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Teen Titans – A Look at Archmage Combo

Sometime before Regionals a friend of mine got very excited about a mono-Blue combo deck that worked post-Darksteel. He referred to as”Teen Titans.” I’m told the deck is well known, and was considered to be a pretty good deck locally, although I don’t know exactly who came up with it or where the deck’s exact origins are. I could probably say something like”The Japanese came up with it” and that would satisfy everyone. The better name for the deck is probably simply”Retract-storm combo.” Here’s how it works…

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Running The Vintage Gauntlet: R-Z

In part one we looked at some of the combo decks of Vintage. In part two we looked at mostly Control and Aggro-Control decks. In this article, we look primarily at the various Mishra’s Workshop-based decks that Type One has spawned.

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The “Issues” Issue

Knut: Mike, this article has no strategy. I can’t run you at the top of the page.
Flores: But I’m the greatest. You have to run me at the top of the page.
Knut: Okay, maybe you’re the greatest. And the article really is quite wonderful. But I’m sticking this in”Issues” where it belongs.
Flores: I will have my revenge!
Knut: Just Kidding.

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Weak Among the Strong: Early Days – Brainstorming a New Format

Whenever a new set comes out, two things happen. First, people look at the direct impact on existing decks in a given format. What Fifth Dawn cards might go into Tooth and Nail? What does Ravager get to replace Skullclamp? Second, people start building the obvious decks, like Krark-Clan Ironworks combo or mono-Black control. In my opinion, both of these activities are premature. First should come the brainstorming.

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Playing With Yourself: Fifth Dawn Combo

Even before we had any preview cards, Wizards had been hinting that Fifth Dawn was a combo set. Some people are happy and some people are sad, because they like to get a chance to play their own deck rather than just watch me fiddle with mine for twenty minutes before I kill them. However, I feel justified in playing a”selfish” deck: it’s not like in a sudden flash of brilliance you gain both the deckbuilding expertise and the skill required to play combo. It takes tons of practice, and there are difficult decisions to be made at every step of the way.

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The Contract Question

Before I was selected to be on the Five Color Ruling Council, I was very vocal about what is arguably the most contentious issue in Five Color. However, after being placed on the Council, I decided to no longer be vocal. My opinion was known by most already, why belabor it? Since it is such a divisive issue, why talk about it? At the time, I believed that nothing would ever happen, so why work for change? Therefore, this is the first time in over two years that I have made my voice on this issue public.

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Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #102: Combo Mania

A lot of people have published articles about the next great combo. They all run something like this: “Play these cards do this and win. Turn 5! No, 4! 3! It’s great! / It wrecks the format! / It shows I’m amazing!” These people have no clue. You don’t build combo decks to goldfish. You build combo decks to play in tournaments. That means you have to build a deck that can survive an active opponent, not a goldfish.

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Ask Ken, 06/10/2004

Today’s guest columnist Iain Telfer tackles the age-old question of why there aren’t more female Magic players.

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Egg Beaters and the New Face of Reanimation

So everyone is trying desperately to break Krark-Clan Ironworks, but nothing truly amazing has come about yet. Zvi’s version, although swift and consistent, is easily disrupted by a number of tournament staple maindeck and sideboard cards. It’s my sense that the best applications of Ironworks won’t be found for a while, still. I too, like the rest of the world, am working on a broken KCI backbone deck, but I’m also messing with the sickness which I am about to unveil: Egg Beaters.

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Extreme Magic: A Casual Format Where Broken Things Happen

It seems in just about every single Oscar Tan article – and quite frequently in other Type 1 articles – the phrase”This is Type I, broken things happen” plays like a theme song you cringe to after hearing a gazillion times. About two to three months ago, after reading the latest iteration of this phrase and grinding my teeth in irritation, it occurred to me: why should Type 1 have the monopoly on that phrase?

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