Rant of Valakut: A Token History Ben Iverach-Brereton March 29, 2021 Rants of Valakut Tokens have always been a part of Magic. The concept was introduced with The Hive all the way back in Alpha. At the time, players had to find their own items to represent these game pieces, be it glas... Read More...
Rant of Valakut: The Planeswalker Problem (part 2) Ben Iverach-Brereton March 15, 2021 Rants of Valakut In case you missed it, here's a link to part 1. Sarkhan Wasn't That Mad Planeswalkers first appeared in 2007, in Lorwyn. The early designs followed a fairly standard formula: a relatively weak... Read More...
Rant of Valakut: The Planeswalker Problem (part 1) Ben Iverach-Brereton March 1, 2021 Rants of Valakut The most frustrating thing in Magic is losing to a seemingly unbeatable threat. Sometimes that takes the form of a powerful creature, but more often than not it's an unanswered planeswalker. These ma... Read More...
Rant of Valakut: The Betrayer King in Historic Ben Iverach-Brereton February 15, 2021 Decklists, Rants of Valakut While everyone is getting excited over World Tree God combos and two-turn wins with Tibalt's Trickery, I've been focusing my efforts on Historic, with the help of a new uncommon from Kaldheim: If Narfi is a ... Read More...
Rant of Valakut: Customized for Cube Ben Iverach-Brereton February 1, 2021 Rants of Valakut Warning! This article contains unsolicited card designs. Members of Wizards R&D should stop reading right away. Might I suggest some music to tide you over instead, or perhaps a fun word puzzle? Rece... Read More...
Rant of Valakut: Life at Fourty Ben Iverach-Brereton January 18, 2021 Rants of Valakut What really sets Commander apart from other formats isn't the colour identity rule or the singleton nature of decks. It's not even the looming creature (or planeswalker) waiting in the Command Zone. While these... Read More...
Rant of Valakut: Back to the Basics Ben Iverach-Brereton January 4, 2021 Rants of Valakut The most important* step when building a Commander deck choosing which basic lands to use. They set the tone for your deck, and reinforce your theme. Do you want your deck to have an old-school feeling? Use pre... Read More...
Rant of Valakut: Animated Shows #In5Cards Ben Iverach-Brereton December 21, 2020 Rants of Valakut #In5Cards is an annual tradition for the Rants of Valakut. They are short word puzzles that use Magic cards to describe something from pop culture. Each year has a different theme: Christmas Sci-Fi Movi... Read More...
Rant of Valakut: Second Sun Ben Iverach-Brereton December 7, 2020 Rants of Valakut Originally published in Rolling Stoneforge Magazine* In 2010, the band Smash Mouth began work on a new batch of songs. They wanted them to be a love letter to their favourite trading card game, and n... Read More...
Rant of Valakut: Seven Reflections (Commander) Ben Iverach-Brereton November 23, 2020 Decklists, Rants of Valakut Cards like Relentless Rats, Persistent Petitioners and Shadowborn Apostle break normal deck-building restrictions by allowing any number of them to be in a deck. Seven Dwarves works in a similar way, but instea... Read More...