Today’s Down And Dirty sees Kyle tackle ten points of Magic miscellany that have tickled he fancy this past week. He questions the validity of to amateur prizes in Grand Prix tournaments, brings us the truth about Kenji’s vicious powers of mental domination, and shares a Blue/Green deck that could make quite a splash in the new Standard metagame…
Kavu Justice was a beatdown star in Time Spiral Block Constructed. Now we have the fresh meat that is Lorwyn to add to the mix, can we update the deck for a post-Krakow Standard metagame? Richard Feldman believes we can. He throws his deck against the best that the Grand Prix Top 8 had to offer, with surprising results…
Another day, another tribal drafting guide for triple Lorwyn. While this particular race is popular in Standard, it seems that they’re falling from favor in Limited, at least according to the pros in the know. That said, you can’t deny then power of cards such as Imperious Perfect, Lys Alana Huntmaster, and Nath’s Elite. Benjamin Peebles-Mundy brings us the lowdown on the Green/Black Elves archetype, bringing out the pointy-eared freak in us all…
Today’s So Many Insane Plays concentrates on two things. The first is a thorough breakdown of the Bring Your Own Standard format, played at this year’s Invitational. If Mark Rosewater has his way, this could be coming to a sanctioned tournament near you! Second, Stephen takes us through the rest of his Invitational experience, including the long awaited Vintage portion…
Lorwyn Drafts on Magic Online are now in full swing… well, half swing at least. Despite the downtime and the hideous lag, Nick has managed to compile a few drafts for walkthroughs. Today’s walkthrough contains a number of tricky decisions, and highlights the importance of rating cards for both power and tribal concerns…
One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do… and singleton cards in Constructed Magic can seem very lonely indeed. Today’s Sullivan Library examines the theory behind including one-of cards in your ultra-honed sixty-card machine. By defining the roles such inclusions need to play, we can refine our choices and increase our chances of tournament success.
One of the most important questions players are forced to answer during a game of Magic is “What is my role?†Mike Flores tells us that Misassignment of Role = Game Loss, and while that is certainly true, there is more to the theory behind that statement than meets the eye. Today, in a contender for Article of the Year, Patrick “The Innovator†Chapin explores the novel concept of Thermodynamics in Magic. One deck is warm, the other is cool… just where do the boundaries lie?
Building the perfect Sealed deck is a fine art. Sure, there are times that you get all the good Green and all the good Red, but even then there are decisions to be made. Steve Sadin believes that, along with the usual card power concerns, building a successful Sealed deck relies on understanding exactly what type of deck you need. If you’ve three byes at your next Grand Prix, the art of building a Sealed deck can be radically different to those building to ensure PTQ success. Intrigued? Then read on!
After eight rounds on Day 1 of Grand Prix: Bangkok, Tiago Chan stood proud and undefeated at the top of the ladder. Perhaps this Grand Prix would bring him that elusive Top 8 he’s been hunting for so long… Sadly, Day 2 was an outright disaster, seeing poor Tiago drop from the top of his game to the depths of despair. He shares his decks – Sealed and Draft – today, bringing us fine advice on what to do – and what to avoid – at our next PTQ…
The elusive Blue Envelope… the Holy Grail for which every PTQ player pines. How, exactly, can we put ourselves in the proper mindset to achieve a PTQ win? Is it about practice, belief, luck… all of these things? Today’s Flores Friday examines the qualities you need to step up and reach your true potential. Another master class from Mike – you don’t want to miss this!
Kyle ain’t messing about this week… he takes a long hard look at some of the more exciting decks to come out of Krakow, including a few lists unseen by the Top 8 coverage, and offers his opinions on the new Standard metagame. He also analyses Paul Cheon’s winning 75, before diving into a revealing interview with the newly-minted Level 6 Mage himself!
We all know that Magic is packed with intangible, incremental gains and losses. Players show their true colors time and again, bluffing and counter-bluffing all the while, attempting to throw their opponent off their game. By highlighting the true level of complexity that is found in one single game, Richard shows us how we can charge those tiny credits to our accounts. This is one of the best articles I’ve read for a while… an instant classic. Enjoy!
The PTQ season for Pro Tour: Kuala Lumpur is in full swing, and the Lorwyn cards are available on Magic Online (if you can bear the current lag issues). Today’s Peebles Primers brings us an excellent Sealed cardpool from a recent 4x Premier Event. If you’re looking for a little practice before your PTQ this weekend, Benjamin has the goods for you!
In today’s So Many Insane Plays, Stephen unlocks the metagame secrets of Vintage, breaking down all of the tournament results since the Vintage World Championship. What’s winning and what’s changing in Vintage? This is a must-read article for Vintage players!
It’s another Limited day, and another Lorwyn tribe receives the full Eisel treatment! After dealing with Merfolk, Goblins, and Elementals, we move onto the flabbiest monsters in the set – the Giants. Most folk believe that these mana-hungry behemoths are easily swarmed by the quicker tribes on offer… but with a little forethought their synergies are strong. And what’s not to love about swinging with 6/6 monsters?
