Tuesday, September 1st – With Japan hardly providing great Magical moments in Sam Black’s portfolio, he shift his focus to Extended, and where he sees the metagame sitting in the buildup to the release of Zendikar. Can Faeries survive the rotation? Is Affinity the deck to beat? Does combo fare well? Read on to find out!
Monday, August 24th – The approaching Pro Tour in Austin will feature the Extended format. While the true nature of that particular beast won’t be revealed until the release of Zendikar, the departure of Onslaught block will certainly shake the rafters. Quentin Martin examines the aggressive offerings left by this upheaval, in the first of an illuminating three-part series.
Monday, July 20th – Patrick takes a break from competitive Standard testing to examine the new Extended format coming soon. He looks at a number of high-profile strategies, and updates the relevant builds around their gains and losses from the rotation of new and old sets. He also brings us a bonus Standard decklist, just in time for Nationals!
Friday, April 17th – In a last look at the freshly-passed Extended season, Quentin Martin examines the metagame as it was at end of play, and takes a long look at two of the fringe decks that succeeded as the season drew to a close: Astral Slide and Tezzerator.
Monday, April 13th – After last week’s article, I had firmly decided on my deck for the PTQ. Ranger Zoo had brought me a few online victories, and I felt like my list was incredibly strong. Aside from a horrid Elves matchup, I felt like my Zoo list had an advantage on the rest of the field that other Zoo lists did not have, especially in the mirror.
Friday, April 10th – In Extended so far, I have found I have a very high variance in my results: either I am very much on the ball and am pushing up around the top of the leaderboards, or I am not quite able to wrap my head around the game and make a ‘trivial’ mistake which costs me a match.
Friday, April 10th – In this entertaining PTQ report, Kyle Sanchez waxes lyrical about tacos, Kiki-Jiki, and the one true love of his life: Billy Moreno. Billy and Kyle rocked up to a local PTQ, and blasted their way into the Top 8. The deck, the stories, the plays, all told in the unmistakable Sanchez style…
Wednesday, April 8th – I really enjoy playing Zoo. I played a similar concept last year, and knowing that it would be viable still this year, I spent the past year refining and tweaking it. When Wild Nacatl was first revealed, I remember actually letting a girlish squeal escape my lips. “This could be the final piece,” I thought. In doing, so I cemented my deck of choice for this Extended season….
Wednesday, April 8th – Extended season draws to a close this weekend, and players are still looking for hot new options. Today, legendary Magic writer Jeff Cunningham returns with a no-nonsense primer for Extended Bant Aggro. If you’re looking for a deck packed with aggression and a good matchup against the format’s main contenders, this is the article for you!
Monday, April 6th – Recently, a friend of mine emailed me saying “I won my local PTQ with Ranger Zoo.†I was intrigued. I had seen Bill Stark’s Naya Zoo list with Ranger of Eos, and just brushed it off as a mediocre and slower version of Naya Burn. However, this friend of mine, whose opinion I greatly respect, basically just wrecked an entire PTQ without losing a single match.
Friday, April 3rd – Brian Kibler, one of the game’s Elder Statesmen, had fallen from the lofty heights in recent years. However, as we know, that Magic fire forever burns bone-deep. With a Pro Tour in Hawaii, he picked up the cards once more. In our last look at Extended as the PTQ season dwindles, Brian shares his Loam deck from a successful attempt to pick up a Blue Envelope. If you’ve still got a PTQ left, maybe this is the deck for you…
Monday, March 30th – I know most of you have absolutely had it with Faeries. You’ve circled its rotation out of Standard and Extended on your calendars, and have already ordered the strippers, balloons, and cake to celebrate the joyous days ahead. I’m with you. However, there is some value in taking a look at the process of PTQ preparation as far as what changes need to be made to a deck, and more importantly, why.
Friday, March 27th – By now, it’s Friday and I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d seen this past weekend’s results updated on the MagicTheGathering.com weekly update of Top 8 results. I certainly like to discuss them as part of my analysis of the metagame, and it never hurts to congratulate the people who turn up with interesting results that get you thinking about new and interesting card choices.
Friday, March 27th – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to talk about Extended, what was winning and what was not, this weekend’s StarCityGames.com $5000 Standard Open in Indianapolis, and live coverage of a PTQ finals featuring StarCityGames.com’s own Sean McKeown. Let’s go!
Friday, March 27th – As you’re probably aware, Sam Black made Top 8 of the recent Grand Prix: Singapore. He piloted the popular Faeries deck drummed up by Martin Juza, Manuel Bucher, Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, and Zac Hill. Of course, his secondary choice was the emergent Astral Slide deck. Today, he takes a look at both decks, as he believes that either strategy could lead a player to PTQ success.
