Welcome to the most diverse Extended format in the history of the game, where Osyp Lebedowicz recently put Goblins back on the metagame map. In the spirit of highlighting the underdogs, or rogues, or whatever you want to call them, I’m going to examine some of the more interesting decklists I’ve seen lately.
The last time Flores set his Great Brain to creating a deck for Standard, he created a monster – Flores Blue, which is irritating players all over the world. So his only option was to create a counter-monster, using a draw engine suggested to him by Osyp Lebedowicz, to create a deck that pummels his original creation unmercifully.
Let me tell you about my first hero in the world of Magic: the Gathering. I saw his use of the Whirling Dervish in the Top 8 of those Nationals when the rest of the tournament was filled with super cheesy Hymn to Tourach decks. When the first Magic: the Gathering Black Lotus Pro Tour event changed the world in the snow-covered avenues of New York, New York, once again it was this player who stood in the spotlight of the Top 8.
And you wanna know who’s better than he was? The answer’s going to surprise you.
Richard plays Mythbuster and dispels four common misconceptions of Magic. There are several pitfalls Magic players can fall into, and Richard helps you navigate towards a stronger game in today’s article!
Three hundred and thirty players. Nineteen Rounds. Sean McKeown breaks down the entirety of Pro Tour: Los Angeles deck-by-deck and match-by-match. Which archetypes had the best winning percentage? Which were the weakest? And what two major (and still-popular) archetypes are dead, dead, dead? If you’re playing Extended this season, you must read this article!
What happens when you stick to the wrong colors during a draft and it all goes wrong? Nick deconstructs one of his drafts and shows you why it fell apart and how you can avoid certain Ravnica draft pitfalls. Plus, which cards are key to a successful Selesnya draft? Eisel’s got the answers!
My efforts to break Thoughtpicker Witch have failed utterly. So instead of unveiling my uber Thoughtpicker Witch deck, therefore, I am revealing the process of failure. Remember, everything is a learning process — and sometimes, you can learn more about the format from the way a deck doesn’t succeed. And sometimes, you might pick up one heck of an idea for Extended along the way.
The Limited Lover’s fan favorite is back, this time covering the many colors of Ravnica in all its sealed deck goodness.
Think Goblins is dead in Extended? Think again. The number one Goblins player at the Pro Tour tells you today that with some sideboard tweaks and correct play, Goblins is still good enough to take home the title.
I’ve got to finish this report. I’m writing for posterity, so here we go — time to quit sitting on my big fat… laurels. Time to explain my perspective on a fairly interesting Top 8 Sunday. Time to own up to what’s mine.
Originally I was planning on skipping Grand Prix: Philly and instead spending time working on the Extended format for Grand Prix: Charlotte in December. This all changed when I realized I’d be qualified for Pro Tour: Honolulu on rating. “No Constructed Magic until February?” I thought to myself. Just then I came to the realization that Grand Prix: Philadelphia was technically not a Constructed tournament, but it affected Eternal ratings. Immediately I started making phone calls, checking class syllibi and by the end of the week, my flight was booked. Now then… What the hell is good in Legacy?
One week Ervin Tormos was just some PTQ kid Tim Aten introduced me to at a Grand Prix. Then, attending his first Pro Tour ever, he was suddenly a Top 8 contender. This is the unlikely story of how that came about, including the inside skinny on how Ervin sideboarded PT Jank against the field.
Some people even went so far as to say that Mind’s Desire is an “awful” card, and that Chris battled to the Top 8 on the back of pure playskill and experience with the deck. Having seen Chris play at States the week before the Pro Tour, I can vouch for the playskill part. However, after playing some games with the Ideas Unbound version, I began to agree with the anti-Desire people too.
Today I will try to introduce you the deck I played in at PT: LA and GP: Copenhagen, posting satisfying results both times (respectively 14th and 15th), while unfortunately missing the Top 8. I will try to explain the choices I made for the deck, why I played it, the matchups and what I would change. I’ll even go through the two events I played with the deck and give you a little analysis of the deck in action and explain why I think B/G Aggro is an excellent choice for the current Extended metagame.
Landstill doesn’t make Top 8, but still produces a respectable finish. Solidarity hated out. Suicide Black Revisited makes it to the final. Flame Vault is awesome but super-hard to play. And you all mocked me. Shame on you.
