The mighty Rizzmeister shares his views on the current Invitational debate, teaches the kids How To Play Magic, dissects the current Standard metagame post-Honolulu, and thoroughly breaks Ravnica-Guildpact Draft with a deck that includes just six creatures. All this, and more, from the twisted mind of JFR.
There was a time when I had hoped to wrangle an invite to the Magic Invitational on the basis of my popularity, but that was way back in 2001. Back then, I was the best Magic writer on the Internet… Depending on where you put the italics.
Today, years after I’ve peaked, I’ll discuss not only my failed Invitational gambit, but discuss a Ravnica deck that is so all over the map, you’d think it was McNally’s.
What we have here is the most complete snapshot of the new Standard scene that you’re likely to see. We ran a computer program that analyzed every matchup in the sixteen rounds at Pro Tour: Honolulu, figured out which decks were facing each other, and broke down each deck’s win percentage both against the field, and against every deck that it faced. Want to know how many times Orhov Descent faced Zoo, and whether it won on average? Now you can.
Kenji Tsumura is the 2005 Player of the Year. In today’s article, he shares his thoughts on the current Limited environment, tackling both Sealed Deck and Ravnica-Ravnica-Guildpact Draft. He also shares some useful tips on avoiding needless game losses, and makes us smile while doing so. The best players, and the best writers, only at StarCityGames.com.
I’ve been rather surprised with the flexibility and diversity of the Ravnica guilds in Standard. Each with their own individual mechanic, you would think that would pigeonhole them into specific roles, e.g. beatdown, control, etc. Not so. Case in point: the Orzhov. You would think putting together an Orzhov deck would be as simple as black and white, but in reality, there’s several shades of gray.
For today’s deck building fiesta, I am going to go back to an old feature — the bad rare deck. I am going to reach into my box of, um… low-value rares and grab one, building the first deck that comes to mind in seconds. Ready?
Julien Nuijten, Anton Jonsson, and Gabriel Nassif are all eligible for your votes in the latest round of Invitational voting at MagicTheGathering.com. Choose your European All-Star, and vote!
Jeff brings us his choices for the Magic Invitational 2006 Writer’s Ballot. Like Mr Krouner below, he has a few things to say on the legitimacy of certain candidates… I sense the forums will be busy today.
Ken Krouner has deep-held issues regarding the current format of the Magic Invitational. At its very core, he believes it is deeply flawed. Like Jeff Cunningham above, he raises some pertinent questions regarding candidates and eligibility. Do you agree with his views?
In his final SCG Daily column, Chris takes narcissism to strange new heights. He interveiws the self-proclaimed Best Lookin’ Magic Writer on the Internet…
Each day this week, your Premium writers will be commenting on the upcoming Pro Tour event, with analyses of what decks to see, how the format will shape up, and updated revisions of existing powerhouses. Mike focuses on the “mono-Red” Gruul build, giving an in-depth analysis of card choices, and its strength in the projected PT Honolulu metagame.
It seems a large majority of the Pro community are excited by the Gruul cards for Standard play… We’ve had Ted Knutson, and his overview of Gruul and Zoo decks in the coming metagame. Then there’s Mike Flores, concentrating on the “mono-Red” Gruul Deck Wins. Terry takes a slightly different slant, attempting to merge all the possible Gruul strategies into one aggressive goliath. He claims it is the strongest deck for the coming Pro Tour… read all about it here!
The Raging Goblin Rule states that there is always a better one-mana Goblin that you could put in your deck instead of Raging Goblin, and that if there isn’t, you need to find another deck. The reason for this is that a 1/1 haste creature with no other abilities is never the right threat, and as Mike told you recently, there are such things as wrong threats as well as wrong answers. The Raging Goblin knows this, which is one of the main causes of his general rage.
With the release of Guildpact on Magic Online, there will now be more drafting than ever before, all available with just a click of the mouse any hour of the day (or night). So check your catheters and secure your IV drip, and put a fresh pot of coffee in the drip bag… because it’s time to lose ourselves in Ravnica, the City of Drafting.
Each day this week, your Premium writers will be commenting on the upcoming Pro Tour event, with analyses of what decks to see, how the format will shape up, and updated revisions of existing powerhouses. Aside from being dashingly handsome, Teddy Card Game is reknowned for his expert skills at Metagame Analysis. With the Pro Tour mere days away, Ted shares his predictions… plus his latest Gruul and Zoo decklists!
