Taking over from Rivien Swanson, and appearing here every Wednesday, we have the one and only Richard Hagon! It’s been a while since he last wrote, but the man from Mox is here to take you through all the comings and the goings, the throwing down and the throwing up, and all the news that’s fit to print from the Pro world.
Raphael Levy, Hall of Famer, current leader in the Player of the Year race, has undoubtedly tasted his fair share of lucky breaks. However, there’s an old saying out there… one that states “you make your own luck.” Is this indeed the case? Is it possible to influence such random events with a little tenacious guile? In today’s Pro Perspective, Raph talks about the nature of Luck itself, and reveals that those lucky topdecks may not be so lucky after all…
Jamie Wakefield, the archetypical Green Mage, takes a long look at his Magic-playing tendencies of late. He’s tinkered with Black/Green, Blue/Green, even Red/Blue… is a more multicolored path his ticket to success, or should he return to his Mono-Green roots? He also warns of the dangers involved in teaching Magic to three people in two languages while drunk, and offers some handy tips for the sartorially-challenged amongst us.
Dragonstorm in the strongest deck in Standard. As such, everyone is gunning for it. However, life can be difficult for the self-proclaimed Combo Killers when the tools at your disposal are nullified by a timely Gigadrowse. So what can we do? Richard takes a proactive approach, and looks for answers to the puzzle by examining the available disruption. He brings us four exciting decklists today, at least one of which can produce fantastic results against the 800-pound gorilla in the format.
When Chris attempted to break Standard with Necrotic Sliver, his ideas fell on stony ground. Two weeks of testing and tweaking, and nothing to show for his time. So he threw the doors open to the forum folk, and begged for ideas. They replied in their droves… and today’s article bears the fruit of their labors. Three deck, each with differing degrees of success… and one deck that may well be the Next Big Thing. Intrigued? Then read on!
Don’t take this article’s title the wrong way: I’m not advocating actual cheating at Regionals. What I mean is, this year’s Regionals format allows you to play an unusually high number of decks and cards so powerful that they are like cheating. Part of this is due to the Storm mechanic, which is inherently strong. However, another part comes simply from the ways in which the Wizards of the Coast are toying with costs, drawbacks, and power levels: is it okay to have a Black Lotus if you have to wait three turns for it?
The Ultimate Extended Tournament took far longer than I thought. Even though I was stuck in the past, the world moved on. I’ll fast-forward my way through a recap, but I have a lot to catch up on: City Champs. Vintage. Future Sight. Magic Online. The scarcity of PTQs. And more.
This is a companion article to the classic article “Who’s The Beatdown?” by Mike Flores. It explores the different ways to play aggressive decks, and the ways to win more while doing so. It was inspired by Mike’s recent comment that there was no more strategy worth writing about for beatdown or burn decks. It is suitable for players and Goblins of all ages, though those with Elvish sympathies may find some scenes distressing.
Nick climbs aboard the Draft Express this week, taking us through our paces in a Time Spiral / Planar Chaos / Future Sight draft. Each pick is dissected in detail, and each success and failure is discussed at length. The three-set format is always a major jolt when we emigrate from the two-set game, and the addition of Future Sight throws some industrial-strength spanners in the works. If you’re looking to improve your 40-card game, then this is a fine place to start!
Stephen loves broken decks. This much is obvious. As Grand Prix: Columbus lurches into view, it seems that everyone has an opinion on the menacing potential of Hulk Flash. As a well-respected Vintage veteran, Stephen is in a prime position to examine the interactions behind the deck. Does the reworking of Flash mean that Legacy is spawning into a “Vintage Lite” format? And is Stephen’s list really the Fastest Deck in Magic History? Read on to find out!
The Ferrett is laboring under intense dental pain today, so in his place we have Eli Kaplan! He brings us a feisty TSP Sealed cardpool, and invites us all to play along at home. Do you agree with his card evaluations?
Welcome back to Magic Puzzles. Before I throw this week’s challenge at you, let me tell you about the unique gift that I got for my most recent birthday. Imagine being able to take a piano lesson from Mozart, or perhaps being given Wushu instructions by Jet Li. The gift I received was in the same vein, but perhaps not so mainstream. So in honor of that, this week’s puzzles will be all about this particular art form…
Countdown to Grand Prix: Columbus! In this article, Christopher Coppola rebuilds a classic Aggro-Control deck, and examines the relevance of Aggro-Control at the upcoming Grand Prix.
Today’s Online Outlook charts the past week’s Metagame Shift on Magic Online. I present twelve Top 8 breakdowns for your pleasure and perusal, and we can see just what’s winning — and what’s losing — in the ever-changing world of Magic Online. Does Dragonstorm still destroy? Is Gruul Cruel? Does Gruul actually rhyme with Cruel? Inquiring minds want to know!
Ah, the problem with Green… a subject taxing the minds of the Magic Internet Community since 1766. Today’s Flores Friday sees Mike tackle this most elusive of topics with his usual incisive thinking, in a direct response to Jamie Wakefield’s take on the subject from earlier this week (and from the last ten years). He also shares his own forays into the Hulk Flash arena, and brings us what he believes to be the strongest Hulk Flash strategy created to date.
