About the Author
Zen Takahashi is a seasoned writer and mainstay on the Three for One Trading writing team. He is an avid Eternal player from Auckland, New Zealand and enjoys competing in local Legacy events and playing Old School over webcam with friends.
Previously, he was a Silver Pro for multiple years and his results included five Grand Prix Top 8s, a 27th place at Pro Tour Amonkhet, three consecutive online Regional PTQ wins, and he co-created the Modern Dredge deck.
Nowadays though, he primarily plays Legacy, his favorite format, but he also branches out into Pioneer and Modern.
More Articles by Zen Takahashi
Mono Red in Standard
The perfect preparation for our next Store Championship! Zen gives you all the information you need to win in Standard with Mono Red Aggro. As usual he gives you a small run down of the deck together with a lot of different sideboard guides against almost every meta deck of the format.
Rakdos Midrange in Pioneer [Update]
Mistakes have been made and lessons have been learned, so it’s time for an update on Zen’s Rakdos Midrange deck in Pioneer. This time with a very detailed matchup guide on the current Pioneer Meta with sideboard options for each popular deck you’ll encounter.
World Championships 2023 Report
Zen Takahashi is back with a full report of his time during the Magic: The Gathering World Championships 2023 in Las Vegas! Learn everything about his intense preparations, his great team, his tight schedule and tasty dinners.
Rakdos Reanimator Guide [2023]
Zen Takahashi played Rakdos Reanimator at the Magic: The Gathering World Championships in Las Vegas! In his latest article, he goes in-depth about how to play the deck, what to look out for in popular matchups and explains how to make best use of The Cruelty of Gix.
The Lord of the Rings Pro Tour Report
Zen Takahashi is back with another tournament report! This time it's all about Lord of the Rings in Barcelona. In this detailed article, he goes over his draft preparations and the overall fantastic weekend with his team and friends.
Modern Living End Primer
Zen Takahashi played Living End during the Lord of the Rings Pro Tour in Barcelona. Now he's ready to share some insights on this powerful Modern deck including the card choices, what hands to keep and how to sideboard against different opponents.
Regional Championship Report – Sydney
Zen Takahashi played Mono White Humans in Pioneer during the Regional Championships in Sydney! Find out all about what deck he played, what useful tips and tricks he had up his sleeves and how it all went down in his latest article! Bonus insider info on where to get the best truffle pasta in Sydney!
Pro Tour March of the Machine Tournament Report
Zen Takahashi writes about his experience during the Pro Tour in Minneapolis! Here you can read all about what deck he played, his preparation and a full report on the Pro Tour weekend with his team.
Rakdos in Standard
Our author Zen Takahashi competed at the Pro Tour in Minneapolis, shortly before re-qualifying for another Pro Tour. Both times he played Rakdos: Reanimator and Midrange! In his latest article, he compares both experiences and goes over each of the two decks in detail.
Standard Grixis Midrange Primer
Zen won the Australasian Championship with his Standard Grixis Midrange deck a few days ago. Lucky for us, he didn't take a break and wrote an in-depth primer for the deck including sideboard tips and card choices for us! Prepare yourself for future Regional Championships or Qualifiers, because you'll be either playing this deck or playing against it.
Australasian Regional Championships Report
Zen Takahashi won the Australasian Championship and qualified for the Pro Tour and the World Championship! Now we are getting an in-depth look into how he prepared for the tournament and how the games played out in an old-fashioned tournament report.
Boros Burn in Modern
Our author Zen Takahashi is feeling nostalgic, so it was time for a break from Pioneer and time for Modern Burn, Modern Boros Burn, to be precise! As usual Zen gives you a detailed overview of the deck, nice tips and tricks on how to maneuver it around the Modern meta decks and a useful sideboarding options, based on his experience.
Rakdos Midrange in Pioneer
Zen Takahashi is not done with Pioneer yet! For the Regional Championschip in Sydney, he and his team of over 10 other players tested different decks extensively until they came up with their own twist on the popular Rakdos Midrange deck.
Mono White Humans in Pioneer
Zen Takahashi takes a closer look at his newest favorite deck in Pioneer: Mono White Humans! As usual, you can expect in-depth tips and tricks as well as a sideboard guide from Zen, who was already very successful with his Pioneer decks in his Regional Championship Qualifiers.
Best Cards in Modern – Multicolor [2022]
We asked our seasoned team of authors a tough question: What do they think are the best ten multicolored cards in Magic the Gathering's Modern format. We then went a step further and created a Top 5. Learn what they think about the very best cards of one of the game's most popular formats.
Best Cards in Modern – Lands [2022]
We asked our seasoned team of authors a tough question: What do they think are the best ten lands in Magic the Gathering's Modern format. We then went a step further and created a Top 5. Learn what they think about the very best cards of one of the game's most popular formats.
Best Cards in Modern – Artifacts [2022]
We asked our seasoned team of authors a tough question: What do they think are the best ten artifacts in Magic the Gathering's Modern format. We then went a step further and created a Top 5. Learn what they think about the very best cards of one of the game's most popular formats.
Mono Red Primer for Pioneer
This time, Zen Takahashi writes in depth about his Regional Championship Qualifier Deck: Mono Red in Pioneer! That means we get a Primer for Mono Red Burn and Mono Red Frenzy. He also doesn't spare any details about key matchups in Pioneer and helps you to play your way around them!
Mono Blue Spirits in Pioneer
Zen Takahashi can't get enough of Pioneer, which means we have another great Pioneer Primer for you: Mono Blue Spirits! Read all about mulligans, sideboarding and most importantly: How to sequence your turns.
Best Cards in Modern – White [2022]
We asked our seasoned team of authors a tough question: What do they think are the best ten white cards in Magic the Gathering's Modern format. We then went a step further and created a Top 5. Learn what they think about the very best cards of one of the game's most popular formats.
How to Build Mono Red in Pioneer
After the success of his Blue-Red Ensoul article, Zen is back with another Pioneer primer: Mono Red! In his latest work, he excessively tested Devotion, Wizard and Burn decks. You can find all his discoveries and recommendations right here:
Legacy Reanimator 2022
If you are looking for a Reanimator Primer in Legacy, look no further! In his article, Zen Takahashi gives you everything you need to know about Reanimator: Which hands to keep? What are your opponents playing? How to sideboard? All these questions and more will be answered right here.
Blue-Red Ensoul in Pioneer
After a longer break, our author Zen Takahashi is excited to get back into Pioneer and crush the first PTQ season with his version of Izzet Ensoul. You can read all about the new and old decklist as well as mulligan strategies and other tips right here!
Best Cards in Modern – Green [2022]
We asked our seasoned team of authors a tough question: What do they think are the best ten green cards in Magic the Gathering's Modern format. We then went a step further and created a Top 5. Learn what they think about the very best cards of one of the game's most popular formats.
Auckland Eternal Weekend Report
Our author, Zen Takahashi, spent an Eternal Weekend in Auckland where he played tournaments of Vintage, Old School and Legacy. Real Power Nine, no proxies allowed! You can read all about what decks he played and how it went right here on our blog!
Best Cards in Modern – Red [2022]
We asked our seasoned team of authors a tough question: What do they think are the best ten red cards in Magic the Gathering's Modern format. We then went a step further and created a Top 5. Learn what they think about the very best cards of one of the game's most popular formats.
Top Ten Decks in Legacy 2022
In our latest article, Zen Takahashi analyses the best Legacy decks and comes up with his Top 10 Legacy decks of 2022. If you are curious to find out if your deck made the cut, or simply interested in what's going on in Legacy these days, keep on reading right here!
Best Cards in Modern – Black [2022]
We asked our seasoned team of authors a tough question: What do they think are the best ten black cards in Magic the Gathering's Modern format. We then went a step further and created a top 5. Learn what they think about the very best cards of one of the game's most popular formats.
Rainbow Dredge in Modern
Today’s article is all about Dredge in Magic: The Gathering, more specifically, Dredge in Modern. Zen Takahashi, one of the creators of Rainbow Dredge, took a look at the history of the deck and its current state in the meta. He’s also going over different iterations of the deck, as well as all the current sideboard options available.
Best Cards in Modern – Blue [2022]
We asked our seasoned team of authors a tough question: What do they think are the best ten blue cards in Magic the Gathering's Modern format. We then went a step further and created a top 5. Learn what they think about the very best cards of one of the game's most popular formats.
Blue Zenith in Legacy
Zen takes a look at a new deck that did surprisingly well in recent Legacy online events. Green Sun's Zenith and blue Counterspells are the engine in this midrange powerhouse.
Deck Spotlight Modern: Golgari Yawgmoth
Zen takes us to a wonderful world full of creatures, combos and one ofs in the Magic the Gathering Modern format. Chord of Calling is the name of the game. Let's go!
Deck Spotlight Legacy: UW Omni-Tell
Zen talks about one of his favorite decks for paper Legacy: Blue-White Show and Tell Omniscience combo. The best thing about it: It does not need a single card from the restriced list!
Bant Miracles in Post-Modern Horizons 2 Legacy
Zen Takahashi shares his thoughts about his favorite Legacy Deck – Bant Miracles in a Post-Modern Horizons 2 world. He explains which cards he added from the new set and how matchups have changed.