I’m in awe of people who do “The Year in Review” columns. It takes skill… I don’t even dare contemplate doing a review of what happened in 2007. Instead, I decided to review – preview – what I’m looking forward to in the coming year. Most of this will be Magic-related, but I might sprinkle in some other stuff too. What are you looking forward to in 2008
It’s Christmas, and the Weatherlight has turned a little chilly. (At least everyone I saw at the Release Events was going BR, BR, BR.) So what do you do with this older set, and what’s the rule? Tune in and find out!
Fresh from his sterling performance at Worlds 2007, Patrick “The Innovator†Chapin has decided to give us our Christmas gift a little early this year! Today’s Innovations sees the Constructed master turn his eye towards Extended, bringing us the “Next Level in Blue Deck Technology.†Intrigued? Then read on!
For Worlds 2007, Steve Sadin got to work closely with the one and only Zvi Mowshowitz. I’m sure every single one of us would give our right arms for such an opportunity, and Steve was determined to make the most of it. Today, in the first part of his report, he looks at both Standard and Draft. Enjoy!
Tiago Chan, Portugal’s Level 6 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 cube has recently taken the Magic world by storm, starting with the Magic Invitational and spreading around the world; it even infiltrated Wizards of the Coast’s internal Draft Club. Tom shows you how to make a cube, talks about his own cube, talks with Aaron Forsythe about the Magic Invitational cube, and gives a brief recap of the Saturday Night Cube Draft that he and Evan Erwin hosted at Worlds.
Legacy at Worlds seems to be either the best or the worst thing to happen to the format, depending on who you talk to. Kevin Binswanger goes through the issues and the metagame and tries to make the case that Wizards is on the right track to a Legacy Pro Tour, as long as Legacy regulars can accept a few missteps.
Today’s Flores Friday follows hot on the heels of Michaelj Monday’s “The Breakdown of Theory” article. Mike fleshes out his fresh and exciting Phases of Magic concept, looking back at various dominant strategies in an attempt to contextualize their success. What exactly where these meta-warping behemoths doing right? And can we recreate their success on the battlefield today?
With Day 2 of Worlds concentrating on the Legacy format, it was a chance for the pro community to flex their Eternal muscles. While Tiago Chan was out of contention for Top 8 glory by the time Legacy rolled around, his deck decision process and testing is worthy of our attention. Today he talks us through his Legacy preparation before moving onto the tournament proper. Enjoy!
Tiago Chan, Portugal’s Level 6 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!
Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week I wrap up my Worlds experience by talking to players about Lorwyn draft, favorite first picks, show you the most exciting match in a long time, and go in-depth into the wild world of Dragonstorm.
With the Extended PTQ season right around the corner, the time is nigh to look into figuring out what you want to do in the format and how it plays out. First appearances can be deceiving, after all, and if you start with “just” decks like the Enduring Ideal deck or a turbo-Dredge strategy then you will generally fail to see the bigger picture. I certainly did – after all, the first thought I had when I saw the popularity and success of the Enduring Ideal deck was “I’ll just play a beatdown deck that doesn’t normally have countermagic and toss in Remands, they’ll never see it coming!”
The deck that most casual players will gravitate towards, and in my experience stick with the longest, is the Medium Aggro deck. In part this is because so many cool linear mechanics like Tribal come out, largely spread across the full casting cost range (yes, it goes beyond 4). It’s fun enough to play in a slower format like Limited, where there’s almost no way to avoid playing it, and is relatively forgiving.
For the final article in Zvi’s “My Worlds†Tournament Report, Zvi walks us through each of his Legacy matches in turn, sharing the highs and the lows with his usual charm and skill. With an overall record of 11-5, the Hall of Famer has officially re-caught the Magic bug, and we hope to see many more articles in the future!
Extended is coming, and all eyes turn to the older cards. In today’s Deep Analysis, Richard debates the nature of power in the format, and defines what he believes are the twenty most powerful decks. If you’re looking to distil the metagame before your next PTQ, let Richard lead the way!
