Friday, April 24th – In the first of a four-part series on Shards Block Draft, Olivier Ruel and Manuel Bucher discuss the top common and uncommon picks in each set, for each archetype, helping us build the strongest decks we can. For part 1, Oli and Manu take us through their personal Top 20 lists in Esper, Grixis, and Jund. This excellent series is a must-read for anyone serious about forty-card play.
Thursday, April 23rd – Bluffing is a complex subject. Generally, the quality of your cards, the strength of your draws, and the tightness of your play dictate the outcome of any given game. However, there are techniques that can increase your chances of utilizing bluff in order to pick up a vital edge in close encounters. Olivier reveals all…
Thursday, April 23rd – With the upcoming release of Alara Reborn on everyone’s mind, Richard Feldman concocts an intriguing Red/Green Beatdown deck utilizing a selection of the multicolor goodies on the table. He shares his list and sideboarding strategies, runs the deck against a pair of the format’s top contenders, and records the results!
Thursday, April 23rd – One of my all time favorite Magic articles – and one of the most influential on my play – is Chad Ellis’s “The Danger of Cool Things.” The article covers a simple, yet fundamental angle of Magic strategy. Ellis talks about how flashy plays, even ones which put a second copy of Verdant Force into play, are easy traps to fall into…
Thursday, April 23rd – What exactly is a regular rules enforcement level event? In essence, it’s kitchen table Magic gone pro. Such events attract players from all walks of life, but they’re targeted at people that will probably never play in an event with a higher enforcement level.
Thursday, April 23rd – Some of you may have seen the BBC shows Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, where modern cops were shifted back in time to the seventies and eighties. My week has felt a bit like that. Last weekend, I was playing in Stronghold release events. This weekend, I’ll be attending Alara Reborn Prereleases. It’s like jumping backward and forward a decade at a time.
Wednesday, April 22nd – Alara Reborn, Magic’s first all-gold expansion, is unveiled this coming weekend at Prerelease tournaments around the world. Manuel Bucher, the creator of the popular Five-Color Quick n’ Toast strategy, is excited at the goodies the set will bring. Today, he shares his opinions of some of the cards unveiled thus far, and suggests a couple of decklists for Standard and Extended…
Wednesday, April 22nd – Everyone is excited about the upcoming Gold Madness that is Alara Reborn… and Kyle Sanchez is no exception. Concentrating on the creatures spoiled thus far, Sanchez takes us through the highs and lows of Magic’s hottest property…
Wednesday, April 22nd – 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 22nd – My original intention was not to discuss Vintage this week, but Stephen Menendian’s recent article Reviving Vintage, and its accompanying discussion both here and on the Mana Drain forums, threw my intentions aside…
Wednesday, April 22nd – Why do we rarely run four of a Legendary card or a Planeswalker card? Most of you probably gave the obvious answer of “Well, the second one is worthless until the first one is destroyed.†Economists have a term for this. It’s called Diminishing Marginal Utility.
Wednesday, April 22nd – On this week’s edition of MTGCast, there’s talk on Alara Reborn, the prerelease weekend, Grand Prix: Kobe, and much more!
Tuesday, April 21st – With the Alara Reborn prerelease mere days away, it’s time to examine those cards we’ve seen so far in order to gain a handle on their strengths and weaknesses. Sam Black takes us through a plethora of promising Alara Reborn goodies, and shares his thoughts and insights on the approaching Standard metagame…
Tuesday, April 21st – Alara Reborn is coming, and it’s looking awesome. Today, deckbuilding legend Adrian Sullivan looks at some of the freshly-spoiled cardboard, and throws out a number of interesting decks for the upcoming Standard. Getting that all-important edge on the competition is vital come the rotation, so be prepared!
Tuesday, April 21st – Though often ignored by Legacy players, BG Suicide decks are quite powerful and pack some of Legacy’s strongest threats and disruption. This week, Doug breaks down nearly two dozen tournament-proven lists and distills out a composite BG Suicide deck that’s suitable for any Legacy event. Check out the common sideboard options of the deck, along with commentary on whether common boarded cards should be played at all. Channel your inner Spike with a Dark Ritual and Hypnotic Specter as Doug lays out this recent riff on an ancient archetype!
