Ask Ken, 04/30/2004
1st pick 1st pack, I was presented with some dross, Goblin Charbelcher, Terror, Arrest, Leonin Skyhunter and Skyhunter Cub. What’s the right call here?
1st pick 1st pack, I was presented with some dross, Goblin Charbelcher, Terror, Arrest, Leonin Skyhunter and Skyhunter Cub. What’s the right call here?
I was going to call this article”Flores spilled my f***ing deck!” but that seemed petty and childish, so the current title says it all.
Warning: the article you’re about to read contains lists. It contains a lot of lists. Lists of cards that go in things called “decks” to play a game called “Magic: The Gathering.” If you do not seek lists, then I advise you to look elsewhere.
Oh good lord people, there are only a few days to go. Stop just talking about it and do some playtesting! I know what you’re going to say: “I doned some playtesting, it’s all theory now and tweaking muh decklist.” Well kind sir, you’re more wrong than “prison cuddles.” if ya know what I’m sayin’.
Okay, enough is enough. I am sick and tired of these watered-down G/B Cemetery decklists popping up all over the internet. Not because I’m sick of hearing about it, but because they’re all wrong.
A deeper examination of why Richard feels he’s right.
Rumor has it that today’s guest star might be funnier than Osyp. Rumor also has it that he might also be short, well-dressed, and Canadian. Guess you’ll just have to click on the link and make up your own mind.
Welcome to the StarCityGames.com Regionals Tech Center; now updated to include the most comprehensive Regionals 2004 deck database on the web! Hundreds of top eight decklists from around the world are at your fingertips!
Last week, in the Philosophy of Fire, I talked about the death of one of my pet decks. Though I had put considerable effort into the Big Red deck, its burial ended up being bearable for me because I had another Rogue deck that I liked even more. This deck was the culmination of dozens of hours of testing and tuning and theory in working with another designer for whom I have a lot of respect. He spilled the beans in his own column on another site, so I figure, especially if I am not playing the deck anyway, I’d write a more exhaustive article, talking about the development of the deck and how we came to the conclusions we came to.
Some of you probably wonder just how I spend my time when I’m not trying to disparage Standard and Limited Green. The answer is simple: I try to desecrate Ravager Affinity. In this case,”try to desecrate” is not synonymous with”succeed in desecrating.” I’ve gotten so desperate that I’ve even turned to that feeble multiplayer Magic fall-back, Cowardice, thinking that if I can’t stop Affinity players from winning, I might as well make winning as annoying as possible for them. Sadly, I realize that my hopeless squabble with the best deck in the metagame is of no concern to you. I know there’s a combo here somewhere, but since I can’t find it, I’ll indulge in one of the safest genres of Magic strategy writing: The Deck Update.
It has been a long time since I wrote an actual article. And while I intend to include some strategic content, this will undoubtedly find its way into the”Issues” section. I sit here in my cubicle in my cushy state job. I sit here making more money in a week than I made playing Magic in all of 2003. I sit here with as good a benefits package as you will find in a job right out of college. I am sitting here unfulfilled.
Phimus Pan was literally the only person left that I wanted to team with. Despite what Roberto Gonzales may feel, two people does not a team make. To my rescue came James Davis. His team did not fare well in Phoenix, and his other Phoenix-based teammates did not want to make the 7.5 hr trek to New Mexico. Pants Pants Revolution was born!
Person 1: Who are you teaming with for the Grand Prix?
Person 2: John Pelcak and Gadiel Szleifer
Person 1: Who?!
Person 2: They’re, um, children.
Person 1: What the hell are you thinking? Why not team with good people?
Person 2: They’re good. We’re gonna do fine. Just you wait.
Everyone dies someday. This is a universal fact. Some, however, are doomed to do it more than others. Have you ever said a prayer, or even spared a kind word or thought, to the recently deceased 1/1 dork that held off an opposing monster so you could win the game next turn?