By Blake Rasmussen
Bio
Archive
Twitter
Blake is the content manager for DailyMTG.com, making him the one you should email if you have thoughts on the website, good or less good (or not good). He's a longtime coverage reporter and hasn't turned down a game of Magic in any format ever.
The Daily Magic Update is a roundup of everything Magic you should know on May 30, 2017. Today's Update is brought to you by a three-day weekend. Also by coming back from a three-day weekend, though I enjoy one of those things far more than the other.
Today's Musts
- Ranking Every Magic Set Ever, Part 1 | StarCityGames.com | Danny West
It's audacious, it's subjective, it's nostalgic, and I find myself furrowing my brow and disagreeing relentlessly (Alliances is a gem! A gem I tell you!)—it's everything I want in an article.
- Top Ten Innovations Made to Magic After Its Release | Gathering Magic | Abe Sargen
Two musts today?
What can I say? I'm a sucker for subjective lists that examine the game as a whole.
After Those, Read, Watch, or Listen to These
- Jund Gods in Standard | MTG Mint Card | Patrick Dickmann
This deck has been floating around the fringes of Standard since one Patrick Dickmann put up a Top 16 finish at Pro Tour Amonkhet. He still recommends it—with a few tweaks, of course.
- Good Day, Commander! Set the Course! | Channel Fireball | Nico Bohny
Another new writer for Channel Fireball, another (former) Pro who digs the 1v1 Commander format. Bohny took a deep dive into the format to see what makes it tick and what makes the trains run on time and other metaphors that I can come up with without having had any coffee yet.
- The Best Commander | Hareruya English | Lukas Blohon
So all it took to get pros to write about Commander was to make it competitive, one-on-one, and have blue be the default best deck? Fair enough! Blohon posits that the best commander in the format right now isn't even blue—it's green.
For even more Commander content, you can check out Rachel Agnes's look at mana bases in the format on Channel Fireball or Jaroslava Stefankova's Oloro reanimator deck on PureMTGO.
- Magnificent Modern | Hipsters of the Coast | Zach Barash
Barash wonders aloud (well, on your screen) if the reason Modern is diverse and healthy right now is because there's no spotlight on it, and then wonders what that means for Standard.
Community Spotlight
- Eternal Magic
The Brazilian Modern and Legacy communities have come together to create a website focused on non-rotating formats (like, um, Modern and Legacy) with content in both English and Portuguese. It came recommended from Willy Edel, which is basically the highest recommendation you can get in Brazil, and it gets my stamp of approval as well. The content is great and well-rounded. Take, for instance, this interview with Ancestral Recall artist Mark Poole. Check it out.
- Life Begins at 20
This UK-based YouTube channel is all about Cube and is slickly produced. If that combination of words is appealing to you, well, then they've found their audience. They publish about two videos a week, so check them out whenever you're in the mood for Cube content.
What to Watch Tonight
- Team Draft Super League | 5 p.m. | twitch.tv/magic
It's very experienced team drafters (Gamers Helping Gamers) against extremely experienced Amonkhet drafters (Limited Resources) tonight on Team Draft Super League. Here's a helpful graphic with everything you need to know:

Deck of the Day
- Mattia Rizzi's Grixis Death's Shadow
Congratulations to Mattia Rizzi for winning Grand Prix Copenhagen with Grixis Death's Shadow!
And congratulations to Grixis Death's Shadow for not only winning Copenhagen, but also grabbing a Top 8 in Kobe, and winning the whole thing at the StarCityGames.com Open in the hands of Brad Nelson.
Mattia Rizzi's Grixis Death's Shadow
a:31:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:14:"Death's Shadow";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:8:"creature";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:13:"Gurmag Angler";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:8:"creature";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"2";}i:2;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:15:"Snapcaster Mage";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:8:"creature";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:3;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:13:"Street Wraith";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:8:"creature";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:4;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:24:"Tasigur, the Golden Fang";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:8:"creature";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"2";}i:5;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:22:"Inquisition of Kozilek";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"sorcery";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"2";}i:6;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:13:"Serum Visions";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"sorcery";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:7;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:12:"Thoughtseize";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"sorcery";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:8;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:10:"Fatal Push";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"3";}i:9;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:18:"Kolaghan's Command";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"2";}i:10;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:14:"Lightning Bolt";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"2";}i:11;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:15:"Stubborn Denial";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"2";}i:12;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:9:"Terminate";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"2";}i:13;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:13:"Thought Scour";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:14;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:11:"Blood Crypt";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:4:"land";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"2";}i:15;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:17:"Bloodstained Mire";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:4:"land";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:16;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:14:"Flooded Strand";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:4:"land";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:17;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:6:"Island";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:4:"land";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"1";}i:18;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:14:"Polluted Delta";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:4:"land";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:19;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:11:"Steam Vents";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:4:"land";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"1";}i:20;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:5:"Swamp";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:4:"land";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"1";}i:21;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:12:"Watery Grave";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:4:"land";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"2";}i:22;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:17:"Anger of the Gods";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"sorcery";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:23;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:21:"Ceremonious Rejection";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:24;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:20:"Collective Brutality";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"sorcery";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:25;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:21:"Engineered Explosives";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:8:"artifact";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:26;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:17:"Grafdigger's Cage";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:8:"artifact";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:27;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:17:"Izzet Staticaster";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:8:"creature";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:28;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:22:"Liliana, the Last Hope";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:12:"planeswalker";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:29;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:15:"Nihil Spellbomb";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:8:"artifact";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:30;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:19:"Surgical Extraction";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}}