The Mirrodin Artifact Dilemma: One Wall to Rule Them All
The dilemma this week is something I would not have expected at the beginning of this format, and is certainly not what I would have expected when I was told this was the artifact block…
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From Right Field: Probabilities, Randomness, and Averages for Non-Engineer Magic Players
Over the past few weeks, my columns have included additional sections that tended to be about the laws of randomness and probability, what laymen (“Heh, he said ‘lay’ and ‘men.'”) call the law of averages. A lot of people seem to be confused about these topics. Others just wanted to know more. I’ve typically not gotten involved in these types of detailed columns about complicated theories that seem to exist in the Magic universe. However, it was suggested by one of my readers that given my background, I might, you know, get involved and write something that was both informative and enteratining on the subject…
Food For Thought – Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #90: Voltaic Constructions
Turn 5 – At this point, I was generating infinite mana. It was turn 5 because everyone had been targeting me, and I had had my turn 2 Metalworker and turn 3 Thran Dynamo killed. Not good enough. As I put 500 Blue mana in my pool, a bystander asked”But how do you kill them?” I dropped Memnarch, turned to the bystander and said”This game, I’ll kill them with an FTK, a couple elves, that Steelshaper and whatever Steve has under that Bonesplitter. But since I’m stealing everything on the board, including lands, they’ll probably concede.”
The real question was, could I take what I learned about Voltaic Construct and build a competitive Type Two deck capable of generating infinite mana? Well, I could certainly try…
Cunningham’s Response to “Who Stole The CMU-Togit Kobe Decks?”
As promised, here’s Jeff’s response to Antonino De Rosa’s article.
Inside the Metagame – White Weenie
White Weenie is such a strange deck – it doesn’t try to mise. It doesn’t burn out players or use fancy tricks. It plays guys. Stand up guys that you can depend on, like Savannah Lions. They will arrive, swing, and get the job done. No frills, just beats. Somehow I always find myself writing about White Weenie every year. It is very stable – very White. It is always a contender even the harshest of environments.
OK, You Got Me. I’m Old and I’m Mean. Or Something.
Magic’s greatest crank succumbs to Flores’s relentless pestering, and finally writes another article! Today, Jon discusses the idea of one correct play, set reviews, pokes fun at Elliot Fertik (again), and goes no holds barred with his opinion of Geordie Tait’s recent theoretical excursions.
Picking the Right Plan
Did you read Becker’s piece yet? Good. Now we can move on.
I asked Jon to talk about his different play style from Derek Rank’s in those ancient days of the Frenetic Efreet, back when Invested cards like Browse were good, for a reason. Though I will stand by the fact that there is One Right Play on any stack (or any of those non-stack moments when you can play or tap land or whatever), that is not to say that there is necessarily one right Plan. Probably you are scratching your head right now. What do you mean one right Plan? What is a Plan?
Martyrdom
I know what you’re thinking.”A sixty-two card Cleric deck!? The kids are too much for him; Rob’s finally gone off the deep end.” Okay, I admit it may look that way, but this deck is actually good. No, really. Five PT top 8’s, four of which were Constructed, remember. You’re going to have to trust me on this one.
Something Like a Tournament Report
I was thinking about doing the usual tournament report thing, but I played Tog four out of the seven rounds, and almost all of the games went the same way. Oh sure, I could’ve hammed them up a little more and all. I mean, it’s a lot more entertaining to read”FINALS: JP”The Irresistible Force” Meyer vs. Kevin”The Immovable Object” Cron, but giving you strategic advice on your Tog deck and how the various matchups should play out will save everyone time.
Lashdraft Incorporated
I was on my worst MODO losing streak ever, and was actually desperate enough to ask Phil Samms for help. Phil, in his infinite wisdom said, “You should draft R/B.” And from those humble beginnings, a strategy was born. I’d ask about stuff like”Pewter Golem or Consume Spirit here?” and Samms would say something like”Neither,” and tell me, in what I imagined to be the tones of a professor lecturing a prize student, that I should be drafting more Nim Lashers and Disciples of the Vault.
At the mention of Nim Lasher in particular, eyes seemed to light up.
DNA: Mind’s Desire for the Masses Part 2
In this installment, the Jimmest of Beans provides an updated build of everyone’s favorite Standard combo deck, gives sideboarding information for the current metagame, and answers the question on everbody’s mind:
Jim, how do you play this damned thing?
Into the Night
Ah, Black. The color of Witches, Evil, and Darkness. Ken Ho proved one of my initial thoughts last weekend when he took down GP Oakland with a mono-Black draft deck in Mirrodin Limited. The moment I saw the spoiler for Darksteel, I decided that this deck would finally have enough firepower to exist prominently in the draft metagame.
Grand Prix: Oakland — In Short, I Told You All *20th Place*
“If you see a Fangren Hunter in your pack, take it! Put it in your deck, add lands, and shuffle up — It Is Awesome.” — Random Magic Online Quote
Translation: Avoid Green and win!
18,000 Words: The 100 Worst Magic Cards of All Time (20-1)
This is it, the final installment of Ben’s masterful look at the lowest of the lowlights in the game of Magic. You know you’ve been waiting for it all week, and now it’s here. Ben finally gives you an answer to the question:
What is the worst Magic card of all time?
Two Bits
This is me pretending to be Star City’s sometimes resident curmudgeon, Jonathan Becker (hint, hint). There have been some features, both interesting and just controversial, that have been thought-provoking for me; this article includes my reactions to a bunch of the stuff that has been posted either on the front page or the forums of this site over the past couple of weeks. If it wanders around or seems a little different from the work that you’ve come to know and love (or ignore) from yours truly, blame Jon Becker.