MtG Cabal Cast

With each set, we look at cards that we think are underrated or overrated during the prerelease period. Taking into account what we've seen from these cards over the SEVEN WEEK period between set releases, we cut through what happened in order to hold ourselves accountable. Utilizing the notes we took from that episode we reflect on where we went wrong, where we went right, and evaluate why that w...

Prior to the Spotlight Series announcement, there was a light push for standard play at the LGS level and though meaningless as there were no competitive reasons to play, it did pave the way for the return of Standard at the LGS. Now, with buying from WotC, from large TOs, and, hopefully, a least one RCQ season a year, there are a multitude of reasons to engage with the Standard format. So. Are we...

The Spotlight Series announcement was one that was received rather well. The return of a WotC sponsored competitive event series with a clear path to the Pro Tour, a clear prize structure, and a clear tournament structure is what players have been clamoring for, for years dating back to the GP era. But, as with everything, we take a look at some of the good things and some of the bad things within...

The long awaited August 26th Banned and Restricted announcement was delivered and touched a number of formats, as players expected. We gave it about a week, for MODO and paper results to roll in before diving in and discussing what we've seen, what people are saying, and how we feel about this particular announcement. https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/august-26-2024-banned-and-restri...

With a change in the Ban & Restricted announcement timings, WotC created a problem of their own design: A B&R shortly after a set release yields few, if any changes. This lead to two, lame duck, announcements in back to back months, allowing most contructed formats to start to fester. We discuss what the timing changes mean for players, for WotC, for the health of the game, and, importantly, for t...

Our annual look at GenCon has us taking a look at what happened at the event. In the main halls, the gaming room, even in Lucas Oil Stadium. What we heard about the auction, the play spaces, panels, and tournaments. What did players in the Legacy Showcase events experience. How did it feel to be part of the panel announcing Mystery Booster 2 and subsequent draft events. What was the floor and gene...

Bloomburrow release has come and gone. We're late to the party but, this week we look at and breakdown our hype review for Bloomburrow. What cards do we think are over hyped? Which are under hyped? Are mice and otters cute enough to push sales on a set that looks pretty medium in terms of power level?

With Halt attending SCGCon Baltimore all weekend, taking notes, engaging with players and vendors alike, we'll be discussing what the current look and feel of an SCGCon is in the current era of the circuit. Join us as Thursty live fires a bunch of questions to help build a better understanding of what attending an SCGCon is like. Discussing everything from room layout, to the streaming area, to si...

With Bloomburrow set to release shortly, we look back at our Outlaws of Thunder Junction card assessment to see how discerning an eye we cast at the set. Where did we go right? Where did we go wrong? Join us for this analysis and accountability effort.

As collecing Magic continues to be a pillar of interaction for people, creating memorabilia along the way, we see it begin to follow the trends of other collectables and historical pieces before it. Things like grading the raw game pieces, general art, collectors only items, and signatures of various entities encircling the game. This means that it's time to upcycle a topic from the early days of...

Another year, another Modern Horizons set release and with it comes the fresh hell that is a Modern Mythic Championship in a format that is ripe for asbuse. As has been the case historically, this MC was one for the books as MH3 reshaped the entire Modern metagame, likes of which only Hogaak before it had. We discuss what these continued efforts by WotC mean to Modern speculation when it comes to...

Summer vacations are in full swing and univierties across the United States have been in summer break for some time now which means it's time to drum up seasonal attendance in one of the most difficult times to find foot traffic. So, what can we do and what have we seen our LGS's do that help improve summer attendace? What's worked the best to help make the season when even WotC has called out hav...

With the sheer quantity of leaks and WotC's shift in spoilers we decided to told off on our normal set evaluation for Modern Horizons 3 and break it into two parts. In the second part, we discuss a number of trends we saw. Starting with pre/release weekends we discuss what events looked and felt like. What was, and is, player sentiment across all formats; limited to Vintage. What impact and trends...

With the sheer quantity of leaks and WotC's shift in spoilers we decided to told off on our normal set evaluation for Modern Horizons 3 and break it into two parts. This first part we will take a look at the cards people are currently interested in after having them in hand for a bit over two weeks and discuss what we are seeing in regards to player interest and whether or not we think cards are a...

With WotC expressing interest in entering the cEDH event sponsorship/TO/host space, we decided it was time to dedicate the time to discuss what this means through the lens of "cEDH Finance." In this series of episodes we discuss what cEDH finance looks like for cards designed for main set play. What are signals that cEDH is pushing a cards price. And what it means when a card becomes cEDH viable o...

With WotC expressing interest in entering the cEDH event sponsorship/TO/host space, we decided it was time to dedicate the time to discuss what this means through the lens of "cEDH Finance." In this series of episodes we discuss what cEDH finance looks like for cards designed for main set play. What are signals that cEDH is pushing a cards price. And what it means when a card becomes cEDH viable o...

With WotC expressing interest in entering the cEDH event sponsorship/TO/host space, we decided it was time to dedicate the time to discuss what this means through the lens of "cEDH Finance." In this series of episodes we discuss what cEDH finance looks like for cards designed for main set play. What are signals that cEDH is pushing a cards price. And what it means when a card becomes cEDH viable o...

With Modern Horizons Three spoilers in the books, the time between the release of Outlaws of Thunder Junction and said spoilers has been a pretty lowkey time for the game. In times like this, it's important, as an LGS, to make sure you are still serving your other communities as diligently as you are your Magic community. So this week, we discuss other games that are popular at the LGS level, why...

Instead of looking back at the picks we have made this year, we look back at all of our picks for some of our worst performers. We discuss why we picked them, what has changed regarding that context, the future of the card, and, most importantly, the lessons we have leaned from each pick. We need to be held accountable and it's about time.

From Magic to Pokemon from Lorcana to Flesh and Blood, organized play systems can be the backbone of competitive games. With the multitude of changes to the Magic Organized Play system we thought it was time to discuss where we are, where we were, and where the competition is. This allows us to take a step back and see, as an LGS or a vendor, where we want to spend our time, effort, and money. Sho...

Obviously Magic as a game play system is complex and deep but between the game itself and the ecosystem it has created there exists a number of avenues for things to change or improve. We started with a the simple idea of "identify" a few things surrounding that game, within the control of WotC that would fix, or improve, Magic the Gathering. It could be as simple as "bring back From the Vaults" o...

In the past we've discussed the utility of "hot lists" and generic buy lists as backpackers, vendors, and at the LGS level; effectively all levels of the singles selling ecosystem. Their importance to the health and growth of any business cannot be understand. But what we have not discussed is the importance of making your buylist available and visible to people in an online fashion. Why would you...

Yeehaw... This week we look at Outlaws of Thunder Junction. So saddle on up and hear us spin yarns about tales from out yonder. What cards do we think are prices well? Which are priced poorly? What's a "case" and how do we solve it, or do they even matter? What's a mole god?

With Outlaws of Thunder Junction set to release shortly, we look back at our Murders at Karlov Manor card assessment to see how discerning an eye we cast at the set. It feels like we just did this...

Usually we discuss how to protect yourself while speccing and in the past have discussed protecting your physical assets but we have no talked about how we, personally, identify vendors we like working with. Until now. We breakdown not just some of the vendors that we continue to shop with or at, either on their dedicated sites or on various market places but the "why" behind that as well. If you'...