CategoryMagic The Gathering

Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #157: Luck in Drafts

Last weekend, I did two Coldsnap drafts. In the first, I had five Skreds, four Elves, six Snow Lands and four Auroch Herds into double Rimehorn… And I lost in the first round. I entered another 8-4 queue, and realized I didn’t really want to play about two seconds after the draft started. I rare-drafted like crazy, ended up with a very marginal pile, and split in the finals.

That got me to wondering — how much influence does luck play in drafting? So I performed a wide-scale experiment, taking several old draft decks both losing and winning, to see how much of a difference luck made… And the results were surprising.

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Drafting With Tim (Sorta) – Time Spiral #7

Continuing with the “Drafting with the U.S. National Team” series, today we have National Champion Paul “Seven Bells” Cheon, with commentary by one Mister Tim Aten. How does the U.S. of A. fare today?

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Against The Odds – Making Top 8 at Pro Tour: Kobe (Part 3)

Kenji dissects his final draft at Pro Tour: Kobe… But more importantly, he gives you his Top 10 common picks from every color! (He promised you just the top 5, but he couldn’t stop himself.)

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Levelling Up: From Athens to Kobe, Part 3

The report from Day 2 of Pro Tour: Kobe arrives, and Tiago’s mad Time Spiral Limited skills come with it! Watch as Tiago shares the good times involved in running around Japan, then goes into phenomenal detail on each of his matches and talks about the drafts he wanted to have versus the drafts he got.

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The Magic Show #18: Predictions!

Predictions are funny things. I tend to predict things when I see patterns: American Idol winners, how drivers act on highways, how someone will take a compliment or a criticism. And in the world of Magic, prediction means finding “the next big thing” — the angle that everyone is either missing or simply leaning towards, and it takes that one big finish to get everyone on board. So let’s peer into the crystal ball, with Worlds looming this weekend, and see what we can see.

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Drafting With Tim (Sorta) – Time Spiral #6

In the week before Worlds, the U.S. Nationals team stayed at my house and playtested. When they saw that I got assigned a stint as substitute drafter, the reaction was unanimous: “I wanna do one!!” Thus, for these, the first three days of Worlds, you can catch a glimpse of the drafting styles of the skilled magicians who are representing our country. Then, if you’re not impressed, you can call your bookie and put all your money on the Netherlands. First up, we have Ben “The Future of American Magic” Lundquist…

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Magic Online Musings: This Week on MTGO #41

Read The Blisterguy... every Wednesday at StarCityGames.com!What should I play at Worlds? I have been studying the Standard Metagame for quite some time, and I know that the best time to choose a deck, as far as being familiar with it is concerned, is as soon as possible. However, I also know that the metagame is a changeable and fickle thing, and therefore I knew I wasn’t going to decide on what deck I am going to play until roughly *checks watch* nnnnnow. But far as what I can expect to face at Worlds, the best indication is going to come from what has been played on Magic Online up until now… So let’s check out the Standard Premier Events Top 8 recap.

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SCG Daily — Raising the Standards

I’ve got another Standard deck to look at today. If you’re not running the crazy storm creation, I would definitely recommend this one to you. It’s a take on Pat Chapin’s “Flag Burner” that Richard Feldman and I developed…. And if you’re going to play Old Glory colors, this is the way to go.

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Tales From The Floor – A Grand Prix: New Jersey Report

Not only do you get the lyric musings of one of the best tournament report writers out there, but also you get a rundown of the best archetypes in Time Spiral Draft (hint: they all share the same color) and why they’re so crazily insane. All that, and a Top Five music list? What more could you ask for?

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The Quest For Level Five #4: France, New Jersey, and Yamagata

The latest installment in Raph’s saga to get to Pro Player Club Level 5, Raph edges closer to his goal by flying all over the world once again! In France, he attends the French Team Cup and tells you the biggest mistake you can make in Two-Headed Giant. Then it’s off to New Jersey, where he cracks a solid card pool for Sealed and finally breaks a long-running curse. And what happens at Yamagata? Read on!

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SCG Daily – Splitting Headache in Standard, Part 2

Zac continues his examination of a new and intriguing deck in Standard. Looking for a break from the norm? Then try this out for size…

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The Fairies’ Corner #1: You Can Never Have Too Many Four-Drops

I’m presenting to you — my very special friend — this article-series-of-as-yet-undetermined-length, a Standard casual cold buffet, roughly resembling Chris Romeo’s smooth and tender operatings. In other words, just to throw out my entire audience with the bathwater, the series is casual without being particularly budget-oriented. But hey, it has “fairies” in the title! Fairies! I know that I love it.

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Drafting With Tim – Time Spiral #5

With Mr Hoaen off galavanting around the world, top-eighting Grand Prix tournaments left and right, the brave Mr Aten steps into the “Drafting With X” breach until the grumpy Canadian’s return. Tim will be presenting a draft a day, sharing picks one through forty-five, and adding his own brand of lyrical commentary at the end of each article. For a more in-depth critique of his process, be sure to visit the forums!

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From Right Field: They’re Spectacular

Oh, man, I have discovered the deck. I mean, this thing has not lost a single game out of the hundred-plus games I’ve played. It doesn’t matter if the other deck is aggro, control, or combo, Pro-Tour-winning or rogue. I can’t wait to show you this Blue-Black deck featuring…

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The Extended Metagame Overview

Yesterday, Stuart brought us his views on U/W drafting in Time Spiral. Today he returns to the Constructed fold, in perfect time for Worlds. The UK’s premier deckbuilder analyses the coming Extended metagame, and offers a few gauntlet decks for your consideration…

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