Wednesday, August 13th – We’ve recently added a couple of high-level Block Constructed tournaments to the books, and while the usual suspects powered through to the final tables, an old 0/5 treefolk friend is experiencing a Renaissance. Doran, it seems, is back for good. Today, BPM investigates the many faces of the tricolor tree, and examines the strategy’s position in the current metagame.
Wednesday, August 13th – Richard’s development of his innovative Counter Elves strategy in Lorwyn / Shadowmoor Block Constructed continues apace. With the focus on besting the New Deck On The Block – Justice Toast – Richard takes us through the latest version of the deck, and shares his sideboarding plans for the stronger decks in the metagame.
Tuesday, August 12th – A beat-up playset of Power Nine will run you in the thousands. A playset of Force of Will? Three-digits if you want them in Near Mint. The cost of entry into older formats keeps rising with each year, as cards get harder and harder to find. Could the financial barrier for Vintage, Legacy, and (to a degree) Extended be eased? Yes! Read inside for Ben’s thoughts on a solution.
Tuesday, August 12th – Eventide is now available online, and the drafters are gathered to wait for queues to fire in a few days… with an Eventide pack in the mix, things have definitely changed! Today, Nick examines some of the star players and also-rans from triple-Shadowmoor, and re-evaluates them in the Brave New World of SSE…
Monday, August 11th – Last week, Stephen Menendian brought us part 1 of his sterling attempt to defend his Vintage World Champion crown… today, he rounds out the report in fine style! He brings us a literal play-by-play of his entire tournament, and even throws us a complete play-by-play of the final! Classic Menendian… enjoy!
Monday, August 11th – It seems that The Innovator has done it again! While he wasn’t the tournament-winning pilot of the hottest tech at Grand Prix: Denver – that honor fell to Gerry Thompson – Patrick Chapin was the driving force behind the deck’s creation. For the story of the deck’s inception, written and submitted before Gerry T took the crown, read on! And congratulations Gerry!
Friday, August 8th – U.S. Nationals is a tournament with a proud pedigree. When the Top 8 is paired, there’s always a tale or two to tell. This year’s U.S. Nationals was no exception… but perhaps the talk of the tournament was grinder Carl Dillahay, who powered all the way to the final table after three days of sterling Magical play. This is his story…
Friday, August 8th – With Mono-Red, Faeries, Elves, and Reveillark being some of the stronger Standard options at present, Adrian believes he has the best Elves build around… but is he right? Some of his numbers seems strange to the casual observer, but the deck won Sam Black a Nationals final spot. Adrian explains the genesis of the deck, and runs us through some of the strategies for success…
Thursday, August 7th – Kyle’s Nationals tale begins at the airport, and takes us through the highs and lows of his tournament from a Magical and non-Magical perspective. While he didn’t exactly rock the house – he posted a Scarwood Treefolk, after all – he did learn a few things about his deck and the formats, and have a bucketful of fun…
Thursday, August 7th – It was a safe bet that, going into U.S. Nationals last weekend, Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin would have something, well, innovative for the Standard portion of the event. He didn’t disappoint. Today he walks us through his own personal Nationals competition, that saw him come close to Sunday play…
Wednesday, August 6th – Alongside Nationals competitions in a multitude of colors, last weekend also saw the latest Block Constructed Grand Prix in Kobe, Japan. While the winning deck was depressingly Blue and Black, the Top 8 did contain a few surprises. Marijn Lybaert takes us through some of the cooler cards on show, in preparation for the approaching Grand Prix: Denver…
Wednesday, August 6th – Ben’s back from the U.S. National Championships in Chicago, and he’s got the goods on which cards were hot, and which were not! Which Vintage cards are on the rise? And what is the hottest block tech right now? Read today’s article to find out!
Tuesday, August 5th – Drafting with Eventide allows a plethora of options and opinions, and the debate over the strongest available archetype rages across the world. Many of the top players at U.S. Nationals enjoy drafting White… if that’s your own view, you’ll enjoy today’s draft walkthrough. Is drafting to your preference a key to the new format? Read on to find out!
Tuesday, August 5th – At last weekend’s U.S. Nationals, 2007 Vintage World Champion Stephen Menendian attempted to repeat his victory of last year. Unfortunately for Stephen, he fell at the final hurdle… but he answered a variety of questions on the metagame along the way. Today’s So Many Insane Plays is part 1 of an epic-length tournament report… enjoy!
Monday, August 4th – In the second of today’s rescheduled Premium articles, Benjamin Peebles-Mundy takes a close look at the Mono-Red phenomenon. With the Little Red Men powering through Nationals competitions across the globe, BPM dissects the winning build from U.S. Nats and provides an clear overview for those of us with their own high-profile tournaments on the horizon…
