Tuesday, June 17th – From 200 all the way up to Charles Gindy in first, Rich Hagon runs his eye over the results sheets from Pro Tour: Hollywood, bringing us his usual blend of insight, wit, curiosity, root vegetables, controversy and – on this occasion – an abject, grovelling apology. Spineless, that’s what I say.
Tuesday, June 17th – I was born in Japan, and I am still a citizen of Nippon. I live and work in the United States as a Resident Alien. That means I have a Green Card (which is physically pink), not that I am a zombie face-sucker. Technically speaking, English is my second language as I grew up with Japanese in the home, but they are more like 1A and 1B. I took Saturday Japanese school classes all the way through junior high. I am conversationally fluent in the spoken language, I can read a newspaper, but my writing has really atrophied to the point where I probably couldn’t compose a halfway decent e-mail in Japanese.
Monday, June 16th – It seems that while Lorwyn / Shadowmoor Block Constructed has a proven trio of strong decks at the top, there is a huge amount of room for innovation. Today, Patrick Chapin brings us a fantastic-looking deck fresh from his frenzied Amp-addled brainpan, designed in collaboration with… Mike Long.
Monday, June 16th – With the latest upheaval to the Vintage metagame, a whole host of tried and tested strategies must adapt to survive. Today’s So Many Insane Plays sees Stephen reporting on the Vintage metagame in the months leading up to the so-called Vintage Apocalypse. What can these tournaments tell us of the state of the metagame today?
Monday, June 16th – By the time you read this, the first PTQs of the season will be over, and Lorwyn Block Constructed Season will be underway. Over the coming weeks I will try, as so many of you will do the same, to win one a Test of Endurance, a Battle of Wits, in Mortal Combat with my peers in an Epic Struggle to… I can’t figure out how to fit Chance Encounter in here, but you get the point.
Monday, June 16th – The graveyard is a very powerful resource in Legacy. Many different decks make use of it, for very different purposes. Threshold uses it to fuel Nimble Mongoose and Tarmogoyf. Eva Green cheats Tombstalker into play by delving its graveyard. There are many other examples, but there is one deck in Legacy that relies almost entirely on its graveyard to win the match…
Friday, June 13th – Going into Regionals, Mike was at a loss for what to play. So, faced with a surfeit of appealing options, he did the one thing guaranteed to serve up the goods: he looked towards Japan for innovation. While he won’t be gracing the stage of U.S. Nationals this year, his Regionals report is full of strategy, focus, and fun… and he does indeed learn a valuable lesson about the game we all love.
Friday, June 13th – By his own admission, Adrian only posted a “passable” record at Pro Tour: Hollywood. While he made a little money with his 10-6, he feels he punted two matches. His deck choice, however, was not a mistake. In fact, despite some kooky looking inclusions, he still feels it’s the best way to build a Red deck in Standard…
Friday, June 13th – This week we tackle the monstrous changes that are coming to our game this fall, all filtered through the brilliant mind of Patrick Chapin. You also get a full deck tech on his latest block deck, Burnt Toast featuring the ‘best’ command, Incendiary Command…
Friday, June 13th – With Regionals now behind us, and not enough results on the books to actually work up a good post-script on the U.S. Regionals by my weekly deadline, I seem to have permission to do what I’ve wanted to do for some time now: discuss Block Constructed.
Friday, June 13th – It’s fair to say that, down the years, I’ve had a hate/hate relationship with tiebreakers. No matter what I try, then always seem out to get me. I’ve no idea why this is the case. Perhaps I murdered a statistician in a previous life, or maybe I once angered a witch’s accountant and thus am cursed with mathematical bias for all eternity. All I do know is that if someone’s gonna come ninth, there’s a fair chance it’ll be me.
Thursday, June 12th – The results from Grand Prix: Birmingham would have us believe that there are a finite number of Block Constructed strategies in the current metagame… and Midrange “Rock†style decks are not welcome at the table. Today’s Deep Analysis sees Richard Feldman discussing exactly why decks like Doran have no chance to flourish in Lorwyn / Shadowmoor Block Constructed…
Thursday, June 12th – Kyle Sanchez brings us the hotly anticipated results from not one, but two Regionals tournaments: Houston and Dallas. While there is a fair share of Faerie, Elven, and Merfolk shenanigans in the Top 8 lists, there is innovation to be found. Can it really be true that Zur took down a Nationals invite? Read on to find out!
Thursday, June 12th – I was going to write about IDs in MTGO last week, but I ran out of time. It’s a bit less topical now, since the Wizards folks have made their announcement, but I can talk a bit about why IDs are allowed in the paper world, why they are problematic, and what changes when they are gone.
Thursday, June 12th – Dave sets aside the balanced checkbook and coupon pouch for just one week to recount his tale from Regionals – a tale featuring heartbreak, heirs, revenge, corruption, more revenge, and at the end, not so much the heartbreak.
