Cabal Rogue has done it again. Their new R/G deck dominated in every State it was played, and will be one of the dominant Standard decks in the metagame. Adrian Sullivan takes you behind the scenes of how the deck was developed, how to play this new powerhouse, and gives a complete matchup guide. If you are going to play any Standard this fall, you need to read this article.
State and Provincials has come and gone. It taught some lessons. Some we knew, some are new. Among those we knew – Affinity is still strong, Tooth and base-Green are good, and I can’t play worth sheet. The new lessons – Champions does have cards to add, and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker is anything but a trash rare.
Craig wraps up this three-week series with a look back at all the deck archetypes, the key commons in each color that make an archetype, and the lessons he learned along the way. He also gives some props to the readers and forum participants for making this series such a rousing success.
Kanoot kicks off his month long series answering all the questions you have always wanted answers for regarding StarCityGames.com, the Pro Tour, Magic, foreign policy, college football… whatever you ask, he’s answering.
We’re three weeks wiser, and I’m still plugging away. Twelve card pools have passed before my tired eyes and stuttering fingers. I’ve typed up nine hundred cards in the preliminary lists alone. Add in the decklists, the card-by-card analysis, the juvenile attempts at humor… I’ve typed close to fifty thousand words. Today marks the last card pool in this series, and I hope you’ve learned half as much as I have during our time together.
Quite a few years ago, back when Tempest was hot and new, I did my first Rochester draft. It was the top 8 of a PTQ and I was what could be called “a bit behind the knowledge curve” going in. Things did not go well. Since then I’ve seen a consistent pattern in every competitive Rochester Draft I’ve been in – a lot of players who can play well and even Booster Draft well do not know the basics of Rochester. This PTQ season I want to make sure that instead of being one of those people, you’re the one who takes advantage of them.
Mean Deck Oath placed an astounding four players in the Top 8 of the most recent StarCityGames.com Power 9 tournament, and we know that you’re all dying to find out how the deck came about, what the strengths and weaknesses are, and how you can either win with it or beat it. Steve has included all this information in his complete primer on the hottest new deck in Type One, so what are you waiting for?
It’s autumn in my part of the world. The new big expansion has been out for a month. The Champs tournaments are behind us. The Limited PTQ season is under way. That can only mean one thing. It’s time for me to write about Aluren.
To describe today’s card pool, Craig says, “Roll up, roll up! We got wonders to see here, folks! We got lions and tigers and monsters, we got bearded ladies and strong-men, we got five-legged horses and Basil the Three-Eyed Fox! For the price of a nickel, you can see the World and all that’s in it! Step right up, sir. Through the curtain, and bear left. That’s where we keep the miracles…”
This article presents a new variation on the Mindslaver theme. The deck I’m introducing here can be considered as an hybrid between the standard Drain Slaver deck Kim Kluck created about a year ago and “Turbo Titan”, the Sundering Titan based control deck designed by my MeanDeck teammate Doug Linn. It tries to abuse one of the best artifacts from Fifth Dawn, Crucible of Worlds, in a way no one did before: setting up Mindslaver nastiness.
Greetings to everyone in the land of Magic Online. While StarCityGames.com has done an excellent job of posting informative pieces on Kamigawa, be it for Limited or individual card analysis, few have touched on its impact on Magic Online casual formats. Since Champions of Kamigawa (CHK) is now available online, it merits examining.
Yann Hamon, one of the top 20 players in the world for the 2003-2004 season, takes a break from his preparations for Pro Tour: Columbus to chime in with his opinions for what he calls “The Best Color in Champions.” Why does he feel it’s the best Limited color in CHK, and which cards does he feel stand above the rest? You’ll just have to tune in and find out.
Top 8 coverage from this past weekend’s Power 9. Looking to see exactly how MeanDeck’s new Oath deck plays in a real match? Ben’s got that covered plus a whole lot more.
Richmond marked the debut of a new Vintage archetype… “Mean Deck Oath”. A majority of the field seemed unprepared to face the Oath of Druids/Forbidden Orchard “combo” and four members of Team Mean Deck piloted “Mean Deck Oath” straight to the top eight. What sort of impact will this have on Chicago? Will Team Mean Deck dominate again? There’s only one way to find out! Join us on Saturday, November 6th when the Star City “Power Nine” Tournament Series comes to Chicago!
Laura Mills takes her first real look at Champions and uncovers the power of soulshift, both in Limited formats and in… Constructed? While the shifty souls might not quite be ready for primetime in sixty-card decks, this is definitely a mechanic to keep an eye on.
