Wednesday, December 17th – What I really want to call attention to today is a certain situation that, if left unchecked and uncurbed, could legitimately threaten the future of competitive Magic as it exists today. I am not, for once, employing hyperbole. The issue is that of inept, counterintuitive, self-interested, or ineffective judging at the Grand Prix or Pro Tour level.
Wednesday, December 10th – For the first time in nearly two years, I’m in danger of “falling off the train.†I’ve forgotten what it was like to stand in line for PTQ after PTQ and fail again and again and again. I’ve forgotten how difficult it was to get to the point at which I arrived, more or less, in May of 2006: that of being basically positive you were going to play at the next PT. Forgotten that it’s so much easier to stay on than it is to get there in the first place.
Friday, November 28th – Zac Hill rounds out his temporary Premium stint for the completion of his preparation for Pro Tour: Berlin. Using every email sent between himself, Marijn Lybaert, Frank Karsten, and the rest of his testing team, he recreates the exact conditions they found when preparing for the tournament. As with parts 1 and 2, this is incredible stuff, and not for the faint of heart…
Friday, November 21st – This is part 2 of the above article, in which Zac and his testing team continue their forays into Extended… enjoy!
Friday, November 21st – Zac Hill makes a temporary move to Premium for this intensely detailed examination of his preparation for Pro Tour: Berlin. Using every email sent between himself, Marijn Lybaert, Frank Karsten, and the rest of his testing team, he recreates the exact conditions they found when preparing for the tournament. Incredible stuff, and not for the faint of heart…
Wednesday, October 22nd – Bucking tradition, I have actually been writing about Magical strategy the last few weeks, and because of that there are a few things I wanted to talk about that have been kicked, at least momentarily, to the curb. I’m about to embark on what amounts to 4 weeks of travel over six weeks, so this is one of the last times to like collect my thoughts and cover a broad variety of topics. I’ll end with a brief discussion of Extended, and as a minor bonus, some Standard “technology†that will hopefully improve your matchups across the board.
Tuesday, October 14th – It turns out that Shards Sealed Deck is one of the more complex formats in recent memory, doubly so when, as I mentioned last week, you don’t open an abundance of mana-fixing. What I’m increasingly beginning to realize about this format is that the density of your mana-fixing is far less important than the timing in which you intend to cast your spells.
Friday, October 10th – The preoccupation with piecing together a “Shard†is probably the root cause of the misconception that this format is anything but blisteringly fast. People will sit and lollygag around, casting Obelisks and cracking sac-lands, and I have no idea what format they think they are playing.
Wednesday, October 1st – This article would not help you win a single game of Magic if everyone played games exclusively via MTGO. Fortunately, those of us who don’t play World of Warcraft are still relatively familiar with the phenomenon known as “real life,†and thus we sometimes occasionally every once in a while maybe just maybe interface with living, breathing human beings. If this happens in a Magical context, we might even shuffle up a physical deck of brown-backed insignia-inscribed trading cards.
Wednesday, September 24th – There is, and will always be, a market for the possibility of professional – and I mean “pay the bills†professional – Magic-related gaming. It’s what got me started and why I continue to do loony things like ship $1400 for a ticket to Berlin. But honestly, so long as several times a year there exists an opportunity to make an amount comparable to a twentysomething’s annual income, that market is going to be sated to an extent.
Wednesday, September 17th – I know that, in Vintage, you’ve got a two-mana combo that can win you the game at instant speed. I’ve got another two-mana combo for you. It may not win you the game… but it does add 15 to your mana pool, allow you to exchange life for mana on a one-to-one basis, and draw you seven cards. It can’t be that hard to win from there, can it?
Wednesday, September 10th – I notice that, in general, not much strategy-article attention is given to local tournaments. We all want the hottest lists for PTQs, sure, but it’s unreal how high your EV is at a local level, even with the smallest edge. If you want to win your local drafts, this is the article for you.
Wednesday, September 3rd – Your typical gaggle of random American Magic players is… well, how can we put this? I’m not even talking terms of the usual gamer-awkwardness, gamer-hygiene, what-have-you. That’s standard, and you move past it, and then they’re awesome. But in your average Pro Tour six-man team-draft, there are maybe two guys with jobs, and that’s ambitious in the extreme.
Wednesday, August 13th – I wanted to write about this deck prior to Grand Prix: Denver, but I was under the assumption that some of the Madison players may be playing it so I kept my mouth shut. Turns out that didn’t happen, but it’s quite a beauty and I’m excited to finally be able to chat it up…
Wednesday, August 6th – A stampeding herd of buffalo. The thunderous rhythm of Hannibal’s army storming through the Pyrenees. Volcanic eruptions. Supernovae. I would fancy each of these a “loud thing,†but only because, prior to this past weekend at Nationals, I had yet to room with Grand Prix: Indianapolis Top 8 competitor Ben Rasmussen.
