Greetings from sunny Valencia! My good buddy Zac is currently occupied with a beautiful Spanish maiden so I’m taking one for the team and filling his post for the week. As I know Constructed about as well as a chimpanzee knows Chess, we’re going to dive into the realms of Limited…
I don’t really want to reopen the ideological debate. Debating beliefs is pointless — debate is a rational exchange of data attempting to prove something, while beliefs, by definition, are idea held despite a complete lack of proof. Instead, I’ll look at data, and let people draw their own conclusion. It’s also a retrospective — I’ll look at creatures every few sets from Alpha to Lorwyn.
Adrian is jetting off to Valencia soon, but before he departs for some Extended chicanery he spills the beans on the new Tribal cards from Lorwyn. Will they have an impact in Standard over and above the obvious pump for Tarmogoyf? Or are they merely smoke and bubbles, designed to deceive us into believing their hype? Let Adrian reveal all…
Drafting triple Lorwyn is proving to be a somewhat tricky affair. There are color concerns to consider as usual, alongside the complicated drafting-by-tribe problems posed. Signaling seems especially difficult, and people disagree on the power of cards, colors, and creature types. Nick takes a look at a variety of Limited questions, and takes us through some of the harder decisions he made in a recent LLL draft…
Last week I received a number of responses wanting me to go further into Lorwyn Standard, so I’ll be leaving any final Extended thoughts to Feldman and company. We’ll jump right in with some baselines that many of the new decks people are throwing out there will have to live up too. Think of these as general guidelines that you want to follow while trying to optimize your deck.
Having done about as much Extended testing for Valencia as any self-respecting reporter could face, Rich Hagon spent the weekend drafting Lorwyn repeatedly with six of his best friends and Craig Stevenson. Learn what’s Cool about Clash, what’s Hiding behind Hideaway and what’s Teasing in Tribal. Plus, his personal guarantee that Dredge will win in Valencia next week. Click here now!
My initial reaction to seeing Lorwyn’s first preview was utter shock. Planeswalkers make a ton of sense. When I saw Liliana Vess, I figured that Wizards would take the incremental approach with Planeswalkers and keep them as a rare cycle. The new card type’s splashy, flavorful, and powerful, but at the same time it’s something that could potentially overpower the theme of a set. That’s fine with me.
I had been up late the night before importing all of the card information into Star City’s database, so you’d think I’d know all the cards… Right? Wrong. I actually like being spoiled. So showing up at the tournament, exhausted, run-down, and trying to sort through a new set? Not my greatest strategical moment.
The Extended Pro Tour kicks off this weekend… and you can be sure that some folk will run with the Overpowering Robots of Doom. Affinity has cast a long shadow over many a format, but does it still have the metaphorical grapes to run with the big dogs (and bigger Goyfs)? John “The Cak” Pelcak, a man with an affinity for Affinity, takes us through the motions.
With eyes set on Spain and Pro Tour: Valencia, Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin has set the Extended cards aside for a look at Lorwyn Standard. Today, he presents two decks, one of which he took to the infamous Mockvitational this past weekend. So how did he do? You’ll have to read on to find out… And if that’s not enough, Patrick also has a few ideas on how to get out of those all-too frequent crippling slumps.
Imagine having Teferi out, evoking Shriekmaw at instant speed, playing Grim Harvest getting Shriekmaw back, Evoking it again, Recovering Grim Harvest, playing Grim Harvest getting Shriekmaw back, Evoking Shriekmaw again, Recovering Grim Harvest, playing Grim Harvest getting Shriekmaw back, Evoking Shriekmaw, then Recovering Grim Harvest again.
Wet dream, my friend… wet dream.
Lorwyn Standard is, at present, a mystery. Are the tribes strong enough to impact on the format? How bad is the loss of the Ravnica dual lands? With tomorrow’s Mockvitational in his sights, Mike Flores attempts to crack a few of these mysteries and brings us a B/U Control deck that’s packed with fresh meat! Cryptic Command, Guile… will they cut it in the upcoming metagame?
It’s one week to the Extended Pro Tour, and Tiago has been busy honing his deck of choice for the upcoming battle. Of course, he’s tight-lipped regarding the hot Portuguese tech… instead, he shares his prerelease experience and takes us through a whopping three possible builds that sprang forth from his cardpool. If you’re looking for a Level 6 perspective on the new Sealed format, then look no further!
Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re visiting Nashville, TN and Boston, MA to show you what real players think of the set, some thoughts from Magic artists Cyril Van Der Haegen and Rebecca Guay, and hopefully have some fun along the way.
Standard always does an interesting dance this time of year. Old favorites from the past two years march off into the mists of time to be forgotten with the rest. Old problems disappear just as abruptly, showing that even the most aggressively dominant decks come with an expiration date… I’m looking at you, Arcbound Ravager.
