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Ten Things I Like And Don’t Like, Including What’s Legal In Historic

Historic legality, Abundant Harvest in Modern, and Zaffai, Thunder Conductor? This week’s Ten Things by Cedric Phillips covers those topics and more!

Mind’s Desire, illustrated by Anthony Francisco

Here are ten things I like and don’t like from this week in Magic: The Gathering:

1. Can Anyone Tell Me What’s Legal In Historic?

If you can tell me what’s legal in Historic without looking it up, I’ll give you ten million dollars.

Okay, I remember this one. It was only a few weeks ago and I’m doing coverage of the Kaldheim Championship this weekend so I had to become familiar with this set (though I’ll admit that I forgot Sword of Body and Mind is in it because why would that be in there?!).

Uh… sure!

Wait? Brainstorm is legal in Historic? Says who!?

I see…

Okay, you lost me…

2. Can Anyone Tell Me What’s Legal In Any Format?

Let’s talk about Abundant Harvest:

Until yesterday (or today), you’ve never seen Abundant Harvest before. You know why? Because it ceased to exist. Yet this card is going to be legal in Vintage, Legacy, Commander, and Historic once Strixhaven becomes legal on April 23.

Except the card isn’t officially from Strixhaven. It’s from Modern Horizons 2.

Abundant Harvest is the first card from Modern Horizons 2 and will be legal in Vintage, Legacy, Commander, and Historic until its official printing in Modern Horizons 2 makes it Modern legal.

I mean… I just… I don’t… I can’t find the words. What is going on?

3. Remember “The List”?

No? And why would you! So here are our friends over at mtg.fandom.com to help jog your memory:

The List is a catalogue of 300 cards introduced in 2020 in the vein of the Timeshifted cards of Time Spiral and the Mystery Booster set. It pays homage to the past of Magic: The Gathering and is similarly curated as the list for the Universal promo pack. The cards can be found in the simultaneously introduced Set Boosters.

Starting with Zendikar Rising, the cards of “The List” can be found 25% of the time in Set Boosters instead of a marketing card. As with Mystery Booster the cards are supposed to be “pick-ups”, meaning that they will be printed as they previously appeared (including art, card frame, expansion symbol and collector number) with the exception that they’ll have a small planeswalker symbol in their lower-left corner.

“The List” has commons, uncommons, rares, and mythic rares which will fall at the proper rate to one another. Being on “The List” does not make cards Standard-legal. They are legal in whatever formats the cards are already legal in. The cards can be pulled from anywhere in Magic’s history. Some of the cards in “The List” will change from set to set, but the main core will remain intact. Usually some cards are being swapped out for others that better fit a new set’s themes.

Did you know they updated The List yesterday? Here’s a better question — do you even care?

4. Jon Moxley Dean Ambrose, Is That You?

Embrose, Dean of Shadow

Somebody at Wizards of the Coast (WotC) is a big WWE fan! But if you really want to impress me? Make a card after the best dean of all time: Gordon Pritchard. #IGotOut

5. Conductor or Collector?

Magic has overdone it with alternate frames, so now it’s time for alternate names! And I’m not talking that Godzilla nonsense we did in Ikoria. Consider the following:

  • Normal version: Zaffai, Thunder Conductor
  • Foil version: Zaffai, Thunder Collector
  • Borderless version: Zaffai, Thunder Connector
  • Special frame collectors edition: Zaffai, Thunder Constructor

Print it baby!

6. Whaaaaaaaaat A Combo!

Witherbloom Apprentice Chain of Smog

So Chain of Smog is getting banned in Legacy I guess? Neat! I hope those who bought it out turned them over pretty quick because otherwise they’re stuck with a lot of Chain of Smogs.

7. I Can Actually Play Magic On My Phone?

Welp… there goes my productivity for the next few days/weeks/months/years….

8. Turns Out Time Spiral Was A Pretty Great Set

Is Time Spiral a better set than Ravnica: City of Guilds? Patrick and I discussed that and more on this week’s episode of The Resleevables!

9. Listen

10. Laugh