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Mike Stein

@mrrepulse.bsky.social
57 followers 43 following 151 posts

JSS/PTQ grinder 1998-2003 Just occasional online drafts 2003-life mikesteinmtg.blogspot.com

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Reposted by Mike Stein
armlx.bsky.social @armlx.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
While everyone is sitting in the Jace waiting room, I wrote a bit of defense and criticism of the prior draftable sets from 2026. If the concept of a good bad year for Limited exists, this is it. armlx.blogspot.com/2026/09/2026...
armlx.blogspot.com
2026 Limited: A Way Too Early Review
I'm slipping this right under the wire of Reality Fracture which likely changes the mood, but if you listen to the Limited enthusiasts abou...
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
All of my opponents so far are racing for the world record of number of misplays against Phyrexian Censor in a single game. Slow down and think carefully if this is in play, y'all. Flipping a battle counts, among other things.
Phyrexian Censor
{2}{W}
Creature — Phyrexian Wizard

Each player can’t cast more than one non-Phyrexian spell each turn.

Non-Phyrexian creatures enter tapped.

Quintorius muffled a sob as he watched the thing that was once Professor Pitnik “confiscate” yet another priceless historical tome.

3/3
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I split the difference and played half a run, Arena disconnected for all of Pack 3, good times
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Timely reminder that ALCQs that don’t award qualifications are pretty high rake Very few will be +$EV in this format I’m planning to do either zero or one run with no regrets or FOMO Being _done_ with small sets is gonna feel better than cashing
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Made my day, and what a great read! Bummer I can't give you a high-five in Minneapolis but I get it.
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Congrats @nomad-mtg.bsky.social, and thanks for writing up an awesome Limited tournament report! We're bringing back the dead art form, one person at a time!
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
🎶 Ce - le brate the Moun - TAIN - KING! 🎶
just more jokes for no one
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Agreed. And segregated draft pools is what would get me really interested to play these. So many Arena distortions would be fixed if they split the draft pools even by rank
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
cc @mtgscribe.bsky.social
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Arena Weekly Announcements says Contender Drafts are now their own matchmaking queue magic.wizards.com/en/news/mtg-...
A new Contender Draft event featuring Magic: The Gathering | The Hobbit begins today and runs through September 29! Structured like Premier Draft but with its own matchmaking queue and prizing more akin to a competitive event (…)
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
takes a lot for me to hit :( on did I have fun in the match but this Sealed format got me there
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Here’s a joke for absolutely nobody that’s been in my head for 18 years and is now a BLUESKY EXCLUSIVE: What’s the only correct name for this card? —- 2 Artifact - Equipment Equipped creatures get +1/+0 and have wither. Tandem Equip 2 (This equipment can be attached to up to two creatures.)
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
boo, this one is a real word too
LACCOLITH not accepted in Spelling Bee
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Reposted by Mike Stein
Magic: The Gathering @magic.wizards.com · 17/07/2026
We briefly hop back in time to Minneapolis for the Limited Championship taking place June18th-20th! This is a Pro Tour level event that players have already been qualifying for, but now you've got the time and the place.
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Similarly bad numbers for the Marvel Play Booster Arena Direct this weekend, and Slay the Spire 2 remains very good
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Sengir Autocrat's enters the battlefield ability: Serfs up Sengir Autocrat's leaves the battlefield ability: Serfs down
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
#NoRare90sCube Grid Draft GUr defeats RB 3-0
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
#NoRare90sCube Grid Draft URw defeats GRw 3-0
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
My #NoRare90sCube design notes, list & Spotify playlist: mikesteinmtg.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-...
mikesteinmtg.blogspot.com
The No-Rare 90s Cube
It only took a lockdown to lead me to lean deep, deep into childhood nostalgia and design a 2nd cube: *The No-Rare 90s Cube* - 540 worthless...
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Behold its glory: cubecobra.com/cube/list/no... Brief design notes: mikesteinmtg.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-...
cubecobra.com
Cube Cobra List: No-Rare 90s Cube
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Achievement unlocked in my No-Rare 90s cube Gushed in response to Orcish Settlers activation on my Islands
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
love that they’re asking tho
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
I keep thinking about cycling Depower in my end of combat step moments after it’s too late to set the Arena stop. Should just always think about this before attacking.
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Yes!! Congrats!!! This rules. Looking forward to running back our walking race at {TBD}
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
My instant-speed tricks bookmark for #MTGMSH limited: (omits landcyclers & the plancycler)
scryfall.com
(set:msh or (set:mar and year>2025)) (type:instant or oracle:flash) -space
56 Magic cards found where (the set is “msh” or (the set is “mar” and the release year > 2025)) and (the card types include “instant” or the text includes “fla…
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Same. At this point, the oldness of the MTGO interface adds to the nostalgia
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
IPA is up on MTGO Fire up my official soundtrack and get in open.spotify.com/playlist/2EK...
open.spotify.com
IPA
Playlist · Mike · 47 items · 2 saves
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Congratulations to the Arena team for finally solving the hard problem of “counting how many boxes we have” (good move though, and this was probably harder to implement than it seems) magic.wizards.com/en/news/mtg-...
ARENA DIRECT (NEW UPDATE)
With this release we are adding a new feature for Arena Direct events where they can "sell out" based on a limited number of entries. Once the event hits its entry limit, players will no longer be able to enter that event and its banner will move to the bottom of the event screen and indicate that the event has sold out. Players already entered in the event will still have until the end of the event's duration to finish their matches. This should greatly reduce the need for replacement event reward.
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Shout out to everyone who remembers this flavor text (but it’s _not_ Elephant Grass)
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Glad to have played a weird indirect role in getting more for the players!
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Reposted by Mike Stein
Mike Provencher @mtgscribe.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Dave Finseth contacted me to provide an update to the Arena Limited Championship prize structure: mtgscribe.com/2026/06/09/a...
mtgscribe.com
***Major Update*** Arena Limited Championship To Have No Prize Other Than Qualification - MTG Scribe
This article discusses the fact that there is only one prize planned for the Arena Limited Championship, happening in January of 2027.
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Yup. That’s what led me to ask the support ticket that unearthed this, primarily to see if I’d even be allowed to play in the ALC, even if it were just for a handful of gems I’d have wanted to & indeed we unlucky LCQ winners can’t even play the ALC (this is the right call given lack of prizes IMO)
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
People do seem more disappointed and upset than I expected, so perhaps! I agree it doesn’t feel like much of a “Championship” without at least some other prizes, even gems, but I wasn’t shocked. The PT invite is $ and everyone got $ to Q for the ALC anyway
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Yeah, I had assumed there’d be at least some decent gem payouts, glad I asked
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Cc @mtgscribe.bsky.social
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
To his surprise, the sky responded with a fierce “PTQ Winner Good Problem To Have FOMO” he’d never thought to see again.
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Relatedly, SCG confirmed to me that a paper LCQ winner can play in the Swiss rounds for other paper LCQs and receive prize wall tickets, but will be excluded from the Top 32 draft
Yes! A player already qualified can continue to play in additional Limited Championship Qualifiers. You just would not advance to the Top 32 draft, as the only prize there is the Qualification and you can't hold more than one.

Please let me know if you have any further questions!
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Some new info on the Arena Limited Championship: - The only prizes will be qualifications to the Limited Championship, no gems or cash - Paper LCQ winners cannot play (Source: Wizards help desk ticket response to my inquiry)
The Arena Limited Championship will not have further prizes beyond invites to the paper Limited Championship. For that reason, players already qualified to the Limited Championship will not be allowed to compete for the sake of maintaining tournament integrity and avoiding the risk of collusion. Thanks for checking.
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
I'm still happy about the win, and I'm happy with the tournament report, and happy that others out there still enjoy reading a tournament report. Happy all around!
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
I've added an image of Noxious Newt to my tournament report because it's my favorite part of the story.
Hello, newt!
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Yeah!! Congrats Jake!
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
There we go! Congrats! GL in the ALC!
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Good run, tough break, get ‘em next time!
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Ok🤷‍♂️📈
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I believe this is a first, some SOS Collector Arena Direct winners will get some WOE Collector boxes instead
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Just occurred to me that I got Arcane Omensed 0 times the entire day. So many quiet types of luck.
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
I just won SCG CON DC's LCQ and qualified for the Limited Championship. My first ever PT. Here's my tournament report: mikesteinmtg.blogspot.com/2026/06/40-c...
mikesteinmtg.blogspot.com
40 Cards at Age 40, a PTQ (Limited Championship Qualifier) Tournament Report // 1st place, SCG CON Washington DC 2026
The sparkmage shrieked, calling on the rage of the storms of his youth. To his surprise, the sky responded with a fierce energy he’d never t...
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
I won this too 💪
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Yes, my first ever!
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Mike Stein @mrrepulse.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
I won
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