I have some news for you: I’m in love. It started as a flirtation and has since grown into a full-blown affair. She can do no wrong, my girl. She walks on water, she heals the sick, and brings peace on Earth. And she’s hot as hell.
I’m talking about Saffi Eriksdotter.
Poor Bennie. Not only did I make him wait and wait for his turn on Battle Royale; not only did he turn up with his pet strategy to find himself facing the Anti-Bennie Deck; not only did he lose rather quickly, going down in three games straight… but I’m also making him write all about it! Sorry Bennie! Better luck next time.
As Rich Hoaen abdicated the Battle Royale crown, we have two new contenders today! The first? Bennie Smith. Can you guess what he’s bringing to the table? Let’s face it, everyone knew it would be a dredge deck… but is it enough to go all the way?
While my record at Champs this year would indicate otherwise (2-3-3… yes, three draws!), I actually took away some positive vibes from the tournament. At first I was pissed – pissed at myself for not just buckling down and going with my first deck choice, and pissed at Wizards for making an environment that seemed overly stuffed with counter/Wrath decks.
Back in the day, we used White Out to fuel Stormbind. Then we used Squee, Goblin Nabob. But what oh what can we use to fuel Stormbind for fun decks everywhere? Bennie has an answer!
Being a Magic antediluvian has some advantages beyond gray hairs and worrying about Alzheimer’s. I’ve actually enthusiastically shuffled up some of these cards the first time around and can give you some ideas that you may find helpful. I won’t bother with the newer cards, since I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that Akroma and Call of the Herd are awesome. So, on with the Purple traipse through time…
Being a Magic antediluvian has some advantages beyond gray hairs and worrying about Alzheimer’s. I’ve actually enthusiastically shuffled up some of these cards the first time around and can give you some ideas that you may find helpful. I won’t bother with the newer cards, since I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that Akroma and Call of the Herd are awesome. So, on with the Purple traipse through time…
Being a Magic antediluvian has some advantages beyond gray hairs and worrying about Alzheimer’s. I’ve actually enthusiastically shuffled up some of these cards the first time around and can give you some ideas that you may find helpful. I won’t bother with the newer cards, since I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that Akroma and Call of the Herd are awesome. So, on with the Purple traipse through time…
I was intending on kicking off the Dailies with my Geezer’s Guide to Purple, but I felt the need to share something that recently came up amongst some of my Magic-playing friends. Each day we toss around a few emails debating various thoughts on Magic, deck ideas, and Magic news, as a nice distraction from the humdrum banality of the workday (and, you know, actual work). Recently, there was a flurry of emails that started innocently enough…
Before the event, I IM’d with Ben Bleiweiss that I was fairly certain this event would break records due to the appeal to both old-school players and new players wowed by Ravnica. Ben expressed some concern that Wizards’ game of Hide-the-Salami regarding the 121 extra subset of reprints would create some backlash of resentment from the Magic community that might suppress attendance. I can now add a feather in my “I Told You So” cap.
This is my favorite time of the year: the cusp of a new “large set” release and a major rotation in Standard. Decks are in flux, some dropping off into the harsh crucible of Extended, some changing with the times, and some brand new archetypes being born. If you could see me now I’m making rude and crude gestures to Umezawa’s Jitte and Heartbeat of Spring — don’t let the Standard doorknob hit ya where the good Wizards broke ya.
Bennie is officially off the leash… and he has some choice things to say about a number of important topics and Magic luminaries. Who bears the brunt of his tongue-lashing this week? Read on to find out!
I now have the time to come back home and write for StarCityGames.com on a consistent basis. Writing the Dailies the other week was a lot of fun, and I look forward to the freedom and flexibility afforded to writers here. It feels good to be back – I started writing for Pete back in 1999! When I saw that Steven Menendian was recently celebrating his 100th column for Star City, it made me wonder – how many columns have I written here?
Bennie Smith, a pioneer of Dredge decks, needs your help. In the past, he’s had a modicum of success with the Dredge strategy in Standard… but today, it seems the tools are missing for the deck to truly shine. In the last of his entertaining daily articles, he send out a simple plea: pimp his Dredge deck.
Now, I have a guilty confession to make: I’ve been playing Magic for twelve years now, and I had never once bought a piece of Magic artwork. Not that I dislike the artwork on Magic cards – on the contrary, I love the artwork and I think the quality of Magic art is what helps make the game stand head and shoulders above so many other CCGs. The artists come, and I slip them a few cards to sign and don’t even think about purchasing a print.
At StarCityGames.com’s Coldsnap Prerelease, Anthony S. Waters changed all that.
