Random Pack Break: Kamigawa Neon Dynasty, Dragon Ball Saiyan Showdown Boosters & More!

I was just shopping around and looking for deals the other day and I got 2 packs of Kamigawa Neon Dynasty ninja theme boosters from Barnes & Noble for $5 each, 1 booster pack of Dragon Ball Saiyan Showdown for just $2 and a Scarlet Witch Marvel Champions deck for $5 from Gamestop. I honestly don’t play Magic the Gathering or Dragon Ball Super Card Game anymore and I have never played Marvel Champions but I figure they will be fun packs to open.

Kamigawa Neon Dynasty is still my favorite recent Magic set and it is the only Magic product I still buy (on sale or not). I really love the lore and characters from the set. I knew there was always a chance but this is the first time I pull an extra rare from a theme booster. I also didn’t know you can pull showcase card from these packs. Anyways I have a mono red deck centered around these cards already and with these two ninjas theme booster I hope to be a casual deck around ninjas too.

I really enjoy the Dragon Ball Super Card game but it is really hard find players for a 2 player card games especially TCGs. The game though have some amazing looking cards. The Kaio-Ken Son Goku, Decisive Battle is a special rare and the card really pops in person. I am also pretty excited about the Fin, Apocalyptic Absorption card to as it can be a start of a new deck.

As for Marvel Champions, it looks like I have a deck and I have to see what else I need to play a game. It is honestly a game I have heard about but don’t know much about. But Scarlet Witch is one of my favorite Marvel characters especially after Wandavision so I thought at a very least it can be a fun collectible.

Random Pack Break: Unfinity Draft Booster

The Target near me was sold out of Pokemon cards but Unfinity looked like a fun set so I decided to buy a pack just to check it out. I wish I could do a Unfinity draft but I doubt I can get my friends to play.

Animate Graveyard is such a crazy card and it is probably one of favorite cards of the set. Too bad it is an acorn card so it isn’t playable in any constructed format. The sticker mechanic seems fun to play with too and the crazy thing about that is the sticker related cards are Legacy legal for the most part. There is also an attractions mechanics in the set and it seems interesting but I am not as excited about that compared to the stickers. Finally the Unfinity full art mountain is a beauty and probably my most valuable card of the pack. If I can get 20 or so of these mountains, I would definitely upgrade one of my red decks.

If I can’t organize a Unfinity draft I am thinking about building two commander cards using as many un-set cards I can. That should be a ton of fun!

Random Pack Break: Magic the Gathering Kamigawa Neon Dynasty

Magic: The Gathering use to be my favorite trading card game (TCG). I would play it every week and even played in a few big tournaments. But I lost interest right around Kaladesh and instead went all in on Pokemon TCG. But Magic’s newest set Kamigawa Neon Dynasty combines two of my favorite things: Japanese fantasy and cyberpunk and I was intrigued. Plus the original Kamigawa block was actual one of my favorite blocks…

Magic has changed so much since I was last playing. There are so many different packs/ products and so many gimmicks now. Wizards definitely are trying to appeal to more collectors. I did some research and I came to the conclusion the best way to get a little taste of Kamigawa Neon Dynasty was getting one theme booster red (my favorite color) and a set booster to check out some of the new gimmicks.

I didn’t pull anything too exciting and my rares are Scrap Welder and The Restoration of Eiganjo. I also didn’t get lucky and pull any extra rares from the packs. I do like the showcase cards though as they definitely stand out as something special when you are opening packs. But I was looking at more cards online and I am mixed about some of the other gimmicks like the Ukiyo-e basic lands. Some of these cards barely look like Magic cards (the Dungeons and Dragons book lands are another good example) so I imagine they will be a pain to play against. It would be way harder to glance at your opponent’s board and know what they have. I do admit though a lot of these special cards are high on the cool factor.

When it comes to all the new products, I do like the theme booster packs. With just a single $7 pack you have a weak deck with some synergy (just add lands). Then you can slowly build up the deck as you get more cards. For example, I got a weak red aggro deck with the just two packs I opened.

I still have all my old Magic cards and some of them are very old. I have a legacy reanimator deck with the original dual lands, Force of Will etc and it is one of my prized possessions. Still I am unsure if I start playing Magic again since it is quite the money and time sink. I might join a random draft here and there with Kamigawa packs just because I love the set so much. I also love the world and lore of the new Kamigawa so much and I really want to use it for my next Dungeons and Dragons campaign. I actually had a similar world that I came up with a while back that combined traditional Japanese and cyberpunk elements so I don’t think it would be too hard to adapt.

I also recommend check out the Kamigawa visual novel. It is free.

MTG Brewer: Fun Budget Aether Revolt Standard Deck – R/W Artificers

Looking for a fun budget deck for Aether Revolt Standard? Aggro decks have been in the backburner in this format and the ones that do have some success like G/B Aggro, G/W Tokens and Mardu Vehicles all cost a pretty penny. With that in mind, here is R/W Artificers.

4 Inventor’s Apprentice
4 Toolcraft Exemplar
4 Stoneforge Acolyte
4 Weapons Trainer
4 Stone Haven Outfitter
2 Aether Chaser
2 Reckless Bushwacker
2 Pia Nalaar

4 Inventor’s Goggles
2 Captain’s Claws
2 Stoneforge Masterwork

4 Shock
2 Declaration in Stone

4 Inspiring Vantage
2 Needle Spires
8 Plains
6 Mountains

This deck plays powerful one drops like Inventor’s Apprentice and Toolcraft Exemplar and equipment to enable it instead of vehicles like Heart of Kiran. It also plays 8 powerful 2 drops lords in Weapons Trainer and Stone Haven Outfitter. Inventor’s Goggles and Stoneforge Masterwork tie in the Artificers synergies. Inspiring Vantage is the most expensive card in the deck but it is a necessity to make the mana work. Every other card are commons, uncommons or bulk rares so the deck should cost no more than $30 to make.

All in all, this could be a good deck for someone looking to try something a little different. One thing is for sure none of these cards are in danger of being banned in the next wave of bannings!

A Few Thoughts on Eternal Masters Full Box Sealed

Eternal Masters full box sealed is the best limited format in Magic: The Gathering and it is one only a few will get to play since Eternal Masters boxes are so hard and so expensive to get. A few friends and I got together last weekend and we all got at least one box of Eternal Masters. Instead of booster drafts or regular 6 pack sealed drafts we decided to go all in and have a full box sealed mini tournament. It was the most fun I had playing Magic in a long while!

First off my deck.
1 Mother of Runes
4 Mogg War Mashall
3 Keldon Marauders
2 Young Pyromancer
1 Whitemane Lion
2 Dualcaster Mage
1 Ghitu Fireslinger
1 Beetleback Chief
1 Giant Solifuge

1 Swords of Plowshares
1 Firebolt
2 Chain Lightning
2 Carbonize
2 Rally the Peasants

10 Mountains
1 Plains
1 Mishra’s Factory
4 Wind-Scarred Crag

Eternal Masters full box sealed decks are like 40 card Legacy decks. My deck is an insane aggro deck but it didn’t do too well because it was a bit too fair. Here were a few things that actually happened.

• My brother killed my whole board with Burning Vengeance and Flame Jab (plus a bunch of other flashback spells).
• One of my friends got the soft locked with Isochron Scepter and Counterspell.
• One deck had Entomb, Sensei Divining Top and the Worldgorger Dragon and Animate Dead combo.
• One deck had 5 cascade cards in the deck for insane value.
• I actually had to cut Swords of Plowshares for a game 2 which is unheard in any other draft format.
• Finally, even my deck almost had a one shot kill with a bunch of tokens and Rally the Peasants.

Standard is to Legacy as Shadows Over Innistrad Sealed is to Eternal Master full box sealed. After playing this, regular drafts just feel boring. I am kind of tired of trying to get there with vanilla 2/1s for two. Unfortunately this may be a once in a lifetime deal since Eternal Masters boxes are approaching $300 a box but I am happy I got to try it at least once!

(If you are wondering I did OK in my box. I pulled a Maze of Ith, Sylvan Library, Duplicant, foil and non foil Shardless Agent, Maelstrom Wanderer, Vampiric Tutor, Sinkhole and couple of other good foils, commons and uncommons.)

MTG Brewer: Dragon Stompy for Modern

Modern season is fast approaching. Looking to attack the Modern meta at a different angle? Try this deck I have been playing around with.

Dragon Stompy:

4 Blood Moon
2 Magus of the Moon
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Fulminator Mage
2 Avalanche Riders

4 Anger of the Gods
4 Draconic Roar
2 Dismember

4 Thunderbreak Regent
3 Stormbreath Dragon
2 Chandra, Pyromaster

4 Simian Spirit Guide
3 Desperate Ritual
2 Gemstone Caverns
19 Mountains

Sideboard:
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 Ingot Chewer
1 Boil
2 Combust
2 Spellskite
1 Fulminator Mage
2 Pyroclasm
1 Chalice of the Void
2 Dragon’s Claw

Dragon Stompy is a old school Legacy deck that didn’t really translate to Modern because the lack of Sol Ring lands. You can still get a turn 1 or 2 Chalice of the Void and/ or Blood Moon with Simian Spirit Guide, Desperate Ritual and Gemstone Caverns though (but probably not as reliably). After you get the soft lock in, it really doesn’t matter how you win the game. I like the dragons package because because the dragons can sort of protect themselves. Also since you don’t want to play Lightning Bolt in deck (since it can be lock out with a Chalice on 1), it makes Dragonic Roar a bit more attractive to play.

I was getting board with Zoo, Burn, Living End and Tron so this deck was a breath of fresh air to play.

The Plague: The Most Powerful MTG Theme Deck of All Time

I want to have a little theme deck/ intro deck war with a few of my friends so I am slowly acquiring or building some of the most powerful, some of the weirdest theme decks in Magic history. So far I got the Way of the Warrior a white weenie deck from Champions of Kamigawa built around the bushido mechanic and Bait & Switch from Onslaught which is probably the weirdest theme deck built around changing your opponent creature types to turn on some narrow cards (like a card that destroys target cleric).

Anyways, I had to have The Plague from Urza’s Saga in my theme deck war. It is the answer to the question “what is the most powerful theme deck or intro deck of all time” and I just acquired the last few cards I needed.

It is so rare to have such a fun yet challenging deck released as just a theme deck. It is a combo control deck built around Pestilence. There is so much synergies like Pestilence + protection from black creatures, Pestilence + Pariah, Pestilence + Urza’s Armor, etc. The deck also has a number of cycling cards to help find your key pieces and you eventually win with enough Pestilence triggers.

This deck is easily my pick to win it all since most theme decks are creature based.

MTG Brewer: Brewing with Goblins in Standard

Everyone is probably excited about the dragons from the upcoming set, Dragons of Tarkir but I am more excited about the goblins! More specifically I think Dragon Fodder is the missing piece to make a Goblin deck work in Standard.

4 Foundry Street Denizen
4 Frenzied Goblin
4 Dragon Fodder
4 Mardu Scout
4 Goblin Rabblmaster
4 Hordeling Outburst
1 Goblin Heelcutter

4 Lightning Strike
4 Stoke the Flames

3 Obelisk of Urd
2 Hall of Triumph

22 Mountains

This is a mono red aggro deck that goes wide. There are three solid Goblin token generators in Standard, Dragon Fodder, Hordeling Outburst and Goblin Rabblemaster. I filled out the curve with Foundry Street Denizens (a no brainer), Frenzied Goblin and 5 dash goblins. I wasn’t too crazy about Mardu Scout and Goblin Heelcutter at first. They were only in the deck because they were goblins but in testing they are exactly what the deck needs. It gives you some insurance against sweepers and gives you a mana sink late game. Finally the anthem effects are so important in this deck so I went from 4 to 5. Cards like Dragon Fodder isn’t too threatening by itself but with an anthem effect or two every card is a must answer.

Another option for this deck is to go bigger. You can cut cards like Frenzied Goblin and the dash goblins and add lands, Purphoros, God of the Forge and Outpost Seige. I am currently using these cards in my sideboard to sort of transform the deck Game 2.

Krenko is my commander in my EDH deck this deck is right in my wheelhouse and so far it has been a ton of fun.

Random Pack Break: MTG Conspiracy

So I was playing an epic game of Commander at my local gaming store. But unfortunately after an hour of back and forth, I was one of the first players knocked out. (Never ever spare a Daretti…) So looking to kill the time and picked up two packs of Conspiracy…

and I pulled a Dack Fayden, the greatest thief in the Multiverse! It is probably the most valuable non foil card you can pull from Conspiracy. The other rare was actually a Dack’s Duplicate so the packs have a little Dack Fayden theme going around.

I have two Dack Faydens now and I want to brew something sweet with them. Currently it really only sees play in Vintage Delver decks. Maybe a control-ish Tiny Leaders deck lead by Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest? Anyways, I am drawing a blank but I am opened to ideas!

MTG Repack Break: 2 T-shirts and 2 Packs & Brewing with Jeskai Ascendancy

This repack in K-Mart caught my eye the other day and of course, as usual, I just couldn’t resist.

It has two Magic themed t-shirts and two Magic packs (1 pack of Return to Ravnica & 1 pack of Khans of Tarkir). The two t-shirt are of the Boros guild and of Chandra. I think they are pretty neat and definitely worth it with the repack priced just over $20.

There wasn’t anything of note in my Return to Ravnica pack. I did get a foil Guild Feud (and the rare in the pack was Palisade Giant which is meh). I did pull another Jeskai Ascendancy in my Khans of Tarkir pack. This is one of my favorite cards printed in the last few years. It has so much combo potential and there are just so many ways to build around this card. In fact, it has seen play in Standard, Modern and Legacy. The new set Fate Reforged is going to add a number of sweet cards to the deck but I wanted to share you my Jeskai Ascendancy list that I have been working with.

Creatures:
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Seeker of the Way
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Hordeling Outburst

Burn Spells:
4 Lightning Strike
3 Magma Jet
4 Stoke the Flames (the FNM version of course)
4 Jeskai Charm

Draw and Filtering:
4 Jeskai Ascendancy
3 Treasure Cruise

Lands:
4 Mystic Monastery
4 Temple of Triumph
1 Temple of Enlightenment
2 Mana Confluence
1 Shivan Reef
1 Battlefield Forge
2 Flooded Strand
4 Mountain
2 Plains
1 Island

This is a more aggro version of the Jeskai Ascendancy tokens list with more burn and a lower curve (compared to the stock list). If you get value out of the anthem effect of the Ascendancy that is great but you would be more than happy if you only just get the looting effect so you can draw gas. With Fate Reforged out next week, I am thinking of cutting 4 Monastery Swiftspear and 4 Seeker of the Way for 4 Monastery Mentor and 4 Soulfire Grand Master. The curve would be a bit higher so maybe I would have cut something like a Magma Jet or Jeskai Charm for another land.