Thursday, April 9th – You’ve been locked in a tight game three, but the match is edging towards an unfavorable closure. The last few turns have been an attrition war, and the life totals are close, but you look across the table and the sinking feeling that your opponent firmly has the upper hand sets in. As is, you’re dead on his next attack step… Or are you?
Thursday, April 9th – A few weeks ago, we held a pair of PTQs at the Star City Game Center in Roanoke. Happily enough, I was able to judge both of them – head judge on Day 1, and then floor judge on Day 2 – and I would like to make particular note of the zero disqualifications issued over the weekend. Of course, there were warnings, and game losses, but no disqualifications.
Thursday, April 9th – Singleton 100 is a Magic Online-only format. It is singleton, meaning that, with the exception of basic land cards, a player’s deck may not contain more than one of any individual card. The 100 means that decks must contain a minimum of one hundred cards. The format used to forbid sideboards, but that has changed…
Thursday, April 9th – it’s the third entrant in the Shandalar Deck Series. If you have missed them so far, allow me to get you caught up to speed. I have been taking the decks played by the foes in the 1997 Microprose game Magic: The Gathering, with a campaign called Shandalar, and then modifying and updating the lists.
Wednesday, April 8th – Extended season draws to a close this weekend, and players are still looking for hot new options. Today, legendary Magic writer Jeff Cunningham returns with a no-nonsense primer for Extended Bant Aggro. If you’re looking for a deck packed with aggression and a good matchup against the format’s main contenders, this is the article for you!
Wednesday, April 8th – With Shards of Alara and Conflux offering a plethora of multicolored options, and Alara Reborn promising more, is there anything to be said for running straight two-colored tempo beats in AAC draft? Manuel Bucher believes there is. He examines three two-color tempo archetypes, and rounds things off with an interesting Block Constructed deck!
Wednesday, April 8th – 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, April 8th – Rap Sheet, Chatter’s last seven PTQs: 9th on tiebreaks, Finals, Finals, Top-8, Top-8, Top-4, 9th on tiebreaks. Oh, and a GP top-32 somewhere in there. But guess who isn’t qualified, guess who isn’t as of yet going to even start thinking about leis, tropical fruits, and slack-key guitars?
Wednesday, April 8th – Kudos to WoTC for some pretty decent April Fool’s jokes, including the most amazing draft viewer ever seen. Today, we discuss a few more cards spoiled via various magazines in the unofficial MTGS spoiler.
Wednesday, April 8th – I really enjoy playing Zoo. I played a similar concept last year, and knowing that it would be viable still this year, I spent the past year refining and tweaking it. When Wild Nacatl was first revealed, I remember actually letting a girlish squeal escape my lips. “This could be the final piece,” I thought. In doing, so I cemented my deck of choice for this Extended season….
Tuesday, April 7th – Sideboarding… it’s fair to say that this is one of the forgotten arts of Magic. Nobody pays enough attention to playing and perfecting their sideboard plans, and the number of articles on the subject can be counted on one hand. Sam shares his thoughts on the role of sideboarding, and sets out some interesting specifics on how to best utilize your time. By using examples from his Standard Faeries sideboard plans, he sheds a little light on this mysterious process…
Tuesday, April 7th – Today’s Sullivan Library tackles the other Blue tribe from Lorwyn: Merfolk! While the Standard metagame doesn’t reveal their power at first glance, those in the know are aware that these fishes have teeth. Adrian contrasts a couple of successful lists, and suggests one of his own…
Tuesday, April 7th – Doug takes a look back at his GP: Chicago Gifts Rock deck and made major adjustments. Did his improvements help his matchups in a small tournament he played last weekend? Does the deck attack an opponent from all angles or suffer from inconsistency and terminal cuteness? How has Extended influenced the build? Find out more about the “other” deck running Sensei’s Divining Top and see how it accesses some of the format’s most powerful threats and answers in this week’s Legacy’s Allure!
Tuesday, April 7th – In the past seven days, The Starkington Post (Bill Stark’s daily Magic blog) has brought us a Top 8 PTQ report from Ben Rasmussen, a look at the Magical skills of judges, an editorial on spoilers, and much more!
Tuesday, April 7th – With the first pause in the hectic Player of the Year schedule now with us, it’s time to draw breath and start shifting through the data, looking for the trends that can help us towards better Magic. This week, Rich looks at some of the biggest issues heading into the season, and reflects on the ongoing storyline and success machine that is Luis Scott-Vargas.
