Benjamin Macready

EDHREC • 8th July 2025

Ranking Which Final Fantasy Villains Got the Best Cards | EDHREC

A fortnight ago we analyzed the heroes, now let's cross over to the dark side and look at the villains. Final Fantasy has a Rogues' GalleryRogues' Gallery that's as sprawling and varied, as one of Ultimecia'sUltimecia's sinister schemes.From monstrous clown gods, like KefkaKefka, to power-mad super soldiers, like SephirothSephiroth, this series is loaded with villains of all possible persuasions. Now let's rank them.Just like last time, we're defining the "best" commanders here both as the ones...

Macready Musings • 6th July 2025

Final Fantasy Lore For MTG Players Part 1

The recent Final Fantasy crossover has gotten many Magic: the Gathering players interested in learning about the lore of the series. Here's my primer on the lore of Final Fantasy 1 through to Final Fantasy 5.

You can support me on Ko-Fi here: https://ko-fi.com/macreadymusings
You can find my writing portfolio here: https://benjaminmacready.journoportfolio.com/

You can follow me on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/macreadymusings.bsky.social

The Macready Musings logo and Banner were designed by Panley, whose work you can find here: https://bsky.app/profile/panley.blue

Music used in this video
Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster - The Kingdom of Baron
Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster - Main Theme
Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster - The Rebel Army
Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster - Altar Cave
Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster - The Red Wings
Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster - We Are Pirates
Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster - Battle at the Big Bridge
Remixed Samples From
Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso
Lazy Town - You are a Pirate

Gameplay sourced from
DB Gamer Music Video
Uly Avia
Brayniac
WarufEx
RoelChannel
8-Bit Walkthrough
Buffmaister

Article Cited
https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-best-selling-mtg-set-before-official-release-date

Sound effects provided by Oviono Sounds and sourced from Final Fantasy V, and Dissidia 012 Duodecim

Card Gamer • 6th July 2025

Ranking the Leaders in Star Wars Unlimited: Legends of the Force - Card Gamer

With the release of Star Wars Unlimited: Legends of the Force rapidly approaching, many players are left pondering which leaders they should build around. Will there be anyone in this set to challenge the might of Boba Fett? Just how impactful is the new “Use The Force” mechanic? Do I want to join the Jedi or serve the Sith?


This ranking of the 18 new leaders in Legends of the Force will separate the Padawans from the Masters; we’ll show who to build around, and who to avoid.


There are lot...

EDHREC • 24th June 2025

Ranking Which Final Fantasy Main Protagonists Got the Best Cards | EDHREC

The Crystal's ChosenThe Crystal's Chosen| Art by Kotetsu KinoshitaFrom scowling soldiers like CloudCloud to lovable rogues like ZidaneZidane, Final Fantasy has had a wide variety of main characters over the years.Now that the unfathomably popular RPG series has crossed over with Magic: the Gathering, how do they all stack up? Were Final Fantasy's main protagonists all created roughly equal, or do some of them just have better cards than others?Let's rank which Final Fantasy protagonists got the...

SUPERJUMP • 20th June 2025

Synergy Invites Us To Question Our Assumptions About City Building Games

From RPGs to action games, every genre carries its share of baggage.

The exploration, expansion, exploitation, and extermination necessary to progress in Civilization and other 4X games define success in rigidly specific form. To win the game, a player’s civilization must prove itself superior to the competition. Rivals must be crushed militarily and outstripped scientifically. Their competing religions must be consigned to history, and the player must develop a hegemonic global culture that en...

EDHREC • 10th June 2025

The Emperor of Palamecia - Self-Mill Commander Deck Tech | EDHREC

The Emperor of PalameciaThe Emperor of Palamecia | Art by Heonhwa ChoeThe Emperor of PalameciaThe Emperor of Palamecia is the main antagonist of Final Fantasy II. While he undoubtedly has drip (just look at all of those beads, and the golden kneecaps carved to look like dragon faces) he also has a bit of a branding problem. The Emperor has never really been able to elevate himself into the higher tiers of Final Fantasy villainy. He doesn't have much in the way of motivation beyond being an evil...

Card Gamer • 2nd June 2025

3 Exciting, Upcoming Small Press Card Games From UK Games Expo 2025 - Card Gamer

At the end of May every year, tabletop gamers from across the world gather in Birmingham. Britain’s second-largest city has played host to the UK Games Expo for 18 years now, running the convention since it was established in 2007. This three day long exhibition celebrates the best that tabletop gaming has to offer. Board game companies, big and small, demo their games, indie designers bring along self-published zines and adventure modules, and there are more prints, T-shirts, and accessories th...

EDHREC • 26th May 2025

The Dragons Approach, With Garland, Knight of Cornelia | EDHREC

Garland, Knight of CorneliaGarland, Knight of Cornelia | Art by Billy ChristianFinal Fantasy has many iconic lines and meme-worthy moments. From Tellah calling Edward a spoony bard in Final Fantasy IV, to Vaan running announcing to the whole of Ivalice that he's Basch Von Rosenburg in Final Fantasy XII, to the infamous laughing scene in Final Fantasy X. But none of these lines can hold a candle to the original, the historic meme line from Final Fantasy I.Early in their quest, the warriors of lig...

Macready Musings • 23rd May 2025

Garland, Knight of Cornelia Deck Tech

Garland may not be the most memorable Final Fantasy character, but he's honestly a pretty great commander for a specific niche strategy. Let's talk about it.
You can support me on Ko-Fi here: https://ko-fi.com/macreadymusings

Deck list: https://archidekt.com/decks/13039600/garlands_approach
EDHREC Article: https://edhrec.com/articles/the-dragons-approach-with-garland-knight-of-cornelia

You can find my writing portfolio here: https://benjaminmacready.journoportfolio.com/

You can follow me on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/macreadymusings.bsky.social

The Macready Musings logo and Banner were designed by Panley, whose work you can find here: https://bsky.app/profile/panley.blue

Music used in this video
Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster - Prelude
Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster - Battle Theme
Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster - Victory Fanfare
Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster - Matoya's Cave
Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster - Mount Gulg
Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster - Town Theme
Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster - Main Theme
Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster - Shop Theme

Other Material Used
Garland Dissidia 012 Ex Burst Sourced from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4nsh8q0jVo&ab_channel=ForgottenFighter

Sound effects provided by Oviono Sounds

Contents
00:00 - Introduction
01:41 - Explaining the Strategy
03:17 - Breaking Down the Deck
07:42 - Upgrades
09:39 - Conclusion

Card Gamer • 21st May 2025

The Surprising Inspiration Behind 5 Yu-Gi-Oh! Archetypes - Card Gamer

One thing that sets Yu-Gi-Oh! apart from other card games is the varied and imaginative archetypes that it employs. These cards contain multitudes and draw from a bewilderingly huge range of sources. You can build a deck based around anything from Dante’s Inferno, to 90s era comic book antiheroes, to Dragons that are also Maids for some reason. In today’s article, we’ll go over five archetypes that draw their inspiration from truly unexpected sources. Let’s get digging.

If you’ve ever eaten sus...

EDHREC • 15th May 2025

Under the Radar - Kurkesh Onakke Ancient

Anyone looking to slot an Ogre into their command zone isn't exactly spoiled for choice. There are 12 options to choose from and three of them are just differentdifferent variantsvariants of HidetsuguHidetsugu. While sadly there aren't any great Ogre typal options, at least not until we inevitably get Universes Beyond: Shrek, there are Ogres that incentivize a wide variety of novel strategies.Today we'll be looking at the 2nd least p...

SUPERJUMP • 14th May 2025

TTRPGs Can Help Build Positive Communities

Tabletop RPG characters are constantly thrust into dangerous situations. Whether they’re vanquishing a dragon, navigating a dungeon, or dethroning a tyrant, the lives of the characters that we dream up are always fraught with risk. But that danger should always be restricted to the realms of our imagination, and everyone gathered around the table has the right to feel secure and comfortable while they play. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. The internet is rife with horror stories about...

Card Gamer • 7th May 2025

The 10 Most Expensive Quarter Century Stampede Cards - Card Gamer

Image courtesy of KONAMI
Yu-Gi-Oh! has been celebrating its 25th anniversary for several years now. The anniversary kicked off with the release of the 25th Anniversary: Legendary Collection in April of 2023. Since then we’ve been getting a steady stream of Quarter Century Secret Rare cards. These cards have shining golden names, a special foiling treatment covering them from top to bottom, and a 25th anniversary watermark that comes into view when their text box is viewed from the right angle.
Q...

Card Gamer • 30th April 2025

StarVaders Review - Card Gamer

Images courtesy of Pengonauts
Invaders are attacking the earth, invaders from beyond the stars. StarVaders, if you will. Using mech and a deck you’ll fight to save the world in this deckbuilding robo-roguelike, from Pengonauts.
Slay the Spire has inspired countless successors, and players are spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing a new roguelike deck builder these days. Does StarVaders blast open a niche for itself, or will it end up engulfed in a swarm of similar titles? Does it rise to...

EDHREC • 29th April 2025

Under the Radar - Silumgar, the Drifting Death | EDHREC

Tarkir: Dragonstorm has given us some beefy new Dragons. Teval, Arbiter of VirtueTeval, Arbiter of Virtue serves as a brutal reminder of the power of the delve mechanic, Ureni of the UnwrittenUreni of the Unwritten can fill the sky with Dragons alarmingly quickly, and Betor, Kin to AllBetor, Kin to All can do some truly busted things if you gather together enough high-toughness creatures, but if there's one lesson that the time-warped plane of Tarkir teaches us, it's that we should never forget...

Card Gamer • 16th April 2025

Unpacking the Yu-Gi-Oh! April 7th 2025 Banlist Update - Card Gamer

Images courtesy of KONAMI
On April 6th, 2025, the latest update to the Yu-Gi-Oh! banlist was announced at YCS Houston. This list then went into effect the next day, on April 7th. There’ve been some seismic changes here, impacting a total of 30 cards. Some in the community are celebrating explosive archetypes getting reigned in, while others are mourning the ban hammer smashing down on their favorite decks.

Let’s go through all of these bans, and talk about what’s changed, and how the meta might...

EDHREC • 16th April 2025

Under the Radar - Sita Varma, Masked Racer | EDHREC

Now that Tarkir: Dragonstorm has burst over the horizon, let's look back at Aetherdrift. Magic's speediest set may not have had the greatest Limited format, but it gave us a collection of cool kart-driving commanders, from the artifact-amassing Mendicant Core, GuidelightMendicant Core, Guidelight, to the cycling Shark Captain Howler, Sea ScourgeCaptain Howler, Sea Scourge, to the undead Esper Wizard Hashaton, Scarab's FistHashaton, Scarab's Fist. Of course, not every racer can make it into pole...

EDHREC • 3rd April 2025

Under the Radar - Niambi, Esteemed Speaker | EDHREC

When we think of reanimator decks, typically we think of commanders with black somewhere in their color identity. Muldrotha, the GravetideMuldrotha, the Gravetide, Karador, Ghost ChieftainKarador, Ghost Chieftain, and Sedris, the Traitor KingSedris, the Traitor King are all great at taking creatures from the graveyard and slamming them straight into play.But what if you want to build a reanimator commander, without using the game's best reanimation color?Let's say you want to build a reanimation...

Card Gamer • 2nd April 2025

7 Yu-Gi-Oh! Archetypes Getting Support in Maze of the Master - Card Gamer

Images courtesy of KONAMI
We’ve had a few weeks to enjoy the new cards from Maze of the Master now. This set hasn’t done much to shake up a meta dominated by ever-present Ryzeal and Maliss decks. Nevertheless, Maze of the Master provides support for a wide range of archetypes from the game’s past. It also introduced a brand new set of “Odion” cards, based on the deck of Marik’s favorite minion.
Let’s take a look at the archetypes supported in Maze of the Master, and weigh how impactful these new...

SUPERJUMP • 20th March 2025

An Interview with the Developers of Microtopia

An interview with Cordyceps Collective on how real insect behaviour inspired their design and much more

There is more overlap between video games and insects than you might expect. Satoshi Tajiri was inspired to create Pokémon by his time hunting bugs as a child. Hollow Knight shows us that insects can be as central to a Metroidvania game as vampires and space parasites, and Animal Crossing would just feel incomplete without the trusty bug-catching net.

Cordyceps Collective are a Netherlands-...

Card Gamer • 19th March 2025

The New Odion Archetype in Maze of the Master - Card Gamer

Images courtesy of KONAMI
Maze of the Master is Yu-Gi-Oh!‘s latest booster set. These 112 cards cover a variety of different archetypes: there’s a new Ancient Gear card, some new Trickstars, and a thoroughly bizarre attempt at integrating Red Nova Dragon and the Earthbound Immortals. The big focus of the set, though, is on Odion’s cards.
Odion was a character from the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime. He was the adoptive brother, loyal henchman, and only friend of Marik Ishtar, the antagon...

EDHREC • 17th March 2025

Under the Radar - Deekah, Fractal Theorist | EDHREC

Today's Under the Radar column marks a fun milestone. Back in August of last year, we analyzed Pashalik MonsPashalik Mons, an underloved mono-red Goblin who has lived his whole life in Krenko'sKrenko's shadow.A month later, we assessed Apothecary WhiteApothecary White, a mono-white Food commander, who is maybe more of a chef than an apothecary, but is still pretty great.At the start of 2025, we took a look at Old One EyeOld One Eye, a monstrous mono-green Tyranid. A fortnight ago, we reviewed Dr...

Card Gamer • 5th March 2025

Every Summoning Method in Yu-Gi-Oh! Explained - Card Gamer

Images courtesy of KONAMI
One of the most daunting hurdles facing any new Yu-Gi-Oh! player is learning about all of the different ways of Summoning monsters. From Synchro Summoning to XYZ Summoning, there are a multitude of different ways to get monsters into play. This handy guide will outline all of the different Summoning methods in the game, and explain how they all work.

Normal Summoning a monster card means playing it from your hand into one of your five main monster zones. A Normal Summo...

EDHREC • 4th March 2025

Under the Radar - Drana, Liberator of Malakir | EDHREC

Magic: The Gathering is full of Vampires. On Innistrad, we have Sorin MarkovSorin Markov, his old man EdgarEdgar, and Olivia VoldarenOlivia Voldaren who had maybe the bloodiest wedding this side of Game of Thrones.On Ixalan we have the saint Elenda, the Dusk RoseElenda, the Dusk Rose, the sinner Vona, Butcher of MaganVona, Butcher of Magan, and Amalia Benavides AguirreAmalia Benavides Aguirre who's neither as holy as Elenda, or as cruel as Vona, but is more capable than either of them of comboin...