This Week's Picks
Hey everyone, welcome the first Weekly Draw! This is a new weekly series I'm doing to keep a pulse on all things MTG. These will come out every Monday morning hereafter but this week was an interesting one so I figured I'd go ahead and start today. We have a lot of ground to cover this week, from a massive banlist update that shook up Modern to a highly anticipated Secret Lair drop that vanished almost instantly.
- Goblin Storm Secret Lair sells out in 34 minutes.
- Massive May B&R update hits Modern and Legacy.
- First look at the upcoming Star Trek crossover.
- A classic Mono-Red Sligh list for Premodern.
Goblin Storm vanishes in 34 minutes
The highly anticipated Secret Lair Commander Deck: Goblin Storm went live on May 18 with a $149.99 price tag. Notably, Wizards of the Coast implemented a one-per-customer limit to help with accessibility, but that didn't really seem to stop it from basically instantly selling out.
For players hoping to grab a copy at retail, the quick sellout was a frustrating experience. Within hours, hundreds of listings appeared on eBay and TCGplayer, with scalpers asking upwards of $500 to $700 for the deck. But that's not the end of the story. The featured artist, Wizard of Barge, went public with their thoughts on the matter and oh boy did that spin up some drama.
Modern and Legacy get a major shakeup
The May 18 Banned and Restricted announcement delivered significant changes across multiple formats. In Modern, Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury and Lotus Field were banned to check Boros Energy and Amulet Titan, while Violent Outburst and Umezawa's Jitte were unbanned. Legacy also saw a surgical hit with the banning of Undercity Informer to slow down Oops! All Spells.
This is one of the most impactful ban announcements we have seen in a while, especially for Modern players preparing for upcoming Regional Championships. The unbanning of Jitte is particularly interesting, as players will now get to test whether the legendary equipment can keep up with the current speed of the format.
Captain Kirk beams into Magic
As Magic continues its Universes Beyond crossovers, a new leak has surfaced showing off the first card from the upcoming Star Trek collaboration. The leaked card features Captain Kirk and introduces mechanics that care about Spacecraft-themed decks, giving us a hint at how the sci-fi franchise will translate to the tabletop.
While unofficial leaks should always be taken with a grain of salt, this early look gives Commander players a reason to start thinking about how they might build around Starfleet's most famous captain. We expect to see more official previews as we get closer to the set's release later this year.
Burning through Premodern with Mono-Red Sligh
Player medvedev recently piloted a traditional Mono-Red Sligh deck to a 16th place finish in the Premodern Challenge 32. The list relies on the time-tested strategy of deploying cheap, aggressive red threats and backing them up with efficient burn spells to close out the game before opponents can stabilize.
If you are looking to get into the Premodern format, Sligh is an excellent starting point. It teaches fundamental concepts of mana curve and resource management, and it remains a highly capable deck against the format's slower, more controlling strategies.
See You Next Week
That is all for this week. Whether you are testing out an unbanned Jitte in Modern or just trying to dodge the scalpers, I hope you get some good games in this weekend. See you at the tables.
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