The Magic Show #44 — Hot Flashes
Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of The Magic Show. Today we’re going to talk about Flash, we’re going to talk about Flores, and we’re going to talk about This Week in Magic.
CategoryMagic The Gathering
Magical Hack – Limited Time Offer!
Sean McKeown, now officially terrified of Flash and opting out of Grand Prix: Columbus, turns his mercurial eye to the results from Grand Prix: Stockholm. He breaks down the successful 9-0 Sealed Deck builds, and investigates the make-up of the Top 8 draft decks in order to get to grips with the format. Limited play is an ever-mutating beast… do Sean’s statistics hold the key to the Top Tables?
From The Lab – Constructed Applications of Future Sight Blue Grand Prix Predictions
Craig “The Professor” Jones takes a long hard look at the Blue cards from Future Sight… and decides that they’re simply not worth the bother. Instead, he talks about his preparation for this weekend’s big Grand Prix event, and his hopes and fears concerning the format. Those of you who believe this article will cover Strasbourg and Time Spiral Block Constructed… think again.
Flores Friday – The Obvious and Difficult Combinations
With Regionals just around the corner, Mike ups the ante… with not one, not two, but three Standard decks packed with Future Sight cards! Each deck has a controlling feel, and there’s copious input from Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin, who “fixes” one of Mike’s deck (much to the Resident Genius’s delight). Mike’s creations constantly warp the Constructed metagame, and these decks are no exception. If you’re looking for an edge in the coming Standard environment, look no further!
Feature Article — Mono-Red in Yokohama
When preparing for Pro Tour: Yokohama, Mr Pelcak planned on running his homebrewed Red/White Control deck. However, when White Weenie started making mincemeat of that particular seventy-five, he audibled into the popular Mono-Red deck that almost took him all the way. Today, he shares the highs and lows from the tournament, and suggests some ideas for the deck post-Future Sight.
Unlocking Legacy – Columbus and the Format According to the “All Stars”
Countdown to Grand Prix: Columbus! In his pre-Grand Prix: Columbus article, Dan surveys some of the most successful Legacy players in the format and shares their thoughts on the upcoming Grand Prix and the emergence of Hulk Flash.
Levelling Up – Grand Prix: Stockholm
Grand Prix: Stokholm… Time Spiral Sealed Deck. And the one missing thing from Tiago’s resumé? A Grand Prix Top 8. After a successful Day 1, Tiago was sitting pretty for Day 2 competition. However, as we all know, the wheels fell of his wagon somewhere. So where exactly did it go wrong? Tiago reveals all…
Chatter of the Squirrel — On Intentional Draws
Intentional Draws… a blight on the game, or a harmless level of strategy? Today’s Chatter of the Squirrel puts the humble ID under the spotlight. Zac attempts to drain the moral quagmire and present the dilemma in easy-to-digest terms. So, are Intentional Draws the last refuge of pure evil? Whatever your stance, this is one article that’s guaranteed to put the cat amongst the pigeons…
The Kitchen Table #181 — The Compendium of Alternate Formats, Entry 8: Elder Dragon Highlander
Hello all, and welcome back to both my next Kitchen Table article – the next installment in the Compendium. Today I am going to tackle a fairly common format as has been mentioned in several writers’ articles, including a surge from MagictheGathering.com page all the way over here… Elder Dragon Highlander!
Tact or Friction — A Fat Retrospective
Today, we’re going to talk about Fatties. We’re going to look over historically good fatties, a hall of fame of real king-hitters, those heavyweights and the few rare super-heavyweights. To qualify for this discussion, it’s not enough to be played. Once upon a time, Zvi said a spell that cost five mana or more, “had better win me the game right there.” This quote is trotted out many, many times by better players than you or I, and these players are almost universally wrong to mention it.
Peebles Primers – Gruul
Dragonstorm is the best deck in Standard. Coming in a (not-so) close second is R/G Aggro, a.k.a. Gruul. Since this game began, folk have enjoyed beating down with little Green and Red men, and finishing the job with red burn to the face. Future Sight has brought some interesting Red and Green cards to the table… just how do they fit into the grand scheme of reducing your opponent from twenty to zero? BPM reveals all!
Pro Perspective — Levy on Luck
Raphael Levy, Hall of Famer, current leader in the Player of the Year race, has undoubtedly tasted his fair share of lucky breaks. However, there’s an old saying out there… one that states “you make your own luck.” Is this indeed the case? Is it possible to influence such random events with a little tenacious guile? In today’s Pro Perspective, Raph talks about the nature of Luck itself, and reveals that those lucky topdecks may not be so lucky after all…
Removed From Game – Since Last We Met
Taking over from Rivien Swanson, and appearing here every Wednesday, we have the one and only Richard Hagon! It’s been a while since he last wrote, but the man from Mox is here to take you through all the comings and the goings, the throwing down and the throwing up, and all the news that’s fit to print from the Pro world.
You Lika The Juice? – Cleverness
Now that the entirety of Time Spiral block is released I think it’s starting to sink in just how ridiculous they’ve made Blue… again. People are chatting about it in the forums and such, and I wanted to spend my time this week adding my two cents on the subject before we shift into Regionals high gear. Imagine for a second if Teferi was Green… the cynical answer would be that they’d strip away Flash and add three generic mana to the casting cost.
Deconstructing Constructed – The Summer of Our Eternal Discontent
Today’s Deconstructing Constructed takes a two-pronged approach. First, it looks at the older Constructed formats, tackling a couple of pertinent points and rounding out with an interesting take on Flash in Vintage. Second, it looks at the Standard metagame and bemoans the strength of Dragonstorm, before leaving us a fun-looking Angel Control deck that could prove powerful for Regionals…