Friday, October 2nd – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going in-depth in Zendikar with Ken Nagle, one of the designers of the set, who sat down to talk to me about its mechanics, the power (and hype) of Lotus Cobra, the origins of Landfall, Ascension spells, Vampires, Planeswalkers, and more! Let’s go!
Thursday, October 1st – Goblin Guide… unmissable or unplayable? It seems that opinion is divided on this little Red guy. Adrian Sullivan looks at his place in the Extended Zoo strategy, sharing a handful of interesting decklists along the way…
Thursday, October 1st – Quentin Martin takes a look at the new Zendikar Limited format, highlighting a selection of interactions and insights. He also gives us the best commons in the format, an overview on how varying strategies may develop, and then throws in a couple of Extended decks for good measure!
Thursday, October 1st – Kithkin are gone from Standard, and that made Cedric a sad panda. However, Zendikar is here, and the new face of White Weenie is upon us… Soldiers! Cedric examines the strategy and strength of the individual pieces. Can such a regimented beatdown force be a player in the new Standard metagame?
Thursday, October 1st – Zendikar is chock-full of treasures for your EDH deck. In fact, I might say that it’s the single best set for EDH ever. There are so many crazy things to do, so many strategic nooks and crannies to explore, that it was tough to even get down to 20, and that’s not even counting the fetchlands…
Thursday, October 1st – I had high hopes for Zendikar at the prerelease, and they panned out remarkably. I can’t remember being this excited for a Limited format in a long time. Zendikar has a lot of really interesting archetypes and dynamics, and between the different themes pushed in the set, solid fixing and acceleration, and aggressive creatures, there are a lot of ways you can take your deck.
Thursday, October 1st – I have heard a lot of very strange stuff on podcasts and comment boards – and even in articles – recently. Stuff about how cards should be free, and how making people want to buy cards is bad for Wizards and the game, and so forth. Time to review some very basic economics.
Wednesday, September 30th – Manuel Bucher played in a 300-man prerelease in the glorious city of Paris, and managed to win the whole thing! Today he shares his winning decklist, plus some interesting tidbits he picked up along the way…
Wednesday, September 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!
Wednesday, September 30th – I’ll be the first to admit that Wizards has made their fair share of mistakes over the course of the last two decades, and even with Zendikar it’s apparent that they still have a lot to learn (Warren Instigator and Lotus Cobra at Mythic, for example). However, sometimes… they just get it right.
Wednesday, September 30th – This has been a tumultuous week in Magic. First came the revelation of Lotus Cobra at Mythic, which many people are pointing to, along with Warren Instigator and Mindbreak Trap, as proof that Wizards is in fact a horrible, evil entity, replete with (Magic) Missiles aimed at our homes and children, and determined to run off their customers, but milking them for all their cash as fast as possible first!
Wednesday, September 30th – I’ve spent a lot of time, and a lot of effort, and a lot of pages writing five articles where I place what I consider the most criminally underplayed cards in casual circles into an Underused Hall of Fame. Today, I’m going to take some of those cards, and I’m going to build decks that use them.
Wednesday, September 30th – The Zendikar prerelease has come on and gone this weekend so we have all 249 cards with some discussion of our sealed pools, draft and more. Also, part of the hoopla was the absolute surprise from WoTC with the “Priceless Treasure” cards with a classic Vintage card (think like Black Lotus or Mox Sapphire) replacing the land in packs (likely ~1 in 750 packs) and caused an amazing ripple of news over the weekend.
Wednesday, September 30th – Zendikar is here, and Kyle Sanchez has been brewing up Standard decks! In today’s Down and Dirty, he shares seven distinct builds and strategies, with promise of many more to come. If you’re looking for a Standard edge, let Kyle lead the way!
Tuesday, September 29th – my initial impressions are that this seems to be a really tricky set. Alara Block seemed packed with mechanics that were powerful, but not particularly subtle — oh, you get more Exalted, you Unearth more creatures, you play more guys with five power! Whereas Zendikar feels like it’s just packed with very clever plays that reward very clever, alert players.
