Tuesday, October 7th – The Limited PTQ season is upon us, and Shards of Alara is proving a tricky nut to crack. Gerry Thompson, qualified for the Pro Tour but hunting down a plane ticket, attended a local PTQ and rocked himself into the Top 8 on the back of a great cardpool and some tasty play. He shares his story today, with some interesting tips and tricks on the new Shards of Alara Sealed format…
Tuesday, October 7th – When a new base set rotates into Standard, crafty deckbuilders retreat to their workshops to find fun and forceful strategies able to hobble the emerging metagame. Benjamin Peebles-Mundy has taken quite a shine to a certain 5/5 multicolor artifact, and today’s Peebles Primers investigates the fruits of his experimentation. Do we have a new contender on our hands?
Tuesday, October 7th – Today we look into the futures of some non-Zoo and non-Affinity aggro decks that could still potentially thrive in today’s quick Extended. Much has already been written about both of these decks in their previous iterations, and the metagame hasn’t formed enough to spend page upon page over some tiny changes and the no-brainer Shards additions.
Tuesday, October 7th – The Shard deck construction rule for the Launch Party came and went without incident. I’m sure that a story will trickle in from some corner of the world where a careless player received a game loss for building outside a Shard, but my LP wasn’t going to be that story.
Monday, October 6th – I’m back to writing about Limited for once, because I still do love it – and I did a little drafting and sealed play this weekend to take Shards for a spin. So let’s talk about the cards that were better than they looked… And the cards that were worse!
Monday, October 6th – With seven sets leaving Extended, some of the most powerful decks in the format’s history have been neutered beyond repair. Or have they? Today’s Innovations sees Patrick Chapin take a look at a new brand of TEPS Combo, a strategy he claims is still a clear turn faster than anything Aggro has to offer…
Monday, October 6th – White is Magic’s perennial whipping boy… and Vintage is the format that wields the biggest whip. In metagames past, Vintage players were conditioned to skim the White sweetmeats in their rush to get to the Blue cards. Can Meandeck’s Parfait Ambush deck convince players that White is Right? Read on to find out!
Monday, October 6th – The first PTQ of the Kyoto season was this past Saturday (at the time you are reading this, at least), and I’ve noticed a few things about the Shards Sealed format. Chief among them is that it really doesn’t matter how bad your pool is, if you open a Mythic Creature you almost can’t help but win.
Friday, October 3rd – With both Grand Prix: Kansas City and the current PTQ season focusing on Shards of Alara Sealed play, all eyes have turned to the forty-card format. Today, Paul Cheon takes us through a couple of PTQ-style Sealed cardpool, each consisting of a starter and two boosters… and each replete with a variety of tasty options to explore.
Friday, October 3rd – White Weenie, especially Kithkin, has been a constant blip on the metagame radar in both Standard and Block Constructed ever since the release of Lorwyn. With Shards of Alara bringing fresh meat to the table, is the most potent way to build Aggro White still centered on maximizing the synergy of the cheeky Hobbits? Adrian investigates some potent non-tribal alternatives…
Friday, October 3rd – In the final draft before the pre-Shards break, Canadian draft maestro Rich Hoaen takes on Nick Eisel in an 8-4 Shadowmoor / Eventide draft on Magic Online. Read on to discover Rich’s view on the table… Nick’s evaluation is below!
Friday, October 3rd – In the final draft before the pre-Shards break, Nick Eisel takes on Rich Hoaen in an 8-4 Shadowmoor / Eventide draft on Magic Online. Read on to discover Nick’s view on the table… Rich’s evaluation is above!
Friday, October 3rd – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. After suffering through this past weekend’s prerelease festivities, something must be said. And if I’m the guy who has to say it, so be it. I’ll also cover the leak of the complete Conflux card list, and feature a special visit from Patrick Chapin and Friends. Let’s go!
Friday, October 3rd – Taking an early look at Shards of Alara for Constructed play, it’s not hard to see why the Bant shard is getting the attention for Standard. While it is Naya that claims the most efficient monster, with a Thoctar so big you can see Russia from atop it and the low price of just three mana, it is Bant who claims the miniature Exalted Angel at that same price.
Thursday, October 2nd – The coming Pro Tour Qualifier season plunges us into the murky depths of Shards of Alara Sealed. The tricolor torment promises to be powerful and fun… Billy Moreno, fresh off his prerelease experience, brings us some excellent advice to help improve our Sealed deckbuilding and Limited play.
