Thursday, September 18th – Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin is safely back from Italy, and gearing up for the release of Shards of Alara. Today, he looks over some of the sweeter cards spoiled so far, and brings us the low-down on his Italian extravaganza. Patrick thinks Shards of Alara promises to be the best new set in years… do you agree?
Monday, September 8th – Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin is currently in Italy, for both yesterday’s Eurovino Vintage tournament and next weekend’s Grand Prix: Rimini. Today, he brings us a touch of Block talk, a smattering of Vintage, and a Next Level Blue deck for Magic’s most broken format…
Monday, September 1st – The Block Constructed season is slowly winding down… it’s time to turn our Constructed eyes to pastures new! Today’s Innovations sees Patrick Chapin investigating the state of play in the forthcoming Extended format. He updates a number of old favorites, and brings us a fresh deck that promises much…
Monday, August 25th – A chance to win the game… that’s why we play, right? We’re constantly looking for the tech, tips, and tactics that’ll give us the edge in our tournament play. However, what are the factors of relevance in our actual victory? Patrick investigates the value of resources inherent in the system…
Monday, August 18th – With Grand Prix: Denver now firmly in the books, and Gerry Thompson’s hands wrapped around the shiny trophy, Patrick Chapin regales us with his own personal Grand Prix story, backed with fresh innovations in his Five-Color Control Block Constructed deck…
Monday, August 11th – It seems that The Innovator has done it again! While he wasn’t the tournament-winning pilot of the hottest tech at Grand Prix: Denver – that honor fell to Gerry Thompson – Patrick Chapin was the driving force behind the deck’s creation. For the story of the deck’s inception, written and submitted before Gerry T took the crown, read on! And congratulations Gerry!
Thursday, August 7th – It was a safe bet that, going into U.S. Nationals last weekend, Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin would have something, well, innovative for the Standard portion of the event. He didn’t disappoint. Today he walks us through his own personal Nationals competition, that saw him come close to Sunday play…
Monday, July 28th – U.S Nationals approaches, and people are tight-lipped regarding their Standard technology. As a break of pace from his usual high strategy, today’s Innovations sees Patrick interview one of the true greats of the game, Gabriel Nassif. He questions Gabriel on Magical improvement, Eventide thoughts, and the life of a Pro Tour legend…
Monday, July 21st – Nationals season approaches for most of us, and all non-Aussie eyes are now on Standard. With Eventide in the mix, promising to punch the metagame in the face, it serves us well to look at some of the currently popular strategies in preparation for the Big Show. Today, Patrick recaps all we know about the powerful Elves strategy, and thrusts it into the new Eventide metagame…
Monday, July 14th – Eventide is here, in spirit if not quite in body. With the Block Constructed PTQ season continuing apace, and Standard gaining relevance due to approaching Nationals events, Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin looks at some of the exciting cards that get his creative juices flowing.
Monday, July 7th – Last week, Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin brought us his personal pick for the best deck in Lorwyn / Shadowmoor Block Constructed: Solar Flare revisited! This week, he puts his money where his mouth is and runs the deck in a local PTQ. While he didn’t quite make the final table, he still believes the deck to be the most powerful choice in the metagame…
Monday, June 30th – Block Constructed PTQs continue apace, and everyone is searching for the Next Big Metagame Thing. Today’s Innovations sees Patrick Chapin look at the core strategies of the Block Constructed format in an attempt to approach their implementation in new and exciting ways. The deck he creates also abuses one of the unsung heroes of the format: Mistmeadow Witch.
Wednesday, June 25th – Patrick “The Innovator†Chapin rocked up to Indianapolis to tackle the fickle forty-card format. While he didn’t bathe in glory this time out, he did learn a few new tricks and have a glorious time. Today, he brings us his story… and an intriguing bonus Block Constructed decklist too!
Monday, June 16th – It seems that while Lorwyn / Shadowmoor Block Constructed has a proven trio of strong decks at the top, there is a huge amount of room for innovation. Today, Patrick Chapin brings us a fantastic-looking deck fresh from his frenzied Amp-addled brainpan, designed in collaboration with… Mike Long.
Monday, June 9th – After spending the last few weeks on a sugar high, Patrick Chapin crashes gloriously back to earth with a touch of Block Constructed innovation. Riffing off Manuel Bucher’s Quick n’ Toast deck in Standard (and its Block equivalent), The Innovator takes a look at the Block Constructed strategy he’s proclaiming as the next Teachings…
