Tag Archives: Podcasts

Time to be Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver!

Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
What a time to be playing Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver!

Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver had quite a weekend at the TCGPlayer Invitational:

Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa continued his historic run with Esper Dragons, using an updated list (including main-deck Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver):

Esper Dragons by Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa

1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

3 Bile Blight
2 Crux of Fate
2 Foul-Tongue Invocation
4 Hero’s Downfall
3 Thoughtseize

2 Anticipate
4 Dig Through Time
2 Dissolve
4 Silumgar’s Scorn

1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
4 Dragonlord Ojutai
1 Dragonlord Silumgar

2 Caves of Koilos
4 Dismal Backwater
1 Flooded Strand
2 Haven of the Spirit Dragon
3 Island
4 Polluted Delta
2 Swamp
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Sideboard
3 Drown in Sorrow
1 Foul-Tongue Invocation
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Thoughtseize
2 Ultimate Price
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Dragonlord’s Prerogative
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver

In Paulo’s deck, Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver shifts from being a main-deck trump in the Control mirror to a way to gain advantage against midrange decks with Courser of Kruphix.

As you probably know, Patrick and Michael recently joined Team Ultra PRO. Their Team Ultra PRO teammate Adrian Sullivan continued his epic performance with Dimir Control… This time packing all four copies of Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver main deck!

Dimir Control by Adrian Sullivan

3 Perilous Vault
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

2 Bile Blight
1 Crux of Fate
4 Hero’s Downfall
1 Liliana Vess
2 Silence the Believers

1 AEtherspouts
3 Dig Through Time
1 Dissipate
4 Dissolve
1 Dragonlord’s Prerogative
1 Interpret the Signs
2 Jace’s Ingenuity
1 Negate

4 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver

4 Dismal Backwater
3 Island
1 Opulent Palace
4 Polluted Delta
3 Radiant Fountain
3 Swamp
4 Temple of Deceit
1 Temple of Enlightenment
3 Temple of Malady
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Sideboard
1 AEtherspouts
2 Bile Blight
1 Cranial Archive
2 Disdainful Stroke
3 Drown in Sorrow
1 Negate
1 Pearl Lake Ancient
1 Pharika’s Cure
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 Thoughtseize

Adrian’s deck occupies a strange, wonderful, and potentially advantageous place in the metagame. With literally no creatures main deck, Adrian’s Dimir Control can exploit a peerless amount of “dead” card advantage. Imagine a deck like Mardu Dragons, that usually gains an advantage by compacting value into cards like Draconic Roar and Foul-Tongue Invocation: Any such decks with lots of cards to make creatures dead… Will itself be stuck with dead draw after dead draw.

One of the unique features of Adrian’s deck is its Temple splashing with cards like Opulent Palace and Temple of Malady.

Opulent Palace is kind of a “dual land” here (tapping for both blue and black), but Temple of Malady is a carefully-chosen scry land that actually taps for green.

Remember: This is a deck with the Maximum Number of copies of Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver! Green mana access is perfect here! If Adrian steals your Polukranos, World Eater, he can actually use it to gobble up your Elvish Mystics.

In addition to discussing Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa’s Esper Dragons and Adrian Sullivan’s Dimir Control, Patrick and Michael discuss GR Devotion and other recent top finishers.

Patrick and (last week’s guest) Christine Sprankle will be the celebrity guests at the Star City Games event Grand Prix Charlotte next week!

Patrick will be signing Next Level Deckbuilding!

Christine has launched a Patreon! We couldn’t talk about it last week but we’re happy to point it out this week! If you love Christine’s cosplay make sure to check it out (and contribute)!

All this and more in “Time to be Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver!”

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Christine Sprankle and Kaalia of the Vast

“This is not a podcast with a great reputation right now.”
-Mike

Welcome to “the most ridiculous episode of Top Level Podcast ever” featuring our first guest ever: “one-time World Champion / two-time Pro Tour” cosplayer Christine Sprankle!

Christine has made the big time as a cosplayer, being featured in Rolling Stone magazine this week for her cosplay of Avacyn, Angel of Hope.

christinesprankle
Christine Sprankle as Avacyn, Angel of Hope; photo by our good friend Joey Pasco

Also featuring…

  • The first time Mike cheated at Magic
  • Commander chats!
  • Mike is a super newbie at Commander (and barely knows the rules)
  • Comparing Kaalia of the Vast to Butcher of the Horde
  • A special place called the Command Zone
  • The best part of cosplay
  • A certain foil Tarmogoyf
  • Christine in Charlotte

kaalia-of-the-vast

That’s so awesome to me that you play this card —
It’s like the centerpiece of your deck —
It’s your commander — it’s defining the colors of the cards you can play, it has a special ability that defines which other cards you will choose, so you’re going to bend all of your choices around Angels Demons and Dragons because of Kaalia [of the Vast]… And yet you have no expectation of never being able to use her ability.

Around the Internet:

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How Fearsome Awakening Won the Internet

Fearsome Awakening
Fearsome Awakening adds yet another layer to the most dynamic Standard format of all time.

Dragon-themed decks continue to perform well in Standard… All different sorts of Dragon decks, from a resurgence in our Mono-Blue build to a brand new Fearsome Awakening reanimator that really has the gears turning.

First up!

Five-color Blue Dragons

Friend of the ‘cast Brendan Hurst (@hamiltonianurst) won a Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifier with “exactly” the list we posted in “How to Win a PTQ with Dragonlord Dromoka”

Unlike most PPTQs there is tons of Twitch TV coverage of Brendan’s win.

Check out the full sequence of the coolest play possible with Five-color Blue Dragons here

But that’s not all!

Jeremy Sullivan represented Five-color Blue Dragons in Lutherville/Timonium, putting up a third place finish at a Star City Games Invitational Qualifier with an updated list with even more “Mono-Blue Devotion” sideboard transformative action.

Jeremy’s list:

Five-color Blue Dragons, by Jeremy Sullivan

3 Perilous Vault

3 Dig Through Time
1 Disdainful Stroke
4 Dissolve
4 Encase in Ice
3 Icefall Regent
2 Nullify
4 Silumgar’s Scorn

2 Dragonlord Atarka
3 Dragonlord Dromoka
2 Dragonlord Ojutai
1 Dragonlord Silumgar
1 Silumgar, the Drifting Death

4 Crucible of the Spirit Dragon
4 Haven of the Spirit Dragon
5 Island
4 Polluted Delta
4 Temple of Deceit
2 Temple of Enlightenment
4 Temple of Mystery

Sideboard
2 Disdainful Stroke
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
4 Omenspeaker
4 Master of Waves
2 Wall of Frost

Jeremy deliberately played Temple of Deceit over Temple of Enlightenment main deck to feign Esper; this made life harder on Dragonlord Dromoka, but Jeremy counterbalanced by cutting a Dragonlord Ojutai to make room for more Icefall Regents main deck.

“Nine times out of ten I wanted Icefall Regent more than Ojutai.”

Note the above deck is one card different from the version reported by Star City; Jeremy played only one Disdainful Stroke main deck, not two (putting his deck at 61 cards).

According to Mike, Christopher Smoot “won the Internet” this week.

4 Fearsome Awakening
2 Hero’s Downfall
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Whip of Erebos

4 Dragonlord Atarka
3 Dragonlord Kolaghan
2 Kolaghan’s Command

2 Commune with the Gods
4 Courser of Kruphix
2 Deathmist Raptor
2 Den Protector
4 Satyr Wayfinder
4 Sylvan Caryatid

2 Bloodstained Mire
3 Forest
1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon
4 Llanowar Wastes
1 Mountain
2 Swamp
4 Temple of Abandon
4 Temple of Malady
3 Wooded Foothills

Sideboard
2 Foul-Tongue Invocation
1 Murderous Cut
1 Pharika’s Cure
3 Thoughtseize
2 Virulent Plague
1 Deathmist Raptor
2 Den Protector
1 Hornet Queen
2 Magma Spray

The highlight of this deck is of course Fearsome Awakening.

… You know, for when you need a fifth-turn 10/10 Dragonlord Atarka.

Dragonlord Atarka
(seventh-turn 8/8 Dragonlord Atarka is plenty good by the way)

There are plenty of cool things going on with Smoot’s deck, including Whip of Erebos, Hornet Queen, and nugging yourself with Kolaghan’s Command to set up Fearsome Awakening.

“When other people are playing Foul-Tongue Invocation, you want to be the guy with Hornet Queen.”

Fearsome Awakening may have won the Internet, but there are so many more cool Dragons decks in this podcast! G/R Devotion, Temur with Sarkhan Unbroken, and spitballing Elspeth, Sun’s Champion alongside Dragonlord Atarka in the same deck.

Finally, Chapin and Flores go over some of the listeners’ ideas for containing Deathmist Raptor and Den Protector card advantage in Standard.

This week’s challenge: Brew with Sarkhan Unbroken!

All this and more in “How Fearsome Awakening Won the Internet”

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Dromoka’s Command, Meet Wingmate Roc

Before we get to the main topics, Mike got his physical copy of Next Level Deckbuilding in the mail!

Mike already loved Next Level Deckbuilding (having had the digital version for a year or so) but has lots of nice things to say about the physical release.

If you want to check out Patrick’s new release, Next Level Deckbuilding is available in paperback at Star City Games:

NextLevelDeckbuilding

Next Level Deckbuilding

Gerry Thompson, a friend to the ‘cast, won the MOCS this past weekend with a “retro” Abzan Aggro!

“Gerry Thompson netdecked my grandfather.”
-Patrick

… And it really looks like he did!

If you look at Gerry’s deck, it really looks like a Khans of Tarkir-era deck, rather than one informed by Fate Reforged, let alone Dragons of Tarkir.

Abzan Aggro, by Gerry Thompson

2 Hero’s Downfall
4 Thoughtseize

4 Abzan Charm
4 Anafenza, the Foremost
3 Dromoka’s Command
4 Fleecemane Lion
4 Rakshasha Deathdealer
4 Siege Rhino
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor

2 Warden of the First Tree

2 Wingmate Roc

2 Caves of Koilos
2 Forest
3 Llanowar Wastes
1 Mana Confluence
2 Plains
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Temple of Malady
3 Temple of Silence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Windswept Heath

sideboard:
2 Drown in Sorrow
2 Duress
3 Self-Inflicted Wound
1 Dromoka’s Command
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 Mistcutter Hydra
1 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
2 Glare of Heresy
1 Wingmate Roc


Dromoka's Command
By making room for Dromoka’s Command in place of Bile Blight, Gerry reduced his deck’s reliance on black mana, in particular BB on turn two.

Wingmate Roc
Welcome back, Wingmate Roc! This is a threat that lets him get in under Elspeth Sun’s Champion, both on mana and on power.

Mana Confluence
Mana Confluence as a twenty-sixth land does multiple things for the usually-twenty-five-land Abzan Aggro archetype. Among other things, you can side out the Mana Confluence against Red Aggro on the draw!

Self-Inflicted Wound
Self-Inflicted Wound hits a shocking number of decks. Patrick spitballs about playing it main deck, not even just sideboard.

Mistcutter Hydra
Mistcutter Hydra, a rediscovered piece of technology, can run right by Dragonlord Ojutai!

Michael — and especially Patrick — come to the conclusion that Elspeth, Sun’s Champion might be where you want to go in Standard… But have a hard time landing on where to play their Elspeth, Sun’s Champions.

What do you think?

Give us a listen, and then comment below.

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I’m in Love With the Co-Co

Collected Company
Collected Company (“co-co”) is a powerful source of card advantage and mana efficiency.
Abstract:
Michael J Flores and Patrick Chapin review various recent tournament results, focusing on two new Collected Company builds, G/W and U/G Devotion.

Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver

Paulo Vitor Damo Da Rosa added Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver to the main deck of his Grand Prix Sao Paulo-winning Esper Dragons list.

What are the implications of running Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver main deck? What decks does this acknowledge respect for? What got cut to make room?

Ultimate Price
Ultimate Price

Ultimate Price is no longer “that good” “in the dark” in Standard. Face down creatures have no color, while legendary Dragonlords have too many colors to be hit by Ultimate Price.

Torrent Elemental
Torrent Elemental

Just putting Torrent Elemental somewhere in your seventy-five can give you a huge advantage against Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver control decks.

There are some sweet Dragon plays in this current Standard. Have you ever tried this?

  1. Start with your own Dragonlord Ojutai (facing off against his Dragonlord Ojutai)
  2. Play Silumgar, the Drifting Death
  3. Bile Blight your own Dragonlord Ojutai
  4. Attack!

You get to 1) kill the opponent’s Dragonlord Ojutai (because it gets -3/-3 from the Bile Blight you cast on your own Dragonlord Ojutai followed by the -1/-1 from Silumgar, the Drifting Death), and 2) still get to Anticipate via the Ojutai attack! HOW COOL IS THAT?

“I don’t know if I’d even have to play for the rest of the day if I pulled that off.”
-Patrick

Den Protector
Den Protector

The rise of Den Protector! Patrick and Michael discuss the inclusion of Den Protector in Lucas Siow’s Grand Prix Toronto-winning Abzan deck.

Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Elspeth, Sun’s Champion

Oh, and Elspeth is back. And still great!

The bulk of “I’m in Love With the Co-Co” is devoted to two Collected Company decks, Craig Wescoe’s G/W Collected Company beatdown deck and Nick Peternell’s U/G Devotion with Collected Company. Their conclusion is that these decks are already great, but Collected Company will make for even more exciting technology as the format continues.

All this and more in “I’m in Love With the Co-Co”:

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Music Credits: Ed Sheeran and Hitimpulse

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How to Win a PTQ with Dragonlord Dromoka

Dragonlord Dromoka
If you are expecting Esper or the mirror, you need to lay the foundation with Dragonlord Dromoka

“If you’re the guy with the best technology, you’re rewarded by the Magic gods.”
-Top Level Podcast

And last week at least… Mike was the one with the best technology!

For anyone who missed it, Mike won the Salt Lake City RPTQ with a “crazy” Mono-Blue Five-color Dragons list that was born on this here podcast just a couple of weeks ago.

1st Place Utah

In this episode of Top Level Podcast Utah RPTQ winner Mike Flores joins Pro Tour Champion Patrick Chapin to talk about their Five-color Dragons deck. Which is the best dragon? What are the proper play sequences? Why are there so many one- and three-ofs?

Anyway, Mike ended up with “the blue envelope”.

The sad thing is… The blue envelope was just a stack of white papers!

“That’s how they do it nowadays. It’s your choice: You can either have a blue envelope or an invite to the Pro Tour.”
-Patrick

And in now-typical Top Level Podcast fashion, Michael and Patrick put together an all-new all-different build of Mono-Blue Five-color Dragons… Hopefully preserving the good matchups (Esper and Mono-Red) while getting better and more aware of Abzan Aggro and Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver.

Here Be Dragons:

3 Perilous Vault

3 Dig Through Time
1 Disdainful Stroke
4 Dissolve
1 Dragonlord’s Prerogative
2 Encase in Ice
2 Icefall Regent
2 Nullify
4 Silumgar’s Scorn

2 Dragonlord Atarka
3 Dragonlord Dromoka
3 Dragonlord Ojutai
2 Dragonlord Silumgar

4 Crucible of the Spirit Dragon
1 Flooded Strand
4 Haven of the Spirit Dragon
5 Island
4 Polluted Delta
1 Temple of Deceit
4 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Temple of Epiphany
4 Temple of Mystery

Sideboard
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Dragonlord’s Prerogative
2 Encase in Ice
2 Icefall Regent
4 Master of Waves
1 Negate
3 Omenspeaker
1 Dragonlord Kolaghan

Find out why Dragonlord Kolaghan made it [back] into the list, how the boys got there, plus some live tweeting from Kenji Tsumura (!!!) in “How to Win a PTQ with Dragonlord Dromoka”.

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Silumgar’s Scorn is a Messed Up Magic Card

Silumgar's Scorn
Silumgar’s Scorn is a messed up Magic card.

Esper Dragons in Standard is “not even realistic”!

All the other strategies are invalidated!

Too many people are just not playing realistic decks!

Esper is so much better than everything else it’s almost not worth having a conversation… And a big reason for that is of course Silumgar’s Scorn (which is a messed up Magic card).

Silumgar’s Scorn comes out on turn two as a Force Spike… And is essentially Counterspell the rest of the game. (You’d be surprised at what kind of “something special” it is to have Counterspell in your deck.)

Esper is so good that even their “bad matchup” Mono-Red got handed a 13-0 record beating over the Pro Tour and Grand Prix!

“If you don’t show up with something new, you better show up with Esper!”
-Patrick

But lucky for Top Level Podcast listeners, Patrick and Michael give you something new (maybe):

“Esper-Aware” Mardu Tokens

4 Butcher of the Horde
4 Crackling Doom
2 Mardu Charm

4 Dragon Fodder
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Outpost Siege
4 Stoke the Flames

4 Raise the Alarm
1 Soulfire Grand Master
1 Valorous Stance

2 Battlefield Forge
4 Bloodstaine Mire
2 Caves of Koilos
2 Nomad Outpost
3 Mountain
2 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Temple of Malice
3 Temple of Silence
3 Temple of Triumph

sideboard:
2 Read the Bones
2 Self-Inflicted Wound
1 Utter End
3 Twin Bolt
2 Nyx-Fleece Ram
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
1 Erase
1 Glare of Heresy
1 Valorous Stance

Patrick Chapin joins Michael J Flores in a discussion of Esper Dragons, control in general, and Silumgar’s Scorn… Until they end up brewing a Mardu list.

Give it a listen!

Direct Download

Want to hear more from these guys?

Patrick’s Magic: The Gathering Books

Michael’s Magic: The Gathering Books

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Living the Monastery Siege

Patrick is still in Belgium, gearing up to play in this weekend’s upcoming Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir. He describes the experience as a kind of Monastery Siege.

Monastery SIege
Monastery Siege doesn’t really have much to do with this episode of Top Level Podcast.

Instead, our intrepid hosts Patrick Chapin and Michael J Flores discuss Patrick’s current playtest situation with his team The Pantheon, and twenty-odd years of high level tournament preparation skills, techniques, tactics, and technology generally. Including…

Which pros love to Stoke the Flames?
How to attack different formats, old and new
What are the good cards?
How are [other] people going to build decks based on the availability of good (new) cards?
Single v. multi-format events
Efficiently using limited playtest time
The Pantheon’s attitude towards sideboarding and playtesting with sideboards
The story of Mike Clair and seven Goblins decks
Assembling a gauntlet for established formats
Mike’s formula for extremes in metagaming
“We just play the best cards? Is that really a thing?”
Ben Rubin: master of taking from his environment
Why if two decks have a similar end game, the faster deck is favored
The concept of “bigger” v. “bigger end game”
Worlds 2005 and why Mori’s deck is one of Patrick’s all-time favorites for teaching deck building
Exploiting weaknesses in the metagame
Preparing for “middle ground” new formats that do not include a rotation
How card draw scales
Thought experiments around card draw versus expensive cards
How to expand your range as a player
Why every list Pantheon members post is expected to have a sideboard

… And more!

All in “Living the Monastery Siege”

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Speed, Nowhere, and Ojutai Exemplars

Ojutai Exemplars
Patrick’s short spiel on Ojutai’s Exemplars last week… Convinced Mike to buy a set!

How do you make a deck that is already the fastest deck in the format a half-turn faster?

Find out in “Speed, Nowhere, and Ojutai Exemplars”!

The importance of looking at formats from different angles?

“Speed, Nowhere, and Ojutai Exemplars” has got you covered!

Nostalgia? The history of Luis Scott-Vargas-winning tournaments?

… “Speed, Nowhere, and Ojutai Exemplars” I tell you!

[2009 World Champion] Andre Coimbra not believing some ridiculous turn-1 claim Mike makes?

“SPEED, NOWHERE, AND OJUTAI EXEMPLARS”

“We have math for this, man.”
-Patrick Chapin

From New York City!

From the middle of nowhere, Belgium!

Mike Flores and Patrick Chapin bring you the epic twentieth episode of Top Level Podcast… “Speed, Nowhere, and Ojutai Exemplars”

What’s it like for two of the ten best deck builders of all time* to upload five years of deck building into your head in five minutes (or five months)?

“Speed, Nowhere, and Ojutai Exemplars” (obv)

In addition to spending much of this podcast on the paradigm-shifting power of Ojutai Exemplars, Patrick and Mike talk about Secure the Wastes and some updates / revisions to Sidisi, Undead Vizier.

Secure the Wastes
“Secure the Wastes for zero” will be a surprisingly effective Ojutai Exemplars-saving play.

Sidisi, Undead Vizier
Make sure you know how to respond to the multiple triggers on Sidisi, Undead Vizier; also…

“The Pantheon rules the streets.”
-“Poet Laureate” Owen Turtenwald

All this and more in: “Speed, Nowhere, and Ojutai Exemplars”

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* not Michael and / or Patrick BTW… But if you want to read about the Ten Best Deck Builders of All Time, check out Patrick’s book Next Level Deckbuilding

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Sidisi, Undead Vizier + the Best of B&W

Sidisi, Undead Vizier
Sidisi, Undead Vizier is one of the best black cards in Dragons of Tarkir.

Patrick and Michael go over the ins and outs of Sidisi, Undead Vizier and the Exploit mechanic in general. Sultai Emissary is going to have lots and lots of reasons to raise in value.

Damnable Pact
Damnable Pact, aka “DrainGeyser” is a flexible staple-to-be.

Damnable Pact is equally valuable pointed at you or your opponent (depending on the context of a game). Remember: When you point it at yourself, you’re probably not in a lot of danger, and / or you have a bit of cushion in the life points column.

shambling-goblin
It might look little, but Shambling Goblin is standing by to become a strapping shield.

Blood-Chin Fanatic

Blood-Chin Fanatic is a potential paradigm-changer for the Warriors linear. Patrick calls MichaelJ a genius for his take on Blood Chin Fanatic… But he also calls him a “Gnarled Mass afficionado” (which he is, let’s be honest).

Blood-Chin Rager
Blood-Chin Rager ain’t no slouch itself!

A 2/2 for two mana, Blood-Chin Rager will not be the most exciting Warrior in terms of power-to-casting cost ratio… But it will do good work for Team Warriors. Remember: Cowards Can’t Block Warriors; and with Blood-Chin Rager in the mix, everyone else is going to have a hard time, too.

Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit is much more than a 2/2 for two itself! Patrick makes quite the case for this card in “Sidisi, Undead Vizier + the Best of B&W”.

Arashin Foremost
Arashin Foremost is a creature packed with potential. Find out why this creature might be even more powerful than the once dominant Silverblade Paladin.

All in all Patrick Chapin and Michael J Flores blow out the best of black and white cards from Dragons of Tarkir. Give it all a listen, starting with Sidisi, Undead Vizier…

Direct Download

Want to hear more from these guys?

Patrick’s Magic: The Gathering Books

Michael’s Magic: The Gathering Books

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