Craig “The Professor” Jones likes a burn spell. After all, one particular Lightning Helix earned him $16,000 and made him famous. So when he won the recent Great British National Championship, it came as no surprise that he was packing heat. Today’s From The Lab takes us through some of the intricacies of piloting a burn-heavy deck, and tells us how to turn the mirror match from a coin-flip into a three-point win.
Last weekend, Craig “The Professor” Jones pulled himself out of his Magical doldrums to win the Great British National Championship. While this is clearly the wrong choice of Craigs to win this event (bitter much?), it’s nice to see Prof back on course and returning to the top where he belongs. Today’s From The Lab sees Craig take us through the tournament from his perspective, and gives us an insight into the future of Red Deck Wins.
With a Block Constructed PTQ season in full swing, and with Nationals competition fast approaching, today’s From The Lab seed Craig “The Professor” Jones in a theoretical metagame-shaping mood. By boiling the metagame conundrum down to the macro level of a small tourney, he makes some interesting positional claims and posits some intriguing theories. All this, and bonus Tenth Edition Sealed!
Craig “The Professor” Jones turns back to the Block Constructed drawing board, as his beloved Greater Gargadon has taken a back seat in the current metagame. With Green/White and Blue/Black being the decks to beat, along with the slippery Slivers, Prof brings us a testing session between the gauntlet and an interesting Red/Green/White Gargadon deck. Does it do enough to be considered a player? Read on to find out!
After falling at the final Day 1 hurdle in Grand Prix: Montreal, Craig “The Professor” Jones headed for the sunny shores of San Diego, ready to thrash the Two-Headed Giant format into oblivion. As we know, he failed in a spectacular fashion… but that didn’t stop him having a grand old time. Prof shares some snapshots from the city, and brings us an intriguing snippet of Game Theory that could explain why the success of the Sliver Kids was not as random as it might appear…
Craig “The Professor” Jones turned up for battle at Grand Prix: Montreal armed with the latest in Paskins-infused Red technology. Sadly, as we all know, it wasn’t quite enough to bring home the bacon. Today’s From The Lab sees Prof look at Billy Moreno’s take on Red, the deck he admits he should’ve played. He also runs us through some ID and concession math, and shares some fun times had on the GP circuit…
In the build-up for Grand Prix: Montreal, Craig “The Professor” Jones supped from the same well as Dan Paskins — if the cards weren’t Red, then they weren’t good enough. This illuminating article traces the evolution of the Red deck in Time Spiral Block Constructed, and touches on some of the more strategic decisions you need to make when piloting the fire to the final table.
Craig “The Professor” Jones migrates from his Friday hotspot to a more temperate Tuesday time-zone. In the first Tuesday edition of From The Lab, Prof tackles the ornery subject of Intentional Draws and Concessions. By applying some sound logic from the field of Behavioral Ecology, he attempts to put the debate to rest once and for all…
With Tarmogoyf fast becoming the Chosen One in the world of aggressive burn-backed beatdown, Craig “The Professor” Jones takes time off his exhaustive and analytical Block Constructed test schedule to bring us the skinny on the true face of modern Aggro — Big Gargs. In a world where two-mana 5/6s and one-mana 9/7s rule the battlefield, Prof brings us a map to safety. Intrigued? Then read on!
For his final step on the Road to Regionals, Craig “The Professor” Jones takes three of the top Standard contenders — Dragonstorm, Dredge, and Zoo — and throws them at each other in a battle to the death! With decklists, sideboarding plans, and game scenarios, he breaks down each deck with a wealth of impressive info perfect for anyone hoping to excel at this weekend’s Magical Pool Party.
Craig “The Professor” Jones takes time from his busy Mad Scientist schedule to give his own personal view of the upcoming Regionals. He also looks at the Black offering from Future Sight, and throws up a few interesting decklists that may be the sixty-card piles strong enough to pilot you to Regionals success! Plus, for those with no Standard agenda, there’s a little Block tech to whet your whistle.
After two Constructed performances that, under examination, can’t be described as successful, Craig “The Professor” Jones is taking stock. While he made Day 2 at Grand Prix: Columbus with a strange hybrid Fish Flash deck, he admits he fell prey to the deadly curse of Fancy Deck Syndrome. Today’s From The Lab sees Prof offer up some sage advice on how to avoid such a perilous fate.
Craig “The Professor” Jones takes a long hard look at the Blue cards from Future Sight… and decides that they’re simply not worth the bother. Instead, he talks about his preparation for this weekend’s big Grand Prix event, and his hopes and fears concerning the format. Those of you who believe this article will cover Strasbourg and Time Spiral Block Constructed… think again.
Craig “The Professor” Jones, fresh from narrowly missing Day 2 in Grand Prix: Stockholm, brings us his thoughts on the Red cards from Future Sight. He updates a number of Standard and Block offerings with the new cards, and tosses out a few ideas and strategies. With Regionals just weeks away, it’s time to break Standard… maybe Prof can help!
Craig “The Professor” Jones applies his analytical mind to the task of dissecting the White cards from Future Sight. In particular, White cards that may reinvigorate the fortunes of the Little Deck That Could —Block Constructed White Weenie. Is Lumithread Field enough to neuter Sulfur Elemental? Does Scout’s Warning offer hope against Mystical Teachings? And has Judge Unworthy been judged worthy?
