Earlier today, Brian DeMars of Channel Fireball published The 20 Most Important Magic Cards Printed in the Modern Era and well, we had a lot to say about it here in our editorial room at Hipsters of the Coast.

First off, there’s like 35 cards on this list. Sorry Brian, you can get away with adding one or two cards via “Honorable Mention” but ten of your twenty entries for “most important cards” featured more than one card. Why say “20 most important” when you actually meant 40? Even if it’s actually okay to lump in the shock and fetch lands that’s still 30+ cards on your list.

Thoughtseize isn’t Inquisition of Kozilek. Pick one.

Furthermore, what’s the point of this article? DeMars claims, “I’ve been thinking about this topic for a couple of weeks, taking notes, and trying to narrow and refine my focus” but most of this list seems painfully obvious right? What’s surprising to you on that list? Chalice of the Void maybe?

Lists are fun though and they generate a lot of debate. Some of the debate is over the contents of the list, such as many people pointing out the egregious mistakes DeMars made in leaving Liliana of the Veil and Dark Confidant off of his list. Other debates are meta-debates about the value of this sort of content to begin with.

You might know this content as a listicle or by its more vulgar name: click-bait. That’s when the title is crafted to draw you in so that a content site can generate page-views to sell to advertisers. That’s probably why you’re here right now, wondering where this list of 20 Black Spells that Cost Exactly One Black Mana is (it’s coming don’t worry).

So why is Channel Fireball, one of the foremost strategy sites in the community, publishing Clickbait? Shouldn’t that be the purview of garbage sites like Hipsters of the Coast? Well you’re in luck, because it is, and we do have a clickbait list for you!

But we wanted you to read this commentary on the nature of clickbait content, and why it’s super weird to see Brian DeMars publish it for Channel Fireball. Now you can feel a sense of pride and accomplishment before reading our list. So without further delay…