It’s that time again. Time for Ted Knutson’s usual metagame breakdown and tho… Oh right, he doesn’t write anymore (insert sad face here). Well, then it’s time for all the Standard players to come out from their holes in the wall and actually buy physical cards. Come out into a world where Project X is actually playable, because a bunch of annoying pop-up screens won’t time you out. Time for the 2007 Regionals preview!
It’s Road to Regionals for Deconstructing Constructed this week, and Josh is here to help! This week he covers a number of questions received about the Detritivore Glare deck from his last article, and he also adds a few words about Boros in the current metagame.
With the Block and Legacy Grand Prix over, the next major event coming up for you, John Q Draftsalot, is Regionals. This means slogging back into the Standard metagame. I’ve been doing a running test log in an attempt to build around the basic structure of the format. These are the basic tenets of the format I’ve followed thus far when creating or tuning my decks.
Today’s Deconstructing Constructed takes a two-pronged approach. First, it looks at the older Constructed formats, tackling a couple of pertinent points and rounding out with an interesting take on Flash in Vintage. Second, it looks at the Standard metagame and bemoans the strength of Dragonstorm, before leaving us a fun-looking Angel Control deck that could prove powerful for Regionals…
Protean Hulk. Flash. Those two cards strike fear into the heart of all Legacy fans planning the trip to Grand Prix: Columbus. However, all is not lost! In a refreshing departure from the recent barrage of Hulk Flash articles, Josh looks at the problem from the other side: if you’re not joining ‘em, how are you gonna beat em? Josh attempts to analyze the weaknesses in the Hulk Flash deck, and shows how it can — and WILL — be beaten.
Future Sight and Flash’s recent “un-errata” gave us a host of new interactions to explore in Vintage. Ichorid has been a popular subject as of late, but I haven’t really seen the need to say much about it until I saw the spoiler for Future Sight. Steve’s article on Monday went over the basic additions to the deck, which I think everyone knows by now, but I found a number of subjects on which the info was skimping…
This week the plan was to go over the Top 8 decks from Pro Tour: Yokohama and analyze anything new or exciting to come out of the tournament. Slight problem, though… there was nothing new to report. The Top 8 consisted of slightly more refined versions of the decks that have seen play on MTGO or at the Grand Prix Trials thus far.
With the Time Spiral Block Pro Tour kicking off at the end of the week, Josh Silvestri is here with some ideal preparation — a mock Block Constructed tournament that includes sixteen of the format’s strongest contenders! If you’re wondering what decks will make a splash come Sunday, maybe Josh has the information you’re looking for…
Last week’s Mock Block tournament proved to be a great success, and another is in the pipeline soon. Today, Josh takes us through some of the observations made when playing the format, and sets out a blueprint for success. If your Block deck of choice can’t tick the checkboxes here, it’s back to the drawing board!
In honor of March Madness (which will sadly be over by the time you see this), a few of my friends and I decided upon running a 16 deck, single-elimination Time Spiral mock tournament. The format was simple: Best of five games (two pre-board, three post). Single-elimination. Now that you know the rules, let’s get started… because this’ll be a long one.
Josh tales a long hard look at the blossoming Time Spiral Block Constructed format, and breaks down the various questions and answers that any prospective deckbuilder will need to consider when trying to smash the metagame. If you’re looking for a handle on this exciting Constructed format, then this article will prove invaluable.
One of the most common questions I get from people who haven’t played Time Spiral Block yet is if there are any viable swarm or weenie aggro decks that are viable. Most of them have heard people like me go on about how slow the format is, and that White Weenie was doing well before Planar Chaos came onto MTGO… Today, I take a closer look at White Weenie.
With Time Spiral Block Constructed the current sixty-card format of the connoisseur, Josh looks at one of the most interesting cards to come out of the new set — Wild Pair. He breaks down the creature options available to anyone looking to abuse the six-mana enchantment, and presents an intriguing pair of Pair lists from which we can expand.
Josh takes a look at Ichorid in Vintage, and underlines a few principles from the current Extended format that could aid those looking to succeed in Magic’s most broken format. He also takes us through a Vintage Threshold build that substitutes power for options… has it the pedigree to affect the metagame?
Extended season is officially winding down, so it’s time to shift focus to the baby of the Constructed formats: Block! Today’s Deconstructing Constructed takes an overview of Time Spiral Block Constructed and hints at some of the highlights we can come to expect when Planar Chaos filters through into the Block Metagame. Volcano Hellion my Stuffy Doll? Gee Gee, my friend…
