Eternal Durdles

LobsterCon is next weekend, and the Premodern meta continues to evolve.
In this episode, we help isolate what you need to prepare for going into one of the biggest Premodern events of the year!
We cover:
• The most played decks (Goblins, StifleNought, Landstill, etc.)
• Why “meta buckets” matter more than specific matchups
• The rise of Moneyball Black and how it’s evolving
• Why Replenish might actually be the biggest sleeper deck
• Building a smarter, more flexible sideboard
• Identifying what your deck loses to
• Why proactive strategies are favored in large events
• Tournament endurance, pacing, and avoiding draws
• Matchup defining cards (Withered Wretch, Engineered Plague, etc.)
• How small deckbuilding tweaks change matchups
• Deck performance of paper vs online
• LobsterCon Top 8 predictions

Huge thanks to Cyrus for insights and data work
(Check his links below)

LobsterCon is next weekend, and the Premodern meta continues to evolve.
In this episode, we help isolate what you need to prepare for going into one of the biggest Premodern events of the year!
We cover:
• The most played decks (Goblins, StifleNought, Landstill, etc.)
• Why “meta buckets” matter more than specific matchups
• The rise of Moneyball Black and how it’s evolving
• Why Replenish might actually be the biggest sleeper deck
• Building a smarter, more flexible sideboard
• Identifying what your deck loses to
• Why proactive strategies are favored in large events
• Tournament endurance, pacing, and avoiding draws
• Matchup defining cards (Withered Wretch, Engineered Plague, etc.)
• How small deckbuilding tweaks change matchups
• Deck performance of paper vs online
• LobsterCon Top 8 predictions

Huge thanks to Cyrus for insights and data work
(Check his links below)

Is Legacy getting healthier?
In this episode, we assess current Threat Level data, a metric that tracks how dominant cards are based on play rate and deck saturation, as well as:
• The rise of Flow State
• Why Orcish Bowmasters is finally trending down
• Urza’s Saga’s massive surge
• The impact of new design vs. bans on format health
• How to interpret impact of threat level vs gameplay (and why cards like Thassa’s Oracle should be viewed differently
• The cyclical nature of format-defining cards
• What trends suggest for the future

Full spreadsheet + data references discussed in the episode:

Is Legacy getting healthier?
In this episode, we assess current Threat Level data, a metric that tracks how dominant cards are based on play rate and deck saturation, as well as:
• The rise of Flow State
• Why Orcish Bowmasters is finally trending down
• Urza’s Saga’s massive surge
• The impact of new design vs. bans on format health
• How to interpret impact of threat level vs gameplay (and why cards like Thassa’s Oracle should be viewed differently
• The cyclical nature of format-defining cards
• What trends suggest for the future

Full spreadsheet + data references discussed in the episode:

What if Magic felt like 1999 again?In this episode, we dive into a fully old-border Premodern Cube built for nostalgia and a weekend with the homies.https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/ac499a4f-4922-41f0-8749-0183e9bcaef4https://moxfield.com/decks/7Jq0coVJS0K5Kv2hW7Ev3A We chat:• The philosophy behind building a Premodern cube• Supported archetypes (Goblins, Zombies, Elves, Merfolk, etc)• Why this cube leans aggressive• How gold cards and creature types overlap• Mana fixing• Why the draft is more fun than the gamesWe also:• Pack 1 Pick 1 scenarios• Unintended archetypes• Derail into nonsense