Thursday. December 18th – Last weekend was Worlds. Unfortunately, I got to experience it the way most of the rest of us did – remotely. On the plus side, I played a bunch of Magic Online and watched the coverage. It was a nice snowy weekend, with dogs, a fire in the fireplace, and online release events. It almost made up for not being there.
Wednesday, December 17th – With both Pro Tour: Berlin and the World Championships now in the books, and the upcoming PTQ season concentrating on Extended, it’s time to examine the format and figure the metagame. Borrowing from Mike Flores and his SWOT analysis, Richard Feldman takes us through the runners and riders…
Wednesday, December 17th – In our second look at the current Extended metagame, Kyle Sanchez looks at the stronger decks from Worlds and examines the makeup of the blossoming format. He breaks down the decks into the Big Three, and looks at some of the more popular fringe strategies…
Wednesday, December 17th – What I really want to call attention to today is a certain situation that, if left unchecked and uncurbed, could legitimately threaten the future of competitive Magic as it exists today. I am not, for once, employing hyperbole. The issue is that of inept, counterintuitive, self-interested, or ineffective judging at the Grand Prix or Pro Tour level.
Wednesday, December 17th – All the fun and top quality goodness of the biggest event in the Magic calendar, as Rich brings us no fewer than seventeen entries from his personal Worlds Week.
Wednesday, December 17th – It is all about Worlds 2008 in Memphis this week. Congratulations to Antti Malin of Finland who is the new World Champion, and to Team USA of Paul Cheon / Sam Black / Michael Jacob for winning the World Team Championship!
Tuesday, December 16th – After a sterling start and a 5-1 Standard performance, the wheels fell off Patrick’s Worlds wagon when the field took up the forty-card decks. Today, Patrick brings us the deck he played to 5-1, a Cruel Control build developed by himself, Manuel Bucher, Guillaume Wafo-Tapa, and the Ruels…
Tuesday, December 16th – Newly-promoted Level 6 mage Gerry Thompson stepped away from Five-Color Control for Worlds in order to bust heads with the popular White/Black Token Standard deck. He came away from Day 1 with a solid 5-1 record. Today, he takes us through the deck he played, the build he’d run today, and the sideboarding plans he’d implement for the major players in the field…
Tuesday, December 16th – 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.
Tuesday, December 16th – As I’m writing this, we’ve seen one day of play at Worlds, perhaps the most interesting day for those who like to follow Standard for Friday Night Magic and other local tournaments. We certainly expect the third day of play, focusing on Extended, to have a metagame-shaping impact… either it’ll prove that Elves are at an acceptable power level in the current Extended metagame, or Wizards will break some Elf kneecaps until they do.
Tuesday, December 16th – It’s the most wonderful time of the year, or so the song tells us. It’s also the most shoppingest time of the year. Dave has some low-cost ideas about what you might buy if you’re shopping for the Magic player in your life.
Monday, December 15th – Now we’re getting into some of the best casual territory – Urza Block and Invasion, two gold mines for cheap and strong multiplayer effects. What hidden treasures has The Ferrett unearthed? There’s only one way to find out!
Monday, December 15th – Down the years, Vintage Maestro Stephen Menendian has championed the cause of many maligned cards, cards that have been banned, restricted, or have received errata. Today, he brings us the story of Shahrazad, banned but not forgotten, and presents the argument for its reintroduction into Vintage…
[Editor’s Note – As usual, Worlds has impacted our article schedule. Rest assured that all scheduled articles will appear later in the week!]
Monday, December 15th – 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.
Monday, December 15th – Obviously, everyone knows that lying to a Judge is a seriously bad thing. What sometimes slips through the cracks is how equally serious it can be to lie to your opponent or to intentionally ignore infractions until it is convenient to do so. Like a broken record, if you discover something wrong, you need to… (wait for it)… call a Judge.
