Last month, I spent $250 on Magic the Gathering cards. I’m sure some of you are thinking, “how could she spend that much money on cardboard.” Magic the Gathering is the only deck-building game I’m currently playing and I wanted new cards from the Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths set. Plus, I spent this money at my local game store and during a time like this, we need to support local businesses. In my Magic the Gathering haul, I bought three commander decks. I was able to play Kalamax, the Stormsire who is the ultimate MtG dinosaur.

Before I begin this discussion, there’s one point I need to make. Wizards of the Coast has been under fire recently for racism and mistreatment for their African American employees and players. Wizards of the Coast needs to hire more POC writers and illustrators to alleviate this situation. By buying the Ikoria set, I did provide profit to my local game store along with Wizards. Since this is the case, I will link at the end of my post a couple of charities to donate to because Black Lives Matter.

Kalamax, the Stormsire is the commander in this Ikoria commander deck. Kalamax has a converted mana cost of four for a 4/4 elemental dinosaur. Kalamax aims to attack other players as this activates the special ability. If Kalamax is tapped, whenever an instant or sorcery spell is played, the spell is copied. Whenever a spell is copied, Kalamax receives a +1/+1 counter. Kalamax’s main goal is to copy spells I play which in turn makes Kalamax more powerful.

When I first played this deck, it was unorganized. I had to spend time planning out my turns to make sure I played my spells in the correct order. After a few turns, I was able to catch on how I needed to play Kalamax to make this card the most effective. I played with a friend of mine and I almost lost to her cat deck. Somehow, I managed to defeat her after killing her cats and boosting Kalamax. I ended up swinging at my opponent with Kalamax being at 25/25. There’s a land in the deck that allows me to give Kalamax trample. Trample means even if Kalamax is blocked by creatures, Kalamax can still “trample” over the creatures and hit the player with life.

Kalamax is a blast to play. The deck is already built and it runs well which means I didn’t need to purchase any other cards to play it right away. This deck is ideal for any players who plays instant or sorcery cards. If you’re a beginner to Magic, this deck may be challenging to play at first, but after a couple of practice games, you will be able to thrash through your opponents to win the game. Kalamax, the Stormsire can be purchased online or at any local game store. It’s retailed at $41.99 if you purchase the deck at Target. Prices may vary depending on where the deck is purchased.

As I discussed, here’s the link to ways to help the Black Lives Matter movement. If you’re not able to financially give, there are other ways to help. This includes voting, signing petitions, protesting, and other resources to be an ally in this movement.