Julian and Lanny attempt to keep things casual and end up delivering a long, unsolicited defense of Premodern as a thinking person’s mistake. What follows is a surprisingly coherent case for a format that rewards preparation, curiosity, and learning things the hard way. Premodern comes off as punishing, deep, and endlessly discussable—in other words, exactly the kind of Magic that keeps pulling people back in. Resistance is possible, but not recommended.
00:00:00 – Cold open & why this is barely a podcast
No intro, no structure, just vibes and accidental philosophy.
00:02:00 – Falling into Premodern by not paying attention
Psychatog nostalgia, leaving Magic, coming back late, and realizing everyone else already figured it out.
00:04:50 – Lanny, Spike Colony, and New York Magic lore
Who Lanny is, Mike Flores stories, and unnecessary geographic detail.
00:12:30 – Winning Premodern events while playing terribly
Grow-a-Tog, mismatched Mox Diamonds, sloppy paper play, and still somehow taking trophies.
00:19:20 – Dreadnought, knowledge gaps, and unlearning Magic
Why Premodern rewards weird wisdom, bad-looking decisions, and ignoring old heuristics.
00:30:10 – Why Premodern suddenly feels inevitable
Magic Online, big names showing up, and years of unpaid community labor finally paying off.
00:37:00 – Hamburger vs fine-dining Magic
Why Premodern hurts, why that’s the point, and why “fun” is overrated.
00:42:30 – Miserable cards, bad decks, and loving it anyway
Dreadnought, Oath, Stasis, Burn discourse, and being confidently wrong.
https://spikecolony.com/tierlist/
Thank you for tuning in,
Until next time!
Julian
