The phrase “casual” player is really a misnomer. Sure, we casual players play in the comfort of someone’s home. We play with friends and the people we enjoy spending time with. But some of us are very competitive. And when we’ve had enough of Pernicious Deeds and Last Laughs, I bring out… The Big Pile O’Cards.
Today is solely dedicated to beating good players. Tomorrow you learn how to be one, so people who read today can learn to how beat people who read tomorrow. Wednesday will have a great recipe for Pecan Pie.
After working for a week on a modified version of Gush-a-Tog, Terry set out to test the deck at the final Grand Prix of the season. In spite of posting a 6-1-1 record, he didn’t end up in Day 2 because the judge gave him a match loss after the match had completed. What is the normal ruling in this case and how did Psychatog, of all decks, end up taking over the Extended season at the end? The answers to these questions and more are just a click away.
StarCityGames.com writer Mike Flores pioneered the current renditions of Mono-Blue Control decks in Standard, and Gabriel Nassif recently took the deck in a slightly different direction at French Regionals. What does Kyle think about Nassif’s new version and how has MUC been faring in his testing of the new metagame, particularly against the supposedly problematic Tooth and Nail matchup? The Boddy knows…
This week’s April Fools’ Challenge started slow, but brought in some great combos as the week progressed. Matthew Lubich’s Leery Fogbeast + Flaring Pain combo was good for a laugh, as was Arjan van Houwelingen’s clever use of Magical Hacker. And then on Friday, we had Andrew Lubich’s amusing Nono-Green Deck, as well as Jon Maske’s attempt to bring cards to life.
But I’m a sucker for Magic history — and not only did Luis Almeida walk us through R&D’s greatest mistakes, but he managed to meld non-erratated cards into a darned fine deck. Thus, Luis wins the $20 prize!
So what’s next week’s Casual Challenge?
Crap Rare Craziness.
If you’ve been paying attention, Abe Sargent’s been picking five crap rares at random and building creative decks around them. We want you to take the most pathetic cards in Magic and turn them into killing machines… or at least funny decks. Remember, as it says in our article guidelines, “I don’t want just decklists.” You have to provide an explanation of how you built the deck and how it plays. Send your crap rare challenge into Mail us at https://sales.starcitygames.com/contactus/contactform.php?emailid=2 and try for your chance at the $20 prize!
Flores is on the warpath today and his target is none other than a certain Featured Writer on this very site. What made Mike so mad and what does he have to say about it? Check inside my friends, check inside.
So today was the day – I was all set to go Premium with a stunning amount of data and make a big splash in our amazing writers pool. Then I broke the part of the site that makes Premium “Premium” and now all you freeloaders loyal readers get to read the hotness for free. Enjoy it while it lasts…
“So in the spirit of community, we offer you this: A chance to attend the upcoming Magic Invitational! You’ve been entered into the forthcoming Super Secret ‘Magical Ambassadors’ ballot, to be held after R&D make their ill-governed choice. So get canvassing those votes! And hopefully, we’ll see you there!”
Today Chris writes about flying cars, super-duper models, and snakes, snakes, snakes.
Look, if we could tell you what this is actually about, we would, but your guess here is as good as ours.
Today Abe covers bad rares, 5-Color, and various elements of his personal life as they relate to Magic.
About Ben Bleiweiss: Ben Bleiweiss is one of the most popular Magic writers on the internet, if you include everybody. Aside from failing to make Day 2 on the Pro Tour seven times, Ben managed to choke the one time he did make the second day in Mainz, going 0-2-1 the last draft table to finish in 24th place. When he’s not presiding over his duties as janitor of StarCityGames.com, Ben has been known to be a part of the Wizard Pro Tour coverage team, where he is ranked first worldwide in fetching McDonalds for Josh Bennett and the R&D staff.
There is one form of card advantage that no one talks about and which I suspect very few understand: Reciprocal card advantage. What is Reciprocal card advantage? That’s what I’m here to explain.
I am writing to you to inform you that one of your employees, Mr. Daniel Paskins, has recently been placed in my care, and therefore will not be able to write his regular articles for your website in the near future.
I have to admit I haven’t exactly treated graves with the respect they deserve. I remember being three or four years old and trying to dig into a relative’s grave with a tiny plastic shovel because I wanted to sit in her lap one last time. I am pleased to announce, however, that these days my abuses are confined to graveyards in the game of Magic. I am more pleased to announce that I have developed yet another deck that abuses the graveyard in an incredibly efficient manner: Tombstoned!
