So after last week’s fake-out, Tater-Hatin’ Tim Aten is back this week to tell you why Japanese players are tough opponents, how nice guys finish (at least against him) and to fill you in on almost all of the happenings at the 2004 Magic World Championships. Hop on board, kids – it’s going to be a wild ride.
Many of you know Ben as one of the columnists of the site, but he’s also the General Manager of StarCityGames.com. One of his job duties is to set all of the buy and sell prices on the website. This means that he’s in the thick of determining the values and trends of Magic cards 24/7. Join him as he takes a look at the best cards you can trade for at the Champions of Kamigawa pre-release this weekend!
I think Ken’s Top Ten Mistakes aren’t really mistakes at all. He simply misjudged a few bombs, or was not paying attention to the same website he writes for. Let’s take a look at a few of his points and some of his Top Ten”mistakes”, along with some of my own recommendations before I tell you the things you really need to learn about MD5 Limited.
I was thinking about building a spelunking theme deck, and thinking about spelunking brought me to remembering my scouting days, which brought me to merit badges and “Voila!” I had an article idea. Sometimes it really is that easy. Let’s take a look at five decks inspired by Boy Scout Merit Badges. Each of these decks is designed to be halfway decent, and yet also gives plenty of room to the theme, and not competition.
The field of the Championships was wide open with a variety of decks from all aspects of the metagame represented in one form or another. Even combo, Tendrils-based or otherwise, had a decent showing with a Goblin Charbelcher deck making it to the semifinals, something most wouldn’t have expected before the event. There was also another deck flying under the radar. Only a select few had the privilege of seeing it in action, and the name of the deck, whispered only in the dark, shadowy catacombs of the convention hall was… Revenge.
I heard that Mike Turian recently got the new R&D job that Wizards had been advertising. I was just wondering would you or any other Pro still playing the game ever consider taking a job in R&D, or is playing on the Pro Tour too important?
I’m taking the day off to work on a super-secret project for StarCityGames.com, but I want your mail! Do you have any questions for me? Are there any stories that you’ve been burning to have me tell? Have you wanted to hear more about Bob, Anthony, Eric, Vinny "The Pimp" Falcone or any of the other cast of characters from the blog? Send your e-mails to [email protected] and the best of these e-mails will be compiled into an upcoming reader mailbag extravaganza!
The cunning solutions to Jeff’s puzzles, including the very tricky Thieve’s Auction play and a puzzle that will probably occur hundreds of times at the various State tournaments.
You’ve been on the Pro Tour for some time now and it seems like you are friends with a majority of the pros. I was just curious if you ever get intimidated when playing against someone?
Magic players don’t reflect enough. I constantly see players crying to high heaven that they were mana screwed right out of a game/match/tournament. Rarely do these players take a moment to re-examine the game and determine if they may have missed out on a road to victory. The second the first card of a new set appears on mtgnews.com, everyone looks forward to the new set. They don’t take time to learn lessons from the current set and see how they may be able to apply these lessons to future tournaments. Today I’m going to look back at what we learned from Mirrodin Limited and exmaine the lessons you should hang on to.
Welcome back to the fourth installment of this puzzling series. In addition to the standard question of”what do I need to do in order to win right now”, this article will pose a couple more open-ended challenges. You might find yourself thinking,”What is the mathematically best play at this point?”, and”What do I need to do now in order to win later?” After all, if you do not make good choices up front, you’ll never be in position to win at all.
Box draft is my favorite Magic format. I’ve been doing box drafts for five years now, and the games have stayed fresh and interesting. Pete Hoefling has stated that box draft is the most fun he’s had playing Magic, ever. I agree. There’s just something about drafting from the Big Box that really takes you back to the roots of the game while simultaneously teaching you new strategies each time out. What is box draft, you ask? Check inside, my friends, check inside.
Once again, I compiled statistics from all of the PTQ T8s I could find. Here are the numbers for the entire period this format has been played. Is there a secret Affinity-killer that is on the rise in Block? The answer to this question and more is but a click away, plus bonus coverage of Sheldon Menery’s Multiplayer Challenge at the World Championships.
In the latest edition, Pip brings you the August Metagame Breakdown, the perceived fallout from the Banned and Restricted List changes, and the skinny on which cards might get restricted next!
I was just wondering how various pros handle losing? I heard a story that noted Pro Tour tree stump Eric Froehlich once ate an entire jar of peanut butter after losing a draft on Magic Online. Is that a typical reaction pros have to losing, or do they take it in stride?
