Eternal Durdles

LobsterCon just gave us one of the clearest pictures of the Premodern meta we’ve seen in a long time—and it challenges a lot of what we thought we knew.

In this episode, we break down the results, including why StifleNought underperformed, what actually rose to the top, and what it says about the health of the format.

We dig into:
• Why everyone came prepared for Dreadnought—and why that mattered
• The rise of graveyard combo decks (Replenish, FEB, Hermit)
• How disruption (Wasteland, Port, graveyard hate) shaped the event
• What successful decks had in common
• Why Premodern in paper feels VERY different from MTGO
• How to adapt your deck going forward

The takeaway?
Premodern might be more open—and more skill-testing—than people give it credit for.

If you're prepping for your next event (or just grinding MTGO), this is essential viewing.

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LobsterCon is next weekend, and the Premodern meta continues to evolve.

In this episode, we help isolate what you need to prepare for going into one of the biggest Premodern events of the year!

We cover:
• The most played decks (Goblins, StifleNought, Landstill, etc.)
• Why “meta buckets” matter more than specific matchups
• The rise of Moneyball Black and how it’s evolving
• Why Replenish might actually be the biggest sleeper deck
• Building a smarter, more flexible sideboard
• Identifying what your deck loses to
• Why proactive strategies are favored in large events
• Tournament endurance, pacing, and avoiding draws
• Matchup defining cards (Withered Wretch, Engineered Plague, etc.)
• How small deckbuilding tweaks change matchups
• Deck performance of paper vs online
• LobsterCon Top 8 predictions

Huge thanks to Cyrus for insights and data work
(Check his links below)

LobsterCon is next weekend, and the Premodern meta continues to evolve.

In this episode, we help isolate what you need to prepare for going into one of the biggest Premodern events of the year!

We cover:
• The most played decks (Goblins, StifleNought, Landstill, etc.)
• Why “meta buckets” matter more than specific matchups
• The rise of Moneyball Black and how it’s evolving
• Why Replenish might actually be the biggest sleeper deck
• Building a smarter, more flexible sideboard
• Identifying what your deck loses to
• Why proactive strategies are favored in large events
• Tournament endurance, pacing, and avoiding draws
• Matchup defining cards (Withered Wretch, Engineered Plague, etc.)
• How small deckbuilding tweaks change matchups
• Deck performance of paper vs online
• LobsterCon Top 8 predictions

Huge thanks to Cyrus for insights and data work
(Check his links below)

Is Legacy getting healthier?

In this episode, we assess current Threat Level data, a metric that tracks how dominant cards are based on play rate and deck saturation, as well as:
• The rise of Flow State
• Why Orcish Bowmasters is finally trending down
• Urza’s Saga’s massive surge
• The impact of new design vs. bans on format health
• How to interpret impact of threat level vs gameplay (and why cards like Thassa’s Oracle should be viewed differently
• The cyclical nature of format-defining cards
• What trends suggest for the future

Full spreadsheet + data references discussed in the episode:

Is Legacy getting healthier?

In this episode, we assess current Threat Level data, a metric that tracks how dominant cards are based on play rate and deck saturation, as well as:
• The rise of Flow State
• Why Orcish Bowmasters is finally trending down
• Urza’s Saga’s massive surge
• The impact of new design vs. bans on format health
• How to interpret impact of threat level vs gameplay (and why cards like Thassa’s Oracle should be viewed differently
• The cyclical nature of format-defining cards
• What trends suggest for the future

Full spreadsheet + data references discussed in the episode:

What if Magic felt like 1999 again?In this episode, we dive into a fully old-border Premodern Cube built for nostalgia and a weekend with the homies.https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/ac499a4f-4922-41f0-8749-0183e9bcaef4https://moxfield.com/decks/7Jq0coVJS0K5Kv2hW7Ev3A We chat:• The philosophy behind building a Premodern cube• Supported archetypes (Goblins, Zombies, Elves, Merfolk, etc)• Why this cube leans aggressive• How gold cards and creature types overlap• Mana fixing• Why the draft is more fun than the gamesWe also:• Pack 1 Pick 1 scenarios• Unintended archetypes• Derail into nonsense

What if Magic felt like 1999 again?In this episode, we dive into a fully old-border Premodern Cube built for nostalgia and a weekend with the homies.https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/ac499a4f-4922-41f0-8749-0183e9bcaef4https://moxfield.com/decks/7Jq0coVJS0K5Kv2hW7Ev3A We chat:• The philosophy behind building a Premodern cube• Supported archetypes (Goblins, Zombies, Elves, Merfolk, etc)• Why this cube leans aggressive• How gold cards and creature types overlap• Mana fixing• Why the draft is more fun than the gamesWe also:• Pack 1 Pick 1 scenarios• Unintended archetypes• Derail into nonsense

What if Magic felt like 1999 again?In this episode, we dive into a fully old-border Premodern Cube built for nostalgia and a weekend with the homies.

We chat:

• The philosophy behind building a Premodern cube

• Supported archetypes (Goblins, Zombies, Elves, Merfolk, etc)

• Why this cube leans aggressive

• How gold cards and creature types overlap

• Mana fixing

• Why the draft is more fun than the games

We also:

• Pack 1 Pick 1 scenarios

• Unintended archetypes

• Derail into nonsense

“Pre-Modern Horizons”…

It sounds like a joke—but it reveals a deeper misunderstanding about what Pre-Modern actually is.

In this episode, we break down:
• Why adding new cards to Pre-Modern fundamentally doesn’t work
• How the format survives because it’s closed
• Why Wizards of the Coast has zero incentive to support it the “right” way
• The real (and dangerous) ways WotC could try to monetize Pre-Modern
• Why proxies, community formats, and grassroots growth are the REAL future

We also get into:
• The proxy debate (and why it matters more than ever)
• Whether “Pre-Modern Masters” could actually happen
• The booming growth of the format (30+ player locals 👀)
• LobsterCon prep, deck choices, and what we’d bring

Pre-Modern isn’t broken.
It’s one of the only formats that works.

And that’s exactly why this conversation matters.

“Pre-Modern Horizons”… It sounds like a joke—but it reveals a deeper misunderstanding about what PreModern actually is.

In this episode, we break down:

• Why adding new cards to PreModern fundamentally doesn’t work

• How the format survives because it’s closed

• Why Wizards of the Coast has zero incentive to support it the “right” way

• The real (and dangerous) ways WotC could try to monetize PreModern

• Why proxies, community formats, and grassroots growth are the REAL future

We also get into:

• The proxy debate (and why it matters more than ever)

• Whether “PreModern Masters” could actually happen

• The booming growth of the format (30+ player locals 👀)

• LobsterCon prep, deck choices, and what we’d bring

PreModern isn’t broken. It’s one of the only formats that works.