Arena Craft Podcast

This episode, Rogues get their lord in Soaring Thought-Thief, the card that gels the archetype. We anticipate this to be a real deck in Standard, and may be the central flash archetype moving forward. Expect this to be a counterpoint to the over-the-top Omnath strategies. Exciting!

Yet another preview episode, and this time we're tackling such spicy meatballs as Forsaken Monument and the next sweeper Covertgoblue thinks is a trap, Shadow's Verdict. Stick with us as this is NOT actually the conclusion of this series -- there will be a stunning conclusion in PART 7 that we will release over the weekend! Stay tuned.

This is part #5 of our Zendikar Rising epicsode! More funtimes from ZNR for your listening enjoyment. This week we talk about how Luminarch Aspirant is a key card in White Aggro decks, and other spicy meatballs.

Zendikar Rising spoilers continue! We have the whole set now, and Covertgoblue and Arjuna continue their trek into the set and the possibilities it provides for us. Some fun notables in this episode – we go through many of the cards you may want to cast in Standard with Seagate Stormcaller, another controversial card in the set. Feed the Swarm is a card that has been creating a lot of controversy with its potentially color-pie-breaking design. And Arjuna gives a hot take that Roiling Regrowth has the potential to be the next Growth Spiral in Standard... will it be banned someday?!

This is part #3 of our Zendikar Rising epicsode! More spoiler discussion, more land flip cards. Bala Ged Recovery looks like it's going to be looping midrange and control decks into oblivion. Nighthawk Scavenger is a card that Arjuna is unimpressed with that Covertgoblue thinks is playable. We also travel to the Skymall to window shop with Maul of the Skyclaves, another rare equipment in the set.

This is part #2 of our Zendikar Rising epicsode! We continue discussing spoilers to date. In this episode we talk about some juicy rogues and rogue payoffs, and some other very weird cards... Zareth San, the Trickster looks like it could do more than just being an EDH commander. Nissa of Shadowed Boughs looks poised to enable some nonsense alongside Omnath and other heavy-hitting creatures. And Skyclave Apparition looks to be a very versatile answer that could pose a problem for aggro, control and midrange decks.

It's that time of year, the time that brings us cheer, the time we welcome our dear, dear rotation of old cards out, and new cards in! This week Covertgoblue and Arjuna go through the list of spoiled cards and deep dive on the ones we think could have an impact on constructed. There's landfall, there's kicker, there's fliplands, and a raging party to boot! Spoiler alert: Lotus Cobra into Omnath, Locus of Creation will be STRONG.

Standard rotation is almost upon us, and holy heck are there a lot of cards being sent to the blind eternities! Today we go through the major cards, archetypes and mechanics affected by the change. We revisit some golden oldies that got there but faded, some that never did, and of course we reserve some time to castigate the true gangsters of the format.

Oh, and Zendikar previews started. And Field was banned in Historic.

Covertgoblue and Arjuna spent the week working on the Standard 2021 format, a BO1 sneak peek around the corner to post-rotation Standard. It all culminated in a 4 deck showdown from which only one victor could emerge...

This episode we go over the testing process, our thoughts on what was playable and what wasn't, the pillars of this unique format, and what ultimately prevailed (and what you should be playing if you want to be competitive until rotation).

While this format is not an accurate sampling of what post-rotation Standard will be, it IS a jumpstart on playing in a format without all the busted old cards rotation soon, so it's a great way to get a sense of what might be competitive come late September. We had a blast playing this format, and we think you could, as well.

Zendikar Rising Standard week 1 is here, and SURPRISE surprise... the Uro ramp deck is insane. Specifically the Omnath one. Covertgoblue predicted accurately that this card would be at the top of the format, and oh baby was he ever on the money! These Omnath decks are pretty consistently going off turn 4 or 5, playing their whole deck and killing with alarming speed. This is not Gyruda all over again. This is a bold new villain in the Standard metagame, so we're going to have to return to the drawing board, bring in our interaction, and sketch up a plan for how we're going to combat it.