Weak Among the Strong: Oops, I win!
Today I’m going to discuss building the “Oops, I win” factor into Constructed decks, giving you the tools to turn seemingly harmless or suboptimal cards into situations that your opponent’s simply cannot beat.
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The Concept of Cosmic Larva: With Continual Reference to Sargent
Today’s Grydehoj article is a meaty stew filled to the brim with Abe Sargent beats and ideas about how to maximize Cosmic Larva in Standard. No, we’re not kidding about either part of that sentence. Adam might be though. Maybe.
Drafting White/Black in CCB
Anton Jonsson is widely considered to be one of the best drafters in the world, so when he writes about Limited, you best take notice. Today Anton provides a masterclass in how to draft what he considers to be the best archetype in CCB Limited, complete with the theory behind why this archetype works. Draft noobie or wisened veteran of the Pro Tour, this article has something for players at every level.
SCG Daily – Here Comes da Magistrate: Part 1
So, turn 1 kills in Standard and recipes for Pecan Pie. Let’s try this one…
Spinning the Wheels — A Reflection on Optimizing Intuition Slaver
So, why in the world am I – the biggest proponent of running Control Slaver sans the Intuition/Accumulated Knowledge draw engine – writing an article about using Intuition in the deck? A little while ago, while discussing the merits of the Intuition/AK engine with some members of Meandeck, I told them that I would test Intuition in Control Slaver. Therefore, this article is a result of my effort to see just how good I could get Control Slaver to be, while also including three copies of Intuition.
Foundations of Kamigawa Block (Part 2 of 2)
Zvi wraps up his survey of Kamigawa Block Constructed with thoughts on what Red and Green bring to the table as well as providing an astounding ten potential decklists for Pro Tour: Philadelphia and the Block Queues on Magic Online.
Setting the Stage for Standard – The Rock’s Last Hurrah and a Foray into Standard
What is it with good players getting corrupted be the lure of White Weenie in Standard lately? Even the normally reliable Rick Rust gets in on the act today, proposing an aggressive Weenie build that eschews the Jitte. Can this deck possibly be good?
Fifteen Minutes for Fifteen Lessons: Learning to Innovate
About once a month we get a submission so good that I (the editor) just have to rave about how good it is on the front page. This is one of those articles, and it’s guaranteed to make you a smarter Magic player.
How To Beat Your Sealed Luck
Somewhere along the way, a couple of Englishmen got hooked on the idea of building sealed decks and discussing the choices with the readers here at StarCityGames.com. Craig Stevenson’s Sealed Revealed series has built a large loyal following, but today Martin Dingler is here to prove he takes a back seat to no man, Scouser or otherwise, and provides this outstanding article as proof.
SCG Daily: Hop on Pop
Yesterday we talked about ways to beat the truly skilled folk you come across. Today I give the best technique I know on how to reach their exalted ranks.
The Big Pile O’Cards: A New Casual Format
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.
SCG Daily – Dragon Slaying
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.
The Tale of the Tog and the Head Judge
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.
Setting the Stage for Standard: Mono-Blue for a New Standard, Part Two
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…
April Fools’ Week: The Winner, And Next Week’s Challenge!
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!