iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 24/07/2026

strangest deck photo yet… nyc’s largest premodern event ever is tomorrow!

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 20/07/2026

bought a $5 mystery pack at an lgs

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 16/07/2026

wotc has the opportunity to do the funniest thing

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 15/07/2026

mtg premodern boomers still buy packs every now and then… had a good time playing a coworker (I lost) and we’re gonna head to the lgs next week to find marvel jumpstart too

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 10/07/2026

mtg players seeing an in-universe set released

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 29/06/2026

the character is named crysta and is from the duel masters lost anime series. she uses a deck featuring the zenith race which are based on eldrazi (hence the connection with emrakul)

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 29/06/2026

everyone: what is gonna get banned or restricted today me: did you see that duel masters is printing emrakul the promised end collabs

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 26/06/2026

spells in magic: the gathering are more iconic than the characters... and I think that is neat. it places the focus on you (the player!) and how your actions affect the world serra angel, jace, and even joven are a part of my story — I'm not a fly on the wall of another story

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 25/06/2026

this is wonderful — a game where you guess which magic card's printing is more expensive: mtgpricequiz.netlify.app

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 24/06/2026

I collect misprints for Depths, here are a few I put in this deck photo but I have many others too, maybe will try to see what a misprint deck photo looks like. Also closeup of the Marit Lage token I commissioned rk post to draw a decade ago.

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 24/06/2026

‪New frame foils just don’t capture well on photo but some can be quite pretty

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 24/06/2026

BUG Depths for Mid-2016 Legacy, quite possibly my favorite deck of all time

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 22/06/2026

regret to inform the haters that ub fans have acquired a potent new reply with the mister fantastic promo artwork

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 19/06/2026

also finished my set of aura fractures

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 19/06/2026

have always thought a format panel for legacy would be tricky but I may have to change my mind…

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 19/06/2026

organizing some cards today and discovered I apparently have a set of miscut/shifted swords to plowshares

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 11/06/2026

hi taylor may I sit with you for game five

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 10/06/2026

tokens and the original artwork have arrived

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 08/06/2026

I think it is very cool that both premodern and vintage had high prizing events over the weekend ($5k and power nine, respectively) and both had eight different decks in their top 8

Source: https://x.com/IamActuallyLvL1/status/2063985159100129377

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 05/06/2026

thinking about red-orange artwork on non-red cards

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 28/05/2026

winner's plaque has arrived for nyc's big premodern event. also shown are the two previous champion decklist cards.

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 20/05/2026

we've now worked with six artists and look forward to working with more in the future. support human artists :)

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 20/05/2026

excited to reveal this year's commemorative token for nyc's annual premodern event — every participant gets three of them. illustrated by animalmothership (on ig).

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 19/05/2026

spent 15 minutes to draw a temporary logo for a new premodern podcast so they wouldn’t have to resort to ai tools you can just draw things!

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 18/05/2026

I can think of one thing that wotc can do that would be even more popular

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 13/05/2026

rebecca guay is planning to auction her sketchbooks from when she first started illustrating for magic... here is a sample of what is included

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 13/05/2026

the other four landscapes we commissioned from donato giancola: > corona park in queens > midtown in manhattan > botanical garden in the bronx > pier 1 in brooklyn

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 08/05/2026

nyc's premodern crew commissioned donato giancola to paint five landscapes related to our city (special shout to andy). here is the first one:

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 02/05/2026

day two meta (6-3 or better) for premodern’s north american champs, courtesy of hodge. replenish in the lead but still under 10% of the meta!

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 02/05/2026

there was a battle of wits deck on stream … what a hero

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 01/05/2026

“I use five mana and 75 cents to cast…”

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 01/05/2026

the largest premodern event to date is now streaming: www.twitch.tv/duresscrew

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 30/04/2026

Latest issue of BANDING, my newsletter covering Premodern, is out on the eve of Lobstercon / NA Premodern Champs! Over 150 people replied to my poll about which decks would make Top 8, find out the results here: mtgbanding.substack.com/p/what-will-...

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 27/04/2026

some employees at wotc are seeking to unionize www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 17/04/2026

in case anyone from wotc needs suggestions of premodern cards to reprint...

source: https://scryfall.com/search?q=f%3Apm+-is%3Areserved+cheapest%3Ausd&order=usd&as=grid&unique=cards

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 16/04/2026

designed a custom proxy back for nyc’s premodern crew (order of the sacred torch)

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 15/04/2026

the price of this card is gonna spike

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 14/04/2026

this mailday brought to you by selling off most of my legacy collection

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 14/04/2026

magic substack is something else

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 04/04/2026

ok but what if that long promised magic: the gathering show was set at strixhaven…

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Phil Nguyen @mtgbanding.com · 03/04/2026

in response another tournament organizer tried their non-artistic hand at making a non-ai poster and the results and feedback were amazing you all can make memorable promo materials too ps go to the premodern peach ball charity tournament on aug 22 in georgia