Every week Cardmarket's YouTube channel publishes a lot of exciting Magic content that you don't want to miss—from combat in gameplay to combative debates, from the game's history to the latest news regarding previews and prices. Here are our big video productions for the week of August 12!
Below we embed our long-form videos of the week, alongside lists of featured cards or decks and additional information. If you still crave more content, make sure to check out our shorts on YouTube!
Tuesday
In this special Magic: The Gathering format you are only allowed to play with four Modern-legal cards! That means unlimited budget but very narrow design space for your decklist. Watch as Carl presents Cardmarket's wildest tournament at MagicCon Amsterdam.
Top 4 four-card decks:
, , ,
, , ,
Ghost Quarter, Ghost Quarter, Ghost Quarter,
Island, , ,
Thursday
One archetype in Magic: The Gathering still sends a shiver down the spine of older players. Carl interviews Frank Karsten of Hall-of-Fame fame and Cardmarket's own Tobi Henke to delve into the game's history and discover the precursors and origins as well as the broken past of affinity for artifacts in Standard, Extended, Block, and Modern.
Early Artifact Decks
The early days of Magic were incredibly hostile to creature cards, even while creatures themselves were much weaker than nowadays. Indeed, one of the most frequent attackers at the first Pro Tour was . So it can come as no surprise that the first big winner decks that were more than one quarter artifact were creatureless combo concoctions.
Academy by Tommi Hovi, 1st at Extended Pro Tour Rome, November 1998
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
4
4
2
3
4
4
3
3
3
3
4
4
3
4
4
4
1
4
4
2
4
Broken Jar by Randy Buehler/Erik Lauer, Top 8 at Extended Grand Prix Vienna, March 1999
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
1
4
2
1
3
4
2
3
4
1
1
1
4
1
1
1
2
2
1
Only in Vintage, where many people thus barely bothered to protect themselves against creatures, an oddity such as Teletubbies could exist. and were considered funny too, hence the deck name, but casting them on the first turn via and a Mox at least had the chance of catching opponents off guard.
Teletubbies by David Price, Invitational 1999, Vintage
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
4
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
4
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
4
4
4
4
4
1
1
1
4
2
1
1
3
1
1
4
1
1
1
Bonus Artifact Decks
The following two lists didn't make it into the video but probably show the actual best ways people found to beat down with artifacts in the pre-Mirrodin days.
Suicide Brown by Alan Comer, Top 8 Extended Pro Tour Chicago, December 1999
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
2
4
3
4
4
4
4
1
1
1
3
4
3
4
2
12
3
2
1
1
2
1
3
1
1
Tools and Tubbies by Benjamin Rott, January 2001, Vintage
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
4
2
1
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
4
1
1
2
1
4
2
4
1
3
4
1
1
4
3
2
3
2
2
2
2
2
Affinity Decks
The first Affinity decks popped up after the release of Mirrodin.
Broodstar Affinity by Randy Wright, 1st at 2003 Ohio Champs, Standard
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
2
4
4
4
3
4
4
2
4
4
4
2
4
4
4
3
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3
4
2
4
But they only became an overpowered menace with the release of Darksteel, which gave us most notably but also .
Mox Affinity by Hans Joachim Höh, 30th at Block Pro Tour Kobe 2004
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
2
4
4
4
4
4
3
4
3
3
3
3
1
1
4
Darksteel also added the duo of and , which quickly proved too good not to run, as well as .
Vial Affinity by Frank Karsten, 41st at Block Pro Tour Kobe 2004
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
4
4
4
4
3
2
1
4
3
2
1
1
3
1
4
3
4
4
4
3
3
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
Mox Affinity by Tobi Henke, 1st at Standard Grand Prix Brussels 2004
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
4
4
4
2
4
4
2
4
4
4
2
4
4
3
3
4
3
3
4
2
3
Affinity by Kai Budde, 2nd at Standard Grand Prix Brussels 2004
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
2
4
4
4
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3
1
4
4
3
3
At this point, the Clamp was banned across most formats, but the release of Fifth Dawn gave people a new Equipment in . (More bannings would follow later, including and the original five artifact lands in both Standard and Block Constructed.)
Plating Affinity by Frank Karsten, Top 4 at Block Grand Prix Zürich 2004
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
4
4
4
4
2
2
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
1
4
3
3
4
1
Affinity by Pierre Canali, 1st at Extended Pro Tour Colombus 2004
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
4
4
3
4
2
2
1
4
2
4
4
3
3
1
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2
When the Modern format debuted in 2011, its initial banned list already included the original five artifact lands, , and . Though of course this Mox had never been relevant again in the archetype after the loss of Skullclamp. Luckily there was a new Mox by then, , which also fit the deck much better. Affinity, albeit often with barely any or no actual affinity cards, remained a relevant player in Modern almost up to the Mox's ban in January 2020.
Monored Affinity by Chikara Nakajima, Top 8 at Modern Pro Tour Philadelphia 2011
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
4
2
1
4
4
3
3
3
4
3
4
1
Affinity by Frank Karsten, 14th at Modern Grand Prix Antwerp 2013
Main Deck
Sideboard
3
4
4
4
4
4
3
1
4
4
4
3
1
4
4
4
4
1
3
2
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
1
Affinity or "Robots" by Mani Davoudi, 1st at Modern Grand Prix Las Vegas 2017
