I’m happy to see some reconsideration of old bans, but it really felt like they’re sweeping LTR’s issues under the rug while the set remains in print.

I guess it’s possible that the metagame will shift to deal with these new powerhouses, but the Ring could still remain overly ubiquitous, being colorless and generically useful. It’s hard to read WotC’s wait-and-see approach as anything other than handwaving, given their track record this decade.

Thank goodness that, twenty years later, we’re not paying $10 for chaff-filled precons with terrible mana bases. We’re paying $80.

Some of the spoilers to come in yesterday were pretty great, not gonna lie. It’s still going to be miserable to open Zetalpa in your $20 pack, but I think now there’s a critical mass of desirable cards to make it worth the gamble.

And while I’ve been mixed on the full-arts, the new Smothering Tithe is delightful and reminds me of the border-breaking layouts from Unglued.

I think this is most evident in the choice of legendary creatures, many of which hit the top of EDHrec years ago. Krenko, Omnath, Sidisi, Nekuzar, Mizzix, etc. Along with Land Tax, Commandeer, and Chromatic Lantern, the set seems to reflect the era when Commander was no more than an annual product.

There are so many new legendary creatures and EDH-playable cards released nowadays that, at least in my area, nobody is playing those old decks anymore.

Jumpstart is the product for you! It’s designed to help beginners get right into the game and try out a variety of play styles. Each Jumpstart pack contains half of a deck, lands and all. So you each open two packs, shuffle your cards together, and start playing.

There’s even a LotR Jumpstart edition, though the packs are a little more expensive than generic Jumpstart.

The Strixhaven archives knocked it out of the park, and I also thought the DMU stained glass showcase cards were comparable.

As for individual arts, I think my favorites are probably the Bruce Brenneise shock lands from UNF, namely Godless Shrine, Stomping Ground, and Breeding Pool.

I like seeing Spike and Vorthos hanging out.

I love token decks of all types. Squirrel tokens, copy tokens, whatever. My favorite is a mono-white deck that does nothing but create tokens and accrue value from them. I don’t usually like to attack with my tokens, so I generally wait until I can end the game with something like [[Starlight Spectacular]] or just dig for [[Halo Fountain]].

I hate that I agree with this. On the one hand, “lying about a pandemic during a pandemic” sure sounds a lot like “shouting fire in a crowded theater,” but things like the lab leak theory aren’t really a matter of public health. While there are times when the government can and should fight dangerous misinformation, this is the kind of executive power that needs to be kept in check by the courts for the executive’s own good.