Re: Gardens

I posted this in the local discord the day the ban was announced saying “Some romances just weren't meant to be, may y'all be together again in the great cube in the sky.” I think it’s pretty funny.

It’s not a high for the format, but it’s been a Pauper high to me, one that’s been more important than anything in the meta. Last year our local community that I help organize doubled in size. In 2024 our usual attendance for a weekly Pauper night was 6 players, in 2025 our average was 14 players.

…especially at a time where it could have been considered a good deck to play against all of the U-terror decks in the format.

Low: Gardens has really had a rough time since MH3 released (2024), but in the banning of Deadly Dispute hurting Gardens felt like collateral damage that’s really put a nail in its coffin. I don’t think we should unban DD, but it’s sad to see the archetype fade away from the meta…

High: It’s been great to see a return of Caw-Gates this year. It’s not a deck I’ve played a ton since the Paupergeddon where showed back up, but it’s a deck with a special place in my heart. Hopefully I’ll get some more opportunities to play it in 2026.

@thomasdoesalot.bsky.social

First thing I thought when I was this is we need an edit of Cuomo sitting across from an opponent’s Psychic Frog and he’s clearly playing mono red.

Faerie Macabre and Sphinx of the Steel Wind with Tinker.

It’s insane that this coming in the same year as them choosing to stop supporting the VML resulting in it closing its doors.

The second more funny, the mental image of Jaya Ballard saying this while pointing at a random gorilla is source of a lot of laughter.

I’ve got two, the first more serious.