Hello!

Welcome to the first of what will be many Community Corner Creator Spotlight articles, wherein we at EDHREC will provide a look at up-and-coming Magic: The Gathering creators who are bringing a fresh voice to the game we all love.

For our inaugural article, we chatted with UberGuitarDude and Cats and Commander, who share their stories below. Whether it's about the union of Magic and music, or the mix of Commander, cats and cosplay, they've got what you want.

UberGuitarDude

UberGuitarDude, or Miles, is a content creator blending a love of Magic with guitar. His favorite decks can be found via Archidekt here.

UberGuitarDude in the studio.

Who or what introduced you to Magic? What is the first set release you remember playing?

Back in college, a buddy of mine dragged me to buy an Innistrad box on release day, which was my first glimpse of Magic: The Gathering, but it wasn't until a different friend got me into it in around 2016.

We had stumbled onto it right when Oath of the Gatewatch was coming out. So Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch will forever be the foundation of MTG for me. Those were really wonderful sets; plus hitting an Expedition was an absolute thrill. I still have my Scalding TarnScalding Tarn I pulled. I remember opening it at the counter at an LGS I used to go to, and I was like, "is this a good one?" and my buddy was like, "Uhhh, bro, that's THE chase card of the set…" Haha, good times.

What is your favorite card/commander and why?

There's way too many to choose from, but I love Monastery SwiftspearMonastery Swiftspear, especially the Khans of Tarkir version. My first deck was an Izzet Prowess deck in Standard and that was a heavy hitter in it. Then I moved to Naya Burn in Modern, so it followed me there, too.

Another contender is Chandra's IgnitionChandra's Ignition — super fun card in Commander. Usually catches people off guard. As far as my favorite commander goes, I love Jhoira of the GhituJhoira of the Ghitu. MerenMeren was my first commander, but Jhoira can do some really fun stuff. I was originally going to make her a chaos deck and she accidentally (really, I promise) became an extra turns plus every Eldrazi titan/Blightsteel ColossusBlightsteel Colossus, degenerate deck. I don't know what happened there. She's super fun, but too rude for me to play very often.

Satya, Aetherflux GeniusSatya, Aetherflux Genius gets a shoutout for my newest pet deck. I found the side profile artthe side profile art and thought, "Hey! Purple beanie, glasses, and a beard, he was made for me!" and I really dug the playstyle. Energy is a fun mechanic.

UberGuitarDude's Jhoira deck is here, while his Satya list can be found here.

Why do you create content for Magic? What is the goal of your content/channels?

I've been streaming for a living on Twitch for 13 years now. I started making music about a game called League of Legends as The Yordles, and have since transitioned to other games and content. Magic was never something I thought my community would be interested in, but after taking a four or five year break from MTG, I came back and discovered Tabletop Simulator. It's a digital tabletop game client that does a lot of awesome stuff, and some clever people made a Commander (or any format) table that uses Scryfall for all the cards.

I started using that to play with friends from other states and countries. It opened up a whole new world of MTG, so I started streaming it, teaching new players, and eventually making goofy videos of our horrible misplays and ragebaiting banter between friends. It's been a wonderful way to bring more people together. People want to connect, and I've always had a passion for that. I'm a firm believer of "the more the merrier."

I want a place where people can forget about all the garbage in the world, come hang out, and have some fun and make some friends. That's what my stream and community is all about. When MTG started bringing people in, it became a realistic path to pursue. The community really is special, and it always makes me happy seeing people come together.

What sets your content apart from other creators?

Tabletop Simulator is one of the biggest things. That's what kicked off this whole era of Magic content for me. So many people would pop into my Twitch streams and ask "How are you playing this? What platform is this?" so I made a tutorial about it and tossed it on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. It did remarkably well and brought quite a few folks into the community from all over, and that had me grinning ear to ear.

From there I set out to do one edited MTG short every day for a year, which was almost exactly a year ago now. My channel's had a ton of growth and it's been a really great challenge. Seeing the fruits of that labor has made it all worth it.

What about life outside Magic influences your content?

Music is one of my biggest passions. I've been playing guitar for 23 years. I do music streams jamming guitar and writing, but haven't released much original stuff in a while. I'd love to mesh that into MTG, but that's still cooking behind the scenes for now.

Besides music, I just really love human connection. I'm a very social person, love talking to people, and can make friends with pretty much anybody. My friends always compare me to a golden retriever that just walks up to strangers and makes friends. That's always been a big factor for streaming and making videos. I can find ways to bring people together and have a good time. Life's too short; let's enjoy it.

Are you attending any upcoming events where players could meet you?

I went to my first MagicCon in Atlanta 2025 and that was epic. I would love to go to that again, so I'm going to try to make it to Vegas. We'll see if I can swing it. Hopefully as the channel grows, I can start planning more events. Cons are an absolute blast and everyone should experience them at least once.

What is one thing you would change about Magic?

That's a hard one. Everything has its quirks. I have to admit this year's release schedule is a little overwhelming. What are there, seven sets this year? That seems crazy to me. My wallet's already crying.

I also think the bracket system for Commander has some flaws. It's a good foundation, but not enough people properly assess their decks and use the bracket system at face value. I've seen a Bracket 2 destroy a Bracket 4, so I don't know. This could just be a personal skill issue. I'll workshop it.

UberGuitarDude, or Miles, can be found on Twitch, YouTube, and Instagram. He also maintains a TikTok and a Facebook page.

Cats and Commander — Em Yang

Em and Kris of Cats and Commander

Cats and Commander is a team-up of Em and Kris. You can find more information about their Instagram channel here. They also have a YouTube channel. Em also maintains a solo Instagram found here.

Deck lists by Cats and Commander can be found via Archidekt here.

Who or what introduced you to Magic? What is the first set release you remember playing?

EM: I originally started playing Magic around ten years ago in Standard format and didn't know too much about it. I just played a lot of Two-Headed Giant with a group of friends in between studying and working.

Fast forward ten years and I was re-introduced to Magic through Commander thanks to Kris, and the first release I properly played was Bloomburrow. I loved how whimsical the set was and fell in love with Ms. BumbleflowerMs. Bumbleflower immediately.

Em's "Big Booty Bumbleflower" list.

KRIS: I was introduced to Magic around 15 years ago. I can't remember what deck it was, but it was a gold-border or silver-border Standard deck I played for about a year. Then, I got heavily into Yu-Gi-Oh!, pushed that for a good 15 years. But I got back into Magic when the Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks were released.

What is your favorite card/commander and why?

EM: That's a difficult one, it changes all the time! Currently it's Zaxara, the ExemplaryZaxara, the Exemplary. I'm using this card as my commander for my Hydra deck and it's the first commander I've used that I would consider more aggressive than my usual play style, which is predominantly Group Hug and Stax (I know, I'm terrible!). It's really opened up a lot of different experiences for me within Magic and allowed me to explore other commanders with abilities that encourage interaction.

KRIS: My favourite commander is a tie between Negan, the Cold-BloodedNegan, the Cold-Blooded and Indoraptor, the Perfect HybridIndoraptor, the Perfect Hybrid. They're both mean and get the job done. I love dinosaurs and The Walking Dead, I just wish I could partner them.

Why do you create content for Magic? What is the goal of your content/channels?

EM: I wanted to incorporate more of my personal interests into my content and show other women that Magic is a community where everyone is welcome.

With my love for cosplay, I saw so many potential characters that I felt could bring the cosplay and body painting community closer to MTG. So it's mostly about creating a gathering between multiple communities.

KRIS: Our goal is to provide a real experience of Magic, no take backs, and show an audience what a "budget deck" can do, and an "experienced" deck can do. We want a wide range of audiences to see our content and to focus more on entertainment before competition.

What sets your content apart from other creators?

EM: Here at Cats and Commander, between the players on the channel we have such a wide range of play styles and experience levels that we don't have just one target audience. We create content that appeals to a wide range of players whether they're new or advanced, so that everyone can learn and enjoy the content no matter what point they are in their MTG journey.

Being able to combine Magic with cosplay has also allowed us to connect with creators who may not have looked into Magic previously.

KRIS: Our content is different because once we start getting access to new products, we have an extremely talented cosplayer/body painter in Em who will help provide us with the tools needed to create some amazing cosplay content.

The cats of Cats and Commander

What about life outside Magic influences your content?

EM: As I'm coming up on 30, I've noticed how much harder it is to connect with like-minded people and form new friendships, especially being self-employed, since I don't have a workplace to meet people on a regular basis. That desire to connect is what made me want to share it with a wider audience and appeal to other introverts like myself, and show them that they can find their people through MTG while also learning new skills and picking up new hobbies along the way.

KRIS: Honestly, what influences my content was actually my past: I had a bad history of getting into dumb situations, and I found that actually watching content and doing videos helped me get on track. So, I find that it helps other people. I work in a bar, and even non-Magic players have said they've enjoyed our content and it's kept them from going out and doing dumb stuff.

Are you attending any upcoming events where players could meet you?

EM: I have plans to attend MagicCon Amsterdam, hopefully in cosplay, so I'm not sure if people will recognize me! It would be awesome to meet other players there. Once CommandFest dates are announced, I'll also be attending as a cosplay guest after winning last year's cosplay contest in Birmingham as Massacre GirlMassacre Girl.

(ed. note - Since this interview was conducted, 2026 dates for CommandFests have been revealed, which you can see here.)

What is one thing you would change about Magic?

EM: It's not so much a change as it is a wish for more whimsical, girly-pop sets. I absolutely loved Bloomburrow and Lorwyn Eclipsed, and I'm really excited for the K-pop Demon Hunters set. I'm not ashamed to admit I live for anything pink and sparkly alongside my nerdy passions, and it would be great to see Magic continue expanding its reach to include more players like me.

KRIS: The one thing I'd change about Magic is the ban list. I feel that Magic needs a good reset. And also, I'd make it only one Universes Beyond a year; let us enjoy the sets for a while first before they push out more.

Read More: