In this episode, Francis and Jasper discuss a listener question: when a format has a clear deck to beat, how do you prepare for it? They talk through how much weight to give the top deck when choosing a deck, building a sideboard, and testing for an event, as well as some of the traps players can fall into when metagaming. They also consider the flipside: what to do if your deck is the deck to beat.

After that, they catch up on some local Legacy events, including a very amusing Thursday where Francis built a mystery deck for Jasper to play completely blind.

Finally, Francis rounds things out with a tournament report from the Spotlight Series Legacy Cup in London, where he Doomsday and managed to navigate his way to a Top 8 finish.

⁠HawkBlade (Initiative Crusher)⁠

⁠Sloth Depths⁠

Doomsday

In this episode, Francis and Jasper start by discussing a listener question about how to choose a deck for a tournament. Exploring ideas around gameplay mentality and how to approach a tournament in general, they weigh up choosing the best deck vs choosing a deck you love.

That leads nicely into discussion of a recent online Legacy tournament: the Ecobaronen ELMQ, and an unorthodox deck choice made by their friend Jamie: Nic Fit. They discuss the innovative list, featuring cards like Esper Origins and Alpha Deathclaw, and why it was well-positioned into the metagame.

At time of recording, Francis was also looking forward to welcoming noted Dredge specialist Mahfuz van Gogh to the London weekly by playing a mono green Painter brew, while Jasper looked ahead to a paper ELMQ at the weekend. Finally, they wrap up with a brief discussion of some rounds they played against each other in Old School and Legacy locals and cast a glance forward to an xpoints event.

In this episode, Francis and Jasper start with some discussion of Francis’ latest innovation of a “Big Breakfast” list which eschews white cards for Stock Up and Ancient Tomb. Having lost to a Cephalid list featuring Stock Up in a league, his curiosity led him to exploring lists on mtgtop8 before he settled on the list he took to an unbeaten finish at his local weekly.

Talk then turns to the new set, Secrets of Strixhaven, with cards like Flow State, Erode and Petrified Hamlet being evaluated for their Legacy playability. While both express concerns about the potential of Flow State, given Expressive Iteration’s spot on the ban list, they’re broadly optimistic that it will be an interesting set for the format.

Lastly, they return to the topic of Old School. Francis reflects on his experiences at COPCon XXV, while Jasper has been buying a bunch of sweet old cards for his first forays into the format. Blue-red CounterBurn has caught his eye, and the pair consider the viability of playing an unpowered deck in a format which allows a full set of moxen, Black Lotus and Ancestral Recall.

Big Cephalid Breakfast

Old School blue-red CounterBurn

In this episode, Francis and Jasper kick things off with some Old School Magic ahead of an upcoming event: COPCon XXV, a local London tournament. Francis shares some insight into the arcane format (Swedish rules and Ravenna reprint policies), explains what the gameplay is like, and talks about his beautifully altered Esper tempo list.

After that, they dive into recent developments with Paparazzi Painter, and share their thoughts on the deck following the Derby ELMQ. Tezzeret, Cruel Captain has commandeered a spot in the deck, but who knows if he’ll stick around.

To wrap up, they discuss the latest ban list update: what didn't happen, what justifications were given for that by Wizards of the Coast and what they were hoping for instead.

In this episode of Eternal Horizons, Francis and Jasper are joined by a very special guest to discuss all things Painter and Goblin Welder in Legacy.

Fresh off top 8’ing a challenge with the new Sewer-veillance Cam combo in a red-based Painter deck, former Everyday Eternal co-host Callum Smith joins the cast for a deep dive on the new deck.

All three of them have been playing as many different builds and ideas as they’ve had time for, and even though it’s only a week into the new meta, some clear patterns are emerging. Your hosts explore what the core of the deck is, where their lists diverge and what further options might be available for refining the archetype.

Drawing on listener questions, they also discuss how the new combo has changed bad matchups for the better, and generally been a shot in the arm for an archetype that’s been struggling to keep up with recent metagame shifts.

Callum’s top 8 list

Francis’ 5-0 list

Painter discord link

In this episode of Eternal Horizons, Francis and Jasper check in on the current Legacy landscape and have a look at some cards in the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set.

To begin, they discuss the decks they’ve been playing at recent local Legacy events. Francis has been having some fun with Dredge and Miracles, and they’ve both been exploring a red Painter deck featuring Pinnacle Emissary.

Jasper then reflects on his run at the Bath European Legacy Masters Qualifier: the more stock version of Painter he registered, constructing a sideboard, and broader ideas around metagaming in today’s Legacy field. What do you try to beat in a qualifier, and how confident can you really be in your predictions?

With a look ahead to the Derby ELMQ, the pair talk through what they might register and consider how TMNT may influence deck selection and preparation in the coming weeks. Causing particular excitement is a certain Sewer-veillance Cam, which presents a variety of infinite combos with Goblin Welder. Your hosts talk through some of the options and speculate on where the combo might land in the Legacy landscape.

In this episode, Francis and Jasper talk about Premodern following Francis' top-8 success at a local tournament. He gives a rundown of his experience playing Psychatog and reflects on what he learnt about the deck and the format more generally.

Jasper has also been playing Premodern, testing lists in search of a deck to pick up. He seems to have hit on something he really enjoys, Welder Survival, and waxes lyrical about the range of fun gameplay and deckbuilding options.

In a departure from the usual Eternal-format discussion, Jasper shouts out Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed, a great recent event showcasing a Standard format that has enticed him to build his first Standard deck in a decade.

Moving on to Legacy, Francis and Jasper have both had a chance to play the blue-red Repurposing Bay Painter list they discussed last episode, and share some thoughts on potential changes to the decklist. They wrap up with a brief consideration of what might get banned in the February 9th announcement, but conclude that Legacy bans are unlikely.

Premodern Psychatog

Premodern Toginator

Premodern Welder Tinker

Premodern Welder Surival

PT Lorwyn Eclipsed coverage

PT Lorwyn Eclipsed - Izzet Elementals

Legacy Repurposing Bay Painter (weekly list)

Legacy Repurposing Bay Painter (blasts main)

Intro & outro music: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - ‘Inner Cell’ & ‘Horology’

00:00:00 Introduction

00:03:42 Premodern Psychatog

00:11:53 Tournament report

00:24:47 Reflecting on Psychatog's strengths and weaknesses

00:27:18 Jasper's search for a Premodern deck

00:31:43 RG Welder Survival

00:35:41 Gameplay and decklist considerations

00:43:34 Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed

00:45:53 Standard top 8 decklists

00:53:20 Legacy Repurposing Bay Painter

01:03:31 Refining Repurposing Bay

01:06:32 Legacy B&R announcement predictions

In this episode, Francis and Jasper take a look at Magic’s latest set, Lorwyn Eclipsed, and evaluate some of the cards cropping up in Legacy. Starting with Hexing Squelcher, they discuss a few of the different archetypes trying out the new card: Storm, Sneak and Show, and Goblins.

Beyond that, an innovative Aluren list with Formidable Speaker has caught Francis’ eye, as has the new elemental incarnation Vibrance, while Jasper raises Catharsis and Kirol, Attentive First-Year for discussion after their appearance in a red-white Energy deck.

Moving on from Lorwyn, your hosts briefly shout-out a tournament finish for their blue-black Painter list from episode 2 before getting a bit lost in the sauce discussing Jasper’s ideas for a blue-red Repurposing Bay version of Painter.

The final topic for the episode is Premodern and the recent banning of Parallax Tide. Francis and Jasper share some thoughts on why they agree with the ban, but also try to understand the mindset of those opposed to it. After a chat about a spicy Hermit Druid (Full English Breakfast) list, they finish with a look ahead to Francis’ options for an upcoming tournament.

Killabee’s Squelcher Storm deck list

Otaba’s Formidable Speaker Aluren deck list

RG Lands with Vibrance

RingoDeathStarr’s UB UB Painter top 16 challenge finish

5c Hermit Druid Full English Breakfast

Intro & outro music: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - ‘Inner Cell’ & ‘Horology’

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:46 Hexing Squelcher

00:11:31 Formidable Speaker in Aluren

00:15:48 Vibrance and Catharsis

00:23:28 Goblins!

00:27:59 UBUB Painter's challenge top 16

00:30:32 Tinkering with Repurposing Bay

00:41:44 Parallax Tide banned in Premodern

00:47:44 Premodern deck choices and Full English Breakfast

00:57:22 Upcoming London events