Some people hate the metagame right now. Oddly, I don’t, for the first time since Standard was Invasion and Odyssey. I really can’t believe just how diverse everything has been ever since Time Spiral hooked up with Ravnica Block. I’m left to wonder how much of this diversity has to do with the extra cards in Standard, and how much has to do with their “tier-two design” strategy. Either way, I admit I’m impressed.
But I do hate Dragonstorm.
My computer is crashing on a regular basis. I can go up to about twenty minutes before it conks out and gives me the Blue Screen of Death, but until that dizzying moment of pure crashitude I’m living on borrowed time. Normally, I’d write it on my laptop, but my laptop’s hard drive just went kablooey and so I am working in short spurts.
Really short spurts. Because I
Vintage has undergone a lot of upheaval this year. New decks, new cards, new rulings on old favorites… the Vintage Mage has never had it so good. Today we have part 1 of the Vintage Year in Review, an overview of the first six months of 2006 from the most vocal writer in the format today. The cards may change, but Vintage remains constant. Love Vintage? Then you’ll love this…
Mark does something out-of-character in this article… he admits that Flores was right. Sure, it takes a lot out of him, but the words come out eventually. This excellent article tackles the concept of discipline in Magic, and covers a number of helpful tips that can improve our games, whatever the level of our current play. If you’re serious about improvement, then this article is unmissable.
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!
I’m back from Paris. I ate well, lived well and had a blast. Every part of the trip — and of Worlds — was great, except maybe getting stuck at O’Hare airport for hours on the return trip. I won’t talk about that. I will talk about the metagame, judging and assorted memorable moments. Think tournament report, but from the other side of the table.
When Craig asked me if I could do the dailies for the week before Christmas I jumped at the chance. For the past few years, Christmas and Magic have gone together like chestnuts and open fires, Santa Claus and Rudolph, and real trees and headlines about “a tragic holiday fire.” I like to create casual, kitchen-table decks to give to certain Magic-playing people as presents. I like to get Magic cards, too. Remember, when you don’t know what to get that Magic player on your list, there’s always a new set of cards.
The masses have asked… and Mike has delivered! Today’s Flores Friday takes a look at the new Extended format post-Worlds, and offers up a few interesting deck tidbits. The first is inspired by unlucky 9th-place finisher at Worlds, Shaheen Soorani… while the second is inspired by our own Ben Bleiweiss! Extended – Fun for All the Family!
After a self-confessed average day at the office during the Standard portion of Worlds, Josh had high hopes going into the Time Spiral drafts. He has been extremely vocal on his tactics and thoughts on the format, and was feeling confident of at least posting a 3-0 in the first pod. So, how did he do? Read on to find out!
After a short hiatus, Rich Hoaen returns to continue his daily article series! Each day, the grumpy Canadian draft master takes us through a Magic Online draft, from pick 1 to pick 45, and shares his insight into the cards, the deck, and the games themselves. For more detailed analysis, Rich answers your questions in the forums!
Coming out of Worlds, we have a reasonably defined Extended metagame, identifying a few “best” decks and about a dozen different deck strategies that are actually worth playing. What is interesting, however, is how this format will change between the World Championships and the subsequent PTQ season, as the matchups are tested out extensively and ideas are brought forward for improving upon the small stable of decks that are worth honest consideration.
Hello everybody, and welcome to the Magic Show. I’m your host, Evan Erwin. Today we’re going to talk about metagames. Just what the hell is a metagame, why should you care, and how is it “formed?”
We last left our hero torn and broken in the wilderness. Read on now as we regale you with his triumphant return to fame, glory, riches and women (actually I might be lying on that last point, but we can still hope).
There is one word that has been ill-defined through Magic’s history, and thoroughly abused in the process. What makes this remarkable is that the word is exceptionally common and in our daily parlance.
The word of which I speak is “better.”
Last time out, Craig “The Professor” Jones shared his thoughts and findings on the Worlds Standard format. After posting a creditable 4-2 performance with Dragonstorm, he took to the field on Draft Day with a heavy heart. After all, Limited is not his strength. The forty-card decks he produced were built out of the wreckage of his carefully laid plans. One was so bad it was banned from the official coverage! Intrigued? Then read on!
