Anyone who’s been following Pauper Standard since the arrival of the Time Spiral block knows painfully well the impact Momentary Blink has had on the metagame. If you haven’t, I’ll give you a clue. Here are the names of three 1st place decks from last season:

• Orzhov Blink
• Izzet Blink
• Boros Blink

Momentary Blink isn’t just a powerhouse in Block, where each card has room to fill its own shoes more completely. This card is an unquestionable pillar of the Standard metagame. To underestimate this card, or to fail in preparing strategies against it, is to position oneself for failure. Lucky for us, the preponderance of Orzhov Blink in the early stages of the metagame has given many of us the opportunity to hone our skills against the blinking menace. But even as Orzhov Blink’s influence on the format wanes, the presence of Momentary Blink itself has barely begun to reach its height.

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My love affair with red magic really began during Scourge but wasn’t quite solidified until I planeswalked to Kamigawa. Kumano and his welcoming committee were there to take me by the hand and lead me down the Path of Anger’s Flame once and for all. I had picked up a copy of the Spiritbane preconstructed deck, and my friend Ryan (agentanaranjado, if you happen to see him on MTGO) got the Kami Reborn precon. The matchup of these two decks was heavily in favor of mine, and the ensuing games served as something of a ‘primal scene,’ permanently imprinting on my mind exactly what red is (or at least should be) capable of.

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