Last time I wrote anything that got published, Flame Fusillade hadn’t even been printed yet, never mind been killed by any number of Time Vault Erratas. A lot has happened since then, including near-infinite attempts to break Mana Drain further, and an unsuccessful foray onto the Pro Tour. Writing is definitely something I would like to get back into doing, and picking up the dailies seemed like a perfect opportunity…
I arrived at the place I had been destined to go and found it a desolate wasteland. It was cold and deserted, an empty hall bereft of life…
No, I’m not writing fan fiction — that was what the Coldsnap prerelease looked like. There were almost no people, at least not compared to the packed tables of the Dissension prerelease. Where’d they all go? And what’s up with the deck I had to build in the interim?
Stating the case for the mighty Kird Ape, in place of the scheduled Ben Bleiweiss, is the irrepressible Yawgatog. There’s no doubt that Red needs a marquee one-drop in 10th Edition… will Yawg’s stirring speech fire up the band for the Damn Dirty Ape, or will it be a case of Too Much Monkey Business? Kird Ape or Mogg Fanatic… You Decide!
After a brief hiatus, Teddy Card Game returns to champion the cause of the original pesky goblin – Mogg Fantastic! Can the “best one-drop ever printed” shoe-horn itself into the next Core Set? If Ted, and Dan Paskins – and, if I’m being honest, I – had the final say, he’d be an auto-include. Still, the Unwashed Masses have yet to cast their votes… will Ted’s impassioned pleas help sway the decision down the path of Honesty and Truth?
Bennie Smith, a pioneer of Dredge decks, needs your help. In the past, he’s had a modicum of success with the Dredge strategy in Standard… but today, it seems the tools are missing for the deck to truly shine. In the last of his entertaining daily articles, he send out a simple plea: pimp his Dredge deck.
Sean takes an icy plunge into triple Coldsnap Draft, examining the allied color pairings and where they stand on the ladder of strength. Is Blue/White really undraftable? In Green/Red really unstoppable? Sean reveals all…
Now, I have a guilty confession to make: I’ve been playing Magic for twelve years now, and I had never once bought a piece of Magic artwork. Not that I dislike the artwork on Magic cards – on the contrary, I love the artwork and I think the quality of Magic art is what helps make the game stand head and shoulders above so many other CCGs. The artists come, and I slip them a few cards to sign and don’t even think about purchasing a print.
At StarCityGames.com’s Coldsnap Prerelease, Anthony S. Waters changed all that.
Talen doesn’t fancy his chances. I mean, this is Ben freaking Goodman he’s up against, folks… deckbuilder, clan stalwart, and all-round good egg. So, what tools does Talen have in his arsenal? Can he cope with the might of the Ridiculous Hat?
After trouncing the talented Richard Feldman in last week’s Battle Royale, the Ridiculous Hat now sets his sight on the next target in the roll-call of writers… the ornery Talen Lee. So, will he bring the snakes to the fight, to fend off Talen’s probable Nephilim deck? Or will he move to pastures new? What color deck will he pilot today? (Hint: there’s a clue in the article title.)
Abe brings us a rundown of the Five Color hits and misses from the Coldsnap set. Is the Ohran Viper as good in the casual game as it is in the tournament formats? Are the pitch cards worth picking up? Abe reveals all…
In the context of the StarCityGames Daily series, I wanted to do a Coldsnap review that was short, sweet, and to the point, focusing on the cards that Wizards has aggressively costed. In Part 1, I started at the converted mana cost of one and made it mid-way through three, so that’s where we’ll pick up here today.
Blisterguy wanders from the usual path today… he presents a Coldsnap Sealed Deck, rife with tricky choices and powerful options. After sharing his final build, he climbs back onto the usual path and shares the Top 8 Premier Event stats from Magic Online, along with the usual barrage of buy-and-sell information.
Once you get past the big two tribes, there are a number of tribes I consider “Tribal Nations.” These tribes don’t necessarily have the five-color ubiquity of Spirits and Humans, but there is a lot there from which to choose. Wizards, Warriors, Shamans, Goblins, Samurai, and Soldiers all occupy significant territories in today’s Standard and should be able to raise pretty awe-inspiring armies. I decided that my next deck would involve one of these nation states.
I just wanted to take a break from my review of Coldsnap to call attention to what could arguably be one of the most important issues of our time. You may think there are other things that rate higher on your radar – global warming, the price of gasoline, the Iraq occupation, why we still haven’t seen pictures of Tom Cruise’s baby – but that’s all just trivial stuff. There’s a problem that strikes to the very foundation of our Magic community and deserves your attention…
Chris takes a break from the cutthroat world of Standard Magic, and tickles the soft white underbelly of Ravnica Block Constructed. He picks a playset of a pet card, and sees just how far it can take him…
