Thursday, October 8th – Judging is a pretty thankless job. You are noticed, almost exclusively, when you screw up. The rest of the time, you have to be alert and working all the time. There are exceptions. Every once in a while, a player thanks you for judging. That really does help a long, hard day finish on a positive note. Those exceptions aside, though, judging is a lot of work.
Thursday, October 1st – I have heard a lot of very strange stuff on podcasts and comment boards – and even in articles – recently. Stuff about how cards should be free, and how making people want to buy cards is bad for Wizards and the game, and so forth. Time to review some very basic economics.
Thursday, September 24th – Early this week, I took a day off work to deal with some stuff around the house. The roof on one of the outbuildings needs replacement, the septic alarm was going off, the garden needed work, etc. Cool. A day mostly off. I can draft!
Thursday, September 17th – I have a terrible problem for a Magic writer – I can’t find time to play. It’s terrible. Standard is interesting and diverse, M10 drafts are cool, MEDIII is here, Alara block drafts were free online, and Extended is rapidly evolving. And I can’t find the time to play any of them. To top it all off, there’s the Zendikar spoiler.
Thursday, September 10th – Yes, Zendikar, the whole set, will end the Fae menace in Standard. Rotations solve any problem. Beyond that, though, we really cannot do more than speculate about the new Standard. A week or two, another couple hundred spoiled cards and we can talk. Until then, I am thinking about Ultimate Standard and introductory Pauper.
Thursday, September 3rd – I spent some time on the drive in thinking about why I’m nowhere near as good at Magic as I used to be. The short answer is time – time I haven’t got. However, I still remember what you need to do to qualify and make the tour. That hasn’t changed. What’s changed is my ability to work at it hard enough.
Thursday, August 27th – A Facebook group has been promoting the idea of drafts, instead of sealed, as a Pro Tour qualifier format. Bill Stark, over at the Starkington Post, discussed the topic, as have some podcasters. Having worked a number of drafts at high-level events, I can talk about the logistics of a draft PTQ.
Thursday, August 20th – I’m back from GenCon. I watched a lot of Magic, and I have quite a pile of decklists. I also survived the Klingons, the fire, the flood, and a truck with no brakes. In short, a typical event.
Thursday, August 13th – In years past, this would be the summer doldrums – the period where Magic has been slowing down while we all wait for the fall set release. This year, M10 has changed that. I’ve been monkeying around with a lot of Standard decks, which has got me wondering. How do the current batch of Standard decks stack up against the best decks from years past?
Thursday, August 6th – Years ago, a player in a Pro Tour tried to name Hunted Wumpus with Meddling Mage. He could not remember the name – the closest he got was this article’s title. Why is that significant? It was because Hunted Wumpus was being played in an Extended format Pro Tour. That would be inconceivable today. The game has changed.
Friday, July 31st – Jim Butcher has written a series of books about Harry Dresden, a wizard operating in present-day Chicago. Highly recommended. In the books, wizards have problems with modern technologies, including computers and the Internet. It must be true, because I am having plenty of problems with computers and the Internet whenever I do anything involving Wizards of the Coast…
Thursday, July 23rd – In the last couple of weeks, I have had time to play in, or run, a few big events, a handful of drafts, and some Constructed events in the paper world. I have also had a chance to play online a fair amount. Paper Magic and digital Magic are different. Let me discuss the difference – and why Paper is better than Online.
Thursday, July 16th – I have been awarded a singular honor – I am on the selection committee for this year’s Pro Tour Hall of Fame. Admittedly, it’s a big committee, but it is still an honor. . It will take some consideration. I’ll also share some anecdotes. Full disclosure or a chance to tell stories – you decide.
Thursday, July 9th – The complete M10 spoiler is out. It is time to crunch some numbers and look at the impact on Limited. I may even comment on a couple of cards, but given my past history of reviewing cards, I’ll keep that to a minimum. I will throw in at least one new deck.
Thursday, July 2nd – Years ago, Wizards changed the prize payout for drafts. At one time, the drafts paid 5-3-2-2 packs. Later, that was cut to 4-3-2-2, and the 8-4 queues introduced. Some Magic players have never forgiven Wizards for this change, and continue to attack Wizards, and the payout, in the forums and elsewhere whenever possible.
