Friday, January 16th – Last Friday was the first FNM I’ve been able to attend since around Thanksgiving; the chaos of holidays when you’ve got small children is not to be underestimated. I’ve also had very little time to practice Limited, probably somewhere around five drafts in total, so I decided: if I got crushed at FNM, I’d drop out and go see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and ogle Cate Blanchett.
Friday, January 16th – You don’t have to twist my arm very hard at all to convince me to play the best Blue control deck of the format, especially when the best version of the best deck is still under debate and you can escape from Mirror Match Hell by facing competing archetypes against each other.
Friday, January 16th – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we talk to the creators of our favorite game, from Rosewater’s Mana Fixing design progression to Aaron Forsythe’s Lorwyn regrets. Hear from Hall of Famers, Richard Garfield, and Olivier Ruel when faced down with the ultimate question. Let’s go!
Thursday, January 15th – I’m heading to Grand Prix: LA this week – and I am busy building my test gauntlet. It may be a bit different than yours. I’m going as a judge, and my decks are being built for a very different format. Still – decks are decks, so I’ll try playing them. As Ted Knutson once said – “anyone can win on Magic Online.†Let’s see.
Thursday, January 15th – Over a year ago, I wrote about a Scepter-Chant deck I had built after following up a hot tip from fellow Legacy writer Doug Linn. Between the time I built the deck and the time I was sufficiently finished with it to publish my list, a little creature called Tarmogoyf came out. At the time, I did not fully appreciate how difficult Tarmogoyf made it for traditional Blue-based control decks to compete.
Wednesday, January 14th – On today’s MTGCast podcast, there’s discussion on the latest batch of Conflux rumors, the Orb of Insight, and the fast-approaching Conflux Prerelease!
Wednesday, January 14th – I try to win every multiplayer game in which I play, but even if I lose, I have fun. I have fun being with friends, slinging cards, and trying my best. If I come back from a night without winning a single game, so what? I have fun, because it is a game.
Wednesday, January 14th – Over the past few weeks, I’ve written about the decks I’m considering taking to the Grand Prix. Instead of writing about my deck of choice (since I don’t actually know yet), or the best choice for the field, I’m going to share what I personally learned from testing, and some of my predictions / insights into the format.
Tuesday, January 13th – Conflux spoilers are starting to appear online, and Dave can’t help himself – he just keeps looking at them. While none of the cards discussed inside are going to break the bank, they might just help you become Master of your Domain. [Warning: Contains Spoilers.]
Tuesday, January 13th – With unprecedented access to every sanctioned result across a decade of Magical excellence, Rich brings us the first of a new series profiling the newly-crowned Player of the Year, Japan’s Shuuhei Nakamura. Part 1 covers 1998-2002, and includes multiple near-misses, some fabulous decks, and his first steps into the Top 8 spotlight.
Tuesday, January 13th – Is this game we play, somehow, art. And perhaps more relevantly – really, more to the root of why I want to write this article – are the game’s creators, maybe even its players, in some sense artists?
Monday, January 12th – In this week’s episode of the Magic Sock Podcast, there’s discussion on the latest batch of Conflux rumors, some ideas for your casual Extended tournament, and much more!
Monday, January 12th – Slow Play is one of the most difficult calls for a Judge to make because of the subjectivity of the infraction. The truth of the matter is that Slow Play happens a lot more often than it gets penalized for. Too many Judges are reluctant to pull the trigger on giving the penalty, figuring the player is “just about to make a play. I’ll give him just a few more seconds.”
Monday, January 12th – As we ease into the middle segment of the Onslaught/Odyssey territory, looking to rank the lesser-known cards for cheap but effective bargains, we hit an odd snag: the Flexibility ratings go wonky. This is because of Onslaught’s relentless addiction to Tribal, which it had to be weaned off of to later develop the friendlier Lorwyn.
Friday, January 9th – This week I’m pleased to present a very special interview with Wizards of the Coast’s Magic Director, Aaron Forsythe. When I heard he was gunslinging some Elder Dragon Highlander decks at Worlds, I had hopes he’d be willing to share some of his thoughts on the format with my readers here – and sure enough, he brought the noise!
