Friday, October 30th – Now that Zendikar is out, we’re in what I like to call my card accumulation phase. This is where I draft the new set like crazy in order to build up enough of a collection to fuel the silly decks I’m fond of building. This is also where I hope to open nice juicy rares like Lotus Cobra and as many fetch lands as I can lay my hands on.
Friday, October 30th – In today’s dual-action edition of Reflecting Ruel, Oli looks back at a mixed performance at Grand Prix: Tampa Bay. He then sets out the boundaries necessary for running a Control strategy in Zendikar sealed deck. Can it really be possible to do this in the most vicious aggro Limited format in years? Oli leads the way!
Friday, October 30th – Hall of Famer Olivier Ruel takes us through an 8-4 draft queue on Magic Online. He shares some comprehensive thoughts about both the picks and the games, and talks us through each step of the way! If you’re looking to improve your Limited game, this is the article series for you!
Friday, October 30th – As the majority of my involvement in Magic these days revolves around tournament organization rather than judging, it was surprisingly relaxing to focus solely on being a judge for four days. I missed getting my hands dirty in giving rulings and answering questions. Even deck checks were fun again.
Friday, October 30th – The Magic Online Community Challenge is now just a week away. We are trying to nail down decks and learn the format. The community has been a big help, so now it comes down to us doing the work to learn the four formats. It would be easier if we all didn’t have lives.
Thursday, October 29th – Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa completes his epic tournament report from Pro Tour: Austin, in an article packed with the usual collection of play analysis and strategic concerns. From 5-0, he chronicles his ascent to the final table… Enjoy!
Thursday, October 29th – After a disappointing Pro Tour: Austin, Sam Black turns his attention to Standard in preparation for Worlds. With Jund being the top dog in the metagame, Sam brainstorms a selection of strategies designed with the Jund menace in mind…
Thursday, October 29th – In this fascinating article, Adrian Sullivan looks at the role of Respect in magic: The Gathering. While there’s the expected bevy of advice regarding respecting your opponents, there’s a healthy dose of strategic insight and game theory included here too…
Thursday, October 29th – The wide-open nature of the EDH format means that there are cards that aren’t quite ban-worthy, since they’re not exactly broken, which are still not fun to play against or seriously challenge the format’s social nature.
Thursday, October 29th – Dark Depths. Gifts-Depths. Rubin Zoo. Dredge. As I walked back to the hotel room, each of them seemed to harbor their own allure. Like any Magic player, I wanted results: I needed to playtest.
Wednesday, October 28th – Olivier Ruel and Manuel Bucher have once again teamed up to bring us the lowdown on triple-Zendikar drafting! Today, they discuss their personal Top 15 Common and Uncommon pick orders from White and Blue. In such a fast format, is there a hope for control strategies? Read on to find out!
Wednesday, October 28th – Kyle Sanchez is always game to share his latest Standard concoctions, and with Zendikar in the mix, he is not shy when creating new decks! Today, he brings us a selection of Red Esper decks, all of which look to have a positive game against the dominant Jund decks in the current metagame…
Wednesday, October 28th – Dredge has always been a powerful deck, but it feels like it really might be the best deck in the format, much like it was two years ago. At that time, most players would tell you that Next Level Blue (with Counterbalance) was the best deck and that Dredge was too easy to hate out, but that season easily belonged to Dredge.
Wednesday, October 28th – I’ve had a deck for Standard I’ve wanted to write about for a while now, but other columns have managed to push their way to the forefront instead. However, this week, I really wanted to get it out there for the readers. Why? Because as much as I love the deck, I’m sure it can be improved in some manner.
Wednesday, October 28th – A few weeks ago, I was bored. I hadn’t played real life Magic in a while, instead playing online exclusively, and I wanted to get back to shuffling and playing, talking and conversing. Magic is not about the mechanics of the game. Attack, tap, draw, deal damage = ho hum. Magic is about the people you meet and the good times you have with them. No amount of online play can ever scratch that itch.
