This Week in Magic: Friday, January 31

Posted on January 31, 2025

Aetherdrift Previews Come to a Close

Today was the final day of Aetherdrift previews, with the full card image gallery being revealed. You can check out the full card list right here on CoolStuffInc.com or check out the aforementioned card image gallery on WotC's website as well. Additionally, I have a second piece today wrapping up the second week of Aetherdrift previews, so make sure you check that out as well! Prerelease events are happening next weekend starting on February 7, so make sure you get out to your local game store and get your games on!

Commander Format Panel Updates Coming Soon

As Blake announced on WeeklyMTG today, on Feb 11th you can expect to hear a check-in on Commander with content from me and the Commander Format Panel. To set expectations there will be no bans or unbans, but we do have something we've been working on to share with you then. Stay tuned!
#Wotcstaff
— Gavin Verhey (@gavinverhey.bsky.social) January 28, 2025 at 2:25 PM

At the end of this week's Weekly MTG Stream, Blake revealed a couple upcoming stream topics with one of them being an update on the Commander Format Panel with Gavin Verhey. Gavin confirmed this on social media, noting explicitly that the update will not include any bans or unbans. Given this information, speculation is that this will surround the proposed bracket system ahead of MagicCon Chicago in a few weeks. We'll just have to wait and see what's in store for us when this update comes around on February 11th.

Important Change Coming For Regional Championship Portland

Next weekend is the US Regional Championship in Portland, OR, but if you've been paying attention to the dates mentioned in this article, this is also the same weekend as Aetherdrift prereleases. As such, this makes Aetherdrift legal for all Constructed events on Friday, February 7th which would typically mean that these cards would also be legal for the Regional Championship. With no lead time for players to acquire the cards, tournament organizer Star City Games has worked with Wizards of the Coast to alter the legality of this format as a one-time instance to disallow Aetherdrift cards in the main event.

Additionally, this change means that deck registration for the event now closes on Thursday, February 6 instead of the usual Friday closure. While not explicitly stated, this is likely because of the sweeping legality changeover for all formats within the Melee client. Players participating in other events - including last chance qualifiers - can still play with their new Aetherdrift cards, though if they qualify for the Regional Championship that Friday, they'll be asked to register a deck without those cards.

All of the details are listed in the screenshot above.

Decklist of the Week

Boros Energy | Modern | Simon Piche, 1st Place F2F Tour Championship: Ottawa Jan 2025

Creatures (25)
2 Ranger-Captain of Eos
3 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
4 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah // Ajani, Nacatl Avenger
4 Guide of Souls
4 Ocelot Pride
4 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury
4 Seasoned Pyromancer

Enchantments (6)
3 Goblin Bombardment
3 Static Prison

Buy This Deck Export text

This weekend saw three separate regional championship events happen in Canada, the Czech Republic, and Brazil. Each of these three was won by a different top performing deck: Temur Breach in the Czech Republic, Eldrazi Ramp in Brazil, and Boros Energy in Canada. Today, I'm highlighting Boros Energy. The deck has proven that despite being hit by bans, it still has a ton of resilience that has allowed it to remain one of the top decks of the format. Will it take the gold once again in Portland or will it be some other deck this time around instead?

Paige Smith

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