Lorwyn Standard is, at present, a mystery. Are the tribes strong enough to impact on the format? How bad is the loss of the Ravnica dual lands? With tomorrow’s Mockvitational in his sights, Mike Flores attempts to crack a few of these mysteries and brings us a B/U Control deck that’s packed with fresh meat! Cryptic Command, Guile… will they cut it in the upcoming metagame?
After a brief delay due to unforeseen circumstances, today we have Nick Eisel’s first look at Lorwyn! He walks us through his prerelease experience, sharing his card pool and thoughts on his eventual Top 8 build. He also highlights a few of the stronger cards in draft, and touches on the importance of the tribal theme, which will be a surefire cog in the Limited machine for weeks and months to come…
Lorwyn, it seems, brings all the boys to the yard. Everyone wants to play with the new cards, and Steve Sadin is no exception. This coming weekend, he’ll be slinging spells in the Mockvitational, and invitation-only tournament that features a Lorwyn Standard section. Today, he shares some of his decks and preparations, plus a couple of Lorwyn Draft thoughts and ideas…
The prerelease has passed, and we’re all eager to play both Draft and Sealed with the new cards. Benjamin Peebles-Mundy, fresh off a number of drafts with triple Lorwyn, introduces some of the strategies and synergies that we’ll come to embrace in the coming months. In order to lead by example, he presents a couple of successful Draft decks and explains why they put up a strong performance. There’s also a Sealed cardpool for us to investigate!
When a new set hits the shelves, Magic players the world over clamor for information on the strengths and weaknesses of the fresh cards. The Vintage crowd, of course, is no exception… except that their standards for possible playability are considerably higher. Today, Vintage World Champion Stephen Menendian takes a look at the highlights that Lorwyn has to offer our game’s most broken format…
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Nick Eisel’s article will be appearing on Friday… in its place, we’ve brought Richard Feldman’s article forward from Thursday! Today’s Deep Analysis concentrates on Extended, with exhaustive play-by-play coverage of many games featuring Ichorid against NarcoBridge and Gaea’s Might Get There. The Pro Tour is mere days away… get all the relevant tech right here!
The Lorwyn Planeswalkers are extremely difficult to evaluate. Sure, they appear to be stupid in Limited… but how will their revolutionary new mechanics fare in the world of 60-card Magic? Will we have to rethink our strategies completely, or are they merely fuel for Tarmogoyfs? Adrian Sullivan attempts to guide us through the theoretical quagmire, breaking down the Planeswalkers into more manageable chunks…
Finally, Lorwyn is here! States is coming, and eyes are turning to the New Standard. Today’s Innovations sees Patrick Chapin take a look at two of the more hyped strategies in the format: Green/White Aggro with Gaddock Teeg, and a Standard update of the U/B Teachings archetype from Time Spiral Block Constructed. If you’re looking for an edge in the coming Standard metagame, this is the article for you!
John Friggin’ Rizzo, the one-time destroyer of Extended, has gone a little peculiar. His article today is packed with the usual Mono Black in Standard musings, and Mono Black in Legacy tips… but we also learn a great deal about the man himself. Fun decks, fun plays, fun anecdotes, and the expected level of humorous invective… plus a frankly disturbing picture of the great man in full-on breakdance mode that will linger long in the memory.
Tiago Chan, Level 6 Mage and one of Portugal’s finest, has had many ups and downs in his successful Magic career. Today’s Levelling Up sees Mr Chan in a reflective mood… he looks back at five of the most important matches he’s played, and shares how they molded his career and outlook on the game we all love. Who knows, maybe his insights will help us in our own quest to level up…
Mike is not a particular fan of the Dredge strategy. However, with the Extended format shaping up to be a graveyard-dominated metagame, today’s Flores Friday sees Mike explain why fumbling around in our trash piles may actually be a winning formula. He also updates Zvi Mowshowitz’s excellent Numbers strategy, and asks a few questions of the decks that you’re looking to play…
Want to know what will be hot at your prerelease this weekend? Which cards should you pick up now while they are undervalued, and which should you trade away while they are overhyped? Will Lorwyn cause any older cards to jump suddenly in value? The only way to find out is to read Ben’s analysis of the Financial Value of Lorwyn!
Last week, Richard walked us through some of the non-graveyard decks that may feature highly in the upcoming Pro Tour: Valencia. This week, Deep Analysis concentrates on those very graveyard-centric decks that last week he was trying to beat. Utilizing the yard is the strategy du jour for any serious Extended mage… so how do you maximize your chances to prevail despite the inevitable hate?
Lorwyn is coming, and it’s full of prime, juicy Elves. Our resident Red guru, Dan Paskins, takes us through a list of some of the more irritating little pointy-eared idiots, and shares his thoughts on how to dispatch them. He also brings us a couple of new aggressive decks for the upcoming Standard format, and rolls out an interesting Red Deck for Extended.
When folks start talking aggro, especially in Standard or Block, talk soon turns to White Weenie. With the Kithkin tribe looking particularly strong in Lorwyn, today’s Peebles Primers takes a look at two possible directions for the little White men. Benjamin brings us two decklists using the new goodies from Lorwyn — an all-White beatdown machine, and a Green/White build featuring man of the moment Gaddock Teeg. Warning: Contains Spoilers.
