As I type this, Craig “The Professor” Jones is facing off against Kazuya Hirabayashi in Round 1 of Pro Tour: Yokohama. His article today takes a long look at the Time Spiral Block Constructed, listing some of the decks he believes will still be in contention come Sunday. Hopefully, Craig himself will be there to rip that Rift Bolt from the top… good luck, Prof!
Today’s Flores Friday sees Mike rectifying an admitted omission — feedback response. He uses his column to respond to all the praise and condemnation he’s faced of late, and explains some of his more esoteric theories and beliefs. Why are small percentages important in modern Magic? How can we recognize cheaters who stack their decks? And, importantly — boxers or briefs?
Ben is back again with the lowdown for Future Sight, based on information gathered from the MTGSalvation.com spoiler. Do you want to know which cards will be hottest at your prerelease? Want to know which you should trade away, and which you should hoard like no tomorrow? Let the General Manager of StarCityGames.com fill you in on the key cards to keep, and those you can do without!
Countdown to Grand Prix: Columbus! In today’s Legacy article, Dan explores a lengthy list of his personal deck design successes and failures. This epic article brings a plethora of differing deck ideas to the table, each listed and filed in its appropriate archetype. Grand Prix: Columbus is just around the corner… be prepared!
Hello all, and welcome back to another in a series of articles where I take a look at a recently built – and fun – Five Color deck. I’ve done these articles on 250 decks like Snow and Spirits, and today I’m going to look at another theme deck that I recently built in the Five Color genre.
Talen continues his budget deck evolution with a spin around MTGO, cutting card here, adding cards there… are his changes up to the task? Does he improve his win ratio, or does he flounder in a sea of his own misery? The answers are a mere click away!
With the Time Spiral Block Constructed Pro Tour mere hours away, Zac attempts to analyze the key variables of the format, looking to formulate a blueprint with which to break the format. By examining the things that TSP Block’s White Weenie decks do so well, he successfully dismantles the format into manageable chunks. This is a fine, thought-provoking article, and one that will definitely improve your deckbuilding skills.
In this fascinating article on the fundamentals of Magic, Benjamin Peebles-Mundy shows us how those subconscious short-cuts — as described earlier this week by Nick Eisel — can be mutated to our advantage. We all remember Antoine Ruel’s masterful Force Spike play at Pro Tour: Los Angeles… BPM attempts to raise our game to this level, where the plays we make can affect both the conscious and subconscious mind of our opponents.
Tiago, in preparation for Pro Tour: Yokohama, has been beavering away with the Dutchies in order to smash the Block Constructed format. While he freely admits that he’s no great shakes as a deckbuilder, Mr Chan bring six years of experience in Block Constructed Pro Tour preparation to the table. So what does the history of the format at the highest level show us, and can it teach us the lessons we need to succeed? This fascinating walk down Memory Lane will open your eyes to the intricacies of this tricky format…
Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin returns to StarCityGames.com with an intriguing little article that attempts to touch all the relevant bases. You looking for Standard ideas? Check. Block Constructed tips? They’re here too. Vintage musings? Patrick’s got ‘em. A Legacy deck? Yup. Limited advice? You betcha. All this, and a breakdown of the greatest cards ever printed, sorted by color and mana cost! Truly, this article has something for everyone…
Right now in Standard, the strongest reasons to play mono-color are either Mono-Green Aggro, or some sort of Gauntlet of Power deck. I’d suggest that Korlash might be a good sign, but on the other hand, Black is the one color who’s always wanted all of your attention. Black has the strongest tendencies towards putting multiple mana symbols on all of its good cards, and borrowing abilities from other colors in order to make itself more self-sufficient.
With the Time Spiral Block Pro Tour kicking off at the end of the week, Josh Silvestri is here with some ideal preparation — a mock Block Constructed tournament that includes sixteen of the format’s strongest contenders! If you’re wondering what decks will make a splash come Sunday, maybe Josh has the information you’re looking for…
Jeroen is back to basics this week, with an article jammed full of reader-posed questions. From the mailbag this week, Jeroen tackles a an interesting Standard Rack deck, valuates the true power of Prismatic Lens, and wades into the debate on the validity of Two-Headed Giant.
Before he wings his way to Yokohama for the Time Spiral Block Constructed Pro Tour, Raphael Levy brings us one last edition of the popular Pimp My Draft series! And today we have a little extra… not one, but TWO complete draft walkthroughs for us to enjoy! Remember, if you’d like to draft along with Raph, be sure to mak your voice head in this forum!
The Ultimate Extended Tournament began with 32 great Extended decks — including five from the season just ended. It is down to eight (or so), and these are playing it out. Can any of the modern decks compete with the best of 1999, or 2002, or the decks from PT Tinker? We are answering those questions.
