Top 8 Magic – magic.facetofacegames.com

The much heralded Banned and Restricted announcement has come and gone. While there is some immediate relief for Vintage and Legacy players from Lurrus, if you are a Standard player looking to avoid getting paired against a Companion deck anytime soon you are not going to be happy.

There was an interesting nugget buried in the last paragraph of the "Other Formats" section of the announcement in which Ian Duke said, "If we see signs of long-term health issues resulting from high metagame share of companion decks, we're willing to take steps up to or including changing how the companion mechanic works."

So what does that mean exactly?

Brian "BDM" Marshall had one easy suggestion on Twitter while Hall of Famer Zvi Mowshowitz prefers the nuclear option.

https://twitter.com/Top8Games/status/1262400478731796483?s=20

The two of them put on their snazziest R&D/Organized Play hats and triaged the different options which ranged from forced mulligans to killing access to sideboard during games to some kind of Bark in the Park alternative Standard format.

Zvi also talked about his Mono Green Stompy deck -- Senior Stompy as BDM call it -- and whether or not it could be a real deck in the metagame moving forward. Here are links to his deck and to a similar but more mid-range build that did well in the past weekend's Redbull Untapped event.

https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/zvimowshowitz-05182020-the-return-of-senor-stompy

https://mtgazone.com/deck/mono-green-stompy-by-rint-red-bull-untapped-international-qualifier-1/

If you have any questions, feedback, or even an idea for a show topic you can find the hosts on Twitter at

BDM: @top8games

Zvi: @thezvi

The now elusive MichaelJ: @fivewithflores

BDM and Zvi catch up early in the week as Zvi mulls his options for the upcoming Mythic Qualifier on MTG Arena, which he qualified for largely by playing Limited and rarely sporting more than 13 lands in his decks. Fortunately that same deck -- with not that many more lands -- is reasonably playable in Standard.

The duo talk through some of the recent metagame shifts from the Weekend Championship which former Rookie of the Year Oliver Tiu won with Jeskai Yorion Fires. Standard is not only pet-friendly right now it is downright mandatory.

As Zvi settles firmly into the Top 8 Magic family the scope of the conversation broadened to include baller groceries and favorite TV shows.

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At this point it is widely accepted that Ikoria Limited's shining star is the cycling deck that features uncommon build-arounds like Flourishing Fox and Valiant Rescuer; super-efficient red removal like Flame Spill and Fire Prophecy; and other key cards like Drannith Stingers and Healers, Ominous Seas, and Zenith Flare. There is a plethora of cheap options all at common or uncommon.

As Brian and Zvi get to the rare and mythic cards in their set review they do so with an eye to how many of the pricey rares rise above the high standards of the pauperific staples of the cycling deck. How many cards in the rare slot would YOU take over a Flourishing Fox? Over a Fire Prophecy or Pacifism? Play along as Magic the Gathering Hall of Famer Zvi Mowshowitz digs into which ones rise above the bar for him.

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Part 2 of BDM and Zvi's journey through Ikoria limited. This episode covers Red, Green, Multicolored, Artifacts, and Lands.

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Magic Hall of Famer Zvi Mowshowitz has gotten as low as 13 lands in the Ikoria Limited decks thanks to the power of "Cycling 1." He sits down with co-host Brian David-Marshall to look at the commons and uncommons in White, Blue, and Black as they try to figure out which cards make this draft format tick. They have already discussed the Companions and each other them have had success with them in Draft but is this a Prince or Pauper format? Do the commons and uncommons dominate the strategies or dies it all come down to the rare inhabitants of Monster Island?

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BDM and Zvi braved the scary new world of Skype-casting so the Hall of Fame Magic player and game designer could vent about free cards. Free cards are fun but not when everybody has them on exactly the turn they need them. Join Brian and Zvi for a brief discussion about the 10 cards with Companion and why Zvi is very wary about them.

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Brian "BDM" David-Marshall is joined by Magic Hall of Famer Zvi Mowshowitz as they discuss the similarities and differences between the 16 Standard decks being played this weekend at the 26th World Championship.

Just another day at the office for BDM and Zvi as the Hall of Famer returns from his weekend in Phoenix to play in his first regional Players Tour event. Topics covered in this episode include:

- The Mono Blue Devotion deck designed by Sam Black and played by Zvi

Mono Blue Devotion

4 Brazen Borrower

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With the Prerelease coming up this weekend, Brian and Zvi talk their way through the newest Magic set with an eye toward what decks get some new toys and what building blocks will allow for some new decks. This episode covers gold, artifacts and lands. .

With the Prerelease coming up this weekend, Brian and Zvi talk their way through the newest Magic set with an eye toward what decks get some new toys and what building blocks will allow for some new decks. This episode covers black, red and green cards.