Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to dive headfirst into Lorwyn’s wonderful rumor season and then tackle the Top 10 Cap’n Tickles ideas chosen by yours truly. Now all that’s left is for you to pick a winner!
Chris takes a look at deckbuilding in the new format, and discusses some of the reasons for the changes taking place. He talks about the shift in power between Goblins and Threshold, and some of the consequences this has on design. Also included is a Landstill decklist!
Debates have flared recently as to how to “properly” design a deck, with the bold statement that the number four is the “correct” number for most developed decklists. Simple in concept, this belief is grounded upon the perception that an ideal deck is one that is able to play the same sort of game over and over again with little variation, and the best way to get the same game over and over again is to use the same cards over and over again.
Hello my friends, and welcome to the third installment of the No Rares Allowed series. Next week is the final entry and the 200th article by yours truly (if you count weeklies; counting dailies, it’s a ton more). Today, I am in transit to London…
If you read Magic strategy sites on the Internet, chances are you already know that Lorwyn is spreading several tribal themes across different colors: Giants are in White and Red, Merfolk are in Blue and White, Goblins are in Red and Black, and so on. As for Green, the list of tribes that they share obviously includes Elves, as well as Treefolk. … Treefolk? Warning: Contains Spoilers.
I write about budget decks. I tell those without unlimited Magic funds to make sure that the first thing that they do when each new set comes out is to get four copies of each common and uncommon. Since we know the schedule of sets’ releases, we should be able to budget for that purchase by putting aside five or so bucks a week. Some players, though, don’t have any money for anything beyond that. Not even enough to get four Heartwood Storytellers or four Stalking Vengeances. Why do I ignore those folks?
Last week, I wrote about how Masters Edition was probably not cost effective. It was a long weekend, doing a lot of non-Magic stuff, so I ended up kicking back and playing in a couple MED events anyway. I’ll look at those a little, then talk about online Extended. Online Extended is not quite Bizarro World Extended, but it is not quite Paper Extended either.
I don’t think I’d cause too much of an uproar if I referred to Gabriel Nassif as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Constructed players of all time. He was recently voted into the Invitational as a “Constructed Master” despite a lack of big finishes this year mostly on legacy alone, and I think that serves as a testament to his masterful reputation. If I was to find out what made a good deck, I thought, surely I could look to him…
Magic has remained fresh and fun for me because the number one appeal of the game is the constant infusion of new cards. This time of year is the very best because there is a large crop of cards leaving the Standard format. I tend to go on a deckbuilding frenzy, whipping out new decklists by the hour. It occurred to me that the method I go about sketching out initial decklists allows me to get a pretty good idea whether an idea has “juice” enough to warrant further exploration. So for those of you interested in the method, here’s how I do it…
As we head into the Fall season, Rich Hagon takes us right through the Summer, taking in such fabulous locations as France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy, Australia, and Birmingham. Sadly not covering Venezuelan Nationals, he nevertheless brings us up to date with all the comings and goings – and they’re mostly goings – in Pro Magic, plus a look at the Magic Invitational, Hall Of Fame, AND his exclusive Lorwyn Preview Card! [Editor’s Note — Richard may be lying about the preview card…]
It seems so odd to see Extended articles starting to flow out from the various authors here on StarCityGames.com and yet see no listings of Dredge combo. This strikes me as odd considering it basically dictates the fundamental turn of the format, and you’ll most likely get rolled by it game 1 even if you’ve prepared against it. So it seems like one of the more important strategies to consider if you want to seriously prep for Extended… Of course, then Chapin goes and writes a solid article on the threat and the basic ways to trump it. How obnoxious.
I don’t know why, but I’ve been building Extended decks. I guess I just want a new format with which to experiment. I’ve been playing freaking Slivers at my past couple of FNMs, and while fun, I really want to play with some expensive cool-looking cards. As I said last week, I’ve been trying to graft the Counterbalance plus Sensei’s Divining Top combo on to a bunch of decks, so here are two more of my semi-successful attempts.
For many, Masters Edition is a chance to play with old cards that they can no longer afford. But for people like me, it’s a chance to go on about the tales of how I used to play that card back in my day, when I also wore an onion on my belt, as was the fashion at the time. So not only do I discuss the greatest Limited hits of Masters Edition, but I give you bizarre anecdotes of what it was like to play those cards back in the days before the Internet! Yes, you too can relive a past you never had!
Today, Doug takes a look at two of the hottest new decks from Gencon and evaluates how they play against each other. Find out whether the Aether Vials in Cephalid Breakfast can create an inevitability that Threshold cannot match, or if the Spell Snares from the other side of the table are simply too much to combo out against! Take part in the forum and discuss whether Doug made the right plays or if his sideboarding plans were incorrect!
Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to revisit one of my text articles from last year and focus on the Cube. What is the cube? It’s 410 cards of pure joy, and if you’ve warmed up to the latest Type 4 craze, I think you’ll dig this too. WARNING: Contains Spoilers.
