Fresh out of the 883-person event in Columbus, Doug Linn looks back on this weekend’s Grand Prix and sifts through the data for tech and commentary. Find out how useful the information from the GP will be and look at the apparent futility of testing Legacy. Trace the historical development of the Flash deck with insider information and see how many pros he name-checks! All this and more in what Doug promises is the last article about Flash he will write.
So far this year, Tiago Chan hasn’t quite lived up to his Level 6 billing. Going into the tournament, he was looking to put a few uninspired results behind him, and power himself back into the running for Player of the Year. While he didn’t quite crack the final table, he finished high on Day 2 and picked up some cash and an extra point or two. With Block Constructed the format of the approaching PTQ season, now’s the time to get aquainted with the top tech…
Sadly for Player-of-the-Year-chasing Raph, Grand Prix: Strasbourg was nothing to write home about. A few wins, a few losses, and no Day 2 action. In a change of pace, Today’s Pro Perspective sees Raph asking some pertinent questions regarding cheaters and cheating. To answer these questions, we have a Level 4 and a Level 5 judge ready and eager to help! So, if you’ve ever wondered about infractions at the top level of sanctioned play, this is the article for you!
Last week, Jeroen cast his dignity in the dirt and literally begged for your questions. You responded in your droves, packing his inbox with enough content for five or six weeks! Today’s Ask The Drama begins thinning his inbox, and Jeroen answers questions on coping with playing a Big Name Pro, Mono Black in Standard, and much much more!
Before I get into the weirdness, I figure I’d toss out some red meat for Spike to feast upon. Last week I got a message from Thomas Leveille, the guy playing in the Virginia Beach City Champs program that was kicking ass on points about halfway through. So, how did it pan out? Thomas pinged me on AIM with this message last week…
With the Block and Legacy Grand Prix over, the next major event coming up for you, John Q Draftsalot, is Regionals. This means slogging back into the Standard metagame. I’ve been doing a running test log in an attempt to build around the basic structure of the format. These are the basic tenets of the format I’ve followed thus far when creating or tuning my decks.
Join Rich as he finds yet more inventive ways to lose at Magic. Featuring a dozen MTGO matchups, he muddles and befuddles his way through Time Spiral Block Constructed, sharing stuff that you either knew already, or feel really dirty about not knowing. But that’s okay, Rich is your friend, and he’s Making Mistakes So You Don’t Have To…
Jamie returns to his roots with some good old-fashioned fattie-lovin’… as he says himself, there’s nothing sweeter than casting a huge guy, watching your opponent struggle to deal, and once they have… casting another one. He also brings us up to speed on his European adventures, and shares a few Future Sight Green cards that have been tweaked with a touch of the Wakefield magic…
As you may have read in the official coverage, Richard Feldman and Zac Hill took a fresh-looking Trinity Green deck to Grand Prix: Columbus… and Richard came very close to making the final table. Today’s Deep Analysis looks at the creation of the deck, and provides a game-by-game rundown of the Grand Prix action!
Chris dives deep into his Well of Budget Decks, and surfaces holding a deck with a twist. With Time Spiral packing our binders with old-fashioned cards, it’s time to send out some deck lovin’ to the Old Guys who’ve never thrown away a Magic card. As an Old Guy who never throws away my Magic cards, I approve of this message.
Armed with a freshly-cut Hatching Plans Storm Combo deck, Mark takes to the eight-man queues… and comes up short. He can’t buy a win with this deck. Yet similar builds have been rocking up premier Event Top 8s without batting a metaphorical eyelid. Where’s Mark going wrong. Is it in his play, or the deck, or the simple strategies needed to succeed? Read on to find out!
At work, I have a mug that says “Everyone’s Entitled to my Opinion.” My coworkers know that that’s my mug. So, if Flores and Bennie Smith are arguing about Green, and Zac Hill writes more about concessions, is there any doubt I’ll jump on my soapbox? No, didn’t think so. This week I’ll opine on concessions, but I’ll add some facts to the debate.
I just returned from Grand Prix: Columbus, after watching it explode past everyone’s expectations with a gigantic 883 people showing up to slap dual lands and crazy old cards down. But what format were those people really playing? Was Hulk Flash actually – *gasp* – good for Legacy? And what in heck should we ban?
He’s been away for a while, but Mr Rizzo is back with a bang! Today’s dose of Rizzo Genius takes us through his long hard haul towards this year’s Regionals, with update after update to his popular Nearly Mono-Black in Standard deck. Expect no maindeck Black cards by the end of the article. He also recounts something rather frightening… I’ll let the great man tell that tale in his own irreverent fashion.
Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a popular TTT draft strategy called U/R. It was the biggest and strongest draft strategy in the kingdom. Then, suddenly, along came Planar Chaos, and the strategy got a little weaker. Then came Future Sight, and the strategy fell to pieces. What went wrong? Nick answers that question, and provides an excellent breakdown of all the U/x color parings for TPF draft!
