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.
As a result of his intensive RGD drafting – helping friends who are qualified for Pro Tour Prague – Sean has reached some interesting conclusions about the skills needed to succeed at the new format. How do you rate the Eidelons? Do you think drafting three colors is the strongest strategy? After reading this fine article, you may just change your mind…
Recently, I played in Flores’s Deckade book signing tournament. I made Top 8 with Vore, my only blemish in the Swiss being a first round loss to Beautiful Struggle Mark Young piloting Tron. However, my tournament came to an abrupt end in my Top 8 match, against Luis Neiman playing Wafo-Tapa Control. Let me tell you this match was among the biggest blowouts imaginable. The only way I could conceivably gain an advantage (short of him mulliganing to five) would be if I had a perfect draw…. on the play.
When preparing for a tournament, do you do all you can to ensure you take home the prize? Do you approach each match with the correct mindset? Or have you lost before you’ve laid your first land? With extensive theoretical examples based on the Team Standard format, Mike shows us how doing the math – and playing to win – will help us improve our game tenfold.
My boss, Pete Hoefling, is a slave driver. What makes it all the more remarkable is that the slaves whip themselves. But why do we work so hard? Why does StarCityGames.com p0wnnz0r me so?
Jeroen continues his Dissension musings with a look at the Red and the Split cards. We know that Seal of Fire is back, and for that we’re all mighty grateful… but does the remaining Red goodness begin and end with Demonfire? And what of the Split cards… will they find their niche? Click here to find out…
Limited Master Raphael Levy returns with the latest edition of Hidden Gems! Today, he brings us a few more Ravnican rares that are sadly overlooked in Ravnica Block drafting… if they’re utilized correctly, they can lead to wacky fun times. A perfect article for the run-up for this weekend’s Pro Tour Prague. Looking for something different when drafting RGD? Raphael can help!
Dave presents us with not one, not two, not three… but four Standard decklists. Updating the stronger archetypes in the current Standard with new cards from Dissension, this article is a fine springboard from which to plan your respective Regional assaults.
