Ten pictures and ten holes. This is what Wizards gave their contestants this week for the Great Designer Search. Ben takes his shot at this challenge, for great justice!
*Disclaimer* If you are a Wizards of the Coast Employee, you have full permission to use the cards and ideas contained in this article, without further obligation.
Let’s go ahead and take a look at the implicit assumptions that go into the “Split Second is Bad” argument. In order for that stance to be sound, it has to be true that the chance to respond immediately to a spell will, over the course of a large number of games, enable a more skilled player to win substantially more often than a less skilled player.
If time has shown me one thing, it’s that I can identify a crap deck with relative ease, because I’m often stupid enough to put them together to see if they play. I’ve tried the Ratcatcher Deck, I’ve tried the Bombshell deck, and I even tried the Brooding Swallow. They’re not that good, but they are cheap.
After Chris’s revelation that From Right Field will be “abandoning” its budget roots for future articles, the forums made their thoughts abundantly clear. Chris responds to the detractors… so where does it leave us?
Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin returns to the Vintage scene, analyzing the strong openings that lead to success in the Gifts and Stax matchup. His findings are somewhat startling – can mulliganing down to five or less truly be the best form of attack in some cases? This article is packed with genuine Vintage food for thought… essential for those serious about the grandfather of Magical formats.
While I was scrambling for a deck, several of my testing partners were making a big fuss about Glare being good again. As I had seen the Glare list before and liked it, I figured it had some merit and I had enough cards to at least try it, so I worked with their list that already had Spectral Force/Scryb Ranger and tested it against the gauntlet to very positive results.
The initial intent of this article was that it would be composed absent flagrant namedropping and savage barning. This proved impossible, so be forewarned.
My plan is to talk about “playskill:” what it is, how it manifests itself throughout the course of the game, and how different aspects of skill (or lack thereof) can impact a person’s ability to do well at competitive Magic.
Stephen has a formidible Vintage reputation, and today’s epic article centainly demonstrates why. At a recent Vintage tournament he didn’t drop a single game until the quarter-final… fine work indeed, especially considering the format. As usual, the article contains an amazing level of play-by-play analysis, and you can almost feel your game improving while you read it. Serious about Vintage? If so, this is unmissable.
Limited expert Nick Eisel turns his eye to the Standard metagame, bringing us a tasty Life from the Loam / Stormbind deck that has definite power and potential. While Standard is currently packed with a number of strong strategies, and all manner of decks can mix it up on the top tables, there is no denying that Time Sprial brings a plethora of untapped power to the format. Want the edge in your next Standard tournament? Then read on…
The Ferrett takes a look from the decks that managed to smash to the top of almost a thousand people at Grand Prix: New Jersey this weekend, analyzing what this might mean when it comes to building your Time Spiral Sealed deck!
Life is just full of surprises sometimes. For example, when some utter random builds a rogue budget (for Classic) deck with next to no knowledge of the metagame and still manages to finish in the Top 8 of a 112-person event. Just for further grins and giggles, let’s say said utter random has never even played the format casually before.
Well, I’ll be your utter random today. So how did I do it?
Sean takes us through not one, not two, but three triple Time Spiral drafts, each pick lovingly recreated for us readers! It’s clear that the newest set on the block has everyone talking… but will this practice be enough to take Sean to the top tables at Grand Prix: New Jersey?
The color pie has shifted over the five or six years of MTGO’s history; back when it started out, Invasion and Odyssey were the new kids on the block, and in that time, Blue was powerful. Blue had Fact or Fiction, twelve high-profile, playable counterspells ranging in multiple color combinations, and of course, all its raw power in the midsection. Green, on the other hand… not so much so.
There’s a Grand Prix in Josh’s home state this weekend; nothing will stop him from attending! Today’s article looks at an interesting Sealed pool cracked in preparation for the big event. Josh takes us through each color and highlights the strengths and weaknesses, evaluating each card as he goes. Do YOU agree with his choices?
Raph continues his quest to level up to Pro Player Club Level 5… today’s installment looks at the ups and downs of Pro Tour: Kobe. Raph was 5-1 going into the third draft… where did it all go wrong? This article contains sume invaluable Time Spiral Limited advice, perfect for those travelling to Grand Prix: New Jersey this weekend. Who knows, maybe you can beat Raph at his own game…
