In the context of the StarCityGames Daily series, I wanted to do a Coldsnap review that was short, sweet, and to the point, focusing on the cards that Wizards has aggressively costed. In Part 1, I started at the converted mana cost of one and made it mid-way through three, so that’s where we’ll pick up here today.
Craig “The Professor” Jones laments the passing of the most intricate Block format ever devised: Ravnica Block Constructed. With a frank dissection of his team’s testing techniques in the run-up to Pro Tour Charleston, Prof brings us some of the better – and worse – decks they ran through their gauntlet. Their Charleston performance is also reported with Craig’s customary wit.
Adam has a new goal: win as many States Tournaments as possible. Before entering the recent Limited Champs tournament, his record stood at a mighty two. In this entertaining and irreverent report, he shares his deck, draft, and matchups… in his quest to take home all the beans. If Coldsnap is proving too chilly, welcome back to the warm hearth of Ravnica Limited…
Another day, another draft from the Canadian Limited master! As usual, Rich presents his full 45 picks, and shares the decklist and some brief analysis on both build and performance. For more detailed description on the thoughts behind each choice, be sure to join us in the forums!
Chris takes a break from the cutthroat world of Standard Magic, and tickles the soft white underbelly of Ravnica Block Constructed. He picks a playset of a pet card, and sees just how far it can take him…
I just wanted to take a break from my review of Coldsnap to call attention to what could arguably be one of the most important issues of our time. You may think there are other things that rate higher on your radar – global warming, the price of gasoline, the Iraq occupation, why we still haven’t seen pictures of Tom Cruise’s baby – but that’s all just trivial stuff. There’s a problem that strikes to the very foundation of our Magic community and deserves your attention…
Once you get past the big two tribes, there are a number of tribes I consider “Tribal Nations.” These tribes don’t necessarily have the five-color ubiquity of Spirits and Humans, but there is a lot there from which to choose. Wizards, Warriors, Shamans, Goblins, Samurai, and Soldiers all occupy significant territories in today’s Standard and should be able to raise pretty awe-inspiring armies. I decided that my next deck would involve one of these nation states.
The Coldsnap Prerelease has come and gone, and the cards that looked oh-so-good on the spoiler have been actually, you know, played. What Coldsnap cards were better than they appeared? (Hint: There were at least three Marit Lage deaths in The Ferrett’s prerelease flight.) What cards were worse? Click the link and find out!
The Cak, teamed with Gadiel Szleifer and Chris “Star Wars Kid” McDaniel, recently took the Pro Tour by storm with a Sunday performance in Charleston. While they fell in the final furlong, their powerful run through the Swiss rounds proved the strength of both their decks and their play. After Gadiel’s firecracker of a report on the proceedings, John’s more sober reflection on the highs and lows of the Pro Tour is rather refreshing…
Rich continues his excellent series of RGD Draft walkthroughs, presenting each pick as it happened and highlighting each card chosen. He shares his final decklist, and gives us a brief overview of his results and processes. As usual, for more detailed draft deconstruction, come visit us in the forums!
Bennie Smith returns with a preliminary look at the more aggresively costed cards from Coldsnap. As the madness of the weekend’s prereleases begins to fade from memory, it’s time to turn our attention to the coming Constructed formats. What cards are gliding sweetly below the mana barriers? Bennie vows to find out!
After last week’s examination of the Standard strength of the U/R Vore deck, Mike moves on to an in-depth look at Wafo-Tapa. Does this more ponderous control deck have the edge in the Steam Vents versus Steam Vents matchup. And when it all boils down, just how relevant is the Red mana anyway? Magic’s Godfather of Deckbuilding presents an innovative take on the U/R Control archetype – dropping the Red entirely. If you’re looking for the next big thing on the Standard scene, then this is the article for you!
Patrick brings us an intriguing Standard deck based around the powerful split card Rise / Fall. With a host of Invitationalists, and quality removal, Pat throws his creation against six of Standard’s main contenders, and produces detailed match reports and analysis for each. This is an excellent article on what could be an extremely powerful deck…
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!
Finally we earn a reprieve from the complicated wiles of Ravnica Block Sealed Deck, to take a look at this weekend’s chilly festivities… the pre-release of the Coldsnap set and an interesting turn to follow in the Pro Tour: Kobe qualifier season…
