Tuesday, May 19th – After battling in my local Regional Championships this weekend, I can safely say that the metagame is shaping up to be a very interesting one. There are a lot of good archetypes, but the problem is that most of them rely on the same engine: Spectral Procession and Windbrisk Heights. This combination can lead to devastating effects, and completely turn a game in one person’s favor, one who has no business winning the game.
Monday, May 18th – I’ve written articles on Elder Dragon Highlander before, and I enjoy the format. Other writers talk about it more often, so I’ve allowed them to take up the space on this format, but I still like it. EDH is enjoying a great bout of sunshine as the casual format du jour, and no one knows whether it will be long lasting or not.
Monday, May 18th – You know that feeling you get when you know you’re making a mistake, but you feel helpless to stop yourself? For example, have you ever been at the bar and known that this drink, the one you have in your hands, is the one that’s going to push you over the limit? That was how I lost two matches at Regionals.
Monday, May 18th – Do you make the most of your testing time? Do you sit around after an event, thinking you should have spent more time solving how your deck handles Blood Moon? Do you feel like your friend wastes your time when you get together to test out new, rogue decks for Legacy? Get the answers inside, in an article that promises to help not only the Legacy regular, but a player in any competitive format. Use your time to test smart, not hard!
Friday, May 15th – Last week I wrote about a couple of decks, and I pretty much had settled on two for the PTQ weekend, one of which was the Black/Green “Neo-Elves†Rock deck. The other deck was a Cascade deck…
Friday, May 15th – Previous analysis for the Conflux Standard format showed that Cedric Phillips’ Red/White Kithkin deck was pretty much awesome, and one of the highest-competing decks in the format by the numbers. Success rates were dramatic for the few people who chose to play the deck at Pro Tour: Kyoto. But with the change of the format to include Alara Reborn, I asked a very simple question: what happens if we cut the Red for Black, and play Zealous Persecution?
Friday, May 15th – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re back, and we’re just twenty-four hours from one of the biggest tournaments of the year: Regionals. This week we’re going to look at what everyone else is playing, what you should be playing, and what I’m wielding in this wacky, wild and token-filled metagame. Let’s go!
Thursday, May 14th – The following are passages from “Next Level Magic,” Patrick Chapin’s Strategy Guide that is being released as an e-book, here on StarCityGames.com, at the end of the month. Each week this month, there will be an excerpt from the book for your enjoyment. Today: Chats with Jon Finkel and Patrick Chapin.
Thursday, May 14th – An Online Prerelease. It is, according to the forum trolls, a disaster which no one will attend. It will destroy Constructed Magic, the singles market, and the Championship series. It is a conspiracy, an Epic marketing fail, and the cause of swine flu. It will also destroy this week’s column, because I am going to spend most of it laughing at the forum posts.
Thursday, May 14th – Every judge, at the beginning of their journey, was not a judge. Also, every judge has to have started as a player at some point. I think this assertion is easy to prove – you learn so much about the game just by attempting to play it, that I can’t really see how you can effectively judge without playing the game.
Thursday, May 14th – It’s the week of Regionals and everyone is scouring about for the latest in technology. Alara Reborn is being added into the mix, and it’s making quite an impact. What’s easy to forget is how much information is out there about the format.
Wednesday, May 13th – If there is one lesson that this past weekend’s dual PTQ in Richmond has for those of us attending the upcoming Regionals, it is that you have two choices: Beat Black/White Tokens, or Play Black/White Tokens. Today, I take a look at the statistics that resulted from the entire weekend, and come up with a comprehensive metagame plan for the coming Regionals tournaments… Enjoy!
Wednesday, May 13th – In this week’s edition of MTGCast, there’s talk of M10, rumor mills, Duel Decks, and more!
Wednesday, May 13th – This past weekend, I had a chance to play in a Grand Prix Trial for Seattle. I was all set to shuffle up a new Faeries build as of Wednesday, but further testing showed all I did was weaken my manabase and still lose to Volcanic Fallout too much. So, this week, I’m going to give you a quick rundown of my games and show you some glaring mistakes.
Wednesday, May 13th – I do not employ hyperbole when I say that the positioning of a Booster Draft deck is one of the least-understood, least appreciated, least talked-about skills in Magic amongst your average PTQ-level players.
