We’re back, and this time we’re going to do things right. I’m shifting the column around a little bit, and I think this should help in the future. Since I never learned how to shut up, I’m going to start each week with a mini-“issues” piece (or several really mini ones), and then carry on to the decklist. How is this different from the first two Grab Bags? This time, I’m doing it intentionally.
Jamie has been kicking ass and taking names in the Online 8-man Extended queues, piloting a rogue deck that loves making instant speed 4/4 monsters. It this entertaining article, he explains his outlook on deckbuilding with a look back at some of his past successes, and regails us all with the usual fare of Wakefieldian wit and humor.
Rich continues his excellent series of Time Spiral Draft walkthroughs, presenting each pick as it happened and highlighting each card chosen. He shares his final decklist, and gives us a brief overview of his results and processes. As usual, for more detailed draft deconstruction, come visit us in the forums!
Chris continues his Budget Boros exploration with a foray into the Tournament Practice room on Magic Online. He’s armed with a cheapified Red/White machine, and bolstered by the tweaks supplied by a myriad of forum dwellers. Can the frugal fighters take down all in their path?
I am coming to you today with a shocking revelation: sometimes, Magic Online players do not draw enough lands. I know that this must be an unknown concept to you, since we all have drawn sufficient lands in every single game of paper Magic that we’ve ever played. However, I assure you that every time I log on to Magic Online, there are people who are complaining about this odd phenomenon, which has acquired the nickname “manascrew.”
Back in 2002, I wrote an article ranting about how Blue got all the good spells and abilities, and how other colors, notably Green, got shafted. My point was that Wizards considers Blue the smart or clever color — and that means that Blue gets way more than its share of abilities and color “bleeds.” Now that Planar Chaos is out, it’s time to look at the data — because only data, not ranting, shows what actually happened.
Following on from last week’s “Big Mana Blue” article, Richard – with the aid of free columnist Zac Hill – brings us the latest innovation in Extended U/W Tron decks. According to Richard and Zac, this is the best deck in the format… and they have the results to prove it. Today’s article sees Richard explain the game-plan of this deck, and he delves deep into the reasons behind the choices made for this build. For more on the deck, be sure to tune in to Zac’s article on Thursday!
Nick Eisel has now played – and won – a fair number of TTP Drafts (Time Spiral / Time Spiral / Planar Chaos). Of course, he’s picked up a few tricks along the way. Today’s Limited Lessons sees Mr Eisel share his thoughts on the ever-popular Green/Red archetype, plus some new ideas on the up-and-coming Green/Blue color pairing. Is this traditionally tempo-reliant pairing really the new aggro weapon of choice?
Stephen Menendian, the Voice of Vintage, takes a brief break from Magic’s broken format in order to dabble in a little Legacy action. So, does he pick up the Goblin deck and smash face? Of course not. Stephen’s a Vintage player – he rolls with the combo. This article examines the strength of the Tendrils of Agony based combo deck Iggy Pop. For more Legacy content, tune in later this week…
Rich continues his excellent series of Time Spiral Draft walkthroughs, presenting each pick as it happened and highlighting each card chosen. He shares his final decklist, and gives us a brief overview of his results and processes. As usual, for more detailed draft deconstruction, come visit us in the forums!
The Ferrett attended the prerelease, and opened a card pool that was freakishly abnormal. In fact, it was so utterly lopsided that he
could have gone mono-colored in Sealed. But was he insane enough to take this statistical aberration and go all the way with it… Or did he chicken out? All that, plus a request for help from you, the faithful StarCityGames.com readers!
Last week I Dredged through Planar Chaos; this week, I unleash the dog decks of Dredge that have been pinging around my brain these last few weeks. A quick caveat – these decks are untested and presented here merely as starting points, a way to get the deckbuilding juices flowing. In the coming weeks I will be attempting to get enough Planar Chaos stuff to start testing these ideas, and with any luck make it out to an FNM or two for trial by fire.
This week in Magic Puzzles, we examine the Timeshifted cards of Planar Chaos. Are they better than the originals, or just bad imitations? Find out below…
Having tired of the Standard metagame after Worlds, and having lost faith in the DragonTron deck that took him to a commendable 12th place finish, Paul began casting around for something new to play. After tinkering with a Mono-Blue Morph deck dubbed “The Answer,” he soon moved on to fresh pastures. Today, he shares his discovery of a patriotic deck that harnesses the powerful Martyr of Sands…
The Extended metagame rumbles on, and many of us are looking for that elusive edge for our next PTQ tournament. As usual, Mike Flores may have the answers we seek. Today’s Flores Friday examines a fascinating tactic available to us, a tactic that could inform our deck-choices come Tournament Day. Is an exploration of linear card design the key to building a format-warping deck? Mike constantly redefines the metagame… maybe this view of Magic deck-building and design could see us do the same.
