John tells the epic tale of his preparation and performance at his local Champs tournament. As usual, he worked hard… and as usual, his story is full of highs and lows, all chronicled in the expected acerbic Rizzo style. If you’ve not read Rizzo before, this is the perfect time to try. If you’re already a fan… enjoy!
Jeroen, the current Battle Royale champion, takes a break from ruling the budget MTGO metagame in order to answer some reader-posed questions on a number of formats. Champs is officially over, so the tide turns towards Time Spiral Limited. With a pre-Kobe record of 11-1 in Time Spiral draft, Jeroen shares his drafting strategies in perfect time for the online release. He also shares his views on color complaints post-Ravnica, and has a few things to say on Standard too…
Paul, along with various other Magic stalwarts in the NY area, audibled at the last minute before last weekend’s major tournament. Instead of the tried and tested U/G lists, they ran something a little more… angelic. While Paul himself did not scale the heights to the top tables, another familiar name did just that… read about his triumph – and get that all-important decklist – right here!
Stephen follows up his excellent Puzzle article from yesterday with an in-depth look at a recent tournament he attended… with winning results. He shares detailed play-by-play data from each game, and has the decklists from each opponent too! All this, plus his views on Split Second cards in Magic’s most broken format…
New Hall of Fame inductee Raphael Levy continues his excellent Magic Lifestyle series with a retrospective analysis of his subpar performance at GP: Athens. He presents his Sealed cardpool and draft decks (and choices), and peppers the narrative with sights, sounds and smells from behind the Pro Tour curtain. The qualifiers for Geneva are in full swing… can Raph help you take the Blue Envelope?
A lot of recent Vintage debate has centered on the true nature of skill in Magic’s most broken format. Today’s excellent article sees Stephen, an undisputed Vintage powerhouse, lay down a number of intricate puzzles resolving around the combo applications of Gifts Ungiven. Looking to break your brain on this fine Monday morning? Then this is the article for you…
Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin takes a brief break from creating metagame-shifting decklists, and instead delves deep into his Magical past in order to share some of the lessons learnt from various defeats through the ages. Part history lesson, part gameplay tips, all told with a healthy dose of Chapin humor. Believe me, you’ll not look at Lego in the same light again…
Naoki Shimizu (the creator of Solar Flare), fresh from his excellent performance at Japanese Nationals, made the Top 8 of the recent Lord of Magic Championship (a Standard tournament in Japan) with an innovative Blue/Green deck of his own design. Today’s article examines Naoki’s take on the best builds for current popular decks, and it takes a brief look at the current Japanese metagame. Oh, and there’s the decklist from his Top 8 performance too. The best writers, the best players, only at StarCityGames.com!
The archetypal Red mage Dan Paskins takes a look at the agressive decks offered in the current Standard environment, and poses an interesting question: instead of “tweaking your deck to beat Zoo,” why not simply
Despite a number of high-profile events attempting to define the ongoing Standard metagame, the field is officially wide open. Josh takes a look at some of the myths and fallacies that are present in the respective tournament results. He looks at some of the stronger decks fielded thus far, and draws some interesting conclusions…
Standard Champs is this weekend, people! Why haven’t you settled on your final deck? For those of us still in the limbo of uncertainty, Mike reports from a Standard tournament held this past week at Neutral Ground. His sixteen-man tournament yesterday brought us a surprise winner… and believe me, the shock wins just keep on coming. If you’re still looking for last-minute tech, then this is the article for you!
While the rest of the community wonders what to play at Champs, StarCityGames.com Premium members are getting their deck ideas from some of the greatest minds in the game!
Sixteen – A Time Spiral Standard Tournament Experiment by Mike Flores
Dragonstorm in Time Spiral Standard by Stuart Wright
The Lawn Mower, The Cockroach, and Shovelling Snow – 3 Decks for Time Spiral Standard by Kyle Sanchez
You Make the Call by Mike Flores
The Black Perspective: That Other Standard Article! by Osyp Lebedowicz
Testing for the New Standard: U/G Versus Solar Flare! by Josh Ravitz
Grape Nuts, Flag Burner, and Turbo Balance: The World of Non-Firemane U/R/W by Pat Chapin
And Now For Somebody Completely Different… by Mike Flores
Building Decks With Time Spiral by Stuart Wright
Ten New Standard Decks with Time Spiral by Pat Chapin
The Future of Solar Flare by Naoki Shimizu
Anecdotes Regarding Time Spiral Standard Testing by Mike Flores
Time Spiral Standard: Testing from the Top by Mike Flores
White Weenie In Time Spiral Standard by Tim Aten
Give yourself an edge over the competition… become a StarCityGames.com Premium member today!
The Standard Champs articles keep on coming! Mike Flores (the metagame messiah) brings us a mock sixteen-man Time Spiral Standard tournament, pitching all the major players head-to-head in one mighty fight to the finish! Each game and matchup is examined in detail, and the winner… let’s just say you may be surprised at the outcome. The metagame is now slowly taking shape. Make sure you’re prepared!
Kyle returns to the pages of StarCityGames with an entertaining look at three new deck ideas that are ready to smash all comers at this weekend’s Champs tournaments! Mono Blue, Life From The Loam, and The Rack are all entertained and examined, and Stormbind also makes a timely Constructed appearence. Kyle even treats us to his Karaoke rendition of a Spice Girls classic! You have been warned…
In the new Time Spiral Standard, it seems that the combo deck of choice involved ramping to nine mana and casting Dragonstorm. Today’s Champs article sees Constructed specialist Stuart Wright take a long look at the archetype in question, analysing possible cards for the deck and producing two decklists that are both strong and durable. Are you planning to cook up a Storm this weekend? If so, this article is for you!
