Thursday, May 22nd – Hello folks, and welcome to the column that explores the casual. I am your miner, Abe Sargent, digging for precious nuggets of casual Magic goodness. Last week I offered all of you kind folks an opportunity to send in some decks built using at least one Shadowmoor card. With such an easy task, how many entries did I get?
Wednesday, May 21st – At the recent StarCityGames.com Mega-Magic Weekend, the real winner was the Faeries deck. After multiple rounds of grueling swiss and single elimination competition, Faeries met in the finals of both tournaments. The pilot of the winning deck each time? Alex Bertoncini. Today he shares his story, alongside invaluable advice on how to get the most from the Fae…
Wednesday, May 21st – In a break from his usual articles, GerryT regales us with the tale of his own personal quest to take the crown in the StarCityGames Standard Open tournaments. While he didn’t have as successful a weekend as Alex, he made the Top 8 on the second day, and his own home-spun brand of Faeries has been the talk of the town. For his own particular take on the highs and lows of the metagame, look no further!
Wednesday, May 21st – My suitcase sits here next to me, packed for the LA plane. Still no real idea what I’m running in Hollywood, but since when has that gotten in anyone’s way? Blasted Fae, stupid Swans. Standard has always been my worst format, and I feel about as clueless now as I did a month ago when I started testing in earnest.
Wednesday, May 21st – In the first age of Magic, Blue was dominant for two perceived reasons: its ability to counter spells, and its ability to draw cards. These elements were considered to be “in-flavor” for Blue, when in reality this was giving one color dominion over two fundamental, basic mechanics of the game – playing cards and drawing cards.
Tuesday, May 20th – Triple Shadowmoor Draft offers up a variety of exciting strategies for the more discerning Limited player. There are the usual strategies, like Blue/White Aggro or Black/Red Heavy Removal. There are the fringe strategies, like The Gun and the Mill archetype. And there’s Green/Red, which requires an unhealthy reliance on mana acceleration…
Tuesday, May 20th – With Pro Tour: Hollywood only days away, the debate still rages over what can be done to curb the Blue/Black Faerie menace. One popular option is Mono-Red Aggression, with copious amounts of burn ready to keep the Bitterblossom players on their toes. Is such a strategy ready for the big time, or will the Fae seize the day?
Tuesday, May 20th – Grand Prix: Brussels was one of the truly great GP Sundays. As we head for Pro Tour: Hollywood, another Box Office production from the team that brought you ‘Lightning Helix: The Craig Jones Story’ and ‘The Magic Is Back’ starring Jon Finkel, join reviewer Rich Hagon as he talks you through the story of a spectacular Belgian weekend and looks ahead to what could be a very special three days in the land of dreams. Showtime!
Tuesday, May 20th – I visit Sonic to get myself some breakfast, which today consists of a double cheeseburger, tots, and a Coke. Breakfast of champions. I’m sitting here in my pajamas and moccasins, with Mike and Mike in the Morning in the background, attempting to write my first article for Star City Games…
Monday, May 19th – The Ferrett writes letters to Evan Erwin, MODO 3.0, you the readers, and his local gaming store as he discusses the vagaries of his latest draft!
Monday, May 19th – Hollywood is fast approaching, and pro players everywhere are preparing to break the format. Of course, the biggest threat in the metagame flies on gossamer wings. What can be done to conquer the Fae? Do we act like Evan and bring the burn, or do we pack a dangerous 0/5 treefolk…?
Monday, May 19th – At the StarCityGames Mega-Magic Weekend, Stephen Menendian took full advantage of two days of competitive Vintage play. Unfortunately for the Vintage World Champion, things didn’t quite go his way on an intriguing Day 1…
Monday, May 19th – With so much of the field on Day 2 of the StarCityGames.com $2000 Open tournament being Fae, not to mention the combined wins and Top 8 numbers of the deck, the only reasonable thing to do is focus all efforts in beating it.
Monday, May 19th – Designing competitive decks is difficult. It requires building something better or at least as good as the best decks in any given format. The best decks represent the gold standard of which any new deck aspires to be. These decks can provide a wealth of information about how to build decks and why their designs work.
Friday, May 16th – Come join Mike in the madcap mathematical adventure that we call metagaming. Why is The Basic Test of Metagaming Competence the most useful article in modeling metagaming that you will ever read? Because just one paragraph in you may realize that everything you ever thought about metagaming was a lie… Or at least a gross series of very sad misunderstandings. And we can prove it. A must read.
