Raise the Standard: an MTG Podcast

Class is now in session! Our guest lecturer today is none other than Highlander committee member and Highlander World Champion: Aunt Voltie ⚡ Voltie is a seasoned deckbuilder and a competitive Magic player of remarkably high caliber. She is a content creator, tournament organiser, and community member who is well-known for her knowledge and prowess within the game of Magic. Today, we're chatting...

After her dominating performance at Highlander Worlds, we've brought beloved Highlander committee member and friend of the show, Aunt Voltie, back to answer for her crimes: playing 7PT Boros. In her previous episode, Voltie talked about the benefits of two-colour pair decks (Dimir and Boros most notably) playing 8PT lists rather than 7PT lists. However, rather than take her own advice, she registe...

MTG Arena's Alchemy format is truly in a league of its own. From "conjure" mechanics and "draft from spellbook" the online-only mechanics are often difficult if not impossible to replicate in paper. But there is another, more interesting use of the Alchemy format: de-powering paper cards. Cards like The One Ring, Orcish Bowmasters, Heartfire Hero, and Cori-Steel Cutter are amongst the modern paper...

> This episode was filmed prior to Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven < The most important test of a Magic player's career happened this weekend! But prior to the Pro Tour, we sat down to discuss the PT in broad strokes: what we expected to see, what we hoped to see, and what we thought might be coming next for the Standard metagame. This weekend has been a showing that the Standard metagame is...

Folks, let's be honest with each other. The "Year of Izzet" has persisted a lot longer than any of us really expected. A majority of the current Standard banlist as of April 2026 is comprised of red and/or blue cards, yet Izzet has remained a dominant colour pair throughout these ban cycles. So...why is that? Between access to perfect mana, a suite of interactive spells and card refinement options...

We've seen the increased power level amongst Standard sets steadily growing over the last few months, but there's something that feels decidedly pushed about Strixhaven. From creatures with iconic Magic spells stapled on them to recursive spell effects that will dominate a game, Strixhaven is powerful in a way that feels different to other current Standard-legal sets. So let's talk about the power...

Gather your scrolls, ink your quills, and make sure you have your lecture schedule handy--we're heading back to Strixhaven! As is tradition, we have gathered a handful of some of the cards we think are going to be standouts in the Standard format. From lands to sorceries, we've got a little bit of everything today! Rest assured, we did our research and took some notes, like all good students do! W...

We would be remiss not to bring back our most-mentioned player, Ben Tudman, for another conversation on the Standard format, its quirks, how it's changed, and what comes next for players and the metagame alike. So join us for another episode with Ben Tudman, recorded shortly after his appearance at Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed. Listeners beware--there is a moment during this recording where the camera...

Back on the pod today is none other than Sam Loy! In Sam's last episode, we touched on the ten-year pause he put on competitive Magic and today we're going to dive into that break, how competitive Magic has changed in that time, and how players grow and adapt in ever-changing metagames. A huge thank you to Sam for coming back for another episode and for sharing his wisdom with us! This was such a...

We just can't get enough of our amazing competitive players--and today, we've got return friend of the show Michael Billinghurst back for another episode! If you are playing in the competitive Melbourne scene--especially if you're playing Highlander--then you know Billinghurst's name. From the committee to judging, Billinghurst is a pinnacle of the Vic crowd, and we're thrilled to have him for ano...

We're on the ProTour grind! Joining us today is the eponymous leader of Team Sam Loy--it's Sam Loy! Today we're chatting about Sam's pro tour experience, being on the feature match table, and predicting the Standard metagame when the field is wide open. A huge thank you to Sam for joining us for today's episode. And we're so incredibly excited to announce that Raise the Standard is now sponsored b...

Ben Tudman...Ben Tudman...Ben Tudman...! He's back! Friend of the show, the player whose name we invoke more than anyone else, and ProTour regular, Ben Tudman joins us again on the podcast to discuss his experience at ProTour Lorwyn Eclipsed! Ben had an incredible showing at PT Lorwyn Eclipsed and is re-queued for the next two PTs--so today we're discussing what the event was like, the deck he pla...

Today we've got a very special episode brought to you from the Raise archives: one of our very first screentests! Journey with us through the time vortex back to August 2025, when we first sat down in the studio to test our transition to video. Laugh with us as we read through Ashiok's MTG wiki page, discuss its involvement (or lackthereof) in War of the Spark, and shudder to think of the number o...

Our very own Meia trucked off to Canberra for CanCon 2026 and played in the annual Highlander tournament, an event that boasted over 200 competing players. Through eight rounds of competitive play, butting heads with Grixis, Moons, and even a Zirda combo deck, she placed in the Top 8! Today, our special guest is Meia herself, as she talks about the tournament, her deck, and what it took to Thoracl...

Oracle Text: Oh. My. Pro Tour. Seven different decks in the Top 8, brand new archetypes that dominated the competition, and Badgermole Cub getting beaten into the dirt? Yes, please! This was a heck of a ProTour to kick off 2026. On the heels of an incredibly strong set--Lorwyn Eclipsed--the chance for Standard to change on a massive scale was just on the horizon. The Pros got their hands on the ca...

Oracle Text: We sat down and took it easy today--before heading off to CanCon for a weekend of Highlander excitement, we were in the studio chatting about the format, countervailing opinions within the community, and whether or not Brainstorm is worth one point. This episode was recorded before Canberra Convention 2026, where Meia placed in the Top 8 of a 200+ player tournament! We've recorded an...

Oracle Text: Hey guys...We don't want to jinx anything...but Standard is looking pretty good right now! From the recent Spotlight Series metagame to new cards coming into the format via Lorwyn: Eclipsed, Standard seems to be going in a really good direction. We're taking it easy and chatting about the metagame distribution, good cards, better archetypes, and what might be coming at the next Pro To...

Oracle Text: We've returned to Lorwyn! After nearly 20 years, we have returned to the plane of light and shadow, of brumbly boggarts and merry merfolk, and we couldn't be more excited! Today, we're going through our usual rigamarole of discussing which cards we think will see constructed play across Standard, Modern, and Highlander (with an emphasis on Standard-playable cards especially). Are you...

Oracle Text: From "Magic on Hard Mode" to 9 Pro Tour appearances, today's guest is a player of incredible talent and skill, and is a repository of immense Magic knowledge. Today, we're sitting down with Luke Mulcahy to discuss deckbuilding, getting roasted by LSV on Twitter, and how working within a player community to develop an archetype makes your deck stronger in the long-term. Affectionately...

Oracle Text: Welcome back, Standard enjoyers! For our first episode of Season 2 and our first episode of 2026, join us as we sit down and discuss Badgermole Cub: is it banworthy? From pushed design philosophy to power creep in the format, Badgermole Cub has all of the hallmarks of a card that could end up on the Standard banlist: mana acceleration, card advantage, stats that break parody, and noth...

Oracle Text: What a year it's been! From Aetherdrift to Avatar, we've seen Standard through its highs and lows of 2025, and we ourselves have grown from focusing solely on Standard to becoming a competitive-constructed podcast, expanding to include segments like Mildly Modern and Hardly Highlander. All of this is thanks to you, our listeners and our community, and we cannot thank you enough for th...

Oracle Text: The World Championship tournament was an amazing show of force with a roster of new Standard decks; a byproduct of both the latest set, Avatar: the Last Airbender, as well as the most recent bannings that took place earlier in November. And let's just say...we've learned some lessons. So today, we're talking about MTG Worlds: the decks that appeared and dominated the metagame, the car...

Oracle Text: Back-to-back committee members! Today we brought back Aunt Voltie--committee member, content creator, and competitive player--to chat about her work in the 8-Point space of Australian Highlander. The 8-Point rule, sometimes referred to as the "Accessibility Rule", rewards players that don't play Reserve List cards with an extra point in their otherwise 7-Point restricted decks. Voltie...

Oracle Text: Continuing in our (new?) tradition of hosting committee members on the show, we are joined today by none other than renowned Esper enthusiast, Michael Billinghurst! With decades of competitive Magic play under his belt and several years' residence as a member of the 7-Point Highlander committee, who better to take a guest slot on the pod than a well-loved judge and community member to...

Oracle Text: As a show that is focused on competitive play in Magic--and especially focused on competitive play here in Australia--it should come as no surprise that we've started playing more 7-Point Australian Highlander. While the Wizards-sanctioned competitive seasons alternate from Standard to Modern, one format remains steady between them: Highlander. Being a Vintage format, Highlander carri...