A Standard Pro Tour looms in the New Year, and who wouldn’t want a trip to Hollywood? In order to qualify, one must triumph at an Extended PTQ. The season kicks off in January… but Mike likes to be prepared. Today’s Flores Friday sees Mike share an interesting multi-colored deck based around powerful Lorwyn cards and overlooked mana-fixing. If you’re serious about qualifying for PT: Showbiz, you can’t miss this!
Today’s Flores Friday sees Mike sharing his intimate playtesting procedures. However, instead of focusing on the minutiae the process, he deals in specific ways in which he gains insight into his deck, the metagame, and his own personal growth as a player. By breaking down the Top 8 ways in which he improves through testing, he shows us the ways in which we too can learn from playing our wonderful game…
The elusive Blue Envelope… the Holy Grail for which every PTQ player pines. How, exactly, can we put ourselves in the proper mindset to achieve a PTQ win? Is it about practice, belief, luck… all of these things? Today’s Flores Friday examines the qualities you need to step up and reach your true potential. Another master class from Mike – you don’t want to miss this!
Last weekend, Mike took to the field of battle with a deck that should look familiar. Unfortunately, a few play mistakes saw him out of contention early. Today’s Flores Friday sees Mike in a reflective mood, examining these mistakes in order to analyse what they signify in the grand scheme of self improvement. We all make mistakes… but learning from them is what makes us better players. Can YOU learn from Mike’s mistakes? Read on to find out!
Defending New York State Champion Mike Flores has not yet settled on a final 75. That’s understandable — the man changes decks more often than he changes socks. Today’s Flores Friday sees two distinct and original deck ideas that are high on his list of options. HE also looks back at his performances at States down the years, to see if there are lessons to be learnt…
States is fast approaching, and it’s time to buckle down and choose our decks!. Today’s Flores Friday sees Mike share an U/W Control build with which he hopes to defend his crown at the end of the month. Flyers, board control, and ridiculous card drawing… what’s not to love? Is this deck the next big thing in Standard? Even if we don’t play it, we can’t afford to ignore it… so read on!
Mike rounds out his Mockvitational experience, sharing his Bring Your Own Block deck and personal performance, before diving deep into the coming Standard Champs metagame with a couple of interesting decks powered by the new Lorwyn cards. Everyone is attempting to lash Green with White to abuse Gaddock Teeg… but what are the other aggro strategies available to us? Read on to find out!
Lorwyn Standard is, at present, a mystery. Are the tribes strong enough to impact on the format? How bad is the loss of the Ravnica dual lands? With tomorrow’s Mockvitational in his sights, Mike Flores attempts to crack a few of these mysteries and brings us a B/U Control deck that’s packed with fresh meat! Cryptic Command, Guile… will they cut it in the upcoming metagame?
Mike is not a particular fan of the Dredge strategy. However, with the Extended format shaping up to be a graveyard-dominated metagame, today’s Flores Friday sees Mike explain why fumbling around in our trash piles may actually be a winning formula. He also updates Zvi Mowshowitz’s excellent Numbers strategy, and asks a few questions of the decks that you’re looking to play…
Last week, Mike took a long look at some of the contenders in the current Extended metagame, highlighting their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This week, he delivers more of the same: a cavalcade of Extended goodness, and the metagame laid bare. If you’re serious about cracking this format for the Pro Tour, or even for the PTQ season that looms large, this article is an invaluable stepping stone.
With the Pro Tour looming large, it seems that all the cool kids are playing Extended. Today, Mike turns his eye to the format as a whole, and dissects the major archetypes that will be making a splash in Valencia. Each deck is laid bare, with both strengths and weaknesses writ large for all to see.
Pro Tour: Valencia is just around the corner, and Mike is getting back into the Extended swing. Today’s Flores Friday sees Mike throw out three novel and exciting Extended decks, and run us through some games on Magic Online. While, in their current incarnations, they may not be PT winners, they’re certainly decks to watch. And with Nike’s deckbuilding pedigree, who knows? Maybe one will make a Sunday slot after all…
[Editor’s Note: This article was a little late on Friday, so we’re running it again today in case you missed it.]
Mike’s Flores Friday takes us through his preparations thus far for States… yeah, that’s right: STATES. He shares two Standard decklists pulled deep from his well of creativity, both without a Ravnica card to their name, and walks us through some sample games. How does he fare? Well, the second offering is christened “Unbeatable.dec,” so you figure it out…
It’s August, Lorwyn is just around the corner, and eyes have turned to the upcoming inauguration of the third class of Magic’s Hall of Fame. It’s safe to say that, of this year’s illustrious nominees, there are one or two locks for inclusion. Today’s Flores Friday sees Mike share his opinion on the class of 2007, with a rundown of his final five picks.
Last weekend, Mike Flores helped two of his self-appointed “apprentices” make Top 8 at a Time Spiral Block Constructed PTQ. Asher Hecht came third, and Josh Ravitz won the whole thing. This was due, in no small part, to excellent deck choice and playskill… but also because of the excellent sideboarding strategy. Mike brings us the low-down today, plus an exhaustive response to Adrian Sullivan’s claims regarding the 4/1 “dogma” of card numbers in deck construction.
