I’m in Baltimore, for U.S. Nationals. It’s hot. I’ve got a couple hours to kill before I start work. I think I’ll head for side events and some drafts, but before that I’ll try to give you an update on the evolving Standard format. I’ll also give you a little bit of the feel of judging at an event like Nationals.
In preparation for U.S. Nationals, and for the meatgrinders in particular, this week’s Flores Friday sees Mike bring us a selection of fun and powerful Standard decks across a number of popular archetypes. Looking for the best of Gruul beatdown? Or something more mid-range and controlling? How about a Green/White deck with plenty of trickery? Mike’s got all the bases covered…
No, you’re not misreading the title… Tiago Chan, Level 6 Mage, spent last weekend at the front line of competitive Magic, supporting friends in their quest to qualify for Pro Tour: Valencia. Today’s Levelling Up sees Portugal’s finest walk us through the PTQ from his two friends’ perspectives, as they battle valiantly with U/B Teachings. He reminisces over the sights, sounds, and smells of the Portuguese PTQ scene…
You all know the drill by now… Rich Hoaen, Canada’s finest and grumpiest draft export, takes us by the hand and drags us through the rollercoaster ride of an 8-4 TPF Draft on Magic Online. From pick 1 to pick 45, Rich shares them all, and his final deck and draft performance are analyzed in the article, the forums, and beyond. Come join in the fun!
Time Spiral Block began this season with a small number of known “good” decks. White Weenie was the presumed eight-hundred-pound gorilla, which U/B Teachings the 799-pound-gorilla stealthily hid behind and kept force-feeding Twinkies so the Internet wouldn’t see past the Great White Hype. Mono-Red was surprisingly playable, and Red/Green worked pretty well too.
Since the Flash fiasco, Legacy players have been paying more attention to the Legacy banned list. Christopher Coppola reviews the progress made since his recommendations last September, and responds to the latest statements given by the DCI about the banned list
Hello, everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to take a look at the Top 8 Standard decklists from the Kentucky Open, what’s impacting us the most in Tenth Edition, as well as a little thing I like to call This Week In Magic.
With the Standard metagame finally taking shape in this Post-Tenth Edition era, Adrian Sullivan opens another weighty tome from the Sullivan Library. By looking back at some pre-Tenth Mono-Black shenanigans, he creates an exciting new deck that may just be the weapon of choice for 2007’s National champion! Intrigued? Then read on…
Richard continues his fine run of form with yet another masterclass on the U/B Teachings deck in Time Spiral Block Constructed. With Poison Slivers taking a chunk out of the metagame, and Mono-Red making a tiny comeback, just how does the U/B mage cope? And, more importantly, how does the U/B mage cope when faced with another U/B mage of a similar mind? Just how on earth can you reliably win the mirror match? Richard reveals all…
You all know the drill by now… Rich Hoaen, Canada’s finest and grumpiest draft export, takes us by the hand and drags us through the rollercoaster ride of an 8-4 TPF Draft on Magic Online. From pick 1 to pick 45, Rich shares them all, and his final deck and draft performance are analyzed in the article, the forums, and beyond. Come join in the fun!
Since it’s my birthday, what I’m going to do is give myself a present of sorts. I’m going to make a Time Spiral Block Constructed deck featuring Radha, Heir to Keld. Ever since I saw her in Planar Chaos, I knew that I’d use her in a deck. The problem was that, at the time, there really wasn’t a lot to do with her triggered ability except to play Instants and Flash creatures. Sure, Red and Green have some mighty nice examples of those, but they have to be in your hand.
It’s a simple question, but only the simple-minded would give a simple response: why do we blunder? Clearly, “because we’re terrible” is not the answer. Even Pro Tour champions can overlook the trivial aspects of the game: Gary Wise famously punted a Worship lock by sacrificing a Wooded Foothills at 1 life, and more recently Gadiel Szleifer lost a winning position against Mark Herberholz at Grand Prix: Montreal by forgetting to pay for Slaughter Pact.
I’ve always liked Champions. It was a well designed set. Unfortunately, the remainder of the block had a very “been there” feel to me, and I was let down, but to this day, I’m still rather fond of Champions. It was fun from both a flavor and a card perspective. As I was looking through my excess cards, I came across Dampen Thoughts, then Oni Possession. It struck me that I have never built that Oni deck I wanted, nor have I ever built that Thoughts deck, not even in draft.
Stephen Menendian, the Voice of Vintage, is currently proclaiming that GroAtog is the most powerful force in the Vintage metagame. Today, he enters a tournament in order to back up his lofty claims… and this article chronicles each game, play-by-play, as Stephen powers toward the Top 8. Did he make it? Read on to find out!
Nationals competition really heat up this coming weekend, with both the U.S. and UK tournaments scheduled to highlight the cream of both nations. But how can we gauge the evolving metagame now the new core set has been integrated into Standard play? Ben looks back at Australian Nationals, the first major tournament to showcase the new card-pool, and walk us through some of the highs and lows we can expect to face…
