Brian David-Marshall caught up to me on Magic Online about a month ago and sent me a message: “How would you like to come up to NYC on October 6 to play in the top8magic Mockvitational?” Competitors? Lebedowicz, Chapin, and other luminaries will be turning out. Formats? Hey, I’ve always wanted to build my own block. Prizes? Amongst this crowd, what better prize could there possibly be than… bragging rights.
I am writing today’s article about some issues that I have with recent changes that Wizards have made, or chosen not to make, in light of Tenth Edition, Master’s Edition, and more. That’s all and well and good… however, Wizards had to go and change the nature of this article between its writing and its publication. I wrote about topics that have a resolution already. Well, some of them at least. That’s okay, because I can highlight some changes n places where they matter, and you can read my false predictions…
When a new set hits the shelves, Magic players the world over clamor for information on the strengths and weaknesses of the fresh cards. The Vintage crowd, of course, is no exception… except that their standards for possible playability are considerably higher. Today, Vintage World Champion Stephen Menendian takes a look at the highlights that Lorwyn has to offer our game’s most broken format…
The prerelease has passed, and we’re all eager to play both Draft and Sealed with the new cards. Benjamin Peebles-Mundy, fresh off a number of drafts with triple Lorwyn, introduces some of the strategies and synergies that we’ll come to embrace in the coming months. In order to lead by example, he presents a couple of successful Draft decks and explains why they put up a strong performance. There’s also a Sealed cardpool for us to investigate!
I love everything about this set. It was odd at first, because I hated Onslaught. The misapplication of the Morph mechanic made games too swingy, and I hate formats where you have to play eighteen or nineteen lands without too much to do with a flood. Then there was the fun “Commando-Craghorn-Zombie Cutthroat” debate which left you all-too-eager to slit your own jugular and drain into blissful oblivion, and all told I drafted a whole lot of Eighth Edition during that time period.
Ravnica, for all practical purposes, has rotated out of Standard. People are working on new-Standard decks for States, which is just a couple of weeks away. A few staple cards will be leaving — but the biggest change will be to manabases. Let’s look at what goes, and what stays…
Regular readers know I go nuts over every new set; I literally love each new Magic set, and for at least a little while, my favorite set of all time is the most recent Magic release. The reason why I’ve been a passionate fan of Magic year after year since I cracked open my first starter deck back in 1994 is the joy of discovering new cards, and brainstorming new card combinations and deckbuilding possibilities.
The Lorwyn Planeswalkers are extremely difficult to evaluate. Sure, they appear to be stupid in Limited… but how will their revolutionary new mechanics fare in the world of 60-card Magic? Will we have to rethink our strategies completely, or are they merely fuel for Tarmogoyfs? Adrian Sullivan attempts to guide us through the theoretical quagmire, breaking down the Planeswalkers into more manageable chunks…
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Nick Eisel’s article will be appearing on Friday… in its place, we’ve brought Richard Feldman’s article forward from Thursday! Today’s Deep Analysis concentrates on Extended, with exhaustive play-by-play coverage of many games featuring Ichorid against NarcoBridge and Gaea’s Might Get There. The Pro Tour is mere days away… get all the relevant tech right here!
Now the prerelease hype has died down, Josh takes an analytical eye to Lorwyn and shares his thoughts regarding its place in Limited and Standard. He highlights some key cards for Sealed and Draft, and brings us a decklist or two. He then moves onto Extended, and offers up four decklists for our attention…
Now that the Lorwyn Spoiler is in our grubby and impatient little hands, Rich Hagon revisits the techniques for Spoiler analysis he espoused last week and attempts to show how these touchstones can be useful in dissecting so much raw data. This episode also includes the largest font yet seen in a Magic article. (Mr. Hagon wishes to make it clear that this is not a challenge to a rapidly-escalating Font War with other writers. Thank you.)
Lorwyn is here! Oh frabjous joy, Lorwyn is here! And like the rest of you, I shuttled down to my local Prerelease tourney location, just in time to catch the last flight of the day. And here’s what I learned about the cards of Lorwyn by watching and playing in a four-round flight!
John Friggin’ Rizzo, the one-time destroyer of Extended, has gone a little peculiar. His article today is packed with the usual Mono Black in Standard musings, and Mono Black in Legacy tips… but we also learn a great deal about the man himself. Fun decks, fun plays, fun anecdotes, and the expected level of humorous invective… plus a frankly disturbing picture of the great man in full-on breakdance mode that will linger long in the memory.
Finally, Lorwyn is here! States is coming, and eyes are turning to the New Standard. Today’s Innovations sees Patrick Chapin take a look at two of the more hyped strategies in the format: Green/White Aggro with Gaddock Teeg, and a Standard update of the U/B Teachings archetype from Time Spiral Block Constructed. If you’re looking for an edge in the coming Standard metagame, this is the article for you!
Kyle takes a look at the commons in Lorwyn, and evaluates them for Limited play. He breaks them down by color, and divides them further using his own unique categories: Premium, Average, and Snot. The prerelease has passed, and it’s time to get busy with the new cards. If you’re looking for a Limited leg-up, look no further!
