Monday, April 20th – Standard is a format that seems to be growing stale. Alara Reborn is on the horizon, and there are plenty of cards that (hopefully) will shake up the metagame. Today I’m going to take a look at a few of those cards and their potential applications for the Standard format, as well as the a few topics related to Magic Online.
Monday, April 13th – After last week’s article, I had firmly decided on my deck for the PTQ. Ranger Zoo had brought me a few online victories, and I felt like my list was incredibly strong. Aside from a horrid Elves matchup, I felt like my Zoo list had an advantage on the rest of the field that other Zoo lists did not have, especially in the mirror.
Monday, April 6th – Recently, a friend of mine emailed me saying “I won my local PTQ with Ranger Zoo.†I was intrigued. I had seen Bill Stark’s Naya Zoo list with Ranger of Eos, and just brushed it off as a mediocre and slower version of Naya Burn. However, this friend of mine, whose opinion I greatly respect, basically just wrecked an entire PTQ without losing a single match.
Monday, March 30th – The format for Pro Tour: Austin Qualifiers is Standard. Can you believe it? For the first time in as long as I’ve been playing Magic, Wizards of the Coast has finally decided to make Standard the format of choice for players battling for a blue envelop. Seriously? Check. Awesome? Check again.
Monday, March 23rd – Talking about Magic can be a very healthy process. You tend to learn a lot from friends while traveling to tournaments just by simple discussions on draft theory, pick order, or deck construction. Differing viewpoints can help you form your own theories on the subject of discussion, eventually turning you into a stronger player.
Monday, March 16th – With results pouring in regularly for Extended PTQ Top 8’s around the globe, one deck that is constantly rising in popularity and doing consistently well is Bant Aggro. While this isn’t the most original name for a deck, nor the most original deck idea, it does do the thing we all strive to do: win.
Monday, March 9th – Since the Extended PTQ season is now in full swing and Pro Tour: Kyoto has come and gone, I feel it is time to focus solely on the Extended metagame. One deck that has performed surprisingly well lately is Naya Zoo, made famous at GP: LA by Adam Prosak.
Monday, March 2nd – With Faeries clearly coming to the forefront of Extended, I feel it necessary to give it a little spotlight. It seems like every week at least one Faerie deck wins a PTQ, and rarely are two copies the same…
Monday, February 23rd – Last week I talked about a few different Standard deck ideas revolving around the powerhouse cards Banefire and Volcanic Fallout from Conflux, while giving honorable mention to Path to Exile. Today I’ve decided to take on the other side of the spectrum of Standard, delving into my two favorite control archetypes: Faeries and Five-Color Control.
Friday, February 20th – Hello everyone, and welcome back to Constructed Criticism! Today I’m going to be talking about Standard with Conflux in preparation for the multiple StarCityGames.com $5000 Standard Opens coming to a big city near you! I will go over some archetypes that have been proven in the pre-Conflux metagame, and discuss some recent additions to each deck.
Thursday, February 5th – Welcome to Constructed Criticism! I’m Todd Anderson, and I’ll be your guide through these shark-filled waters as you prepare for upcoming PTQs, Grand Prix tournaments, Regionals, and hopefully Pro Tours. My goal is to inform, prepare, and excite people about whatever metagame is most popular at any given time. Currently, we are looking at Extended, since it is the format of choice for PTQs over the next two months or so.
