Wednesday, March 11th – I arrived in Chicago still undecided as far as my deck choice. I was down to three options: Belcher, Dredge, and a home-brewed Painter’s Servant deck. Belcher had the benefit of familiarity and had tested well against most of the decks in the format. However, I had several concerns with running the deck for eight rounds…
Wednesday, March 11th – We must practice diligently with our deck. This will not only increase our level of comfort with it, as noted before, but also prepares us for the actual moment of crisis, when we must make the decision, and that decision may very well determine whether we win or lose. Go to any PTQ, and you can start picking out the players who audibled into a different deck the night before.
Wednesday, March 11th – Today I want to revisit a topic near and dear to my heart. My first two articles for this website, ever, were about Abedraft. My 175th and 176th articles were about Abedraft. Now, almost two years later, I want to talk about it again.
Wednesday, March 11th – The forums are a-buzz with the announcement on MagicTheGatherings.com Arcana with a partial spoiler card titled Ardent Plea for Alara Reborn that leads many to think it may be an entirely gold card set…
Tuesday, March 10th – Last week, Sam Black brought us the first part of his Pro Tour: Kyoto tournament report. With Faeries in the Standard portion, and a confident draft strategy, Sam managed to propel himself into the Top 32. Today’s conclusion takes us through the second day of competition…
Tuesday, March 10th – Grand Prix: Chicago wasn’t the personal success that Adrian Sullivan hoped, and Day 2 saw him slinging Extended spells in the PTQ side event. This, however, proved a much more fruitful hunting ground, and Adrian made Top 4 with a new rogue deck that includes O-Naginata…
Tuesday, March 10th – That’s right, folks… the popular “Drafting With” series is back! French uber-pro Olivier Ruel takes us through an 8-4 draft on Magic Online, sharing his picks from 1 to 45, and supplying interesting pick debates and information. For more analysis, visit the forums!
Tuesday, March 10th – Lists with singletons often appear to the outsider to be cobbled together at the last minute, haphazard scraps of “good-enough†that contain enough tools to get the job done, but are rarely optimized. Yet increasingly we’re seeing more and more lists from very good deck designers that feature numbers like “1 Terror, 1 Celestial Purge, 1 Pithing Needle,†stone absent any tutors whatsoever…
Tuesday, March 10th – Hot off the heels of the largest Grand Prix in American history, get a first-hand account of the event! Check out the unconventional list that Doug played and see his proposed changes. Get a perspective on the Top 8 and a look at Legacy for the coming months and a look at possible changes to the banned list. Is Counterbalance simply too good? Find out inside!
Tuesday, March 10th – When it comes to Shards mechanics, Exalted has seen plenty of mainstream coverage as both a Limited powerhouse and a backbone for Standard decks – and now the new Exalted cards from Conflux make it a viable strategy for budget decks as well.
Monday, March 9th – This week marks an achievement – it’s the final listing of cards for the Casual Player’s Bargain-Hunting Guide! There’s one final article in charge, but now we finish N through Z of Kamigawa and Mirrodin Blocks… And thankfully, there are some absolute must-haves in here for multiplayer decks.!
Monday, March 9th – As one of the super-team including Patrick Chapin, Guillaume Wafo-Tapa, Manuel Bucher, and eventual winner Gabriel Nassif, Olivier Ruel managed a creditable 51st place at Pro Tour: Kyoto. Today’s Reflecting Ruel sees the French maestro examine the popular Five-Color Control archetype in depth, with a detailed sideboard plan, a card-by-card breakdown, and a post-PT decklist…
Monday, March 9th – Grand Prix: Chicago is now in the books, with attendance figures higher than anyone imagined. Despite failing to make Day 2, Stephen Menendian prepared well for the event, and today’s So Many Insane Plays chronicles this preparation. He outlines his final build, and shares his thoughts on the format in general.
Monday, March 9th – That’s right, folks… the popular “Drafting With” series is back! French uber-pro Olivier Ruel takes us through an 8-4 draft on Magic Online, sharing his picks from 1 to 45, and supplying interesting pick debates and information. For more analysis, visit the forums!
Monday, March 9th – Without doubt, the Pro Tour in Kyoto was one for the history books. Rarely can a better Top 8 have been played out, in the amazing new Arena set for 2009. Gabriel Nassif and Luis Scott-Vargas took us all the way to a five-game thriller, and in this article we go behind some of the numbers to bring you the story of this fabulous weekend of Magic.
