Weatherlight came out in 1997 and kicked off the famous Weatherlight Saga—which has been compared to the more recent, more infamous Gatewatch, um...not-Saga? The set had three mechanics—flanking, phasing, and cumulative upkeep; while the Saga featured such famous characters as Squee, Gerrard, Captain Sisay, Hana, Mirri, and others. Flanking saw print again with last year's Sidar Kondo […]
Dig Through Time — Weatherlight
September 12, 2017 by
Dean Gootee 
#abjure, #aether flash, #brion stoutarm, #call of the wild, #debt of loyalty, #DTT, #edric spymaster of trest, #gishath sun's avatar, #hurloon shaman, #infernal tribute, #inner sanctum, #mayael the anima, #mogis god of slaughter, #neheb the worthy, #sasaya orochi ascendant, #sedris the traitor king, #seshiro the anointed, #shirei shizos caretaker, #teferis veil, #tranquil grove, #urborg justice, #well of knowledge, #zur the enchanter Read More »
Dig Through Time — Nemesis
August 22, 2017 by
Dean Gootee
We already covered Mercadian Masques back in February. Today we're going to dig back in time to cover the second set in the Mercadian Masques block—Nemesis. Nemesis came out in 2000, and brought back Spellshapers, alternative casting costs, Mercenaries and Rebels from the previous set. Mercenaries and Rebels are still too parasitic to be very interesting, but the […]
#aether barrier, #alesha who smiles at death, #avenger en-dal, #damia sage of stone, #DTT, #flowstone slide, #fog patch, #grand arbiter augustin iv, #kill switch, #mind swords, #mogis god of slaughter, #rootwater thief, #rosheen meanderer, #selvala explorer returned, #spiritual asylum, #stronghold biologist, #stronghold machinist, #sygg river guide, #talrand sky summoner, #zedruu the greathearted Read More »
Dig Through Time — Visions
August 8, 2017 by
Dean Gootee
Did you know that Magic is 25 years old? You probably did. But are you familiar with very many cards more than a decade old? Maybe you aren't. Today I'm going to reacquaint you with a set 20 years in Magic's past: Visions! Visions is a small set from Mirage block that used the mechanics phasing, flanking, and cumulative upkeep. But […]
#army ants, #dark privilege, #desolation, #dream tides, #DTT, #elephant grass, #equipoise, #heat wave, #jhoira of the ghitu, #jolrael empress of beasts, #karona false god, #merieke ri berit, #mundungu, #narset enlightened master, #peace talks, #phelddagrif, #phenax god of deception, #quirion druid, #shirei shizos caretaker, #teferis realm, #The Girtrog Monster, #undo Read More »
Dig Through Time — Time Spiral
July 25, 2017 by
Dean Gootee
Maybe you've noticed a theme in my last two columns. First we did Future Sight. Then we visited Planar Chaos. Hm, is this a pattern? Yes, we've been doing Time Spiral block in reverse, and that means that today we're going to the past to visit the set that kicked off this crazy block. In addition to bringing […]
#ashling the pilgrim, #children of korlis, #DTT, #eight-and-a-half-tails, #foriysian totem, #fortune thief, #gaze of justice, #greenseeker, #heartless hidetsugu, #kemba kha regent, #Lunarch Marshal, #odric master tactician, #pentarch paladin, #sapling of colfenor, #selenia dark angel, #sudden death, #talrand sky summoner, #The Girtrog Monster, #thunder totem, #time spiral, #toshiro umezawa, #underplayed, #weatherseed totem, #wipe away Read More »
Dig Through Time — Planar Chaos
July 18, 2017 by
Dean Gootee
This week on Dig Through Time we're going to visit the alternate present of 2007 with Planar Chaos. Like the rest of Time Spiral block, this set explored the "crust" of the color pie, mining for effects that bordered on allowable in each color at the time. They weren't just pushing boundaries, though. Some of the experimentation was […]
#azami lady of scrolls, #damia sage of stone, #detritivore, #dismal failure, #dralnu lich lord, #DTT, #dust elemental, #ephara god of the polis, #frozen aether, #grand arbiter augustin iv, #isperia the inscrutable, #jhoira of the ghitu, #kor dirge, #lazav dimir mastermind, #magus of the library, #null profusion, #planar chaos, #sasaya orochi ascendant, #serendib sorcerer, #shrouded lore, #sidisi undead vizier, #toshiro umezawa, #treacherous urge, #underplayed, #voidstone gargoyle Read More »
Fresh Meat — Neheb, the Eternal
June 30, 2017 by
Dean Gootee
Welcome to the first edition of Fresh Meat! You may read my bi-weekly series Dig Through Time where I review old sets of Magic and pull out underplayed gems. This series is going to be more infrequent. Whenever a new set comes out I'll select an interesting new legend and walk you through some of the […]
#aggravated assault, #aggro, #burn, #double damage, #extra combat, #mono red, #neheb the eternal Read More »
Dig Through Time — Future Sight
June 27, 2017 by
Dean Gootee
Up until today's article Dig Through Time has only examined sets from Magic's past. Today I want to go to the future. That's right, I could no longer stop myself. It's finally time to talk about Future Sight! I remember cracking packs of this set back in 2007 when I was in college. I was super duper […]
#adamaro first to desire, #angus mackenzie, #bonded fetch, #brago king eternal, #bruna light of alabaster, #centaur omenreader, #chronomantic escape, #cryptic annelid, #DTT, #ertai the corrupted, #future sight, #grenzo dungeon warden, #llanowar mentor, #marrow-gnawer, #minions murmurs, #phenax god of deception, #prossh skyraider of kher, #rhys the redeemed, #sachi daughter of seshiro, #scouts warning, #shah of naar isle, #shimian specter, #shu yun the silent tempest, #stronghold rats, #underplayed, #veilstone amulet, #yixlid jailer Read More »
Dig Through Time — Alara Reborn
June 15, 2017 by
Dean Gootee
This week in Dig Through Time: Alara Reborn! This set ties up the preceding Shards of Alara and Conflux sets in the Alara block. In order to represent the reunification of the five shards of the shattered plane, Alara Reborn is comprised entirely of multicolor cards. This is the first and only set to do this ever. The set […]
#alara reborn, #animar soul of elements, #aurelia the warleader, #bruse tarl boorish herder, #defiler of souls, #derevi empyrial tactician, #DTT, #fight to the death, #flurry of wings, #gisela blade of goldnight, #identity crisis, #intimidation bolt, #iroas god of victory, #mogis god of slaughter, #obzedat ghost council, #sages of the anima, #sharuum the hegemon, #soulquake, #stun sniper, #tymna the weaver, #underplayed, #vela the night-clad Read More »
Dig Through Time — Tempest Block
May 23, 2017 by
Dean Gootee
In this week's Dig Through Time, let's examine a block from very early on in Magic's history, Tempest block. Tempest came out from 1997-1998, and is comprised of Tempest, Stronghold, and Exodus. For all of you Vorthos out there, this block is set on the plane of Rath, which has since become fused with Dominaria. Magic's early blocks […]
#calming licid, #corrupting licid, #death pits of rath, #dominating licid, #doran the siege tower, #DTT, #exodus, #fade away, #interdict, #kynaios and tiro of meletis, #licids, #marble titan, #narset enlightened master, #nature's revolt, #onslaught, #stronghold, #tempest, #tempting licid, #underplayed, #wall of nets Read More »
Dig Through Time — Shadowmoor/Eventide
May 10, 2017 by
Dean Gootee
Welcome back to another installment of Dig Through Time. Today we're going back to my college days when Shadowmoor and Eventide were first released. These two sets are a little bit quirky, a little bit creepy, super unusual, and are among my absolute favorites. This block is unique for a number of reasons. First, it […]
#-1/-1 counters, #dramatic entrance, #dream salvage, #DTT, #eventide, #everlasting torment, #flourishing defenses, #impelled giant, #impromtu raid, #leech bonder, #leering emblem, #mercy killing, #pyrrhic revival, #river's grasp, #safewright quest, #shadowmoor, #soot imp, #soul snuffers, #underplayed Read More »