Wednesday, March 4th – I played a PTQ this past weekend. I showed up with Naya Burn, went 5-1-1, and missed Top 8 on breakers. Virtual Top 8s are the worst kind. Today’s article will be in two sections. The first will be a quick tournament report and some thoughts on the deck I played. The second will the details of the deck and boarding plans in various matches.
Monday, March 2nd – From a practical standpoint, playing TEPS is a relatively questionable proposition right now. The “dumb aggro†decks that TEPS could feed on have mostly died out or adapted by running Pyrostatic Pillar and sideboarding Ethersworn Canonist, and the Death Cloud decks are on the decline. Right or wrong, TEPS is in a position of prominence as far as its influence in deck and sideboard choice.
Monday, March 2nd – With Faeries clearly coming to the forefront of Extended, I feel it necessary to give it a little spotlight. It seems like every week at least one Faerie deck wins a PTQ, and rarely are two copies the same…
Friday, February 27th – With the rest of the U.S. having had a nice long head start on the Extended qualifier season, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to analyze and playtest… but not actually take a weapon of my choosing into battle at the PTQ level. With a certain irony following last week’s article, I sleeved up Faeries with zero sideboard cards pinpointed at Affinity, neither playing the robotic overlords nor caring over-much if I faced the matchup.
Thursday, February 26th – I’m sure you’re wondering what exactly close reading has to do with tournament level Magic. Close reading is an excellent way to analyze cards in a new archetype and why they are important, along with their strengths and weaknesses. This method is easiest to understand when you see it applied, so I’m going to jump in with an example…
Thursday, February 26th – With Extended PTQs occurring around the world, Richard Feldman takes a lingering look at the current make-up of the metagame. Since the format arrived at Pro Tour: Berlin, the Decks to Beat have risen and fallen with alarming regularity. This handy breakdown of both the major and minor players will prove invaluable to anyone looking to snag a blue envelope in the coming weeks…
Wednesday, February 25th – The eyes of the worlds are looking East to the approaching Pro Tour, with Standard and Alara-Conflux Limited on everyone’s mind. However, the Extended Pro Tour Qualifier season continues apace, and today’s Down And Dirty sees Kyle Sanchez bring us an exciting four-color Good Stuff deck that offers decent matchups against a number of the major players in the metagame.
Friday, February 20th– In the arduous quest for a Pro Tour invitation, PTQs are the most common trial that upcoming Magic stars have to wade through. They are long tournaments with only the winner taking home an invitation. So, how do you obtain that advantage in a format like Extended, where the number of viable archetypes outnumber the number of simians found in a barrel of monkeys?
Friday, February 20th – What a difference a week can make. One set’s rotation into the lineup has had at least some minimal effect, but just the usual ebb and flow of the metagame has its own startling effects. When last we saw a solid week’s results on the PTQ season, Faeries were pretty much everywhere… But now? Faeries were pretty much everywhere
Friday, February 20th – Richard Feldman piloted his Extended Gifts Loam deck in a recent PTQ, and while the results didn’t drop his way this time, he still believes his build has serious potential. He brings us up to date on his latest developments, and talks us through his tournament round by round. If you’re looking for an inevitability-based control deck for this weekend’s round of PTQs, look no further!
Thursday, February 19th – Looking back at the Pro Tour: Berlin coverage, it would be fair to assume the sky was falling. Elves were everywhere, and people clamored for bannings. However, as the format mutated, the Green Machine became nothing more than another strong deck in the metagame ocean. Now, with TEPS being the combo deck of choice, and the Elves hate at an all time low, is the stage set for the glorious return of the pointy-eared tribe? Gerry Thompson investigates…
Tuesday, February 17th – The Extended metagame continues to mutate as PTQs are held across the globe. In today’s edition of the Sullivan Library, Adrian examines the impact of Conflux on the format, and brings us the most recent version (and sideboarding plans) of Sullivan Red…
Monday, February 16th – In his first article for StarCityGames.com, PTQ regular Matt Elias shares a tale or two in his quest for Pro Tour greatness, that elusive spark of competitive fire. He also examines Extended with an open mind, gaining an overview on the format with an eye towards qualification.
Thursday, February 12th – With the Extended PTQ season in full flow, Richard finalizes his deck for battle this weekend. After a few weeks of Loam testing and tweaking, he shares his final multi-colored build, alongside extensive play tips and sideboarding strategies. If you’re looking for a deck with inevitability over the field, this is the article for you!
Wednesday, February 11th – This week we’re back on the Extended trail, and instead of the usual trickiness or midrange decks I tend to cover, we’ll be going with the beatdown. I’ll be talking about RGW Zoo and some of the advantages it has in the current metagame, as well as some brief thoughts on TEPS updates and a quick shot on Knight of the Reliquary decks.
