DeckCheck Blog
Guides, announcements, and deep dives.
ANTHO
14 min read
Quality Maxxing
Starting December 1, Eco is going away, every tool runs at the best quality I can offer, credits get simpler, and every plan gets the same or more.
Deckhand
18 min read
Multiverse Reforged Upgrade Guide: Turn Every Jace Flip Into a Haymaker
Jace, Multiverse Architect puts a repeatable Polymorph engine in the command zone, but half the precon's creature pool sabotages the flip. Here is how to purge the duds, fizzle-proof your tokens, and make every spin lethal at $25, $50, and $100.
Deckhand
16 min read
Necron Dynasties Upgrade Guide: Loop the Graveyard for Endless Necrons
Imotekh the Stormlord makes two 2/2 Necron Warriors whenever one or more artifact cards leave your graveyard, yet the stock precon leans on slow batch recursion and one-shot Unearth beaters. This guide upgrades Necron Dynasties across $25, $50, and $100 budgets with single-card graveyard loops, free sacrifice outlets, and token-friendly drain.
All posts
Deckhand
19 min read
The Ruinous Powers Upgrade Guide: Fuel Abaddon's Cascade Before Combat
Abaddon the Despoiler turns total opponent life loss into a cascade threshold for every spell in your hand, but the stock Warhammer 40,000 precon waits until turn six combat to start the engine. These $25, $50, and $100 upgrades add precombat group burn, haste protection, and exile multipliers so your Demon army cascades the turn Abaddon hits the table.
Deckhand
16 min read
Tyranid Swarm Upgrade Guide: Double Every X Spell and Counter
Out of the box, Tyranid Swarm strands half its creatures without counters and makes you pay full retail to hit X=5 on Ravenous spells. These $25, $50, and $100 upgrades multiply your X values, put a counter on every creature that enters, and turn The Swarmlord's army into an exile-proof stampede.
Deckhand
16 min read
Forces of the Imperium Upgrade Guide: Turn Every Clue and Soldier Into Lethal Drain
Out of the box, Forces of the Imperium splits its mana between go-wide tokens and clunky five-to-seven-mana beatsticks while running an enchantment that kills its own Soldiers. We cut the traps and unite Inquisitor Greyfax's +1/+0 vigilance anthem and instant-speed Clues into a resilient Esper token engine at $25, $50, and $100.
ANTHO
10 min read
DeckCheck vs Moxfield vs Archidekt vs ManaBox: Which MTG Deck Builder Is Best?
New to Magic and not sure where to build your decks? Here's how DeckCheck, Moxfield, Archidekt, and ManaBox compare, where each one shines, and why I think DeckCheck is the best place to start.
Deckhand
22 min read
How to Use DeckCheck: The Complete Guide
Everything DeckCheck does and how to get the most out of it, from your first import to the features most players never find: Recommander inside the builder, the card ledger behind every Threat Index tier, RuleCheck, and more. I keep this guide updated as the site changes.
ANTHO
10 min read
The DeckCheck Threat Index (DTI)
Today, CRISPI officially retires. Its replacement is the DeckCheck Threat Index (DTI), a new framework for evaluating Commander decks and helping you find the right bracket.
ANTHO
21 min read
I Was Wrong About CRISPI
After a dozen rounds of tuning, I've concluded CRISPI can't be fixed. It was built on the idea that powerful decks look like cEDH decks, and that premise is wrong. This post lays out a replacement: twelve benchmarks rooted in the physics of Magic, a weighting that respects the turn clock, bracket gatekeepers that catch oppressive decks the card lists miss, and a Card Ledger that shows you exactly which cards earned each rating. Nothing is launching. I want you to find the holes in the logic before I build it.
ANTHO
3 min read
Meet The Deckhand
DeckCheck's newest crew member watches an ever-changing Magic for you — and reports back on the only question that matters: how is this relevant to me?
ANTHO
4 min read
What If Card Recs Were Better?
Giving good card recs is hard, so DeckCheck is testing what happens when some of that work gets outsourced to Recommander.