Seasoned players tend to talk about “sideboarding plans,” which is not a surprise since sideboarding well is really all about planning. Tom looks at some decks and asks you to think about how their sideboards do or do not fit with the decks’ game plans. He wants to convince you that you need to be aware of and take into account your deck’s plans to build the most effective sideboard you can.
I have tried to follow hunches and ideas in decks even when they are ludicrous or go against the conventional wisdom. The most frequent result is utter junk; it turns out that conventional wisdom can be pretty wise. Sometimes I get interesting results, or better yet I get some new and useful deck. The most recent and interesting experiments involved Faerie Stompy and Goblins, and I want to share some things I learned.
A Standard Pro Tour looms in the New Year, and who wouldn’t want a trip to Hollywood? In order to qualify, one must triumph at an Extended PTQ. The season kicks off in January… but Mike likes to be prepared. Today’s Flores Friday sees Mike share an interesting multi-colored deck based around powerful Lorwyn cards and overlooked mana-fixing. If you’re serious about qualifying for PT: Showbiz, you can’t miss this!
Tiago Chan, without a clear goal to hit in the Pro Player’s Club, was a little reluctant to attend Grand Prix: Daytona Beach. However, a Magical holiday is hard to turn down. Today’s Levelling Up sees Portugal’s Level 6 mage take us through three possible builds of his Sealed Deck cardpool, before walking us through his tournament round by round. His match with Shuhei for Day 2 play was particulalry spicy, and is detailed at length… as is his bizarre hotel experience!
That’s right, folks: The “Drafting With…” series is back! Taking up where both Rich Hoaen and Kenji Tsumura left off, we have Level 6 Mage Tiago Chan. As before, Tiago takes us through a triple Lorwyn draft from pick 1 to pick 45, before sharing his insight on the draft and the games that followed. For more detailed draft debate, come to the forums!
Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week’s show is just too scatterbrained to stay on one topic. I haven’t ranted about anything in weeks, and now it’s time to dish. On this week’s episode we go over Standard, Grand Prix: Daytona, the best articles from the past few weeks, the Worlds Championships, an interview with Worth Wollpert (Brand Manager of Magic Digital), and more! Let’s go!
Last week, we began looking at the most recent format of relevance to tournament play – Lorwyn Sealed Deck. It only makes sense to follow up on that subject the week after a North American Grand Prix in the format, especially with the PTQ season hitting its stride as we hit Thanksgiving weekend. Not being a turkey fan myself, I’m more interested in the Magic weekend that a few days off will provide…
On today’s SCG Double Feature, Chris takes us through his time at Grand Prix: Daytona Beach, and Ben gives thanks for the things that mean a great deal to him.
Grand Prix: Krakow brought a resurgence of Islands to the Standard metagame. Indeed, if the Top 8 is any indication, times are good for the water-loving spellslinger. This week’s Deep Analysis sees Richard Feldman attempt to deflate the control mages, attacking them aggressively in a way that currently has no defense. Intrigued? Then read on!
We’ve had the Krakow 10, and the Kitakyuushuu 10… Today, Kyle follows it up with the Daytona 10! As usual, he packs his articles with fun, frolics, and mayhem. Alongside his personal Top 5 commons by color list for Lorwyn Draft, he brings us a glowing description of Gabe Walls, a debate on Grand Prix versus Pro Tour Top 8s, and some tales of debauchery that frankly boggle the mind. Kyle Sanchez – discretion advised.
That’s right, folks: The “Drafting With…” series is back! Taking up where both Rich Hoaen and Kenji Tsumura left off, we have Level 6 Mage Tiago Chan. As before, Tiago takes us through a triple Lorwyn draft from pick 1 to pick 45, before sharing his insight on the draft and the games that followed. For more detailed draft debate, come to the forums!
Today is Thanksgiving. As one who concentrates on inexpensive decks, I’m especially thankful for the fan-freakin’-tastic commons and uncommons that the folks at Wizards have been making over the past few years. I could make my word count for this article right now just by listing all of the kick aspirin commons and uncommons that are Standard-legal right now. While I’m cheesy (check out that moustache!), I’m not that cheesy.
I got home from Daytona Monday night. I have to work Tuesday until 5, of course I can’t write at all from work *wink*, and my article is due Tuesday at 6. So, you’re not going to get coherent thoughts from me like you usually do, but instead a wide-ranging spray of various topics and random thoughts that I had over the past four days…
I’m fond of Lorwyn. I think it’s a fine set. However, there is only so much I want to write on it before I get bored. Three consecutive weeks of pouring over the Lorwyn spoiler and then the draft overview I gave concerning six Lorwyn rare drafts. Lorwyn ain’t that exciting. I am ready to move onto new topics for a little while, at least. Today, let’s do something completely different.
The recent Vintage Mega-Weekend in Chicago shook the metagame like a Polaroid picture. The Little Lhurgoyf That Could, scourge of many a tournament, finally made its presence felt in the most broken format. Stephen brings us an exhaustive play-by-play of his own tournament performance, and ruminates on the Vintage metagame as it currently stands. Are we entering a Golden Age?
