Hardcast

Well - thanks to y'all - Lobstercon fucking ripped. We're all fucking beat so we weren't gonna publish on-cycle this week. BUT THEN, Aiden Johnson revealed that he recorded a carcast on his way home from LC. Please enjoy this tournament report from him on the newest development in Tognology.Aiden's List:https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=84398&d=841346&f=PREM

HARK! The lobster molts! Lobstercon is the largest Premodern event in the Americas and is the coronation of the North American Premodern Champion. The whole gang piles into the studio for a hype episode. A few minor updates and an itinerary of how to enjoy yourself can be found inside. HAIL THE CLAWThe AAA peace treaty between Zoo Crew and DxC can be found here:⁠The Worcester Accord⁠Effectively convey your desires for LCPM27 here:⁠LCPM Feedback Survey⁠

Billy sits down for a MASSIVE shoot-the-shit with Phil Lorrain of the Zoo Crew, DxC's most unworthy rivals. They chat about PM, Phil winning his own event, AAA, and sprinkle in some New England punk lore.Check out Zoo Crew's website at:⁠https://www.zoocrew.team/⁠Check out Phil's winning list at:⁠https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=83050&f=PREM⁠

Having tasted forbidden knowledge, Lore Whores Ben and Matty drink deeper from the chalice that is the histories of Dominaria. Their second tome is The Eternal Ice, by Jeff Grub. This sorcerous scripture is book II of the Ice Age Cycle.

SILENCE, FOOL! A champion is speaking! Sara Schaefer managed to slay 120-sumfin lesser wizards at the Duress Crew Winter regional. Billy has an enlightening chat with her about how she got into Premodern, what's it like to be a Replenish homie in a tideless world, and her tournament experience.Sara's list:https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=80894&f=PREM

Billy had the good fortune to visit Adrian aka NeonMushroom during a work trip to Michigan. We chat MTGO cold takes, building a scene from scratch, and what PM looks like in the frigid north. You can follow him on Twitch and YouTube by his various monikers: Neon Mushroom, Fluorescent Fungus, and maybe some others I forgot.

After yet another stunning performance, Duress Crew has decided to celebrate with none other than a carcast. Join T8 finisher Brad, T4 finisher Sac, T8 finisher Brendan, and . . . Jay on the way back from the Roc Royals' Winter Ball.

2025 was a hell of a year for Premodern and Duress Crew. Jay, Brad, and Nick go over the gang's achievements for the year preceding.Check out our shit at duresscrew.com

Not only is the PM playerbase getting wider, it's also getting taller. Recently, several PM scenes have developed a second-tier of tournament, or meta-tournaments linking several events together. Never afraid to experiment, Billy does a sequence of small interviews with Hodge (New England), TQ (Portland), and Phil N (NYC) about the recent changes in both the length and girth of the PM paper scene. As a reward, this episode's soundtrack is from Hymns to Tourach II, by Ben Gauthier - one of us!

Justin "Pro-ven-sall," Sac, and Billy have a nice chat about recent developments in Suvival decks. We each bring a perspective on different subspecies of the archetype. Note that this episode was recorded somewhere in early December so some info about LC signups is dated.https://www.duresscrew.com/

So, uh, Lobstercon just sold out in 90 seconds. Brad and Jay speak for the gang on this one. While we're definitely not going to apologize for being the baddest game in town, we thought we'd speak to what we learned REAL QUICK about what we could (and couldn't) do to make it a smoother experience for y'all.Postscript for clarity: We are at currently 339/320 registered due to a bug in Spicerack. Slots up to 339 will get into the event. Waitlist spots will begin filling in once drops get us below 320.leave us a shitty voicemail:https://www.speakpipe.com/duresscrewour shitty linktree:https://linktr.ee/duresscrewread more about not-shitty LC here:https://sentineloldschoolmtg.com/2025/11/09/premodern-lobstercon-2026-info-and-registration/

Piping hot! Daybreak Games, the keepers of MTGO, have created a new research tool for niche formats, Contraption, and the first tranche of sanctioned formats is none other than Premodern. Join Jay as he performs an actual act of journalism, while Aiden, Sac, and Billy come along to give their hot takes.Read the Daybreak PM on MTGO announcement: https://www.mtgo.com/news/premodern-on-mtgo-2025Cry about missing LC registration because you didn't hit this link: https://sentineloldschoolmtg.com/2025/11/09/premodern-lobstercon-2026-info-and-registrationLeave us a shitty voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/duresscrew

Billy interviews Jonathan Phillips, who had slain 113 other, lesser wizards at the NEPM Fall Regional. Wielding a mildly spicy version of RG Goblins, he goes through his tournament. Listener mail at the end.decklist: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=76330&d=779172&f=PREMleave us a shitty voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/duresscrew

Duress Crew ventures deep into Dominaria's forbidden archives in their newest project: Lore Whores. Hosts Matty and Ben light a candle, brush the cobwebs, and crack open an ancient tome: The Gathering Dark, by Jeff Grub. This arcane scripture was the first book of the Ice Age Cycle of MTG novels, and you're invited to listen to an eldritch book review.

OoooOOooOOoooooOooo Spoooooky! This 'Weeny episode follows our intrepid hero Billy during the Shoe City Showdown 2, a tournament series run surprisingly well for a crew as incompetent as the Zoo Crew. What starts out as a man-on-the-street episode turns into a mini tournament report, because Billy can't help but make everything about him.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming, this one's a twofer: part one is with Nick and he has a chat with Billy about TO Fatigue and the cost of doing CREW BUSINESS. Part two is Mike's assessment of eternal formats and some New England punk lore.

The final episode of our Eternal Weekend miniseries, Billy walks around and ruins everybody's meal at several locations. Bonus Andy (OST) and Phil Villain (Zoo Crew).

Due to popular demand, Hardcast is now the Rob Show. Eternal Weekend Saturday with the whole gang at the spot.

Sweet! We got the travel recording setup to fucking run. Billy kicks it off with Rob, who looks like he's the crew's muscle but he's actually the crew's heart. After Billy abandons the episode halfway through to let Brendan and Rob talk chess and poker.

God we're tired, hope you like these. Mike, Rob, and Bryce get grilled by Billy. Some punk lore.

It's currently 3:50 AM don't say I never gave you nothing. The first episode of the DxC daily trip diary from EWNA25

You may not know this, but Duress Crew has a weekly dinner meetup, and you're not invited. This episode is the closest you'll ever get. Billy goes 'round the feasting table with three members of the war band we formed to raid Eternal Weekend 2025. Brendan surprises us with his modest, calm confidence, Brad shares his delight with finishing his CE power, and Mike slakes Billy's thirst for potty humor, straight from the bowl.our shit: https://linktr.ee/duresscrew

Psst! Don't play this one too loud because it may disrupt your speculation! In this episode, Billy tries a new format, the "pigpile," and commits his schedule before doing effective sound checks. Fortunately, he's carried in the safe, mature arms of Ian Adams, Javi Lugo, and Brian Selden. We enjoy a pleasant evening's chitchat regarding PM's hottest new archetypes centered on Quiet Speculation. (For the record: Ian invented this deck and if you suggest otherwise, I WILL cry.)Ian's list: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=71452&d=741554&f=PREMJavi's list: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=68297&d=716756&f=PREMour shit: https://linktr.ee/duresscrew

Actual LCPM26 content inside! This is a timely republication of our stream from 21 Aug, where Nick and Jay give a presentation about LCPM26, to include actual dates and when signups open. They also field questions and solicit live community feedback about what LC should be and could be.PLEASE give your feedback about LCPM27 here: https://forms.gle/bmzyXAKasm2u65R76our shit: https://linktr.ee/duresscrewPLEASE DON"T - whatever you do - leave us a shitty voicemail with lots of potty language. Not that we could stop you, so we're trusting you. So please don't - it would be horrible and we'd be powerless to stop you and really hate it:: https://www.speakpipe.com/duresscrew

Lacking functional peers, Jay rallies the troops and leads the show tonight. In this episode, he asks the gang about their trip to the Sacred Torch Showdown and himself about his bad choice of friends. After a moment of appreciation for our handsome OST hosts, we chat results: Brad gets 2nd on Oath Spec, Nick and Jay do mid-but-positive, and Billy memes himself directly into a sewerpipe where he belongs.Brad's list: ⁠https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=71540&d=742270&f=PREM⁠Our shit: ⁠https://linktr.ee/duresscrew⁠leave us a shitty voicemail: ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/DuressCrew⁠

WE’RE BAAAAAAAAACK! You couldn’t get rid of us! Wake up honey, the Hardcast Season 2 Premiere just dropped! Join the ever-precise Shane and the temporarily-Canadian Billy for an interview with the recently-victorious Aaron Lane, who mashed 107 other, lesser wizards into tiny pieces at the DxC Summer 2025 Regional.Find his brilliantly off-meta GB Madness list here: https://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=71249&f=PREMSoutheast US wizards, remember to sign up for the Peach Ball on Aug 30!

Whew! That was a tough one. The gang gets together and goes over what a wonderful weekend LC was, how it went from our side, and the the future of Hardcast.our shit: https://linktr.ee/duresscrew

Here it is folks! Join us for a chat with Premodern Lobstercon 2025 champion, the Atog Lord himself, provider of hummus and slayer of foes . . . Dr. Rich Shay! Brad and Billy sit down and talk with him about his migration into throwback formats, when to audible, and his experience winning the largest premodern tournament ever battled!Enchantress by Rich: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=68297&f=PREMour shit: https://linktr.ee/duresscrew

Just what the title says ;)LC Top 64: ⁠https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=68297&f=PREM⁠our shit: ⁠https://linktr.ee/duresscrew⁠

Ben, Brad, Billy, Nick, and Jay thee Stream God have a round table and give a guide on how to have fun at LC with the various games and activities. Brad (mostly) keeps a handle on the show notes, Nick offers useful and pertinent information, Ben pipes in with his measured takes, Jay explains the nuances of stream wizardry, and Billy cries a bunch. There's a lot of actually useful information peppered in here, none of which is structured in a listenable or practical way.the stream is gonna fuckin' rip: https://www.twitch.tv/duresscrewour shit: https://linktr.ee/duresscrewtalk shit in our voicemailbox: https://www.speakpipe.com/DuressCrew

The only thing Brad and Billy know about About Face is about how pretty our faces are. Luckily for you, dear listener, Travis Schneider has come to indoctrinate us into the Tribe. Hailing from Atlanta, Travis has seen success with a deck he calls the cousin of Flippi. Sit for a spell, let us pour you a glass of sweet tea, and enjoy.check out Shared Discovery:https://open.spotify.com/show/5iAQ17ETQOk4uJ04uFLFQgour shit:https://linktr.ee/duresscrewleave us a shitty voicemail:https://www.speakpipe.com/DuressCrewNeed a place to stay for Lobstercon?https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1733931656182&key=GRP&guestreslink2=true&app=resvlink

Filler episode because we're stressed out planning LC? Not a chance! Brad and Billy share the various goings-on in our community. We indulge each other with some chatter about Survival Terrageddon and Tribe Madness, go over Billy's field trip to the Sacred Torch meetup, and give a store-by-store guide on where to play PM in New England. After listener comments, we close out on the subject of Studio Ghibli.BOOK LODGING FOR LC HERE:https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1733931656182&key=GRP&guestreslink2=true&app=resvlinkTalk shit in our voice mailbox: https://www.speakpipe.com/DuressCrew

Somebody forgot to tell the Red Line Treefolk that Red was dead and Black was bad, so Ian committed a major faux pas and won our tournament with RB Goblins. Brad and Billy have a pleasant chitchat with Ian about PM vibes, crushing cleverboys with an aggro deck, and being good stewards of your local scene. TREEFOLK RISE UP!RB Goblins: https://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=65567&f=PREMOur shit: https://linktr.ee/duresscrewLeave us a shitty voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/DuressCrew

Jay McCowan leads conspicuous underperformers Billy and Brad on a self-help journey to calibrate our behaviors with our competitive or social goals in mind. Using his experiences from the decidedly un-chill RCQ mosh pit, Jay has a message for the salties, the sweaties, and the stinkers on how to stay chill, or how to recognize when you don't deserve to.our shit: https://linktr.ee/duresscrewtalk shit in our voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/duresscrew

In a stunning display of journalistic improvisation, Brad and Billy provide our dear listeners with the hard-hitting content they've come to expect from an institution as august and lauded as Duress Crew. In this case, we have a good 0ld fashioned shoot the shit about ban philosophy, listener comments, context on the current state of the PDAP, and speculator bullshit. After a mouth-watering duressipe, Brad yanks Billy away from the Edenic temptation of a survival terrageddon deck tech.Talk shit in our voice mailbox: https://www.speakpipe.com/duresscrewour shit: https://linktr.ee/duresscrew

Take a seat, gang, this one's a doozy. Part 1 of this episode features DxC's B-Team of Ben, Brad, and Billy going through every Terrageddon list we can find and doing a mini deck tech on every persuasion available.Part 2 is a symphony of diplomacy, where the three of us build and agree upon a list to take to Rochester Winter Ball. All three of us play the same 75 to varying success.Part 3 is a carcast with our two top finishers, Brad (T4) and Nick Pynn (T8 on UNought) chatting with Billy the Undeserving.4c TG List: https://moxfield.com/decks/MAwax2Pmk0uJ2QW7HUzlGwOur shit: https://linktr.ee/duresscrew

Have you ever wondered how stunningly right DxC has been about everything? And so often? We'll let you in on a little secret: in addition to measuring dicks, we also measure metagames. We're proud to announce that DxC has been busy curating the Premodern Data Analysis Project, a new data publication for the community to complain to each other about. Join Nick, Jay, and Brendan the New Guy while they explain computers to Billy and how they count such big numbers so quickly. Check it out at data.duresscrew.com!

A continuation of Episode 7, we complete the cliffhanger and suss out a potential list for a hypothetical NEPM T32. We also chat about meta shares of the top decks and do props and slops for the year.

Well, glad that's finally over. Brad, Ben, Jay, and Billy finally ran out of things to talk about, so we scraped the bottom of the barrel and asked Nick onto the show. We go over the various things we ruined over the course of the year, the birth of the DxC seasonals, the perverse origins of Hardcast, and our campaign to get Red Elemental Blast banned.our shit: https://linktr.ee/duresscrew

Sleeper hit Dan Hall shows up for his first episode! With Billy, we pull Leaving a Legacy host Jerry Mee out of retirement. We chat about Premodern first impressions, building a local scene outside of WotC support, consumer fatigue, and his gramps destroying target artifact or land. It can't be regenerated.our shit: https://linktr.ee/duresscrew

Finally! Back to our regularly scheduled programming. Nick Balzano recently won the DxC Fall event, rocking the socks off of 70 other players to win the damn thing with a deck that'll remind you to pack your crypts next time. Brad and Billy join him to talk about the Dredge Meta Effect, some bullshit LDV math that nobody understands, New England hardcore bands, and turn zero-ing PM final boss Rich Shay.Nick's Deck: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=61454&f=PREMour shit: https://linktr.ee/duresscrew

(probably) Our final mini update from Pittsburgh, Jay drives the ship while a bunch of us are cuddled up on the no-pull-out couch. Brad gets his dev dreams countered, a bad man steals Billy's figure skating trading cards, and the gang drills darts in a punk bar that Mike found.

Another live(ish) bonus episode from Eternal Weekend. It turns out that recording an episode a day is hard to maintain when you're exhausted from so much winning. Billy commits vampirism for breakfast, Mike finds God in his breakfast burrito, and Jay qualifies for an RC.Publishers note: We acknowledge an error in our use of outdated vocabulary. Learn more about modern journalistic standards at https://adata.org/factsheet/ADANN-writing.

Bonus #3: In yet another LIVE FROM EW bonus episode, Brad, Mike, and Billy welcome friend-of-the-crew Brett on for a chat about the Rochester Royals side event. Spoiler: DxC swept 1st through 3rd.

Bonus #2, Nick, Brad, and Billy decide Pittsburgh rules and liken it to what Worcester could (and should) be. A brief jaunt into gameplay doesn't distract from a review of EW.

Our first bonus episode is (almost) live on the way to Eternal Weekend! Hop in the car with Jay, Nick, Brad, and Billy and listen to us struggle to make listenable content without shownotes, a script, compression, or any fucks to give. We chat about Billy's stunning victory at the latest NEPM Monthly, a new semiweekly in New Hampshire, and speculate about what happened to Jay's last inch.

After a good cry from last episode, Hardcast returns to pick Premodern Phil's brain about Survival Roc, but end up learning how to actually assess card choices in toolbox decks. Billy's puny intellect is bested, while Brad has the good sense to soak it all in.Phil's YT: https://www.youtube.com/@PremodernPhilPhil's decklist: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=61406&d=662015&f=PREMOur garbage: https://linktr.ee/duresscrew

Episode 3 features real-life good guy Tom Hagen aka Hero. You might know him as Susan Van Camp's agent, but we know him as a fucking boss. Join Tony and Brad for a riveting tale of how he came upon a time capsule from early MTG history.www.facebook.com/[email protected]

S1E2: Hardcast's first interview ditches Ben so that Billy and Brad can have a pleasant evening's chitchat with ronin Arty Garcia, LC#21, about Queensrÿche, skateboarding, breakfast, his path into Premodern, and his latest pet build: Cephalid Breakfast. Recorded 13 Oct, so there were a few Tings not Considered.decklists: https://www.tcdecks.net/results.php?nombre=Arty%20Garcia

Our inaugural episode treads a well-worn path: the post-LC inaugural podcast.