Search Content

Levelling Up – Portuguese Deck Tech: Wizards in Time Spiral Block Constructed

Read Tiago Chan every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Kai Budde, it seems, is a shoo-in for the coming Hall of Fame Class of 2007. If that’s not all, his signature card — Voidmage Prodigy — is ripe for Time Spiral Block Constructred play! From the Portuguese PTQ trenches, Tiago Chan brings us an exciting Blue Wizards deck that has a fine matchup against a number of the block’s top decks. Teferi’s a Wizard, Venser’s a Wizard, Shadowmage is a Wizard… and Kai’s card binds these powerhouses together! Intrigued? Then read on…

By

Drafting With Kenji – TPF #8

Draft with Kenji... every day at StarCityGames.com!
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!

By

Unlocking Legacy — Yet Another Junk Deck

Read Legacy articles every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
In this article, Doug looks at understanding in a post-Tarmogoyf metagame and suggests a deck featuring old favorites as a solution to the Jolly Green Giant. Can Pernicious Deed hang in Legacy or is it too slow? Are there times when selective discard is superior to random discard? As a bonus, see what uncommons are essential for a die-hard Legacy player’s collection!

By

Not Magical Hack — The Time Spiral Block Metagame, and Core Set “Block” Constructed

Read Sean McKeown every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Sean is currently taking a brief break from his column… so today’s Magical Hack comes from Phil Barker. He brings us a comprehensive breakdown of the Time Spiral Block Constructed metagame, before turning his eye to something a little different. What do you think of playing a little Core Set “Block” Constructed?

By

Hacking The Vote

Last year, I had a few choice words to say on the subject of the Hall of Fame voting… and rather than go on again about how Mike Long most emphatically does not, double-underscore exclamation-point, belong in the Hall of Fame, I would raise the one guideline that matters when it comes to voting for the Hall of Fame:

“…The Hall does not bestow the luminous shine of greatness to the Players, it is the Players who grant esteem to the Hall.”

By

The Magic Show #57 — Stories From the Nashville PTQ

Watch Evan Erwin every Friday... on StarCityGames.com!
Say hello everybody to your 2007 Invitational Storyteller! Oh man, am I excited! I’ll be sure to share said excitement with you next week, but I still have a show to produce and this week is a goodie. I have a nice long chat with our own Richard Feldman and Zac Hill on getting better at Magic, the Invitational, Xth, Block Constructed, and more while I let you hear the worst Bad Beat story of all time.

By

Flores Friday – Sideboarding with the Once and Future #1 Apprentices

Read Mike Flores every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Last weekend, Mike Flores helped two of his self-appointed “apprentices” make Top 8 at a Time Spiral Block Constructed PTQ. Asher Hecht came third, and Josh Ravitz won the whole thing. This was due, in no small part, to excellent deck choice and playskill… but also because of the excellent sideboarding strategy. Mike brings us the low-down today, plus an exhaustive response to Adrian Sullivan’s claims regarding the 4/1 “dogma” of card numbers in deck construction.

By

Feature Article – Sullivan Library: Deck Genesis

Read Feature Articles every Monday and Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Adrian Sullivan, one of the finest deckbuilding minds in the game, has done it again. Today’s Sullivan Library takes us through a fantastic new Green/White deck that has positive matchups against four of the top five decks in Standard. If that isn’t enough, the article also divulges some of the Master Builder’s deck design secrets. Looking to smash at a Standard tournament, or hoping to hone your deckbuilding skills? Then this is the article for you!

By

Deep Analysis – Rock in Block

Read Richard Feldman every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Richard Feldman, fresh off a harrowing Teachings-fueled run of “nearly” performances in Time Spiral Block Constructed PTQs, has decided to try something a little different. Green/Black Rock-style decks have been a staple of every Constructed format for many a year… so why should TSP Block be any different? Richard brings us the decklist, the sideboard plans, and some crafty strategic knowledge that enables us to Rock Out With Our Rock Out (In Block Out). Or something.

By

Drafting With Kenji – TPF #7

Draft with Kenji... every day at StarCityGames.com!
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!

By

From Right Field – The End of an Era

Read Chris Romeo every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
My last two columns were about staple rares that I think that budget players should try to pick up. Many people commented on the fact that the lists were “too long” and had “too many cards” on them to be considered “staples.” While I addressed that issue at the beginning of last week’s column, I want to come back to it from a different angle.

By

The Beautiful Struggle – Return of the King Pawn

Read Mark Young every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Hello everyone, I’m back. August is not an easy month for someone whose job is to write about tournament Magic, but at least we have Block Constructed season to talk about. Plus, some Lorwyn information is starting to leak out; MTGSalvation has already spoiled 21 cards*. And there are always the random strategic concepts that I’ll see applied in a game and I think, “that would make a great article.”

By

The Kitchen Table #194 — Magic Stinkers

Read Abe Sargent every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
I was recently thinking that I wanted to do something special for my 200th article. After come consideration, I have decided to pull out 200 cards that I think are really keen and that you should be playing with and write them all up. As I search through my cards for the goods, I have come across some real stinkers. These are some of the worst cards of all time. What I thought I would do today is to share some of these classic bombs, and then build some decks around them…

By

So Many Insane Plays – Figures Don’t Lie, But Liars Figure: A Vintage Metagame Report

Read Stephen Menendian every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
On June 20th, the DCI dropped a megaton bomb. Gifts Ungiven was restricted, and Gush, Mind Twist, Black Vise, and Voltaic Key were all unrestricted. In combination with the errata on Flash and the unleashing of Future Sight, the Vintage metagame experienced a massive transformation. Today, Stephen Menendian examines the fallout from this monumental shift, and shows us where we stand amid the rubble.

By

Peebles Primers — Blocking Isn’t Loose

Read Benjamin Peebles-Mundy every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Zac Hill recently offered the opinion that, in Limited at least, “blocking is loose.” Benjamin Peebles-Mundy disagrees. In part 1 of today’s Peebles Primer, he offers a very persuasive counterpoint to Zac’s claim. Once the Limited theory has finished, BPM moves onto some fun Dredge versus Aggro game descriptions in Standard, showing us the way to beat those tricky beatdown decks with fuel and fire from the grave…

By