Clock Spinning—Magic: the Gathering History

... all four of them. Today we're reviewing every single Orgg ever printed. Weirdly this iconic creature type got a lot of love in Magic's first decade—even a TV commercial!—yet we haven't seen a new one printed in over 20 years. In today's episode we talk Orgg lore, such as it is, competitive play history, cool combos, and art. Our last card is an all-time nostalgic fave for Austin, so buckle up...

About TIME we covered this... Today on Clock Spinning, we crack open a virtual Time Spiral booster pack and take another random stroll through Magic history. We'll talk art and lore vibes, cube-ability, mechanical excellence, and generally spiral off on tangents. After Ravnica saved Magic, Time Spiral followed hot on its heels with one mission: Try and kill it again. Easily any super-fan's super-f...

Today on Clock Spinning, we crack open a virtual Ravnica: City of Guilds booster pack and take a slow walk through Magic history. We’re talking first impressions, art and lore vibes, playability in their day, and the memories these cards _dredge_ up. All this live, on air, totally blind to what cards comes next. Tell us what you think? Is this Experiment Kraj or... some other kind of Simic experim...

OVER TWO YEARS LATER, we're back on the beautiful plane of Kamigawa! That's right, we're finishing up our review of Betrayers of Kamigawa with multicolored, artifact, and lands! From game-breaking Jitte to deservedly forgotten gems like Baku Altar, join us for a deep dive review into the art, lore, mechanics, and cubeability of some lovely old cards. --- 🔎 See all today’s cards: https://scryfall....

Today we review ten of the most Christmas-y cards in Magic. Well, the ten cards that contain reindeer, sleigh, or snowmen, anyway. View today's cards on Scryfall: https://scryfall.com/search?q=%28art%3Asled+or+art%3Asnowman+or+art%3Areindeer%29+not%3Auniversesbeyond+not%3Afunny+-t%3Asticker+prefer%3Aoldest+direction%3Aasc+order%3Areleased+unique%3Aart+-bricks --- ⏱️ Timestamps for each card: 2:48...

Today we review every Force of Will art. Therese Nielsen sets an almost unbeatable standard with her Alliances original; can any other piece hope to match it? Join us as we dive deep into the art, weird Balduvians, and the true height of Kefnet in this tangent-laden edition of Clock Spinning. See all the cards in today’s episode: https://scryfall.com/search?q=%22force+of+wil%22+unique%3Aart+prefer...

Lhurgoyfs are a tribe totally unique to Magic, and they have a long and winding history. We’ll begin our journey in the depths of Magic’s Ice Age, and then take you on a weird Odyssey with a cycle of surprisingly competitive bad cards. Then of course we have Tarmo-daddy himself, and his rash of offspring right up through the present day.  See all the cards we reviewed today: https://scryfall....

John Avon is Magic’s Master of Mana, Baron of Basics, and Lord of Lands. He’s illustrated fully 7% of all basic land arts ever printed, and among them are many of the most iconic basics of all time. We share our pick for #1 Avon basic land art for each type, and talk about what makes Avon’s art so effective. All the land panoramas: https://imgur.com/a/MNZrN (scryfall version: https://scryfall.com/...

Today on Clock Spinning, we look at the art for Birds of Paradise through the ages. From our start in Alpha, through some 2000s message board drama, and some surprisingly adorable Secret Lair drops, the history of BoP art is rich, varied, and full of genuine bangers. See all today’s cards: https://clock-spinning.captivate.fm/birds-of-paradise   Ancient drama with Edward P. Beard Jr. http://fo...

Clock Spinning is going bananas this week by talking about--you guessed it--bananas! In this episode we rate, review, and ban-analyze every card in Magic that has bananas in the art, flavor text, and even oracle text. We had an ape-solute blast putting this one together, and we hope you enjoy it too! See all today’s cards: https://scryfall.com/search?q=ft%3Abanana+or+art%3Abanana+prefer%3Aoldest+-...

We’re back to Kamigawa for Betrayers green. And sure, some of the usual Champions themes are here—snakes, soulshift, heartbreakingly poor rates. But we’ve got some surprises in store: An art conspiracy theory, a surprising amount of lifegain, and some hidden EDH roleplayers. See all today’s cards: https://scryfall.com/search?q=e%3Dbok%20c%3Dg   Maro article mentioning Mogg Fanatic cycle: http...

Today we take the Clock Spinning format to its logical conclusion and bring you nearly 30 minutes on one beautiful, blue, unblockable beast. Join us as we dissect every aspect of one of Connor’s childhood pet cards. See Graxiplon in all its glory: https://scryfall.com/card/ons/86/graxiplon   What is The Riptide Project: https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Riptide_Project   Riptide Replicator and...

What’s the best Lightning Bolt art? And why is this such a strangely hard piece to truly nail? Join us as we review every art, from the Alpha and M10 GOATs through more Secret Lair Drops than seems reasonable.  See all today’s cards: https://scryfall.com/search?q=%22lightning+bolt%22+unique%3Aart+prefer%3Aoldest+-layout%3Aart_series&order=released&dir=asc   “I want a banana this...

On today’s action-packed, ogre-packed, instacut-packed episode we review all 30 Red cards of Betrayers of Kamigawa. Tucked away amidst the akki and do-nothing auras you’ll also find a card banned in Modern for over a decade, and one of the most popular Commander cards in the whole block.  See all today’s cards: https://scryfall.com/search?q=e%3Dbok%20c%3Dr   What is Dandân: MTG’s forgetf...

Today, we survey the surprisingly varied artistic history of Dark Ritual. After a banging start in Alpha, we’ll go from clownish evil to a Frank Frazetta masterclass.  See all today’s cards: https://scryfall.com/search?q=dark+ritual+unique%3Aart+prefer%3Aoldest&unique=cards&order=released&dir=asc   TCG Player article also on coolest Dark Ritual art: https://infinite.tcgplayer...

Today’s episode features surprise appearances by not one but two of the quirkiest black commanders ever printed! This being Kamigawa, it also features arguably the worst one-mana discard spell ever printed, and finishes on an inexplicable demon that even the most dedicated combo connivers might struggle to break. Join us for part two of our Betrayers of Kamigawa Black review. See all today’s cards...

It’s one of Magic’s most iconic cards, but has Counterspell ever had the iconic art to match? Join us as we rate every Counterspell art ever printed.  See all today’s cards: https://scryfall.com/search?q=counterspell+unique%3Aart+prefer%3Aoldest&order=released&dir=asc   DCI Legend Membership: https://www.magiclibrarities.net/23-rarities-dci-legend-membership-promos-english-cards-...

Today on Clock Spinning, we have too many underwhelming removal spells and not enough ninjas! Happily, though, the lone ninja we get is easily one of the coolest cards in the entire block. Join us as we kick off our review of Betrayers of Kamigawa’s black cards. See all today’s cards: https://scryfall.com/search?q=e%3Dbok+c%3Db+cn%3C76   Black “drain” effects across Magic history: https://scr...

In this very special episode in honor of our new Phyrexian overlords, we’re going back to where it all began. Join Austin and Connor as they compleat their knowledge (and yours!) of Magic’s earliest Phyrexian cards, from Alliances to Weatherlight. See all today’s cards: https://scryfall.com/search?q=(phyrexia+OR+ft%3Aphyrexia+OR+t%3Dphyrexian)+is%3Afirstprinting+year%3C%3D1997+-e%3Atmp&order=r...

Today on Clock Spinning, we still have the blues (the blue cards of Betrayers, that is). Come for a healthy dose of strange Spirits and stay for our ongoing struggle with Arcane cards as we pull back the Veil of Secrecy on Betrayers of Kamigawa’s final 15 blue cards. See all today’s cards: https://scryfall.com/search?q=e%3Dbok+c%3Du+cn%3C%3D45   Kamigawa block creatures with tap abilities: ht...

Our card-by-card review of Betrayers of Kamigawa (with an eye, as always, toward building a Kamigawa cube) continues into blue. Today’s episode may best be summarized with one word: ninjas. Okay, there’s a bit more to Betrayers blue than that, so stick with us into the Deep Hours on this one! See all today’s cards: https://scryfall.com/search?q=e%3Dbok+c%3Du+cn%3C%3D45   Cards in Kamigawa blo...

Today, we finish our review of every 7+ mana enchantment in Magic. We’ll cover black, red, green, gold, and one very special colorless tribal enchantment. Amidst a startling number of overpriced auras we’ll also find unique win-cons, win-more green all-stars, and some truly gorgeous art. See all today’s cards: https://clock-spinning.captivate.fm/7-mana-enchantments-pt-2   Iname as One + Banef...

Part two of our Betrayers of Kamigawa cube review, finishing off the White cards. Check out the development of our Kamigawa set cube from the CubeCobra link at clockspinning.com.  See all today’s cards: https://clock-spinning.captivate.fm/bok-white-2   --- Moonlit Strider - 01:28 Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo - 03:51 Oyobi, Who Split the Heavens - 11:12 Patron of the Kitsune - 15:32 Scour -...

On today’s episode, we begin our card-by-card review of Betrayer of Kamigawa for cube. Check out the development of our Kamigawa set cube from the CubeCobra link at clockspinning.com .  See all today’s cards: https://clock-spinning.captivate.fm/bok-white-1 All “Exile all” effects in order of printing:  https://scryfall.com/search?q=o%3D%22exile+all%22+is%3Afirstprinting&order=release...

On today’s episode, we start our review of every 7+ mana enchantment in Magic: the Gathering. We’ve got cards that aren’t win-cons but are draw-cons, splashy buildarounds, and a lot of praise for Onslaught block. By the end, you’ll be feeling positively Omniscient with enchantment lore. See all today’s cards: https://clock-spinning.captivate.fm/7-mana-enchantments-pt-1   See the cards for nex...