SCG Daily – Giving Thanks
As thanks for you reading all week, Jim produces two Boros creature loads for Extended that are a bit off the beaten path. Check it out.
SCG Daily – Style and the Magic: The Gathering Genome
As promised, here are the seven traits which I feel dictate one’s individual style as a spell slinger. No one attribute is solely definitive, as I feel every player displays at least two or three, and in varying degrees.
SCG Daily – Styles Upon Styles Upon Styles
There’s an old boxing adage that says “Styles make fights,” but what about in Magic?
SCG Daily – For the Greater Good of All Men
I’ve developed a fascination for Greater Good combo decks in the last couple of days, even going as far as to shell out beaucoup tickets on Magic Online to get the sucker built. I hope the mad cash I’ll rake in from this week’s stint on the Daily will more than compensate for that outlay…
SCG Daily – House Dimir: Aggro or Control?
So, I have to come up with five short articles that have to be between eight hundred and one thousand words in length. I can feel free to let the funk flow at any point too, but there has to be at least some Magic related content in each installment? Well then. Since I usually write about decks for Standard, it makes sense that I’d lead off The Daily with my latest pet deck. I played it at States and went 6-2, narrowly missing the cut.
2005 Championship Deck Challenge – Captain of the Leaky Armada: The Glare and Its Players
In years past, Jim Ferraiolo has produced decks on the cutting edge of Standard technology, earning numerous players Top 8 berths at States, Regionals, and Nationals alike. This year he’s participating in Control week and serves up a new flavor of Opposition-esque goodness for your consideration.
Good Magic / Bad Manners or How to Belch your Way to Nationals
You think you’ve seen Goblin Charbelcher decks for Standard? Well you ain’t seen nothin’ like this!
The Universal Truths of Standard
To preface the discussion of these Universal Truths [tm], we must first examine the actual cards which are defining Standard at present. Hell, I’m a man who enjoys lists – let’s make a list. I can’t even resist the foul temptations of gibberish such as “The Top 10 Most Disgusting Habits of Single Men” at a magazine stand. It’s not something I’m proud of. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, the cards and the rules of Regionals Standard as we know it.
The Never-Changing Face Of U/G Madness
U/G will see a lot of play this season for a lot of the same reasons as last year – it’s cheap to build, relatively easy to play, has good sideboard options, and tends never to be purely outclassed. This is appealing to many players who just want to take a deck to a PTQ and run it without having to put a lot of time into playtesting or metagaming. So let’s go through the basics of Madness – I wouldn’t be me though if I didn’t have a few small modifications.
The 2004 Championship Deck Challenge: Mono-Colored Madness!
Jim brings you both the good and the bad of his Champs testing experiences, complete with not one, but two tribute decks to Indiana Jones. There’s something here for both casual and competitive players alike, so dig in and see what your opponents just might be playing tomorrow.
The 2004 Championship Deck Challenge: Taking It Back to the Old School
In the first two articles for this assignment, Flores brought you Mono-Blue control, while Osyp Lebedowicz gave you The Unspeakable. Today, Jim takes you back to the old school, where men were men, Cherry Bazooka was the gum of choice, and U/W Control was the deck to play. Can this archetype be awakened from its slumber, or have Affinity and Tooth and Nail made building a good U/W deck a virtual impossibility?
COK on Lock
There were more than a few standout cards for me at the prerelease, but I will only take the time to discuss the ones that really piqued my interest. Set reviews will have most of the Limited and Constructed applications for these cards well-covered, but I doubt you’ll have as a good a time reading them. Keep in mind that these may not be the best cards and my reasons for liking them may not be entirely sound – as I have been known to be irrational when it comes to certain creatures.
Egg Beaters and the New Face of Reanimation
So everyone is trying desperately to break Krark-Clan Ironworks, but nothing truly amazing has come about yet. Zvi’s version, although swift and consistent, is easily disrupted by a number of tournament staple maindeck and sideboard cards. It’s my sense that the best applications of Ironworks won’t be found for a while, still. I too, like the rest of the world, am working on a broken KCI backbone deck, but I’m also messing with the sickness which I am about to unveil: Egg Beaters.
Updating the Metagame for Fifth Dawn: Ravager Affinity and Goblins
I’m positively giddy about the possibilities that will Fifth Dawn bring to Constructed Magic. I mean, I’m giddier than Osyp in the vicinity of Playboy bunnies, and that’s pretty damned giddy, let me tell you. On this day though, I must temper my enthusiasm for the many sick decks cooking in my brain to talk about the effect that the new set will have on the two top decks in the format – you know, the stuff people actually care about. What’s that? You’re sick of hearing about Ravager and Goblins, you say? Me too, kids. But when the editor steps out of the dugout and puts the ball in my hand, I can’t refuse the man – no matter how badly he’s trying to suck me into a seemy underworld of flamboyant costumes and super villainy.
Regionals Decklist Dossier: The Bad and the Ugly
Haphazard blending is pretty much a recipe for disaster, and unfortunately its how a lot of rogue and pet decks end up in the Bean Bracket. A lot of the decks that I’m going to list below resemble this remark, but first I want to talk about the tier two stuff that at least some people will be playing at Regionals tomorrow. If you’re seriously considering qualifying for Nationals, then you would do well to stay away from the following criminals.