A lot of players, many forum trolls, and some judges have a lot of misconceptions about what Magic judges are, and what their job is. I want to talk about that a little — about what a judge should do, and should not do. I’ll also look at issues like burden of proof and judicial certainty – and explain why they don’t apply to judging Magic. I’ll also throw out a couple scenarios, to illustrate how these principles apply.
You’ve got Liliana Vess in the car with you, this hot, demonic babe whom you can fool around with a little bit right off the bat and have some fun. Sadly, you can’t score right away… you’ve got to give Liliana what she wants, whisper sweet nothings (target player discards a card), tell her you love her (target player discards a card), buy her dinner (target player discards a card), get her some jewelry (target player discards a card), tell her that you’ll love her ‘til the end of time (target player discards a card).
He’s been supplying excellent Feature Articles week in and week out for quite some time now… and today, he debuts his weekly column (in place of the study-bound Prof). Adrian Sullivan is one of the finest deckbuilders and theorists in the game, and this week he takes a look at the coming Standard rotation. With Lorwyn still a foreign country, what preparation can we make for the sad departure of Ravnica?
Nick takes a break from his excellent Draft Situation series in order to bring us the lowdown on the fun and powerful U/B Control archetype in Time Spiral Draft. He takes us through the more powerful commons on offer for this archetype, and brings us a couple of interesting decklists that can be used as templates for success. Lorwyn is coming, and TPF is losing its shine… so if you’re looking at drafting something as little different, this is the article for you!
Right now, the Vintage metagame is an odd anomaly when you look at it from a competitive point of view. On one hand, the best players are winning and making Top 8s at all the decent sized and major Vintage tournaments over the last few months. On the other hand, part of this is because a substantial chunk of the metagame is playing decks that don’t maximize their chances to win. I’m reasonably sure the only four decks that should be seeing play are GAT, Flash, Ichorid, and Stax.
In today’s only Charles Dickens reference here on StarCityGames.com, it’s time to go all Scrooge-like with Rich Hagon, as he starts to explore ways to get the best value out of your cards. Now’s your chance to learn all about Snooker Draft, Triple Sealed, The Joys Of Saturday, Hunger Pangs, and much more. It’s time to get More Bang For Your Buck.
He placed third in the Storyteller Ballot for this year’s Invitational, but he was the choice of many a pro player. His stories are, if you believe all you read, a work of genius. He’s fun, frivolous, and fiery… and he plays a mean game of Magic to boot. Gerard’s debut article takes us through his personal 5-2 performance at in the Standard portion of this year’s U.S. Nationals. Welcome aboard Gerard!
Time Spiral Block Constructed season is winding to a close, and it’s time to move to Constructed pastures new. Traditionally, Block Constructed is the least powerful of the sixty-card formats. Patrick Chapin has a decent antidote to this low-level play… Extended! With Pro Tour: Valencia looming large, the Innovator brings us his personal take on the current Extended metagame, with decklists, PLAY tips, and predictions galore!
When the word on Masters Edition finally broke out, I couldn’t believe it. An Online only expansion? Whoa. Masters Edition is an attempt by Wizards to give people a taste of the classics of yesteryear, but not too much of a taste so that it becomes an actual copy of the paper Legacy metagame.
I’m writing this article to promote a program I’ve written, called “MTG Forge,” that lets you play Magic against a computer opponent using all the rules of a real game. It’s really fun. Currently there are 400 cards available, and you can play in three modes: Constructed (all the cards), Sealed, or Draft.
[Editor’s Note: It’s a quiet time for Magic at the moment. Roll on Lorwyn, say I. In the meantime, here’s something a little different…]
After powering out to a 6-0 start at Grand Prix: San Francisco (albeit on the back of three byes and three great matchups), Tiago needed a simple “win and in” result to qualify for Day 2 play. Today’s Levelling Up examines where the wheels fell off the wagon. He also looks at his preparation for the GP, and explains why he spends a great deal of his time traveling to play Magic…
Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to take a look at the first new card type since the introduction of the game, my upcoming performance in Pro Tour: Valencia (yes, you read that right), and more. Let’s go! Warning: Contains Spoilers.
Sportsmanship is a gray area in Magic. That’s because everyone has a different idea about what sporting play is. Take, for instance, use of headphones while you are playing. To me it’s a sign of disrespect, but others won’t think twice about it. You can just think about it in terms of game play… for instance, what if someone calls you on the cell phone and gives you advice? That’s clearly against the rules…
Without a doubt, Tarmogoyf is the best creature in Legacy. Unsatisfied with current Threshold decks, Kevin presents several ideas on how to best use the Goyf. He also looks at ways to build around and play around Counterbalance.
[Editor’s Note: This article was a little late on Friday, so we’re running it again today in case you missed it.]
Mike’s Flores Friday takes us through his preparations thus far for States… yeah, that’s right: STATES. He shares two Standard decklists pulled deep from his well of creativity, both without a Ravnica card to their name, and walks us through some sample games. How does he fare? Well, the second offering is christened “Unbeatable.dec,” so you figure it out…
