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…
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.
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.
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!
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!
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….
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!
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.
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!
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.
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…
Billy steps up to the plate with a fresh deck based on some of the more overlooked creatures of Ravnica block. Can you guess what they are? Hint: there’s a clue in the article title…
This week’s Battle Royale sees Sean McKeown pumped and ready for action. This comprehensive article introduces his interesting base-Green deck, and documents the lengthy process undergone to obtain the cards. You can’t doubt the prices of the cards in his deck – Sean has the receipts for each one.
After his nearly-man performance at the Swedish Nationals, Gadiel decided to give Grand Prix: Phoenix a miss. Then, after contemplating his pro statistics, he changed his mind… and it’s safe to say that he was glad he did. This entertaining report covers the highs and lows of the tournament, written in his usual acerbic and humorous style…
It’s Wednesday, and we all know what that means… another mailbag article from everyone’s favorite Rock-playing Pro, Jeroen Remie. Today’s reader-posed topics include the process behind preparation for Premier Event in a fledgling format, the proper place of rituals and luck in Magic, plus a grab-bag of miscellany to round it all out!
