We have officially passed through the first week of Ravnica/Guildpact Sealed Deck and Draft for the Pro Tour Qualifier format, and the Grand Prix in Richmond has a lot of useful information to mine. Sean leaps in like Jack Bauer, brandishing a gun and yelling “there’s no time!”
Ah, the last day of a Daily. It feels like Shahrazad at the end of the 1001 Nights, this whole “finishing up” thing, except that instead of being a hot Arabian princess in a palace I am a scruffy college student kicking aside beer cans in a seventy-year-old apartment, and instead of wooing a king in the royal bedchamber I spend most of my time with fat nasty Magic Players sweating it up in a small room trying my hardest not to cry myself to sleep every night.
Mr Michael Flores has picked up the popular vote for the Resident Genius category, and as such he is invited to attend the Magic Invitational Tournament 2006. Congratulations, Mike!
The single-card evaluations are over, folks. We now move onto the compatibility of color. Julien examines the new guild layout with particular emphasis on the Rav-Rav-Guildpact Draft format. How can you optimize each and every pick? An excellent primer on a burgeoning format.
I’d like to say that I have put in the requisite effort to familiarize myself with Guildpact and its effect on the Limited environment. I’d also like to say I’m a secret agent who rules a kingdom of hot chyx in my spare time. I’d like to say I got a new car, broadband, ten free cases of Ravnica, and went and solved that “world peace” thing.
I tried to pretend in last week’s article that everything was all okay, but I just felt wrong doing so. Therefore, I feel honor bound to let you know what my issue is, and how it will affect my writing as a result. I don’t even know if you’ll agree with me, or just think I’m crazy, but its my honest reaction, so I figure it should be stated for the record, especially because I haven’t read anybody else with a similar reaction, and I’d honestly like to find out if I am alone on this one.
It’s that time of year. The birds are singing, Magic is in the air, and guilds once again roam the earth. That’s right, it’s set review time! Like my review of Ravnica, this article won’t tell you how to pick Drafts or Draft picks or whatever it is you people do. It won’t help you out at the next Grand Prix. It’s never even heard of Block Constructed. No, we’re going to explore something else entirely. We’re going to talk about flavor, fun, and a curious obsession with bats.
It might seem like the height of idiocy to do a “better than you think!” for a set that has been out all of two weeks. Being an individual who is rarely averse to high-risk low-payoff stunts, I’m going to try it out. Bear in mind that some of these things might be really obvious to those of you who have played the set more, but seeing as how the current Limited format is still in its infancy, I figure there’s at least some value to what I am fixing to say. Onward!
The resplendent blisterguy tackles the Magic Online metagame, examining many Premier Tournament Top 8 results from our favorite electronic card-table.
Ben takes us through a number of Izzet combo builds, each praying for the third turn, infinite damage Combo Kill. He also brings us a few more Guilpact-inspired decks, and waxes lyrical on his technique for leveling our collective playing field.
I’ve already told you who the cool kids are, the ones who (despite their Slipknot shirts and/or greasy hair) deserve to sit with you at the lunch table. Now I’ll let you know about those three or four members of your crew that, though they linger around and try to convince you that they’re cool, really ought to be chilling with the fat kids and science nerds over across the other side of the cafeteria.
Julien continues his exploration of the Guilpact cards for Limited play. After dallying with the Gruul, and pontificating over the Orzhov, our Magic prodigy spouts forth on the trickery of the Izzet guild. Tips and tricks for the Blue/Red wizard, a mere mouse-click away.
The best player in England, one Mr Sam Gomersall, recently triumphed over all comers at Grand Prix: Hasselt. Today, we present his report, packed with tips and tricks from this acknowledged Limited maestro.
Talen (and special guest) take an in-depth and humorous look at Guildpact. You won’t regret reading this one…
On Savage Twister:
That is not a ‘savage’ twister. That isn’t even a bad-mannered bloody twister. That there is the My Little Pony of twisters. I mean, sure, if you can handle your opponent thinking you keep your playset in special rainbow-colored sleeves, give them little gifts and grooming sessions, and refer to them as “Majesty” and “Seaspray”…
Julien continues his series examining the Limited potential of the all-new Guildpact set. After yesterday’s Black and White Orzhov offerings, Julien whips out a ladle to stir up a bucket of Gruul. The Red and Green cards of Guildpact, laid bare.
