Circling The Eldraine | Pretty Deece

Follow Jon on Twitter: @feb31st

[@pokugrf4000]

I SCREAMED WHEN SAW THIS ON MY HOMEPAGE! So excited for your return!

[@tcgplayercom]

love the enthusiasm

[@hormoneguy5007]

Bro same.

[@ryanrobinson2070]

Pretty Deece is like my #2 magic content creator after rhystic studies. Apparently I'm a glutton for neglect.

[@janrepugejanrepuge2102]

Your voice changed?

[@chrispalmer2353]

Yeah same I was like omg wtf what magical stars have aligned to get another one of these. It like the hardcore histories of magic, 1 every 6 months to a year but worth the wait

[@Pooky386]

This is literally the only piece of content that TCGPlayer produces that I care about. Please make more.

[@moisesrodriguez7547]

Same!

[@Gatzberry]

As a commander player, I'm frustrated my section of the playerbase is being used as an moneyfarm/excuse for stock holders and WOTC to push the rest of the playerbase out of the game and deprive them of the design teams focus or attention. I love alternate art cards and pushed mechanics that actually have a life beyond standard in EDH, but thats no excuse to warp standard beyond recognition and defend it with a sales chart, and then defend your greed with a IRL pandemic. Good to see you back. Keep making these.

[@sjdhrjrjejdhdhsh]

I think it's just time to admit that Magic is commander now. Seeing the top videos from competitive formats like Modern and Standard get 30k views vs just a casual EDH video getting 1 million plus is basically all the evidence you need, forget sales. I don't ever see this changing.

[@AUZZYNAPALM]

being a commander player for a decade and having an influx of people start playing because its the expensive format is also frusterating. a lot of try hards trying to treat it like modern and legacy now. the newer the player, the more johnny/spike/timmy hybrid i find them too be.

[@silence_dais]

@@sjdhrjrjejdhdhsh I'd argue it's because Standard is just not as interesting anymore. Once you see the same three or four decks stay dominant in the Meta you tend to want to look at formats like EDH and Commander where not every deck is going to be the same and you see players actually having fun times while getting more bang from their buck since the cards will never rotate out, while in Standard if you want to win you have to play the top tier decks which arent going to be arent going to be around forever and might not be good in Modern, you lose interest.

[@RhodRamapo]

Shaping your market as a company takes time before you yield the the returns on your investment. That being said, there is a strong chance that the proleague was a strong contributor to a lucrative FY even when pro play didn't exist during said FY.

[@RisottoNero-z1w]

Not to mention commander is feeling more homogenous than ever

[@andyspendlove1019]

“They’ve never had to ban a cycle.” Companions: 👀👀 That’s what pisses me off most about the Companions errata, is that WotC’s biggest design debacle gets a pass because it wasn’t technically banned.

[@nomatyx5789]

Even Mark Rosewater admitted it was the biggest mistake.

[@brentkilgore5182]

What happened with companion?

[@tomaszurbanowicz1559]

@@brentkilgore5182 The entireti of this mechanic was changed, for the worse, because it turned out to be way too good the way it was originally designed

[@gougoule1512]

The companion mistake was so huge that every single players noticed it and the designers recognized it publicly. What exactly is that « get a pass » that pisses you off so much 17 months later ?

[@HalfVastGamer]

@@nomatyx5789 I read the mechanic in spoilers and thought, "yeah, that's broken"

[@TheLuxma]

To me the most insane thing was that after all those apologies and bans powering down decks that could put as many and whichever lands you wanted on the battlefield, WotC just went ahead and printed fcking Omnath

[@tcgplayercom]

THAT was a headscratcher for sure

[@entothechesnautknight1762]

And then they didn't even bite the bullet and ban Omnath immediately, they hit Uro, and it just demoralized *everyone*, like it was too little too late, and he wasn't from (current set), so he had to go, even though Omnath was so bonkers *Uro wasn't the problem card in that deck.*

[@OogaB0oga]

@@entothechesnautknight1762 I agree that Uro wasn't the problem card in the 4 color Adventure Value pile. But Uro is still just a smidge too good for my taste, so I'm still kinda glad it got banned despite owning a foil Paper copy (which, miraculously, is still worth a pretty penny).

[@entothechesnautknight1762]

@@OogaB0oga oh no, Uro was definitely *A* problem card, he'd been since release, but the problem was that Uro was released in a set they stopped selling and printing, and Instead of banning the card that the entire deck was based around, they banned the card that wasn't selling packs anymore. Like, obviously it's more then that, and I don't think it was an entirely intentional move on WotC's part, but it looked SO bad for them and felt bad too.

[@megacherv]

Released on September 25th, Omnath banned in Standard October 12th...absolutely wild

[@Maezhughes]

I love how all I have to hear is "RHYSTIC CAVE!" and I know exactly what he's talking about

[@necpmf]

"This time the *third* best Throne of Eldraine block constructed deck, Adventures, had to go" I lost my shit laughing at this line.

[@beesbeesingtonvi614]

I remember when Questing Beast got spoiled. I was like "Well, this guy is gonna dominate standard like forever." Then the rest of the set happened!

[@GgOnlyNoobs]

Nice to see this series back, I absolutly love them, watched every one of them 2-3 times

[@tcgplayercom]

thank you

[@impendio]

I applaud you for releasing this without double guessing yourself, people need to hear it. Having Maro reply with “Sales.” was unbelievable to me and the drop that spilled the cup for me. I’m a relatively new player, starting seriously back in 2018, and these last couple of years have been an emotional ride and I’m so done with Wotc and their bullshit.

[@jmazs]

“This video changed my life for the better”

[@leolindbergkarlsson1456]

My life was devoid of meaning. Now I have this video. Thank you Mr. Deece.

[@NickKrillin]

My favorite thing about that whole time period was that Oko, Goose, Uro, Omnath, Field, Tef, all of it was supposed to be in standard all at the same time. I can only imagine what the format would have looked like without all the bans.

[@robbiestrong-morse730]

Technically tef and omnath wouldn't be in the same standard but yeah even just omnath+uro+field would have been gross

[@jozefkeresturi2139]

@@robbiestrong-morse730 Field and Omnath also wouldnt be in the same standard.

[@dreamlessdayz]

Your commentary on Magic and the way you break down your arguments is second to none. Watching your videos is like listening to an album where every track is a hit.

[@thequantummechanic6856]

Love this! Can’t believe you’re back this is my favorite series

[@tcgplayercom]

believe it

[@jesuschrist9677]

@@tcgplayercom No.

[@danacoleman4007]

@@jesuschrist9677 how's your dad doing?

[@JayoticMTG]

Just like Covid itself, Eldraine is that one last little piece of 2019 that’s still messing with our lives two years later

[@hiimemily]

The main difference being that eventually Eldraine went away.

[@apjapki]

Great video. Dry, logical, compassionate and perfectly on point history of a company struggling not to lose who they are

[@TheGloriousLobsterEmperor]

*WHEN THE WORLD NEEDED HIM MOST, HE RETURNED!*

[@BlackTungsten]

When the world needed him most, he has returned! Also, hey, I'm one of those 9 people who play Pauper! Astrolabe was a big deal!

[@Aigis31]

Astrolabe might have been more format-waeping than any Eldraine card tbh,,

[@peterrevilla1828]

Who cares.

[@jeremiahnigro7195]

Of all the tcgplayer content, this is by far the best series that has come out of it.

[@ThatStoryTeller1987]

Was really glad to see you back, definitely a good run-down of the eldraine situation, but I expected no less

[@tcgplayercom]

glad we met expectations

[@howardtheafro]

the ending just adding that mystic sanctuary was banned in modern made me chuckle

[@TheMajinV]

I'm beyond thrilled to see this series come back. Even if its limited to a few new releases per year, they're worth the wait.

[@CringToastr2001]

Damn I never realized how much I loved these videos till I remembered I hadn't seen one in a hot minute. Missed you Jon keep up the great work

[@J.Applejuice]

For the algorithm and Jon's boss. Pretty Deece is one of the greatest MTG related series on KZbin. Up there with the likes of RhysticStudies. Its been a while since the last episode but I'm telling you that I've been waiting and checking Jon's Twitter hoping for another video. This video like every other is filled with enthusiasm for the game we all love and its made accessible to all levels of MTG player. Please let Jon be a "full time video guy" or whatever you call it, he's really damn good at it.

[@alasanof]

It's cool hearing quotes from previous episodes of this, helps connect the dots between all the different parts of Magic.

[@sweetandsaltyminx7310]

Great to see this back! Used to discuss these videos with my buds at the lgs when I worked there all the time. Hope we get more!!!

[@tcgplayercom]

i'd watch that

[@HamiltonMattress]

John you are a good man. You will not be able to see the impact you have with these first hand but just speaking for myself you have taught me more about the complexity of life than any other person on this site. Please make more of these they are great.

[@BecCallow1471]

Oh thank God, Pretty Deece is returning. I've been watching all of the old stuff for months, to the point the Kamigawa video is burned into my memory, so I'm glad to have a new one.

[@totallynotthecia]

I appreciate the arrested development reference at 11:15

[@Galaxypegaseus13]

I have the whole Pretty Deece playlist saved on my device for a bad day. Your work really inspires me to keep playing Magic, despite all the nonsense.

[@mr.thegay9766]

this is honest to god my favorite series of magic videos to hit the internet

[@joeyholubek3960]

I love how jaded you are and just reflecting what everyone else feels rn

[@corbinisms8846]

Standard is an ebb and flow. We have weak periods, we have powerful periods. Just need to ride the wave. And remember, folks; it's ok to take a break for a while if you're overwhelmed. 2020 was a rough year, both in game and at large, so don't be afraid to sit out a set or two to recalibrate yourself.

[@slivex676]

This video was so inspirational that it gave me new meanings to life.

[@tcgplayercom]

you legend

[@TheBUBBLY102]

Pretty Deece is one of the best magic channels on KZbin. I'm always happy to see a new upload. Commenting so you can impress your boss!

[@LeftyPT]

The reason I'm subscribed to this channel is back! Hope to see more Pretty Deece in the future!

[@sputnikdx]

It's amazing how in this 20 minute video, Jon actually only managed to scratch the surface of what made so many of these cards busted, with the insane or inane play patterns they introduced. But there's just so much to cover you could make a 20 minute video probably for every card that got banned.

[@Werelight]

This video changed my life for the better

[@undeadaccountant]

I was very happy to see this in my list of videos recommended. I love this series and I’m glad you’re back Jon. What truly scares me, is there may come a time where the paper and competitive communities become shunned by WotC. I don’t want competitive Magic to die, it’s an amazing time and I don’t want this game that has taken 13 years of my life to die off so coldly. Commander can be fun, but Modern Horizons 2 having so many cards seemingly for Commander irked me greatly…and it’s not the only thing to offer. If sales is all it takes to call a year of Magic design great…then the priorities of WotC and the playerbase do not align. And that is frightening. Apologies for my small essay, and I appreciate those who cared to read it. TL;DR: Let’s hope this game doesn’t die, okay guys?

[@double2254]

I just noticed this now, made my day to see this series back… I used to binge your videos almost daily in the past and still occasionally rewatch them. So happy to see more being made

[@Frankxyz1337]

Hope to see more, honestly my favorite magic series online (tough competition with rhystic studies

[@tcgplayercom]

our official stance is that we are extremely happy to be #2 to rhystic studies

[@yunuskusumopribadi4442]

the only tcgplayer content i watch regularly (and on repeat) while being stuck on lockdown since the pandemic starts

[@NotAChar]

Pretty Deece is the only content MTG content I actually look forward to. Gonna be a long wait till the next one then

[@tcgplayercom]

we're on pace for one every other year or so

[@Tegrash]

These videos bring to life the history of MTG in a format that is really easy to follow. I can even show this to my friends who are new to Magic or Intermediate and they totally understand what's going on. I like the flow, I like the pacing, I like the facts - everything about this video series and I have been watching the videos from 3 years ago thinking "What happened to cause such a break!?" I will definitely be picking up my booster boxes and singles for my new Zombie deck I'll be building with the link in the description to show my support for the channel and this video series specifically. Masterfully done, I hope you get to keep doing it.

[@Doublecake17]

It’s finally back. I watched all the previous episodes in a sitting over that pandemic and I’m happy to see it continued.

[@Big_Dai]

I really REALLY want rosewater to step down and never come back

[@KansaiBen7]

Great video. The editing style really feels inspired by Jon Bois.

[@slimslam6]

I’ve never commented on a KZbin video in my life but damn I miss these videos so much. So glad to have them back currently! 🥺

[@puretrash77]

Pretty Deece is back!!! I’m so happy! I’ve been watching the entire series over and over waiting for this day. (My favorite episode on rewatches is definitely The Anatomy of Luck, no other episode compares.)

[@tcgplayercom]

that script took 3 years to produce

[@apeofjustice7109]

Hi John, thanks for another video, I do really enjoy these videos, and would love to see more. Congrats at getting a new role/position at TCGPlayer.

[@tcgplayercom]

thank you!

[@ashton7742]

This video helped to cure my dad's hair loss. Thank you so oooh much!

[@LizaPlz]

FINALLY THEY'RE BACK OMG I COULD NOT HAVE CLICKED ANY FASTER

[@ZeRafut]

The return of the best Mtg series out there. Thank you for this. Please keep making more

[@paperking_real]

To me, Eldraine is just like the Kaladesh block. Both of them were in Standard for almost 2 years, and they both contained overpowered cards.

[@tcgplayercom]

lots of parallels for sure

[@broomybroomybroomy]

Honestly, maybe it’s because that’s when I began my transformation from tabletop player to tournament player, but I loved Kaladesh/Amonkhet standard. There were tons of unique decks that people actually played besides energy and red aggro! My LGS has never been as much fun since. To be fair, I usually hate “good stuff” decks with a passion, and those blocks had a lot of keywords. Mardu vehicles, black aggro (had a bunch of drain for 1 cards), God-Pharoahs Gift, Marionette Master, U/W Embalm, Cats, G/B counters, Approach of the Second Sun, U/B control, U/B midrange, and a ton of others I can’t quite remember off the top of my head. I actually had a pretty awesome win rate with a monowhite vehicles pile running 3 Peacewalker Colossus. Yes, that bulk rare. Sram’s Expertise was also highly underrated.

[@entothechesnautknight1762]

Kaladesh at least had to have cards from other sets to reach their full potential and be truely busted, outside of the obvious infinite combo they missed. Eldraine was busted by itself and didn't have the excuse of not having a team of people specifically there to make sure it wasn't broken like kaladesh did.

[@zenmaster8826]

Kaladesh was an unintended anomaly… Eldraine was on purpose…

[@InRealTime769]

I was so bummed to discover this channel a few months ago, only to realize it wasn't active anymore. So glad to welcome you back!!

[@TheSceptileNinja]

Just when we needed him most, he returned. I was so vindicated when I saw you compare Eldraine to Lorwyn negatively, from almost as soon as I saw it I was sad we were seeing more fairy-tale theming without Lorwyn. I really like the strange world of Lorwyn, and think it's more interesting than the I feel generic theming of Eldraine. I was happy to see someone else mention t I guess.

[@elipetrou9308]

Eldraine is one of my favourite sets and I find Lorwyn kind of cool but I don’t love it. To each their own I suppose

[@TheSceptileNinja]

@@elipetrou9308 Yeah for sure, Lorwyn is strange so I can understand not loving it.

[@elipetrou9308]

@@TheSceptileNinja yeah, I do hope we return as I wasn’t able to really experience it

[@TheSceptileNinja]

@@elipetrou9308 that would be nice, and it would be good to see with more modern design sensibilities. Lorwyn is largely what caused them to do the "New World Order" from what I understand, while I do like some of the complexity it was a lot.

[@notme222]

Jon Bois Chart Party for Magic? Brilliant!

[@Finngon]

"Kaldheim... sets that are clearly powered down" That aged like milk

[@JoeyMossBBG]

Informative, nicely done.

[@Simonk_6]

Hello I agree I wasn’t aware of how many band there actually were just that it seemed that every month I would see my sub box flooded with van videos

[@Yig_al_Gaib4242]

Glad to see that you guys are back!

[@connor_rhoads]

This is my favorite magic show on KZbin.

[@exacta1217]

Love the 'one big page' style of this video. Gives a very real sense of the impact of the set.

[@glitch3141]

Nice video. Thanks for sharing the rollercoaster that is Eldraine!

[@akraen1858]

Everything you say makes complete sense when I think back to competitive days, playing magic against a lot of people I don't know too well. But when I sit down with my hubby and whip out a bunch of thematic Eldraine decks, it's the most fun and the best games I've had since I began playing over 20 years ago. I offer a different look at Eldraine, from a replayability and variability in a casual setting when you're playing against the same person for hundreds of games with the same cards. The adventures, the art, the synergy within the set. A full playset offered me a lot of deckbuilding challenges that keep the fun alive longer than any other set. Top respect to you and I get your perspectives and agree within the context of your video. I also wish there was a bit more of a nod to the casual gamer, someone who builds decks with passion, replayability, and theme, not just to cheese and stomp.

[@davidkeller1920]

This is literally the only piece of content that TCGPlayer produces that I care about. Please make more. I know someone else said these exact words, but reiterating because algorithm.

[@thomaskunz8553]

Id be fascinated to watch you run through a video that analyzes the meta shifts of different standard formats from rotation to rotation.

[@ThatMillGuyShaf]

So happy to have these videos back!

[@LichlordP]

Yeah, this lines up with what I assumed. I missed the show and was so happy to see a new episode, it honestly changed my life and now I'll invest $100,000 into TCGPlayer cards

[@tcgplayercom]

couldn't spare $150,000?

[@PrinceK0mali]

I love your videos and so that long hiatus was a bit sad but when I saw you pop up again I was so happy. The Kamigawa video was one of my favorites because you share the same sentiment that I have with Kamigawa and Ravnica making a kickass standard format and it's so nice seeing some defending of that set and it looks like WotC is listening to "the small but very vocal minority". Part of me really hopes you break down that further in an ""Actually Kamigawa Was Pretty Great Part 2" but I understand that it takes a lot to make these videos and it takes a lot of time that now we know goes into your blog. I'll keep doing what is needed for you to come back and make these videos because your energy, wit, and the visual appeal of the graphics is soooooo fun, your KCI video also inspired me to make a video similar for Dimir Inverter for my motion graphics class in college and while the class and my professor wasn't too keen on it me and a couple of students loved it.

[@A007991]

All this man has to say, is intellectual, hopeful and informative. Holy shit make this man a video guy

[@jobawilliam6554]

My Throne of Eldraine prerelease was my second one ever, and it had 16 people in it. Of the 24 matches over 3 rounds, not one best of 3 did not have a draw in it. This was all thanks to food and that stupid drawbridge, and the moment I saw food and adventure decks destroying standard I wasn't even surprised given what I had seen already.

[@MrDItu666]

I seriously thought its just going to be some old re-upload. It was honestly a fantastic feeling seeing another pretty deece vid.

[@ExtremeMedium]

14:42 WotC in a nutshell. This is what they've been reduced to. Not much else. I hate to be a glass half empty type of person, but the writing is on the wall.

[@logix6866]

My life was in shambles before I watched this video. My dog left me, my girlfriend refused to take her flee meds, my house kicked me out and my parents flooded. Nothing made sense; life was a jumbled series of conflating events, to which I was a broken AI NPC. But, after watching this video, I have been reborn. Literally. I'm just 5 days old now, the smartest baby on the planet. I know so much! And it's all because of this video. How?! How did it happen? Well, step 1 - watch this video. Step 2 - ... . Step 3 - Get reborn and boom, life issues solved. Thanks again for the vid! Hope that helps the algorithm

[@juliogouvea2695]

Eldraine is so beautiful that it hurts, i guess its tough to express my feelings in this elk form

[@GreenestTrampler]

I'm so happy to see Pretty Deece back. I found the series after it stopped, and I was so disappointed to find out there wasn't going to be more.

[@UNSCredteam]

Throne has to be the most exhausting set from a constructed perspective. Loved the limited format tho!

[@CharstarAlmighty]

I missed Pretty Deece. Glad to see you still are interested in this.

[@Dehalove]

Whenever you drop these I get to vicariously live through eras of a game I didn't actually like and I love it! I dislike magic as a game, but the history and themes are so rich that your videos almost trick me into buying cards

[@CeJAZZ]

Another fine example of why power without checks & balance is a terrible ide-*turns into Elk*

[@joshuathomas1196]

This video changed my life like nothing else has before

[@impishrunt]

Confidently can say this video changed my life for the better.

[@Itneverends2099]

Liked, subscribed, we need more of these.... like MORE!!!!!! Great jod thank you for coming back even if it is just once

[@juliancooper7463]

Can't wait to rewatch this in 10 years and have horrible flashbacks.

[@violetsweet1660]

always loved this series. even though i've recently quit magic (for reasons partially related to the subject of this video lol) i cannot imagine myself not being eager to see these videos in my feed.

[@matthewdawson9417]

Great breakdown of the fire that has been magic. Burn baby burn.

[@Thane1607]

"Did people's relationship with Magic change?" My answer is yes, haven't touched standard since Eldraine. Sure Kaldheim looked cool, and AFR got some interesting things since also a DnD player, but with the never ending money printer that is Secret Lairs and the constant spoiler season I'm just gonna play some EDH, maybe build a cheap modern deck and leave standard till Hasbro stops trying to milk the playerbase dry.

[@poohbear4821]

You cant deny sales are still booming though people still buy this shit

[@jellyfrosh9102]

@@poohbear4821 Sure doesn't seem like people are buying standard packs. My LGS still has 3-4 year old standard rotting on the shelves because nobody wants anything in it and there's no value, and nobody bought it on release because nobody here plays standard anymore.

[@SYST3ML3G1T]

This is probably my favorite magic content

[@seachrome]

Here's to hoping that Eldraine rotating doesn't introduce new and exciting cards that need to be banned

[@Daedalus8K]

Just commenting for the algorithm about how this video changed my life!

[@berrim26]

I ended up really liking the flavor of Eldraine. The standard metagame was busted, but I'm a Simic player at heart and mostly it was busted in my favor.

[@franchopancho9389]

Drawing a million cards, playing a million lands, casting a million spells and gaining life for every card played is just overpowered, not flavorful. It's the same as playing an RPG videogame with Game Genie giving you unlimited everything. Except this game is player vs player, and supposed to be competitive/skill expressive...

[@The_Life_of_Cameron]

Hey Sir, I’m not going to sugar coat this. I love your videos, your command of the content deserves so much more praise than it is given. You inspire me to keep researching about magic, past present and future. Keep it up, and I can’t wait to see more content.

[@BryceKnape]

Make this guy a full time video producer. This video has changed my life for the better.

[@Wiegraf4]

strong Jon Bois energy from this video

[@aphodiasnestus7078]

Its so weirdly nice to see this again. The more chilled out tone of it definitely helps throw it in contrast with all of the more severe sky-is-falling attitudes prevalent in magic nowadays.

[@amosbirb2616]

*Cough cough* DesolatorMagic

[@ProjaliLN]

The production quality on this is top notch!

[@ratlyfriend]

I went back to watch your Kamigawa video due to the recent announcement only to see you’re making these again?!? Love it

[@SorinMarkov6]

Yep, this is the only content on the channel that I really care about. Stoked to see it back!

[@Elstrath]

Never taught I'd see you back and I'm glad you are.