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AuthorPatrick Chapin

Patrick Chapin, "The Innovator," is a member of the Hall of Fame class of 2012. The Pro Tour Journey into Nyx Champion and five-time Pro Tour Top 8 competitor is a renowned deckbuilder and author of both Next Level Magic and Next Level Deckbuilding.

Gauntlet of Power in Extended

With everyone’s focus pulled toward Standard, Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin takes us through a humorous look at a new Extended creation… one that harnesses the strength of the Gauntlet of Power! Extended is currently powered by the Time Spiral goodies we have on offer, but does this mana-producing artifact cut the proverbial mustard? The author offers insight and laughs in equal measure, and rounds out with another impressive edition of (Tune) Drafting With Patrick.

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The Secret to the Gifts / Stax Matchup – How to Gain an Edge From Either Side

Two full sets of P9 are up for grabs when the Star City 'Power 9' Tournament Series comes to Roanoke, Virginia!

Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin returns to the Vintage scene, analyzing the strong openings that lead to success in the Gifts and Stax matchup. His findings are somewhat startling – can mulliganing down to five or less truly be the best form of attack in some cases? This article is packed with genuine Vintage food for thought… essential for those serious about the grandfather of Magical formats.

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Ten Games of Magic I’ve Lost, and How They’ll Help You Win

Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin takes a brief break from creating metagame-shifting decklists, and instead delves deep into his Magical past in order to share some of the lessons learnt from various defeats through the ages. Part history lesson, part gameplay tips, all told with a healthy dose of Chapin humor. Believe me, you’ll not look at Lego in the same light again…

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Grape Nuts, Flag Burner, and Turbo Balance: The World of Non-Firemane U/R/W

Put your Champs deck to the test at the StarCityGames.com $1500 Standard Open!Champs is right around the corner, and what are you going to choose? Well, just in case you’re still on the fence, Pat Chapin presents three decks, discussing the turn 6 kill of Grapeshot/Enduring Renewal, talks about the deck he’d bring to Champs because it crushes random decks, and a deck that needs a little love (and a little tuning) to work! And as an extra-special bonus at no charge… Chapin Sligh!

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Ten New Standard Decks with Time Spiral

Put your Champs deck to the test at the Star City $1500 Standard Open!
With both Standard Champs and the StarCityGames.com $1,500 Standard Open just around the corner, Pat “The Innovator” Chapin brings fresh eyes to the evolving metagame. He shares a mighty ten new decklists with us today… something for every mage-style under the sun! Looking for an edge over the local competition? Look no further!

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Right / Wrong – A Non-Vintage / Vintage Split Article

Pat “The Innovator” Chapin dips a toe into the choppy waters of Vintage debate, outlining some interesting ideas on power-plays in Magic’s most broken of formats. He tackles the ornery subject of skill in Vintage, and challenges Stephen Menendian to an interesting match. Away from Type 1, he also presents a debate on the veracity of Magic writers the world over… just how should we gauge the more “off-the-wall” deck ideas and articles?

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Shredder version 3.0 – Sixteen in the Clip and One in the Hole

Due to the technical issues we experienced at the beginning of the week, we’ve a plethora of extra material today. The first such article is a return to the Extended field for Patrick Chapin. Today, he reinvents his popular Shredder deck, giving it a “Silver Bullet” style polish. Decklists, sideboarding strategies, and more… available a click away!

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Sideboards: Fifteen is Better than Zero

Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin deserts his premium post to bring us an amusing article in which he chats with some of the great and good of the Magic elite. Warning – this article may cause you to snort milk out of your nose…

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Better Lucky Than Good: Seven Ways to Get Lucky

This week, Patrick takes a break from intensive deck testing to bring us a more theoretical article dealing with the nature of luck. Is luck something we’re reliant on? Are we at the fickle whim of an angry Fate? Or is it largely mythical, a crutch used to bolster the flagging egos of substandard players? The debate, plus some excellent practical tips on improving your luck… all available within!

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A Day in the Life of a Deck Designer – Pitch Necro ’06

Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin takes us through a sample day in his life, a day packed with conflict and deck testing. He shares his latest Standard decks – Quiet Jushi, B/U Haakon, and Pitch Necro ’06 – and thrashes them against a number of the top contenders in the modern metagame. With Coldsnap finally in the Standard mix, everyone is looking for the Next Big Thing… has Patrick found it?

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Shredder v2.0 – More Rock than Domain

The Innovator Patrick Chapin updates his powerful Shredder.dec, an Extended offering that has positive matchups against the majority of the field – especially that ornery Friggorid. Last time, the deck felt more Necro than Prison… this time, it feels more Rock than Domain. This article is packed with dedicated matchup strategy and explicit sideboarding advice… could Shredder v2.0 be the deck for you?

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61 Cards – Magic Russian Roulette

What to cut? The eternal question. While sixty cards is the benchmark, many mages refuse to acknowledge the detrimental effect suffered when forcing those extra power-cards maindeck. Pat breaks down the logistics of such a ploy, and argues that while it may seem innocuous on the surface, the damage it can do can be telling….

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Playing With Melanie – A R/B/U Deck For Standard

Patrick continues to impress… this week’s article takes a fresh look at a popular color combination: Red/Black/Blue. As usual, Pat throws his deck against a host of metagame stalwarts, and records a ten-game suite against each. U.S. (and English) Nationals are upon us… could Pat’s new creation be the surprise weapon of choice?

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Classic U/W Control: Karoos > Good

Pat brings us an interesting take on the ever-popular Blue/White Control archetype. He throws it against all the major players in the Standard metagame, and has some surprisingly healthy results. Plus, for all of you naysayers out there who still refuse to see the power of the Ravnica bouncelands in Constructed Magic, Pat attempts to end this argument once and for all…

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(Rise and Fall) of the Roman Empire – The Rome Deck

Patrick brings us an intriguing Standard deck based around the powerful split card Rise / Fall. With a host of Invitationalists, and quality removal, Pat throws his creation against six of Standard’s main contenders, and produces detailed match reports and analysis for each. This is an excellent article on what could be an extremely powerful deck…

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