Tuesday, September 8th – With recent Zendikar revelations over the past few days, it seems that the predicted demise of Extended may have been a little premature. Sam Black examines some of the new cards that will define the New Extended, and shares his thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of the approaching format. [Warning: Contains spoilers.]
Tuesday, September 1st – With Japan hardly providing great Magical moments in Sam Black’s portfolio, he shift his focus to Extended, and where he sees the metagame sitting in the buildup to the release of Zendikar. Can Faeries survive the rotation? Is Affinity the deck to beat? Does combo fare well? Read on to find out!
Tuesday, August 25th – Grand Prix: Bangkok saw Sam Black making Day 2 play and posting a creditable 42nd place finish. In today’s edition of Black Magic, he talks about his trip and his tournament, sharing play tips and travel stories in equal measure.
Tuesday, August 18th – Down the years, GenCon has been very good to Sam Black. He wins high-profile tournaments, and cash prizes, year on year. This year was no exception. Today, he shares his love for the convention, and a few tips to improving your Magic game without playing Magic at all. He rounds out with his thoughts on Standard, and Faeries in particular.
Tuesday, August 11th – M10 Sealed is proving to be a polarizing format. Some folk love it, some folk hate it. Sam Black has recently been putting in the hours on MTGO, trying to crack the format for future Grand Prix play. Today, he shares some of the tips and tricks he’s learned, before sharing an intriguing Red/Green Standard list from a recent PTQ Top 8…
Thursday, August 6th – Sam Black rocked up to Grand Prix: Boston with very little M10 Limited experience. That didn’t stop him from making Day 2 at the largest US Grand Prix in history. Today, he shares his thoughts on the format, and gives us some tips and tricks in time for this weekend’s GP in Brighton, UK!
Wednesday, July 29th – In today’s edition of Black Magic, Sam reflects on his deck choice and performance at last weekend’s U.S. Nationals. While a 10th place finish is hardly shabby, he knows that an extra push could have taken him all the way. He also interrogates Top 4 competitor Brad Nelson over his performance, and discusses the shape of the emerging metagame.
Tuesday, July 21st – With Nationals competitions from Spain, Japan, Australia and more now in the books, the metagame is shaping nicely for this weekend’s American Big Show. Today, Sam examines the Big Four archetypes that are currently in everyone’s sights, and suggests how to approach U.S Nationals with an eye on the final table…
[Editor’s Note – Adrian Sullivan is experiencing technical difficulties with his article. It’ll be here on Wednesday, folks!]
Tuesday, July 14th – With the M10 prerelease behind us, and the release of the cards mere days away, Sam Black wades into M10 Limited analysis in perfect preparation for the upcoming Grand Prix: Boston. He touches on both Sealed and Draft, and shares his tentative common and uncommon pick orders for each color.
Tuesday, July 7th – In a recent Magic Online Constructed match, Sam Black and his Faeries pitted their wits against Cedric Phillips and his Little White Men. Today’s Black Magic sees Sam examine their first game from multiple angles, hoping to discover why it is that Ced is so strong against the Fae menace while other Kithkin players appear to struggle…
Tuesday, June 30th – With the M10 prerelease almost upon us, Sam Black takes a look at the stronger cards from the new Core Set. Unlike a number of pro players, Sam is a fan of flavor, and this set definitely doesn’t disappoint! He shares his excitement over the new cards, and highlights some of the gains and losses for each color. Of course, this article contains spoilers.
Tuesday, June 23rd – Since Pro Tour: Hawaii, Sam Black has diligently stuck to his draft plan, participating in at least two per day. Today, he talks about the lessons he’s learnt about the format thus far, and highlights the wisdom of mining your Magic Online replay bank for pertinent information. He shows us some of his more intricate game states, and explains where things went wrong…
Tuesday, June 16th – It seems that everyone is talking about the rules changes looming with the release of M10, and Sam Black is no exception. He shares his thoughts on everything from the zone names to the combat step. He also examines Cascade from a design mechanic, and discusses the state of Standard going forward.
Friday, June 12th – Sam Black learnt a lot from Pro Tour: Hawaii. The lessons were not solely learnt on the field of battle. Today, he shares those lessons with us. If you’re looking for some excellent advice regarding testing and tournament preparation, Sam has the information you need!
Thursday, June 4th – Sam Black followed up a strong Faerie performance at Grand Prix: Barcelona with another Faerie performance at Grand Prix: Seattle. While he didn’t ascend as high as he did in Spain, he’s in the perfect position to comment on the New Fae Metagame. With more Standard tournaments on the horizon, Mr. Black examines the metagame going forward…
