Return of the Premodern Roundtable
Return of the Premodern Roundtable
PLUS: Podcasts on the state of Premodern, revitalizing UW Control, and a guide to Midrange Elves
Today I want to share the results of the second Premodern roundtable in which I asked questions about the format to thirteen community members that include exceptional players, engaging content creators, hardworking event organizers, and just all-around interesting people (you can read last year’s here). Let’s meet them (ordered alphabetically):
Michael Arnold, organizer of the Premodern Super Gauntlet and The Banned Series
Sam Black, deckbuilder, writer, game designer, and coach with multiple Top 8 appearances at PTs, GPs, and WCs
Philip “Flippi” Böhm, event organizer, LGS operator, and brewer
Andy Culpepper, impeccable deck photographer, brewer, and writer
Chris DiBiase, MTGO organizer and Burn expert
Álvaro Galindo, Mono Blue Stiflenought and Mono Black Prison innovator
William Hirst, organizer of the Premodern Super League, host of the I’ve Got ?????s podcast, and one of the hardest working people in the format
Lanny Huang, co-host of the Spike Colony podcast, writer, and Top 4 finisher at the 2023 North American Premodern Championship
Lionel Low, organizer of Singapore Premodern group
Robin Lundh, FEB wise elder, Premodern Discord moderator, and PSS competitor
Nick Mayo, Duress Crew member, event organizer, and New England Premodern Discord admin
Andrea Mengucci, Mythic Invitational champion, multiple Pro Tour Top 8 finisher, writer, and streamer
Iñaki Puigdollers, Psychatog and Dream Halls brewer and Classic Legacy organizer
I opted not to include people I had asked to participate in the first roundtable in order to get some fresh perspectives, though future iterations won’t have that limitation as it can also be interesting to see how views change over time. Without further ado, let’s dig into it…
When did you start playing Magic? When did you get into Premodern and how did you hear about it?
Michael Arnold: I was introduced to Magic in November 1994 by my cousin. My first Premodern event was the Facebook webcam monthly in March 2020. I believe I heard about it through Magnus De Laval’s Old School blog. I never had an Old School collection but had lots of stuff from old Extended and was immediately interested.
Sam Black: April/May 1994, and much more recently, but I’m bad at remembering things. Maybe about two years ago, and a combination of Mike Flores’ Twitter and Brian Kowal’s tournaments.
Philip “Flippi” Böhm: I started playing with Invasion theme decks and got into Premodern shortly after running the first German Premodern Nationals as a side event to an Old School event, Alpha Castle.
Andy Culpepper: I started playing during Revised, and actually figured out what was going on around Mirage block. I found out about Premodern in early 2018 soon after the Facebook page launched, and was hooked immediately!
Chris DiBiase: I think my first experience with Magic was in ‘94 or ‘95, the start of middle school. My brother and I played starter decks against each other for about a year and then it tailed off. I returned to the game in college around Onslaught, and have been on and off since. I learned about Premodern in Fall of 2022 through a Flores article and then noticing a Premodern channel in the Magic Online Society Discord, which I had joined a few years back when I was playing a lot of Pioneer.
Álvaro Galindo: I started around 1997, when a friend introduced me to this new game. He had 4th Edition and Mirage boosters and we used to play them a lot. About Premodern, my first purchase happened by the end of 2020 and actually I don't remember how I learnt about it, but I just got hooked instantly.
William Hirst: First packs were Ice Age. Heard about Premodern from Brian Kowal and was hooked immediately I believe this would have been 2022?
Lanny Huang: I started playing Magic in 2003. I started playing Premodern in 2022 after seeing some tweets about it and eventually seeing Flores’s articles.
Lionel Low: I played from 1996-2013, and then took a 10 year break. Last year, I saw photos of some folks in Singapore playing retro-framed cards on Facebook. I reached out and discovered that this gem of a format is called “Premodern”.
Robin Lundh: My dad taught me and my siblings to play around 1995ish. I got into Premodern actively in 2018 after talking to Martin + seeing Andy's amazing Instagram. I first heard about it back in... 2014? 2012? I'm not sure. I was playing Martin's Premodern cube at his place way back when.
Nick Mayo: As most folks in the community, I started playing when I was around 9 or so. I’m not certain what set was currently out but I definitely played with a lot of Prophecy cards. My grasp on the rules was tenuous at best but I did have a sweet BW deck with Avatar of Hope, Avatar of Woe, Terror and Haunting Echoes. I got into Premodern during 2021 and Lobstercon 2022 got me hooked on the format. Shout out to Anthony Jordan and Brad Stone of Duress Crew for showing me the format.
Andrea Mengucci: 2004. For Premodern, during COVID because I wanted to buy more and more cards.
Iñaki Puigdollers: I started Magic in 1998, I recall Stronghold was the new thing. I tried to collect it. I have fond memories of the Rath cycle. When I was a kid, I always wanted to have a full-powered Tradewind Rider deck. The best way to explain how I started Premodern is to past some words from my first Premodern article about Psychatog:
It all started by end of March 2018, when a good friend of mine shared with me the link to this website. […] I started sending WhatsApps here and there and some people answered the call starting to create a snowball effect that ended up in a mid-size community (around 20 people) interested in Premodern. A couple of months later we convinced a local store (InGenio) to start running tournaments. How could they deny having Psychatogs, Survival of the Fittest and Goblin Lackeys running rampant over the board once again!?
Which decks would you consider to be Tier 1 in terms of strength? What are your thoughts on the health of Premodern’s meta?
Michael Arnold: Elves, Goblins, Hermit Druid combo, and Stiflenought are all at the top tier due to their consistent top placings over a long period of time. The metagame appears to be in a very healthy place with brews still breaking through and new iterations of established archetypes showing up.
Sam Black: I don’t really love this framework—the point is kind of obfuscated. Is it about strongest decks, most played decks, or a combination? I think the most useful framing is something like what are the expected top N decks of the winners metagame at a given event, or put another way, what would you expect an upcoming top 8 to look like. I’d expect/want to prepare for Goblins, Burn, Oath with a land destruction element, Standstill, and Dreadnought. I don’t know if Elves is outside of this because of metagame positioning/strength or card availability, but I expect it less.
Philip “Flippi” Böhm: I'm not surprised if Sligh, Oath, Elves, Goblins, or Landstill wins an event.
Andy Culpepper: This will have to be based on feel and knowledge of metagame fluctuations through the history of the format, but I think with infinite time to shake out, the top of the heap would be Goblins, Elves, Burn and Stiflenought.
Chris DiBiase: I would say Tier 1 right now, in no particular order would include RG Goblins, RG Oath, Burn, UW Stiflenought, and Elves. Elves seem a little on the downswing, but I don’t think you can deny its power in the hands of strong pilots, so if we are talking power, it has to be in the conversation. I think the format is incredibly healthy, and will become more so as people retool to address RG Oath more seriously. I think the best indicator for the health of the meta are the MtGO leagues, where the cost of decks is essentially flat, meaning meta share isn’t skewed card availability. We are routinely seeing a wide variety of successful pilots on a range of decks.
Álvaro Galindo: I honestly think it would be hard to define three or even one tier 1 deck in the format right now, mostly because local communities have their own small meta. The webcam tournaments are similar: it is uncommon to see the same decks winning the monthlies over and over again. Currently, Premodern is healthy because there is no dominant deck and with skilled players, many tier 2 decks can take down tournaments.
William Hirst: Various Terravore decks, notably the RG version Fran has popularized, Goblins, Sligh and UW Dreadnought. I think this is the healthiest I have seen Premodern’s meta since I started.
Lanny Huang: I think Goblins, RG Oath, and UW Dreadnought are firmly tier 1. I think Premodern is very healthy - we're still typically seeing 6+ archetypes represented in the top 8 and the tier 1 decks aren't oppressing all other strategies.
Lionel Low: I tabulated tournament numbers from across the last few months and based on the data, the Tier 1 decks are Stiflenought, Sligh, TerraOath, Landstill and Elves. There are quite a few "Tier 1.5" decks following closely behind though, and these are Goblins, Replenish, Angry Hermit and The Rock. The format is incredibly healthy, both from number of Tier 1 and 1.5 decks, as well as representation across aggro, tempo, combo and control archetypes. The fact that Premodern is a community format also means people are less singularly-focused on winning all the time, and the meta is more forgiving towards spicy decks.
Robin Lundh: These questions are always tricky, the PM metagame fluctuates wildly, even with people working hard to tune the strongest deck as sharp as possible. With that in mind I tend to treat decks a little nicer than most, and will include list that might be out of favor in the current metagame but has potential to come back with force given small shifts. With that in mind: Goblins, Sligh, Elves, Stiflenought, PonzaOath. Honorable mentions to: Replenish, Hermit FEB, UW Flippi, GAT, BW Control, Brad Stone's TerraGeddon list... at this point this might just be my list of tier 2 decks. :)
Nick Mayo: Tier 1 to me looks something like this (no particular order) : Sligh, Goblins, UW Dreadnought, Elves, Replenish, RG Tyrant / GW “Oathpaloosh”. I think some other decks are on the cusp of T1 and absolutely have to be respected: Both GW and UG Enchantress, Hermit FEB, Angry Hermit, BW Control. Overall I think the meta is healthy. Everyone is in a tizzy about the RG Tyrant (RG Ponza Oath) currently but once people realize Tsabo’s Web is gas, thinks might even out a bit. Black still needs love but without any real banlist changes, I’m not sure anything will change there.
Andrea Mengucci: Phyrexian Dreadnought seems better than the rest, it can have broken starts and broken protection.
Iñaki Puigdollers: That's hard for me to tell, I've been a bit off for the last couple of months. However, I can talk about what I consider the pillars the format has to build strong (tier 1?) decks, in my opinion. Those pillars are: Gush, Oath, Survival of the Fittest. Those three cards are extremely powerful cards that, played in the right shell, can push a deck to Tier 1 level. So, things like U/UW/UB Dreadnought, Survival Elves or RG Ponza Oath seem to be very good decks if your plan is to win a big event. Needless to say those are not the only cards that can build great decks. In my book, R/RG Goblins are also strong enough to be considered Tier 1 power decks
What's a spicy deck or brew that you've seen in the last year that you've liked (regardless of if you've played it or not)?
Michael Arnold: Ethan Stenstrud is a local here in SoCal. He’s brought his Fires deck a couple times and I mentioned how I thought Orcish Lumberjack could be cool in the deck. He brought this list to the next meetup and made 2nd out of 10 players.
Sam Black: Any Skeletal Scrying deck.
Philip “Flippi” Böhm: There was an Ill-Gotten Gains Storm deck at Eternal Weekend. I would never play that, but I think spell combo decks still have a lot of potential to show.
Andy Culpepper: I would love Mikael Magnusson's 4-Color Control to be great.
Chris DiBiase: I always like to see what Arty aka @elartyart aka SoldierofFortune88 is doing. More specifically, I love his take on Cephalid Breakfast. I am a huge fan of Sutured Ghoul strategies (I remember when this was a thing back in Extended!), and I think this deck takes a really fascinating angle. I also give anyone who is willing to deal with that many activations on MtGO huge props.
Álvaro Galindo: From November onwards, I've been jamming Mono B Prison with Contamination and Nether Spirit and it has been a blast.
William Hirst: Kypraios (MTGO Player) has a wonderful 4 Color Black aggro deck that seems amazing. Essentially your Sui Black creature set with answers such as Ray, Disenchant, blasts, etc.
Lanny Huang: Whatever Rich Shay or Sam Black is cooking.
Lionel Low: There are so many! If I have to pick one, I would say 5C White Weenie by Jacob Poulsen. It's difficult to play five colours in Premodern, and even more so in an aggro shell. Fact that it came in 2nd place in a 185-person event is super impressive!
Robin Lundh: I'm less and less active so I'm probably missing a lot, but Amugaba Turns is a sweet one. I'll leave it to the reader to figure out what it is (and if you don't, ask on the Discord, the creator is there).
Nick Mayo: Anyone who knows me, knows I am not a brewer. I don’t have the patience for it and have the upmost respect for those who do. BUT! There has been a lot of Mogg Bombers talk in the PM Discord in a Fires list I believe Flippi worked on and Mose from the Howling Miners ran that and got top 8 at some event. I really want to take it for a spin in a RG Survival type build….
Iñaki Puigdollers: I'm biased. I will say Trix Halls. Even though I think it is not it's time to shine in a Ponza metagame. The deck has hard time vs mana denial strategies and Sphere of resistance really hinders your ability to play your game. There is another deck that caught my eye, though. I kind of like the new versions we are seeing of Ill-Gotten Gains. I am really curious to understand how they play and how far can they develop.
What decks or cards do you think are underplayed in Premodern?
Michael Arnold: Tainted Pact, Orcish Lumberjack, Lord of Atlantis, Teferi’s Response, and Disrupt
Sam Black: Based on the recent success of Red/Green, Tsabo’s Web is an easy answer. I’ve been interested in trying to find a Goblin Welder deck that can take advantage of Web as an actively synergistic card.
Philip “Flippi” Böhm: Worship is underplayed. It's in the same colour as Silver Knight and is able to snatch tons of games. I feel like The Rock should be played more, but with several card choice changes.
Andy Culpepper: Deck: Maybe MUD or PitRack (I don't quite think most people are building that one right). Card: probably Parallax Tide, I think it can still be backbreaking.
Chris DiBiase: This might sound a little weird, given that I put it in my Tier 1 list above, but I think that RG Goblins is incredibly underplayed in the MtGO meta. In terms of cards, I’m a big fan of Diabolic Intent and am convinced there is a shell out there to leverage it that hasn't been found yet.
Álvaro Galindo: Gravestorm, Island Sanctuary, Stampeding Wildebeests, Sirocco and Force Spike.
William Hirst: I think decks like Devourer and Replenish are underplayed currently. This may be price tag dependent for paper, but I think they are amazing strong atm.
Lanny Huang: Gro-A-Tog is underplayed. Hopefully Tsabo's Web won't still be underplayed by the time this is published, unless it doesn't even beat RG Oath!
Lionel Low: False Cure and Thawing Glaciers! Just kidding :D I would say Fiery Temper. It's a Lightning Bolt which can also fuel a discard-requirement of another card, under the right circumstances.
Robin Lundh: Full English Breakfast, Elves, Gro-A-Tog, UW Flippi. Tsabo's Web probably still underplayed. Black decks might have to start playing more Dystopias again? Sorry I don't have any spicy answers! I would love for Eradicate to be a card, but as good as it is against Terravore, the CMC is not great against Ponza.
Nick Mayo: In terms of decks, Replenish seems heavily underplayed. Same with 4-Color Terrageddon. For cards- Tsabo’s Web. Oh and Haunting Echoes, because that card slaps.
Iñaki Puigdollers: I definitely think Gro-A-Tog deserves more love. The deck is full of powerful cards (it has Gush!, remember the pillars?). The same applies to Stasis.
What’s your prediction for how Premodern will change in 2024?
Michael Arnold: I think we will see more regulars from the Middle School format joining Premodern events as more Premodern players are in turn trying out Middle School events. We will also see more people trying out the format as we see an uptick in more mainstream content creators featuring the format. Hot take prediction: Daybreak Games will begin official support for Premodern on MTGO.
Sam Black: I think I’m becoming more interested in decks that never fail to play a land. I don’t know if others will go that way also.
Philip “Flippi” Böhm: Players will be more careful relying on non-basic lands. Control decks might cut some of their Mishra’s Factories for more Basics. The Rock might cut some Treetop Villages. Classic boardwipes with solid manabases will become way more popular again.
Andy Culpepper: I think it will grow even bigger, with more big names from the broader Magic world getting involved.
Chris DiBiase: I think in terms of the meta, we’ll continue to see new innovations. As we’ve seen over the past few years, a closed cardpool does not mean a stale meta. As the format continues to grow, especially as more folks who don’t hold the same priors as the current player base find their way in, we might see new ways of thinking about old problems. I also think we will continue to see increased growth in the MtGO space. 18 months ago, our leagues averaged 25 players. Now they average 75 and continue to grow. I believe by next year they will be routinely larger than any other recurring event, including the Facebook monthlies, perhaps considerably so. An offshoot of this will be more focus within the discourse on the data coming out of the MtGO scene.
Álvaro Galindo: I expect it to keep growing and we will probably have more well-known players joining the format.
William Hirst: I think we will continue to see an ebb and flow of decks rising and falling over the year. The meta is in a great place so I cant imagine any bans or unbans would shake it up.
Lanny Huang: I predict that we'll see exponential increase in people joining the format and as a result, more great Premodern events, and fun format spin-offs. What *won't* change is how great the vibes are.
Lionel Low: I'm not sure to be honest! I think the last 12 months has been incredibly exciting with not just one but THREE breakout decks (BW Control, UW Weenie, and Cataclysmic/Ponza Oath), and I hope folks will keep innovating in 2024. I hope there will be an APAC webcam league someday where we pit Japan vs Australia vs Philippines vs Singapore, and also a physical Premodern version of "Worlds". These would be epic.
Robin Lundh: Metas will shift. Communities will shift. Nothing will change, a lot will change.
Nick Mayo: This format is going to grow a lot. And honestly, probably go through some growing pains. There will be a lot of newer players since the format is getting recognized by larger events and players like Mengu. We need to make sure we welcome everyone with open arms, but also maintain the format identity.
Iñaki Puigdollers: I think we tend to homogenization. During the last year(s) we have been blessed with a lot of great Premodern content. This is a speaker for the community and a tractor beam for players that are playing adjacent formats. However, I think this comes with a flip side. We, humans, are lazy by nature and we tend to replicate what we see, specially if what we see is sold as successful. I have the feeling that during the last months the top performing decks have narrowed down and this might be continue being the norm moving forward. Unless! Martin is sensible enough to unban Tendrils of Agony! Then I see a lot of variety moving forward until the dust settles down ;-)
Who is someone in the Premodern community that you admire?
Michael Arnold: I will shout out fellow SoCal resident Chris Tolar aka TenArms. He has really dived into the format head first this last year. He is always up for discussing optimizing card choices and gameplay without any sodium content. You can count on Chris to always positively contribute to events and hook you up with deals on cards when he can.
Sam Black: Dom Harvey
Andy Culpepper: There are way too many, but if I had to choose one it would be fpawlusz, for his enthusiasm and laser sharp judgment.
Chris DiBiase: There are a lot of folks I could name here, but I’m going to focus on two. First, Pablo Marcos aka Paulmaster aka @premodernmtgo is just an incredible player who can essentially pick up any archetype and destroy an event. He’s also an incredible colleague in our work together on the Community Premodern Series. I feel he is someone who flies under the radar. Second, William Hirst, aka @MMEmporiumllc is the hardest working man in Premodern, and I’ll die on that hill. I’ve got ?????s is the most important and accessible podcast for people new to the format; he created the Premodern Super League this year, which is no small feat; and he has been instrumental in making monthly Swiss MtGO events a real thing.
Álvaro Galindo: I particularly admire the tournament organizers, especially the ones that manage the recurring webcam monthlies. I organize one myself in Chile, and I know the amount of work it requires. So here's to them!
William Hirst: I think the three people I would say I admire currently are Fran, Tom Metelsky and Lanny Huang. Fran and Tom's ingenuity has continued to impress me day after day. Lanny's ability to articulate an argument, especially on his podcast with Flores, is I think essential to the growth of the more competitive side of Premodern.
Lanny Huang: I can’t name just one, and I couldn't begin to list them all for fear that I’d accidentally forget to name somebody and have to issue an apology.
Lionel Low: I always have something for spicy brews and there are so many innovators in the scene! Unfair that we only get to name one but it has gotta be Andrea Mengucci. Many of us play Premodern because we love the nostalgia or card design from an older era, but Mengu plays all formats and is therefore able to propagate Premodern across his diverse audience. Proud of him for flying the Premodern flag high.
Robin Lundh: Anton Glans.
Nick Mayo: Excluding the False Cure king Phil Nguyen, I wanted to name some folks because I can’t choose just one. Jared Doucette and DFB for hosting Lobstercon, and the folks in the Midwest such as BK, Mike Heup, and Will Hirst who put a ton of time into the content they create. Also shoutout to the Premodcast.
Andrea Mengucci: Tommaso Turchi, he’s my Premodern master and went undefeated in three of the last four tournaments he played with GW Terrageddon.
Iñaki Puigdollers: Wow! The list is quite long! I love my EPIC colleagues, they are big part of the reason why I am still engaged to the format. But, if I have to pick just one person, it has to be the one and only Gerard Siatkowski (aka albinomtg, aka turtleman). Not only he embodies everything I like about Premodern community, but also I like his values and how he is very sound on his beliefs. He is an altruist that just want to see the community flourish and grow in a healthy way. How many people you know that gives away cards, costing a substantial amount of money, simply to help another community member? I also like how he speaks up and makes his voice heard for both clarify what he likes as well as what he dislikes. Great human being. Love you Gerard! 🍻
Are there any ways you think we could nurture the Premodern community?
Michael Arnold: The biggest thing I want to emphasize is that when a new player comes into the format looking for feedback or recommendations to first ask what that player’s goals and expectations are. People enter the format for many different reasons, from anything such as recreating childhood kitchen table Magic to looking to recreate their PTQ grinding days. And none of those reasons are more inherently correct than the other. Budgets also vary a ton. I believe many tensions that have arisen in the community are a result of disregarding others’ goals and desires. We are lucky enough that Premodern has grown to a size that there are many different ways to enjoy the format so allow others to enjoy it as they see fit.
Sam Black: Just keep making/sharing content on a large scale. On a local level, nothing beats putting a bunch of decks together and handing them to other people to play with.
Philip “Flippi” Böhm: Players should take more pictures from their events and share them on their socials. Seeing event recaps with deck pictures in Premodern groups is cool, but reaching beyond that will make the community grow.
Andy Culpepper: Foster inclusion at all levels.
Chris DiBiase: Not sure if this is a hot take, but in terms of growing the format we need to sell the format less on nostalgia and more on a) the unique dimensions of the game play and b) the window it offers into a particular historical period, which I contend is distinct from nostalgia. We need to reduce jokingly ragging on folks for new border cards in public forums; this is not helpful for increasing access to new players, and we should want to increase access to new players.
I also think we probably need to reduce the “everything WotC has done post 2004 is trash” discourse. The game has never been more popular, and if we want to share the wonderful elements of this part of the game and its history (and again, I firmly believe good things should be shared), we need to recognize that yucking other peoples’ yum is a poor way of doing so. It makes us seem like a bunch of old folks yelling at clouds. I recognize not everyone is interested in growing the community, but I think this is an error.
Álvaro Galindo: I believe respect comes first. If we want to keep the community as awesome as it is right now, we need to make it a secure space for everyone who wants to jam old cards, without being judged or attacked personally. We all love this format and we are pretty passionate about it, but our opinions should be constructive, always.
William Hirst: Events is the answer. From big events like a Lobstercon or Euros to small locals, this is what grows the scene. MTGO is also pushing a new avenue for players to pursue this format. For my part, I think focusing on the best content that I can is how I can personally help, and I plan to do so.
Lanny Huang: Keep organizing tournaments and meet ups, keep making great content, keep posting sweet deck pics, and just keep playing. If you build it, they will come. Premodern gets better with every old story shared with new friends, and every new story that we won't soon forget.
Lionel Low: Hmm what has worked in Singapore is running new-comer friendly special events. Last year, we did an Open House tournament where new players can join for free and win big prizes, and just in March this year, we did a Rogue Deck tournament where powerful cards were banned. Both drew a number of new comers who stayed on with the core group even post-events.
Robin Lundh: Not forgetting that so many of us play it for the friendships and the hangs and the good attitude, even though we love the format's gameplay itself too. Be nice, be friendly, don't be too judgmental, let people do their thing. Leave the egos at the door, please. To those that might agree with me, I will also say: don't be smug about it, it's also unflattering. :)
Nick Mayo: In my opinion, my local community (New England) is in a great spot. The online community however feels a bit split right now. Inclusiveness is priority number 1. Everyone needs to feel heard. Language is incredibly important. Any form of gatekeeping should be frowned upon - trust me, no one cares about your opinion enough for you to make someone feel bad for something they enjoy. I feel like if as a community we support everyone’s spaces , the community will get even better. For growth , it think we should continue to support the things premodern already flourish’s at such as DIY prizing (pins, stamps, stickers etc), promoting everyone (posting lists, streaming, content, credit to players) and of course, Magic social clubs!
Andrea Mengucci: I’m trying my best with spreading the format on my YouTube channel!
Iñaki Puigdollers: I don't want to extend to much in this. I feel I have also made my voice very clear several times. In short, I think we need to foster respect among members, no matter what and above all. We all are responsible of our words. Not only the content or the message but also the form. The words we pick to communicate can make the difference in being heard or ignored, in potential making someone else feel awkward or empower all audiences. This is specially important for the most influential figures in the community. I firmly believe that, the more influence/power you have the bigger is your responsibility with the community.
What are your preferred basic lands to use?
Michael Arnold: I do love some Unglued lands. Other than that, my preferred basics are Swamp- Mirage #340, Mountain- Mirage #344, Island- Urza’s Saga #335, Forest- Mercadian Masques #347, Plains- Invasion #331.
Sam Black: Alpha/Beta
Philip “Flippi” Böhm: Bob Eggleton Swamps from Mirage, but only in a Squandered Resources deck.
Andy Culpepper: Depends on the deck! Lately I've been very high on Portal, FBB and Unglued, but it's hard to go wrong with old frame basics.
Chris DiBiase: Are there other basic lands other than Mountains? I’m partial to the John Avon Mirage Mountain.
Álvaro Galindo: I cannot give a simple answer to that question lol. It really comes down to the decks, i.e. in Mono B Prison I use Ice Age snow-covered swamps and the graveyard APAC swamps. It has to fit the theme of the deck.
William Hirst: If I had to be picky, Portal lands are my favorite.
Lanny Huang: I really like Unglued basics. I remember as a kid those being the only cards that didn't look like real cards.
Lionel Low: Controversial stance but I actually love the Dominaria Remastered and Commander Masters retro-frame basic lands! I know they are not from the Premodern era but the high-contrast and heavy-shadow style of printing gives off an Alpha/Beta vibe.
Robin Lundh: APAC > Onslaught / Ice Age > I rarely play anything else, but maybe just whatever feels right for the deck (I tend to try to match the style/sets).
Nick Mayo: Unglued Forests and an Unglued Mountain in Elves currently. I also honestly enjoy the Dominaria Remastered basics.
Andrea Mengucci: Beta
Iñaki Puigdollers: I think that each deck has a concrete basic land that fits their theme in a better way. However, in a vacuum these are my favourites: Island: Shuler Mirage sunset (v4) Swamp: Shuler Ice Age trees at both sides (v1) Forest: Shuler Tempest big trunk no branches (v2) Plains: Rush Ice Age snow-covered plains Mountain: Wänerstrand Ice Age Mountain (v3)
Where can people find you on social media? Have anything you want to promote?
Michael Arnold: Twitch YouTube Instagram
Sam Black: @Samuelhblack on Twitter and uh, try Old School (use proxies)
Philip “Flippi” Böhm: Twitch and Twitter. If a big Eternal-formats event weekend in Europe happens, let's make Premodern even bigger than 2023!
Andy Culpepper: AndyCulpepper on Discord.
Chris DiBiase: @ironlungsmtg on Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch. I also manage the @premodernseries Twitter account, which posts updates about our MtGO Community Premodern Series. For folks interested in learning more about playing Premodern on MtGO, they should check out our website premodernseries.org! Also, huge shout out to The Magic Online Society, which hosts all of our Premodern Events.
Álvaro Galindo: Players can find me with this same name on Facebook and Discord. I want to salute our awesome South American community, which is growing day by day. We will have the Chilean Nationals in April (64 players confirmed), and then the South American Championship in July, in Argentina. I'm really excited about what's happening with the format in this side of the world :)
William Hirst: Twitter is probably the best way.
Lanny Huang: Lannynyny everywhere. Check out the Spike Colony podcast!
Lionel Low: Look up @premodern_duels on Instagram for showcase of Premodern cards and occasional bad alters that nobody asked for!
Robin Lundh: I'm semi-active on Discord (way less so lately) and semi-semi-semi active on FB. I'll promote All Tings Considered because it's a dope podcast.
Nick Mayo: You can find me @DuressCrew on Twitter, Twitch and YouTube (coming “soon”). Shout out to the rest of my homies in DxC along with some of our bands : High Command, Superjerk, Hollow Teeth, and Caregiver. You can also find me @mayo47 on Discord, and keep an eye out for Massachusetts Monthlies, and other events we put on!
Andrea Mengucci: Mengu’s Workshop on YouTube to check my Premodern content!
Iñaki Puigdollers: Facebook (by my name) and Discord (by Egosum). If you haven't tried it yet, I encourage you to play in our one of our Classic Legacy Webcam monthly leagues. Not only people is awesome! But also the format is, to my view, complementing Premodern perfectly in many ways!
Content
🪨🤖 The Impulse Crew is out with a new video featuring Natural Order Rock vs. Treva Tron
⌛️ Bryan Manolakos is joined by Flint Espil on the All Tings Considered podcast discuss whether the Premodern format is changing for the better, the worse, and/or the different
👹 Seb Celia and Anton Glans are joined by William Hirst on the Monster of the Week podcast to discuss the Premodern Super League, the Magic Online Society, and competitiveness
🤝 The Shared Discovery podcast is back covering pet decks and the state of Premodern
⚔️ The Spike Colony podcast, hosted by Lanny Huang and Mike Flores, is back to discuss a few decks, Shazam vs. Superman, and event prep
🐉 Fpawluszmtg attempts to revitalize the classic UW Control list and takes it through a league
🎴 Testing out three brews against RG TerraOath from Lionel Low
🧝♂️ Andrea Mengucci shares an introduction to Premodern and his Midrange Elves deck that eschews the red splash and instead loads up on Walls and Call of the Herd. You can also see his deck in action against Goblins!
📸 RUG Flashback vs. Red Ponza… love seeing fun decks!