Jeroen is low on questions again, folks! Get them sent into [email protected]. For this week, he rounds out the current batch with a couple of corkers. First up, he takes a look at the Block Constructed metagame, and updates Raphael Levy’s quarterfinal deck from Pro Tour: Yokohama. Then he looks at two uncomfortable-looking Standard decks, and offers his advice… All this, and much more, in the week’s Ask The Drama!
Dragonstorm in the strongest deck in Standard. As such, everyone is gunning for it. However, life can be difficult for the self-proclaimed Combo Killers when the tools at your disposal are nullified by a timely Gigadrowse. So what can we do? Richard takes a proactive approach, and looks for answers to the puzzle by examining the available disruption. He brings us four exciting decklists today, at least one of which can produce fantastic results against the 800-pound gorilla in the format.
Jamie Wakefield, the archetypical Green Mage, takes a long look at his Magic-playing tendencies of late. He’s tinkered with Black/Green, Blue/Green, even Red/Blue… is a more multicolored path his ticket to success, or should he return to his Mono-Green roots? He also warns of the dangers involved in teaching Magic to three people in two languages while drunk, and offers some handy tips for the sartorially-challenged amongst us.
Stephen loves broken decks. This much is obvious. As Grand Prix: Columbus lurches into view, it seems that everyone has an opinion on the menacing potential of Hulk Flash. As a well-respected Vintage veteran, Stephen is in a prime position to examine the interactions behind the deck. Does the reworking of Flash mean that Legacy is spawning into a “Vintage Lite” format? And is Stephen’s list really the Fastest Deck in Magic History? Read on to find out!
Nick climbs aboard the Draft Express this week, taking us through our paces in a Time Spiral / Planar Chaos / Future Sight draft. Each pick is dissected in detail, and each success and failure is discussed at length. The three-set format is always a major jolt when we emigrate from the two-set game, and the addition of Future Sight throws some industrial-strength spanners in the works. If you’re looking to improve your 40-card game, then this is a fine place to start!
This is a companion article to the classic article “Who’s The Beatdown?” by Mike Flores. It explores the different ways to play aggressive decks, and the ways to win more while doing so. It was inspired by Mike’s recent comment that there was no more strategy worth writing about for beatdown or burn decks. It is suitable for players and Goblins of all ages, though those with Elvish sympathies may find some scenes distressing.
Craig “The Professor” Jones, fresh from narrowly missing Day 2 in Grand Prix: Stockholm, brings us his thoughts on the Red cards from Future Sight. He updates a number of Standard and Block offerings with the new cards, and tosses out a few ideas and strategies. With Regionals just weeks away, it’s time to break Standard… maybe Prof can help!
Ah, the problem with Green… a subject taxing the minds of the Magic Internet Community since 1766. Today’s Flores Friday sees Mike tackle this most elusive of topics with his usual incisive thinking, in a direct response to Jamie Wakefield’s take on the subject from earlier this week (and from the last ten years). He also shares his own forays into the Hulk Flash arena, and brings us what he believes to be the strongest Hulk Flash strategy created to date.
Thanks to a punted PTQ, Benjamin Peebles-Mundy is playing Regionals this year. With less than a month to go until the big day, BPM is embarking on a journey to find and hone his Regionals powerhouse. Each week, from now until the tournament, he’ll be looking at possible contenders, and weighing up the pros and cons of each in regards to a likely nine-round tournament. First up is Dredge. Is it good enough to take the slot?
Tiago Chan, Level 6 mage and many pundit’s choice for Player of the Year at the start of the season, is having a rough time. He hasn’t quite recaptured his form of 2006 just yet, but it’d take a brave man to write him off completely. In today’s Levelling Up, he talks candidly about his performance and choices at Pro Tour: Yokohama. Grand Prix: Strasbourg is fast approaching, and there’s a Block Constructed PTQ season on the horizon. Can Tiago help you stay one step ahead of the competition?
Last week, Adrian brought us his personal Top 5 Constructed Future Sight cards for the colors White, Blue, and Black. Today, he rounds out the rundown with his Top 5s from White, Red, and the rest. Some of his choices will inspire heated discussion – there are some surprises on Adrian’s list, that’s for sure. He also brings us an interesting Standard deck that includes some of his stronger choices. Regionals is approaching fast: has Adrian created the Next Big Thing?
Jeroen returns to his virtual mailbag today, answering fan-posed questions from across the globe! The subjects for discussion today include Two-Headed Giant Limited, the Standard Metagame, how to sideboard against Dragonstorm, turn 1 plays in Limited, and how to slow your game in order to maximize your concentration. He’s running low on questions, folks. Be sure to send yours to [email protected]!
With apologies to Mike Hron and Guillaume Wafo-Tapa, thus far it’s been Raphael Levy’s season. Multiple Grand Prix wins and a Pro Tour Top 8 see him sat on top of the pile in the ongoing Player of the Year race. So it’s safe to say that, going into Grand Prix: Stockholm, he had high hopes for a strong performance. Today’s Pro Perspective takes a look at the reasons the wheels fell off his wagon.
With Regionals on the horizon, Richard returns to his intriguing Walking Anthems Standard deck, testing the important matchups and tweaking the card numbers. Hit / Run, Temporal Isolation, Necrotic Sliver… are they good enough for the final 75? His attempts to break the metagame are proceeding apace… does this latest version have what it takes?
After a week’s holiday in sunny Berlin, Jamie is back with a bang! Today he shares the latest incarnation of Busted at Three, his G/B Standard deck. Regionals is coming, and Jamie has cast his die. He also takes a long look at the Green cards of Future Sight. For the thoughts and concerns of this Green Mage Extraordinaire, read on!
