One of the most common questions I get is “Why do you – of all people – write a column about budget decks?” Pull up a swivel chair, and let me tell you some things about me, things that drive what I do in From Right Field and how I do it.
Since he returned to Magic writing, Sean McKeown has produced some of the most knowledgeable and useful articles on the Regionals metagame seen this year, and this article is no different. It does however, include some spicy meatballs in terms of decklists, including two proposed Celestial Kirin Control decks and a first draft at breaking Enduring Ideal.
Having trouble deciding what to play in Rochester? You probably should be… the results of Richmond probably add to the confusion. Hopefully, I’ll be able to shed some light on the situation, giving you some guidelines for your deck choice at what will surely be the hottest American Vintage tournament of the year.
If you’ve read my columns over the years, you’ll know that I like White. I don’t want to get into the psycho-social reasons for that. Suffice it say, I like White. With Regionals about three weeks away, readers have been flooding my e-mail in-box with one question: What Will Dr. Romeo Be Playing at Regionals?
I am struck with deck ideas all the time. Most of them are crap and I acknowledge that. However, it is critical to document your ideas. Most of my good ideas have started out as a crap idea that I shelved and then something strikes me and suddenly I get an “aha” moment and the idea clicks. Today’s deck is one such example.
Today’s subject certainly isn’t a new one. In fact, there’s a little-known clause in the back of the Comprehensive Rules; it says all paid writers for Magic-related websites have to devote a certain number of words to rules issues in their first year, or the Wizards of the Coast are allowed to rent out a bunch of Microsoft’s thugs to beat some respect into you. That’s why Tim Aten is so tall and so angry: he doesn’t write about that stuff too often, so they’ve been stretching him on the rack for a while now. Since I’ve been doing this thing for about eight months now, I’m starting to feel the pressure.
Is Thoughts of Ruin a major format changer or yet another overhyped card that won’t see much play? That’s what michaelj is out to investigate today, building a series of test decks and then slamming them up against his Regionals gauntlet as hard as he can.
Today Zvi turns his eye for set design to Brian Tinsman’s MagictheGathering.com article and explains the choices he would have made in designing Saviors of Kamigawa. He also discusses the flaws in Kamigawa Block, delivers a Top 10 list of things he learned at the Vs. System Pro Circuit, and answers the question: Is Trinisphere interactive?
There were many good combos this last week, but the best has to be from Chris Hyde, pointing out how Sekki, Seasons’ Guide was an automatic win with Pandemonium on the table. He even provided two decks — one serious, one for fun — for a neat little infinite combo that blasts the socks out of most people. (Assuming you’re not facing Engineered Plague, of course.) So Chris wins the $20!
So what’s next week’s challenge?
Tribal Wars.
We’re looking for decks based around a particular tribe, much like online Tribal Wars decks (albeit without the "online cards only" restriction). Obviously, throwing together a plain ol’ Goblins deck isn’t going to win you the Casual Challenge; the weirder and more creative the creature type, the better! So send in your article to Mail us at https://sales.starcitygames.com/contactus/contactform.php?emailid=2 today!
I’ve decided to write an article about the last three months in my life, as I spent them all in America and underwent quite a few changes, some for better, some for worse, depending mainly on if you are one of my parents or not. If you are looking for an article on the latest Type Two deck or what you should be drafting this week on MODO, then this is probably not for you, but if you want to know what it is like to be at rock bottom and still make the best of what you have, then settle down make yourself a cup of tea. You’re in for a nice ride and I hope you will enjoy it.
Today, Mono-Green doesn’t have the tools to play Control. Yes, Green has some of the best Control cards in the format – but with neither Desert Twister nor Spike Weaver, the color simply can’t go it alone. Nevertheless, there’s still reason to celebrate Stampeding Wildebeest’s reincarnation as Stampeding Serow… especially when you think about pairing it with Kiki-Jiki in an R/G Mirror Breaker deck.
While most of the world is discussing what impact Saviors will have on the Regionals season, The Cak peeks one step ahead and takes a shot at what the effect of Saviors will be on Kamigawa Block Constructed. Why should you listen to him? Well, he started the Taking Back Sunday mailing list and is teammates with the last Block Constructed Pro Tour winner.
Pure Magic would be a world where there were no card pool constraints on a person’s deck choice, where there were no time limits, where everyone has perfect information as to the decks in the metagame and where no one made play mistakes. Unfortunately, Vintage, as defined by the rules of Magic and the banned and restricted list, doesn’t exist. What exists is a particular variant of Vintage called Tournament Vintage. It is essential to tournament success that you focus upon the actual features of Vintage tournaments, not just the features of the format as defined by the rules. In this article I am going reveal all of my secrets – all of the tidbits of knowledge I’ve picked up from my experience in Vintage tournaments.
Probably the most interesting article I’ve read all year is Mike Flores’ article on Interactivity. WARNING! ALERT! WARNING! I’d like to talk about Interactivity and Vintage. That means boring Magic theory to those of you who couldn’t care less. For those that do care, let’s parse what Master Flores has had to say on the subject and see how that applies to Vintage as a whole.
After graduating Law School, Oscar Tan is back with his theoretical thoughts on the Theory of Interactivity (or something). In fact, Oscar and Stephen Menendian go head to head on this subject today in dueling theory articles, both designed to answer Master Magic Theorist Mike Flores. Peep both articles for yourselves and tell us who got the better of the debate in the forums!
