(As Long as we’re Alive then) Punk’s not Dead
Hi everyone.
There aren’t a ton of you around anymore, but I’m touched that this thing we built still lives on- if the traffic that continues to visit is any indication.
While it’s been some time since I’ve written about Preconstructed Magic, clearly if you’re here that’s exactly what you’re looking for. You may well be pleased to learn that there’s another blog out there that’s recently started about just this very topic.
Make sure to take a moment and check out Beats and Skies.
Not only does he enjoy diving into the same kind of precon content I did, but he also seems to have a very similar outlook- that preconstructed Magic is the best museum for the history of the game.
What’s more, he writes about tinkering with them in ways that aren’t just “add more power cards” (as I did with the “Ertai’s Meddling” series when I was a writer for Gathering Magic/Coolstuffinc). For instance, check out this feature on trying to make Masques’ Deepwood Menace deck more efficient and effective by combining it with nothing more than a second copy of the deck. What to cut? What to keep, and why? Therein lie the very bones of this damnable game of ours.
Personally, I love the “review compendium” series he does where he gathers reviews and observations about different precon decks (for example, this one on Flames of Rath). And not just because he’s kind enough to excerpt this site amongst the different sources he cites for the deck.
My involvement with Magic is up in the air at the moment. I had actually started to think about selling off my precon collection (somewhere around 250 decks, seems crazy now)…but then about four weeks ago my sons suddenly took an interest in the game.
So who knows. While the overwhelming majority of Precon content these days appears to be Commander-based, it’s great to see that the thing in here I loved so much about Preconstructed Magic has inspired others.
So make sure to give Beats and Skies a look!
I know I’ll be reading.
Ertai's Lament 
Oh wow, unexpected surprise to see Ertai’s Lament pop up (interrupting me from entering Advanced Decklists into MTGGoldfish’s database!) but even more so as it’s about me? Crazy. Really appreciate it Jay, the stuff you did was pretty inspirational.
There’s a few other people doing some cool stuff in the precon space too, notably the “Precon Decon” series on YouTube which is just a couple videos away from their fourth “season” reviewing Intro Packs from Innistrad to Theros.
“Princes Precons” also on WordPress is doing two part reviews very much in the style of the ones on Ertai’s Lament.
“Basic Magic” has written probably one of my favourite precon related articles – it’s that good – on Tempest’s theme decks.
And “Cubic Creativity” has been looking at theme decks from the point of view of them being worth buying as a basis to build kitchen table decks from.
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one!
You’ve definitely inspired a lot of us Precon fans Jay, you and Ertai’s Lament are held in incredibly high regard over on r/PreconstructedMagic. Many of us, such as BeatsAndSkies and myself, have taken to sharing our thoughts on the decks on our own little blogs.
This little community wouldn’t be thriving as much if it wasn’t for you, and even in your absence we always make our way back to this site whenever we’re craving Precon content. Thanks for being such an inspiration, Jay!
Love that you’ve continued the tradition of written play by plays!
Thanks for the recs! I’ve been splitting my time between making precon and limited (sealed deck) gameplay content on my YouTube channel from Planeswalker decks and after and Ertai’s Lament was part of the inspiration for making the precon videos.
Oh rad, would love to check that out! What’s your channel’s name?
Just checked out your site. You’re going way way back with some of your coverage!
You can find me on YouTube @refreshdaemon or my channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/refreshdaemon
Way back, what do you mean? Some of these sets were only just released! 😉