The views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the editorial staff and management of this website. As such, StarCityGames.com would like to begin by apologizing to any judges offended by the following article. You guys are swell. Honest. Blame Noah.
So, turn 1 kills in Standard and recipes for Pecan Pie. Let’s try this one…
Yesterday we talked about ways to beat the truly skilled folk you come across. Today I give the best technique I know on how to reach their exalted ranks.
Today is solely dedicated to beating good players. Tomorrow you learn how to be one, so people who read today can learn to how beat people who read tomorrow. Wednesday will have a great recipe for Pecan Pie.
After disappointing results from Pro Tour: Columbus, The Rock has been tearing up the PTQ scene and is one of the hottest decks around. In this article, Noah puts aggro Rock to the test and is not disappointed by the results. Why did he choose a deck that is underpowered, in spite of knowing that in the first place? Well, I’ll let the man explain for himself…
Tony’s simple yet ingenious plan was to draft a bunch, play a bunch, then draft some more. Now this sounds fun, if a little pedantic. “Take Nagao, take Kokusho, splice Glacial Ray…”. Useful and all, but I imagine the interest would wane over the day. But what if, instead of drafting the current set, the event revolved around drafting completely dead, useless formats? Wouldn’t that be fun? You bet it would.
Noah Weil has something to say and he wants y’all to listen, yo!
You want Champions draft strategy? You got it! Random inside jokes and random anecdotes? Done! Breasts? Oh hell yeah!
I really liked Mr. Krouner’s ideas on dynamic pick orders, but I don’t think he took it far enough. Too often people just ignore the other half of the combination when doing pick orders. So here is my shot into dynamic archetype drafting bullseye. As a lot of people have said before, when drafting you have to look at the whole picture.
Systems theory is great. The idea that something in a group affects everything is so elegant to me. For example, the butterfly effect on a weather group. Or the metagame. You know, like splash damage. Or in the case of Red decks, splash splash damage. You see, I predict there will be two effective decks at Champs this year: Affinity and Green decks. Affinity is the best, and Green is the obvious foil. Plus it seems everyone loves Sakura-Tribe Elder. So what does that mean for Red?
For a more modern example, equipment is generally poor because it’s a turn where you don’t do anything. A maxed-out Opaline Bracers on turn 4 may sound nice, but if your opponent is attacking for five and playing another guy, you didn’t really do anything. Sure, in the late game your guys are demi-gods, but getting there will be a serious feat. God help you if your next creature you play gets bounced or killed. You’ll be so far behind you’ll start the next game at fifteen life. Speaking of modern examples, let’s examine one of the most potent tempo cards available in Champions of Kamigawa for a moment and see where it can be applied.
Four reasons to play this deck at your next PTQ:
Longtime Pro Tour vagabond Noah Weil is back with a set review that only a Pro could write. Noah even takes time out of his busy schedule to provide some possible decklists for upcoming Nationals competitors. If you want a real insider’s take on all the goodies present in Magic’s newest set, look no further!
I’d explain what’s in this deck, but you probably wouldn’t believe me anyway. Let me just ask instead whether you like taking lots of Time Walks in Type 2? Do you also like to do large amounts of damage directly to your opponent’s dome? Perhaps you just wanted to find a deck where you could finally abuse Serum Powder? Check inside if you find yourself at all intrigued, but please God, don’t play this deck at Regionals!
Not a true story: One time a guy was watching another guy play. The dude playing was a Hollywood producer and liked the look of the observer, so he cast him in a bunch of commercials and everyone made millions, except the guy’s twin brother, who thought he was too good at Magic to watch other people, and was possibly getting high.
What does this have to do with becoming better at Magic? Enquiring minds want to know!
The idea of a glossary came to me when, in the course of outlines for articles I was working on, I would get bogged down in definitions. This made each piece much longer and more complicated than it needed to be. With the publication of this, I can simply refer the reader to this article when a definition is needed; however, I need your help to make sure that I have the correct definitions, and to remind me of any terms that I may have missed.
