The Magic Sock Episode 158 – Midwinter Blues
Monday, February 16th – In this week’s edition of The Magic Sock Podcast, there’s talk on Sealed with Conflux, some crazy combos, and much more!
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The Long and Winding Road – The Extended Quest
Monday, February 16th – In his first article for StarCityGames.com, PTQ regular Matt Elias shares a tale or two in his quest for Pro Tour greatness, that elusive spark of competitive fire. He also examines Extended with an open mind, gaining an overview on the format with an eye towards qualification.
The Riki Rules – Welcome to Your First Pro Tour
Monday, February 16th – Once in a while, I get a message that catches my attention. This one was from Lucas Siow, a local PTQ winner and first time PT competitor. Going into his first PT, Lucas wanted to know about the differences between a PTQ and a PT. What are the differences in playing Magic at a Professional REL event?
You Lika The Juice? – The Fugees: Scepter/Elves
Friday, February 13th – Of all the post-Conflux deck ideas I’d been kicking around, the tweaked B/G Elves deck seemed like the strongest right out of the box. While the other deck ideas were certainly more interesting and different from what’s currently doing well in the metagame, they also obviously needed lots of playtest time to see what truly worked and what just seemed good on paper.
Magical Hack – Watching The Fallout
Friday, February 13th – With the recent release of Conflux into the fray, we’re beginning to see changes coming along because of the recent additions. While I’ve been pretty focused on Extended as a format of interest of late, Standard has caught my eye once again…
MTGCast #141 – Crazy for Conflux!
Thursday, February 12th – Wizards announces six-card booster packs; Remove Soul and Nameless Inversion are rumored as the next Magic Player Rewards mailings; and the new judge foil, Bloodstained Mire, has been revealed!
Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #262 – Flogging a Dead Horse: Casual Play on MTGO
Thursday, February 12th – What’s wrong with this picture? Player A – tap, tap, tap, play white bordered Venerable Monk. Opponent – sacrifice foil Polluted Delta for foil Underground Sea, play foil Cryptic Command. It’s not just that someone had brought boxing gloves to a gunfight – it is that both combatants thought they were in the right battle with the right weapon. They were battling in the casual play / casual decks room in MTGO.
Unlocking Legacy – Putting the Grand into Grand Prix
Thursday, February 12th – Chicago will be much more than just a really big Legacy tournament. If you are not prepared, it is very easy to lose your mental or physical focus and end up with an underwhelming performance. Being prepared for a Grand Prix is its own task. I’ve put together some information on how to prepare for a GP, and I’m also passing along some tips I’ve gotten from players who have performed well at high-level Magic.
The Justice League – Three Simple Things Judges Wish Players Knew
Thursday, February 12th – Each tournament is a collaboration between the judges and the players. The players are responsible for competing fairly but competitively, and also responsible for picking up their trash. The judges are responsible for helping out when mistakes – whatever they may be – occur, and for telling players where the bathroom, ATM, and nearest cheap food are located. Seems pretty simple, right?
Vote for the 2008 Articles of the Year, Take Two!
Wednesday, February 11th – Due to a technical oversight, Monday’s polls for the Article for the Year 2008 have been pulled, and replaced with new ones! That’s right folks, it’s time once again to cast your votes. Check out some of the fantastic articles in the polls, both Premium and Non-Premium, and make your voices heard!
Removed From Game – Mana Options in Limited Play
Wednesday, February 11th – With Sealed now running to six boosters, and Domain back in our decks, the temptation to play all five colors can be overwhelming. In this comprehensive article, Rich looks at the mana options that are available in the current Limited environment, weighing up the costs involved and finding the good, the bad, and the ugly in a quest to end up with a deck that’s (at least mostly) somewhere over the rainbow.
Deconstructing Constructed – Zoo, TEPS, and Reliquary Loam
Wednesday, February 11th – This week we’re back on the Extended trail, and instead of the usual trickiness or midrange decks I tend to cover, we’ll be going with the beatdown. I’ll be talking about RGW Zoo and some of the advantages it has in the current metagame, as well as some brief thoughts on TEPS updates and a quick shot on Knight of the Reliquary decks.
Tribal Thriftiness #56 – Conflux Uncommon Goodness
Tuesday, February 10th – With the Release Events out of the way and Conflux on sale everywhere, Dave is amazed by Conflux’s continuation of the power curve of the uncommons that started in Shards of Alara. Here are thirteen uncommons that Dave thinks are important to snap up sooner rather than later.
The Kitchen Table #272 – Conflux Decks
Tuesday, February 10th – I love Conflux. I think it is a very casual-tastic set. It is quite multiplayer friendly. You have a ton of good beaters, some clever cards, some fun cards, and more. It seems like a set custom made for Abe’s Deck of Happiness and Joy. I don’t know if I have ever seen a set put a higher percentage of its cards in my deck. Perhaps Ravnica, but it was so big, I doubt it.
Chatter of the Squirrel – Applied Interaction Advantage
Tuesday, February 10th – When I wrote Interaction Advantage, I knew I’d want to take some time after my initial excitement had dissipated to sit down and test the theory, to make sure it really works, to explore some of its intricacies and examine some of its quirks. To see if it actually accomplishes something.