Friday, December 5th – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to talk about Magic and nothing but Magic. No special guests, no frills, nothing but my silly jokes, antics, and opinions on this cardboard crack we call our hobby. Let’s go!
Friday, December 5th – As we come into the StarCityGames.com $5000 Weekend in Philadelphia, and the World Championships the following week, we are looking at two Constructed formats of relevance and the powerful question of whether these formats are static or dynamic.
Thursday, December 4th – Ben’s tackled the Reserve list, Judge Promos, and other reprint-related themes during his run on Insider Trading. What happens when our author tackles the largest reprint set of all – the Core set? Find out when Ben turns his eye to 11th Edition; what would Ben include? What would Ben leave out? And in the end, which 249 cards would Ben include in the set?
Thursday, December 4th – “Who’s The Beatdown?” by Mike Flores is perhaps the most influential and important piece of Magic theory ever written. Today’s Deep Analysis attempts to expand on the fine theories presented in Mike’s masterpiece with a few of Feldman’s own ideas and inspirations…
Thursday, December 4th – Nick continues his Drafting With series, bringing us a triple Shards of Alara draft from the 8-4 queue on Magic Online. Along with Rich, he shares his pick process and draft thoughts with each one, and supplies more detailed analysis in the forums.
Thursday, December 4th – As someone with a casual streak who also enjoys finding bargains, I’ve been enjoying The Ferrett’s recent Casual Player’s Bargain-Hunting Guide series. But a thought suddenly struck me like a lightning bolt as I read about acquiring playsets of certain cards – it’s been somewhere going on two years since I actually built a casual deck where I worried about playsets…
Thursday, December 4th – Last weekend MTGO offered “free†drafts – meaning you only needed to supply the packs and you could draft. I did a few drafts. I also decided to write about a draft – to look at one in a bit more depth. The question was – which draft, and why? I decided to look for one where I had lost “to mana screw†or something like that, and analyze that in more depth.
Wednesday, December 3rd – Combo Elves was by far the standout attraction at the recent Extended Pro Tour in Berlin. While the Standard counterparts are not as powerful as their wise old Extended cousins, they still pack a mean punch. Today, Gerry looks at the archetype and compares it to the regular Green/Black Elf strategy that has traditionally done so well. He also fires off the next volley in the “Cruel Ultimatum or No†battle between himself and Patrick Chapin…
Wednesday, December 3rd – For this week’s Down And Dirty, Kyle Sanchez departs from his strategy and metagame tack in order to tell the heartwarming tale of Road Ranger Rob. While this piece won’t offer up new tech for this weekend’s StarCityGames.com $5000 Standard open, it may remind you exactly why you’re playing the game in the first place…
Wednesday, December 3rd – Nick continues his Drafting With series, bringing us a triple Shards of Alara draft from the 8-4 queue on Magic Online. Along with Rich, he shares his pick process and draft thoughts with each one, and supplies more detailed analysis in the forums.
Wednesday, December 3rd – When last we left them, Zap and Willow Titania Hagon were busy contemplating staying in the womb forever, or at least until the StarCityGames.com readership could come up with a better name for them. Now Odyssey through to Shards and beyond lead us to the final choice, before Rich’s Missus threatens him with a rolling pin, and they call the baby Billy, after her great-great-grandad. Still, just in case…
Wednesday, December 3rd – Tarmogoyf. Counterbalance. Intuition. Life from the Loam. Pernicious Deed. Demigod of Revenge. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles. I didn’t intend much with the Demigod of Revenge deck but it became, I think, premier combo-control deck in Legacy because of the multiple avenues of both attack and defense.
Wednesday, December 3rd – The December Banned and Restricted list update has arrived, with no changes to paper Magic, and it helps define the Pauper format for MTGO. It also has the sneaky change of allowing for changes later in the month, e.g. after Worlds.
Tuesday, December 2nd – It’s no secret that Magic is much more than a mere mathematical game. While a basis in the logic and science behind the game is of paramount importance, the very best players have intangible mental skills that catapult them to success. Manuel Bucher takes a look at some of the fundamental aspects of the mental game, and presents an intriguing rogue deck for the upcoming StarCityGames.com $5000 Standard Open…
Tuesday, December 2nd – In this illuminating (and, as it turns out, penultimate) article, Benjamin Peebles-Mundy shares a handful of his most glaring play errors, each made with something tangible on the line, and offers the lessons he learned from these mistakes. BPM also makes an announcement regarding the future of his column…
