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Many Happy Returns

My purpose here is to present what I believe to be the gold standard for Tendrils-based combo at the moment. If you enjoy absolutely wrecking people as much as I do – instilling fear and intimidating based upon the strength of your deck, I present…

The Road to Regionals 2004: R/G Control

Thanks to the recent French and German Regionals, we now have a first glance at what the metagame for the U.S. Regionals may look like, and it’s pretty much what was expected: Ravager-Affinity, R/W Slide, and Goblin Bidding. There are a few other culprits (like the quite fun and imaginative”Rat Deck Wins” coming from the French side of things), but those three aforementioned decks pretty much comprise the foundation of your testing gauntlet. What I want to look at today is a deck that may have game against all three of the decks above: R/G Control.

Ask Ken, 03/17/2004

What’s the biggest problem on the Pro Tour today, and how would you go about fixing it? Also, what’s the favorite Good Man of the Week you have bestowed?

11 Reasons Why I’m Not Writing For StarCityGames.com

I used to write with semi-regularity back when The Ferrett was editing this here site here. I used to write about what happened with my weekly multiplayer get-togethers. The Casual Reports were interspersed with other articles about multiplayer strategies, and general replies to other articles on the site. In those days, The Ferrett posted almost any article he received, assuming the writer had some understanding of grammar and could press the spell-check button. I only remember one or two articles that ever required a rewrite. Those days are long gone.

An Open Letter to Sol Malka

It doesn’t take a genius to guess the best of the Tier Two Rogues will be drawn to playing B/G this year. That’s where you come in, Sol. Only you can help me. If you were to publicly declare B/G dead in Type Two, all of this could be avoided. These people will listen to you, Sol. You’re practically the pope of B/G. Every freakin’ B/G deck ends up being called The Rock. That’s kinda your fault, right? So, the way I see it, you’re responsible for the well being of anyone who chooses to play those colors. They are your flock, as it were. You must save them from themselves.

From Right Field: Spring Cleaning Edition — Now Hall & Oates Reference Free!

This was the first great weekend of Spring for us down here in Tennessee. I know that meteorologically Spring was still two weeks away. Like most people, I don’t measure seasons by the calendar. When the signs of Spring appear, it’s Spring. And Spring can only mean one thing here at the offices of From Right Field: Spring cleaning. Oh yeah, and chicks in short shorts.

Ask Ken, 03/16/2004

At the request of Mister Krouner, today’s question cannot be posted to the front-page viewing public due to its violent content and sensitive nature. Enquiring minds need only check inside…

Yawgmoth’s Whimsy # 94: Playtesting and Inbreeding

I am going to do something awful to my fellow writers. I am going to compare early metagame predictions with the actual metagame, as it is shaking out now in European regionals and the Type Two last chance qualifiers at PT: Kobe. I’ll do it to myself, too, and then I’ll give you a breakdown of the Top 8 decks from the European Regionals that have occurred thus far.

February Type One Potpourri

Have you ever wondered just how much things like Alternate Casting Cost, Madness, Flashback, and your favorite mechanic affects the Type One environment? Are you curious to see how much each set is represented in Type One top 8s? Maybe you’re simply looking for a Magic article that features less blow-hard opinion, and more analysis based on facts? Whatever the case, Phil Stanton has the scoop, so all you need to do is check inside…

Trading Manlands for Moxen: The Saga of Standstill

Steve Menendian sits down at the table and tells me that he has tested the Fish matchup a lot and is shaky about it, though he feels he can pull it out. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I wasn’t playing Fish, and as Carl von Clausewitz says in his military philosophy, don’t stop your opponent when they are making mistakes! He plays a typical strong opening hand with plenty of mana acceleration. Steve drops a fat artifact which gets Annulled and then follows up with Mindslaver later, which hits Mana Drain, accelerating me into a Disk. At this point, Steve has the epiphany that I am not playing the little Blue men, but it’s too late…

Ask Ken, 03/15/2004

What is your take on the Nick Eisel situation back from Grand Prix: Boston? Do you think he cheated or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Nothing Productive

The great Rob Hahn once claimed that the entirety of the Magic universe, all the games played, all the packs sold, the Pro Tour, and everything else, hinged on one thing for their existence: the friendships that Magic creates and fosters. If you think about it, Rob’s claim makes a lot of sense. How else can you explain staying up until all hours”playtesting” a”matchup” where both you and your partner know the outcome? You might learn something, you might not… oftentimes, it’s really just an excuse to hang out and have some beers.

The Decks of Steve

One day, an idea occurred to me. Why don’t I write about the decks my friend Steve ends up playing? They are almost uniformly rogue or less-played ideas that many of StarCityGames’ readers, in my mind, would probably love to comment on. This is a feedback welcome article, and any part of this series that follows will also be open to feedback. Good reader ideas will go into Steve’s decks and then I’ll report back to you on how he does with them.

Ask Ken, 03/12/2004

“In an MMD booster draft this past Saturday at a local gaming store, I was faced with the following possible first picks: foil Crystal Shard, Grab the Reins, Spikeshot Goblin, or Glissa Sunseeker. The pack was quite possibly the best pack of Mirrodin I’ve ever seen, and I had no idea what to pick.” Plus the Good Man of the Week, all in the latest edition of Ask Ken.