When is it too much? The cost of playing competitive Magic is rising more and more quickly. So is the cost of casual Magic. Is it becoming too expensive? Last year I wrote about the increasing cost of decks. It’s even worse now.
Ingrid, my wife, was out of town for a few days. I had Thursday off, and nothing but some chores over the weekend. I had a couple dozen tix, a virtual pile of unopened packs, and some ideas for new decks I wanted to try out. I was ready to play Magic — what could possibly go wrong?
It was Dissension Release week on MTGO. I wanted to play a ton, and then try some Ravnica block ideas I had floating around.
Guess how my week really went?
Standard is very diverse right now. Just looking at the Top 8 decklists doesn’t do that diversity justice: at Northern Regionals, 195 players competed and a lot of good decks missed the Top 8. The Top 8 lists are here, but I’ll also review the entire field to show you just what Dissension has added to the mix.
Pete presents part two of the review slanted towards Multiplayer, plus some too-late-for-Regionals “tech,” and a fun multiplayer deck. You know when you are really busy but have a taste for something, so you throw together a strange mix of stuff for dinner? Yeah, it’s like that.
It is the season for set reviews. A deluge of opinions, praise and diatribes is pouring down on Craig like a monsoon with double strike. Every blowhard out there is hammering their keyboards to shower you with brainstorms (and light drizzles). I’ll add to these widely scattered phenomena — my take is, of course, multiplayer and casual.
It is a month before Standard changes. It’s set review season, but everyone does those. Instead, I want to look at the cards that are underplayed — perchance forgotten — in Standard. These may be the tools that win your Regionals — if you remember they exist.
In a recent article, Teddy Cardgame said, “everybody wins [in the Tournament Practice room on Magic Online]. I now understand Flores’s addiction to testing here.” Everyone wins? Let me check my Websters — yup, I’m included in “everyone.” Ted says I will win — me, with my decks! Hey — he’s a Premium writer — could he be wrong? Let’s find out.
Last month, Pete wrote an article about the how, why, and history of bannings. Nothing much happened when the new banned and restricted list came out on March 1st — but bannings and restrictions are causing a huge uproar in the 5-Color format. It’s safe to say that the format with Chaos Orb is in chaos itself.
Last article, I looked at the role luck plays in Constructed Magic. This time I want to take a look at Limited. Just how much does luck affect the outcomes of Limited matchups?
Peter takes a long hard look at some of the myths of Magic… just how much does Luck determine the outcome of a tournament? With detailed analysis of the Owling Mine phenominon of Pro Tour Honolulu, this article raises valid points on metagame deck selection.
It is almost March. March means Pro Tour Honolulu, the start of the new Standard season, and the last few snow storms. It also means that Wizards is about to release the quarterly update to the Banned and Restricted list…
I sent Craig an email, asking what I should write about. He responded that I should look at the competitiveness of eight-man Extended single elimination events on Magic Online, and also examine online Standard. I will — but first I have to stop wasting all my online time playing a trio of silly — but totally fun — decks.
Hmm — time to choose a topic. Wizards of the Coast suing Rancored Elf? Review Guildpact for multiplayer? Poker? Neato prerelease tales? Random issues rants?
All of the above?
Sure.
Q: Magic has had a great run. We all want it to go on forever. Do you see anything to indicate whether Magic can continue long into the future?
A: Yes. Fortunately, Magic Players can reproduce asexually.
