The qualifiers for Pro Tour: Kobe are in full swing, and Nick Eisel is here to help! While Ravnica Block Sealed is a well-travelled format, there are still a few twists and turns that can catch an unsuspecting Mage unawares. Nick shares a recent MTGO cardpool which brings up a few interesting choices, and sheds new light on some of the cards that you may not be playing… I mean, Bronze Bombshell?!
Rich shares his Drafting technique in today’s installment of “Drafting With Rich!” As usual, he runs through a complete RGD draft from pick one to pick forty-five, and adds a brief commentary on his performance and final build. If you’d like some more detailed deconstruction, come visit the forums!
By the title of this article, you can assume that Mr Hat was victorious in the battle of the snakes. Of course, the result is never the whole story, and this report has some excellent tips for those wanting to pilot the budget snakes deck. Enjoy!
We’ve had Ben’s take on affairs… now it’s the turn of the gallant loser, Richard. He takes the beats in his stride, and analyses his deck and performance with an accute eye. An excellent report detailing some of the pitfalls we face in both our play and our deck design.
Recently there’s been a spate of writers on various sites that have tried to explain some basic staple cards for everybody to collect. The problem with this is simple. I don’t think some of these guys have ever seriously played Casual Magic.
You want to know how I know? It’s simple…
I, like a lot of Americans, have an SUV as my main vehicle (technically it’s my only vehicle). This means I use up a lot of gasoline getting from place to place. My car, by definition of its V6 gas-guzzling engine, has bad mileage. But that’s not the type of mileage I’m talking about today…
Jeroen answers reader-posed questions on a variety of Magic-related topics. He offers tips to the Magic Online newbie, advice on how to cope with the stresses of top-level play, and views on some of the politics behind conceding. He also waxes lyrical on the vagaries of the Grand Prix bye system, and again holds court on the soccer World Cup!
Yes, it’s time for another edition of “Drafting With Rich!” As usual, the Canadian maestro shares his RGD Draft pick order and final decklist, with a little commentary on his performance and overall direction. For a more detailed deconstruction, come visit the forums!
Blisterguy returns with his weekly round-up of the Premium Event action on Magic Online. He produces his buy-and-sell price findings, and has some rather interesting ideas on re-vamping the MTGO Marketplace…
The best cars are made with the best components. The same goes for Magic decks.
It’s real simple in the world of Magic. The cards which accomplish the most, at the cheapest cost, at the most efficiency (in terms of cost and return on investment), and just plain outshine all others in their type (i.e. the best creature in this color, the best enchantment in that color) are those which define the format.
With Nationals just around the corner, it’s time to focus on the Standard scene and hone our weapon of choice. Today we have the thoughts of one of England’s premier Constructed minds, Pro Tour regular Stuart Wright. His personal choice for the strongest deck in the format? U/R Vore. Stu presents his own take on the deck, shares his sideboarding strategy, and runs through a few sample games. Looking for the perfect mana-denial strategy? Then read on…
Rich returns for another walk through the Draft streets of Ravnica. As usual, he presents each pick of his draft, from pick one to pick forty-five, and appends a brief overview on his final deck and performance. For a more detailed draft deconstruction, come join the forums!
For his Independence Day article, Chris cooks up a Red, White, and Blue special! If you’re looking for a patriotic deck to cut a swathe through your local tournament scene, then this is the deck for you. Even so… Izzet Chronarch? In Standard? Surely some mistake! Ah well, if the deck don’t thrill ya, the cheesecake will…
When you think of a deck “engine,” what comes to mind? Is it the fueling of resources, a la Affinity? Is it the fueling via tutors, a la Tooth and Nail? Is it the synergy of types, such as Kamigawa Block Legends decks?
All of these decks work with one another in different ways. Whenever you think of two cards providing each other an advantage (fueling a win condition with an Urzatron piece, making another spell cheaper as a result of it being play), then that is a part of the deck’s engine to win.
In the days of yore, back when I was the managing editor of This Here Site Here, I used to hold an amnesty day, wherein all articles sent to me to be published on my birthday were published without any editing at all. This is now a proud tradition of StarCityGames.com, and it helps to make you all understand just how much work we do here to make the articles appear, you know, readable. But alas, what can I do to give myself a birthday prezzie in an article?
