Tuesday, March 23rd – Just when you thought that Gerry Thompson was fading away into the background, he’s done it again. In the online PTQ this past Sunday, two copies of his deck (or similar versions) made it all the way to the finals, piloted by Charles Gindy, as well as the eventual winner (whose name I do not know).
Tuesday, March 16th – This week we are going to be doing something a bit different. Most of time, this column is dedicated to bringing you insight into Constructed Magic (hence the title), but I do love Limited as well, and I’m occasionally forced to play such formats. Today we’ll be going over Zendikar Block Sealed with Worldwake in the second MTGO Champs of the 2010 season.
Tuesday, March 9th – An incorrect assumption about the metagame, or players in that particular metagame, is generally where I fail in tournament Magic. Before Austin, I had plenty of time to playtest real decks against real people, and that testing helped a little, but ultimately I disregarded everything I had learned.
Monday, March 1st – After Day 1 of the Pro Tour in San Diego, murmurs could be heard that Jund was dead, and everyone heralded a new era full of Wild Nacatls and Jace, the Mind Sculptor. However, when the dust cleared and the last few rounds of Standard commenced, Jund was scattered across many top tables, and eventually put multiple copies into the Top 8.
Tuesday, February 23rd – In continuation from last week’s article, after starting the Grand Prix off 7-2, I was pretty happy to make Day 2 but very disappointed that I wasn’t able to break through at 8-1. With an 8-1 record, it is much more likely that I can Top 8, as I have a bit of breathing room. With two losses, I’m in pretty bad shape with my back against the wall, and I will likely only make Top 8 if I go undefeated.
Thursday, February 18th – Hello everyone, and welcome back to Constructed Criticism. I’m a bit late this week due to the fact that I was in attendance at Grand Prix: Oakland. It was a great time, with awesome new friends and old friends alike…
Monday, February 8th – With tournament results flowing in unlike any other time in Magic history (due to Magic Online results), we are given constant updates on archetypes, card changes, and trends on what particular decks are popular or dying in popularity. As of right now, there are plenty of viable archetypes, so finding the right one for you is the real problem.
Monday, February 1st – Last week I talked about the new “best” deck in Extended, but time has consistently taught us that something is only the “best” until people want to beat it badly enough. Dredge used to be the big man on campus, back in the day where Breakthrough and Ichorid were legal, but Wizards decided to print plenty of cards that gave the deck hell, and most of which are still around today.
Tuesday, January 26th – Extended is probably the best format in Magic at the moment, offering tons of diverse archetypes that are all playable and powerful. Top 8s across the country have offered tons of ideas for new archetypes, as well as exciting twists on old ones…
Monday, January 18th – As most of you know, I’ve advocated Zoo as one of the best decks in Extended since I think it is both versatile and aggressive. These two qualities combine to apply a ton of pressure to the sluggish combo and control decks of the format, forcing them to attempt to go off too early, or find answers before you nail the coffin shut.
Tuesday, January 12th – I had been looking forward to the PTQ in Atlanta for some time, since it was the first live PTQ of the season. I’ve always been more attached to live tournaments as opposed to online ones, as I don’t think I focus quite as much when I’m at home on my computer. When I’m around other people, I can feel my opponent out.
Monday, January 4th – After a long and festive holiday vacation, I’m back to talk about Extended. Magic Online PTQs for San Juan have begun, and they are using Extended as the format of choice. Wizards is doing a great thing here, rewarding the player base for the online version and giving them incentive to buy Event Tickets from their store.
Monday, December 21st – Last week I wrote about Zendikar Block Constructed but didn’t get too much response, so I’ll focus on Standard until the Zen Block format becomes more relevant. I’ve read countless articles about the metagame involving the Top 8 decks from St. Louis, but not much on innovation as to how to beat them, or where the next evolution of the format is going to come from…
Monday, December 14th – Zendikar Block Constructed is pretty much a Magic Online-only format, but I’ve been getting a lot of requests to write about it over the last two weeks. The best thing going for the format is that no one can cast Bloodbraid Elf. Thankfully, there aren’t any cards that even come close as far as power level is concerned, but also it means that Jund doesn’t exist.
Monday, December 7th – Todd has a disappointing States tournament in Alabama, falling at the final hurdle. However, with the StarCityGames.com $10K Open weekend in St. Louis in mere days, Standard is all important, and tournament results power the metagame going forward…
