AuthorKen Krouner

This is the best color in the set folks. There isn’t another color that is close. White and Red are close to each other, and are the two colors that follow behind Green, but power level-wise they are closer to Black than they are to this mightiest of colors. Before I delve into this dilemma I’d like to analyze why Green is the best color. When you look at the top three commons in Green: Fangren Hunter, Deconstruct, and Tel-Jilad Archers, it may not be clear how they are better than the three best commons in the other colors…

If you are already committed to mono-Black, I implore you draft the Consume Spirit. You will not find a better spell. In fact, draft it over Terror in this deck. The card is that good. Okay, now it is time to leave fantasyland – you will never be mono-Black. It is too weak and too shallow.

Now Pewter Golem on the other hand… that guy bears a strong resemblance to a certain beating stick from Scourge that we all know and love.

For four mana you get one of the most formidable, unequipped attacking commons in the set. Fangren Hunter edges it out in Red Zone considerations but I believe it beats out number three in my mind, Myr Enforcer. I always talk about the creature-light format, but it is still important to have quality creatures. I often go to look at a deck laid out and ask how many creatures it has. I routinely get answers like”eleven” or”thirteen.” I then look down to see three Myr, two Soldier Replica, an Auriok Transfixer, and a Yotian Soldier in the creature pile. I, in no way, mean to malign these creatures. They are good and necessary parts of a deck. But they don’t attack, at least not well.

It would seem to many of you that I like a challenge. Almost without fail, my card valuations go against conventional wisdom. I assure you I do not take on these cards as a chore. I don’t do it because I lost the coin flip. I don’t do it to make a scene. I do it because I am of the firm belief that I am right. Usually, I am.

Mike is going to try and tell you about how great the Cub is. He is right – the Cub is fantastic, but the Guard edges it out in my mind for several reasons. If you are drafting these cards, you are hoping for the nuts Bonesplitter draw. In the nuts Bonesplitter draw Den-Guard is simply better. It is the same clock, only it gives you a 4/4 blocker while you are attacking for four. Not tapping to attack has been an underrated ability for years now. It is a form of implied card advantage, since in essence you get to use the same card twice.

“There are no wrong threats.” You may ask what made me dig this all too famous quote out of mothballs? Well, at Grand Prix: Atlanta I was talking with Joe Crosby. Joe had brought a Goblin deck to the tournament. This was fairly new ground for Joe. Joe had a quote that I feel is equally memorable as Dave’s, but perhaps sells the beatdown concept to a control player a little better:”I never realized how badly people play when you put them under pressure.”

Ken looks at eight archetypical hands from StarCityGames readers, and decides what’s mulligan-worthy and what’s not? When should you roll with what you got and when should you send it packing? Ken shows you how, and why!

What do Gerard Fabiano, Ed Fear, and most of the Magic-playing community at large have in common? By and large, they have terrible mulliganning habits. I don’t do a lot of things in this game perfectly, but one thing I feel I am awesome at is the Paris Mulligan – so let me show you three guidelines on when to throw back and when to keep, and give you solid examples from both Limited and Constructed games.

I feel I am an expert in this field, as I have made all these types of errors several times. I’d like to think that all type of errors fall into these categories, as inspired by Donald Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things… So let me detail them and show you how to avoid them.

It seems many of us in the pro community have fallen in love with a concept that often shows itself in events: Play what you are comfortable with. This may be a fine concept for the weekend warrior, who only participates in a small number of events and doesn’t have time to playtest… But a dedicated group of playtesters should be able to find the best deck and storm the field with it. If we intuitively know this, why then do so many pro groups still play a number of decks? And what does this mean for the non-pro groups?

I want to focus on what I feel is the most important aspect to drafting in a three-set format: This concept is called the cut-off. While it is far from a new concept, I believe that in this format it is far more important, as it is the aspect of the draft you can most control, and it will lead to more powerful decks.

This is the issue at the very heart of this dilemma: What is Green’s game these days? Paul would have you believe that aggro is every bit as viable as control. This dilemma is about far more than a simple two cards; it is about a general philosophy in this color combination.

The biggest vote against Seaswift is that there are so many other cards that perform similar functions: Ascending Aven, Mistform Dreamer, Keeneye Aven, Gustcloak Harrier, Dive Bomber, Aven Redeemer, Wingbeat Warrior – and those are just the commons. Whereas Echo Tracer is the only common bounce you will find.

I am not sure why people rush to get strategy articles out there; even Nick wanted to work on Legions stuff shortly after the pre-release. I didn’t know Legions strategy then, and I hate looking back at my articles and seeing stuff I no longer agree with… And now, thanks to Legions’ new cards, three of my earlier Dilemma stances have been flipped on their ear.