Fresh from the trenches of Pro Tour Prague, Jeroen shares some of the tricks he picked up when drafting RGD with some of the strongest players in the world. He also turns his eye toward the approaching Regionals, imparting advice on gauging your local metagame, and sharing some tips on focusing your deckbuilding process!
The incomparable JFR took his latest baby – Nearly Mono Black in Standard – to a Team PTQ, in an attempt to qualify for Charleston. The deck performed well… but not in the way you’d expect. A report full of wit, invention, and the odd play-tip thrown in for good measure. Did Rizzo and pals take home the bacon? Can Nearly Mono Black make a splash at the approaching Regionals tournaments? The answers lie within…
It’s Wednesday, it’s Magic Online… it’s blisterguy! The MODO Minsrtrel returns with more Top 8 statistics, more chase rare price guides, and a look at the Dissension cards to trade for when the new set hits our Electronic Game…
I like the flavor of the Dissension guilds. They saved the best for last. Normally, White/Blue is as squeaky-clean and good as a bunch of unreformed paladins. Lawful neutral to the core, and light on the good. It’s nice to know that Wizards openly acknowledges the color combination as being obnoxious. Rakdos killers may not be good neighbors, but at least they’re sociable and throw the best parties.
The next Sealed PTQ season is just around the corner… it’s time to pull our socks up and delve deep into the colorful horror of Ravnica Block Sealed Deck! Today, Craig presents the first of a new Sealed Revealed series, investigating the highs and lows of a select seventy-five. All the guilds are now available, leading to a plethora of tricky decisions. It’s a fiendish build, no doubt… what would you do?
Regionals are approaching fast… are you prepared? If not, then let Mark introduce you to his Rakdos Hellbent deck! Dissension brought us many powerful, aggressive cards, with the Rakdos guild teaching us that our hand is a resource just like any other: a resource which can be spent. As the Standard metagame takes a metaphorical shape, our “Road to Regionals” series will spread the tech that’ll keep you all one step ahead of the opposition!
Chris shares his latest creation… a deck that’s been bringing him success for the past few months. In a world of guild alignment and multi-color mayhem, can a mono-colored deck really cut the proverbial mustard? Read on to find out…
You’ve spent last few months slaving over the intricacies of this game we call Magic. You’ve been building delicious-looking decks all on your lonesome and, then, when said decks crumple up before Heartbeat, that Heeziest of streets, or — God forbid — both, you’ve been forced to mix them into the fruity filling of that humble pie you’re working on. I know how it is. Trust me, I’ve been there.
In every Sealed pool, there is one true build. One that, taking out the issue of play style preference, is the best. Remeber, there’s always a right play and a wrong play. The optimal play is not always the one you expect it to be… but there is always a right play and a wrong play. (In the case of Sealed builds, there are many, many, many wrong plays.) That’s what this series hopes to illustrate.
At the prerelease, it all came down to fliers — lots of fliers, or lots of flier defense. Considering that this weekend had the release tournaments with two packs of juicy Dissension, I was not expecting that to change much.
Meandeck Ichorid versus Control Slaver: a battle of the Vintage Titans! In this mammoth article, Stephen runs through seven… yes, seven… sample games between the two Vintage giants. Lending his considerable academic mind to each and every twist and turn, the matchup is comprehensively analysed. A must for all fans of Magic’s most powerful format, and excellent preparation for those attending the June SCG Power 9 tournaments!
With the release of Dissension, we’ve finally got all ten guilds of Ravnica represented in what has been one of the most challenging Sealed blocks of all time. The tension between playing (mostly) consistent three-color builds and powerful but shaky four-color builds makes for exciting games. This week I’ll be poring over a new build each day.
In my last article, I wrote about how to build creature decks. I probably should not have done that. The truth is, I really hate creature decks. I don’t have the right knowledge and skillsets to play them correctly, and they have a sort of foul odor to them.
When I started writing for StarCityGames, I was an intelligently ignorant fellow. I was well-versed in many aspects of Magic, but when it came to the things I was ignorant about, my vanity knew no bounds. And one of those things I did not comprehend was the Tournament Mentality.
Jeroen concludes his Dissension musings with a look at the Blue cards, the Artifacts, and the Lands. Of course, we all want to crack those twenty dollar shocklands… but what other cards will see constant play in the coming months? To round things off, Jeroes also brings us his Top Ten Dissension cards for Constructed play.
