<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Storm Crow|9ED|100" href="#" target="_blank">Storm Crow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://matsonworks.com/magic-the-gathering">John Matson</a></em></p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tempest Hawk" href="#" target="_blank">Tempest Hawk</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/abzjharding/?hl=en">Abz J Harding</a></em></p>
<p>The philanthropic organization <a href="http://birdsofmtg.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Birds of Paradise</a> has just opened a new grant program for marginalized <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> players. This program is meant to serve the community with funding projects and other opportunities.</p>
<p>We recently spoke with JanePlaysMagic, President of BOP!, who is spearheading this program, to learn a little more about it!</p>
<h2>Two Questions for JanePlaysMagic</h2>
<p><strong><em>The grant press release states that marginalized people can apply. Asking as a writer with a mobility-based disability myself, could you please elaborate on what that means?</em></strong></p>
<p>Birds of Paradise is an organization for marginalized people in the <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> space! When we say marginalized, we mean anyone who identifies as a group facing systemic barriers. This includes marginalization on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. This is who BOP! intends to support with our grant program!</p>
<p><strong><em>What kinds of projects is this grant program meant to fund?</em></strong></p>
<p>Our grants are intended to fund professional development — whether that's training for the Pro Tour, buying new content gear, networking at MagicCon events, or organizing your own space! We hope to uplift the marginalized people who are already making the community gatherings we love so magical. Our grants support those individuals for the work they do for the community.</p>
<h2>Press Release from Birds of Paradise</h2>
<p>The Birds of Paradise team has also released a press statement for public edification about this program. It states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p dir="ltr">Birds of Paradise is proud to announce we are now offering grants to marginalized members of the <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> community!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Our aim is to support marginalized members of our community — from Pro Tour players to content creators to writers to community organizers to artists. They are who are doing the work to make the <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> community special.</p>
<p dir="ltr">WHERE: Apply at <a href="http://birdsofmtg.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://birdsofmtg.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1785266047319000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1xuMZda6vTG3C1DC2fK21Q">BirdsofMTG.com</a>!</p>
<p dir="ltr">WHEN: Applications are open July 25 — August 8</p>
<p dir="ltr">Birds of Paradise is a charity highlighting and uplifting the voices of players with marginalized identities within the <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> community. BOP! hosts safe spaces at TCG conventions – including MagicCons – in addition to offering grants to marginalized community members. These are direct ways we can support representation in Magic spaces.</p>
<p dir="ltr">With our recent status change to an official 501(c)(3) charity, we are now able to offer tax write-offs for donations! We are happy to provide tax receipts! Please contact us at <a href="http://birdsofmtg.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://birdsofmtg.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1785266047319000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1xuMZda6vTG3C1DC2fK21Q">BirdsofMTG.com</a> if you’re interested in contributing. Each dollar we receive continues to aid our community.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 dir="ltr">Conclusion</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=Y2PXA7EKQUSYC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">You can donate to Birds of Paradise here.</a> Grants like the one above are community-funded, so this, while completely optional, always helps these kinds of programs get proper funding.</p>


How to Apply for the Birds of Paradise MTG Grant

<p style="text-align: right;"><em>Image credit: <a href="https://www.praetorsforchange.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Praetors For Change</a></em></p>
<p>This past weekend, the <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> streamer group Praetors For Change held a charity fundraiser benefiting <a href="https://www.streamforacause.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stream for a Cause</a>, a charity helping out multiple organizations.</p>
<p>The event ended up making over $2,700, a great amount for one weekend for charity! I participated in one of their pods' time slots on Sunday, July 20th. Here's what I took from it!</p>
<h2>The Setup and Podmates</h2>
<p>To start, as expected, Phyrexians were the theme for the first game every pod of Commander played that day. I decided upon using my <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ria Ivor, Bane of Bladehold" href="#" target="_blank">Ria Ivor, Bane of Bladehold</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck for this event.</p>
<p>While I certainly could make a totally new deck for this stream, I didn't quite have the time to whip something up with the notice I had. Ria Ivor would have to do.</p>
<p>Despite not having played this deck in a good while, I managed to soup it up with some great new cards. The decklist I played is below!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Ria Ivor: Knight Makes Mites" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Ria Ivor, Bane of Bladehold
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Altar of Bhaal // Bone Offering
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Everflowing Chalice
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Glistening Sphere
*1 Nihil Spellbomb
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
*1 Talisman of Hierarchy
*1 The Darkness Crystal
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Throne of Geth
*1 Wayfarer&#039;s Bauble
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Annex Sentry
*1 Basilica Shepherd
*1 Blightbelly Rat
*1 Bronze Guardian
*1 Burnished Hart
*1 Corpse Knight
*1 Cyberman Patrol
*1 Flesh-Eater Imp
*1 Glory
*1 Grand Abolisher
*1 Losheel, Clockwork Scholar
*1 Marionette Master
*1 Metastatic Evangel
*1 Mite Overseer
*1 Mondrak, Glory Dominus
*1 Mother of Runes
*1 Myr Convert
*1 Norn&#039;s Choirmaster
*1 Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation // Temple of Civilization
*1 Pitiless Plunderer
*1 Prava of the Steel Legion
*1 Skorpekh Lord
*1 Skrelv, Defector Mite
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Steel Overseer
*1 Sun Titan
*1 Teysa Karlov
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Anointed Procession
*1 Aura of Silence
*1 Behind the Scenes
*1 Muster the Departed
*1 Norn&#039;s Decree
*1 Phyrexian Scriptures
*1 Skrelv&#039;s Hive
*1 True Conviction
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Fumigate
*1 White Sun&#039;s Twilight
*1 Winds of Abandon
[/Sorceries]
[Instants]
*1 Everybody Lives!
*1 Final Showdown
*1 Flare of Fortitude
*1 Inkshield
*1 Moogles&#039; Valor
*1 Path to Exile
*1 Settle the Wreckage
*1 Swords to Plowshares
*1 Unbreakable Formation
*1 Whisper of the Dross
[/Instants]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Vraska, Betrayal&#039;s Sting
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Ancient Den
*1 Ash Barrens
*1 Bleachbone Verge
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway
*1 Buried Ruin
*1 Caves of Koilos
*1 Command Tower
*1 Demolition Field
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Godless Shrine
*1 Karn&#039;s Bastion
*1 Mirrex
*1 Monumental Henge
*11 Plains
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Shadowy Backstreet
*1 Shattered Sanctum
*4 Swamp
*1 Tainted Field
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
*1 Vault of Champions
*1 Vault of Whispers
*1 Vault of the Archangel
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h3>My Opponents and Their Commanders</h3>
<p>On the day of, I faced off against the following creators. Below are their social handles and the commanders they used, respectively:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Fredo (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/virtue.bsky.social" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@virtue</a>):</strong> Fredo was a very cool player. In my learned opinion, I think he was probably the scariest of my opponents that day. He used <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Omnath, Locus of All" href="#" target="_blank">Omnath, Locus of All</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as his Phyrexian commander. For the second game we played, Fredo ran <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dogmeat, Ever Loyal" href="#" target="_blank">Dogmeat, Ever Loyal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</li>
<li><strong>Macready (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/macreadymusings.bsky.social" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@MacreadyMusings</a>):</strong> You quite possibly know Macready from <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/author/ben-macready" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his writings on this very website</a>! This creator had an interesting <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ezuri, Claw of Progress" href="#" target="_blank">Ezuri, Claw of Progress</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck, adapted from a different, non-compleated blue-green Commander deck. Later on, he ran a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dragon&#039;s Approach" href="#" target="_blank">Dragon&#039;s Approach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck headed by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Garland, Knight of Cornelia" href="#" target="_blank">Garland, Knight of Cornelia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</li>
<li><strong>Abigail (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/missbunfee.bsky.social" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@MissBunFee</a>):</strong> Abigail was nothing if not consistent for this pod. She ran <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Solphim, Mayhem Dominus" href="#" target="_blank">Solphim, Mayhem Dominus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for both of the games we played over our two-hour timeslot. The deck was most notable for its own dangerous <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dragon&#039;s Approach" href="#" target="_blank">Dragon&#039;s Approach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> theme.</li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Omnath, Locus of All"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Solphim, Mayhem Dominus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ezuri, Claw of Progress"></div></div>
<p>Notably, only the first game <em>had</em> to be Phyrexian in nature. The second game we played was, in essence, anything goes, as far as deckbuilding.</p>
<p>All of this to say, I piloted my <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tetsuo, Imperial Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Tetsuo, Imperial Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck for the second game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dogmeat, Ever Loyal"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tetsuo, Imperial Champion"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Garland, Knight of Cornelia"></div></div>
<p>With our first game set to go, 1:15pm Eastern time quickly approached. It was time to stream, and stream we did!</p>
<h2>The Praetors For Change Games</h2>
<p>You can find our pod's VOD on Twitch <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2517731403" target="_blank" rel="noopener">by clicking here</a>!</p>
<h3>Game 1</h3>
<p>The first match went smoothly for everyone. Everyone did something impactful with the decks they piloted, and everyone got a chance to revel in the limelight of that situation.</p>
<p>Fredo was the first, managing to cast a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Genesis Wave" href="#" target="_blank">Genesis Wave</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with its X-value being a staggering 14! This ultimately ramped Fredo's landbase a ton, but only got him two creatures.</p>
<p>The rest of the table took Fredo down soon thereafter, and then all eyes were on Abigail's Solphim deck. Macready and I were at dangerously low life totals, and Solphim was a problem that needed solving.</p>
<p>She had a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Twinflame Tyrant" href="#" target="_blank">Twinflame Tyrant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and a <span class="edhrecp__link reverse"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Terror of the Peaks" href="#" target="_blank">Terror of the Peaks</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on the battlefield at one point, which could have absolutely spelt our collective doom.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Twinflame Tyrant"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dragon&#039;s Approach"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Terror of the Peaks"></div></div>
<p>Fortunately, I had an ace up my sleeve in the form of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Final Showdown" href="#" target="_blank">Final Showdown</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Paired with a total glut of Mite tokens, which under normal circumstances cannot block, for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> I removed all abilities from each creature in play and proceeded to block with Mites, stopping a lot of the carnage that could've otherwise ensued.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Final Showdown"></div></div>
<p>On Macready's turn, I could see that I could've been kneecapped by an attack from his <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloomvine Regent" href="#" target="_blank">Bloomvine Regent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, so I offered him a deal. If he were to swing at Abigail, I wouldn't attack him on my next turn. He accepted and swung at Abigail.</p>
<p>The attack didn't defeat her, but Macready soon thereafter took Abigail out. By that time, his life total was a little too low to survive my attacks from there. I swung with a massive board of Mite tokens and other creatures to take the game!</p>
<h3>Game 2</h3>
<p>We swapped decks around for game 2 (for the most part, with Abigail retaining Solphim). As mentioned above, I used Tetsuo, Imperial Champion, Macready used Garland, Knight of Cornelia, and Fredo used Dogmeat, Ever Loyal.</p>
<p>For this game, I was severely mana screwed for the brunt of my time. I kept an opening hand with just two lands; that's on me. However, I was allowed to tutor up a land later on by the grace of the table to keep the momentum up.</p>
<p>This was a kind gesture and one I really liked for the match. However, by that point it was far too late to see any real results from me. Fredo's Dogmeat deck was amazingly strong, fast, and consistent. Abigail was already defeated by the time my board could have come close to stabilization.</p>
<p>When Macready and I were faced with our collective demise at the hands of a buffed-up Dogmeat and an equally boosted <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sram, Senior Edificer" href="#" target="_blank">Sram, Senior Edificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, the game was basically over by then.</p>
<p>So, I did the most Phyrexian thing I could fathom at that time and cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tainted Strike" href="#" target="_blank">Tainted Strike</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on the attacker that took me out, thereby going down on my own terms. Mmmm... <em>Oily!</em></p>
<p>With that, the pod concluded and went to break time. We thanked each other and went on our merry ways.</p>
<h2>How do I Feel?</h2>
<p>Praetors For Change was a delightfully entertaining stream to participate in. The stream event ultimately made over $2,700.</p>
<p>The event is over, but if you want to donate to their cause, they have <a href="https://stream-for-a-cause-shop.fourthwall.com/collections/praetor-pride-playmat-collection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a webstore that is currently open</a>. There, you can buy a playmat with the Phyrexian Praetors in drag on it, among other goodies!</p>
<div id="attachment_160012" style="width: 1930px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Praetors-in-Drag.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-160012" class="wp-image-160012 size-full" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Praetors-in-Drag.png" alt="Image credit: Praetors For Change and illustrator legdotegg" width="1920" height="1080" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Praetors-in-Drag.png 1920w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Praetors-in-Drag-300x169.png 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Praetors-in-Drag-1024x576.png 1024w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Praetors-in-Drag-768x432.png 768w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Praetors-in-Drag-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-160012" class="wp-caption-text">Image credit: Praetors For Change and illustrator <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/legdotegg.bsky.social" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legdotegg</a></p></div>
<p>And now, I'd like to open the floor to you, dear readers! Have you ever streamed a tabletop <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> game? Have you ever watched one on Twitch? How do you feel about <a href="https://spelltable.wizards.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spelltable</a>? Sound off in the comments below!</p>


fundraiser

How to Apply for the Birds of Paradise MTG Grant

Praetors For Change Pride MTG Stream Event Earns Over $2.7k