Jeroen delivers his weekly dose of Magical advice, answering questions posed via email by StarCityGames.com readers the world over. Today’s topics include tips on tournament preparation, advice on evaluating new cards for competitive play, and the truth about Rich Hoaen’s legendary grumpiness…
Blisterguy brings us the usual breakdown of the Magic Online metagame, plus a bevy of trade prices to avoid being ripped off in the Marketplace. He also made his flatmate submit this on his behalf. Thanks Disco Dave!
Before the event, I IM’d with Ben Bleiweiss that I was fairly certain this event would break records due to the appeal to both old-school players and new players wowed by Ravnica. Ben expressed some concern that Wizards’ game of Hide-the-Salami regarding the 121 extra subset of reprints would create some backlash of resentment from the Magic community that might suppress attendance. I can now add a feather in my “I Told You So” cap.
For today’s thousand words, I’m gonna take a tiny peek at triple Time Spiral draft. In particular, an archetype that could prove to be one of the true contenders when the excrement collides with the revolving propeller-style cooling aid…
Evan takes the Magic Show on the road, and interviews some of the local players at his prerelease. Want some from-the-floor opinions of the new set? Then check out the video!
Ted continues his detailed examination of the Time Spiral cards, looking at their application for the coming Constructed metagame. After yesterday’s article on the old workhorse White, Mr Card Game turns his gimlet eye to the color of the pros: Blue. Time Spiral harks back to the glory days of old… is Blue broken beyond repair?
After a dose of draft and a slice of Sealed deck, Nick delivers his preliminary verdict on the highs and lows of the new set. He theorizes that play skill is currently more important than deckbuilding considerations, and gives us a brief lowdown of each color’s strength for triple Time Spiral draft. Nick is practicing hard for Pro Tour: Kobe… expect future articles to break the format wide open!
Coldsnap is Constructed legal, and the DCI isn’t changing their minds. Ditto with the Timeshifted Time Spiral cards. I will embrace these unsavory ideas, and see what I can do with purple cards. The following are some ideas that I riffed on while in “the library.” Will any of them bear fruit? Who knows? It depends on what you do with them.
Coldsnap draft has been done. Draft walkthroughs, pick orders, archetype articles — you’ve probably seen them all. Still, I have faced some opponents who really don’t understand the mathematics the set, especially ripple and common distribution. I’ll talk about math, odds, archetypes – and then look at the entire card pool from a draft.
A new week, a new Daily run.
“But it’s Tuesday!” I hear you cry. Well spotted. Have a lollipop.
I’ve a mixed bag planned. Today, some talk of Time Spiral Sealed. Tomorrow, some talk of Time Spiral Draft. Thursday, it’s Constructed’s turn. And something fun for Friday, which I think you’ll all enjoy. Those of you with souls, at least.
The new set is out, and it’s time y’all knew how I did at the Prerelease, futzing around with the glory of old cards… And the wonder of Time Shifted cards!
Tired of the traditional set review? Ben Bleiweiss’s Guide to Everything Time Spiral is a look not only at the strategic value of Time Spiral, but the relation of Time Spiral to the history of Magic, to the Magic community, and to the hot-topic issues of Magic.
Craig “The Professor” Jones takes us through his Time Spiral Prerelease experience in his signature comic style. He shares his views on the new Limited format, and spreads the love toward some of the unsung cards from Magic’s newest, yet oldest set…
I have found I am willing to pay 2-3 tix for a good card that goes in a lot of decks, and only about .5 tix for narrow cards. There are some good, fun, narrow cards — like, say, Heartbeat of Spring or Weird Harvest — that are only really good in one or two decks. Phyrexian Arena? Sure! Early Harvest? Get bent! Which is why when you find an uncommon that lets you build around it, you cherish that card. You cherish it with all of you that there is.
Tallowisp… I’m going to miss you, brotha.
Teddy Card Game begins a ten-part review of Time Spiral for Constructed. Color breakdowns, deck ideas, theories, and strategy are promised along the way, with guest articles appearing from a number of big-name writers and players. Today’s installment begins where all set reviews should… with the White cards. Looking for the edge on the Time Spiral metagame? Look no further!
