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AuthorCraig Jones

Craig Jones won a Grand Prix way back in 1998. After several savage beatings on the Pro Tour he then began covering Grand Prix events as a reporter. Recently, he�s stormed back as a constructed player posting an impressive T16 finish at Pro Tour: Philadelphia, T32 finish at Pro Tour: Los Angeles and 2nd place finish at Pro Tour: Honolulu. He's also the current Great British National Champion.

From The Lab – Whatever Happened to the Great White Hype?

Craig “The Professor” Jones was looking forward to Pro Tour: Yokohama. Constructed Magic… his strength. Of course, as you know, things didn’t quite go to plan for Mr Jones, and a healthy start to Day 1 sadly melted away under the harsh neon lights. In today’s From The Lab, Prof takes us through his preparation for the tournament, shares some of the more entertaining stories from the trip itself, and reveals the reason why White Weenie disappeared without trace…

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From The Lab – The (Nearly) Definitive Guide to Time Spiral Block Constructed

As I type this, Craig “The Professor” Jones is facing off against Kazuya Hirabayashi in Round 1 of Pro Tour: Yokohama. His article today takes a long look at the Time Spiral Block Constructed, listing some of the decks he believes will still be in contention come Sunday. Hopefully, Craig himself will be there to rip that Rift Bolt from the top… good luck, Prof!

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From The Lab – A Sneaky Peek at Time Spiral Block Constructed

Craig “The Professor” Jones is currently locked in his secret bunker, beavering away on his metagame-shaping creation in time for his triumphant performance at Pro Tour: Yokohama. With a week to go until the big event, he takes a sneaky look at the format, brings us an interesting deck, and waxes lyrical on the subject of Teferi…

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From The Lab – Time Spiral, One Month On

With the Time Spiral Block Pro Tour just around the corner, Craig “The Professor” Jones is forbidden to talk of super-secret Block technology on pain of catapult. Instead, he takes a long look at the Top 8 Standard decks from Grand Prix: Kyoto, and takes us through some of the more questionable predictions he made for the new Standard format when the cards were fresh off the production line…

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From The Lab: The Applications of Imprecision

Craig “The Professor” Jones brings an interesting technical and ethical question to the table this week: is imprecise play part and parcel of the tournament experience, or is it something to be vilified and removed from our glorious game? Where do we draw the line between bluffing and misrepresentation? With some fantastic in-game examples, Craig attempts to separate the White Hats from the Black Hats…

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From The Lab – How to Qualify for San Diego

My own personal tip on How to Qualify for San Diego involves being first in the queue for registration… thankfully, Craig “The Professor” Jones has some more solid tips for success. Having successfully transmuted a PTQ into a Blue Envelope, Prof shares tactics and tournament experience with his usual flair.

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From The Lab – 666, the Tournament of the Beast

Craig “the Professor” Jones teamed up with Keith “the Spraggle” Spragg for last weekend’s Grand Prix: Amsterdam… and while their performance at the tournament lacked a little spark, the fun they had in Amsterdam more than made up for it. Prof pulls no punches in this old-school tournament report, and shares many tales of debauchery and excess…

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From The Lab – Beware the Spraggle! A Look at Two-Headed Giant

Craig “The Professor” Jones has high hopes for Grand Prix: Amsterdam. This Level 4 Pro is currently the highest-ranked Two-Headed Giant player in the UK… of course, it’s a Limited format, which means his English heritage proves he’s likely no more than passable. Today’s From The Lab takes a detailed look at both 2HG Sealed and Draft. And after this weekend, maybe Prof will be a Grand Prix Champion once again…

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From The Lab – Planar Chaos White in the New Standard

Can it be true? Has Craig “The Professor” Jones really turned his back on the Dark Side in order to embrace the Light? Are his fabled tales of scorpion pit-traps and buckets of soapy frogs now a thing of the past? In today’s edition of From The Lab, Prof cooks up a set of exciting and playable decks based around the White cards in Planar Chaos. Hopefully this dalliance with the Forces of Justice will be short-lived, and he’ll be back to his diabolic ways soon…

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From The Lab – Blue in Planar Chaos Standard

Craig “The Professor” Jones has been laid low by a virulent strain of rampaging anthrax- sorry, I mean influenza. Nevertheless, his illness hasn’t stopped him from knocking up a collection of interesting Standard decks based on the Blue cards from Planar Chaos. With the online release mere days away, now is the perfect time to get the heads-up on the exciting new metagame! All this, and some tips for Two-Headed Giant too!

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From The Lab – Planar Chaos Green in the New Standard

Craig “The Professor” Jones continues his Constructed exploration of Planar Chaos. So far he’s tackled Red and Black, the colors of mayhem, and he’s shared a few saucy deck ideas along the way. Today is the turn of the Green cards, perfect for all you tree-hugging hippies out there. So, what’s Prof’s verdict? Is Green reduced to the usual Hulk Smash routine, or is there more behind Nature’s Curtain than first appears?

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From The Lab – Planar Chaos Red in the New Standard

Craig “The Professor” Jones, fresh from smashing through the Planar Chaos Black cards in last week’s article, tackles the other color of Magic that is particularly close to his heart: Red. The color of fire, the color of frenzy, the color of fun. Prof suggests that Red is a color with an identity crisis at present: it has the tools to compete, but does it have the necessary focus to succeed? Maybe the four Standard decklists he brings to the table will help us find out…

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From The Lab – Planar Chaos Black in the New Standard

Craig “The Professor” Jones heartily embraces the Dark Side in this article, condemning himself to oblivion by flirting with the Black cards of Planar Chaos. He takes a long look at all the color has to offer – including Damnation, of course – and brings us some interesting decklists that could bear fruit when the new set becomes Standard-legal. Decklists, tech, and the usual Prof humor… all in one tasty package!

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From The Lab – Prerelease Weekend: First Thoughts on Planar Chaos

Craig “The Professor” Jones takes time out from his twisted experiments to bring us the low-down on Planar Chaos Limited. Not content with a mere one or two Prerelease tournaments, Prof decided to go balls to the wall and submit to a straight 24 hours of Magic! There are thrills! There are spills! There’s also a dose of Planar Chaos card advice, and a bushel or two of quality fun – strategy and humor in perfect harmony.

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From The Lab – Making That Deck Choice

Craig “The Professor” Jones begins his weekly column with an examination of metagaming and deck choices. When preparing for a tournament, be it a Pro Tour or an FNM, how far down the slippery metagame slope are we willing to slide? As usual, Prof tackles his weighty subject with a deft touch and a humorous eye… this is an excellent start to his column, and one that promises great things to come!

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