John Friggin’ Rizzo is up for the Invitational, alongside a bevy of fine writers and storytellers. Of course, we all know there’s only one JFR… and today’s article is good for what ails ya. Expert tales of Magic and mayhem, some Standard and Extended offerings, and a genuine attempt to crack Vintage wide open! Is there nothing that this man cannot do?
Last week, Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin took us through his preparations for U.S. Nationals in Baltimore. This week, armed with his final 75, he brings us all the action from the tournament itself. Match details, draft pick posers, Flores side bets, and fun stories, in one wonderful package! Intrigued? Then read on…
Richie Hoaen, our resident draft expert for many a month, has decided to hang up his boots… and in his place we’re proud to announce Kenji Tsumura! As before, Kenji will take us through a Time Spiral draft from pick 1 to pick 45, before sharing his draft deck and commenting briefly on the games. Thanks for the great run, Rich, we’ll miss you… and hello Kenji!
It has painfully come to my attention that many of my “readers” don’t know who I am, or what I’m about. I tend to write in similes and metaphors, and as such many of my true feelings about Magic, its players, and my true personality are lost in translation. It was several angry emails from several very serious detractors, early on Friday morning. that really opened my eyes. Many of the things that were written to me wouldn’t make it past the StarCityGames.com censors…
Tiago Chan, under the expert guidance of Antonino De Rosa, decided to lay down the Blue/Black Block Constructed cards and take up the U/G Tarmogoyf mantle. After a hideous MTGO streak playing control, maybe a little tempo/aggro was a fine remedy for success. For anyone still wanting to rumble with the best two-drop in an age, Tiago has the tips and tricks for you!
Today’s edition of Flores Friday sees Mike deconstruct the myths behind the creation of an exquisite sideboard. So many of our final fifteens are assembled as an apology rather than as a weapon. By looking at the math behind the process, and examining the true goals of sideboard design, Mike shows us ways to improve our deckbuilding skills in an article that’s destined to become a classic.
I would say that this article will be different from your normal Magical Hack, but I don’t think it will be. You’re going to hear the same kind of stories that you always do when you come to a site like this one. But my perspective is different than what it once was – since the last time I’ve written, I’ve fallen off the face of the earth, completely reorganized and relocated my life, sold off my physical and digital collections, quit the game for six months, and returned again in the everlasting hunt for a healthy yet time-consuming hobby. Seeing as I’m writing this at 1:22am, you might have guessed that I haven’t been successful at the healthy part.
Hello everybody, today’s show focuses on an 8-4 draft I played in the other day, come along with me as I guide you through all 45 picks and subsequent deckbuildling. I also include the live recaps of the matches and my Invitational Bid Video. Woohoo!
With all the time we as players spend wrapped up in the latest tech and the hottest new decks to hit the scene, there’s a significant part of this game we often overlook, or take for granted. In the long run, it’s far more important than the results of a tournament, or the last-minute sideboard tweaks that helped you win or lose that match round 3. In a word, it’s the community that is the most integral part of this game, and it’s summed up in mere paragraphs before deck lists, and in lists of “Props and Slops” at the end of tournament reports
Ten names on the Storyteller Invitational ballot. Of those ten, we have eight names that write (or have written) for StarCityGames.com! So make your way over to the votes page and champion your particular hero. Good luck Mike, Prof, Kyle, Evan, Stephen, Rizzo, Jeroen, and Jeff! May the best man win!
Ask the Magic player on the street about the deckbuilding history of Adrian Sullivan, and it’s likely they’d say he was a lover of the Island. Indeed, Control decks spring from him like wine… but with the release of Tenth Edition shaking up the aether, just how do the traditional (i.e. Blue) control archetypes fare in the deluge of new cards? What trickery and subterfuge is now available to the water-mage? Adrian reveals all…
One recent new rule in Magic allows forgetful spellslingers to place a marker on top of their library, should they need to remember important upkeep triggers. Of course, resorting to such frippery is the sign of a Bush League mind… or is it? Today, Richard suggests that the only thing holding us back from improvement is our belligerent pride…
I may not use Chimeric Staff in every tourney I play in while it’s Standard legal. In fact, I’m sure that I won’t. However, if I want to build a deck with that card in it, I know that I have it. I only chase those cards that I think I’ll use, though. As I’ve stated many times before, if it’s not a card you think you’ll use – whether it’s because of the card’s color, the card’s type, or the kind of deck in which it would have to be used – then it’s not a staple for you.
I said to myself that I’d write again if they let me keep my Hall of Fame vote, but I figured since I was so far out of the community at this point I’d never get a vote. Apparently knowledge of PT history still counts for something, as I was given a vote again. I’ll save my actual votes and reasoning for the end of the article. Mostly because as I am writing this I still haven’t finalized my ballot. For now I figured I’d editorialize on some current events. Let’s see what’s in the news.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about six “precons” that I built for my playgroup. Since then, the group has really embraced playing with these precons in games both large and small. As such, I set out to build more precons for my group. My task was to make these new precons about the same power level as the old precons. As a reminder, these decks were all built out of the cards left over at the store after years of people picking through the boxes.
