Hey guys,
Let’s go through last week to see what’s happening in the world of Magic according to our Premium writers. Starting with Monday’s, going all the way to Friday! Check out what you may have missed.
The Pro Perspective – Talking About Sealed
Raphael Levy loves Sealed Deck; opening, analyzing, building, playing. He wants to share this joy by getting you guys involved, so send him your interesting Sealed Pools as MODO .txt files. You can download the pool and build decks in Magic Online and discuss your Sealed decks together in the forums.
Going Infinite – Jace, Survival and Other Exciting News
Jon Medina offers more financial advice on some of the more pricey rares in Standard, Legacy, and Extended. In particular, what to do about Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Jon also discusses the MTGO Legacy Precons arriving on Magic Online at an unknown future date. How will this change MTGO pricing?
Drafting with Tim – Scars of Mirrodin #3!
Join Tim Aten for a Scars draft! Follow along pick-by-pick, and discuss your thoughts in the forums.
The Rules of Magic Friendship
Matt Sperling article riled up a lot of controversy in the forums last week… definitely not something for everybody, but it did provide good laughs for many, including myself. Then again, my sense of humor is downright juvenile sometimes 😉 The advice is pretty good, too, all-told. Maybe if you don’t have many Magic friends, this article might help you figure out if you’re doing something wrong. If that’s not the case, then just read it and enjoy!
The Icy Grip – The Evolution of Control
Shaheen Soorani laments the passing of true draw-go decks in modern Magic. I wasn’t really around for… any of that, really… but I did play against my friend’s Psychatog deck once, and it was a brutal beating. Perhaps the loss of draw-go control isn’t all bad, eh? Shaheen provides his latest U/W deck, in line with the path of modern control.
Vintage Avant-Garde – Identifying Trump in the Mishra’s Workshop Head-to-Head
Brian DeMars provides a most comprehensive guide to the Workshop “mirror” – well, not really a mirror, since he tests three different Workshop decks against one another: Brass Stax, Agro Mud, and Metalworker Monster Mud. He has a play-by-play, points of interest in each matchup, sideboarding tips, and an overall analysis.
Innovations – The Last Stand Against Survival of the Fittest
Patrick Chapin talks Legacy in this article, describing the various types of Survival decks and what one should do to beat Survival, and also what one should be doing as Survival. Will Survival get outright banned? Patrick Chapin doesn’t find this to be a far-fetched idea. But if it doesn’t get banned, what are the strategies that fight it? How will the format right itself?
Video Drafting With Anton – Scars of Mirrodin #2!
Anton Jonsson is in the driver’s seat again for this Scars of Mirrodin draft video. Watch his pick process and his games.
One Step Ahead – A Day to Remember
Gerry Thompson writes a helluva tournament report; more than just a tournament report, Gerry fills in all the details from before and after his second place finish at StarCityGames.com Legacy Open: Boston with Survival and Necrotic Ooze. The best way I found to preview this article was to give a disingenuous “word count” on his Facebook page: pizza(s): 8, Khalni Hydra: 3, girls: 5, pillow fight: 2. How does that not make you at least somewhat curious??
Video Drafting With Noah – Scars of Mirrodin #1!
This “Drafting With” is perhaps the best of both worlds: text-based picks with video-based matches. Check out Noah Weil draft!
Black Magic – Breaking Azami in EDH
Sam Black is currently my favorite writer on the EDH format, which I don’t even play! He takes a rather Spikey approach, but his love for the format is obvious. In this article, he takes you through his mental process on EDH deckbuilding, starting with a general he hasn’t yet used: Azami, Lady of Scrolls. Obviously it involves a lot of Wizards, my favorite kind of people.
The Dragonmaster’s Lair – Jace – Public Enemy Number One
Brian Kibler has a conviction, Jace, the Mind Sculptor is defining Standard. So you have to build your decks with him in mind, either by playing your own or by beating opposing Jace decks. Read his thoughts on the Standard metagame.
Insider Information – Grand Prix Cleveland 2002
Cedric Phillips has his own legend to tell; it’s about his first hometown Grand Prix, and I’ve never heard of anyone getting so lucky in a single day before – and yet the story is certainly full of highs and lows. It turns out, Cedric has always wanted to win with the “worst” decks possible, and this was his major debut. How far could he go with an “unplayable” color?
Drafting with Kenji – Scars of Mirrodin #2!
Follow along with Kenji Tsumura draft, and discuss his picks and his games in the forums! It’s all Kenji, all the time.
On the free side…
Untold Legends – Guilty As Charged
Last week’s Untold Legends was quite a good one. Kai Budde shares his stories from the Pro Tour back in the “good ole days.” Well, as good as they were, I think a lot has improved.
Just Another Dead Bonsai
A more beautifully written Magic article I have yet to see. Geordie Tait mastery of the English language shines through in this article about the simple, yet complex art of bonsai and the simple, yet complex art of world-building and flavor texts. Geordie, only you can make me care about friggin’ flavor text!