Magic players are consumed with the quest to find the perfect deck. But what if the perfect deck was actually an imperfect deck? Stephen explores that possibility today. He takes a look at the philosophy behind different standards of winning, and suggests a workable plan to maximize your successes. While the article is steeped with Vintage examples, the theories behind it are relevant for any Constructed format.
In today’s So Many Insane Plays, Stephen answers all your pertinent Vintage questions, and takes a look back at the history of Magic’s most broken format. He shares his opinions on the best Fish deck available, and reveals just how he’s able to compose such comprehensive tournament reports.
Grand Prix: Columbus on May 19-20 inaugurates the return of the Legacy Format to the highest levels of competitive play. This article is your one-stop click to everything you need to know about Grand Prix: Columbus. Even if you have never played Legacy or attended a Grand Prix before, don’t worry — Stephen will have answered your questions by the end of this article.
Stephen Menendian’s innovative Manaless Ichorid deck continues to evolve. Sure, it’s fought its way through various hate in the form of Tormod’s Crypt and Jotun Grunt… but can it handle the heat from the new boy in town, the mighty Extirpate? Stephen refines his deck further, and puts it through the mill of a local Vintage tournament…
The Vintage Restricted list is a source of constant controversy. In Magic’s broken format, it’s safe to say that constant policing of degenerate possibility is a must in order to promote a healty balance for the game. Stephen takes a brutal and honest look at the policy in years gone by, and comes up with some startling suggestions for improvement.
Vintage, the broken format of Magic, is packed with turns that can make an average spellslinger explode with options. Today’s article sees Stephen walk us through a three-game set between Grim Long and Meandeck Gifts. His analysis, as always, is exhaustive — and the matchup truly defines the column title of “So Many Insane Plays.”
In today’s “Insane Plays,” Stephen takes a look at recent trends in Gifts and Grim Tutor deck construction. As usual, this article is packed with fascinating data and masterful theory. Stephen’s careful analysis and surprising findings are a must-read for every serious Vintage player.
Stephen recently decided to put his money where his mouth was: he rocked up to a Vintage tournament armed with Mana Ichorid. Today’s “Insane Plays” looks at two tournaments that asked some interesting questions of Stephen’s theoretical analysis of the matchups… and poses some possible workarounds.
Stephen Menendian, the Voice of Vintage, takes a brief break from Magic’s broken format in order to dabble in a little Legacy action. So, does he pick up the Goblin deck and smash face? Of course not. Stephen’s a Vintage player – he rolls with the combo. This article examines the strength of the Tendrils of Agony based combo deck Iggy Pop. For more Legacy content, tune in later this week…
Planar Chaos promises to inspire a modicum of format chaos for the Vintage player. After all, turmoil is a result of change and uncertainty… and the printing of new cards is a surefire way to shake things up. Planar Chaos offers some diamonds for the Vintage player. Today, Stephen polishes them up and dispays their beauty.
Recently, Vintage has discovered a new monster – Manaless Ichorid. In his last article, Stephen Menendian took us through a blow-by-blow account of ten games between Manaless Ichorid and Meandeck Gifts. In those ten games, Manaless Ichorid proved itself strong enough to kick back with the Big Boys. However, there is improvement to be made, and tweaking to be done. Today, Stephen suggests a radical change to Manaless Ichorid – adding mana.
Stephen Menendian has made some mighty big claims regarding his potent Manaless Ichorid deck… in this comprehensive matchup article, he puts his creation to the test. Ten games against one of the strogest decks in the Vintage metagame – Meandeck Gifts. So, can Stephen’s Ichorids bring home the proverbial bacon, or will Gifts be laughing all the way to the bank?
We all know the “complaints” folk have about Vintage… gripes such as “it’s a degenerate format,” or “there is a dubious level of skill required to succeed.” Perhaps the strongest moan involves the cost of the cards themselves. So what would you say to a competitive, powerful Vintage deck that uses exactly zero copies of the Power 9 cards… a deck that Stephen Menendian believes will warp the format for many months to come? Interested? Then read on…
Last time out, the inestimable Mr Menendian dealt with the ups and downs of the Vintage year from January to June. Today’s article deals with the second half of the year. Stephen breaks down the results from the major tournaments in the latter half of 2006, and shares some of the stronger decklists that appeared along the way. The future for Vintage in 2007 looks very rosy indeed…
Vintage has undergone a lot of upheaval this year. New decks, new cards, new rulings on old favorites… the Vintage Mage has never had it so good. Today we have part 1 of the Vintage Year in Review, an overview of the first six months of 2006 from the most vocal writer in the format today. The cards may change, but Vintage remains constant. Love Vintage? Then you’ll love this…
