As promised last week, Chris brings us his newest Standard creation — Black/White Slivers. He takes us through five different iterations of the deck, and shares some of his thoughts in testing and beyond. All this, plus a few match walkthroughs to boot! Looking to abuse the power of Necrotic Sliver? Then maybe this is the deck for you…
Today’s Beautiful Struggle sees Mark go Math Crazy! With the aid of some high-level mathematics, Mr Young attempts to cure the Magic populace of one of its cardinal sins… the belief that a winning play is the correct play regardless of the probabilities behind it. We’ve all made mistakes such as these, but Mark suggests we let math be our guide.
Pete takes a break from racking up the results in the Ultimate Extended Tournament to take a strong R/G deck into the MTGO Metagame in order to kick ass and take names. He fires the deck against a number of high-quality archetypes in the MTGO eight-man Standard queues, and is extremely pleased with the results…
I have friends who have been playing for years, and have never improved a whit. They were better than I was when I started, but somehow I’ve surpassed them. The reason why? Because even despite my mediocre skills, I find some improvement in every victory. And I have four hints to help you sift something good from the ashes of defeat. Plus, I want you to show me your tats!
With everyone hooked on drafting Time Spiral with Planar Chaos, John “the Cak” Pelcak takes a look back at his own performance at Pro Tour: Geneva. How do the strategies he ran then compare with the strategies receiving recognition now? Is Black still the worst color in the format? Is White underrated? And if Wizards organized an “Everyone Makes Day 2” Pro Tour, would it be Hot or Not?
Nick takes a well-deserved break from Limited writing today, and instead concentrates on an intriguing deck for Time Spiral Block Constructed: Green/Red Wild Pair. Since the arrival of Planar Chaos, it seems that everyone is looking for a way to break this powerful enchantment in half… is this the deck that does it?
Magic players are consumed with the quest to find the perfect deck. But what if the perfect deck was actually an imperfect deck? Stephen explores that possibility today. He takes a look at the philosophy behind different standards of winning, and suggests a workable plan to maximize your successes. While the article is steeped with Vintage examples, the theories behind it are relevant for any Constructed format.
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 TTP 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 has sent the last week playing a number of tournaments on Magic Online. Today he walks us through his Pauper Deck Challenge experience, and shares his cardpool from a Time Spiral Sealed IPA QT. Did he manage to take his cheap Dredge deck all the way? Did he open a sealed cardpool full of lovely bombs? Read on to find out!
The second five-week period of StarCityGames.com’s Magic Puzzles competition has ended, and we have a new champion! Although several more people scored points this time around, Gabrosin decimated his opposition by a wide margin, earning over a third of the total points. There are a few changes in scoring this time round… have you got what it takes to be champion?
In a month of tumult, rants over Two-Headed Giant, and Standard in chaos, Eli suits up and pays tribute to the ten people who put his rear end and others’ rear ends in seats at the tournament. Who excels in catapulting Magic to further prominence? Read here to find out.
Today’s Flores Friday answers some of the questions posed by various writers this past week: namely, Richard Feldman and Zac Hill. In doing so, Mike tackles the nuances of linear card and deck design, noting where power in strategy can be a definite boon, and he touches on the idea of top-down and bottom-up deck design.
My own personal tip on How to Qualify for San Diego involves being first in the queue for registration… thankfully, Craig “The Professor” Jones has some more solid tips for success. Having successfully transmuted a PTQ into a Blue Envelope, Prof shares tactics and tournament experience with his usual flair.
That’s right folks… he’s back! After a brief hiatus in which our favorite grumpy Canadian travelled the world slinging spells in exotic locations, Rich returns to take us through a draft each day – from pick one to pick forty-five – before giving us a quick rundown of his thoughts and games played. For more detailed analysis, come visit the forums!
This week, we’ll be looking at two different formats from two different perspectives, following up on the first-person experiences I’ve had so far with Block Constructed leading up to the Pro Tour in Yokohama in a few weeks, and having a look at the recent Standard-format Grand Prix as a “first look” at post-Planar Chaos Standard.
