Suicidal Tendencies – Grand Prix: Philadelphia *2nd*
The man on the Meddling Mage takes you behind the scenes on the deck development for his B/W homebrew at Philadelphia and then details the story of yet another Grand Prix second place finish.
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My Own Private PTQ
Flores puts a new Zoo variation through the flames of battle and discovers that it might just be a very solid contender for the PTQ and Worlds metagames.
Legacy in Hindsight
It will take some time to unpack and understand the results of Grand Prix: Philadelphia. Two Goblins decks, one Lion’s Eye Diamond/Auriok Salvagers combo, three aggro-control Threshold decks, a Black/White disruption deck, and a Lightning Rift cycling deck is a Top 8 that nobody could have predicted. To the passing observer, the Top 8 decklists will suggest a metagame and an environment that did not exist, so today I’m going discuss Legacy in general, the metagame, and the Flame Vault deck variations in some detail.
If It Ain’t Broke, Break It – The Payoff
Johnny “hasn’t played Magic in five years” Rizzo takes his homebrew to the first Extended PTQ of the year. How does the man do when battling against the likes of Mouth and the legendary Go Anan? The answer is inside… somewhere.
If It Ain’t Broke, Break It Part 2
The most controversial writer in Magic produces more of the same, except completely different stuff from yesterday in his quest to explain where he’s been, where he’s going, and how he came up with his latest Extended creation.
Stinking Big in Copenhagen
Julien Nuijten is “The Champ” for at least a couple more weeks and he’s not letting the world forget about it, nabbing two Grand Prix victories in the last three months. Today Julien discusses his Extended Psychatog build (complete with matchup analysis and sideboarding guide) while telling you how Dr. Teeth and Big Stinks play nice together.
If It Ain’t Broke, Break It
Rizzo chokes a horse with his page count in this mammoth undertaking, but it includes his thoughts on basically everything Magic, Sex, and the Internet. Oh yeah, and it’s got a heaping helping of roguetastic decklists for those who enjoyed that element of the other Jonny Magic and pictures are back too.
Peace of Mind: Elegance
Back when I was a regular on the tournament scene, you’d see people show up with decks like that one that they peeled off a Pro Tour deck listing, and yet didn’t put in the requisite test drives. Believe it or not, no deck really drives itself, no matter how good the engine is. It may seem like it, but it just can’t, and people who say it does are really underestimating player ability as a deciding factor in deck creation and performance.
Red Rockin’ Extended
Extended, fresh off rotation with that new car smell still in the air is ripe to be broken… with Beasts? Indeed, dear reader don’t look for technology in old Extended, nor even in good Type Two decks of now dead formats. You must dig deep into the likes of Onslaught Block Constructed for the golden technology I wish to impart.
I Hear It’s Great, But Is It GOOD?
Master Flores takes time out of his busy schedule of self-promotion to run a deck that someone else designed this week. Greater Good combo decks are a blast to play and did quite well in a number of states last month, but are they any good in the new metagame?
Grim Long: All Your Questions Are Belong To Us
I’ve had a Grim Long list built since early 2004, waiting and ready for the moment that I thought would never arrive. That moment arrived — and although the Vintage metagame has undergone many twists and turns in the intervening years, I knew that I had to play Grim Long. I was pleased to make the top 4 at the most recent StarCityGames.com Power Nine with Grim Long at its first (and hopefully not last) outing. This article will explain the tweaks I made to the deck, how to pilot it correctly, and describe the major matchups.
Down and Back Again: A Pro Tour LA Report
How’d Noah’s Los Angeles go? Well, he scrubbed out of the Pro Tour, nearly got DQ’d, did some Pro Tour Feature Match coverage, watched Zvi Mowshowitz pick up babes, ate at Fogo De Chao, was assaulted by zombies in downtown LA, and got to ride rollercoasters. If you are a fan of the lost art of tournament reports, you cannot miss this one.
Diary of a Ravnica Drafter – The Rules of Ravnica Draft
Like many of you, Nick has been dreaming about cards games lately, and after a great deal of play with The City of Guilds, he’s come up witha set of rules for Limited play that you would do well to know, even if you don’t follow them. What’s the best card in the set for Limited? The best guild in draft? The answers to these questions and more are but a click away.
The Complete Mind’s Desire Strategy Guide
From a purely strategic point of view, there are a good many reasons to play Desire at your next Extended tournament. The first (and probably best) reason is because the deck is just hard to play against unless your opponent has dedicated a large amount of time to it — which, given that you’re at a PTQ, is doubtful. So let me walk you through the intricacies of the deck that got me all the way to the Top 4 at Los Angeles.