Hanjo’s Love Letters

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I just can’t resist you. When I draft a Power Cube, whether it is my friend Tom his copy of the Magic the Gathering Online Power Cube, or my Klein Power Cube, when I see you I just have to draft you. You are the perfect reason to go 4 colour soup in those cubes. 

I’m lucky that I at first always get the chance to draft some fetch lands, because I value them very highly in Power Cube, plus some powerful generic good cards before I get passed you, Omnath. In our local playgroup they always joke about that I always play 4 or 5 colours so I can play you. Same again yesterday, the person opening you immediately said ‘Hanjo is going to love this draft’. And to be fair, I did. 

To be honest, you aren’t even that good in Power Cube. You are an average 4 drop, you have your impact on the game, but there are a whole lot better 4 drops. The thing is, only the person drafting a lot of fixing can afford you, so I always get you very late in the draft. You are almost free to draft. It’s not that I think you are so powerful and that that is why I love you. I love you what you inspire me to draft, 4 colour Omnath is an archetype on its own. 

People call it soup, but it isn’t soup, 4 color Omnath is so much more than that. It is a deck which utilises efficient mana dorks, efficient threats like you, Omnath, and efficient removal into a very solid midrange strategy. The challenge is to get the mana good, but when that is covered 4 color Omnath becomes such a potent and consistent strategy. And it is that consistency that Power Cube decks usually lack, and that is where your power lies. Consistently pressuring the board while keeping the opponent in check. And I love that strategy. Plus I can’t deny that it helps that yesterday I went 3-0 6-0 together with you. 

With love, 

Hanjo

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The thing with storytelling is, the more times you tell a story, the better you get at telling that story. My dear friend Robert has perfected this one story in his life, and that story is about you, Llanowar Elves. 

Robert used to be a fierce competitor, enjoying the thrill of winning. He was a true grinder, playing Pro Tour Qualifiers, Grand Prixs and just basically any tournament that he could find. Earning his spot at the Pro Tour multiple times. In one of his many tournaments he found himself opposite to you, Llanowar Elves. But he didn’t care, he was attacking with his favourite creature in all of Magic: Psychatog. And because a Wonder was in the graveyard his Psychatog had flying, and you Llanowar Elves[/c[, don’t have flying. Psychatog was a lethal threat that attack, and Robert started discarding and exiling all his cards and extending his hand. His opponent shrugged and declared ‘Ich block mit dem Elf’. There was a language barrier. 

Robert is Dutch, and his opponent wielding the Llanowar Elves was German. Dutch kids learn German in high school, German kids don’t learn Dutch. So Robert understood him all to well. There wasn’t a real language barrier, his opponent was just trying to abuse anything he could to win that game. The thing about Robert, and why he became so good at telling this story, is that he is a very vocal person. He sure as hell wasn’t going to let this one slide quietly. ‘ICH BLOCK MIT DEM ELF?!’ followed by a ‘JUDGE!’, making a whole lot of fuss. The fix for the judge was quite easy and Robert of course won this match, but that sure as hell doesn’t hurt the story. 

But the story doesn’t end here. Robert lost his competitive soul but does really enjoy a good cube draft these days. And you Llanowar Elves, being the cube staple that you are, are in a lot of the cubes of our playgroup. Counting just my cubes alone you are in 6 of them. And no one in our playgroup can ever resist you when playing against Robert. He will never stop hearing the ‘Ich block mit dem Elf’. 

With love, 

Hanjo

<3

You are that type of card people always underestimate. Five mana for a mere 2/2? Not destroying the most impactful permanents on the board in the form of a creature or Planeswalker? People think too little of you. Or they dislike you, because you destroy a land, and people hate it when their lands get destroyed. I’m not the biggest fan of land destruction in Cubes personally, I like it when people get to play their cards, but in the case of you I don’t mind. You are 5 mana, if a deck can’t handle a 5 mana land destruction, they deserve to lose. Plus there are a whole lot of lands that deserve destruction these days because they can run away with games. Lands are not just resources anymore in Magic, they can be game winning pieces. 

And that last thing is what I love about you. You solve problems. Destroying an artifact, enchantment or land is the type of removal you need a lot of the time, but don’t have plenty of. And you are even a 2/2 deathtouch roadblock in the process. This flexibility is exactly the reason why you have won a Pro Tour together with Brian Kibler and made a whole bunch of top appearances: you were the perfect silver bullet for cards like Green Sun’s Zenith and Birthing Pod. Providing answers when people need you. 

This is also exactly the reason why I love you in Cube. For example in my Peasant Cube I hate drafting a control deck without an answer to artifacts or enchantments. I go out of my way to splash such an effect. But if I can just play you I get everything all together, because what better place for a 2/2 deathtouch roadblock than a control deck. You are the type of card people sleep on in Cube drafts, but I never do. I see your true potential. Plus it helps that sometimes you provide a free win because people build decks that can’t beat a 5 mana land destruction. Can’t deny. 

With love, 

Hanjo

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I kinda love to see you have the best days of your life. You are now worth more than 60 euros a piece because of the PreModern hype. I don’t like expensive cards personally, but I grew up adoring your design. I remember picking you up for a couple of euro’s for some cubes, always wondering how such a great relic of the past could have become this cheap. Not anymore. 

When I started playing Magic you were a critical part of the Sligh menace in Extended. You were by far the most unique card in that deck because of your play patterns. I grew up adoring you. Hearing stories about you. My favourite one was from my friend and mentor Rinke, who tells a story about naming Counterspell with you, having only 2 cards in hand, and hitting an Island time and time again. Making the greatest fuss about how unlucky he was, while having 2 Islands in hand the whole time. His opponent didn’t dare to cast their game winning card in hand because of that looming Counterspell, that never was there. Rinke went on to win that match. 

You are part of my dear friend Frank his Old Border Cube. You are also in my 2009 Power cube. Both nostalgia cubes where you get to shine again like you did in those old days. Not that long ago I was playing Frank with his Old Border Cube. He was playing a blue deck with you, Cursed Scroll. With only 2 cards in hand he named Counterspell and I just knew. My mentor taught me well with his stories. There was no chance in hell. 

With love, 

Hanjo

<3

You are one of those perfect Magic cards for me. Call you the white Flametongue Kavu, Man-o’-War or Eternal Witness. On the surface you just ‘Blink’ one of your creatures. But when you look deeper, you do so much more. 

I remember playing you in this crazy mono white Goat deck in Standard. It utilised Springjack Shepherd with Springjack Pasture together with you Flickerwisp. This was around the time when Boat Brew was really big and this brew my friend Edwin made actually had a good matchup against that deck. You could reuse an Oblivion Ring, reset an Runed Halo or create a ton of Goat tokens with Springjack Shepherd. Back then the Legend rule was so, that when 2 Legends were in play at the same time, both would instantly die. My favourite line with this deck was exiling a Garruk Wildspeaker with Oblivion Ring[/c], to have them play a second, only to then exile the Oblivion Ring with you and have the Legend rule do my dirty work for me and exiling that Beast token along the way. Leaving an empty Oblivion Ring that you could reuse in a later turn again. That deck was so much fun to play. Plus it was really cool to beat someone’s face in with Goat tokens. 

You have been a part of my Peasant Cube since day one, and many more cubes after that. I remember my friend, and old mentor, Rinke scooping on my turn 3 when I used you, Flickerwisp, to exile his lonely Simic Growthchamber, just for it to return to his hand. I remember my dear friend Leon taking so many turns playing Frank his Old Border Cube to figure out that he could use his Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker to make a copy of you and get rid of his opponent’s pesky Spike Weaver at the end of their turn for it to be returned at the end of his turn, to be able to connect for the win. I remember seeing you win Grand Prix Strasbourg in the hands of Thomas Enevoldsen, combining you with Aether Vial for some real shenanigans. For example putting the activated ability of Mangara of the Corondor on the stack, then activating Aether Vial to exile the Mangara to get another activation out of that deal. 

I can go on and on about how amazing you are to me Flickerwisp. But all I want to do now is shuffle up one of my 6 cubes that you are in and draft you.

With love, 

Hanjo

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In 2006, at the age of 16, I qualified for my first Dutch National Championships. I played every Standard tournament I could find that year, I just loved that standard environment. For me that was peak Magic. From Frank Karsten his amazing Greater Gifts deck that came in second at worlds, to the Ghazi Glare deck that actually won worlds in the hands of Katsuhiro Mori, to the Sea Stompy deck featuring you, that Kamiel Cornelissen used to take down the Dutch National Championships. I am a sucker for nostalgia. To remember those days I built a gauntlet of 16 of the coolest decks of that year of Standard. 

At the 2006 Dutch Nationals, you Ninja of the Deep Hours, made top 8 in the hands of 4 different people, piloting 3 different decks: Sea Stompy, Simic Aggro and Erayo Ninja’s. That top 8 was one of the most stacked top 8’s I have ever seen in my life and to no one’s surprise the Dutch National Team that followed from that top 8 went on to win worlds later that year. 

You, Ninja of the Deep Hours, are a unique creature. You are still a powerhouse in Pauper, standing the test of time really well, which is quite unique for creatures with the power creep and all. You are also a Cube staple and one of my dear friend Danny his favourite Magic Cards. He just can’t resist you, he can’t pass you. On the 10th of January 2016 I organised my second ever Cube Invitational with 16 very talented Dutch players (well 15, but Mark Dictus is one of us). In my Hanjo Masters #1 Cube there are 3 copies of you, Ninja of the Deep Hours. And Danny couldn’t resist. Hanjo Masters #1 is an environment that rewards players for drafting synergetic decks. Danny didn’t care, because he saw you together with his other favourite card, Man-o’-War. He drafted multiple copies of both of you and did what you guys are best at: temporise the hell out games. He cruised to a 3-0 record in that draft, securing his spot in the top 8. 

You, Ninja of the Deep Hours, are so unique that if someone puts you in a cube without actually supporting a focused Ninja theme, you still offer players a strategy on your own. You are that amazing. 

With love, 

Hanjo

<3

In March of 2025 a dream of mine came true: I organised a Cube Invitational weekend. 16 talented players from the Netherlands (well 15 actually but we’ve adopted our dear Belgium friend Mark, he is one of us) together in a house for the whole weekend playing cube. Sometimes battling instead of playing, but that is the friendly competitive vibe I’m after. I like to surround myself with players who are better than me, who keep me on the edge of my seat at all times, who I can learn so much from. I don’t like competitive in the sense that people do everything to win, I don’t like all the grey areas that people step into. We are still at the end of a day a group of (aspiring) friends that play a game. But not just any game. The game of Magic the Gathering is so beautiful, especially in the form of Cube, that it deserves to be played at its fullest. At maximum potential. 

I love solving puzzles. I like escape rooms, I enjoy sudoku’s, and I love Magic the Gathering. Magic offers us so many puzzles each and every game. It starts ‘should I keep this hand’ and then every decision you make can change the outcome of a game. Just something so seemingly unimportant as sequencing your landdrops can be an extremely difficult puzzle on its own, and I love it. I love it so much that I think Magic deserves it that players do everything in their capabilities to solve these puzzles the best they can. They owe it to how freaking great this game is. 

On the evening of 29’th of March 2025 I sat down for my third draft of that day. I had a good record thus far, I was on track to make the top 8. Which in a field of these talented players is a feat on its own. The Cube I was drafting was my dear friend Frank his Boomer Cube. An old border only cube capturing the premodern feel of Magic. I got the opportunity to draft mono red aggro in this draft, and it’s one of the best archetypes in the cube, so I did just that. And one of the best pieces for mono red aggro in a premodern style of magic, is you Ankh of Mishra. People absolutely hate you, and they did that day.  You tax people for doing that which is the most basic part of Magic: playing lands. People don’t like it when you touch their lands. Heck, a lot of Commander play groups have the unwritten rule that you don’t play land destruction. But that is not what friendly competitive is about. No. You, Ankh of Mishra, gave my opponents so much more beautiful puzzles to solve. The seemingly unimportant puzzle of how to sequence your lands. And I love you for it. 

With love, 

Hanjo

<3

Know what I love about you? People who have never played you before underestimate how good you are. You have been in my Peasant Cube since day one and have been a banger in that cube since day one. You have stood the test of time very well, and for a creature, that is quite unique. 

You are the top end White Weenie drafters need to close out games. 6 power spread out over 4 bodies, but the possibility to fly over for 5 damage gives white aggressive strategies so much reach. But since day one you have also been one of the primary Momentary Blink targets. Or Flickerwisp. Or Crystal Shards. And sometime later Ephemerate, or Soul Herder, or Temur Sabertooth. You help power up Zealous Persecution, Signal Pest or Overrun. 

People who haven’t played with you before always comment after a draft on how good you are. After I’ve beat their face in with you ofcourse. 

With love, 

Hanjo

<3

My dear friend Frank is completely in love with you. To be fair, he is a sucker for one mana value artifacts. He loves himself a Retrofitter Foundry or a Currency Convertor. You are just the lower power level equivalent for him. But because I like building lower power level Cubes, you pop up in a lot more of my cubes. 

For example in my Hanjo Masters 5 you are the reason to build a more midrange value black and red Madness deck instead of a purely aggro version. And when Frank sees you in that Cube, he can’t pass you. 

In my One Mana Peasant Cube you are one of the best ways to take over the late game. The long term value you pose in a format with only cards that cost one mana is actually insane. Frank his record is really bad in that cube, the play style really doesn’t fit him, unless he gets to draft you. 

In my Gimmicky Cube you are part of a wider net of synergy based packages. There is a Black and Red discard package, but also a Blue and Red discard package, that translates to Grixis possibilities. But you wording is quite special: 

“Whenever you discard a card, exile that card from your graveyard.”

Which means you offer a whole new spectrum of synergies: Tormod, the Desecrator, Soul Enervation, Willow Geist, Dredger’s Insight, Insidious Roots and the likes. A piece in a Black and Green ‘leave graveyard’ theme that translates to Jund possibilities. And last week in the finals at our local cube night draft, I saw just this merging of synergies happen. Unfortunately I wasn’t the one abusing both you discarding and your leaving synergies, you were doing all of that on the other side of the table in the hands of my friend Brian. 

I got lucky that Brian didn’t draw you every game. Because you were the centerpiece of his deck, so I got to sneak in a 2-1 win. But next time, I hope it will be me who gets to abuse you, Bag of Holding, because it looked like way too much fun. 

With love, 

Hanjo

<3

My friend Leon always tells the story of his first Friday Night Magic. He was a cocky, overly confident and beautiful piece of a man. He had this really strong deck, playing 4 copies of you Spirit Monger, or so he thought. In the first round he was playing this nerdy looking kid who played a turn one Basking Rootwalla. Leon thought, whatever, an one mana one one, no problem. Then he got his ass handed to him by this nerdy looking kid and his Blue and Green Madness deck, who then became one of his best friends and with whom he qualified for a team Pro Tour together. 

I always love hearing this story. You, Spiritmonger, are that classic type of Magic card that makes the people who play it feel invincible. You were a really good card, you’ve made multiple Pro Tour and Grand Prix top 8’s. But mostly you are the type of card that people used to read and just felt like it was way too good. At that time it is. These days 5 mana creatures are 8/8’s with upsides. And they aren’t even playable. How times have changed. 

I miss those times. I love nostalgia. I love those stories Leon always tells. On January 13, 2023 it was sad to see you downgraded to a mere uncommon. You, the once mighty Spiritmonger, an uncommon. But the great thing about it, it unlocked a whole new spectrum of you to unlock a whole lot of nostalgia. Because since then you have slid into so many Peasant Cubes all around the world. I just love that Cube is the place that keeps these stories alive, that keep you alive. I always love to see you in a draft and get reminded of all those stories about you. 

With love, 

Hanjo