Craig “The Professor” Jones has been laid low by a virulent strain of rampaging anthrax- sorry, I mean influenza. Nevertheless, his illness hasn’t stopped him from knocking up a collection of interesting Standard decks based on the Blue cards from Planar Chaos. With the online release mere days away, now is the perfect time to get the heads-up on the exciting new metagame! All this, and some tips for Two-Headed Giant too!
Hello everybody! This week we have a live interview with our own Ben Bleiweiss about his beginnings, his thoughts on Planar Chaos, and the current Extended season
Tired of people whining about Green and not offering suggestions on how to fix the flavor of the color? In today’s edition of The Real Deal, Ben proposes five ways to make Green a much more interesting, well-rounded color. If you’re a fan of the Forests, this is an article you just simply cannot miss!
Sean’s journey through the murky waters of the Extended metagame takes a surprising turn today. Instead of honing his No Stick deck into oblivion, or picking up on an established archetype, he turns to a couple of strong decks and mashes them into a new build that promises power on numerous fronts. Looking for something special for Grand Prix: Dallas? Maybe Sean has the deck for you…
Earlier this week, Ervin took us through his journey to the Top 8 of Pro Tour: Geneva. Today, he takes us through the draft itself in exquisite detail. He shares the thought process behind each and every pick, and has some sage advice for anyone wishing to ace a draft pod rather than posting a 2-1 or similar. Although it didn’t work for him this time, the advice he gives can improve your Limited game no end.
Tiago went into Pro Tour: Geneva as a firm favorite for the 2007 Player of the Year title. He was looking for a strong performance to get the season off to a flying start. After posting a 0-2 record in his first two matches, things were looking bleak. However, armed with an exciting draft strategy and a boatload of talent, he powered himself into Day 2 competition. His Day 1 journey is chronicled within…
The current Extended format is a mulit-headed monster. Just when you think you’ve grasped the marrow of the metagame, a new deck springs up and kicks you in the kidneys. A few weeks back, the U/G Opposition deck caused a Top 8 splash, and this unappreciated strategy has been gathering momentum ever since. Fancy winning in Extended with three-mana 1/1 guys? Then this is the article for you!
A while ago I was brainstorming ideas for my column. When I was initially charged with writing this, I was told that all things casual were in my purview. Yay! I can write on tribal, five color, peasant, highlander, set reviews, multiplayer — anything I want! After creating a list of ideas for the column, I decided to ask the readers if you wanted to see anything, and gave a few ideas. One of those ideas was a regular deck doctor entry with a casual look to building good decks…
White hasn’t got a lot of ways to play at the big boy’s table. Historically, White Weenie has only been good when it’s been riding the back of Armageddon (a good disruption spell and a card-advantage spell). Hell, I see people putting Wrath in the sideboards of their White Weenie decks because other aggro decks are a problem. Not really a winning thought process…
Back from the slippery slopes of Geneva, Rich Hagon gives you the first ProTour Report Card of the year. From first to last, and missing out all the non-Pros in between, you’ll see what went down, what it means, and who you should be looking for in the months ahead. Plus, zero gratuitous mentions of Craig Stevenson. Bargain.
Doug takes a look at the history of Survival of the Fittest decks and highlights why they were successful. He applies these principles to modern Legacy Survival decks and presents the cutting edge in Survival deckbuilding.
Today I’m going to talk about one of the elements that has come to define many aspects of the Pro Tour experience, and indeed in many ways can make or break people’s general perception of how a Pro Tour is run. I’m talking, of course, about the Lounge…
Raphael Levy is currently winging his way to Dallas in order to sling Extended spells with the rest of Magic’s great and good. As a parting gift, he brings us the final part of his Planar Chaos Draft series. Thus far, he’s tackled the major archetypes involving Blue and Red. Today he rounds out the colors with Green, White, and Black. Planar Chaos comes online next week… be prepared!
Jeroen’s mailbag is running dry, folks! Today’s article represents the last questions in his inbox. Be sure to send some more ASAP. As usual, he tackles a variety of subjects, from Mono Green Aggro in Standard; to a detailed deck clinic; to an overview of Extended acceleration; to World of Warcraft, Pirates, and Ninjas. Still undecided on which is cooler? Jeroen will set you straight!
Josh takes a broad overview of the Extended PTQ format, and comes to the conclusion that conclusions are hard to come by. He dissects the more powerful strategies available in the format, and shows us why, at the end of the day, deck choice hardly matters in such a vibrant metagame.
