Extended season is upon us. We are seeing results from two different sources: PTQ Top 8 lists and the Top 8 of online Premier Events. Both of these use the same card pools, and none of the critical cards are bugged online. Nonetheless, the results of PTQs and those of online PEs vary significantly. I’ll examine – or at least speculate on – why, and include a compilation of the results from a couple weeks of play in both formats.
Last month, I unveiled the latest deck I’ve been working on, and my submission to mtgTheSource’s “Create a New Good Deck†contest, The EPIC Control (TEC). The response to the decklist was about what I had expected, which was a few people, mostly those who had seen the deck in action, praising the work we’ve done on it, and a whole lot more people calling every card choice into question. As this isn’t the first time I’ve written an article on a deck that throws convention out the window, I’m used to it at this point.
With Morningtide’s official release later this week also marking its debut on the Constructed stage, Adrian Sullivan has been looking at the cards with an eye on the Extended metagame. While many Internet pundits feel that the new cards will have little impact on the powerful format, Adrian does not agree. Do you?
With the release of Morningtide mere days away, we’re all looking forward to some hardcore Lor-Lor-Mor drafting. But how do the tribes shape up now we’ve one less pack of Lorwyn in the mix? Today’s Limited Lessons sees Nick Eisel take a look at the improvements made to both the Kithkin and Elves strategy. If you’re a dedicated follower of aggression, this is the article for you!
Tiago Chan, Portugal’s Magic dynamo, takes us by the hand and leads us through the choppy waters of a triple-Lorwyn draft on Magic Online. He shares each and every pick, from one to forty-five, and supplies expert commentary on the draft and the games. For more detailed information, visit the forums!
The reason I picked Dredge was because the field just isn’t prepared enough for it. You have 80-85% against the field game 1, according to pretty much all my testing and everyone else I talked to. There was a single match that wasn’t that big a blow-out, and that was game 1 against Affinity with Fatal Frenzy and Tormod’s Crypt maindeck.
While not featuring quite as many pie charts, dataflow analysis grids, and quantum mana differentiator pylons as Paul Jordan’s epic articles – actually, there are no pie charts – Rich Hagon brings you analysis of 39 LorLorMor Draft decks and a full 10 decklists of variable quality and sanity. These are brought to you at a cost of $0.000000001 each, allowing for standard deviation, taxation, and Gribble’s Third Law of Mechanics.
I’ve loved Treefolk since I first read about Treebeard as a teenager entranced with Lord of the Rings. I’m thrilled to see them given lots of attention in Magic finally. There seems to be a critical mass of really good Treefolk cards to warrant investigating whether a competitive tribal deck can be made with them.
The Ferrett’s second sojourn into Magic Video Technology (TM) leads to a look at legality, morality, and of course the fine game of Tiddlywinks. What are PTQs for? When should one invoke the Dark Side of the Jedi Mind Trick? The Ferrett weighs in on a touchy topic.
Morningtide is released at the end of the week, and all eyes turn to Constructed. Today’s MichaelJ Monday, held over from last week, sees Mike choose two of his favorite cards from the new set, building Standard decks that revolve around each. This is a great insight into the new card deckbuilding process… and later this week, Mike kicks off the Morningtide Standard Set Review (a “Two-Headed†pair of collaborative articles with Patrick Chapin). Watch this space!
There’s something different for us today… Patrick “The Innovator†Chapin interviews Gerry Thompson on the intricacies of the current Extended format. GerryT shares two lists – his build of Doman Zoo, and his personal take on Next Level Blue – before sharing sideboarding plans against the Tier 1 decks. If you’re looking for an edge at your next PTQ, let Patrick and Gerry guide the way!
Tiago Chan, Portugal’s Magic dynamo, takes us by the hand and leads us through the choppy waters of a triple-Lorwyn draft on Magic Online. He shares each and every pick, from one to forty-five, and supplies expert commentary on the draft and the games. For more detailed information, visit the forums!
Tom’s journey came to an end when he won the PTQ in Butler, Pennsylvania this past Saturday… or did it? Tom shares his take on the Patrick Chapin / Gerry Thompson created Counterbalance deck, talks about the tournament, and muses about the mindset necessary to succeed at Magic.
Once again, Eli takes a stab at the newest Sealed format to come down the pike. Morningtide gets cut up and put under the lens. The Japan vet also shoots his mouth about how Lorwyn’s tribes are wrecking casual Constructed Standard. There’s something in this article for everyone.
There’s a new set in town… Morningtide is here to rock our socks and set our Tribal / Class juices flowing. Some people, however, are not so enamored of the current Tribal direction in which the game is headed. John Friggin’ Rizzo takes a sledgehammer to the Tribal theme in a provocative article crammed with his usual verve and passion. Do you agree with his assessment?
[Editor’s Note – Mike Flores will be appearing on Monday, folks… watch this space!]
