In this article, Nick covers all of the best archetypes in Betrayers Limited, detailing the cards that make the decks tick and then pointing out some over and underrated cards in each archetype that you might not be playing right now.
Since its introduction at the last StarCityGames Chicago Power 9, Doomsday has remained one of the more interesting combo decks in Vintage. With another Chicago Power 9 only a week away, Stephen Menendian revisits the decklist with an updated version and a veritable godbook on how to combo out of practically any situation. This is an article Vintage players simply cannot afford to miss.
Anton Jonsson is widely considered to be one of the best drafters in the world, so when he writes about Limited, you best take notice. Today Anton provides a masterclass in how to draft what he considers to be the best archetype in CCB Limited, complete with the theory behind why this archetype works. Draft noobie or wisened veteran of the Pro Tour, this article has something for players at every level.
Today I’m going to discuss building the “Oops, I win” factor into Constructed decks, giving you the tools to turn seemingly harmless or suboptimal cards into situations that your opponent’s simply cannot beat.
What is it with good players getting corrupted be the lure of White Weenie in Standard lately? Even the normally reliable Rick Rust gets in on the act today, proposing an aggressive Weenie build that eschews the Jitte. Can this deck possibly be good?
Zvi wraps up his survey of Kamigawa Block Constructed with thoughts on what Red and Green bring to the table as well as providing an astounding ten potential decklists for Pro Tour: Philadelphia and the Block Queues on Magic Online.
StarCityGames.com writer Mike Flores pioneered the current renditions of Mono-Blue Control decks in Standard, and Gabriel Nassif recently took the deck in a slightly different direction at French Regionals. What does Kyle think about Nassif’s new version and how has MUC been faring in his testing of the new metagame, particularly against the supposedly problematic Tooth and Nail matchup? The Boddy knows…
After working for a week on a modified version of Gush-a-Tog, Terry set out to test the deck at the final Grand Prix of the season. In spite of posting a 6-1-1 record, he didn’t end up in Day 2 because the judge gave him a match loss after the match had completed. What is the normal ruling in this case and how did Psychatog, of all decks, end up taking over the Extended season at the end? The answers to these questions and more are just a click away.
Tim Aten again tackles Craig Stevenson’s recent Sealed Revealed card pools in order to show how a Limited expert would build these decks. This is required reading for anyone attending one of the PTQs this weekend, particularly if you want to see how to try and make the most of a truly abysmal card pool.
Apparently some Internet writers don’t know the difference between interactive and non-interactive cards. Looks like it’s time for Professor Mike to teach another lesson.
With his set review now complete, Nick steps directly into a draft walkthrough that contains a few interesting twists and turns along the way. Where did Nick go wrong and what would you have done differently? Enquiring minds want to know!
Today Zvi begins his examination of Kamigawa Block Constructed, stripping each color down to its building blocks to seek out the real power and synergy in the format. Why should you listen to Zvi when he talks about Block? Because the Block Constructed Pro Tour Winner’s Trophy on his mantle says so!
Casting costs are relatively important in Type One, for more purposes than just evaluating how much mana you need to put in your deck (especially since cheating on casting costs is the primary goal of many if not most Type One strategies). Its actual import reveals itself through the usefulness of other cards: Powder Keg, Smother, Engineered Explosives, Pernicious Deed, as well as the classically sidelined counterspells, Prohibit and Spell Blast. Other cards ranging from Overload and Plaguebearer to Gorilla Shaman and Chalice of the Void also care very much about this aspect of a card. Today I’m going to break down a whole slew of numbers that will make you a better Vintage player for knowing them.
After three second-place finishes in four PT Top 8’s, Gabriel Nassif again found himself in the finals at Pro Tour: Atlanta, this time with teammates David Rood and Gab Tsang. What follows is the story of Nova’s victorious weekend, including special guest appearances by Dave Williams and Josh Arieh of World Poker fame and a very angry Kumano, Master Yamabushi.
I love this Limited format. It is so incredible because there are so many interesting interactions in the format. There are interactions you can easily see (Tallowisp plus Cage of Hands) and ones that you need to see in the game to really grasp (Earthshaker plus Guardian of Solitude). These types of synergies are what the format is all about, and what I’m going to try and help you come to grips with over the next couple of weeks to give you a leg up on the PTQ season.
