Thanks proff, but all this video did was show me that I miss everything. Heck the only store around where I live that sells any Tcg products of any kind is my local Walmart. This isn't even really true since no cards have been in our store since the first box of Bloomburrow was sold out. I haven't been able to buy packs in so long in my town that I forgot how it feels. Most importantly I miss the new card smell that just can't be replaced buying singles online which is a vast majority of my purchases. I fucking hate my town. Can't even buy cards, and I'm a new player.
It's the kind of thing that at first glance might seem like an editing error, but then as it happens again and again it just becomes funnier and funnier
I think Prof's correct, Foundations is a home run, a hat trick, a 2-point conversion, and any other sports metaphor you want to utilize. My 10 year old son and I have been tearing through Foundations Jump Start packs and playing WAY more than we play of our usual Commander games, and each game is a freakin' epic battle of back and forth. To Prof and any WoTC employees reading this, thank you. Prof for praising JS in his videos, and those at WoTC for making Foundations and Foundations Jump Start.
Not disagreeing by any means, but I’m genuinely shocked that Prof didn’t mention Foundations Jumpstart at all during the Foundations section. Guess they’re separate products, but still, considering how he loves that series of products, I’m surprised it didn’t get at least an honorable mention at the start of the video.
The problem with MTG was often not the game itself, but WotC/Hasbro management decisions, whether that be cramming 6 sets into standard, half of which are UB, or letting broken cards be legal WAY too long.
If they're clickable it's not the editor necessarily it's something you do in the UA-cam interface after the video is uploaded you can move them around tho (There's some limitations)
The Greater Good in Sheldon's secret layer is the most beautiful art I have ever seen. I love it so much. I got that secret layer right away, for several reasons, and I got some amazing and beautiful cards from it
I genuinely cannot overstate how much this channel has been a wonderful thing over the past year. Coming back to MTG has been…difficult, but you’ve made it so much easier. Thank you, Prof and editors, you’ve made this year way easier.
Too many frogs not enough vampires. Plz no more frogs moving forward. They flip and jump around in and out of exile and are too hard to kill. More vamps no frogs! Right guys?
When we drafted Foundations, I won the draft with a janky Boros deck based around stalling early game with walls and removal until late game where I closed games off with two Serra Angels and a Shivan Dragon. It was goofy yet nostalgic.
Bloomburrow got me back into Magic this year! I had stopped playing around 2019 because there had been some falling out within my EDH playgroup, and I would much rather play at home with friends than with strangers in a store (I'm not a very skillful player and winning isn't important to me, which puts me off game stores a bit). When I saw Bloomburrow's card list, I instantly wanted to play again, they're so fresh and fun! I started teaching my partner and I'm hoping to find some friends to play with soon. I pulled an Ygra from a booster the other day and I really want to bulid it haha! Thank you Prof and team! I love this channel, Shuffle Up and Play is my favourite gameplay show, love the vibes and the editing :)
Too many frogs tho I'd say. Not enough vampires .!? Other than that it was great. Frogs just isnt needed. They hop around in and out of exile. It's just so frustrating if your playing against frogs. Lots of cool creatures in blooomburrow but could halved the frogs. Surely most people would agree. Those dasterdly amphibians constantly drawing cards and I try to light Ning bolt them and they exile each other then whap polliwopped. GGGrrrr every frog deck needs nerfng. Need more vamps 2. More vampires less frogs.
I mean, that's true for everything. Nothing is _only_ doom and gloom. But, this year, the doom and gloom vastly overshadowed the good, something that Prof himself acknowledged in his "Worst of" video, but even in this one.
My favourite product this year is easy because I genuinely love Bloomburrow. The story was fun and not as trite as it easily could’ve been, the aesthetics were beautiful. I know folks say it’s ’just redwall’ but it isn’t, no more so than redwall was inspired by countless other properties anyway. The cards and characters were cute, the mechanics were fun and the draft environment was fantastic. It wasn’t as pushed as some other sets but was still powerful enough that it had significant impact on Standard, Pioneer, as well as in Modern, Legacy, Canlander, and Commander. It also had Bria, Riptide Rogue, exactly the Commander I’d been waiting for as someone who got into Magic by playing Prowess decks on Arena. It was everything I could’ve hoped for, it’s probably going to be the first set I ever aim to collect all of.
We have a bunny, so Hare Apparent and Bloomburrow are the best thing to happen to magic to me personally this year. Not only Bloomburrow and Foundations are amazing sets (BLB might be my favorite set ever, unironically. Or maybe this is recency bias) but also I will spend all of my savings on a Hare Apparent commander using pictures of our bunny as tokens, hell maybe even a Hare Apparent proxy. The second best thing is this channel, I was a bit estranged from Magic these past few years, but finding this channel has reignited the cardboard crack addiction and... why is this a good thing again? Jokes aside, I hope 2025 is a good year for you prof and the crew and I hope more people find this channel and can find enjoyment in their favorite card game again.
Duskmourn was my favorite thing of the year, the story was the best I’ve read, the world felt alive and scary, the cards allowed for some really interesting new decks, it was an enchantment set which I always enjoy and the limited format was pretty easily my favorite ever! It just hit all the right notes for me
As an honorable mention, I like that Ultimate Guard now makes official MtG accessories since their release of Bloomburrow deck boxes. The Duskmourn boxes look cool but I love the Bloomburrow boxes in the alternate art “field journal” style of the Calamity Beasts.
The story writing this year was the best, Kellan's arc ended satisfyingly and the Duskmourn story was excellent at setting up what is to come, with bloomburrow being a good palate cleanser in between
I recently got the Foundation’s Starter collection and I love just how much stuff is in it. I have been wanting something that helps me deck build and figure out how certain cards play for a while. Definitely the best thing I got this Christmas.
Hi professor! Loved the opportunity to snap a picture with you at Vegas this year. Wish we had more time to chat but wanted to let you know we appreciate all you do for the community!:)
i was actually kinda worried for magic sets this year once we got MKM/OTJ back to back but the transition from BLB->DSK->FDN was a really nice high note for the latter half of the year :)
This year, I watched a Tolarian College video for the first time, even though I never played MTG before. It was about how crossovers are degrading the game. But it has a part about why you love the game, and that made me try MTGA. So far, Magic is pretty awesome. Thanks for sharing your passion for the game.
19:31 maybe an asterisk on the MB2 since it is basically unobtainable if you’re outside of the USA, here in Brazil the only way to get them really is buying off the secondary market where the price is unbelievably inflated.
Fun fact on the accessibility of old GPs, a friend of mine snatched a win against Kai Budde, the best I could do was reject a draw offer from Gabriel Nassif (and losing 2-1 after) Those were great fun
This channel remains one of the greatest parts of the community because of the work of you and your team, Prof. Thank you a for the hard work, all the smiles you've inspired, and how much you've helped us grow as both players and collectors.
Just want to say, I’m always grateful you make these positive topic videos! I always watch these, I don’t always watch the “worst things” but totally understand the appeal. I just want to say I appreciate you guys covering positive news for the game as well!
Prof . you are definitely one of the Best (and one of the most Kind) M.T.G. content creators on the web. Congrats on the 1mil + subscribers, what an achievement! Just shows how much you are appreciated. Many Thanks to you and the TCC crew for all the great content. Hopefully, I will get out to one of the great MTG cons next year and get to shake your hand in person 🙂
That tribute to Sheldon made me tear up. Such a beautiful mention, sir. He and I share a favorite band: Dream Theater. I enjoyed your review and always appreciate your absolutely silly and brilliant way of delivering pertinent information. Hat's off to you. I started paying attention again this past year, but I didn't start buying from our LGS until Bloomburrow.
I really did enjoy Duskmourn, though. Some of the mechanics are a bit weird, but apart from that I do enjoy the 80s campy horror movie feel of the whole thing.
I'm going to be honest, a few of my favorite things this year are things I know you didn't enjoy very much. I liked Outlaws? I liked Murder, I liked Duskmourn. I understand why people didn't enjoy them, but uh... I'll probably be not in tomorrow. Have a happy new year Prof!
You truly are a gift to this community! My friend recommended you when i decided to start playing again this year after 20 years of not playing. Thank you so much for helping me
I know the worst things of the year usually does better, but I really like these. They always bring a smile to me. Also hoping on an answer to what the yellow sticky note says on the central column.
I am a child of 1990 and saw MTG at friends' houses growing up. Never having a chance to collect, as an army brat boarder, I have finally taken my first steps. With some toes in MTG Arena and inheriting some cards from a friend leaving the country, I have been overwhelmed, but still having fun. This channel has helped me a great deal. The informative and passionate content here has been such a pleasure to watch. Thanks very much! My local game store here in NZ, Wizards Retreat, has another reason for me to visit each week 😊. Looking forward to seeing your 2025 content to help guide me to better decisions!
Love getting to revel in positivity! While you turned me onto FaB and I have been doing nothing but draft that every week Magic means a lot to me as a nostalgic part of my history. So it's nice to hear what it's doing well :)
Thank you for another year of great Magic: the Gathering coverage and content, Professor! As far as I'm concerned, you're a pillar of this game's community.
Tomorrow as of writing this, I might be going down to my lgs to play my lgs' weekly draft for the first time in 3 years. I was actually really hoping they wouldnt do a foundations draft, but i kinda wanna try it out thanks to prof.
I'm so nostalgic for old magic I've started rebuilding old 60 card decks to teach new players. I certainly don't need more cards but foundations sounds like a great place to go to help finish the project.
I know others have said the same, but I wanna add to the pile: the “Best Of” lists at the end of the year are my favorite. I literally spent all year wondering “is this going to make the prof’s best of list”. It may not get the views, but it’s one of the highlights for me every year.
I got into MTG back in the '94-'96 era, but then kinda dwindled out as I had no one to play with after. Every now and then I got the urge to play, but still, no one to play with. I started gaining interest again this year, got a few others interested and just happen to go to the game store on Foundations pre-release weekend. Picked up the beginners box and was hooked, went full bore into Foundations. It really is an amazing set, and after roughly 27 years away, it's almost like getting into it for the first time.
i actually had my first in person draft with foundations! i went 2 and 1 with a gruul stompy deck and it is so much fun! with the upcoming universes beyond and cosplay sets i might just stick to foundations limited and play some casual magic with the cards, it truly feels refreshing!
I am glad I am not the only one who is relieved to see it happen though. I was more excited for foundations than anything else in a long time. When reading through the cards, I found myself saying “I would use that” more frequently than I do when I read through other recent sets. Maybe I have keyword fatigue, idk 🤷♀️
something underrated that I loved last year was the proliferation of magic story audiobooks. they've become much better produced and easily accessible, allowing me to follow the story even after losing my sight last year. it is a good time to be a vorthos for sure :)
Got a foundations jump-start box for my brother for Christmas, he was really excited for it and we played a few games of it. Really nostalgic "teenager strength" (or weaker power levels), similar to what we played in high school with friends. (your video helped make the decision, since WoTC has released some real stinkers when it comes to jumpstart/alt play style boosters). Though when it comes to soo many other things MTG, WoTC has been so infuriating. I don't want to spend my Fridays playing MTG games in Standard that are 4 turns, then waiting around for the group or two in the play pod that got a real game (to continue onto the next round).
It might not have made top 5, but the full art basic lands released this year have been fantastic. Also the sheer amount of them printed means you can have an artistically pleasing mana base without breaking the bank. So much great art in different styles was a big win this year in my opinion.
Foundations is the first booster set of the year that I have truly invested in. Having a new Core Set to play with after so long has been an incredible feeling.
I got to see you earlier this year at MagicCon in Chicago :) You did a wonderful job handling the OVERWHELMING line of people who wanted to see you 😭 Thank you for signing my copy of Tolarian Academy and for nearly signing my phone with permanent marker when I asked for your autograph on our picture together LOL such a short interaction made for an awesome memory 🥹♥️
Bloomburrow is hands down one of the best sets to come from wizards in a long time. My group plays a lot of Jumpack wars, in the same slot commander used to sit in. A bit of after tournament (pauper in our case) fun. Jumpack wars is where you take two crack packs and remove anything that is obviously not a legal playible mtg card. Then shuffle both up with 3 land of each colour and play. It does not matter if you get an extra land, you were just lucky! If you would ever draw a mtg backed token/tip/etc, a rare occerence these days, then you reveal it and draw a new card. Where we enjoy the format anyway, playing this with Bloomburrow is a different experience. The cards synergise really well out of the pack, showing that in the limited environment it works just as well as constructed, a rarer thing these days!
Bloomburrow was definitly the highlight for me this year. Just nice to have a sidestory with no implication of a villain with a multiverse ending plan working in the shadows (for now atleast!) Foundations is a chefs kiss aswell.
Many thanks proff for the video. I agree with(almost) all your points, especially Gavin's spell book. I have a gripe with Mystery Booster 2 though - as a non US citizen (I live in UK) it was a shame not be able to get in our hands Mystery Booster 2 aside from buying the overpriced (for me at least) "Festival in a box". Also ,my two biggest pleasant surprises for me was Duskmourn and Foundations - I was expecting Duskmourn to be as silly as MKM with the horror theme but I was pleasantly surprised that it was not that much(except these cheerleader cards....come on...) and it also had some very VERY strong cards in almost every format. Foundations on the other hand, I was expecting to be a low powered ,boring core set like the core sets of the old but again, I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. I even went for the prerelease for that one and out of 50 people, I came out 3rd! That had never happened before! Anyways, many thanks prof for your videos and I hope in the future to be able to meet you in some convention and I am looking forward for your next video entries.
Wanted to take this opportunity to share the best of Magic in MY life during 2024. Things have been incredibly difficult for my family for the past few years, all culminating to my mother taking her own life last year. Everyone left in the wake has been pretty depressed, to say the least. Your tutorial series helped me convince my father to get into Magic to give us something to try and cheer us up with, and it's helped immensely in helping us all set aside our grief for a while and enjoy our time together. I just wanted to say thank you so so much for everything you've done for this community (and unintentionally, my family). Here's to another year of TCC bringing people together 💜
Wish you and your family all the best into the New Year, and more. Losing a loved one is always hard to cope with, and i'm glad to hear that you and your Dad have been able to work through it, even by just a little. To me, the beauty and "magic" of the game of MtG is being able to enjoy the little things with people you love, and to surround yourself with a great community that shares in that love. All of these cards are simply... just that; little pieces of cardboard with ink on them. But every special card/deck, every game, and every story & moment of experiencing the game with people you care about is all that matters! Hope that things go well for you, and that you can keep on supporting the love of the game with what truly matters, the "Gathering" with those that you love. Take care!❤
Im surprised there was no specific mention of the Foundations starter kit! My partner is a new magic player as of bloomburrow, and they bought the kit because it had Giada on it, but they were amazing with how much power and value were in that box!
I was primarily a standard player that fell off around strixhaven. The Simic problems of Oko and Uro and subsequent bannings crushed confidence in local players and no matter how much I tried, the lgs scene died in favour of commander… And like you said the focus on arena felt to me that wizards didn’t even really care about the LGS for a time. I sold out everything but my sentimental stuff. I’m a happy FaB player now (with thanks to your how to play video) but I’m glad wizards is at least trying with standard again. Too late for me - but hopefully it does okay at LGSs even with the veritable deluge of releases that seem on the horizon. Thanks for continuing to do what you do Prof. its pretty much the only lens i care to keep in touch magic these days. Edit: heheh I saw that head poke out during the foundations segment. Nice touch
New player here 👋 Foundations is what got me into MTG. The beginner box helped me so much in learning in combination with arena. I am someone who HATES card games because they’re always too convoluted…and yet it was made extremely accessible for someone completely new to Magic. My favorite thing to do now is come home and play magic with my partner who begged me for so long to try it. ❤
Although it doesn't see as much love because of its theme and the fact that it was sandwiched between bloomburrow and foundations, duskmourn is absolutely the best thing to happen to magic this year. duskmourn not only got me into actually playing in person instead of just collecting and playing digitally but I also loved everything about it, as a horror fan duskmourn is my bloomburrow
I will say, I'm gonna have to go in with my friends on a box of Foundations after hearing everyone gush over its draft environment. I just hadn't planned on getting any of the set for myself in physical, as I'm saving everything for the Final Fantasy set next year, and settling for some Arena for a bit.
The first booster box I have purchased since before 2017/2018 was foundations. I've purchased 3 boxes all for one purpose. Draft and prerelease play with friends especially friends who rarely play commander. I'm so excited next year to go teach my cousin and her fiancee and their friends magic with foundations as they bought Lord of the rings precons but are too overwhelmed to learn.
I know the worst of is a necessary thing for us to review because we really shouldn't repeat the mistakes of the recent past, even in gaming. But I do love the best of more and I'm glad it comes out first. Thanks for doing both anyway.
I came in around OTJ and really like all the Standard sets from there till now. I travel between 2 biggest metro areas in Texas and have found some great LGS to play. I hope Standard comes back.
The best thing about MtG in 2024 was the Command Zone roast of Prof for reaching 1 mill subs. The second best thing has been the most recent season of Shuffle up and Play.
I actually came back playing magic, after years without playing, in the middle of bloomburrow and was bummed out that I didn't had to enjoy it all from the beginning in magic arena. But tbh, drafting Duskmourn just after that was the most fun I ever had with this game. In discord many say that duskmourn was the best draft set magic had in years and one of the best in all times. I can't really evaluate that, since I haven't drafted that many sets, but imo, the mechanics are great fun. Although I do understand the annoyance regarding some not so creative choices regarding ghostbursters references, flying cheerleaders and stuff like that. Regarding interesting game mechanics, at least, Duskmourn was my number 1.
Foundations was a make or break play for standard, it really is great that they've made a set with longevity and balance to help hold together Standard, and reprint some great cards as well for other formats.
Click this link sponsr.is/bootdev_tolarian and use my code TOLARIAN to get 25% off your first payment for boot.dev.
Tried this on another channel's sponsorship and the free trial is not nearly as good as the advert. Everything interesting is paywalled
My fav set this year was OTJ :) I bought every set in there. :) it was my first time entering into mtg too :)
Murders turned out to be a good set due to the land cycle.
Thanks proff, but all this video did was show me that I miss everything. Heck the only store around where I live that sells any Tcg products of any kind is my local Walmart. This isn't even really true since no cards have been in our store since the first box of Bloomburrow was sold out. I haven't been able to buy packs in so long in my town that I forgot how it feels. Most importantly I miss the new card smell that just can't be replaced buying singles online which is a vast majority of my purchases. I fucking hate my town. Can't even buy cards, and I'm a new player.
The editor's refusal to have Prof point to the card he's actually discussing will never not be funny.
Idk how I never realized this was on purpose
Should be fired for not doing his job
@@tonyj8011 nah, it is a trope that the majority seem to find amusing.
lol i never even noticed this hell yea
It's the kind of thing that at first glance might seem like an editing error, but then as it happens again and again it just becomes funnier and funnier
I think Prof's correct, Foundations is a home run, a hat trick, a 2-point conversion, and any other sports metaphor you want to utilize. My 10 year old son and I have been tearing through Foundations Jump Start packs and playing WAY more than we play of our usual Commander games, and each game is a freakin' epic battle of back and forth. To Prof and any WoTC employees reading this, thank you. Prof for praising JS in his videos, and those at WoTC for making Foundations and Foundations Jump Start.
Not disagreeing by any means, but I’m genuinely shocked that Prof didn’t mention Foundations Jumpstart at all during the Foundations section. Guess they’re separate products, but still, considering how he loves that series of products, I’m surprised it didn’t get at least an honorable mention at the start of the video.
This is always my favorite episode of the year. The hobby can get drowned with negativity so I appreciate the opportunity to celebrate as well.
The problem with MTG was often not the game itself, but WotC/Hasbro management decisions, whether that be cramming 6 sets into standard, half of which are UB, or letting broken cards be legal WAY too long.
I think YOU'RE the best of Magic the Gathering!
Aww
One million subs, big milestone this year! Love you Prof and all the TCC crew. Onward to 2025!
the real best of magic the gathering was the friends we made along the way
No, you're breathtaking!
Be less cheesy
I love that the editors did, where the prof would point 👉 somewhere on the screen, the photo would be opposite to where he points HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
i find it annoying lol
I thought I was the only one that thinks that is hilarious.
@@xChikyxsounds exhausting.
If they're clickable it's not the editor necessarily it's something you do in the UA-cam interface after the video is uploaded you can move them around tho (There's some limitations)
The Greater Good in Sheldon's secret layer is the most beautiful art I have ever seen. I love it so much. I got that secret layer right away, for several reasons, and I got some amazing and beautiful cards from it
I genuinely cannot overstate how much this channel has been a wonderful thing over the past year. Coming back to MTG has been…difficult, but you’ve made it so much easier.
Thank you, Prof and editors, you’ve made this year way easier.
Bloomburrow was really fantastic. I loved the flavor and the mechanics and the art. 11/10 set
I loved its visual identity. I could always glance at a card and go oh, that's Bloomburrow, and I think that's pretty cool
Worst part of Bloomburrow was that it wasn't a two set block
@@jamesholste8908 Yep! I wish we would get more time in Bloomburrow!
Too many frogs not enough vampires. Plz no more frogs moving forward. They flip and jump around in and out of exile and are too hard to kill. More vamps no frogs! Right guys?
Bloomburrow is the new neon kamigawa. Unfortunately those are coming years apart, instead of every set having this level of love
When we drafted Foundations, I won the draft with a janky Boros deck based around stalling early game with walls and removal until late game where I closed games off with two Serra Angels and a Shivan Dragon. It was goofy yet nostalgic.
Sup my possum
Bloomburrow got me back into Magic this year! I had stopped playing around 2019 because there had been some falling out within my EDH playgroup, and I would much rather play at home with friends than with strangers in a store (I'm not a very skillful player and winning isn't important to me, which puts me off game stores a bit). When I saw Bloomburrow's card list, I instantly wanted to play again, they're so fresh and fun! I started teaching my partner and I'm hoping to find some friends to play with soon. I pulled an Ygra from a booster the other day and I really want to bulid it haha!
Thank you Prof and team! I love this channel, Shuffle Up and Play is my favourite gameplay show, love the vibes and the editing :)
That’s great!
But don’t build Ygra if you don’t want to lose you playgroup again. That deck is toxic.
Too many frogs tho I'd say. Not enough vampires .!? Other than that it was great. Frogs just isnt needed. They hop around in and out of exile. It's just so frustrating if your playing against frogs. Lots of cool creatures in blooomburrow but could halved the frogs. Surely most people would agree. Those dasterdly amphibians constantly drawing cards and I try to light Ning bolt them and they exile each other then whap polliwopped. GGGrrrr every frog deck needs nerfng. Need more vamps 2. More vampires less frogs.
@@glokazuns4594 You should visit France, could give you some catharsis
I know this will get probably half the views of the bad; but i appreciate you recognizing that it wasn't all doom and gloom
It literally was. Get milked more. They just spoon feed you guys shit and you guys are told to be okay with it
@@austintarantino5619I'm glad my comment that the year was both good and bad made you shit yourself so much that you felt the need to respond 🩵
@@austintarantino5619who fed you a shite sandwich?
You aimed too high
I mean, that's true for everything. Nothing is _only_ doom and gloom. But, this year, the doom and gloom vastly overshadowed the good, something that Prof himself acknowledged in his "Worst of" video, but even in this one.
My favourite product this year is easy because I genuinely love Bloomburrow. The story was fun and not as trite as it easily could’ve been, the aesthetics were beautiful. I know folks say it’s ’just redwall’ but it isn’t, no more so than redwall was inspired by countless other properties anyway. The cards and characters were cute, the mechanics were fun and the draft environment was fantastic. It wasn’t as pushed as some other sets but was still powerful enough that it had significant impact on Standard, Pioneer, as well as in Modern, Legacy, Canlander, and Commander.
It also had Bria, Riptide Rogue, exactly the Commander I’d been waiting for as someone who got into Magic by playing Prowess decks on Arena.
It was everything I could’ve hoped for, it’s probably going to be the first set I ever aim to collect all of.
Do you happen to have an opinion on the amount of amphibian creatures released in blooomburrow?
@@glokazuns4594 not a notable one, although who doesn’t love frogs, why do you ask?
@Azeria fantastic set. The best set in years. Even with the frogs. 🐸
We have a bunny, so Hare Apparent and Bloomburrow are the best thing to happen to magic to me personally this year. Not only Bloomburrow and Foundations are amazing sets (BLB might be my favorite set ever, unironically. Or maybe this is recency bias) but also I will spend all of my savings on a Hare Apparent commander using pictures of our bunny as tokens, hell maybe even a Hare Apparent proxy.
The second best thing is this channel, I was a bit estranged from Magic these past few years, but finding this channel has reignited the cardboard crack addiction and... why is this a good thing again? Jokes aside, I hope 2025 is a good year for you prof and the crew and I hope more people find this channel and can find enjoyment in their favorite card game again.
Duskmourn was my favorite thing of the year, the story was the best I’ve read, the world felt alive and scary, the cards allowed for some really interesting new decks, it was an enchantment set which I always enjoy and the limited format was pretty easily my favorite ever! It just hit all the right notes for me
As an honorable mention, I like that Ultimate Guard now makes official MtG accessories since their release of Bloomburrow deck boxes. The Duskmourn boxes look cool but I love the Bloomburrow boxes in the alternate art “field journal” style of the Calamity Beasts.
The story writing this year was the best, Kellan's arc ended satisfyingly and the Duskmourn story was excellent at setting up what is to come, with bloomburrow being a good palate cleanser in between
Thanks for all you do for the community, Prof and everyone at TCC.
I recently got the Foundation’s Starter collection and I love just how much stuff is in it.
I have been wanting something that helps me deck build and figure out how certain cards play for a while.
Definitely the best thing I got this Christmas.
Hi professor! Loved the opportunity to snap a picture with you at Vegas this year. Wish we had more time to chat but wanted to let you know we appreciate all you do for the community!:)
i was actually kinda worried for magic sets this year once we got MKM/OTJ back to back but the transition from BLB->DSK->FDN was a really nice high note for the latter half of the year :)
This year, I watched a Tolarian College video for the first time, even though I never played MTG before. It was about how crossovers are degrading the game. But it has a part about why you love the game, and that made me try MTGA. So far, Magic is pretty awesome. Thanks for sharing your passion for the game.
Bloomburrow is the best plane they've made in a while. I really enjoy the vibe and flavor
19:31 maybe an asterisk on the MB2 since it is basically unobtainable if you’re outside of the USA, here in Brazil the only way to get them really is buying off the secondary market where the price is unbelievably inflated.
Love hearing about the stuff that went right this year. Thanks for making this video!
Fun fact on the accessibility of old GPs, a friend of mine snatched a win against Kai Budde, the best I could do was reject a draw offer from Gabriel Nassif (and losing 2-1 after)
Those were great fun
Absolutely love my Sheldon secret lair
Half my decks are bloomburrow decks, it and duskmourn were my favorite of the year
This channel remains one of the greatest parts of the community because of the work of you and your team, Prof. Thank you a for the hard work, all the smiles you've inspired, and how much you've helped us grow as both players and collectors.
20:22 totally caught me off guard and I cant stop laughing😂😂
Me too 🤣🤣🤣🤣🥲
Just want to say, I’m always grateful you make these positive topic videos! I always watch these, I don’t always watch the “worst things” but totally understand the appeal. I just want to say I appreciate you guys covering positive news for the game as well!
Prof . you are definitely one of the Best (and one of the most Kind) M.T.G. content creators on the web. Congrats on the 1mil + subscribers, what an achievement! Just shows how much you are appreciated. Many Thanks to you and the TCC crew for all the great content. Hopefully, I will get out to one of the great MTG cons next year and get to shake your hand in person 🙂
That tribute to Sheldon made me tear up. Such a beautiful mention, sir.
He and I share a favorite band: Dream Theater. I enjoyed your review and always appreciate your absolutely silly and brilliant way of delivering pertinent information.
Hat's off to you.
I started paying attention again this past year, but I didn't start buying from our LGS until Bloomburrow.
I really did enjoy Duskmourn, though. Some of the mechanics are a bit weird, but apart from that I do enjoy the 80s campy horror movie feel of the whole thing.
I'm going to be honest, a few of my favorite things this year are things I know you didn't enjoy very much. I liked Outlaws? I liked Murder, I liked Duskmourn.
I understand why people didn't enjoy them, but uh... I'll probably be not in tomorrow. Have a happy new year Prof!
You’re one of the best things in Magic The Gathering again this year. You and your crew are phenomenal. Keep rocking the free world
Yup, exactly what I posted. They keep me interested and sane (and entertained)^^
You truly are a gift to this community! My friend recommended you when i decided to start playing again this year after 20 years of not playing. Thank you so much for helping me
I know the worst things of the year usually does better, but I really like these. They always bring a smile to me. Also hoping on an answer to what the yellow sticky note says on the central column.
Thanks for posting this video. It really does help to hear about the good things that happen.
Thank you prof, it's a pleasure just to hear your enthusiasm. Have a happy new year
16:57 picture it with me... a year in Bloomburrow. A set for each season!
Bloomburrow got me back into standard. It was home run in terms flavor and gameplay.
I am a child of 1990 and saw MTG at friends' houses growing up. Never having a chance to collect, as an army brat boarder, I have finally taken my first steps. With some toes in MTG Arena and inheriting some cards from a friend leaving the country, I have been overwhelmed, but still having fun.
This channel has helped me a great deal. The informative and passionate content here has been such a pleasure to watch. Thanks very much! My local game store here in NZ, Wizards Retreat, has another reason for me to visit each week 😊.
Looking forward to seeing your 2025 content to help guide me to better decisions!
Sheldon's Spell book is the single best Secret Lair I've ever bought.
Thanks, Prof!
Giving Bloomburrow top slot on my list.
I didn’t think Izzet could be MORE fun until all the Otters came to play.
I was surprised at #2 with the expense but agree with it all. Amazing pics. Its lovely to focus on this stuff. :)
Merry Christmas, professor! As a “similarly aged” player, your content has always struck a chord. Thank you
Love getting to revel in positivity! While you turned me onto FaB and I have been doing nothing but draft that every week Magic means a lot to me as a nostalgic part of my history. So it's nice to hear what it's doing well :)
I do appreciate that WotC remembered the long standing mantra of Magic the Gathering players: Reading the MSRP explains the value.
Thank you for teaching us how it’s done prof, happy new years!!!
Wonderful tribute to Sheldon.
Even though I knew he was BSing KM, the way he delivered it was spot on.
Thank you for another year of great Magic: the Gathering coverage and content, Professor! As far as I'm concerned, you're a pillar of this game's community.
This year you hit 1mm subs right? That's well deserving of recognition. Congrats on a sick ass, rad, bonkers, groovy, Chad, zippy year!
Tomorrow as of writing this, I might be going down to my lgs to play my lgs' weekly draft for the first time in 3 years. I was actually really hoping they wouldnt do a foundations draft, but i kinda wanna try it out thanks to prof.
I'm so nostalgic for old magic I've started rebuilding old 60 card decks to teach new players. I certainly don't need more cards but foundations sounds like a great place to go to help finish the project.
I know others have said the same, but I wanna add to the pile: the “Best Of” lists at the end of the year are my favorite. I literally spent all year wondering “is this going to make the prof’s best of list”. It may not get the views, but it’s one of the highlights for me every year.
I got into MTG back in the '94-'96 era, but then kinda dwindled out as I had no one to play with after. Every now and then I got the urge to play, but still, no one to play with. I started gaining interest again this year, got a few others interested and just happen to go to the game store on Foundations pre-release weekend. Picked up the beginners box and was hooked, went full bore into Foundations. It really is an amazing set, and after roughly 27 years away, it's almost like getting into it for the first time.
i actually had my first in person draft with foundations! i went 2 and 1 with a gruul stompy deck and it is so much fun! with the upcoming universes beyond and cosplay sets i might just stick to foundations limited and play some casual magic with the cards, it truly feels refreshing!
I feel that a mention of the Fallout set back in March was one of the best universes beyond sets in '24
Just commenting to remind the Professor and his team that they are loved. You guys keep me invested in this hobby
Kinda wild that the best of Magic can be boiled down to “Magic feels like it’s getting back to its old, normal Magic.”
and not 10 seconds before we get the UB standard shitstorm that’ll turn magic back into the half-baked crossover slop we know and love 💀
I am glad I am not the only one who is relieved to see it happen though.
I was more excited for foundations than anything else in a long time. When reading through the cards, I found myself saying “I would use that” more frequently than I do when I read through other recent sets. Maybe I have keyword fatigue, idk 🤷♀️
Since your _Best Of This Year!_ videos tend to have about half the views of your _Worst Of This Year!_ videos, I guess I'll just watch this one twice.
Wishing you a Happy New year professor 🎉 and hope you had a merry Christmas.
Hope you see this. Merry Christmas, prof! And here's to many more years, cheers!
something underrated that I loved last year was the proliferation of magic story audiobooks. they've become much better produced and easily accessible, allowing me to follow the story even after losing my sight last year. it is a good time to be a vorthos for sure :)
Please thank yourself and your team Prof. You are also one of the best things in Magic the Gathering 2024.
For me the best was catching up on all the SUP episodes and getting interested in MTG again. Even bought my first precon so I could play.
Thank you prof!!! you're doing a great job
The fake out with Murders of Karlov got a good chuckle out of me.
I just wish mystery booster 2 was available at lgs and not just at magiccon. It felt really bad
The Sheldon Menory Secret Lair was so good, I bought it twice.
Got a foundations jump-start box for my brother for Christmas, he was really excited for it and we played a few games of it. Really nostalgic "teenager strength" (or weaker power levels), similar to what we played in high school with friends. (your video helped make the decision, since WoTC has released some real stinkers when it comes to jumpstart/alt play style boosters).
Though when it comes to soo many other things MTG, WoTC has been so infuriating. I don't want to spend my Fridays playing MTG games in Standard that are 4 turns, then waiting around for the group or two in the play pod that got a real game (to continue onto the next round).
Didn’t expect to cry during a MtG video but Prof talking about Sheldon moved me
Mystery Booster 2 was my favorite of the year. Had a blast drafting my box.
Magic foundations felt like every set was in it and I loved that!
It might not have made top 5, but the full art basic lands released this year have been fantastic. Also the sheer amount of them printed means you can have an artistically pleasing mana base without breaking the bank.
So much great art in different styles was a big win this year in my opinion.
Didn’t realize msrp was back. That’s comforting to hear
I’m surprised prof even made it that far into his mkm but 😂
Foundations is the first booster set of the year that I have truly invested in. Having a new Core Set to play with after so long has been an incredible feeling.
I got to see you earlier this year at MagicCon in Chicago :) You did a wonderful job handling the OVERWHELMING line of people who wanted to see you 😭 Thank you for signing my copy of Tolarian Academy and for nearly signing my phone with permanent marker when I asked for your autograph on our picture together LOL such a short interaction made for an awesome memory 🥹♥️
Bloomburrow is hands down one of the best sets to come from wizards in a long time.
My group plays a lot of Jumpack wars, in the same slot commander used to sit in. A bit of after tournament (pauper in our case) fun.
Jumpack wars is where you take two crack packs and remove anything that is obviously not a legal playible mtg card. Then shuffle both up with 3 land of each colour and play. It does not matter if you get an extra land, you were just lucky! If you would ever draw a mtg backed token/tip/etc, a rare occerence these days, then you reveal it and draw a new card.
Where we enjoy the format anyway, playing this with Bloomburrow is a different experience. The cards synergise really well out of the pack, showing that in the limited environment it works just as well as constructed, a rarer thing these days!
Bloomburrow was definitly the highlight for me this year.
Just nice to have a sidestory with no implication of a villain with a multiverse ending plan working in the shadows (for now atleast!)
Foundations is a chefs kiss aswell.
Many thanks proff for the video. I agree with(almost) all your points, especially Gavin's spell book. I have a gripe with Mystery Booster 2 though - as a non US citizen (I live in UK) it was a shame not be able to get in our hands Mystery Booster 2 aside from buying the overpriced (for me at least) "Festival in a box". Also ,my two biggest pleasant surprises for me was Duskmourn and Foundations - I was expecting Duskmourn to be as silly as MKM with the horror theme but I was pleasantly surprised that it was not that much(except these cheerleader cards....come on...) and it also had some very VERY strong cards in almost every format. Foundations on the other hand, I was expecting to be a low powered ,boring core set like the core sets of the old but again, I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. I even went for the prerelease for that one and out of 50 people, I came out 3rd! That had never happened before! Anyways, many thanks prof for your videos and I hope in the future to be able to meet you in some convention and I am looking forward for your next video entries.
Man, that editing in the beginning was wonderful! 🤣
Wanted to take this opportunity to share the best of Magic in MY life during 2024.
Things have been incredibly difficult for my family for the past few years, all culminating to my mother taking her own life last year. Everyone left in the wake has been pretty depressed, to say the least.
Your tutorial series helped me convince my father to get into Magic to give us something to try and cheer us up with, and it's helped immensely in helping us all set aside our grief for a while and enjoy our time together.
I just wanted to say thank you so so much for everything you've done for this community (and unintentionally, my family). Here's to another year of TCC bringing people together 💜
Wish you and your family all the best into the New Year, and more. Losing a loved one is always hard to cope with, and i'm glad to hear that you and your Dad have been able to work through it, even by just a little.
To me, the beauty and "magic" of the game of MtG is being able to enjoy the little things with people you love, and to surround yourself with a great community that shares in that love.
All of these cards are simply... just that; little pieces of cardboard with ink on them. But every special card/deck, every game, and every story & moment of experiencing the game with people you care about is all that matters!
Hope that things go well for you, and that you can keep on supporting the love of the game with what truly matters, the "Gathering" with those that you love.
Take care!❤
The best thing that happened in 2024 for magic the gathering was that I started playing again after a ten year hiatus!
Im surprised there was no specific mention of the Foundations starter kit! My partner is a new magic player as of bloomburrow, and they bought the kit because it had Giada on it, but they were amazing with how much power and value were in that box!
I was primarily a standard player that fell off around strixhaven. The Simic problems of Oko and Uro and subsequent bannings crushed confidence in local players and no matter how much I tried, the lgs scene died in favour of commander… And like you said the focus on arena felt to me that wizards didn’t even really care about the LGS for a time.
I sold out everything but my sentimental stuff. I’m a happy FaB player now (with thanks to your how to play video) but I’m glad wizards is at least trying with standard again. Too late for me - but hopefully it does okay at LGSs even with the veritable deluge of releases that seem on the horizon.
Thanks for continuing to do what you do Prof. its pretty much the only lens i care to keep in touch magic these days.
Edit: heheh I saw that head poke out during the foundations segment. Nice touch
My favorite part of the year has been Foundations jumpstart and Duskmorne, Duskmorne single handily got me back into magic
New player here 👋
Foundations is what got me into MTG. The beginner box helped me so much in learning in combination with arena. I am someone who HATES card games because they’re always too convoluted…and yet it was made extremely accessible for someone completely new to Magic. My favorite thing to do now is come home and play magic with my partner who begged me for so long to try it. ❤
Although it doesn't see as much love because of its theme and the fact that it was sandwiched between bloomburrow and foundations, duskmourn is absolutely the best thing to happen to magic this year. duskmourn not only got me into actually playing in person instead of just collecting and playing digitally but I also loved everything about it, as a horror fan duskmourn is my bloomburrow
Dammit Prof, making me tear up about Sheldon again. You give so much love and respect to the man's memory and it moves me every time 😭
I will say, I'm gonna have to go in with my friends on a box of Foundations after hearing everyone gush over its draft environment. I just hadn't planned on getting any of the set for myself in physical, as I'm saving everything for the Final Fantasy set next year, and settling for some Arena for a bit.
I'm so hecking sad I missed Sheldon's Spellbook, I couldn't afford it when it was available :(
Love these videos!!!
The first booster box I have purchased since before 2017/2018 was foundations. I've purchased 3 boxes all for one purpose. Draft and prerelease play with friends especially friends who rarely play commander.
I'm so excited next year to go teach my cousin and her fiancee and their friends magic with foundations as they bought Lord of the rings precons but are too overwhelmed to learn.
Keep up the good work prof!
I know the worst of is a necessary thing for us to review because we really shouldn't repeat the mistakes of the recent past, even in gaming. But I do love the best of more and I'm glad it comes out first. Thanks for doing both anyway.
I came in around OTJ and really like all the Standard sets from there till now. I travel between 2 biggest metro areas in Texas and have found some great LGS to play. I hope Standard comes back.
The best thing about MtG in 2024 was the Command Zone roast of Prof for reaching 1 mill subs. The second best thing has been the most recent season of Shuffle up and Play.
I actually came back playing magic, after years without playing, in the middle of bloomburrow and was bummed out that I didn't had to enjoy it all from the beginning in magic arena. But tbh, drafting Duskmourn just after that was the most fun I ever had with this game. In discord many say that duskmourn was the best draft set magic had in years and one of the best in all times. I can't really evaluate that, since I haven't drafted that many sets, but imo, the mechanics are great fun. Although I do understand the annoyance regarding some not so creative choices regarding ghostbursters references, flying cheerleaders and stuff like that.
Regarding interesting game mechanics, at least, Duskmourn was my number 1.
Foundations was a make or break play for standard, it really is great that they've made a set with longevity and balance to help hold together Standard, and reprint some great cards as well for other formats.