What does the future of Premodern hold?
PLUS: LobsterCon details emerge, All Will Be One set review, explainer video on how to play Premodern on MTGO
This issue is jam-packed with links to great Premodern content and events coming up (including LobsterCon registration going live tomorrow). Next issue will return with an in-depth interview I’ve been very much looking forward to, as well as an analysis of top-performing decks across large tournaments. Thanks to everyone who has provided support and feedback for this newsletter!
I recently had the pleasure of joining Seb Celia and Anton Glans on episode 43 of the planes-famous podcast Monster of the Week — give it a listen. We had a ball discussing a potpourri of magical topics including the best content for new entrants to Premodern, where we see the format going in 2023, the results of last edition’s Premodern Round Table, and more.
One particularly enjoyable segment was the premiere of Anton’s patent-pending “Brew That or Screw That” in which we had a rapid-fire chat about whether a named card was personally interesting to make a deck around. My impromptu submission was the beloved (probably by someone, anyway) Tempest card Maddening Imp. I’ll let you listen to the episode to hear our thoughts on it but in the meantime I’ll serve up three other cards for you to ponder over:
Share whether for you it’s a Brew It or a Screw It in the Substack comments or when I post this newsletter edition to the Premodern Facebook group and my Twitter.
Phyrexia: All Will Be One Set Review
The latest set has been fully previewed and it looks like Premodern gets an astounding two (!!) new printings added. This comes off of a recent high from Dominaria United (15 Premodern legal printings) and The Brothers' War (nine):
Although Chris Hardy may have already released his set review let’s jump into BANDING’s Premodern set review too!
Content
Lanny Huang unleashed his first article covering The Rock, Mike Flores, why Premodern is great, and a new framework for understanding a deck’s identity. A really excellent read that has received plaudits from well-known players such as LSV, BDM, and PN (me).
Romario Vidal created a neat explainer video on how to join the Magic Online Society’s Premodern leagues on MTGO. MTGO continues to be an area in which I could see the format growing and having a resource like this is amazing.
Speaking of MTGO, if you’re an avid online player and would like Premodern to be a supported format on the platform (i.e., filters, leagues, etc.), be sure to vote and comment on this post in the MTGO forums.
Jeff White recounts his experience playing in the December and January webcam monthlies with RG Goblins and Replenish, respectively. He also made the finals against Stasis in December!
The Premodcast is back with an episode featuring William Hirst, who has been on a ridiculous heater over the last year. Feast your eyes on these ridiculous finishes in 2022:
[Burn] 1st Place at the Misty Mountain Games Premodern Open (47 players)
[Psychatog] 4th Place in the July Webcam Monthly (89 players)
[Psychatog] 1st Place in the September Webcam Monthly (88 players)
[Stasis] 8th Place in the Fall Brawl (99 players)
[Stasis] 1st Place in the November Webcam Monthly (88 players)
[Mono U Stiflenought] 1st Place at the Midwest Premodern Championship (38 players)
[Stasis] 1st Place in the December Webcam Monthly (79 players)
TC Decks, the go-to resource for Premodern deck lists, has begun a blog with the first article written by Iñaki Puigdollers on applying the Xerox principle to Premodern.
Federico Kleiner is back with his annual Deck Tier Analysis, looking at the results of 40 player or more events. His data concludes that the top decks are: Sligh, Goblins, Elves, Stiflenought, Parfait, and Tide Control. Take a look for yourself! His work is excellent and I may take my own cut of this data in the next issue…
The Banned Series continues with Entomb unleashed against Pink Prison, Pit-Rack, Devourer, and Elves! Do you think Entomb would be a safe unban after watching it go through the gauntlet? I like that it would power up Nether Spirit strategies and the creature suite in Premodern might be restrained enough that it could provide Reanimator with just enough juice to take it to a strong but reasonable level. My gut says it’s probably too risky but it’s a close one!
We’re sharing our favorite Premodern era/themed accessories, rarities, oddities, and more in the Facebook group.
Results
The European bracket of the 64-deck Super Gauntlet has wrapped up with UR Stiflenought piloted by Jens Jaeger beating Reckless Sligh. Congratulations to Robin Lundh who had the highest prediction score of the bracket results! You can view the complete European bracket here and the deck lists here.
The Americas bracket is wrapping up soon as well with the Top 4 set of Tradewind Survival vs. UW Stiflenought and Angry Hermit vs. Oath Parfait. You can catch the Super Gauntlet games on YouTube.
22 players attended a Premodern tournament in London with attendee signed Exalted Angel and a donated Duelist life counter for the winner (love community prizes like these). Check out Callum Smith’s Twitter for the Top 8 and photos from the event:
Season 5 of the Magic Online Premodern Championships concluded with Fpawlusz and his trusty UW Stiflenought taking down Paulmaster’s Parfait Oath. A true battle of Premodern video creators! Check out the replay of his matches here against UW Landstill, UG Survival Madness, and Parfait. I love this list because 1) Mono U Stiflenought may be the flashy deck to beat but UW has been putting up strong results and 2) it questions whether Enlightened Tutor is overrated in certain decks.
To qualify for this event players had to perform well in earlier league play over the last three months. Check out the deck lists for the Top 8 here.
Upcoming Happenings
If you have any events you’d like me to feature, let me know. Italics are events that were featured previously.
[United States, Feb. 11] Great Stories Comics and Gaming in Uxbridge, MA is holding weekly Premodern on Saturdays. Check out Facebook for more information.
[United States, Feb. 11] Registration for the tournament in Seattle hosted by the Emerald City Trolls has opened up! The event is soft capped at 24 so be sure to pre-register if interested in attending. There will also be a charity raffle to benefit Mary’s Place, an organization that aids unhoused children, women, and families. More information can be found here.
[Germany, Feb. 11] The 8th Premodern tournament at Ultra Comix will take place in Nuremberg, Germany. Facebook event here.
[Germany, Feb. 11] There will be a Premodern tournament at JK Store in Darmstadt, Germany. More details here.
[United States, Feb. 11] The Vault in Greensburg, PA has a Premodern event and will also lend decks to those who need it. Facebook event here.
[United States, Feb. 13] Atlanta, GA is growing their Premodern community and a meetup is happening at Giga-Bites on February 13. Facebook event here.
[United States, Feb. 16] The monthly NYC Premodern meetup is going down near Midtown! Reply to me directly (or on Twitter) if you’re interested in attending.
[United States, Feb. 25] Collector Legion in Southern California is hosting another Premodern tournament. Registration on their website.
[Italy, Mar. 4] The famed 4Seasons tournament series in Bologna, Italy has a Premodern event in their Winter tournament. Register here.
[United States, Mar. 18] Mill City Old School is hosting a two-headed giant Premodern event in Roseville, MN. More details here.
[United States, Mar. 25] Misty Mountain Games in Madison, WI announced their 2023 schedule for Premodern events (with Twitch coverage courtesy of Cloudgoat Ranger), starting off with the Spring Cup. More information on Facebook.
🦞🏆 [United States, Jun. 2-3] Details for the North American Premodern Championship at LobsterCon in Boston have been revealed with registration opening up Tuesday, February 7 at 12pm ET. The event will be capped at 256 players. More details here.
[United States, Jul. 1] Misty Mountain Games in Madison, WI is back with the annual Midwest Championship with Twitch coverage courtesy of Cloudgoat Ranger. More information on Facebook.
[Argentina, Aug. 12-13] Dates and location (Buenos Aires, Argentina) are now confirmed for the South American Premodern Championship!
[United States, Sep. 23] Misty Mountain Games in Madison, WI is hosting the Fall Cup with Twitch coverage courtesy of Cloudgoat Ranger. More information on Facebook.
[United States, Dec. 9] Misty Mountain Games in Madison, WI wraps up the year with the Misty Mountain Finals with Twitch coverage courtesy of Cloudgoat Ranger. More information on Facebook.
Before you go…
I created some Magic themed horoscopes using ChatGPT and Jeanne D’Angelo’s Secret Lair artwork. As a Gemini and avid brewer, I was pleased to see mine encouraging experimentation of new decks and cards!
