Friday, May 1st – We’ve seen the Prerelease come and go, and excitement was had by all. At least one faithful reader noted that my advice from last week’s column (play first!) was a big help in his going 4-0 in his Prerelease flight, much to my delight, as I also saw more established players who were coasting in to rely on their overall experience to carry the day then choose to draw first and then lose some matches.
Friday, May 1st – Back in 2006 my hometown of Richmond, Virginia was privileged to host a Grand Prix, and TO, StarCityGames.com’s fearless leader Pete Hoefling, asked if I would be willing to “gunsling” the event. Flash forward three years, and StarCityGames.com asks again if I’d be willing to “gunsling” for them, this time at the Alara Reborn “big” prerelease…
Friday, May 1st – For years, I have reviewed sets from the perspective of Five Color. I have also recently begun to use my set review for more generic casual formats as well, such as multiplayer and Peasant. However, Five Color still dominates my thoughts when I look at a new card.
Friday, May 1st – 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!
Thursday, April 30th – With Alara Reborn now in the Standard mix, it seems the whole world is working on their own versions of Red/Green Beats. The power of Cascade, a la Bloodbraid Elf, is alluring. Today, Richard Feldman tweaks and tests his Red/Green Elves list, and throws it against Five-Color Control and Boat Brew.
Thursday, April 30th – Cascade will change everything. It is the next broken mechanic, the kind of keyword that only ever comes around once in a while and people later look back on and remark, “I wonder if printing that was really such a good idea…?†I have only played a handful of Block Constructed games with cascade, and even fewer in Standard, yet I already know this is a format-defining addition and one of the most powerful abilities to fall into our card arsenal in quite a while.
Thursday, April 30th – Active player has Tendrils of Agony on the stack with a storm count of 10. The opponent plays Angel’s Grace in response and wants to know what will happen if he lets everything resolve and then plays Lightning Helix. First, a match at a PTQ is between two players and it’s not my job to advise people what to do or when to do it!
Thursday, April 30th – Recently, a lot of the premium writers have been writing articles full of advice on how to win. They have covered skills, attitude, sideboarding, etc. I’m not premium – so I’ll talk about how to throw games. Of course, the secret of advice on how not to lose is to listen to the advice – and then not take it.
Thursday, April 30th – Last week, Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa presented some excellent advice on the art of the mulligan. He also shared a selection of sample hands, and promised pro opinion in today’s piece. He didn’t disappoint… today, those sample hands are analyzed by Manuel Bucher, Olivier Ruel, Sam Black, Martin Juza, and Ben Lundquist!
Wednesday, April 29th – Last week, Olivier and Manuel began an excellent series of discussions on Shards of Alara draft. They continue today with pick orders and debate on the Naya, Bant, White Aggro, and Five Color Control archetypes. Plus, there’s a bonus section with Antoine Ruel! This is a must-read for anyone serious about improving their forty-card game.
Wednesday, April 29th – Of the new spells in Alara Reborn, one of the most potent is surely Anathemancer. Today’s Down And Dirty sees Kyle Sanchez examining a number of exciting deck ideas that revolve around the unassuming Zombie Wizard. Will Anathemancer keep the monstrous Five-Color Control machine in check? Kyle reveals all…
Wednesday, April 29th – 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 29th – The reason I hate the term ‘answer’ for cards like Plumeveil is threefold. One, it makes it seem like once you’ve answered a ‘question’ you’re somehow at parity, when in reality you’re pretty far ahead. Three, the term ‘answer’ makes it sound like every card in your deck is supposed to resolve a specific question, when in reality the whole value of cards like Counterspell or Plumeveil is their inherent versatility; that is, they don’t care what question you’re asking.
Wednesday, April 29th – I am burnt out on Five-Color Control. I’ve been playing it for a very long while, to pretty solid success. I’d played the deck so much that I was showing up and running on autopilot. I wasn’t learning and I wasn’t getting better; I was just coasting to victory on the power of the deck, and my familiarity with it.
Wednesday, April 29th – Gavin and Tom are here this week to bring you all you need to know about Alara Reborn after the prerelease tournaments this weekend. Gavin gives us some great tips on Limited (hint, Borderposts are good!), Block Constructed, Standard and even Extended (Cascade is REALLY good).
