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.
A provocative title, no doubt… but does Stephen really believe it? Well, yes… but not in the way you think. The Voice of Vintage is in reflective mood today, sharing with us his thoughts on the place of Magic in the life of a well-rounded individual. And if that’s not enough, he also takes us through some more of the intricacies in the Flash versus GroAtog matchup.
Dredge… the deck that falls to hate. The deck that, while powerful, is simply unable to put up the numbers in a multi-round tournament. Of course, if people forgo the sideboard hatred, then the deck is unquestionably powerful — just ask Stuart Wright. Today’s Peebles Primer sees BPM deconstruct the decklists from U.S Nationals in order to evaluate the level of hatred you may face, before presenting us with his powerful Dredge deck that has posted excellent results on Magic Online.
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!
I’ve learned tons about 40-card Magic in the last month, mostly thanks to chats with Ervin Tormos. Said Ruski planned on writing “the definitive booster draft article,” but instead decided he’d rather just share his knowledge with friends on AIM and save himself the trouble. Well, I’m not so benevolent, and I’ve got a deadline-thumping Brit to impress, so this is going to be my side of the story…
This is the time of year when I start culling my Type 2 (well, Standard I guess is the correct phrase) card boxes, shifting out the old stuff – Ravnica block, Ninth Edition – adding in Tenth Edition, and anticipating adding in Lorwyn stuff. Truth be told, I’m a bit sick of Ravnica – Standard right now feels a lot like Invasion Standard, where everyone is able to pick three or more colors, select the crème de la crème from each of them, glue it all together with ridiculously easy mana, and have themselves a really good deck.
At U.S. Nationals, I head judged a Legacy tournament. I collected decklists, started round one then walked along the tables. Towards the end of one table, two minutes into the round, a player was sitting alone. I asked “no opponent?” His response — “No, match over. I never got to draw a card.”
Welcome to Legacy.
Craig “The Professor” Jones likes a burn spell. After all, one particular Lightning Helix earned him $16,000 and made him famous. So when he won the recent Great British National Championship, it came as no surprise that he was packing heat. Today’s From The Lab takes us through some of the intricacies of piloting a burn-heavy deck, and tells us how to turn the mirror match from a coin-flip into a three-point win.
Forty-card Magic is considered by some to be the true test of a player’s talent and skill. Tricky draft choices and complicated in-game decisions go a long way towards proving that Magic is the most challenging game ever devised. Today’s Limited Lessons sees Nick share a pair of difficult Limited decisions — one draft pick, one in-game scenario — in an attempt to clarify the best move available, and in turn open our minds to new avenues of strategic thought. If you’re serious about improving your Limited game, it’s articles like this that will prove invaluable.
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!
My idiotic selection for the Grand Prix Trial this weekend was White Weenie. Why? Because the field was anticipated to be something like 50% Pickles with a smattering of Tarmogoyf and Reanimator decks. This is a field prime to be run over by W/G Goyf or the Little White Men.
