I’ve been holding back the rogue in me for months…. And I can’t stand it any longer. The release of Saviors of Kamigawa provides an ideal time to reexamine rogue strategies. If they didn’t work before, maybe a new card or two in Saviors will push an old rogue concept over the top. So let’s take a look at 12-land Belcher, Gifts Ungiven Control, and a U/R Fish-style deck.
Today’s bonus game in Zvi’s set review is the color tally where Zvi adds up all the stars for each color and tells you which one comes out on top. In addition to that info, he also tells you which cards from Red (like say… Thoughts of Ruin) earned the Mowshowitz stamp of approval.
Like many people, I am very excited about the editor’s idea of getting the Pros to play Vintage and see if they can dominate in the next big tournament. Being shamefully ignorant of the format, I thought I would have a look at the coverage of the tournament in Richmond this weekend, to see what sort of competition Zvi and the gang would have. I learned all about lots of new concepts such as “Stax”, “TPS”, “Meandeck Tendrils” and “Gifts Belcher”, as well as recognizing some old favorites such as Oath and Fish. So then I thought I’d read the coverage to see which of these decks was coming out on top. And got an odd sense of déjà vu…
Unlike previous entries in the Grand Reweave Experiment, I love this deck. It possesses a ton of what Mike Flores has called Velocity; although you are not gaining card advantage per se, every card in your deck accomplishes more and more, until late in the game it seems like each draw step just breaks the opponent. It’s not uncommon for a Reweave that you draw in the opening hand to still be working your opponent over well into the late game, transforming Meloku tokens into Yosei over and over until you end the game with The Unspeakable.
It took four days, but today Grydehoj finally shows his true, traitorous colors. After giving you three full articles full of awesome green spells and creatures, today the yellow-bellied Dane betrays all you Green fans by proposing other colors to sully the beautiful color of nature.
That Wakefield guy is always coming up with new decks that break the mold. Today he not only gives you his current Elvish beatdown decklist, but also discusses the other end of the Green scale with a decklist that focuses on an overlooked uncommon from Mirrodin.
Today Zvi covers all that black has to offer including a few real winners, an entry that gets no stars whatsoever, and a photoshop that you have to see to believe.
So what did Martin learn from writing this excellent series and how will that knowledge help you as we transition to an environment containing Saviors of Kamigawa as well? That’s what today’s wrap-up article covers, so check it out.
Congratulations are in order to StarCityGames.com’s Magic Invitational winner Terry Soh! Today Terry takes a peak back at his Magic career, how his attitude and abilities have changed over the years, and what going to the Invitational meant to him.
Welcome back to the Grand Reweave Experiment. I guess it sounds kind of arrogant, calling it that, huh? There are not too many Reweave experiments going on, though, so I guess I can put on some airs until there’s another one. Anyway, thanks again to everybody who’s sticking with me this week and responding in the forums.
Just what the title says, folks. Fans of this excellent series are sure to continue reading, while the rest of you may as well hop on board now and catch up on the first two installments.
Enduring Ideal is very expensive – but anything that lets you put cards directly into play, without regard to mana cost, is very powerful. Wizards obviously thinks so – the card costs seven mana, and prevents you from casting anything for the rest of the game. Those are some serious drawbacks. This deck is just food for thought now, but before you dismiss the whole idea, consider two things. First, it costs 5WW, but at least one Tier One deck also relies on a seven-mana sorcery. Second – Enduring Ideal says, “put into play.” That means I can Confiscate your North Tree.
With each day bringing more and more set reviews, it’s time to focus our efforts a bit. While everybody else is saying, “Good in Limited, poor in Constructed,” for dozens of cards, we’ll actually review them for a purpose. So instead of listing every card, and then saying how much it sucks in 5-Color compared to previous cards, I’ll just skip it altogether. What you get is just the good ones.
Today Zvi looks at the mediocre, the boring, and the uninspired of Saviors Blue, sprinkled every so often with a card that looks intriguing. Which ones are the wheat and which are the chaff? Only Mowshowitz knows…
More than just a tournament report filled with tales of drunken debauchery, Herberheezy’s article today also provides a complete matchup analysis and sideboarding guide to all the decks that he faced on the way to his second Pro Tour Top 8!
