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 I have written a large number of pieces, primarily focussed on gaming and nerd culture. Trading Card Games are a special focus of mine.  I have played Magic: the Gathering since I was 8 years old. I love to explore the ways that TCGs convey emergent narratives through gameplay.

Card Games

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...
EDHREC •

Duskmourn Set Review - Artifacts & Lands - EDHREC

September 19, 2024 by
Ben Macready
BOO! 
To get into the spirit of Duskmourn's horror theme, I thought I'd open with this article with a little written jump scare. Did it work? Were you spooked? Probably not, but I'll take any excuse to use giant bold font. We've got some creepy cards to talk about today, a horrifying collection of eerie artifacts and lurid lands. Let's barge right into this haunted mansion and analyze the colorless cards from Duskmourn: House of Horror.
This card is a...
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...
MTG Rocks •

Top 10 Best Mana Dorks in Commander

Mana Dorks are creatures that can be tapped down in order to generate mana. Magic has had Mana Dorks since the beginning, with the cards Llanowar Elves and Birds of Paradise getting printed in Alpha. Mana Dorks appear primarily in Green, as it is the Color that is best at generating mana. Green has by far the best selection of Mana dorks, in fact, this list is made up exclusively of Green cards. There have been a few Mana Dorks in other colors, but they are typically conditional (like Karfell Ha
Card Gamer •

5 Best (or Worst) Cancelled Card Games Of All Time

There are many card games like Magic: the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokémon which have stood the test of time.

These games maintained their momentum and preserved their popularity over multiple decades. For every game like these three, however, there are many which haven’t lasted quite as long.

Some of these cancelled card games, despite no longer being in print, offer some fantastic gameplay experiences. Here are five of the best card games that are no longer around!

Fire Emblem is a strategy
MTG Rocks •

The Top 10 Best Commanders That Cost 1 Mana Or Less

For players looking to get their game plan going as quickly as possible, cheap Commanders are fun to brew around. There are many, many Commanders who cost two or more mana, but only a few valid options available that cost one mana or less. This list is dedicated to these exceedingly cheap Legendary leaders that can come into play on turn one.

This Kobold Commander can only be found in Dominaria United Set or Collector’s Booster packs. Rosnakht, Heir of Rohgahh offers. For a single Red mana, Ros
MTG Rocks •

Remembering Magic: the Gathering's Forgotten Card Type

The debut of Battle cards in March of the Machine brought a brand new card type into Magic: the Gathering. Battles joined Lands, Creatures, Instants, Sorceries, Artifacts, Enchantments, and Planeswalkers in the pantheon of MTG card types. There is, however, one more card type that has been left to the wayside and forgotten by history, “Tribal”. By Tribal cards, we aren’t referring to cards that support decks that run a lot of creatures of the same type. Wizards of the Coast are not going to stop
MTG Rocks •

Dinosaurs and Squirrels Team Up in New MTG Deck

is a 6/6 Dinosaur for seven mana. This big old dino debuted in March of the Machine and is currently valued at just under $2.00.

Over the years Magic has seen a huge number of big Green beaters who, due to their high cost and the increasingly fast pace of the game, are doomed to see play almost exclusively in Commander. Cards like The Tarrasque and Rampaging Brontodon . Ancient Imperiosaur seems to have broken out of this prison and is performing surprisingly well in Modern. This is thanks to t
MTG Rocks •

How 2 Angels Show The Change In MTG's Power Level

Power Creep is a term that is used to describe when the power level of a game rises as time goes by. When Magic began in 1993, the card Savannah Lions was the most powerful low-cost creature around, as a 2/1 for one White mana. The card was printed as a Rare and remained at that rarity until it was dropped to Common in 2018 when it was reprinted in Masters 25.

The power of Savannah Lions has been eclipsed in recent years. It is certainly no longer the best one-drop of all time. There are severa
MTG Rocks •

5 Most Fun Build Around Legends in March of the Machine

One of the most exciting aspects of March of the Machine is the new Multiverse Legends bonus sheet. This sheet adds variety to drafts by sprinkling iconic legendary creatures into the experience. Many of these legendary cards open up exciting new deck possibilities and invite you to build around novel strategies not necessarily represented by the 10 draft archetypes of the set.

This is not a list of the five strongest Multiverse Legend cards in the set. Instead, this list is meant to show the f
MTG Rocks •

New Combo Deck Wins By Cloning Phyrexian Dragons

As March of the Machine was only released recently the new Standard meta is still a work in progress. Many questions are still up in the air at the moment. Will battles make a major impact, or are they just a gimmick? Will any of the double-sided Praetors see significant play? Will someone brew a viable Ghalta and Mavren build to turn this Dino-Vampire tag team into the scourge of Standard?

One new strategy, known as “Grixis Hellraiser” or “Grixis See Double” is getting a bit of attention. This
MTG Rocks •

MTG Players Wondering Where Two Major Characters Have Gone

The reception to March of the Machine’s storyline has been decidedly mixed. On the one hand, many players loved Elspeth’s dramatic return and the integration of preview cards with key plot beats. On the other hand, however, many players felt that the long-awaited conclusion to the Phyrexian arc was slightly anti-climactic. There were concerns that the pace was hurried, as the entire story of the invasion needed to be told in only 10 short chapters, and a handful of side stories. Nevertheless, no
Card Gamer •

10 Banned MTG Cards & Why They Were Removed

Over the years many incredibly powerful, or simply incredibly weird, Magic: the Gathering cards have been printed.

To keep these cards from breaking the game and keeping it as one of the best trading card games in the world, they have been taken aside and banned, usually for an array of reasons.

Here are the best stories of gamebreaking cards, and why these banned MTG cards were removed by the creators.

Chaos Orb and Falling Star are both banned in every MTG format, but not because of their s
MTG Rocks •

MTG Designer Teases Potential Potion Brewing Mechanic

Potions are an essential part of fantasy as a genre. Whether they take the form of mind and body altering elixirs like in Dungeons and Dragons or health-restoring items that need to be chugged by the bucket load like in Final Fantasy.

Magic: the Gathering has featured a small number of potion cards throughout the years. Cards like Revitalize show them being to used to heal wounds, whilst cards like Whisper, Blood Liturgist depict far more sinister magical brews. All things considered, potions a
MTG Rocks •

Top 10 Best Battles For Commander

Battle cards are an exciting new feature introduced in March of the Machine. The quality of Battle cards is pretty variable though. Some of them are fantastic, and some of them are forgettable.

There are a few criteria that can be used to determine whether a Battle is good or not.
• 1. How is the effect of its front side costed relative to similar non-battle cards?

Because Battles have the ability to transform, many of them have over costed effects on their front side. For example, Invasion of
MTG Rocks •

Analysing the 5 Double-Sided Compleated Commanders

March of the Machine is bringing a huge number of exciting new cards into Magic: the Gathering. From Battle cards, to Legendary tag teams, to double-sided Praetor Sagas. Amongst all of these new additions, some of the most discussed are the cycle of five double-sided compleated legendary characters from Magic’s past. Every color has its own Completed Character, that transforms into a dual color Phyrexian on its reverse side. This means that as Commanders, these characters can be used at the head
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Gaming

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...
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
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
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
SUPERJUMP •

Storyteller Review - A Tale Worth Telling

Storyteller is a puzzle game created by Daniel Benmergui, an Argentinian game developer who is probably best known for creating the adorable art game I Wish I Were The Moon.

In Storyteller, the player is given a magical book that they need to fill with insightful tales. Every level is an individual story that the player needs to bring to life. Each story provides the player with an objective that needs to be accomplished by utilising a series of different characters and scenes. For example, pla
SUPERJUMP •

Dragon Ball: The Breakers Review

The Dragon Ball series is famous, or perhaps infamous, for its bombastic battle sequences. Shirtless space aliens, with absurdly sculpted physiques, scream and launch energy blasts at one another. Villains loudly monologue about their invincibility, before the heroes eventually bring them down after a five-minute-long transformation sequence. All of the attacks have wacky names which fans can recite by heart. Because the series is extremely action-oriented, there have been innumerable Dragon Bal
SUPERJUMP •

Why Do Birds Fly? The Moral Philosophy of Tales of Berseria

“Why do you think that birds fly?”

This strange sentence is not an excerpt from a book on falconry. Nor is it a question from a biology exam or a promo for the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s from the 2016 Bandai Namco RPG Tales of Berseria.

The game’s primary antagonist, Artorius Collbrande, uses this question as a means of evaluating people’s moral principles. But how does a basic question about the biology of birds tell us anything about someone’s morality?

More to the point, does this question

Other Articles

South West Londoner •

Review: See How They Run

See How They Run is a comical whodunnit, which lovingly spoofs the murder mystery genre with the care and affection that only a sincere parody can provide.

There are some great laughs, but it builds towards a disappointing conclusion. The film is certainly funny, but it’s hardly a mystery of Agatha Christie’s calibre.

Our leading duo consists of the eager and excitable rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse

Ronan) and her boozy superior officer Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell).

The pair have a d
South West Londoner •

Thor: Love and Thunder proves lightning does strike twice

There have now been four Thor films and their quality varies wildly – but Thor: Love and Thunder is among the franchise’s best.

The Original Thor (2009) was a perfectly serviceable superhero origin story, that did a fine job of introducing Chris Hemsworth’s titular character without excelling enough to be truly great or being inadequate enough to be truly terrible.

Thor: The Dark World (2013) ranks among Marvel’s most forgettable films, as it features an utterly generic plotline performed by a
South West Londoner •

Elizabeth II: The Queen & history's other longest reigning rulers

In February of 1952 Queen Elizabeth II became the queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

Her platinum jubilee, in June of 2022, marks the official public celebration of her 70 year long reign.

Elizabeth II is one of history’s longest reigning rulers, however, she does not have the longest reign of all time.

Several other rulers have had reigns which have rivalled, or even exceeded, her 70 years.

Here are a few of their stories…

Louis XIV ruled France from May 1643 to September 17
North West Londoner •

Labour keeps control of Enfield but Conservatives make gains

Labour kept control of Enfield council on Thursday after holding the 38 seats they took into the 2022 election, but the Conservatives had a successful night gaining seven councillors and shutting out any other party from the area.

The election results mean that all of Enfield’s 63 seats are held by either Labour or Tory councillors, after the Greens, the Liberal Democrats and the Independent Community First Group, a group of former Labour councillors, lost their two, one and seven councillors r
South West Londoner •

Fundraiser launched for injured Croydon swan

A fundraiser is in progress to assist the treatment of a swan from Croydon who was hurt in a dog attack.

Wayne the swan was injured on the afternoon of the 7 February after a dog bit him on the beak.

The Swan Sanctuary is a wildlife rescue service based in Shepperton, specialising in treating swans.

The sanctuary took Wayne into its care on 8 February.

In a Facebook post The Swan Sanctuary announced: “Wayne was attacked by a dog and has suffered a life changing injury to his beak.”

“We are