Romeo makes with the Sarpadian Empires volume of Quick Hits, tackling a number of Magical and non-Magical topics in machine-gun fashion. He brings us a couple of new budget Standard decks, talks a little about his sometime-“Angry Man” persona, and gives us some much-missed cheesecake!
What is the best Extended deck ever played? How do current Tier 1 decks fare against the decks your grandparents played? We’re about to find out. It’s a single elimination tournament featuring 32 of the best Extended decks ever, going head to head.
With the Magic Online Planar Chaos Release Events in full swing, Mark takes time out to run through some rookie tips in regards to the mulligan. He takes us through the math behind the mulligan, and investigates some of the more esoteric reasons behind keeping or ditching our opening seven.
Jamie is currently on holiday — he’ll be back next week — but in his place we have a real treat from Osyp “Joe Black” Lebedowicz. He brings us a rundown of his experiences in Pro Tour: Geneva, in which he placed a creditable 30th, and follows it with an irreverent and hilarious look at the Stars of Pro Tour: Geneva, a la Rich Hagon. Remember folks, it’s all in good humor…
This whole “Wait a month” crap isn’t cutting it any more, guys. I mean, I kind of assume you fine folks at Wizards want my money, so I can’t really fathom why you’re waiting so long to translate Planar Chaos cards into the rarified air of Magic Online. And it’s hard to write strategy when your inability to attend real-life tournaments means that you’re three weeks and a Grand Prix or two behind the curve…
With Extended finally receding into the Aether, Patrick presents an update on his excellent Four-Color Red mid-range beatdown deck (his definition, not mine). He also brings us some interesting Extended food for thought, with a few strategies thrown against the wall to see what sticks. All this, and the story of a Penthouse Pet! What more do you need?
Last week, Nick took us through a Two-Headed Giant Draft pick-by-pick. Today’s Limited Lessons takes us through the crucial deckbuilding process. How do card considerations differ in the slower and trickier format? Is it wise to take the stronger cards and be greedy over building once the draft is over? Nick reveals all…
Stephen Menendian’s innovative Manaless Ichorid deck continues to evolve. Sure, it’s fought its way through various hate in the form of Tormod’s Crypt and Jotun Grunt… but can it handle the heat from the new boy in town, the mighty Extirpate? Stephen refines his deck further, and puts it through the mill of a local Vintage tournament…
Bennie had high hopes for his Two-Headed Giant Champs this weekend… sadly, with a weak cardpool and some questionable play mistakes, the glory was out of reach. He shares his team’s decklists, and brings us an update on his Standard Deck of Choice: Green/Black Dredge!
Morphs are not the most trustworthy fellows. They go parading around like Gray Ogres for a while and then all of the sudden… surprise! Before you know if you’ve lost a quarter of your life and you’re skipping your next untap step. Despite (or perhaps fact due to) their deceptive nature, though, morphs are a lot of fun to play. As you take on “Bad Beat” Phil this week, will your morph hordes be enough to overwhelm him, or are all your tricks for naught?
While we wait for the dust to settle from the first round of global Grand Prix, Rich Hagon takes a two-part look at deckbuilding for Time Spiral Block Constructed, starting from the very, very begining and going extremely slowly. Assume nothing, and join him on a ten-deck voyage of discovery through the nursery slopes of mono-color goodness, before throwing all decorum and good manners in the bin next time as he looks at decks that – gasp – might be good.
There’s a storm coming, so Feature Friday has moved to higher ground. That storm is the new DCI Penalty Guide: the most significant revision to a tournament document since the 6th Edition rules revision. Level 4 judge Toby Elliott explains the layout of the new PG, the reasons for the change, and what to expect the next time you play in a sanctioned tournament.
Earlier this week, Richard Feldman offered his “Rules of Engagement” for the current complex Extended format. While his argument held weight, Mike Flores respectfully disagrees with his assertions. Indeed, Mike believes that the current Extended format, far from being an ornery bramble-patch of treachery, is actually one of the more simplistic formats we’ve ever faced. Intrigued? Then read on…
Can it be true? Has Craig “The Professor” Jones really turned his back on the Dark Side in order to embrace the Light? Are his fabled tales of scorpion pit-traps and buckets of soapy frogs now a thing of the past? In today’s edition of From The Lab, Prof cooks up a set of exciting and playable decks based around the White cards in Planar Chaos. Hopefully this dalliance with the Forces of Justice will be short-lived, and he’ll be back to his diabolic ways soon…
With the Two-Headed Giant States championships occurring this weekend, Sean takes a timely look at the format. He shares a typical Two-Headed Giant cardpool, and walks us through his deck decisions and card choices. The format is new, especially with the 30-life rule, and we all need every little edge we can get. All this, plus a bonus article from a Two-Headed Column, Jason Hall!
