Yes, I’m currently suspended from all DCI play.
No, I didn’t beat up a judge.
Yes, I got very upset at a judge to get myself suspended (you would have too.)
No, I do not hate Andy Heckt or John Grant.
Yes, I understand why they suspended me.
No, I do not agree with the timing.
Yes, I will play again as soon as I am unsuspended.
If you have no idea what I am talking about, it’s better off that way (Email me if you really want to know.)
Now that that is out of the way….
HI!
In this installment of Sports, Women and Magic, there will be a minor TO rant, a few good looking women, and a lot of talk about MtG. This article is here to clear up a few misconceptions and to provide my thoughts on the new Standard format. So come along for the ride with Candice and I…
Sports
So, the last time I did my sports rant, TO’s ankle was the big deal.
Yes, It’s Been That Long Since I’ve Written An Article!
Now it’s his contract. Everyone knows his agent, Dru Rosenhaus is a gigantic *$$hole. However, I agree with what they are fighting for. He is one of the top three receivers in the No Fun League yet he is getting paid the salary of the 21st best receiver. I don’t like the way they have approached the situation, but he should be getting a much larger paycheck. But, if I ever hear another athlete say that they need money to feed their families again…
In other news, has a black person ever worn a white person’s basketball jersey? I currently own a Steve Nash jersey (proud barn of Steve Nash) and apparently it’s a “big deal” since my fellow African-Americans don’t run this savage tech. Was I the first to break this format or have others done it?
Women
So, I saw Wedding Crashers this summer. The movie did not disappoint and it was probably the best movie I saw this summer. However, that’s not the point! There was a beautiful girl in it who played Owen Wilson’s love interest. Her name is Rachel McAdams and she keeps popping up out of nowhere in a lot of different movies. I think she is gorgeous mainly because she has broken the girl-next-door look, but she also has the ability to change how she looks from movie to movie. She is in Red Eye (another good movie), The Notebook (I haven’t seen it yet so I will reserve judgment), and Mean Girls (Lohan + McAdams = GG) So, go check Ms. McAdams out ASAP. Thanks B’s!
Magic
(banned, ya know)
Rats
While I have gotten a lot of credit for the deck, there were other contributing members who I think deserve credit in written form as well. So here is a little history about the deck and where I think it goes with 9th Edition.
Around the time of the LCQ for Philly, Joe Gagliardi (or JoeBags as many know him by) began work on a mid-range Black deck trying to abuse the ninjitsu mechanic along with Marrow-Gnawer. His initial build was testing well but I thought it could be improved if given a different approach. We began working on the deck heavily and I was leaning towards using a very aggro Black deck with Chrome Mox instead of Aether Vial. Good friend and teammate Michael Day convinced me otherwise during our testing to use Aether Vial to abuse the come-into-play abilities of Chittering Rats, Ravenous Rats, and Nekrataal as well as lock my opponents out of their draw step… something no other deck had the ability to do.
I went to the LCQ in Philadelphia and lost in the round to make the Top 8 to Chris McDaniel (known to many as Star Wars Kid, team member of Taking Back Sunday, and Knut’s ultimate barn.) Though I didn’t Top 8, I still left a pretty large effect on the tournament which was my other goal besides qualifying for the Pro Tour. Then good friend and part-time chaperone Tim Aten played the deck to a 3-0 finish in the Invitational, further establishing the archetype. The rest is history. Congrats to Kyle Goodman for updating the deck at U.S. Nationals as well as his Top 8 finish.
I think Rats becomes a tier 1 deck when 9th edition becomes legal. It is really the only deck that can play Hypnotic Specter effectively, it can abuse Hell’s Caretaker if the format is slow enough, it gets access to Llanowar Wastes which makes the Viridian Shaman splash much easier, and lastly (and most important) is that it loses no cards from the rotation. If you want real world proof of this, check out how Rats dominated this 64-man PTQ from the Great White North.
White Weenie
I was a really big supporter of White Weenie as the Nationals deck of choice. It was the only deck that could abuse Damping Matrix, which I believed was the best card in the format for that weekend. I also like that the deck is so consistent in what it does (attack for two) that it puts the pressure on your opponent to draw the right cards to beat you. Michael Patnik (4th), Sean Mangner (9th), Matt Abrams (76th), and Gadiel Szlefer (50th) all played my original list of WW with a few modifications. I would like to congratulate those guys on their performances at Nationals as well as thank them for buying into the hype that I kept presenting. I also happened to take 3rd in the 6 MDT Tournament with WW. So, if you don’t believe the deck is that good, then prepare to be attacked for two…a lot!
Now that 9th Edition has rotated in, I believe WW will still be a very powerful deck. Paladin En-Vec and Soul Warden are back, but their impact will be delayed until Auriok Champion rotates. Auriok Champion does everything those cards do, but she does it better. Once she rotates out, I think Paladin En-Vec and Soul Warden will make the main deck for sure. Veteran Cavalier is the other card that could probably see play in WW but Samurai of the Pale Curtain, Hand of Honor, and Eight-and-a-Half-Tails are just better cards. Look for WW to be a major player in the format though.
Nationals
It’s been said many times by many different people but I will still echo their statements…
Our team is vg thanx bearl!
For those of us not into the hip lingo, that means that the U.S. National team is really good. I think the best three players made it out of the Top 8 alive and I could not be happier that they are representing our country. Lately, Antonio has been talking as though Neil is undecided whether he is going to go to Worlds or not. If that is the case, I will start (or sign if there is already is one) the Neil Reeves, Go To Worlds Mannnnn! petition.
That’s it for this installment of Sports, Women, and Magic. Comments, good and bad, should be posted in the forums and I will do my best to respond to them in a timely manner. I would say what I would write about in my next article, but I have no idea when the next time I am going to write again will be so I don’t want to make any promises I don’t intend to keep. Until next time…
I’m banned until further notice… and I’m not even salty about it! (Vs. is free money anyway!)
Cedric Phillips
[email protected]
Tru Miser on Modo
Proud team member of Taking Back Sunday