Hardcast

Hooray! A bonus episode for you. The gang sits down together to give the organizer's perspective on Premodern Lobstercon 2026: the event, the stream, and the vibes. Adopt a pet or consider donating to: https://www.secondchanceanimals.org/ sign up for the NEPM Summer Regional at: https://go.duresscrew.com/summer26

You've been waiting for it folks. Here we are. 317 wizards entered the arena at the world's largest Premodern event to date, and among them Brian Siu emerged victorious, piloting his fearsome Replenish deck. Ben, Jay, and Brad hop on to ask him about his Magic background, his experience at LC, and his team, Squee's House of Pizza. Congratulations Brian, 2026 NAPM Champion! Brian's List: https://mt...

Well - thanks to y'all - Lobstercon fucking ripped. We're all fucking beat so we weren't gonna publish on-cycle this week. BUT THEN, Aiden Johnson revealed that he recorded a carcast on his way home from LC. Please enjoy this tournament report from him on the newest development in Tognology. Aiden's List: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=84398&d=841346&f=PREM

HARK! The lobster molts! Lobstercon is the largest Premodern event in the Americas and is the coronation of the North American Premodern Champion. The whole gang piles into the studio for a hype episode. A few minor updates and an itinerary of how to enjoy yourself can be found inside. HAIL THE CLAW The AAA peace treaty between Zoo Crew and DxC can be found here: ⁠The Worcester Accord⁠ Effectively...

Billy sits down for a MASSIVE shoot-the-shit with Phil Lorrain of the Zoo Crew, DxC's most unworthy rivals. They chat about PM, Phil winning his own event, AAA, and sprinkle in some New England punk lore. Check out Zoo Crew's website at: ⁠ https://www.zoocrew.team/⁠ Check out Phil's winning list at: ⁠ https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=83050&f=PREM⁠

Having tasted forbidden knowledge, Lore Whores Ben and Matty drink deeper from the chalice that is the histories of Dominaria. Their second tome is The Eternal Ice, by Jeff Grub. This sorcerous scripture is book II of the Ice Age Cycle.

SILENCE, FOOL! A champion is speaking! Sara Schaefer managed to slay 120-sumfin lesser wizards at the Duress Crew Winter regional. Billy has an enlightening chat with her about how she got into Premodern, what's it like to be a Replenish homie in a tideless world, and her tournament experience. Sara's list: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=80894&f=PREM

Billy had the good fortune to visit Adrian aka NeonMushroom during a work trip to Michigan. We chat MTGO cold takes, building a scene from scratch, and what PM looks like in the frigid north. You can follow him on Twitch and YouTube by his various monikers: Neon Mushroom, Fluorescent Fungus, and maybe some others I forgot.

After yet another stunning performance, Duress Crew has decided to celebrate with none other than a carcast. Join T8 finisher Brad, T4 finisher Sac, T8 finisher Brendan, and . . . Jay on the way back from the Roc Royals' Winter Ball.

2025 was a hell of a year for Premodern and Duress Crew. Jay, Brad, and Nick go over the gang's achievements for the year preceding. Check out our shit at duresscrew.com

Not only is the PM playerbase getting wider, it's also getting taller. Recently, several PM scenes have developed a second-tier of tournament, or meta-tournaments linking several events together. Never afraid to experiment, Billy does a sequence of small interviews with Hodge (New England), TQ (Portland), and Phil N (NYC) about the recent changes in both the length and girth of the PM paper scene....

Justin "Pro-ven-sall," Sac, and Billy have a nice chat about recent developments in Suvival decks. We each bring a perspective on different subspecies of the archetype. Note that this episode was recorded somewhere in early December so some info about LC signups is dated. https://www.duresscrew.com/

So, uh, Lobstercon just sold out in 90 seconds. Brad and Jay speak for the gang on this one. While we're definitely not going to apologize for being the baddest game in town, we thought we'd speak to what we learned REAL QUICK about what we could (and couldn't) do to make it a smoother experience for y'all. Postscript for clarity: We are at currently 339/320 registered due to a bug in Spicerack. S...

Piping hot! Daybreak Games, the keepers of MTGO, have created a new research tool for niche formats, Contraption, and the first tranche of sanctioned formats is none other than Premodern. Join Jay as he performs an actual act of journalism, while Aiden, Sac, and Billy come along to give their hot takes. Read the Daybreak PM on MTGO announcement: https://www.mtgo.com/news/premodern-on-mtgo-2025 Cry...

Billy interviews Jonathan Phillips, who had slain 113 other, lesser wizards at the NEPM Fall Regional. Wielding a mildly spicy version of RG Goblins, he goes through his tournament. Listener mail at the end. decklist: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=76330&d=779172&f=PREM leave us a shitty voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/duresscrew

Duress Crew ventures deep into Dominaria's forbidden archives in their newest project: Lore Whores. Hosts Matty and Ben light a candle, brush the cobwebs, and crack open an ancient tome: The Gathering Dark, by Jeff Grub. This arcane scripture was the first book of the Ice Age Cycle of MTG novels, and you're invited to listen to an eldritch book review.

OoooOOooOOoooooOooo Spoooooky! This 'Weeny episode follows our intrepid hero Billy during the Shoe City Showdown 2, a tournament series run surprisingly well for a crew as incompetent as the Zoo Crew. What starts out as a man-on-the-street episode turns into a mini tournament report, because Billy can't help but make everything about him.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming, this one's a twofer: part one is with Nick and he has a chat with Billy about TO Fatigue and the cost of doing CREW BUSINESS. Part two is Mike's assessment of eternal formats and some New England punk lore.

The final episode of our Eternal Weekend miniseries, Billy walks around and ruins everybody's meal at several locations. Bonus Andy (OST) and Phil Villain (Zoo Crew).

Due to popular demand, Hardcast is now the Rob Show. Eternal Weekend Saturday with the whole gang at the spot.

Sweet! We got the travel recording setup to fucking run. Billy kicks it off with Rob, who looks like he's the crew's muscle but he's actually the crew's heart. After Billy abandons the episode halfway through to let Brendan and Rob talk chess and poker.

God we're tired, hope you like these. Mike, Rob, and Bryce get grilled by Billy. Some punk lore.

It's currently 3:50 AM don't say I never gave you nothing. The first episode of the DxC daily trip diary from EWNA25

You may not know this, but Duress Crew has a weekly dinner meetup, and you're not invited. This episode is the closest you'll ever get. Billy goes 'round the feasting table with three members of the war band we formed to raid Eternal Weekend 2025. Brendan surprises us with his modest, calm confidence, Brad shares his delight with finishing his CE power, and Mike slakes Billy's thirst for potty hum...

Psst! Don't play this one too loud because it may disrupt your speculation! In this episode, Billy tries a new format, the "pigpile," and commits his schedule before doing effective sound checks. Fortunately, he's carried in the safe, mature arms of Ian Adams, Javi Lugo, and Brian Selden. We enjoy a pleasant evening's chitchat regarding PM's hottest new archetypes centered on Quiet Speculation. (F...