Search Content

Spiral-Shifting Strategies in Standard

Last week, a couple of StarCityGames.com columnists decided to speculate as to how existing Standard decks would survive the rotation of Kamigawa Block, assessing to varying degrees their respective viabilities in, presumably, Time Spiral Standard. Instead of approaching the problem of the format from this direction, Mike decided to look at the upcoming Standard from the other direction: Rather than asking how the loss of cards might affect existing archetypes, how might the new cards shape our outlook and strategies as a whole?

By

Time Spiral Limited – An Overview

As we head into the prerelease weekend, excitement for the new set is at fever pitch. We say goodbye to Ravnica – and good riddance to Coldsnap – for Limited play at least. In preparation for a Brave New World of Time Spiral Limited fun, Josh looks at the sweeping changes in Limited philosophy that are required for a quick and successful adaptation to the new format…

By

Shredder version 3.0 – Sixteen in the Clip and One in the Hole

Due to the technical issues we experienced at the beginning of the week, we’ve a plethora of extra material today. The first such article is a return to the Extended field for Patrick Chapin. Today, he reinvents his popular Shredder deck, giving it a “Silver Bullet” style polish. Decklists, sideboarding strategies, and more… available a click away!

By

Magical Hack: It’s About Time – A Time Spiral Prerelease Primer

Read Sean McKeown... every Friday at StarCityGames.com!

Sean takes us through the strategies to expect at this weekend’s Time Spiral prerelease event, and provides a number of helpful tips for those getting funky with time, a la Marty McFly circa 1985…

By

Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #150: Evolutions

Article number 150. A big, round, arbitrarily significant number. It’s time to get a little bit nostalgic, and look at how Magic, this website, and my writing has evolved since January 31, 2001. A lot has changed in five and a half years…

By

Tribal Bible #7 – Anger Management at The Daily Grind while Shunning the Light Primeval

This week continues the journey on the path of the many styles of Human decks available to the mono-color world, and a sojourn into a surprise deck celebrating all that is Human. Well, within the world of Magic, anyhow. Real humans are much more boring and less worthy of discussion. Plus, they say their own piece every week in the forums, for better or worse, while exposing themselves to my raucous japes and smarmy witticisms.

By

Unimaginative Deck Names – A Casual R/G Deck for Standard

Who here likes mana flood? I used to hate it, back when I played Pansy Salad, an 18-land elf deck, in the days of Onslaught Block Constructed with a collective cardpool between myself and my competitors that featured maybe two dozen rares total. Despised it; couldn’t imagine running anything that would actually put more land into play, certainly early because well, I had elves for that. And they did cool things, like tap to make an elf huge, or make everything else block them.

By

The Financial Value of Time Spiral

Pre-Order Time Spiral Today!

This article is spoiler heavy! If you do not want to know about Time Spiral before your prerelease, please don’t read this article until Sunday night!

By

Drafting With Rich – Mirage Draft #1

Rich continues his excellent Draft series. The Canadian maestro turns his back on the cooling Coldsnap, and heads for the balmy waters of sweeter formats. From now until the online release of Time Spiral, Rich will draft a number of formats, from RGD to 999 to CBS to CCC… whatever takes his fancy at the time. He’ll supply each pick, from pick one to pick forty-five, and pen a brief commentary on hs deck and performace. For more detailed comments, visit the forums!

By

What Does A Street Fighter Champion Have In Common With Kai Budde?

Read The Ferrett... every Monday at StarCityGames.com!There are a lot of tournaments involving complex games. Chess, Starcraft, Scrabble, you name it — someone is struggling to be the champion. The mechanics of the game vary, but the mentality it takes to master those mechanics (and then consistently convert strategies into wins) remains constant.

What David Sirlin is trying to do in this slim tome is to define that constant – to define the core elements that make someone a champion in any field. And what he discovers is both enlightening and frustrating….

By

The History of Solar Flare

In his first article for StarCityGames.com, Naoki Shimizu – fresh from his Top 8 performance at Japanese Nationals – takes us through the step-by-step process behind the creation of one of the standout decks in the Standard metagame – the fantastic Solar Flare. If that isn’t enough, he also shares his tournament report with style and humor. The best writers, the best players… only at StarCityGames.com!

By

Tweaking Meandeck Gifts

In this excellent and comprehensive article, Stephen takes us through the latest developments of his most potent Vintage creation – Meandeck Gifts. The tweaks he suggests leads to a considerable tempo advantage over the old lists, and he backs up these changes with detailed match analysis. Another wonderful article from the master of Vintage writing.

By

Drafting With Rich – CBS #1

Rich continues his excellent Draft series. The Canadian maestro turns his back on the cooling Coldsnap, and heads for the balmy waters of sweeter formats. From now until the online release of Time Spiral, Rich will draft a number of formats, from RGD to 999 to CBS to CCC… whatever takes his fancy at the time. He’ll supply each pick, from pick one to pick forty-five, and pen a brief commentary on hs deck and performace. For more detailed comments, visit the forums!

By

You Lika The Juice: Examining Time Spiral So Far

This is my favorite time of the year: the cusp of a new “large set” release and a major rotation in Standard. Decks are in flux, some dropping off into the harsh crucible of Extended, some changing with the times, and some brand new archetypes being born. If you could see me now I’m making rude and crude gestures to Umezawa’s Jitte and Heartbeat of Spring — don’t let the Standard doorknob hit ya where the good Wizards broke ya.

By

The Kitchen Table #149: The Casual Metagame #6

The saga of the Casual Framework continues as we explore individual Archetypes and peer more closely at their Subtypes. I even include some sample decks in order to illustrate the ideas that I am talking about…

By