Mysteries Incarnate

Faithless Brewing, Episode 39: Enigmatic Incarnation

When you give a card an outlandish name like "Enigmatic Incarnation," you'd better step up and deliver something deliciously and awesomely weird. Luckily, in this case, the R&D and Creative teams came through, offering a truly mysterious new tutoring engine. Superficially similar to Birthing Pod and Prime Speaker Vannifar, Enigmatic Incarnation throws those precedents out the window by triggering only once per turn (on end step) and feeding on one card type (enchantment) while tutoring for another (creature). It is truly a mystery wrapped in an enigma, drawing on an entirely different slice of the card pool and asking brewers to invent their own play pattern if they hope to unlock its power over multiple turns. The decision trees are complex and the rewards are potentially massive. Let's start brewing!

Flashback: Heliod, Sun-Crowned

Pioneer

Modern

Turbo Elesh Norn 2.0 (Dan): 4-0* league. Played this league after we recorded this show, so stay tuned for next week's episode for more info on it.

Brew Session: Enigmatic Incarnation

Pioneer

Sketch 1: 4c Rhino Incarnation

Sketch 2: Sultai Enigmatic Inversion

Modern

Sketch 3: Mystery Ponza

Sketch 4: Bant Hatching Plans

Sketch 5: Enigmatic Conscription

The Sun God Rises

Faithless Brewing, Episode 38: Heliod, Sun-Crowned

All things must come to an end, and for Mox Opal, that end proved to be a rather unceremonious bludgeoning with the ban hammer in Modern. Also banned are Oko, Thief of Crowns (yet again) and Mycosynth Lattice (thank you, next), the largest shakeup in Modern since... the printing of Throne of Eldraine. The crew pours one out for the fallen victims of last week's B&R, and takes another look ahead at promising new printings from Theros: Beyond Death.

But while the sun sets on an entire era, another sun rises, in both Modern and Pioneer -- specifically Heliod, the Sun-Crowned, who is perhaps the most hotly anticipated printing from Theros: Beyond Death. Heliod's infinite damage combo with Walking Ballista has echoes of Saheeli Felidar, or even (some say) Splinter Twin. Can the new God possibly live up to the hype? In truth, Heliod Ballista is an enormously mana intensive combo, but there are sneaky tools available to shave on mana costs and arrive at a leaner, meaner 1-2 combo punch. In Modern, this can also mean eschewing Ballista altogether, and instead pursuing infinite life with Spike Feeder or Kitchen Finks. And if that fails? Well, nothing says we can't turn our 5/5 indestructible beater sideways. Will any of these decks rise to glory? Let's find out!

Theros Previews & Brew Review #1

Faithless Brewing, Episode 37: The Brew Review

Theros: Beyond Death is upon us! The newest set looks poised to continue the recent trend of Standard-legal expansions massively impacting eternal formats, with a slew of exciting previews to unpack. At the same time, Modern as we know it continues to evolve and change, with results from major tournaments in paper and online giving a final snapshot of the Oko era before the latest round of massive bannings. (Note: this episode was recorded before Monday's B&R, so you can enjoy one last analysis of the Oko metagame as a fun little capsule in time.)

For our last episode before taking the plunge into the underworld of Theros, we are debuting a new segment on the show: the Brew Review! Instead of picking a single card to focus on this week, we instead solicited our listeners to share with us some of their spiciest brews in Modern and Pioneer: whether polished lists they've been testing extensively, or wild ideas that came to them in a rapturous fever dream of brewing energy. From End-Raze Forerunners combo, to Fires of Invention Angels, to a comprehensive brewer's guide to Myth Realized, this edition of the Brew Review has something for everyone!

You Pick the Card: Ghirapur Orrery