Myr

Fresh off this year's look at creature types, I will look at four specific ones this month. In prior years, I covered 14: soldiers, merfolk, zombies, goblins, elves, skeletons, treefolk, angels, elementals, sphinxes, scarecrows, minotaurs, unicorns, and octopi . Today: myr.

Introduction

Myr are artifact creatures and first appeared in the Mirrodin block (2003-4), suitably set on a metal world. The three sets in that block (Mirrodin, Darksteel, Fifth Dawn) featured 19 Myr in aggregate.

43 Myr have been printed to date. They are almost always colorless (40/43); the 3 that aren't are white or blue.

Sample/Staple Cards

In the first Mirrodin block, some myr had basic abilities centered around mana generation (one myr per color) or artifact synergies. Examples:

Other myr in the block were pretty vanilla.

In the next six years, we got only one more myr (in 2007's Future Sight). Then Magic revisited Mirrodin.

The Scars of Mirrodin block in 2010-11 (Scars of Mirrodin, Mirrodin Besieged, New Phyrexia) returned to the Mirrodin plane, and myr once again featured. In that block we got 20 myr (15 were new cards; the other five were reprints of the mana generators. Note: I ignore tokens returned in these searches). Here, this kindred type got a little stronger: more mana abilities and more kindred synergies. And a hint of the Phyrexian taint.

Since, we've gotten 8 more myr cards (again, I omit tokens) across a variety of releases.  

Modern Horizons 2 (2021) saw 3 more. 

Phyrexia: All Will Be One (2023) and its corresponding preconstructed Commander deck saw 4 more.

Modern Horizons 3 (2024) saw 1 more.

Myr is a kindred type that sticks around, but it doesn't feature overly powerful cards. They are the little guys in the background.

Deck Ideas

I am working on a Commander deck centered on myr kindred. And for that, there is really only one choice: Urtet, Remnant of Memnarch. 

Urtet's ability is to go far and wide with Myr, getting an extra one each time you cast a myr spell, and giving you the ability to buff them big-time. He's not the strongest commander, but either is this kindred type.

Until next time . . . keep exploring.

Creature Types (2026)

Last year, I looked at creature types and prevalence. Magic is a living game, so the numbers keep changing; this post updates the totals.

The most recent comprehensive rules (from January 2026) indicates that there are 315 creature types in the game:

205.3m Creatures and kindreds share their lists of subtypes; these subtypes are called creature types. One creature type is two words long: Time Lord. All other creature types are one word long: Advisor, Aetherborn, Alien, Ally, Angel, Antelope, Ape, Archer, Archon, Armadillo, Army, Artificer, Assassin, Assembly-Worker, Astartes, Atog, Aurochs, Avatar, Azra, Badger, Balloon, Barbarian, Bard, Basilisk, Bat, Bear, Beast, Beaver, Beeble, Beholder, Berserker, Bird, Bison, Blinkmoth, Boar, Bringer, Brushwagg, Camarid, Camel, Capybara, Caribou, Carrier, Cat, Centaur, Child, Chimera, Citizen, Cleric, Clown, Cockatrice, Construct, Coward, Coyote, Crab, Crocodile, C’tan, Custodes, Cyberman, Cyclops, Dalek, Dauthi, Demigod, Demon, Deserter, Detective, Devil, Dinosaur, Djinn, Doctor, Dog, Dragon, Drake, Dreadnought, Drix, Drone, Druid, Dryad, Dwarf, Echidna, Efreet, Egg, Elder, Eldrazi, Elemental, Elephant, Elf, Elk, Employee, Eye, Faerie, Ferret, Fish, Flagbearer, Fox, Fractal, Frog, Fungus, Gamer, Gargoyle, Germ, Giant, Gith, Glimmer, Gnoll, Gnome, Goat, Goblin, God, Golem, Gorgon, Graveborn, Gremlin, Griffin, Guest, Hag, Halfling, Hamster, Harpy, Hedgehog, Hellion, Hero, Hippo, Hippogriff, Homarid, Homunculus, Horror, Horse, Human, Hydra, Hyena, Illusion, Imp, Incarnation, Inkling, Inquisitor, Insect, Jackal, Jellyfish, Juggernaut, Kangaroo, Kavu, Kirin, Kithkin, Knight, Kobold, Kor, Kraken, Llama, Lamia, Lammasu, Leech, Lemur, Leviathan, Lhurgoyf, Licid, Lizard, Lobster, Manticore, Masticore, Mercenary, Merfolk, Metathran, Minion, Minotaur, Mite, Mole, Monger, Mongoose, Monk, Monkey, Moogle, Moonfolk, Mount, Mouse, Mutant, Myr, Mystic, Nautilus, Necron, Nephilim, Nightmare, Nightstalker, Ninja, Noble, Noggle, Nomad, Nymph, Octopus, Ogre, Ooze, Orb, Orc, Orgg, Otter, Ouphe, Ox, Oyster, Pangolin, Peasant, Pegasus, Pentavite, Performer, Pest, Phelddagrif, Phoenix, Phyrexian, Pilot, Pincher, Pirate, Plant, Platypus, Porcupine, Possum, Praetor, Primarch, Prism, Processor, Qu, Rabbit, Raccoon, Ranger, Rat, Rebel, Reflection, Rhino, Rigger, Robot, Rogue, Sable, Salamander, Samurai, Sand, Saproling, Satyr, Scarecrow, Scientist, Scion, Scorpion, Scout, Sculpture, Seal, Serf, Serpent, Servo, Shade, Shaman, Shapeshifter, Shark, Sheep, Siren, Skeleton, Skunk, Slith, Sliver, Sloth, Slug, Snail, Snake, Soldier, Soltari, Sorcerer, Spawn, Specter, Spellshaper, Sphinx, Spider, Spike, Spirit, Splinter, Sponge, Squid, Squirrel, Starfish, Surrakar, Survivor, Symbiote, Synth, Tentacle, Tetravite, Thalakos, Thopter, Thrull, Tiefling, Toy, Treefolk, Trilobite, Triskelavite, Troll, Turtle, Tyranid, Unicorn, Vampire, Varmint, Vedalken, Villain, Volver, Wall, Walrus, Warlock, Warrior, Weasel, Weird, Werewolf, Whale, Wizard, Wolf, Wolverine, Wombat, Worm, Wraith, Wurm, Yeti, Zombie, and Zubera. 

The number keeps growing. Compare to past years:

2020: 249 creature types

2022: 262

2025: 300

2026: 315

The 15 new creature types this year are:

Bison, Drix, Echidna, Hedgehog, Hero, Kangaroo, Lemur, Lobster, Moogle, Platypus, Qu, Seal, Sorcerer, Symbiote, and Villain.

New types by set:

1 from Aetherdrift: Seal

4 from Avatar: Bison, Kangaroo, Lemur, Platypus

2 from Edge of Eternities: Drix, Lobster

2 from Final Fantasy: Moogle, Qu

1 from Lorwyn Eclipsed: Sorcerer

2 from Secret Lair: Echidna, Hedgehog

3 from Spider-man: Hero, Symbiote, Villain

Kindred decks are those where creature types matter (those decks feature spells and abilities based on entering or numbers: "whenever [creature type] enters, do ___" or "do _____ for every [creature type] you control"). Decks of this nature are a lot of fun, and I dedicate February to looking at a few creature types and the decks they encourage. More to come next time.

Recent (and Minor) Rules and Wording Changes

Pursuit of Knowledge card art

Wizards is always tweaking rules and wording on its cards. This post covers things that have happened from the release of Foundations (2024) to present.

Foundations

Foundations was Magic's first core set in several years, and will be Standard-legal for five years, living up to its name. Wizards viewed this set as a milestone release, and used the opportunity to make some tweaks. From its release notes:

In the grand tradition of releases like Sixth Edition and Magic 2010, we're touching up the rules in order to make Magic easier to approach without compromising its strategic depth. With the release of Magic: The Gathering Foundations, we're removing combat damage assignment order from the game. Some of you remember the introduction of combat damage assignment order with the release of Magic 2010, which happened in conjunction with combat damage no longer using the stack (If you don't know what that means, don't worry; you won't have to learn about it!).

As the quote concludes, I won't explain what this is for the unfamiliar. But I will say that tweaks like this are meant to make the game more intuitive, and are often successful in so doing (the only people I've seen rant against these are those who exploit and unintuitive rule nuance).

Two other things to note about Foundations:

While the cards in Magic: The Gathering Foundations are intended to be played and drafted by players of all experience levels, we've taken some measures to help clarify existing keyword mechanics for new and returning players. Specifically, we've added reminder text to even Magic's most common mechanics in order to ensure a fun and understandable play experience.

This is nice. Seasoned players have evergreen keywords down pat, but for newbies, having an ability described on the card is a help.

With the release of Magic: The Gathering Foundations, we're making a few non-functional changes to card templating in order to improve clarity. Most are minor, but one is prolific and thus worth mentioning here: we're reducing the usage of card names in rules text. This will make it clearer that abilities that referred to the object they're on by the card's name apply only to that object and not other objects that have the same name. Instead of the card's name, you'll often see phrases like "this creature," "this spell," "this card," or "this Aura," depending on the card's type or subtype, the nature of the ability, and the zone or zones where the ability applies. Some exceptions exist, the most notable being legendary permanents, which will continue to use their names (or shortened forms of their names) in rules text. 

This is minor but important. Magic cards used to have the card name written out in the ability text where necessary. Llanowar Visionary is an example. 

Its printed text (as it released before Foundations) is shown: "When Llanowar Visionary enters the battlefield, draw a card." If it gets reprinted, it will say "When this creature enters, draw a card." (Recall that "enters the battlefield" became "enters" with the release of Bloomburrow.)

Aetherdrift

No new rules or wording changes; new mechanics and keywords for Aetherdrift (Speed, Start Your Engines!, and Max Speed) are covered in its release notes.

Tarkir: Dragonstorm

No new rules or wording changes; new mechanics, keyword abilities, keyword actions, and ability words for Dragonstorm (Omen cards, Harmonize, Mobilize, Behold, Endure, Renew, Flurry) are covered in its release notes.

Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy introduced a new land type (Town), but as with Gates, it has no inherent meaning unless referred to by another card.

This set also introduced Saga creatures, which are enchantment creatures. This can attack like normal creatures, but also have chapter-specific abilities that resolve as stated on the card. When the final lore counter is put on the sage, the ability resolves and the creature is sacrificed. But note the rules:

Speaking of Sagas, we’re making a small but impactful rules update with this release. With the advent of Saga creatures, it’s much easier to get into a situation where a Saga on the battlefield loses all of its abilities but is still a Saga enchantment. The result of this interaction was previously unintuitive to many players: since that Saga had no chapter abilities, the game defined the “greatest number among its chapter abilities” as zero, and no matter how many lore counters that Saga had on it, it would be sacrificed as a state-based action once it wasn’t the source of a chapter ability on the stack (usually right away). 

Starting with the release of Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY, we’re updating the rules: If a Saga has no chapter abilities, it won’t be subject to the state-based action that would cause it to be sacrificed due to how many lore counters it has. Similarly, it won’t be subject to the turn-based action that adds a lore counter to each Saga you control at the beginning of your first main phase each turn. For example, if your Summon: Bahamut with one lore counter on it loses all abilities because someone attaches Observed Stasis to it, it’ll won’t gain lore counters via the turn-based action until it has chapter abilities again (probably because you removed the Observed Stasis somehow.)  

No other new rules or wording changes; new mechanics and keyword abilities for Final Fantasy (Saga Creatures, Job Select, Tiers) are covered in its release notes.

Edge of Eternities

Edge of Eternities introduced no new rules but a few new card types (Spacecraft artifacts and Planet lands). New mechanics and keyword abilities (Station, Warp, Void) are covered in its release notes.

Marvel's Spider-man

No new rules or wording changes; new keyword abilities for Spider-man (Web-slinging, Mayhem, ∞) are covered in its release notes.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

No new rules or wording changes; new keyword abilities and keyword actions for Avatar (Firebending, Earthbend, Waterbend, Airbend) are covered in its release notes.

Lorwyn Eclipsed

No new rules or wording changes; new keyword actions and ability words for Eclipsed (Blight, Vivid)  are covered in its release notes.

Magic Slang

Mystical Tutor card art

Some communities develop their own slang for things familiar to them. These words may not show up in any dictionary but be understood only by those in the group. Magic is no exception.

If you play this game long enough, you will hear slang you won't find in the official rules. I've touched on some before:

- deck archetypes

- color combinations

- net decks and home brews

- land lingo

- removal

- board wipe

and I provide links to jargon sites here. 

Below I cover 18 or so other common terms. A much longer list can be found on MTG Wiki.

- Broken: a card (or combination) that is so powerful players believe you must have it in your deck if you want to be successful.

- Buff: Putting a +1/+1 counter on a creature, or giving that creature +1/+1 through a spell or ability.

- Bulk: a large number of low-value cards. The term is often seen in listings online. Example: "Selling 10K cards, mostly bulk." This does not inherently indicate rarity, as some common cards are valuable and some rares are cheap.

- Cantrip: a spell or ability that draws a card as an additional effect. Example: Elvish Visionary.

- Chaff: cards nobody wants; generally heard in draft formats where you have limited options for deck construction. 

- Chump block: blocking a powerful creature (without trample) with a 1/1 creature. The defender dies and does not kill the attacker, but the defending player loses no life.

- Dork: a 1/1 creature. If it has abilities, sometimes its ability is prepended. Example: Llanowar Elves is a mana dork [it is a 1/1 creature that produces mana]. 

- Fetch: to search your deck for a card and put it into your hand.

- Fizzle: when a spell or ability on the stack does not resolve (generally by being countered)

- Hate: a card (or strategy) that focuses defeating on a specific color or card type an opponent is expected to play (which is generally determined by the metagame). Example: Mystic Enforcer has protection from black. Including this card in a deck because you expect your opponent to play black cards (instead of synergy with your own strategy) is 'hating' on that color.

- Jank: a card or deck that appears ineffective or inconsistent.

- Lord: a creature that grants creatures of a certain type an ability, which could be +1/+1, a keyword, or something other. Example: Lord of Atlantis.

- Mana rock: an artifact that taps to produce mana. Example: Sol Ring.

- [X]-drop: refers to a card with mana value = X. When constructing decks, players try to conform to the mana curve, so players may "need a two-drop," meaning they need to find a card with mana value = 2 to round out their deck.

- Scoop: to concede. If a player 'scoops,' they pick up their cards and concede the victory.

- Swing: to attack with one or more creatures. Some will add the total power to the end: "swinging for 5."

- Top deck: to draw a card that is much-needed and can be played immediately.

- Tutor: a spell that lets a player search their library for a card and take that into hand (or put on top of their library). Example: Mystical Tutor.

Standard, Stagnating

Brink of Madness card art

In my first post of the year I mentioned two current problems in Magic. Last time I looked at the first: Universes Beyond sets getting unhinged. Today I look at the second: how Standard is stagnating. 

Standard is stagnating; Wizards appears to be devoting less time and energy to the format. In terms of numbers of sets, Standard is actually bloating (more on that below), but the increase in sets does not correlate to a better environment.

I argue four factors have resulted in the stagnating state of Standard:

- increase in pace of releases

- changes to Standard legality duration

- thematic inconsistency due to elimination of blocks

- the rise of Universes Beyond

I cover each in turn below, then conclude looking at the impact in aggregate.

Increase in the Pace of Releases

We used to see four Standard-legal sets per year. We now see six or seven*. 

Changes to Standard Legality Duration

Sets legal in Standard used to max out at two years, and they would change every September: the four oldest sets would rotate out. At any given time, there would be 5-9 sets in Standard. The shortest would be in the format just 15 months; the longest 24 months. (I explain this more here and show a graphic here.) Then things changed.

In 2023, Wizards announced changes to Standard rotation. Sets could be in Standard for up to three years. Coupled with the increase of release pace, that puts us at quite a pace. There are currently 13 sets legal in Standard (most recent release first): 

• Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Marvel’s Spider-Man
• Edge of Eternities
• Final Fantasy
• Tarkir: Dragonstorm
• Aetherdrift
• Foundations
• Duskmourn: House of Horror
• Bloomburrow
• Outlaws of Thunder Junction
• Murders at Karlov Manor
• The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
• Wilds of Eldraine

They keep adjusting the rotation date, too; Standard rotates next on 1 January 2027. Since we're getting seven sets this year . . . we'll have 20 sets legal in Standard by December. Twenty. Then six will rotate and we'll still have a monster 14 sets in the format.

Thematic Inconsistency Due to Elimination of Blocks

Magic operated in the block format for years; I explain that more here. They went away from that model in 2018, though a few releases followed it unofficially through linked themes:

- Guilds of Ravnica, Ravnica Allegiance, and War of the Spark (2018-19)

- Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Crimson Vow (2021)

- Dominaria United, Brothers' War, Phyrexia: All will be One, March of the Machine, Aftermath (2022-23)

Since 2023, though, it's been the wild west thematically, and things started to get weird. The list of current Standard-legal releases with their respective theme:

• Wilds of Eldraine: a riff on Grimm's Fairy Tales
• The Lost Caverns of Ixalan: return to the land of dinosaurs, merfolk, pirates, and vampires
• Murders at Karlov Manor: investigating murder
• Outlaws of Thunder Junction: the wild west
• Bloomburrow: woodland creatures
• Duskmourn: Eighties' horror films
• Foundations: core set
• Aetherdrift: Magic's homage to Mariokart
• Tarkir: Dragonstorm: dragons
• Final Fantasy: fantasy video game series
• Edge of Eternities: Magic goes to space
• Spider-man: comic book
• Avatar: kids' cartoon based on an Asian-inspired world

That is a motley mix indeed.

The Rise of Universes Beyond

I mentioned this last time; see there for more.

The Effects in Aggregate

There are now tons of sets in Standard, released at a much faster pace, with no thematic consistency between them. Some results:

- Wizards has less time to design/test a given release

- Players have less time do explore a given release

- Wizards has to choose if a given set should be consistent with itself (and true to 'its world,' if a UB set) or address some problems in Standard by releasing cards tailored to inject life and variety into the format. My impression: they largely choose the former.

In short, the above realities make the Standard metagame overwhelming for designers and players alike, encouraging players to explore other formats (like limited or Commander). Standard is left to rot.

--------

Enough with my concerns; this post and last helped me get it out of my system. There is time and a chance for Wizards to right things. And the cool thing about this game is that you can focus on the formats you do enjoy. I just miss a vibrant Standard.

*just stop already.

Universes Beyond, Unhinged

Horn of Greed, a preview from the summer 2026 Marvel set

Last time, I mentioned two concerns about where Magic is heading. Today I address the first: the explosion of Universes Beyond (UB) sets, the incorporation of external Intellectual Property (IP) into the game. 

Five years ago (February 2021), Wizards announced its foray into UB. A paragraph from that article bears highlighting:

That said, Universes Beyond cards will not be Standard legal. We strive to make Magic cards that are widely useful, but Universes Beyond will be above and, well, beyond our normal Standard releases. So nothing much is changing with our normal cadence of releases for Standard. This is purely a cool thing we're doing in addition to all the other cool things we're already doing.

That statement is no longer true; Wizards announced in October 2024 that UB sets would now be Standard legal. As I mentioned the other day, four of the seven releases this coming year are UB sets, and all are Standard legal. The "in addition to all the other cool things" has become "the main cool thing." And that, to me, is not cool to all.

I wrote about UB sets in 2023, and I mentioned there a feeling of dread. It appears my fears are coming to pass. Things have ramped up considerably; here is the history of UB releases so far, with Standard legal releases in italics:

2021:

- Dungeons & Dragons* (Adventures in Forgotten Realms)

2022:
- Warhammer 40K (Commander decks only)

- Dungeons & Dragons (Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate; a set for Commander draft)

2023:
- The Lord of the Rings

- Dr. Who (Commander decks and collector booster packs only)

2024:
- Fallout (Commander decks and collector booster packs only)
- Assassin's Creed (small release; a starter deck, 7-card packs, and collector booster packs only)

2025:

- Final Fantasy
- Marvel's Spider-man

- Avatar: The Last Airbender

2026:

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

- Marvel

- The Hobbit

- Star Trek

See what is happening? UB sets were initially what was intended: "one-offs" to be enjoyed in their own way. But now . . . we went from zero UB Standard legal sets (in 2022-24) to three (2025) to four (2026). It is taking over. 

What is driving the change? I think the answer is obvious: greed. Wizards wants to draw people in; that makes sense and is part of typical business practice. The way they're doing it is by selling out, in a sense: they're becoming less 'unique.' They had a strong in-world mythos; they are downplaying that. I think we're losing something along the way.

To be clear: I'm not wholly against UB sets. I think their D&D, Lord of the Rings, and Avatar sets were great. I'm against the dominance of UB sets at the expense of in-world releases. 

And I'm curious as to the nature of some UB releases, too: Avatar and TMNT are based on kids' cartoons, rated for ages 7+. Magic is inherently 13+. Younger kids can and do play, of course (mine have for years), but I'm wondering if the target is younger kids (trying to draw on the Pokemon market, I imagine) or adults who look nostalgically at those two properties. We'll see.

Another concern: some UB sets feel out of place due to their genre. Magic is inherently a fantasy game; sets like D&D, Lord of the Rings, and Final Fantasy mesh well. Avatar works. Spider-man feels strange to me, and Star Trek feels even weirder. These take the game away from a fantasy focus to more of a "can we absorb everything" feel, leading some online jokesters to speculate about what is coming in future years:

Time will tell if the UB focus is the future or a fad. Ultimately, the game will be driven by the dollars it brings in.

*the 2021 D&D set was Standard legal because it is owned by Wizards, so it is not an external IP.

Looking Ahead

Arcane Teachings card art

Happy New Year! What will 2026 bring in Magic, both corporately and personally?

Corporately

Wizards intends to continue its release pace, with seven sets in 2026. 

The total list is:

- Lorwyn Eclipsed (in-world set)

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (universes beyond set)

- Secrets of Strixhaven (in-world set)

- Marvel Superheroes (universes beyond set)

- The Hobbit (universes beyond set)

- Reality Fracture (in-world set)

- Star Trek (universes beyond set)

Four universes beyond sets (in red above) to three in-world. Wizards continues to focus on other intellectual properties (IPs). I reflected on some ramifications last year, and those still hold. The bottom line: the game feels less like traditional Magic all the time (even as I acknowledge some IPs work very well in this game engine).

A new product I am excited about: a draft night box. This comes with 12 play boosters (suitable for a four-person draft), lands, and a collector booster (for the draft winner). I may get one of these per set and have some fun with friends.

Reminder: Standard rotation (which happened last summer) will not happen in 2026 as Wizards aligns it to the new year (1 January 2027). This, combined with the mix of in-world and UB sets, makes for some very strange possibilities (from a thematic perspective).

I have two concerns about the corporate state of the game: UB sets and Standard 'bloat.' More on those in the next two posts.

Personally

Collecting:

I don't see myself collecting a lot of new cards this year except for the TMNT and Hobbit sets. I am intrigued by Lorwin Eclipsed—I loved Lorwyn the first time around—but we'll see as they set gets previews. As always, I have a goal to minimize my collection more. I get rid of a bunch each year, honing down what I have to the things I enjoy and play the most. 

Building:

I want to build more Commander decks and cubes this year. I have two cubes now and want two more (Innistrad- and Lorwyn-themed). For Commander, I'd like a 'viable' but thematic and fun deck in each of the one-, two-, and three-color combinations.

Playing:

I'd love to play more across all formats (casual, standard, Commander, cube, sealed, draft, pauper, etc.), but especially Commander and cube.

To 2026!