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Benjamin Macready

I have significant experience as a writer, and I am a Gold Standard NCTJ certified journalist. I have written: a play, a guide to the portraits on display at the Devon and Exeter Institution, more than 30 YouTube video essays, a multitude of online articles, a blog about 19th century history and an award-winning piece for the University of Kent’s student newspaper. I am interested in pursuing a journalistic career path where I can continue to express myself creatively.

Card Gamer •

Marvel Legendary - Core Set Hero Review - Card Gamer

Marvel Legendary is a fantastic deck building game from Upper Deck. We’ve already published a guide on how to play, but while knowing the rules is one thing, knowing the right heroes to pick is another.  The game’s Core Set came out in 2012; some of these heroes have stood the test of time and are still going strong today, others haven’t aged well at all. Let’s dive right in and review the heroes from Marvel Legendary’s Core Set.
   
   
Black Widow is the most powerful hero in the Core Set, and...
EDHREC •

Under the Radar - Old One Eye | EDHREC

The universe of Warhammer 40,000 may be a grim fascistic dystopia, but it did give us some pretty iconic commanders. There's Trazyn the Infinite who enables all kinds of graveyard/artifact synergies, Be'lakor, the Dark Master a staple Demon commander, and of course Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph who leads more than 15,000 wacky pinger decks.
Not every legendary creature from these precons rose to the top though. Old One Eye, the subject of our article today, leads only 225 decks (as of 12/23/2024), m...
Card Gamer •

How to Play Marvel Legendary - Card Gamer

Marvel Legendary, from Upper Deck, is one of the greatest deck building games of all time. The game first released in 2012, and even now, 12 years later, several new expansions are still released for it every year. If you’re looking to learn how to play one of Marvel’s most popular games, here’s a handy guide to get you started.
The Marvel Legendary core set contains the following cards:
Here’s how you set everything up so that you’re ready for your first game.

Shuffle these cards together to...
SUPERJUMP •

Dungeon Inn Review

Inns in RPGs are truly miraculous.  However bruised and battered your adventuring party may be, if they rest up for the night at an inn then they will emerge the next day fully healed and ready for more.  Dungeons, meanwhile, serve the opposite purpose. A fresh and ready adventuring party delves down into a dungeon and emerges exhausted and beaten, but hopefully with huge loads of loot.

Dungeon Inn is a game all about running an RPG inn of your very own, located conveniently at the entrance to...
EDHREC •

Under the Radar - Sauron, the Lidless Eye - EDHREC

December 16, 2024 by
Ben Macready
In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.
There are lots of commanders that you may want to try.
There's Uglúk, Mauhúr and other Uruk-hai.
But today we'll look at Sauron, the Lidless Eye.
Only 416 people have built around this big bad guy.
But he's an awesome card, and now I'll show you why...
There may only be one Ring, but Magic: the Gathering features four different printings of Sauron.
The most popular is Sauron, the Dark Lord who currently lead...
EDHREC •

Under the Radar - The Wandering Rescuer - EDHREC

December 2, 2024 by
Ben Macready
Duskmourn: House of Horrors may no longer be the newest set in Standard, but we can still look back on it fondly as an expansion that provided us with plenty of terrifying commanders to choose from. Both Valgavoth, Terror Eater and Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls demonstrate their right to rule the plane by being Elder Demons with brutally strong effects. The Mindskinner possesses a formidably frontloaded 10/1 stat line for a cost of only and the less sai...
EDHREC •

Under the Radar - Captain Ripley Vance - EDHREC

November 18, 2024 by
Ben Macready
The Modern Horizons sets contain some of the strongest cards of all time, and they have given us all sorts of powerful commanders. Back in 2019, Modern Horizons 1 gave us Urza, Lord High Artificer. Urza, Lord High Artificer is, currently, the 47th most popular commander of all time, at the head of more than 12,500 decks.
Modern Horizons 2 in 2021 gave us Chatterfang, Squirrel General who is the 18th most popular commander in the game, and leads more th...
EDHREC •

Under the Radar - Zareth San, the Trickster - EDHREC

October 28, 2024 by
Ben Macready
Today on Under the Radar, we'll be looking at Zareth San, the Trickster. This Merfolk likes loot, but isn't a Merfolk Looter. Currently (as of 10/19/2024), he only has 162 decks built around him. Zareth San is an amphibious thief who wants you to mill your opponents until their graveyards are populated with a plethora of powerful permanents for him to plunder. Without further ado, let's get to reviewing this Rogue...
The Rogue creature type and mill dec...
EDHREC •

Under the Radar - Orca, Siege Demon - EDHREC

October 14, 2024 by
Ben Macready
Today's Under the Radar will evaluate Orca, Siege Demon, a Dominarian that likes it when other creatures die. With only 178 decks currently built around her (as of 10/04/2024) Orca, Siege Demon comfortably qualifies to be explored in this series. She's a sacrifice-themed commander who uses the deaths of other creatures as a means to grow bigger and bigger. Once she's grown big enough, Orca will trample over your opponents' creatures and pummel them unti...
EDHREC •

Under the Radar - The Odd Acorn Gang - EDHREC

September 30, 2024 by
Ben Macready
So, we're leaving behind the cozy, pleasant plane of Bloomburrow to head out to the horrifying eldritch doom world of Duskmourn. Let's wave Bloomburrow goodbye by analyzing a Commander from that plane who slipped Under The Radar with fewer than 500 players building a deck around them so far. The Odd Acorn Gang is the backup commander from the Squirreled Away precon. This troublesome gang of forest fighters offers up a pretty unique take on Squirrel ty...
SUPERJUMP •

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Embraces Silliness

There’s a single moment, roughly a quarter of the way through Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the game. The party is delving into a mystical forest dungeon called the Proving Grounds. An enigmatic cloaked bandit known as Hurstwine cuts through the murky woods ahead of them, the heroes in hot pursuit.

Both the player characters and Hurstwine are seeking a primal lens, an ancient and powerful artifact that lies at the heart of the dungeon. It’s a race...
EDHREC •

Under the Radar - Apothecary White - EDHREC

September 9, 2024 by
Ben Macready
The clock has just struck midnight. A body has been discovered hastily concealed beneath the dining room table and the musty scent of cigarette smoke hangs in the air. It's time to gather all of the suspects together in the foyer for this edition of Under The Radar. In this series, we look at underplayed commanders with less than 500 decks to their name.
We investigate the strategies they encourage and examine the average decklist that EDHREC generates...
EDHREC •

Under the Radar - Breeches, the Blastmaker - EDHREC

August 28, 2024 by
Ben Macready
In today's edition of Under the Radar, we're looking at another commander with under 500 decks to their name. Our second goblin in a row, Breeches, the Blastmaker is an Ixalani Pirate, who decided to take an extra-planar road trip out to Thunder Junction to play around with all of the exciting dynamite and explosives that the wild west themed world had to offer. We're going to analyze the strategies that Breeches incentivizes while digging into the card'...
EDHREC •

Under the Radar - Pashalik Mons - EDHREC

August 19, 2024 by
Ben Macready
Goblins are one of the most popular creature types in the game. Some players love the rapid ramping and mana generation that Elf decks provide. Others crave the reanimating recursion that Zombie decks offer, or the unmatched power of a deck that can fill the sky with Dragons. Yet, although it's a simple strategy, there is arguably no matching the thrill of coating the table in a thick layer of 1/1 Goblin tokens and then turning them all sideways for mass...
Commander's Herald •

Richard Garfield to Replace Chris Pratt in Sequel to Garfield Movie | Commander's Herald

The Garfield Movie was released to harsh critical condemnation in May of 2024. Hoping to change course, and find an actor capable of more fully embodying the character, Sony Pictures have recast Chris Pratt's role in the film's sequel.

With Andrew Garfield no longer taking any calls from the studio, and James A. Garfield having been assassinated in 1881, notable game designer Richard Garfield was chosen to play the iconic orange cat.

Richard Garfield is the designer of many celebrated games, i...
EDHREC •

Under the Radar - Feather, Radiant Arbiter - EDHREC

July 30, 2024 by
Ben Macready
Welcome back to Under the Radar, the series where we take obscure commanders who lead fewer than 500 decks and show off their hidden strengths. Today we'll be talking about Feather, Radiant Arbiter, a Boros Angel who, for a small fee, duplicates any spells her controller casts that target her. Today we will compare Feather to a few other commanders to see what makes her unique, look at her average deck list and make some modifications to it.
Just like the...
EDHREC •

Under the Radar - Aragorn, Company Leader - EDHREC

There are all sorts of commanders in Magic: The Gathering. As I write this article, the game contains more than 2,000 legendary creatures to brew around in millions of different creative ways. Yet for every Atraxa, Praetors' Voice soaking up the limelight, dozens of forgotten commanders have fallen to the wayside. Cards like Jiwari, the Earth Aflame, Syr Faren, the Hengehammer, and Hythonia the Cruel have hugely exciting depths of untapped deckbuilding pote...
SUPERJUMP •

Potionomics: Bring Your Best Brew

Potions are the lifeblood of all RPG adventuring parties. No one would get beyond the first floor of any dungeon without guzzling down a frankly unhealthy amount of brightly coloured magical goop. Potionomics puts the player into the shoes of a potion vendor, ready to provide the heroes of the world with the colourful healing concoctions they so desperately need.

The game is a bubbling melting pot of various genres, mixing business management elements with deckbuilding-based haggling gameplay a
Macready Musings •

Reviewing Every MTG Thunder Junction Commander In Two Sentences Or Less

In this new series, "Brew it or Bin it", I very briefly review every new legendary creature introduced in Outlaws of Thunder Junction.

I announce whether I would personally be interested in making a deck based on the Commander (brew it) or I don't find them compelling and would sooner chuck them out (bin it).

For more from me, check out some of the writing on games I have done for Superjump Magazine: https://www.superjumpmagazine.com/author/benjaminmacready/

The Macready Musings logo and Banner were designed by Panley, whose work you can find here: https://twitter.com/panley01

Music Used

"Happy Happy Game Show" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Whiskey on the Mississippi" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Macready Musings •

The History of Magic the Gathering's Un-Sets Told Via A Card From Every Set

Magic: the Gathering's Un Sets are a series of comical sets that exist outside of the standard rules of play. This video explores their highs, and lows, and is probably the most eccentric thing that I've ever put out.

For more from me, check out some of the writing on games I have done for Superjump Magazine: https://www.superjumpmagazine.com/author/benjaminmacready/

The Macready Musings logo and Banner were designed by Panley, whose work you can find here: https://twitter.com/panley01

Bibliography
Mark Rosewater, Putting the Un in Fun
https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/putting-un-fun-2004-08-16

Mark Rosewater, Drive to Work 13: Unglued
https://media.wizards.com/podcasts/magic/DrivetoWorkEp13Unglued.m4a

Mark Rosewater, Lessons learned, Part 1
https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/lessons-learned-part-1

JosepMonter, Fur Elise Cover
https://pixabay.com/music/classical-piano-fur-elise-2755/

Mark Rosewater, Drive to Work 37: Lessons Learned, Part 3
https://media.wizards.com/podcasts/magic/drivetowork37lessonslearned3.mp3

Aaron Forsythe, Are You From the Future? (With thanks to Max Makes Magic's Github archive for keeping this article preserved as it is no longer available on WOTC's site)
https://github.com/maxmakesmagic/ormos/blob/main/archive/en/articles/archive/latest-developments/2007/05/are-you-future-2007-05-04-0.md

Mark Rosewater, State of Design 2018
https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/state-design-2018-2018-08-20

Mark Rosewater, Lessons Learned Part 7
https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/lessons-learned-part-7


Contents
00:00 - Introduction
01:38 - Unglued
07:02 - Unglued
11:15 - Unstable
17:16 - Unsanctioned
20:21 - Unfinity
27:57 - EPIC GAMER MOMENT!
28:02 - Unfinity Continued
29:04 - Conclusion
Macready Musings •

The History of Magic the Gathering Via A Card From Every Set 19: Phyrexia-Lost Caverns of Ixalan

In the nineteenth episode of this series we explore some exciting new sets. We conclude the Phyrexian arc by examining Phyrexia: All Will Be One and March of the Machine. We then return to The Wilds of Eldraine and venture into The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.

For more from me, check out some of the writing on games I have done for Superjump Magazine: https://www.superjumpmagazine.com/author/benjaminmacready/

The Macready Musings logo and Banner were designed by Panley, whose work you can find here: https://twitter.com/panley01

Bibliography
Saffron Olive, Dino Whack deck list.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/budget-magic-100-dino-whack-modern

Dan Muser, December 4th 2023 Banned and Restricted Announcement.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/december-4-2023-banned-and-restricted-announcement

Mark Rosewater, The Lost Caverns Of Ixalan Vision Design Handoff Document Parts 1 & 2.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/the-lost-caverns-of-ixalan-vision-design-handoff-document-part-1

https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/the-lost-caverns-of-ixalan-vision-design-handoff-document-part-2

Miguel Lopez, The Planeswalker's Guide To The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/planeswalkers-guide-to-the-lost-caverns-of-ixalan

Mark Rosewater, Drive To Work 1083: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Vision Design.
https://audio.transistor.fm/m/shows/21454/1dfa5c1701a5e738583829cd562513e8.mp3

Mark Rosewater and Jules Robins, Drive To Work 1084: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Set Design.
https://audio.transistor.fm/m/shows/21454/c690a90925005a717fcf1a6f98801c13.mp3

Mark Rosewater and Ovidio Cartagena, Drive To Work 1085: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.
https://audio.transistor.fm/m/shows/21454/098ffc0e75ffd826b3322396fb587bac.mp3

Contents
00:00 - Introduction
01:00 - Phyrexia: All Will Be One
07:30- March of the Machine
10:43 - The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
17:52 - Conclusion
SUPERJUMP •

Total War: Attila and the "Dark Ages"

Total War: Attila portrays the collapse of the Roman Empire as an unmitigated tragedy. How does this depiction measure up to scrutiny?

These words are gruffly recited by the narrator of Total War: Attila towards the end of the game’s introduction. This quote paraphrases two verses from the book of Revelations which describe Conquest, the first of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, being unleashed upon the world. Accompanying this narration is footage of a pitched battle being waged at night b
Macready Musings •

The History of Magic the Gathering Told Via A Card From Every Set: Commander Part 1

We've already looked at the complete history of Magic's standard legal sets from 1993-2022. Now let's look at the history of the Commander format.

For more from me, check out some of the writing on gaming I have done for Superjump Magazine: https://www.superjumpmagazine.com/author/benjaminmacready/

The Macready Musings logo and Banner were designed by Panley, whose work you can find here: https://twitter.com/panley01

Contents
00:00 - Introduction
02:50 - Commander 2011
08:49 - Commander 2013
16:25 - Commander 2014
26:10 - Commander 2015
35:47 - Conclusion
SUPERJUMP •

Are Golden Endings Always the Right Path?

One thing which makes video games unique is their ability to tell stories with branching narratives. This is something that isn’t possible using other mediums, outside of experimental choose-your-own adventure stories like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. The interactive nature of video games makes it possible for them to have multiple different endings depending on the path the player takes through the story. This means that players can get endings tailored to the
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