Grudgingly, I have to admit that there won’t be a great deal about Magic Online this week. You’d think that there would be literally nothing about it, seeing as I have spent the last week here in Hawaii, but keeping me away from the Internet is, frankly, a hopeless cause.
How the hell do you keep yourself busy during a fallow period of time? I figured I had a month to take up a challenge. A decent, rough, and generally pain-in-the-rear kinda challenge. A challenge befitting the kind of man who molests brick walls with his forehead.
Craig is back, with one of his trickiest cardpools yet! With spells and creatures weak in all colors, the correct build technique is a hard one to master… do you agree with Craig’s choices? He piloted this very pool at a Pro Tour Qualifier… how would you fare with the same cards?
In today’s edition of Abe’s Bad Card Challenge, he takes a much maligned Oath and tries to work wonders… say hello to the Oath of Scholars.
On a cold Saturday in February I entered a 45-person tournament and worked my way to the top with a Black/White Orzhov control deck. Inside I share the list, the strategy, and the match-by-match breakdown with detail like I’ve never had before. Read on and find out how it did, what are the best choices for the deck, and why my build came out on top.
As part of the forthcoming 2006 Magic Invitational tournament, Vintage powerhouse Stephen Menendian was tasked with creating a Classic Vanguard deck for the Auction of Champions. So, what monster did he produce? How about a combo deck with hideously consistent Turn 2 kill… his analysis and thought processes, plus insights into general deck design, are just a click away!
Chris returns to his recent One Dozen Glazed decklist, a mono-Blue build with surprisingly strong results. He supplies match walkthoughs, as well as letting us into some Romeo Sideboard Secrets. Plus, a re-touch on the Thran Golem deck…
In today’s installment of “A Deck a Day,” Abe concentrates on Guildpact’s Orzhovian Wrath of God – Culling Sun.
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!
