It's Combo Time! The prerequisite is having 3 available to cast the artifact while it's in our hand, plus Vhal needs to have 5 or greater toughness and cannot have summoning sickness. You can check out our deck primer on Vhal for details on that! 1. Cast Staff of Domination for 3 (*this is the […]

We've got a deck we're excited to share! Fresh out of Commander Legends 2: Battle for Baldur's Gate comes a combo deck that can grind value and hold its own in combat. If you've played cEDH decks like Evolution or Dawnwaker Thrasios and are looking for a unique deck that blends combo and value engines, […]

A short Level Up moment: Playing at instant speed means leaving mana up, and a good way to protect your investment is to have access to a mana-sink. Even if your opponents don't play a spell worth countering or a permanent worth destroying, you can still spend your mana to take other game actions, and […]

Games can be won or lost simply because of how players tap their mana. There's a world of potential difference between a passing the turn with 2 and a White open versus passing with 2 and a Blue open. This week, we dissect the various mana sources you're likely to use in a game of […]

We've talked about what makes a good commander before, and this week, we're taking a Multifaceted look at Raffine, Scheming Seer! One of the powerhouse commanders from Streets of New Capenna, Raffine draws some comparisons to some of the marque commanders of cEDH. How does she compare to the likes of Tymna and Thrasios and […]

Game's gotta end, but it will end sooner for some opponents than others. Sometimes, you have to make the decision of which opponent you're going to eliminate first. It's not just a matter of flipping a coin or asking what they've done for you lately: there are some basic questions you can ask yourself to […]

It's been almost 3 years but members of the Gemstone Mine crew *finally* got to return to an in-person Magic event with Commandfest Philadelphia! We saw some really great decks at the event and thought there were a few that stood out as particularly interesting. These might inspire some new brews for you to try […]

Mystic Remora has become an increasingly-common presence at Commander table of all stripes. It also serves as a great example of a class of cards known as selective stax pieces, cards which present opponents the choice to abide by a limitation or give you an advantage. This week, we discuss how to analyze a board […]

It's time to dig deep again as this week we take a look at all of the best counterspells that Blue has to offer, starting from the free all the way up to spells at six or even seven mana! "The best" counterspell isn't always the best choice for your deck, and sometimes a card […]

It's time to dig deep again as this week we take a look at all of the best counterspells that Blue has to offer, starting from the free all the way up to spells at six or even seven mana! "The best" counterspell isn't always the best choice for your deck, and sometimes a card […]