Monday, October 13th – Shards of Alara is shaking up all forms of Constructed Magic. From Vintage to Standard, the new cards are causing quite a stir. Today’s Innovations sees Patrick Chapin examine Extended (with an eye to Berlin) and Standard (with an eye to the upcoming StarCityGames.com $5K Open). If you want a head start on your opponents, Chapin delivers!
Monday, October 13th – Ad Nauseam… a card that has polarized opinion in the Vintage community. Is it a powerful effect that promises much in the Vintage-with-Shards metagame, or is it an overpriced and over-hyped waste of resources. Stephen Menendian believes the card has potential, and Team Meandeck have created a deck to prove it…
Monday, October 13th – This article will be all about getting ready for the StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard Open. To start, I want to clear a few misconceptions people seem to have about the format at large. After that, we’ll be taking a look more closely at the popular decks, followed by a few that may be flying under the radar at the moment. Let’s go!
Monday, October 13th – With the Prerelease nonsense finally running its course, I sat down ready to write an article on shuffling when fate struck me a random blow. I was reading GerryT’s informative and entertaining “A Shards PTQ Story *Top 8*†and came across an odd and worrisome incident in his report…
Friday, October 10th – Shards of Alara Draft promises to be a tricky nut to crack. With a plethora of colorful options at our disposal, which way does the discerning spell-slinger turn. Rich Hoaen, the grumpy drafting goliath, takes us through his picks for the most powerful mono-colored cards in the set. If you’re looking for an edge in the 40-card format, look no further!
Friday, October 10th – When new cards hit the Standard metagame, people scramble to showcase new ideas. Another school of thought sees deckbuilders fire up their old strategy favorites, checking what the new set brings to the established strategy buffet. Adrian revisits his well-loved Ponza theories today… can Shards add a little spice to the mix?
Friday, October 10th – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to clear up some questions about last week’s episode, take a look at the new Standard environment beginning with this weekend’s Cruise Qualifier, feature a very special Shards of Alara sealed segment with Patrick Chapin, and more. Let’s go!
Friday, October 10th – The preoccupation with piecing together a “Shard†is probably the root cause of the misconception that this format is anything but blisteringly fast. People will sit and lollygag around, casting Obelisks and cracking sac-lands, and I have no idea what format they think they are playing.
Friday, October 10th – Today, I want to take a simple idea for the article. With the brand new set on the shelves, I would like to build several decks that revolve around the new cards. Some decks may just have a single card from Shards of Alara, whereas others might be packed with new goodies…
Thursday, October 9th – Billy Moreno is a fine example of an outside-the-box deckbuilder. Today, alongside some excellent Shards Draft analysis, he brings us two exciting deck ideas. The first focuses on the Jund Shard, while the second looks at the power of Battlegrace Angel…
Thursday, October 9th – Richard continues his series of articles concentrating on new deck experimentation with a look at a midrange strategy that utilizes the promising weenie Knight of the White Orchid. Will a heavily disruptive element make a stand in the new metagame? Read on to find out…
Thursday, October 9th – I meandered down to Richmond Comix Friday for FNM and got my Shards of Alara draft on… I thought the actual drafting went really well. First pack I cracked open, looked at the bottom card and saw it was a foil rare Ultimatum… unfortunately, it was Clarion Ultimatum. I moved on and saw another Ultimatum, this one of the Titanic variety. Win the Game for seven mana? Sure, I’ll bite!
Thursday, October 9th – You know the saying. Last week, after the prerelease fiasco and so forth, I literally could not write anything worth saying. I could spew venom like an encounter-level 30 forums troll, but I had nothing useful to say. I can write coherently, and civilly, now… I hope.
Wednesday, October 8th – Kyle brings us a two-pronged article today… first, he takes us through some of the more powerful cards in the adolescent Standard metagame, both from sets past and sets present. Next, he takes a look at the latest iteration of the Stokin’ Tokens deck, and examines a number of interesting builds…
Wednesday, October 8th – With a Pro Tour Qualifier season underway, and following a year off from authentic high-level Sealed play, getting your build right is crucial if you want to reach the Top 8. Drawing on his experiences of watching and playing at Pre-Release and Release events, Rich brings you some strategy for the Improvers out there…
