Friday, April 18th – MTGO is dark. Work has gone so late I couldn’t make drafts on Wednesday or Friday. I haven’t brewed up any decks at all this week – and formats are on hold pending the arrival of Shadowmoor in any case. That means it’s time to reopen my current favorite topics: Green sux, casual versus competitive, and the goodies from Shadowmoor…
Wednesday, April 9th – I have been playing some alternative formats on MTGO recently, and I have noted how strongly the limitations of the format – specifically the limitations on the allowable mana – define the metagame. It isn’t just the broken spells that make Vintage what it is – it is also the available manabase.
Wednesday, April 2nd – Over a week ago now, I decided to quit worrying about my online rating and how badly I was doing in PEs and leagues and just play Magic. I had played in a number of Morningtide PEs, a league or two and done some drafting. It was time to build something around those cards. I just didn’t want to build the same thing as everyone else.
Wednesday, March 26th – As part of the last banned and restricted list update, Wizards announced a change to the Extended rotation. Previously, Extended was to lose three years worth of sets every three years. Under that policy, come November, everything before Mirrodin block was set to leave the format. That would have been a huge change…
Wednesday, March 19th – A few years ago, I asked Chris Richter to critique my judging – what I should change, what I needed to work on and so forth. His review – “suck less.†Since my online play has sucked recently, that review came to mind. I decided to analyze my play, online and off, and look at the different results.
Wednesday, March 12th – It was almost exactly three years ago that I first started to play Magic Online. MTGO has been a huge part of my Magic ever since. Given that it is an anniversary – and that other things are also seeming to repeat – it seems like a good time for a retrospective.
Wednesday, March 5th – I got all the decklists from the StarCityGames.com $5K tournament two weeks ago. It’s taken some time, but I managed to read and classify them all. You have seen the Top 16 lists. Here’s a complete breakdown. I have total numbers, percent making the Top 16, etc. I also have a number of decklists that were just plain interesting. If you are planning on playing Standard in the next couple of months, there is sure to be something to think about.
Wednesday, February 27th – I spent the weekend in Charlotte, at the StarCityGames.com $5K on Saturday and the PTQ on Sunday. My plan was to work the $5K, then qualify for Hollywood the day after. If you know how I play, you may guess how that worked out… but you’d be wrong.
Wednesday, February 20th – Years ago, people wrote tournament reports. The good ones covered the event, gave round by round results – including information on both how the match played out and on play and sideboarding strategies. They were once the best source of strategic advice. Times change – but I want to revive a lost art. I’ll also promise lots of decklists, and some under the radar deck ideas, since I spent most of the tournament out of Top 8 contention.
Wednesday, February 13th – Last week I took a look at the loss of a Pro Tour. As most of you figured out, I was not ranting, not saying “Magic is dying†or anything like that. I was simply trying to lay out the facts and numbers. I think Wizards is redirecting their money towards supporting the customer base. That’s probably wise. This week, however, I want to rant a bit. I haven’t done that for a long while. It’s time.
Wizards has announced the 2008 premier events schedule. On the plus side, Pro Tour Berlin, which I have been looking forward to for almost a year, has been announced. On the down side, Wizards has cut back to just three Pro Tours. Sure – Magic is dying: the fact that Grand Prix now routinely have over 1.5k players per event proves it. Or maybe Wizards is putting their effort into the areas with the biggest return and most player support. Which is it? Let’s look at some numbers…
Extended season is upon us. We are seeing results from two different sources: PTQ Top 8 lists and the Top 8 of online Premier Events. Both of these use the same card pools, and none of the critical cards are bugged online. Nonetheless, the results of PTQs and those of online PEs vary significantly. I’ll examine – or at least speculate on – why, and include a compilation of the results from a couple weeks of play in both formats.
Magic Online has become a huge part of my Magic playing. It is currently in something of a transition – or crisis, if you believe the naysayers. I want to look at where MTGO is, where it is going, and what needs to be done.
The Extended PTQ season is beginning. A lot of people will be writing about the techie new decks, and what won which PTQ. I’ll chip in with a couple of other thoughts: on metagaming and netdecking, on slow play, and on Morningtide – which will be part of the Extended metagame starting February first.
Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH) is currently being tested on MTGO. I have been converting my favorite EDH decks from paper to online. That requires some changes – MTGO does not yet have most of the cards from Tempest, Urza’s Saga, or Masques blocks, or from sets before Mirage. That requires some adjustments. I’ll talk about converting my Starke of Rath deck – per request – I’ll include the original list.
