Bloomburrow Previews Wrap Up

Today marks the final day of Bloomburrow preview season! This week has seen all kinds of awesomely adorable cards showcased from the Imagine: Critters subset to the Special Guests all the way to the incredible Commander decks. The Bloomburrow hype is real and excitement couldn't be higher for the upcoming prerelease events and streamer early access showcases. You can check out my week two preview recap now here on CoolStuffInc and check out the CSI Bloomburrow store page for all your cute and cuddly card needs!

Ultimate Guard and MTGO Team Up for Vintage Cube Live

Play with and keep the original POWER 9??
We teamed up with @MagicOnline for an event extraordinaire.?
Qualify via MTGO to win a trip to #MCVegas and a seat at the final table of Magic Online Vintage Cube LIVE - Powered by Ultimate Guard. Stay tuned ?
??https://t.co/nMm0wDffAr pic.twitter.com/nyjBQs37ng

— Ultimate Guard (@UltimateGuard) July 17, 2024

This week, popular supply maker Ultimate Guard and Magic Online announced a truly exciting collaboration: a live Vintage Cube draft at MagicCon Las Vegas! To have a shot at such a monumental event, players will need to play in a number of special qualifier events on Magic Online itself which can earn them a shot to play the real thing in October at the game's biggest event of the year. Major gaming news outlet IGN also released an extensive piece highlighting the event as well, putting a huge spotlight on Magic Online not seen in arguably years. Best of luck to anyone trying their hand in the various qualifiers leading up to the event!

Magic Online Announces Duel Commander

Announcement Time!
Duel Commander Joins Magic Online July 24 After Downtime

More Info here!https://t.co/Va17H6Q2JM pic.twitter.com/C87G1UCBe2

— Magic Online (@MagicOnline) July 13, 2024

Throughout 2024, Daybreak Games has been putting a substantial emphasis on the playability of the Commander format on the Magic Online client. Players were provided better access to popular Commander staples via the Commander Workshop product and both casual and competitive leagues were put together for players of all skill levels. Now comes a new way to play Commander on the client in Duel Commander, coming to MTGO following the July 24 downtime.

This popular 1v1 iteration of the Commander format has seen popular niche appeal among select circles of the game. This is the first sort of officialization of the format, much akin to how Pauper went from being a fun player-run format to a proper and officially supported one with time. This marks Magic Online's second attempt at 1v1 Commander following the disastrous initial run at their own take on the format (under WotC, not Daybreak) in 2017 that was sunset only a few years later due to low turnout as a result of questionable ban list handling. By comparison, this will be the first true iteration of the actual Duel Commander format.

Decklist of the Week

Boros Energy | Historic | Wouter Noordzij, 1st Place Arena Championship 6

• Companion (1)
• 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring

• Creatures (22)
• 2 Suncleanser
• 4 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah // Ajani, Nacatl Avenger
• 4 Amped Raptor
• 4 Guide of Souls
• 4 Ocelot Pride
• 4 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury

• Instants (4)
• 4 Galvanic Discharge

• Enchantments (8)
• 2 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki
• 2 Goblin Bombardment
• 4 Static Prison

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Unstable Amulet

• Lands (22)
• 2 Plains
• 1 Arena of Glory
• 1 Den of the Bugbear
• 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
• 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
• 4 Aether Hub
• 4 Inspiring Vantage
• 4 Sacred Foundry
• 4 Sunbaked Canyon

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring
• 2 Containment Priest
• 2 Suncleanser
• 3 Fragment Reality
• 3 Surgical Extraction
• 4 Invasion of Gobakhan // Lightshield Array

Buy This Deck Export text Export Arena

This past weekend saw the Arena Championship 6 take place, focusing on the Historic format. As it happens, the format is a little busted right now, leading to six of the top 8 lists being the Boros Energy archetype. Every single deck - aside from a lone list of basics from a player who only plays Limited - had the means to play energy hoser Suncleanser. The card saw a total 73 copies out of a possible 124 and still that wasn't enough to keep Boros Energy down. The deck took home the trophy in the hands of Wouter Noordzij who won the event after a weekend of intense Magic. Congratulations Wouter!

Paige Smith

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