Episodes
Season 18, Episode 22: The Brew Review (July 2023) David and Cavedan review 10 spicy decks submitted by our listeners. Is the next great Modern or Pioneer deck hiding among them?   Like our content? Support us on Patreon and join our brewing community!   Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com   Decklists Naya Exile by LurkingEvil UB Rogues by Woosh the Rock by Briger Dredge for Bones by TuesdayTastic Ms. Marvel by Ignacio E. Legendary Combos by Patrick Thomas...
Published 07/04/23
Season 18, Episode 21: Brew Session (Orcish Bowmasters) + Flashback (Chrome Host Seedshark) Orcish Bowmasters was flagged early on as one of the top Modern cards from Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth — and, it turns out, one of the most powerful Commander cards to boot. Everyone loved the base stats (a guaranteed 1/1! a free ping! instant speed!) and the potential for so much more. The only problem? No one could actually name a deck where Bowmasters fit. One week after release,...
Published 06/30/23
Season 18, Episode 20: Brew Session (Lord of the Rings Day 1) Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth hit the digital streets this week and already the Modern format is awash in brews. Morde and Manacymbal are on the case, sorting the wheat from the chaff and also firing off a half dozen decklists of their own. The early winner is The One Ring, a card that looks so intensely powerful that the sky is the limit. Any deck capable of generating sufficient mana to cast The One Ring and deploy the...
Published 06/24/23
Season 18, Episode 19: Brew Session (Invasion of Gobakhan) + Flashback (Omen Hawker + Training Grounds) Where were you when they invaded Gobakhan? On that fateful morning, when the World Tree stopped turning? We asked our researchers some important questions, like, Where is Gobakhan anyway? What is a Battle? Why did Invasion of Gobakhan spike to $20, and still hovers at $10 despite being a medium powered rare? Answers are coming, but we’ll need to put on our brewing caps. David has three...
Published 06/17/23
Season 18, Episode 18: Set Review (Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth) With the full set of Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth revealed and ready for action, Cavedan and Manacymbal join forces to rank the best new cards for Modern. The set continues to deliver small role players and long shot build arounds, but few blue chip staples. Stern Lesson is the cheapest version of Remove Soul, but that family of countermagic has no proven track record in constructed. Similarly, Flowering...
Published 06/14/23
Season 18, Episode 17: Weekly Roundup The US Regional Championships are in the books, where Pioneer took the spotlight once again. 1200 players descended upon Dreamhack Dallas to do battle with the strongest decks in the format, and put the newcomer Boros Convoke (”Boros Hogaak”) to the test. In the end, it was Engimatic Fires that ran the tables in the swiss, and Rakdos Sacrifice and Azorius Spirits that posted the top winrates overall. Boros, meanwhile, languished at a mere 47% win rate,...
Published 06/08/23
Season 18, Episode 16: Set Review (Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth) Morde and Manacymbal join forces to analyze the best Modern cards from Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth. Very few of these cards seem flashy enough for 2023 Modern, but heed Tolkien’s advice: all that is gold does not glitter. A brave little hobbit, such as Rosie Cotton of South Lane, might have the right stats to enable a new infinite combo, and the interactive value provided by Orcish Bowmasters gets more...
Published 06/03/23
Season 18, Episode 15: Brew Session (Omen Hawker + Training Grounds) The dream of Sol Ring is alive and well thanks to March of the Machine’s astonishing blue mana dork, Omen Hawker. This little one drop taps for stunning amounts of mana — but only to pay for activated abilities. It’s the kind of unique effect that promises so much power, but at the expense of consistency. Outside of oddballs like Zirda, Biomancer’s Familiar, Powerstone tokens and Renowned Weaponsmith, specialized mana...
Published 05/30/23
Season 18, Episode 14: Weekly Roundup Magic Twitter is a place prone to meltdowns, that’s no surprise. But a meltdown over a Boros Convoke deck using Venerated Loxodon? That’s a bit of a stretch. Nevertheless, with the Regional Championships around the corner, a “Hogaak Summer” has been declared by many grinders trying to break through in Pioneer. Prolific streamer and Faithless Brewer-at-large Zach “Manacymbal” Ryl returns to help us sort through the latest technology in Modern and Pioneer,...
Published 05/26/23
Season 18, Episode 13: Mailbag David and Cavedan open up the brewer’s mailbag to field listener questions about the state of brewing in Modern and Pioneer, the health of the metagame, the future of Magic crossovers, and more. They also look at an impressive new combo deck using the Pioneer Elementals package and the Vadrok + Double Major combo.   Like our content? Support us on Patreon and join our brewing community!   Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
Published 05/16/23
Season 18, Episode 12: Brew Session (Sarkhan, Soul Aflame, Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin, Narset, Enlightened Exile, Urborg Scavengers) And just like that, March of the Machine: The Aftermath is here. Not sure where to get started? Never fear? David Robertson, our resident Pioneer brewmaster, has been cooking up a half dozen spicy decklists to get you ready for battle on Day 1. Here’s what’s on the menu: Sarkhan, Soul Aflame allows explosive sequences with 5 mana dragons, building on Izzet ramp...
Published 05/12/23
Season 18, Episode 11: Brewer’s Guide to March of the Machine: The Aftermath Fifty more cards are being foisted onto all formats with March of the Machine: the Aftermath, a small supplemental set full of wordy text boxes and big dreams. Luckily, only a handful are poised to make an impact in non-rotating formats. In today’s compressed Set Review, Cavedan and Morde sort the wheat from the chaff and identify the most important Aftermath cards for Modern and Pioneer. They also evaluate the newly...
Published 05/08/23
Season 18, Episode 10: Weekly Roundup   Morde and Lawson talk new Modern brews with March of the Machine: Battle Zoo, Errant and Giada Flash, Mono Black Coffers, and more.
Published 05/05/23
Season 18, Episode 9: Weekly Roundup   Like our content? Support us on Patreon and join our brewing community! Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
Published 04/29/23
Season 18, Episode 8: Brew Session (Rona, Herald of Invasion) + Flashback (Chrome Host Seedshark)     Like our content? Support us on Patreon and join our brewing community!   Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
Published 04/24/23
Season 18, Episode 7: Brew Session (Yargle and Multani) What if they printed a creature with LITERAL DEATHTOUCH FOR PLAYERS? No, I’m not talking about that pesky Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer. Not talking about Phage, the Untouchable either. No, I’m talking about everyone’s favorite Frog Spirit. Yargle and Multani is a foolish card. An insipid card. A team-up no one asked for that earned, at best, a mirthless chuckle during previews. And yet… it has 18 power. Is 18 power the same as literal...
Published 04/21/23
Season 18, Episode 6: Brew Session (Chrome Host Seedshark) Shark Typhoon is powerful. A resolved Shark Typhoon is lights out. A resolved Shark Typhoon wins games. Most Modern and Pioneer players know this, or think they know this. They don’t know the half of it. Shark Typhoon sees play, but no one truly builds around it. It’s far too expensive to craft your game plan around having a Typhoon in play. Instead we cycle, and move on with our lives. Enter Chrome Host Seedshark. Putting a Shark...
Published 04/17/23
Season 18, Episode 5: Interview with Dack_Fayden07 Dack Fayden may be the Greatest Thief in the Multiverse, but did you know that he also runs one of the spiciest YouTube channels for original brews in Modern? Today on Faithless Brewing, Cavedan sits down with special guest Josip Jukic, better known as DackFayden07, to hear about his unique approach to creating winning brews in Modern. Josip’s recent MTGO trophies include gems like Melira Zoo Scam, Winota Reanimator, Rokiric Zoo Rhinos,...
Published 04/14/23
Season 18, Episode 4: Brewer’s Guide to March of the Machine (Part 4) + Top Five Cards After four grueling sessions, the Great Work of our March of the Machine Set Review is finally compleat. At the top of the mana curve, most cards are long shots for the non-rotating formats. This time, however, several new legends participate in game-winning combos or have intriguing cost reduction options. To round things out, Cavedan and David predict the Top 5 Most Impactful cards for both Modern and...
Published 04/10/23
Season 18, Episode 3: Brewer’s Guide to March of the Machine, Vol. 3 The full set of March of the Machine is revealed, and something is clearly amiss. Every card looks good. Incubate looks synergistic and easy to transform. Battles look like tremendous value. Convoke looks fun, and Backup looks extremely versatile. Even the silly infinite combos — and there are many in this set — are looking pretty good. This can’t be right. Either we are wrong, or Wizards is wrong. Play Design knows their...
Published 04/07/23
Season 18, Episode 2: Brewer’s Guide to March of the Machine, Vol. 2 The hits keep coming for March of the Machine. There’s so much to unpack, we needed brewing reinforcements, so we brought back special guest Lawson Zandi to help make sense of it all. Chrome Host Seedshark has the potential to dominate battlefields in multiple formats. The power of Shark Typhoon on a 3 drop opens up explosive lines with free spells and cost reduction spells, and works with artifact synergies as well. New...
Published 04/03/23
Season 18, Episode 1: Brewer’s Guide to March of the Machine, Vol. 1 Magic has a brand new card type, and it is a brain bender. Battles (or Sieges … or Invasions…) attach spell effects to a new class of permanent. These permanents may then be attacked or damaged, similar to planeswalkers, to unlock a bonus card on the back side. Clearly each siege represents a large amount of value, but at the cost of time and efficiency. Your initial effect will be slightly below rate, and the reward for...
Published 03/31/23
Season 17, Episode 17: Brew Session (Unctus, Grand Metatect) Unctus, Grand Metatect does it all. It draws a million cards, assembles infinite combos, and provides tempo and aggression. It powers up Mox Amber and keeps your artifact density high. Interested in devotion pips? Life loss? Graveyard synergy? Unctus does that too. In Modern, Unctus has shown great promise in the proven artifact shells, where Urza’s Saga, Riddlesmith, and Ovalchase Daredevil make great use of the graveyard. It also...
Published 03/27/23
Season 17, Episode 16: Weekly Roundup David & Dan look at early previews from Lord of the Rings and March of the Machines, and ponder whether Thalia and The Gitrog Monster has the right stats for Pioneer. Dan shares his results from the Hunter Burton Memorial Open, where he played Crabvine in the Modern 15K & Neoform Atraxa in the Pioneer 5K. They also look at new technology from the event, including updates to Lawson Zandi’s Shining Shoal deck, a new take on Pioneer Dredgeless...
Published 03/24/23
Season 17, Episode 15: Brew Session (Capricious Hellraiser) + Flashback (Malcator, Purity Overseer) Capricious Hellraiser has been racking up 5-0s … as well as 0-5s. The card has the support of premier deckbuiliders like Aspiringspike, and yet few have been able to replicate his success. Is this a value play at RRR, similar to Bloodbraid Elf? If so, you need a big graveyard, and a tolerance for randomness in what the Hellraiser will cast. Or is this a giant 3RRR threat that can reanimate...
Published 03/21/23