Josh takes a broad overview of the Extended PTQ format, and comes to the conclusion that conclusions are hard to come by. He dissects the more powerful strategies available in the format, and shows us why, at the end of the day, deck choice hardly matters in such a vibrant metagame.
Josh under-performed at his Extended PTQ this past weekend… even so, the insight he gained from a 150-person tournament is invaluable for those with PTQs still to attend. Today’s Deconstructing Constructed takes a look at the most popular decks that appeared that day, and brings us an interesting look at the undervalued Locket Combo deck…
Currently, Extended is a very diverse place, which means for many of us the strategy is picking one of the top four or five decks, practicing, and trying to take the envelope home. Past some sideboard changes or a cute maindeck addition, these decks have the capability to beat the majority as long as you play well and get a little lucky at times. However, despite the diversity of the environment, a number of people are taking glass cannons to the PTQs.
Despite taking the lion’s share of the metagame at Worlds 2006, Boros Deck Wins hasn’t exactly been living up to its name. Is this deck really and Extended powerhouse that all should fear? Josh spills his guts on his own personal four-color Boros build, armed with Armadillo Cloaks and Kird Apes and Vindicates, oh my! In the face of ridiculous and unfair decks such as TEPS, is Boros Deck Scrapes Into The Quarters Before Being Battered By A Real Deck still a prime contender for the Blue Envelope?
Today I want to talk about the trails and tribulations of breaking a splintered metagame. First you may ask yourself what the heck I’m talking about and mutter something about all metagames being equal. Here’s the thing… usually semi-coherent metagames are shaped pretty early in a format’s life-cycle. You know X and Y are going to be the “best” decks and somewhat popular, while Z is good and even a bit more popular for some reason (Easier to play, easier to make, etc.). Then you have the rest of the letters filling out the rest of the metagame. Arrogant and / or confident players may be labeling all of these as byes…
The Extended Pro Tour Qualifiers continue apace, and many of us are trawling the sites for the top tech that’ll bring home the Blue Envelope. Today, Josh brings us a fascinating look at the role of the many faces of B/W discard in the format. It’s true that discard is one of the stronger strategies available… so how can we maximise its strength?
The first two installments in the series saw Josh tackle some of the best Aggro decks that Extended has to offer – today’s final furlong brings us the popular Trinket Angel concoction and the now-perennial Ichorid dredge deck. The PTQ season is well underway, and it’s plain to see that there are countless viable decks in the current metagame. Be prepared!
It’s the New Year, and the Extended PTQ season is upon us! By now, the tournament-savvy amongst us should be settling into our weapon of choice… or at least be getting prepared to run with Boros Deck Wins. Today, Josh brings us an interesting way to break down the strengths and weaknesses of our pet Extended decks, a system that draws upon the teachings of the Mighty Zvi Mowshowitz. Looking for an edge over the PTQ competition? Then this is the article for you!
Josh brings us part 2 of his series examining the Extended decks that made a spalsh at last month’s Worlds competition. There are three more aggressive options on the slab today: Boros Deck Wins, Aggro Loam, and Flow Aggro. The coming PTQ season will be shaped by decks like these… are you prepared to face the beatdown?
Worlds Extended saw a plethora of interesting and innovative decks… and a shedload of Boros. In today’s Extended offering, Josh looks at some of the Aggro builds available to the old-school spellslinger, with an examination of successful goblin and Zoo builds. He also casts an eye over the dying Affinity archetype, lest we forget the horror and let it creep back into the metagame.
If the coverage from Worlds is to be believed, almost half of the coming Extended field will comprise of Boros Deck Wins. Of course, whether that number is inflated due to the laziness of the players at Worlds remains to be seen (NB: I played BDW myself, and it wasn’t because I thought it was the best deck in the format). Josh brings us a detailed breakdown of the components present in the more successful BDW builds, and suggests his own composite build from the debris. BDW will be a force in the coming Extended season… are you ready for it?
You have a lot of free time in MTG to make your decisions. Use it to break down decision trees and variable options before your opponent has a chance to truly think about his own board plan. Try to avoid going into a “muscle memory” mode like some fighting game players do… always consider your actions before making them.
For those who want an early jump on Extended season, now is one of the best time to start thinking about general archetypes to prepare for, and even specific decks in broad terms. Figuring out the general points the field may share is a great way to at least narrow the deck choices from a good fifteen or so. Besides it’s never too early to start testing against the “classic” decks like Tog, Boros Deck Wins, and U/G Desire.
The problem with teaching yomi is that it’s a skill you pick up via competition and training, where you get better at games with a strategic subset of moves. You learn to recognize patterns, preferences, and tells naturally over time, with the more inherent experience you have playing the game.
But trying to at least explain yomi, and attempting to teach it… it’s worth a shot!
After a two-month hiatus, Josh returns with an interesting article dealing with both the Vintage and Legacy formats. He looks at the tier system for the Vintage metagame, and places the contenders in order of their recent performances. He also shares a nifty Legacy deck that reaclls the power of some of the stronger Vintage builds. Looking for an edge in your Eternal metagame? Look no further!
