General Magic news

North of Exile: When a good LGS closes

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

One of my favourite family traditions is the one where we rent a cottage every summer. The family, either just the four of us or with friends or extended family, enjoy some quality time together normally in Ontario but sometimes as far out as New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. It is always a great time.

Back in 2017, we rented a cottage on Georgian Bay. We’ve done so a number of times as we love the area and the awesome beaches (despite it not being seashore – inside joke with my wife). Much as we had done before, have done since and will likely do again, we were in the area that summer for a bit of R&R with toes in the sand and sun on our faces.

On one of our small day trips, we drove by a place called North of Exile on Main Street in Penetanguishene. Bright green sign that could not be missed. Lo and behold, a game store! The boys and I immediately knew that we would be checking it out. And when we did the next day, we found out that they had been open for all of three days (if I recall correctly – certainly less than a week).

As we checked things out, I got talking with Jason, one of the two owners of this new store. Just a general conversation but a pleasant one. We bought a few things, including Magic cards of course, and returned to our vacation. Jason invited us to come back. And did we ever – This was but the first visit in what became an annual stop.

From that point on, every summer, we either stopped in if we were renting in the neighborhood or we planned a trip up at some point to take part in a pre-release or some other event. The highlight was probably our ‘Boys trip’ in 2019 when the boys and I went up for a couple of days, including two nights playing Magic at North of Exile. The boys still talk about that trip! Ask them if they would prefer to stay at the local Super 8 or a fancier hotel elsewhere and the answer might surprise you!

Things began to change after that. First there was COVID. Then, North of Exile moved from Penetanguishene to Midland and a bit later, they got out of running Magic events and selling Magic cards, focusing instead on Genesis and Pokemon. On this side, the boys grew up and there was less time for family Magic (I may need to rename the site). But we still managed at least one trip up every year. We do like our traditions in this family!

When COVID hit, Jason launched a weekly Twitch stream and ran online Magic events through Arena. It was not the same as a visit to the store but gave me a chance to get to know Jason a bit better and continue to play the game I love so much through some challenging times. It gave me a sense of what might have been if North of Exile was not so far away.

Unfortunately, there won’t be a trip North this year (well, not to go play Magic at least); Jason and Janis announced the closure of the store earlier this month:

Every time I visited North of Exile, I told Jason I wished it did not take 2 hours to get there. It was the kind of LGS where I would have spent far more time had I had the chance. I suspect the boys would have also – Maybe one of them would have worked there! It was not too small, not too big and the community they built was a special one. Friendly and supportive. And welcoming of the strangers dropping in once or twice a year.

As much as I love our LGS here in Toronto, it is bigger and feels like less of a community. Maybe I need to spend more time there but North of Exile felt like a place where I belonged from our first visit. It just felt easier to get to know people there (maybe a reflection on Toronto itself?). I think Jason and Janis’ vision fostered that in their community. Being in a small town probably helped but I would like to think it was how they approached what an LGS should be that really enabled this.

Things change; that’s a given. The closure of North of Exile is a marker in time. The boys and I will continue to play Magic, maybe not as much and maybe I will be going to my local LGS alone a bit more, maybe we will pick up other games. One thing is certain: We will always have our memories of our trips to North of Exile.

I hope that there will be chances to reconnect with Jason in the future! And there may even be a day when we will have a chance to resume our trips to North of Exile (when Jason strikes the motherload and decides that running a game store is the best way to enjoy his success)!

In the meantime, I wish Jason and Janis the very best with their future endeavours. I suspect one of those will be Genesis: Battle of Champions. I’ll be rooting for them!

One-of-one serialized version of The One Ring has been found… In Canada

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

The quest to find the one-of-one serialized version of The One Ring has come to an end. The card grading service PSA today tweeted that the much coveted card sporting a 001/001 serial number has not only been found but also graded (9 out of 10 according to their scale). Wizards of the Coast confirmed the discovery shortly afterwards as well.

The one-of-one serialized card, the first such card printed by Wizards, sparked frenzied searching by not only Magic players but more broadly across the collectible card community with one offer by a Spanish LGS reaching €2 million, just over US$2 million or about CA$2.9 million, earlier this month.

The person who pulled the card has chosen to remain anonymous at this time but appears to be Canadian or at least have a Canadian connection. Maximum Cards and Collectibles in Whitby tweeted that the card was found by “the cousin of a regular customer.” They are apparently entertaining offers over $1 million and “negotiations are currently ongoing.” Should they successfully conclude for such a price, The One Ring will become the most expensive Magic card ever, beating out the famed Black Lotus, of which one reportedly sold for more than US$500,000.

While WOTC first introduced serialized cards back in 2021 as part of a Secret Lair drop, this is the first time that it printed a one-of-one card. They made a more prominent appearance in November 2022 in The Brothers’ War set with serialized artifacts in a retro frame. Along with this single card, there are a number of other serialized cards in this set. And I expect that we will see more of them in upcoming sets as well.

Fortunately for everyone that did not find this version of The One Ring, non-serialized Mythic versions are also available and much easier to find (albeit still pricey in my humble opinion).

Update (07/04): Face to Face has confirmed that it was the LGS where the collector booster box containing that unique The One Ring Card was purchased. Maybe the next time one of us sits down to play a game there, we’ll be playing against that millionaire!

WOTC announces new card banning schedule

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WOTC announced a significant change to the Standard format earlier this month. With sets now rotating out of the format after three years rather than two, a concern emerged about the format potentially getting stale due to overly oppressive cards. For example, many are tired of seeing yet another Sheoldred, the Apocalypse or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker come down during a game.

WOTC this week announced another change that it hopes will rejuvenate the Standard format. Bans will now take place on a more regular schedule and with less unpredictability. Instead of a reactive schedule, bans will now take place only once a year in late summer just ahead of previews for the rotation sets (or fall sets). For this year, that will be ahead of the release of Wilds of Eldraine.

The company did give itself some flexibility to deal with

Each set will be followed by a “mini band window” lasting three weeks with each set release. It will allow WOTC to make adjustments should a card have a “significant negative effect on a format.” These smaller windows will cover all formats, not just Standard. They expect bans in these windows to be “extremely rare” but would cover cards such as Felidar Guardian or Oko, Thief of Crowns that completely warp a format.

With the first ban window scheduled for this fall, WOTC did give itself an additional one-time ban window for Standard. It will take place on May 29th. While they did not actually confirm any bans, one can surmise that they would not announce such a special event without declaring some on that day.

Wilds of Eldraine, the upcoming Fall set, was not designed with a tree-year Standard rotation in mind. As a result, the May 29th band will look to ban cards that could prevent the new set from having an effect in Standard. I suspect that a few cards will get named and I would not be surprised if Invoke Despairs, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and/or Reckoner Bankbuster would be among them.

The changes are meant to address complaints that bans are currently happening “too frequently, too randomly.” They will hopefully give users the confidence that their decks will not change with little notice.

WOTC also hinted that future announcements will cover play events.

What cards are you hoping to see banned? Drop us a note below.

WOTC extends Standard rotation to three years

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Do you remember Standard, that rotating Magic format, that was the format of choice for many FNMs before COVID hit? More often than not, it is now something I play only on Arena as none of my LGS offer it anymore.

WOTC today announced some a pretty significant change to the Standard format. Starting with  the release of Wilds of Eldraine, Standard will cover three years of sets rather than the current two.

Before the rule change, Innistrad: Crimson Vow, Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, and Streets of New Capenna would all have rotated out of Standard this upcoming September. Now they will do so only in September 2024, giving them an additional year of life in the format. And from there, every new set will remain in the format for three years as well. According to Wizards:

Extending the Standard rotation to three years will, we believe, achieve two main points (and an additional benefit) that can make tabletop Standard more enjoyable:

  • This will give current Standard cards more longevity. Time and again, we hear that players want to play with cards they love and enjoy longer. Standard is our only rotating format, and while keeping it fresh is important, we also feel that there’s a more effective middle ground.
  • It will allow mechanics and archetypes to be more effectively built on over time. As we moved away from the block model, we gained a lot of flexibility, but we also lost some ability to build on mechanics and themes within a set. With a longer window, we can find more opportunities to build up or revitalize archetypes. Coupled with the point above, that can lead to more diversity, longer-lasting archetypes, and enough competitive churn to keep players engaged.
  • It also gives us stronger tools to create an environment where decks are more “color(s) and mechanic” (like Green-White Toxic or Blue-White Soldiers) and less midrange. With a larger card pool, the format can handle bigger swings with entire decks seeded at once.

More sets should indeed lead to more diversity in the meta. But it also means that cards that become staples for Tier 1 decks may persist in the meta longer than before. Cards like Invoke Despair or Reckoner Bankbuster will likely continue to appear in decks for another year. Diversity will hopefully also lead to cheaper cards but it could have the reverse effect for staples. For example, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is already a CA$100 card and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker is a CA$40 card. Could they climb higher or will the diversity of cards allow for more answers to those types of cards and reduce their hold on the format?

The change could also lead to more bans. With a longer shelf life for cards, WOTC may need to ban cards that warp gameplay for too long. Many players have already expressed how much they despite Invoke Despair (still less annoying than Ruin Crab was in its day in my opinion) and bringing Standard back to life may be difficult if players find themselves facing the same decks over and over.

The Standard format change will carry over to Arena as well. Alchemy will not change and will keep the current two-year rotation schedule.

Wizards also announced that this is a first step in helping Standard finds its way back into more LGS. Exactly what those steps are is not immediately clear as WOTC has only promised that additional developments are “still in the planning stages.”

Will the announced changes to Standard get you back in the format? Or are you among those who never left? Drop us a note below to let us know.

A week of endings: Goodbye Genesis: Battle of Champions and Atomic Age

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Word of warning: This post is about some unfortunate news.

First up came the news on Monday that Haunted Castle Gaming was stopping operations. It was the company behind Genesis: Battle of Champions, a Canadian TCG I’ve mentioned before. Perhaps the most surprising is the timing as the game seemed to finally really be catching on, with a number of LGS’s getting behind the game with the latest being none other than Face to Face Games, my own local haunt (they had just started selling cards online).

I have no doubt that launching a new TCG is a daunting endeavour at the best of time. The fact that Haunted Castle Gaming wrestled against a pandemic on top of everything else (like many others) certainly did not help. Anyone who’s met Assad Quraishi, not only the CEO of Haunted Castle Gaming Inc but more importantly the Genesis: Battle of Champions’ creator, knows that he poured his soul into this game. And did so with an energy and a dedication to the game’s fans that was nothing short of inspiring.

We discovered Genesis during the early days of the pandemic (Thanks, Jason over at North of Exile). The boys and I played at home a few times, learning the rules much as we went along much as we did years back with Magic.

Genesis: Battle of Champions - Rayne on the board

And much like Magic, we realized that the only way to really and truly learn would be to play against others. Rulebooks, especially in their first iterations, can only go so far. Without the community and with Magic still a larger part of our lives, that early interest waned. I met Assad a few times, each interaction reaffirming that he wanted to build a game that was first and foremost for players. I was always surprised at how far he would go to make sure that players had nothing but the best experience. How often does a game designer make personal deliveries to your door (it does help that we live in the same city)?

I don’t know all the details behind this sudden end but I do know that I wish I had taken part in a few tournaments, gotten more involved in the game and gotten to know Assad better. It would not have changed any of this but it would have been a few more memories of this game. Fortunately, the boys and I still have all our cards, including some very cool promos. It’s time to dust them off and play a few rounds to celebrate what Assad and Haunted Castle Gaming accomplished.

The Genesis community has expressed interest in keeping the game going and I know that North of Exile is still planning to hold its Wednesday night Genesis games – I’ll need figure out how to get up there to play sometime soon.

And then later in the week came the news that Atomic Age, a small comic book store not far from my house is closing. Along with the weekly posting of new comics was this little blurb on Facebook:

Last new comic week for us.

Thanks to all who have come in over the years.

Atomic Age was a local store that the boys and I would drop into every once in a while over the years. More importantly, it was the place where we went for Magic events when we first got into the game (aside from the very first pre-release that Christian and I attended). It was a tiny place (that also did pet grooming!) and the events were more for a group of friends getting together than formal ones, Gene and Alan welcomed us and most importantly for me, Christian and Noah never felt uncomfortable there. It was where Christian won his very first event! By the time the group sadly folded, the boys (and I) were ready to play at larger venues.

We returned to Atomic Age every so often after that but when they stopped carrying new Magic sets, the visits got rarer as the boys never got into serious comic collecting (likely to their mother’s relief as I have enough boxes for all of us). We’ll definitely need to swing by to say goodbye.

The lesson here is the same as it always is: Take advantage of the opportunities to play new games and meet new players. Something I need to take to heart more.

Thank you Assad, Alan & Gene. The boys and I will have the cards and the memories for a long time!

The One Ring: A unique 1-of-1 Magic card

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Previews for the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set have begun. Rather than focusing on what feels like a never ending season of previews, today is all about a card that will become a much sought after, perhaps the most sought after, Magic card in a very long time.

At the heart of Lord of the Rings is the One Ring, the embodiment of Sauron’s power. Unsurprisingly, the ring will make an appearance in the set but can it really be the One Ring To Rule Them All if we all have one? This conundrum occurred to Wizards of the Coast and they solved it.

As Wizards puts it, “And so, as part of an extraordinarily rare and exciting promotion only for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, we made one such card.” Lurking in a single English-language The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Collector Booster will be a single (yes, just one) serialized version of The One Ring in a traditional foil design printed in the Black Speech of Sauron using Tengwar letterforms.

On the left below, the single serialized One Ring and on the right, the regular version:

The set will also feature the Rings of Power that were crafted for the Elves, Dwarves, and mortal men of Middle-earth. These will be themed versions of the venerable Sol Ring, available again only in Collector Booster packs. These will be written in the language of the High Elves, Quenya, in Tengwar letterforms. Serialized versions will also be available but in more significant quantities:

  • 300 Serialized double rainbow foil Sol Ring (Elven)
  • 700 Serialized double rainbow foil Sol Ring (Dwarven)
  • 900 Serialized double rainbow foil Sol Ring (Human)
  • 3,000 Non-foil Sol Ring (Elven)
  • 7,000 Non-foil Sol Ring (Dwarven)
  • 9,000 Non-foil Sol Ring (Human)

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth will be released this summer with Prerelease events taking place June 16th to 22nd.

So, who wants that ring? And can you resist its power if you find it?

A case of too much Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines?

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Previews for Phyrexia: All Will Be One kicked off earlier this month. As the Phyrexian threat continues to grow and after seeing Praetors such as Gix, Jin-Jitaxias and Sheoldred, was it ever in question that Elesh Norn would make an appearance as well? She is after all the current leader of New Phyrexia.

Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines

Prior to the new card, Elesh Norn had only appeared on one card (Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite). Part of the New Phyrexia set, it has since been reprinted several times. So, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines (or Mom as some have started calling this new one) is only the second appearance for the Praetor. Perhaps for this reason, WOTC decided to give us six versions of the same card.

As you can see above, we have the normal version as well as borderless, showcase, concept and oil slick versions. And one in Phyrexian.

It’s not the first time that Wizards of the Coast has cranked out multiple variants of the same card in a set. Two other recent examples are Teferi, Master of Time and Gala Greeters. The former featured mostly minor variants of the same art as well as a borderless version. The latter was the box topper for the set. Variants with unique art were offered for each language that the set came in.

My question is simple: Do we really need six versions of the same card in the set release? Different people will likely have different answers. Someone like Noah who does pay more attention to the art will be able to get the version he likes best. Someone like me will settle for the one I pull (hopefully) or the cheapest single version. And the completists will likely grumble at having to get multiple versions of the same card. In the end, some will not happy, some will scratch their heads and others will rejoice. Sounds like just another day in the world of Magic to me!

Lastly, if nothing else, it is six versions of a card that I expect will have an impact in at least some formats (like Commander). A five mana card is not always easy to play but you get a 4/7 with the ability to not only double our ETB (Enter the battlefield) triggers while suppressing those of our opponents. And in our house, that is a good thing!

How long has Noah played Magic?

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Late last week, Noah casually dropped this bomb:

“I’ve played Magic half my life.”

It took me a second but he is right. He got into the game at the age of seven and we are now closing in on eight years playing this game!

Best of all, he’s become quite the player. He finished with a 2-1 record at our latest pre-release. This followed up up on his 3-0 record at the Kamigawa prerelease.

His favourite formats at the moment are Commander and Draft. He pulled a Lord Xander, the Collector, at the pre-release and I’m fully expecting another painful deck from him in the coming weeks!

This also means that Christian has played Magic for more than a third of his life!

Families chosen for the Streets of New Capenna Prerelease

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Previews are in full swing and it will not be long before we have a chance to crack some packs for the latest Magic set, Streets of New Capenna.

Everything kicks off with instore prerelease events that begin on April 22nd. In a surprising but welcome development, Wizards of the Coast has opted to hold off the MTG Arena and MTG Online releases to April 28th rather than having them take place first as they have done with recent sets. The global tabletop release will then follow on April 29th with the usual raft of sealed options including Set, Draft, Collector Boosters and Theme Boosters. There will also be five Commander decks, one for each of the Streets of New Capenna factions.

The art of the set promises to be quite something. The full art Art Deco inspired lands are beautiful (I still think the Kamigawa ones were better but I would not be unhappy to slide a few of these into my decks.

The boys and I are looking forward to the new Commander decks. It has become the format of choice in our games and the possibility of new commanders is always welcome – These days, almost anything will be welcome if it means that Noah stops threatening to play Koma, Cosmic Serpent!

The boys and I are already signed up for our Prelease events. Noah opted to go with the Maestros (Blue-Black-Red), Christian ended up with the Brokers (Green-White-Blue), rather than Obscura as Noah and I had expected, while I went with the Cabaretti (Red-Green-White).

We picked our families shortly after they were revealed. We chose solely on colours and basic descriptions even before the majority of previews had started. We are now watching previews to see if we made the right choices.

Which family have you chosen to go with?

Left-handed Magic cards

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Have you ever sat across someone who looked to have trouble holding their cards or shuffling their decks? Did it ever occur to you that they might be a left-handed player playing with right-handed cards? While it may never have crossed my mind, it did occur to Wizards of the Coast and they have taken a first step to remedy this issue by introducing the very first left-handed Magic cards.

We believe this wrong has gone unrighted (unlefted?) for too long. No more will our players be forced to play with suboptimal right-handed cards. This is Magic as it was always intended, featuring five of the game’s coolest lefties.

The Finally! Left-Handed Magic Cards Secret Lair consists of 5 cards:

  • 1x Left-Handed Sisay, Weatherlight Captain
  • 1x Left-Handed Empress Galina
  • 1x Left-Handed Geralf’s Messenger
  • 1x Left-Handed Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh
  • 1x Left-Handed Garruk, Caller of Beasts
Sisay, Weatherlight Captain - Secret Lair
Sisay, Weatherlight Captain – Secret Lair
Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh - Secret Lair
Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh – Secret Lair
Geralf's Messenger - Secret Lair
Geralf’s Messenger – Secret Lair
Garruk, Caller of Beasts - Secret Lair
Garruk, Caller of Beasts – Secret Lair
Empress Galina - Secret Lair
Empress Galina – Secret Lair

The cool part of about this April Fool’s prank is that it’s an actual real deal. While I am not a fan of Secret Lairs in general, I must give kudos to WOTC for finding a way to turn their joke into an actual product. How many times have we all chuckled at a good April Fool’s, patted ourselves on the back for not falling for it and simply moving on. In this case, you’ll be able to own the joke at the end of it all.

The Finally! Left-Han will be on sale from 9 a.m. PT April 11 to 9 a.m. May 9. For the usual US$29.99 for a non-foil set or US$39.99 for a traditional foil set.

If you need more information, check out the original post.