Removed From Game – Worlds Report Card Part 2
Wednesday, December 23rd – Another forty names get their turn in the spotlight, as the Pro season gets put to bed before gearing up for another global onslaught in 2010.
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Flow of Ideas – All I Want For Christmas Is A PTQ Win
Wednesday, December 23rd – I want to play on the Pro Tour again. Badly. After a narrow miss in the Standard season I maximized the number of sealed qualifiers I could attend, even finagling my way to the PTQ in Phoenix. I also tested the format a lot – the actual sealed format as well as booster draft – to try and stay ahead of the curve.
Tribal Thriftiness #95 – Crypt Combo
Tuesday, December 22nd – Dave plunges into Friday Night Magic with a deck that’s heavy on results, but light on the purse strings.
Legacy’s Allure – The Winter Deck Tech Roundup
Tuesday, December 22nd – This week, Doug checks out some of the fringe decks in Legacy with an eye toward presenting techy new options for Legacy players. Check out a use of the Sword of the Meek/Thopter Foundry combination and another strong Smallpox list. See a new take on yet another Legends card that can generate a very cool game win and get the latest in Counterbalance technology. All this, plus a fun contest, in this week’s Legacy’s Allure!
The Long & Winding Road – A Trip to the Zoo
Monday, December 21st – Last week, I took a look at some of my favorite cards from 2009, and ultimately I chose Qasali Pridemage as my favorite new card of the year. One of the reasons I love this card is the huge impact it had on Legacy, as the card is a staple of Legacy Zoo. Today, I want to look at Zoo specifically, catching up with the archetype’s progress and evolution throughout 2009.
Constructed Criticism – Solving Standard: Junk in the Trunk
Monday, December 21st – Last week I wrote about Zendikar Block Constructed but didn’t get too much response, so I’ll focus on Standard until the Zen Block format becomes more relevant. I’ve read countless articles about the metagame involving the Top 8 decks from St. Louis, but not much on innovation as to how to beat them, or where the next evolution of the format is going to come from…
The Chump Block – A Little Bit of Everything
Friday, December 18th – In this week’s edition of The Chump Block, Zach discusses Jund, his Open the Vaults deck, and Sarkhan Vol. He also interviews Justin Souza, who placed second on the Standard Saturday of the SCG $10K Open St. Louis weekend!
Feature Article – From The Jaws of Victory: Dave’s 2009 States Report
Friday, December 18th – Those who have read my intermittent ramblings in the past might remember that winning States has been my grail, my dream, my nigh-unattainable goal over the many, many years I’ve been slinging cards. I have come close, oh so close, in years past, making many Top 8s or missing them by whisker-thin tiebreakers. My precious, it taunts me so, but I shall have it…
You Lika The Juice? – The Pack-Crackers
Friday, December 18th – Are you a pack-cracker? I sometimes feel weird when, after getting my booster box comp for working at prereleases, I go home and rip open all the booster packs for singles to add to my collection or trade binder (to trade for more of what I need).
Thoughts on Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Friday, December 18th – In this text-only article from Evan, he discusses the impact of the hottest new Planeswalker in town: Jace, the Mind Sculptor! [Warning: Contains Spoilers.]
The Kitchen Table #316 – Bad Rares XI
Thursday, December 17th – I have a long box of low value rares that you can get for uber-cheap. These bad rares just sit here, waiting for the next Bad Rare article. The goal of the article is simple. I will pull out, randomly, one of these crap rares, and then build a deck around it. I never know what is coming out, so it’s a chance to have fun, build some decks, and use some older and unusual cards.
Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #305 – The Exodus Online Release Non-Events
Thursday, December 17th – Magic Online has just released the Exodus set – over a decade after the set appeared in paper. The online release events included sealed queues, drafts, and premier events. The premier events in particular failed to fire, and Wizards has now canceled them early. The draft and smaller sealed event queues are still around, but they are not firing very fast, if at all. What went wrong?
Flow of Ideas – Rekindling Your Fire
Thursday, December 17th – Burnout… the affliction of PTQ road warriors, playtesting junkies, and even professional players. Burnout is a mental condition many Magic players go through without even realizing it that threatens your success as a player, the longevity of your competitive Magic run, and, most of all, your level of fun. Fortunately, there are ways you can identify and combat burnout.
Embracing The Chaos – Strategy, Tactics, and Society
Thursday, December 17th – There are three elements to the play of any game of Magic: Strategic, Tactical, and Social. They exist in different proportions based on the event that you’re attending, and the format you’re playing. I’d like to talk about the differences between them in competitive events versus EDH events.
MTGCast #185 – The Hedgehog Stands Alone
Wednesday, December 16th – On this week’s edition of MTGCast, the guys talk about Worldwake, the SCG 10K Open St. Louis, EDH, and much more!