Beaters, or combat creatures, are among my favorite types of Magic cards. They serve to pressure opponents in the most straightforward way possible: by attacking efficiently. Weaker beaters, such as Delver of Secrets, are at their best when paired with disruption; stronger ones can emerge later in the game to take over or put things […]

Combat is one of Magic’s densest and most misunderstood areas. After all, the combat phase alone contains five separate steps! While much of what makes players “bad” at combat has to do with role analysis, game state awareness, board management, and simple arithmetic, understanding how combat functions on a technical level is also critical to […]

Mike Lanigan examines the Standard and Block Constructed decks that lose the least to rotation, and are likely to form the backbone of the new Standard.