Friday, April 3rd – With the Extended season near to wrapping up, my love affair with the Faerie Wizards continues, as does the madcap plan of racing around from qualifier to qualifier. Rather than chase old information, I thought it would be more interesting if I were to take a look at Shards Block Constructed…
Friday, April 3rd – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re taking a look at Standard via the results from the recent StarCityGames.com $5000 Standard Open in Indianapolis, where a whopping 432 players duked it out, and still Five-Color Control comes out on top there and in the Cruise Qualifier. We’ll also take a look at the latest Alara Reborn spoilers beginning to trickle out amongst us and what Wizards has in store for us in just a few weeks. Let’s go!
Thursday, April 2nd – For the first time in a long time, I know enough about a format to be able to write a serious, tech-laden article. However, by the time you read this, the Nix Tix queues will be gone, and the sealed Swiss probably as well. In other words, I’m going to concentrate on the StarCityGames.com $5000 Standard Open.
Thursday, April 2nd – This weekend was the big one: StarCityGames.com’s $5000 Standard Open in Indianapolis. I think it’s clear from the GPs in the Midwest over the last few years that we have a hotspot right here for Magic attendance (GP: Chicago, Indianapolis, and Columbus). Trying not to get carried away with things, I thought a conservative estimate would be 400+ as I was getting ready to leave on Friday afternoon…
Thursday, April 2nd – I believe having a good spell is often worth the tradeoff of having a worse creature. Spells are hidden information that strong players can use to obtain card advantage and outplay opponents. I’m okay with casting a Dreg Reaver instead of a Mosstodon on turn 5 if it means I get a Resounding Roar in my deck.
Thursday, April 2nd – In the past seven days, The Starkington Post (Bill Stark’s daily Magic blog) has brought us some handy tips on how to learn from loss (by Justin Googs), a look at Naya Zoo in Extended, a Top 8 PTQ report, updates on the ongoing Grand Prix: Chicago theft story, and much more!
Wednesday, April 1st – Alara Reborn news is here, and we have some doozies. First, we have some scans of the Alara Reborn booster packs and starts the rumor of a potential return of Coiling Oracle. We also have 10 cards in the unofficial spoiler…
Wednesday, April 1st – Hello again, and welcome. This is the column with articles dedicated to the casual player every time. Today, I continue the series that began with the article from last week. I have begun taking the opposing decks from Shandalar, showing them to you, and then modifying them. Then I update the deck for today’s audience…
Wednesday, April 1st – I love playing Standard, it’s easily my favorite format. It is the easiest to pick up as a new player, because the cards are typically still available as retail packs. It’s also easy to grasp, because you only have about 1500 cards to keep track of. Most importantly, the power level is pretty much exactly where I like it.
Tuesday, March 31st – With the all-gold Alara Reborn on the horizon, Dave can’t talk about anything but multicolored cards. Enclosed inside: enough gold decks to pay for a week’s worth of Cash4Gold commercials!
Tuesday, March 31st – In this final article in the series, Rich walks you through the business of pleasure in a foreign country, allowing you to get your bearings, see the sights, put your deck together, win the Pro Tour, be interviewed by him, and still know where your passport is at the end of it.
Tuesday, March 31st – Merfolk, one of Legacy’s newest decks, showed up on the scene in Lorwyn and quickly made an impact in tournaments around the world. Today, Doug complies the results from over two dozen winning Merfolk lists and shows the most common cards, as well as some curious outliers. Take a look at the consistently-built archetype and gather insights about why the deck has become so strong. Doug presents a composite maindeck and sideboard for Merfolk, along with new and controversial additions to the standard list!
Monday, March 30th – I know most of you have absolutely had it with Faeries. You’ve circled its rotation out of Standard and Extended on your calendars, and have already ordered the strippers, balloons, and cake to celebrate the joyous days ahead. I’m with you. However, there is some value in taking a look at the process of PTQ preparation as far as what changes need to be made to a deck, and more importantly, why.
Monday, March 30th – The format for Pro Tour: Austin Qualifiers is Standard. Can you believe it? For the first time in as long as I’ve been playing Magic, Wizards of the Coast has finally decided to make Standard the format of choice for players battling for a blue envelop. Seriously? Check. Awesome? Check again.
Friday, March 27th – This past Sunday I had the pleasure of playing in a 9-man Elder Dragon Highlander game at Richmond Comix, and as tradition has it I’m going to present the deck I played and a recap of the how the game played out.
