko, and -5'ing Oko. Join us for our hard-hitting analysis, and maybe even a Theros preview or two!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
It's the new year! But still the same old modern, with Urza at the top of the heap. We're talking mirrors, emry vs coatl, and even a bunch of new (and extremely noteworthy) Theros spoilers. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Collins is fresh off the PC, and we're joined by Zach Allen to give a non-LotusBox perspective on the tournament and testing process. Lots of inside looks at the biggest little tournament of the year. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Decks are submitted, which means that Collins is free to talk about his PC testing! Come hang out as we talk about how the lotus boys prepared for the biggest/smallest tournament of the year.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
ZAN WON PLAYER OF THE YEAR!! And unfortunately he can't share much in the way of insights on the PC formats. But he joins us to talk all about the PC race, Team LotusBox's evolution over the past year, and what he's excited about for Pioneer now that everything's banned. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Since Collins's PC prep is hush-hush, we figured we'd do a mailbag episode! We cover everything from Collins-sized geese to smoochable planeswalkers. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Collins did it! After a long, hard-fought year he's secured his spot in the SCG Players' Championship. This week we're talking about the Invi, locking in that spot, and what we're looking at in all the PC formats that have just gone through HEAVY bans.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We're working really hard on pioneer! And...not totally forgetting modern. The invitational is tomorrow so we're bringing you everything we've learned in the run up to the biggest pioneer tournament yet!
They warned us, and they weren't kidding! A whirlwind week, as we get Pioneer for the invitational, and then a swift ban of its two best decks. We're breaking down what's been working for us and what's been whiffing in Magic's shiniest new format. Come hang out!
The boys really did it this time, breaking modern in half by playing just a boatload of standard cards. Lotus Box put 4 players into the top 8 at SCG Atlanta, and Collins made the finals! So we're talking about the Urza deck that got them there, and then we're not able to help ourselves and switch gears to Pioneer. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Well, that was a hell of an announcement, wasn't it? Wizards of the Coast went out of their way to keep us from having to play historic, and we're here with all the wild speculation and hot takes we can muster up. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Just a week into Throne of Eldraine and we're playing Oko in...every deck. In every format. Is he the best planeswalker ever printed? Time will tell, but for now he'll likely be the most ubiquitous. We also talk a bit about CCR's run to mythic with standard reanimator, and how to goose modern. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
The field at SCG Philly was full of the dead, so we're breaking down what's working and what isn't in a Golos-dominated standard. Plus, how about this Mox Opal-dominated Modern? Magic's two biggest formats have two clear best decks, and we're breaking down how we see this playing out. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Whew, time for a normal episode! Throne of Eldraine has, of course, massively shaken up Standard but it's also having some immediate impact on Modern! We check out the latest iterations of Mox Opal decks and go over just how much standard has progressed in the checks watch two days the set has been on Arena. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
It's finally here! On this giant-sized episode, Lee McLeod joins us to go over all the fantastic new cards from Throne of Eldraine. Along the way we crush some bones, lurk in some lochs and, uh, quest some beasts. Come hang out!
Standard rotation's coming and (as always these days) it's a doozy! Come hang out as we go over all our favorites and not-so-favorites leaving standard and the competitive spotlight forever. This is entirely for the benefit of evaluating future standard and not at all so we can wax nostalgic. Trust us!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
We've been working hard to break legacy in half and we're here to report the latest on delver, decks that lose to delver, and slow decks that ostensibly beat delver but probably don't. Plus! Hella Throne of Eldraine spoilers.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
That's top 8 number ten for Collins! Doing it as god intended, by playing burn in Dallas. This week we're talking about that tournament, our new and improved modern format, and even a couple Thrones of Eldraine Spoilers. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Holy crap, they really did it. Not only is Hogaak banned, but Faithless Looting is out and Stoneforge Mystic is in. What's in store for Magic's most reliably broken format? Are we talking fair fights galore? Or do we just need to look for new ways to cheat now that our graveyards are empty? Come find out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Collins, Lee, and Jeremy top 8'd SCG Richmond, so we had to get the whole team to sit down for some quality time. Come hang out for a sweet episode jam packed full of standard, modern, legacy, and tournament stories galore!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Holy crap, is this a legacy episode? We've both been grinding away at magic's most expensive competitive format and have come away with some surprising answers. Come hang out as we delve into this one!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Every once in a while our Patreon questions start to pile up, and rather than letting such a valuable resource go to waste we save them up for a quiet week with no major tournaments on the horizon. And that's this week! We're diving deep into some overarching questions of Magic strategy, giving our takes on breaking metas, building decks, and how best to improve your game for the long term. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Well, here we are. Again. The most heavily played card at MC Barcelona? Leyline of the Void, and it wasn't particularly close. This week we're talking about how to deal with our new (old) graveyard overlord, what the modern hellscape will look like for the next few weeks, and the best way to exploit Hogaak to get an edge in legacy. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We had quite a weekend at SCG Philly! We got lost in a mall, and then CCR got lost playing Urza to an almost-top-8 at the classic. Collins DID top 8 the standard classic but who really cares about that? Let's talk some mox opals, some ichor wellsprings, and ok maybe a little standard and modern.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
With SCG Worcester finished up, we have at least an idea of what the standard meta is looking like. With Risen Reefs and Nexuses of Fate galore, this is a powerful format. You need to be doing something powerful to keep up... maybe seven power?
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
It's here! We made it through 3.5 hours of set review to bring you only the best of "I don't think this can keep up with what the elementals deck is doing" over and over again. Ok, maybe slightly more interesting than that. Come see what we think of M20!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Holy hell, Jeremy won an open! He comes and hangs out with Chris and Collins as we talk about Hogaak, modern bans, and even a bit of theology. Don't miss this one!
Holy crap, we finally made it! 100 episodes in and still going strong. This week we're talking about new patreon rewards, Hogaak's impact on modern, and three mana 7/6's. Come hang out!
Just in time for M20 spoilers, we're finally going over Modern Horizons! Lee comes and hangs out with Chris and Collins to go over their top 8 picks from the new set. Thrill at our car-by-card analyses, most of which include the phrase "once they ban something from Hogaak..." Exciting times!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
The first half of the year is behind us, and the Season 1 points leader is here to chat with us about the standard, the Invi, and his journey to the Players' Championship. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Not Gruul? Then we have to smash. But before we get to the smashing, how about a nuanced discussion about privilege and need within the mtg community? But don't worry, we spend plenty of time talking about smashing.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We've got a mixed bag today! Chris and Collins go over their standard and modern prep for the Invitational, SCG Louisville results, and a whole bucket full of Modern Horizons spoilers. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
The Grindcast has been bested. Our roommates caught wind of our sick finishes at SCG Richmond and, quite literally, one-upped us with first place finishes in the open and the modern classic. Zan's here to give us the lowdown on Jeskai walkers, and Jeremy has the latest on running four Narsets in Modern. Plus! Modern Horizon spoilers.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
This week, Chris and Collins are talking about a small announcement or two out of Organized play. You know, little things like GerryT quitting the MPL, new MPL members, diversity invitations to Arena Mythic Championships. That sort of little thing.
Plus! Standard: so many planeswalkers, so little time. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Fresh off of simultaneous second place finishes at SCG Richmond, CCR and Collins have plenty of week one standard to talk about. Is monored the deck to beat? Is bant midrange the real deal? Why couldn't either of us have won just one more match? All these burning questions and more on this week's episode!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
It's here! Chris and Collins have been playing some week 0 standard and they're gonna share everything they know about it with you--even if most of what they know is that Nexus is looking real, real nice with Tamiyo. Plus, London mulligan thoughts and a look at the mythic championship this past weekend. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Whew, this one's a monster! But we've finally wrapped up our constructed set review. Our throats are a little sorer, CCR's pockets are a little lighter, and now we know exactly how the standard meta is going to shape up. Or, you know, something like that.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We're doing it live! Join CCR and Collins as we go over the white, blue, and black cards of War of the Spark--and CCR puts his money where his mouth is as he places his preorders live, with clicks and keypresses and all captured for the full experience. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Modern results are in, and Esper Control is the hottest new deck that's sure to break modern in half. Or, maybe, put a dent in some of Izzet Phoenix's numbers. Who knows! Plus an army of new WAR spoilers, some of which are bound to spark your imagination. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
War of the Spark spoilers are finally here! CCR and Collins take a look at some of the coolest stuff spoiled so far, but not before giving our takes on maybe the most important magic tournament of all time. Strap yourselves in, because we've got Opinions and we're about to share 'em!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Lotus Box team captain Zan Syed joins us this week, fresh off of a top 8 at SCG Cincinnati! We chat about his deck choice methodology, team tournaments, going to time, and even find a few minutes to hear about best of one. Don't miss it!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
So, you're playing against Phoenix. And you're losing, a lot. Even though you're bringing in all these hate cards! What gives! Well, Collins and CCR are here to talk about what works and what doesn't against Modern's hottest deck. Plus! A spicy standard list that CCR hopes to take to the top 8 of SCG Cincinnati.
SCG Regionals was this past weekend, with UR Phoenix claiming a whopping EIGHTEEN top 8 slots in ten tournaments. Are we looking at another imminent ban? Is the modern format beyond saving? Is Ensnaring Bridge the new hero of the format? All this and more!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
This week! Collins and CCR take a critical look at modern, Modern Horizons, and what we can expect for the future of magic's most popular format. Is modern healthy? Can it be fixed? Or is it collapsing under its own weight? Find out here!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Autumn Burchett absolutely smashed MC Cleveland, and we're here to pick up the pieces. What did we learn from the first ever mythic championship? Has Sultai been unplayable all along? Are merfolk the hidden gem of the format?
Plus! Modern discussion, including updates to the restore balance deck and of course the new mulligan rule for MC London. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Finally, the organized play announcement we've all been waiting for! Chris and Collins break down all the news about how to qualify for paper and digital Mythic Championships. Plus! An update on modern, including a sweet new deck that just might restore balance to a format dominated by faithless looting. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Monoblue tempo crushed it at SCG DFW, and we...did not call it. We check out the latest standard developments before moving on to a breakdown of what's been happening in modern. Is Phoenix broken now that KCI is banned? Is Death's Shadow really where we want to be? All this and more!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Fresh off of SCG Baltimore, standard is moving and grooving, heading towards the grindiest meta we've seen in ages. Is monoblue really the best deck to pick on these builds, or is everyone just fooling themselves? Plus! We talk some legacy and give our takes on the Mythic Invitational.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Week one of Ravnica Allegiance standard is behind us, and boy have we got a jellyfish hydra beast for you. Sultai looks to be the early leader behind the flying, card drawing, life gaining machine, but plenty of other strategies are making their mark early on in the format. Come find out what we've learned so far!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Ravnica Allegiance is here! And the Lotusboxers Zan Syed and Jeremy Bertarioni have dropped by to share everything they've learned from relentlessly jamming new standard. Is Turbofog unbeatable? Is Judith the scourge of the new format? Find out on this extra special episode!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Ravnica Allegiance is here and it's...hoo boy is this a set. From four mana enchantments that double your mana to the best Blood Artist we've ever seen, join CCR, Lee McLeod and Collins Mullen as we go over all the big hitters of Magic's newest and (at least temporarily) sweetest set.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
We're back from SCG Columbus! Collins missed out on Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace but he's still got stories to tell, and cases to make for why KCI should be banned in modern. Plus! Tons of new Ravnica Allegiance cards and we promise we're not going to just talk about the Simic ones. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
The mail's here! And Chris and Collins sit down together to answer all your burning questions, from our favorite standard decks of all time to our happiest Magic memory to whether or not we're into pineapple on pizza, we're spilling all the tea on our first ever mailbag episode!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
This week we've got Matt Nelson of Mox Insights here to talk about the future of Magic data analytics! They've broken down GP Atlanta and now we've got their GP Portland data to pore over. Plus! Some hot new Ravnica Allegiance spoilers to argue about. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We made it out of Roanoke alive! And we brought stories! CCR and Collins are joined by honorary third member of the Grindcast (and cube championship participant) Lee McLeod to break down everything that happened over this past snowy invitational weekend, from 10 thousand dollar cube drafts to the 10 million dollar pro tour--excuse me, mythic championships.
Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
SCGCon is this weekend, and Chris and Collins are both making the trip up to Roanoke! Whether you're in the main event or grinding some cube qualifiers all weekend long, we dive into standard and modern in our attempts to answer the question at the heart of magic: is Crackling Drake the best creature in every format?
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Whether you love the format or you're furious about it, you're probably playing it this weekend! Chris and Collins have the lowdown on the current state of modern, from a look at the breakdown of decks played at GP Atlanta to what we've been seeing online in the comp leagues. If you're playing Magic this weekend, you'll probably want to come hang out.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Chris and Collins faced off in probably the single most important match of Magic the Gathering this year. While Collins did walk away with the victory and the rptq invite, there's still plenty of standard that's still up in the air. Join us for an extra special Thanksgiving episode, since you're probably not standing up for a couple hours anyway.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
The pro tour results are in, and white weenie is clearly the best deck in Standard...right? We break down everything we learned from Pro Tour Guilds of Ravnica and the info we're going to use to attack the format going forward. If you're playing a pptq or standard showdown in the next couple weeks, don't miss this one!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Despite the looming Pro Tour next week, CCR and Collins are deep in the heart of modern season. With SCG Regionals on the horizon, it's time to get serious and break down just where we are in the modern meta. Is Creeping Chill still busted? Or maybe we should rely on lands that make too much mana this weekend? Come find out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Fresh off her second top 8 open finish at SCG Charlotte, we sit down with the Mean Valakut Girl herself to get her take on the modern meta, the power of primeval titan, and the rewards of specializing in a single archetype. This episode was super fun to record, so hopefully you enjoy it as much as we did.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Creeping Chill is giving Dredge a whole new lease on death in Modern! After breaking out at SCG Dallas are we going to see the graveyard deck dominate in Charlotte? Or will an uptick in hate be enough to contain the format's newest menace? Come get our thoughts this episode!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We've been sidetracked by standard for the past couple of episodes, but with two modern opens and a modern GP just on the horizon, it's time to get back to Magic's most popular format! Sure, we talk about standard Golgari for a bit but tune in for our thoughts on Storm, Burn, Creeping Chill, and all the rest of those non-rotating standouts. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music
Fresh off of his team's second place finish at SCG Columbus, Collins is here to talk about the tournament, Guilds of Ravnica Standard, and the recent SCG Tour and Organized Play announcements. From March of the Multitudes to Magic Fests, we've got a lot to cover this week, so come hang out!
They're here! Week 0 standard decks are here! We've been brewing, we've been playing, and we're bringing you all the latest of this experimental frenzy. Is monogreen stompy the deck to beat? Or is tribal angels perhaps going to be the new format bogeyman? Find out on this week's episode!
The Magic: the Gathering World Championship was this weekend as you may...or may not... have known. With GerryT choosing to sit this one out in protest of WotC's treatment of pro players and organized play, we've got Serious Thoughts about what this means for Magic. Plus! Collins played some big colorless monsters this weekend and CCR goes into his European experience. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
CCR is back from Germany, just in time to review the hottest new set around. Whether you're excited about hyper aggressive Boros builds or the most value heavy Golgari deck this side of an EDH table, Guilds of Ravnica has something for you--and we're going through all the constructed hopefuls. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
We've got some new spoilers! But really only one of them matters right now, when you get down to it. Is it vindicate? Is it abrupt decay? Assassin's Trophy is set to make an impact on every format, and we go along for the ride.
This week! We're talking GP Reid Duke and how totally rad coverage was this past weekend. Slightly less importantly: we've got Guilds of Ravnica Spoilers! And since spoiler season is starting we're going to take some time to talk about the cards that are leaving the format, what holes we're trying to fill, and what we're looking for in spoiled cards.
Come hang out!
Modern's moving faster than ever! With GP Prague and SCG Baltimore behind us we've got some new decks taking over the top tier of the metagame--are UW control, spirits, and hardened scales here to stay? And what's the deal with Vengevine? Plus we talk about making mistakes and how to respond to them. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
A different kind of episode this week. We'll pick back up with your regularly scheduled hard-hitting metagame analyses next week, but this week we wanted to hit pause and talk about some of the stuff going on around the gamec, including cheating, the hall of fame, and some of the other issues that have engrossed the Magic community. Then, Collins shares a little of the story of his own Magic journey, and what the future holds for him.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Fasten your seatbelts and harden your scales, because standard and modern are moving quick! But we're here to break the formats down and take a look at the latest tech popping up in tournaments all over the physical and digital realms. Plus: what to do when you feel like your metagame calls keep falling short, even while other people seem to succeed again and again.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Pro Tour 25th Anniversary is in the books, and the pros put on a bit of a show for us! From Turbofog to turbo street wraiths, and some Vengevines thrown into the mix (looks like Collins was right) we're breaking apart all the action from this weekend and trying to figure out what the heck CCR is going to play at GP Brussels this weekend. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
SCG Indy is over and done, and brought some huge changes to the modern format! So this week we're talking Militia Bugler, Wizard's Lightning, and Drogskol Captain. Plus we settle once and for all whether Jeskai Control is unplayable in Modern. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
This week we're talking two maindeck cards that completely transform tough matchups: Vine Mare in monogreen and Militia Bugler in modern humans. Plus looks at the latest in standard and modern and thoughts on when not to make the intuitive play. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
CCR managed to top 8 the MODO ptq this weekend with standard's hottest deck: Steel Leaf Stompy! Chris and Collins talk about its place in the meta and how to attack standard. Plus! Week one legacy results are in and we take a look at how everyone's getting along without their favorite mana elf and free peek. Come hang out!
Friend of the show Zan Syed took down SCG Atlanta with Infect, so we had to get him on! We talk tournament prep, from brewing strategies to learning new decks, dealing with disappointment, and what's next for team Lotus Box. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Man, have we got some stuff to talk about today! From WotC's great decision to ban Gitaxian Probe and Deathrite Shaman, to WotC's questionable decision to invite Hearthstone streamers to an 8-man with 150k in prizes, this has been a busy week. Plus, we talk some modern, especially infect of both the BG and UG varieties. Don't miss out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
M19 is all spoiled up, so you know what that means: Chris and Collins have a full constructed set review in one mega 3 hour episode! Find out which dragons and angels are going to take over standard, and which amulets you should refrain from putting into your modern sideboard. Grab a snack, get comfy, and let's review some cards!
Modern is getting fast. Real real fast. And Matt Nass is really, really good at going fast (is it the basketball shorts?) Join Chris and Collins this week as they talk Modern, including one particular hard working deck, Dominaria spoilers, and all the news to come out of the big GP Vegas weekend. Come hang out!
SCGCon is in the books, and we're seeing some movement in both the invitational formats. Is chainwhirler's grip on the format starting to loosen? Can you play literally anything you want in modern? And what is the deal with this buy-a-box promo? Find out on this episode!
...or, at least, how to try to beat it. With PT Dominaria in the books, standard has a new semi-psychotic overlord. Have his decrees made 1 toughness creatures completely unplayable? Are Chris and Collins trying to find a way to beat the three mana goblin, or are we just living in a chain whirled? Find out on this episode!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Pro Tour Dominaria is almost here! To prepare you for your viewing experience, Chris and Collins break down the pillars of Standard as they stand going into the tournament. From Monored to no-win-con UW control, and all the sizes of BR aggro in between we look at the basics of the format and the latest developments. Plus a quick runthrough of the draft format to help get you as hype as we are.
Teferi is making himself known in both standard and modern, drawing cards, exiling permanents, untapping lands and even serving as a mind-numbing win condition. We take a look at last week's modern results and the rapidly evolving standard landscape, bringing you an up to the minute look at both metas. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
CCR is back from GP Birmingham where he tells the story of barely squeaking into top 64 with...not the right deck for the weekend. Plus Collins shares how he's trying to break back into modern with a deck you might not expect (unless you look at the thumbnail for this episode). Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Fresh off of yet another Team Open top 8, Collins gives us the inside scoop on that Lotus Box build of WB that absolutely dominated this past weekend. Plus we talk about the slightly oxymoronic Slow Turbo Depths that Jody Keith played next to him all weekend and that CCR's about to take to a title in Birmingham. Come hang out!
As always, thanks to Wave Sunray for our music.
And it's live! Queues are firing and top 8s are battling, and the new cards are Domin-ating standard. The color white and UW control in particular look to be early winners. But they're beatable! Come hang out for our scintillating week 1 standard episode, and leave smarter than you started. Or. At least, with a little more knowledge about standard. Same thing, right?
It's complete! Our monster constructed set review of Dominaria is all done. Come hang out and find out who's the best planeswalker in the set, who's whirling the most chains, and how many elves it takes to make a Llanowar elves. Ok, so maybe that last mystery is too tough even for us but we do tackle the constructed prospects card by card. Give us a listen!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
It's here! The Dominaria spoiler is complete, so Chris and Collins are here to tackle it card by card. For Dominara we're trying a 2-part set review, entirely because the set is really sweet and not at all because we tend to ramble on and on about cool new cards. So sit back, relax, and let us tell you what cards are great and what cards are...speculative.
Friend of the show Daniel Duterte ran the tables at GP Seattle, his only loss coming in the form of a concession to Steve Rubin in Round 15 so he could eat a crepe. We were lucky enough to snag him for an episode, where he talks tournament prep, getting into legacy, and how he fits Magic into his life. Come hang out, and maybe pick up a couple of Grixis Delver tricks and lunch strategy along the way!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Player interaction is one aspect of tournament play that sometimes gets pushed to the side in favor of metgame analysis and sideboard choices. But it's something we do every single match, and our choices in how we approach judge calls, die rolls, and communication with our opponents can affect the way your tournament plays out as well as your place in the community. This episode is definitely an oddball, so buckle up and enjoy!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Collins is fresh off of his third Team Open top 8, and we've got plenty to talk about! From being carried to the elimination rounds by 15-year-old Austin Collins, to the latest on MTGArena, to CCR's first tentative forays into legacy, there's something here for everyone!
Oh yeah, and we talk about a bunch of rad new Dominaria cards too!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Humans are on top of the heap again, winning GP Phoenix and taking a whopping 5 spots in the top 32. So this week we're talking modern, talking humans, talking Yisan the Wanderer Bard. Plus some MTG Arena talk and other news from around the ol' discussion sphere.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
We've got your post-unban modern here! Jund and Tron are out and about, though the SCG Dallas top 8 had some weirdos for sure! Chris and Collins break down the latest developments in that format and then dive into some Dominaria spoilers!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.
Find us at mtggrindcast.com
It's been a big weekend! Butakov won the MOCS as well as our hearts and, perhaps more relevant to the show, we've launched our Patreon and website! So, just how afraid of Jund and Bogles do you have to be? And can it be right to run no removal spells in your standard deck? Come hang out as we explore all these questions and more.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
GP Memphis is in the books, finally giving us a window into the post-ban standard format. Come hang out as we celebrate the existence of a real standard metagame with a breakdown of the cards and strategies you need to look out for. The night is dark and full of Vraska's Contempts, Torrential Gearhulks, and Scarab Gods, but we've got your back!
It's a brave new world! Chris and Collins break down all the recent developments in post-ban Standard and post-unban Modern. The Jacepocalypse hasn't come around quite yet...but is it coming? Let's find out together!
Music by Wave Sunray
For Coaching by Collins (R)(TM): calendly.com/collinsmullen
Everyone's got an opinion on the Jace unban but we...we've got two! Chris and Collins break down how this unban looks and unpack the possible implications on the format. Come hang out and get salty with us!
Collins is back from his first pro tour! While he didn't take it down, he's got some stories to share and we take a look at what's going on in modern now that the dust has settled a little bit. Come hang out!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music: https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
Our friends can't stop crushing these team events! Lucas Michaels, Jeremy Henry, and William Lo come hang out on the cast this week to talk about what it's like to win a team open while not wearing jerseys. Come join us!
Jon Rosum, Julian John, and Kevin King crushed the team open this past weekend and dropped by to hang out! This episode's got a little bit of everything, from missed triggers to mardu vehicles and even some inside information on dueling Marit Lages. Come hang out!
Chris Vincent's article on winning Axion Now's Mega Modern event with Humans: http://www.masterofmagics.co.uk/articles/having-faith-in-humanity-even-if-you-dont-win-pptqs-axion-now-mega-modern-070118/
Thanks to Wave Sunray for our music: https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
Oh no! All those cards in our standard decks got banned. Today Chris and Collins take a look at those bans and how the new standard format just might play out. Plus, we've been jamming the new limited format in preparation for some upcoming Grand Prix and we share what we've learned.
Our first ever full set review! Get a drink, fix yourself a snack, and put in your comfiest earbuds because this episode is a 3 hour monster. We go over every card we think will have a constructed impact and a bunch that...probably won't. Are merfolk real? Arrrrr the pirates seaworthy? Find out here!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
New year, new episode! With the December lull finally over it's time to talk Modern in preparation for SCG Columbus. Plus, Rivals of Ixalan is looking spicier than expected, so join us for some hot takes on the spoilers so far. Finally, is Standard dead? Starcity Games seems to think so, so we throw in our two cents.
After a couple of rad guests, CCR and Collins return to their roots: chatting about the Magical ideas that have been buzzing around their heads lately. This week: have you noticed that you play looser when you're ahead? That's percentage points that are ripe to be regained. We talk about how to do that: how to think about the game when you're ahead and how to start improving your decisions. Plus, some other Magic theory may or may not creep in at the edges. Come hang out!
We're back this week with a pleasantly accented guest! Stephen Murray's played in nearly every World Magic Cup and has top 8'd twice but, most importantly, has held the title of Scottish National Champion for over a decade. He's here to fill us in on tournament prep, team ratings (spoiler, Japan is a Crush of Wurms) and playing Magic in Europe. Find more of him at @jechtmurray!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
Collins and Chris have known Rio for a minute, but this weekend he stepped into the limelight by becoming the youngest person to ever top 8 a Starcity Invitational! We spend this episode chatting with him about the tournament, what a 13-year-old does with 3 grand (hint, it includes buying more magic cards), and where he's going from here. Come hang out!
Collins is all prepped for the invitational! We go over his updates to modern humans (wait, is that a spoiler) as well as the strategy he's banking on to break the Temur mirror. Come hang out!
Modern episode! Ok, Collins's team made top 8 with him playing standard so we can't help talking about that for a little while, but the invitational's coming up so modern is back on the table. The meta's making some interesting shifts and reacting to humans, so we talk about where we want to be, and even philosophize a little about ways to be a good modern player. Plus! Black dinosaurs and multicolored fliplands: Rivals of Ixalan spoilers are starting!
With results from three GPs this weekend standard keeps chugging along, and we've got your ticket to ride. Whether your destination is energy, monored, tokens, energy, control, or energy, we're here to make sure you get where you want to go. Plus! Chris gets Collins to dish on what it's like being a grinder on the rise--or has he graduated to pro-in-the-making? Find out this week!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
So, somehow Collins did it again, winning his SCG Regionals and an IQ in the same weekend and, uh, going undefeated. For anyone who's not tired of him winning, hear about the latest changes to Humans from the man himself, plus all the secrets to not dropping a match in three tournaments. PLUS, apparently there was a Pro Tour this weekend as well! We break down the decks and the standard format after PT Ixalan, just in time for Grand Prix Atlanta. Come hang out!
Collins spikes Cincinnati, and he does it in style! Undefeated on the weekend with a mostly brand new 5 color humans deck featuring more Ixalan cards than most standard lists. Come hang out with us as we break down the deck, the card choices (including 0 Collected Company!) and where to go with the deck from here.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music: https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
This week on the Grindcast: Collins is fresh off of a deep run at nationals, missing out on top 8 only because of a very prepared Gerry T. We talk about his run, his deck choice, and his draft philosophy, both as applied to Ixalan and to Magic Limited in General. Tune in!
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!
So, standard's only three decks now, right? Don't bet on it, friends! On this episode we talk worlds and what we're excited to play at Nationals this weekend. Plus, Collins lets us in on a bit of a project he's got going in modern.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music: https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
Chris's trip to Germany delayed the upload of this episode a bit, but we swear his Peach Garden Oath prediction was made well before Huey's run even began. Popeye, pirates, and new standard on this episode of the Grindcast!
Ixalan is finally here! And we've braved the depths of Magic Online to bring you only the finest in standard metagame updates and limited analysis. Is Ixalan "the worst limited format of all time?" Uh, no, probably not. Are dinosaurs rampaging through standard? Find out on this weeks's episode! Thanks to Wave Sunray for our music:https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
With Ixalan's release right around the corner, it's time to take an in-depth look at what's leaving standard and what we expect to see in the new format. Will it be all monored all the time? Or do the tribes of Ixalan have something in store for us? Plus we talk a little modern, including Goryo's Deathvine, which is an actual deck of Magic: the Gathering cards and not just a bunch of words strung together.
Thanks to Wave Sunray for our music: https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
It's been a busy week for Magic: the Gathering, and Chris and Collins are here with the hottest of hot takes on MTG Arena, the now-spoiled Iconic Masters, and some dope reprints and other spoilers from Ixalan. Listen up for literally all the info you need about these things. You do not need information from any other source. Only us.
Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music: https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
Collins ramped his way to (near) victory in DC this weekend! On this episode we talked about the deck and the innovative sideboarding strategy that got him to the GP DC Finals, as well as the evolution of his understanding of the game that's helped get him to this point. PLUS Lightning Strike and some other cool cards from Ixalan! Thanks to Wave Sunray for our music: https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
Chris and Collins are back! After a brief hiatus to grind some trails in the mountains, it's time for standard, modern, and way, way more importantly: Ixalan spoilers! We got pirates, we got feathery dinosaurs, what more could you want? Put us in your ears!
Thanks to Wave Sunray for our intro music: https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
Join us for a very special episode of the Grindcast, with celebrity guest Jonathan Rosum. Jon teaches us some very important lessons about love, life, and picking your spot with Jeskai Geist. Plus! We explore this weekend's insane top 8s, standard's godly new tech, and Collins reveals a deep, dark secret. Thanks to Wave Sunray for our music: https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
Here's Episode 6, full of hot takes and molten pinnacles. Collins took the Valakut deck from last week to an exactly 17th place finish at Syracuse, so we talk about his weekend, his matchups, and what changes he's going to make to the list going forward. Plus, modern and standard metagame updates and a look at some sweet new cats that may (or may not) be making the cut in a Death and Taxes list near you. Thanks to Wave Sunray for our music: https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
Episode 5 is here! Join Chris and Collins as we talk PT HOU/PT monored and how we'd attack this hasty format we've found ourselves in. PLUS Collins has a spicy new modern brew for SCG Syracuse, and we talk about two important, and maybe even related, concepts: feelings and cheating. Thanks to Wave Sunray for our intro music: https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
Welcome to episode 4 of the Grindcast, the spikiest podcast in all of central North Carolina. Join Chris and Collins as we take a look at the aftermath of SCG Atlanta and the changes to modern and standard that have come about since. Then stick around for our discussion of how to start making magic online work for you--from getting your first deck to figuring out your goals to choosing the events you want to play in. Thanks to Wave Sunray for our music: https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
Trying to crack standard? Chris and Collins are here to help, with an up-to-the moment look at the rapidly evolving paper and Magic Online meta. Hear our thoughts on Monument, Mono Red and friends as we break down the matchups and strengths and weaknesses of each deck. Plus, hella WOTC announcements, affecting both local play and those pro tour dreamers among our listeners. We know you were waiting to hear our takes before forming your opinions, so wait no more!
Thanks to Wave Sunray for our intro music: https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray
Welcome to episode 2 of the Grindcast! Today Collins and Chris finish talking about the SCG Invitational, including a look at Team LotusBox's prep for the tournament. Then we dive into HOU limited generally and an in-depth analysis of the early frontrunner for best draft archetype. Finally, Collins shares some of what he and his team have uncovered about this brand new standard format in preparation for the Cincinnati Open!
Thanks to Wave Sunray (https://soundcloud.com/wave-sunray) for our intro music.
Welcome to the first episode of the Grindcast! Join Collins Mullen and Chris Castro-Rappl as they do their best to unravel the mysteries of Standard, Modern, and of becoming the most powerful wizard you can be. This week we're talking the SCG season 1 invitational and looking at the sauciest spoilers from Hour of Devastation. Thanks to Wave Sunray for the dope intro music!