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!
Paul begins a two-part series today dealing with his preparation for Worlds and his eventual performance. The U.S. National Team, carrying the hopes of a nation, spent a lot of their pre-tournament time studying under professor Timothy Aten at the team-dubbed Vermillion University. Standard, Draft, Extended, and Team Rochester were all discussed and tested… and the results were mixed. This is an entertaining opening to what promises to be an illuminating series.
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!
Last week, Kyle put paid to Eli with a fast and furious Sliver deck. This week, it’s time for something completely different. Aggro has been done. Control is old hat. But Combo? That’s the ticket!
This week’s Battle Royale sees the deckbuilding pride of England, Stuart Wright, step up to the crease to bat Kyle for six. Can he bowl Mr Sanchez a googly and send him back to the pavillion? This Englishman certainly hopes so. Tally Ho!
People often marvel at my ability to talk deeply and significantly about many topics. What I don’t tell them is that I’m an obsessor. I like to obsess about things. Something new will pop into my life, and for the next however long I’ll obsess about said thing, and research it and learn it inside and out… and then I drop it and move on.
I’m an obsessor.
Things go very badly… but don’t worry, we’ll be laughing and singing all the way. Well, you will. I’ll be butchering small puppies and teddy bears because somebody needs to.
Beware as we now enter the wilderness years…
With his Level 5 status locked in before the event began, Tiago approached Worlds with a relaxed eye. Hours of pre-tournament testing was not for him – he knew his deck early on, and planned to run with the fun choice. Even so, his exceptional talent and dependable luck propelled him into the Top 8 after three gruelling days of play. Tiago shares the highs and the lows of the event today…
What better way to spend the holidays than drafting with one of the best players this game has ever seen? Indeed, the rest of the hallowed eight are no slouches… Paul Jordan shares some of his Drafting With Finkel experience, and brings us some interesting statistics regarding his personal performance in the format. All this, plus a full draft walkthrough!
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!
Blisterguy continues his French Odyssey with a humorous look at Days 1 and 2 of thus year’s World Championship. HE shares his personal deck of choice, and then shows us what he should have played. As if that weren’t enough, there’s also Premier Event statistics and funky photos!
In which our hero continues his faltering journey around the Pro Circuit. Battles are won and lost, but mainly lost. Watch as the bright light of a Sunday berth is shone on our hero, then cruelly blinked off as he leaps.
