I’m horrible with directions. I get lost going from my house to work at StarCityGames.com, and I live right around the corner. The stories of me losing my way on the road are legendary, and so it’s imperative that I have a good navigator to get me to where I need to go. Here are a couple of stories about trips to Magic tournaments where my own navigational skills have let me down
Thunderstaff is soooooo underrated and soooooo good. Cards like it and the aforementioned Fatespinner and Sun Droplet seem innocuous enough, and you often don’t realize that they defeated you until after the match is over. Thunderstaff ended up being key in several games this draft. One-power creatures do nothing and two-power creatures are as worthless as one-power creatures; since these comprise the bulk of one’s draft deck, Thunderstaff provides virtual card advantage by neutralizing multiple threats at once.
Now that Mirrodin Block Constructed is in full swing, with the top tiers filled with established decks (though there are still a few new spins cropping up here and there), I thought it would be interesting to think back on what didn’t seem to work in Mirrodin block as far as Constructed goes. As diverse as the metagame is with the banning of Skullclamp, there are still some major disappointments for the insatiable deckbuilders out there in both Block Constructed and Type Two.
The Fifth Dawn picks plus the draft recap.
For this week’s dilemma, we have the earth-shaking choice between two amazing spells: Animal Magnetism and Weird Harvest. Let me tell you that this is, without a doubt, the hardest choice we’ll have to make as a community during the entire Selecting 9th Edition promotion.
The road trip. It’s a time honored tradition in which you get a bunch of your buddies together, cram into a small car, and talk about Magic for several hours while you drive to the PTQ/Grand Prix/Pro Tour/bathitorium. Road trips are part of the reason many people play Magic – it’s an opportunity to travel with your friends for several hours, with nothing to do but shoot the breeze. Friendships are formed on these drives, tech is distilled, and many a fast food meal is consumed. Every now and again, you’ll get a minor inconvenience, but it’s those truly horrific road trips that not only stick out in the mind long after the tournament has ended, but also make for good stories and bonding experiences.
How often do you buy new deck protectors? Do you use new ones before every tournament and do you sleeve your sealed/draft decks?
The basic reports from New Jersey, like decklists and top 8 match results, have been on the Wizards site for a week. No doubt reports have also been trickling in to the esteemed editor of this site and should be up soon, detailing the specifics of Day 2 glory. Unfortunately, this is not one of those articles. Despite grand ambition and an attempt at deck-building genius, I managed to finish 6-2-1 in 132nd place. But isn’t there more to playing cards than ridiculous cash prizes?
I liked playing this deck so much more than Affinity. It had game against every deck in the field – it could burn away Affinity creatures, wasn’t very vulnerable itself to the artifact hate of Freshmaker and U/G Shard, could counter key spells again Tooth and Nail, Ironworks, and B/G control, and could out-creature and out-counter Big Red. I began winning again – although I had dug myself into a huge hole with my Affinity venture, Cheesequake was the meal which nourished me back to a non-embarrassing 1650. Please, do not ask how badly I had fallen. Let’s just say that breaking 1600 was a cause for celebration.
What was Magic theory like when the game first came out? What was the metagame at that time? Who were the big players (the Kais) of the day?
Ben’s taking the day off today, but Blog Fanatic will return tommorrow. In the meanwhile, Ben was kind enough to put together a fully indexed list of all his previous Blog Fanatic columns!
Type One has a store of decks waiting in the wings to make their big return. Often they are waiting for that new card to bring the deck back into the limelight. More likely, they are waiting for a shift in the metagame or banning to weaken rivals. If both conditions are met, then the stage may be set for an encore performance. Mono-Blue Control is one such deck.
The people have spoken. They like Blog Romeo. They like Romantic Newlywed Romeo. What the people really like, though, is The Pi$$ed-Off Romeo. As my man Ray Davies of The Kinks knows, you’ve gotta give the people what they want.
I had a recent dispute with some friends over a mulligan decision I made in a MD5 Sealed GP Trial.
