Tiago Chan, Portugal’s Level 6 Pro Player, went into Day 1 of Grand Prix: Montreal packing an updated version of the Blue/Black Teachings deck that served him well in Strasbourg. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite go according to plan this time, but today’s article includes his thoughts on the deck, a match-by-match rundown, and an intriguing moral conundrum in the final match of the day…
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 analysed in the article, the forums, and beyond. Come join in the fun!
Hello everybody, and welcome to a very special edition of the Magic Show. This week we hit our fiftieth show, and with it an important milestone: Correspondents! Yes, our own Rueben Bressler visits Grand Prix: Montreal and brings us deck tech from Craig Jones, as well as a very special Magic connection between a Judge and his autistic son. All that and more, just inside!
Legacy is currently experiencing significant development. Christopher Coppola analyzes these changes and predicts how they will affect the format in the future.
Summer is here, and I for one shall be focusing almost entirely upon Block Constructed from now until infinity. Other than brief nods to formats of interest, such as this weekend’s Pro Tour, we’ll be playing Block until August. My intention was to hit a PTQ this weekend with a carload of fellow predators, but it seems StarCityGames.com in Roanoke is still quite far from New York City.
Adrian Sullivan rocked up to his local PTQ with a tricky little deck of his own design… but then, did we ever expect anything less? With a Time Spiral Block Constructed update to his classic “Baron Harkonnen” design, he waltzed through the Swiss like a hot knife through butter, and earned himself a place at Pro Tour: Valencia. If you’re looking for something cerebral with which to qualify, Adrian has the deck for you…
Richard Feldman believes that, for Time Spiral Block Constructed at least, if you’re not playing the best deck in the format then there’s no reason to be playing at all. Today’s Deep Analysis looks at the very core of the U/B Control decks, and ascertains exactly how they win, what they need, and why they’re largely unstoppable. This article is a must for anyone contemplating running the Evil in their coming PTQs… and for those looking to fight their way through it should take a look too.
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 analysed in the article, the forums, and beyond. Come join in the fun!
As a writer whose mandate is to come up with cheap decks, I spend a lot – if not most – of my ponderin’ time asking the question “Why not?” That’s exactly how this column’s deck came about. For eight months now, I’ve asked myself, “why isn’t anyone playing with Phantom Wurm?” The answer I usually got was “Because Spectral Force is better.” As you might expect, that didn’t satisfy me…
I was playing Steve Sadin’s Gruul deck in an eight-man queue online right after Regionals, and in the first round I did exactly what Sadin’s deck was designed to do: crush one of those Llanowar Elves plus Giant Solifuge Gruul decks. As my Tarmogoyf and Greater Gargadon were staring down his whole lotta nothin’, I realized something: Tarmogoyf needs a nickname.
For the past four weeks, I have been revisiting an old series of mine from over four and a half years ago. In that series, I broke down building a Five Color deck into five steps, although I continued with several articles after that. Although much of the strategy to building a large deck remains the same, the sheer number of cards and changes to the format over time warrant a new series. In homage to the old series, I am cutting and pasting the old article, and then deleting out the old examples.
With the recent upheaval to the Vintage format, and the restricting and unrestricting of key cards, the Vintage metagame is in constant flux. Today’s So Many Insane Plays sees Stephen pitch two of the prospective powerhouses — Fish and GroAtog — against each other in a titanic match. By leading us through the thought processes in the early game, we can see that the decisions made on turns 1 and 2 are vital to achieving success. If you’re looking for that Vintage edge, Stephen — as always — has the answers!
This past weekend saw Tarmogoyf – admirably aided by Mystic Enforcer – take the title of Time Spiral Block Powerhouse at Grand Prix: Montreal. Celso Zampere Jr. piloted the deck all the way to the top, and today’s Peebles Primers takes us through the ins and outs of the well-honed Green/White aggro machine. This deck is sure to be out in force for the approaching PTQ season… be prepared!
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 analysed in the article, the forums, and beyond. Come join in the fun!
Bennie rounds out some of the more eye-catching decks from the recent Regionals weekend, and supplies some interesting facts about American cities along the way! Aside from this comprehensive Standard rundown, he also has a special request regarding the nomination of your personal Hometown Hero… Intrigued? Then read on!
