Starting with this week, I am going to be bringing you news of what is happening in the world of Magic: The Gathering. We'll be looking at a variety of noteworthy news topics, followed by a decklist of the week, picked from a variety of formats and events that took place over the previous weekend.

Wizards Ends Relationship with Judge Academy

Since shortly before the pandemic, the Judge Academy has been providing services to judges the world over and has been acting as the intermediary between the judge community and Wizards of the Coast. This week, Wizards announced that their partnership with Judge Academy was coming to an end and would not be renewed, leading to concern and worry amongst both judges and players alike. It wasn't long before a new Judge group - Judge Foundry - popped up onto the scene. Though no official word has been given as to the company's relationship with Wizards, the timing of the announcement seems to imply they are angling to be the de facto line between judges and Wizards in North America going forward.

Doctor Who is Here

This week sees the release Universes Beyond: Doctor Who. With four all new preconstructed Commander decks, Whovians can now play as many of their favorite characters and experience several beloved episodes in ways never before possible. In addition to a plethora of excellent new cards, there are several great reprints, such as Carpet of Flowers and Snuff Out, meaning there's something for everybody in this release. Pick up some decks and do some wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey nonsense at your next Commander night!

MTG Arena Celebrates Five Years and Arena Championship 4

MTG Arena, the popular online client for Magic: The Gathering, celebrated its fifth anniversary recently. Players could login and acquire free experience, a card sleeve, and a Kenrith, the Returned King card with bonus card style. This comes following a week where players experienced issues with their inboxes as Wizards attempted to provide players with a week of celebratory goodies. The Arena team acknowledged and apologized for these issues, and with the anniversary, these inbox gifts resumed once more. Happy five years MTG Arena, and here's to many more yet to come!

Additionally, this past weekend saw the Arena Championship 4 event take place, centering around the Historic format. Japanese player Shinya Saito took home the gold on the back of the swiftly powerful Izzet Wizards deck. Coming in second was American player Bassel Nasri on Dimir Control - a deck that saw a powerful showing over the weekend but couldn't keep the pace with Shinya's wizards! Both players qualify for the next World Championship event on the backs of their results here. Congratulations to them both, and to all the other top 8 players as well!

Troll and Toad Drops Magic: The Gathering

As reported on icv2 October 5th, longtime tabletop retailer Troll and Toad is exiting the Magic: The Gathering business and will no longer be carrying the game going forward. They cite the difficulty in handling a large number of products and card variants, a lack of profitability compared to past years, and fear of Magic's controversial 30th Anniversary Edition release as a risk for long term Reserved List valuations and sales. The company has been handling Magic cards for nearly 30 years - one of the longest in the business - and leaves it behind to continue with other ventures in its stead.

Decklist of the Week

Izzet Wizards | Historic | Shinya Saito, 1st Place Arena Championship 4

• Creatures (15)
• 3 Balmor, Battlemage Captain
• 4 Dreadhorde Arcanist
• 4 Soul-Scar Mage
• 4 Symmetry Sage

• Instants (12)
• 1 Reckless Rage
• 1 Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave
• 2 Play with Fire
• 4 Flame of Anor
• 4 Wizard's Lightning

• Sorceries (13)
• 1 Strangle
• 4 Expressive Iteration
• 4 Reckless Charge
• 4 Sleight of Hand

• Lands (20)
• 1 Island
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
• 2 Den of the Bugbear
• 3 Fiery Islet
• 4 Riverglide Pathway // Lavaglide Pathway
• 4 Spirebluff Canal
• 4 Steam Vents

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring
• 1 Reckless Rage
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 1 Strangle
• 1 Tormod's Crypt
• 2 Aether Gust
• 2 Brotherhood's End
• 2 Pithing Needle
• 2 Snapcaster Mage
• 2 Unlicensed Hearse

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With the Arena Championship 4 event wrapping up, I'd be remiss if I didn't kick off the Decklist of the Week by not highlighting the deck that took it down. Shinya Saito's Izzet Wizards proved to be a force to behold. The deck functions on the back of Prowess and Prowess-like abilities of Soul-Scar Mage and Symmetry Sage to punch through opponents' defenses like butter. Balmor, Battlemage Captain takes this to the extreme and Dreadhorde Arcanist allows you to recast cards over and over for even more value. If you're looking for a deck to get you started in Historic, this is a great place for you to start.

Paige Smith

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