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The Comprehensive 8th Edition Draft Review: Red

I like the simplicity of Red. For a lot of cards in this article you will notice very short write ups, simply because there is nothing complicated about the card. Normally it burns something, or it repeatedly turns sideways until either it or your opponent is dead. Not that this is a bad thing of course. The bad thing about Red is that it contains a large number of great cards, but also a large amount of rubbish. Look down the list to Anaba Shaman and see how quickly the quality drops off after that.

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StarCityGames.com Tokens Series One – On Sale Today!

ON SALE TODAY! ‘StarCityGames.com Tokens — Series One’ have arrived, and once we finish adding completed versions of the cards to our system, they’ll be ready to order! Check back later on today and be amongst the first to get your hands on ’em!

[View all sneak peeks!]

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AIM High! Mirrodin Red For Limited and Advice For Would Be Moshers

Geordie Tait is a little misguided when it comes to rating rares and uncommons as Tier 1 or Tier 2. First, as I covered in the forums of his article on colored rares, his rare appraisals are a little off. More importantly, he seems to be a member of the Loxodon Warhammer cult. He claims that Loxodon Warhammer is head and shoulders above the other most powerful uncommons like Grab the Reins, Icy Manipulator, and Crystal Shard.

Well let me tell you, kids: the Hammer is not the End-all Be-all. It’s a piece of equipment that costs three and three more each time you move it onto something. I’m not arguing that it’s not retarded; what I am arguing is that it isn’t appreciably better than the other insane uncommons, and perhaps not better at all. Man does it pain me to say this, but here it goes… I think Kai was right (eye roll) and Crystal Shard is better than the Hammer. There, I’ve said it.

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Exploring Zombo.com – A Standard Walk With the Undead

Zombies is basically within the same family of decks as mono-Black Control; they are related and share cards freely. Pure Aggro Zombies exists on one end of the spectrum, and then pure mono-Black control exists on the other. Generally you slide closer to MBC by removing Zombies and putting in more anti-aggro spells, like Barter in Blood or Infest. Between the two decks exists a happy medium, where spells like Persecute and Phyrexian Arena roam freely. The goal of this article is to discuss the cards and the play style of the midrange decks.

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AIM High: Part Two or The Rest of It

Welcome to Tim’s extended AIM conversation he recorded between Golden Girl Bea Arthur and somebody else. What, you think he’s joking this time? Guess you’ll have to read and find out.

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Mirrodin Draft Archetypes: U/B or “Don’t Play This If You Want To Win”

I’ll be honest – I have not had all that much success with this archetype, even with ridiculous card quality in my U/B decks. I’ve had Crystal Shard/Skeleton Shard/Looming Hoverguard/Betrayal of Flesh times two and still lost because the opponent played an artifact that I could not deal with effectively. U/B has lots and lots of synergy available within the archetype’s cardpool, but the lack of any true removal for artifacts cripples the potential of the deck before it even begins. That said, I still think it’s an archetype that the best players can have success with and I’ll tell you why…

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Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #83: Combo Still Ain’t Dead – A Look at Post-Banning Extended

I am sure I will not be the only person to mention that the recent bannings do some serious harm to Tinker decks. The banning of Tinker and Grim Monolith also hurt the Mana Severance/Goblin Charbelcher decks and even the Mind’s Desire/Twiddle deck. Cutting Oath of Druids gets rid of Scepter-Oath, and even some classics like TurboLand. The elimination of Goblin Recruiter eliminates the combo-Goblins decks. Finally, no Hermit means he won’t be Angry any more.

So the bannings may have gotten rid of several Combo decks, but don’t think that combo has left the building. There are a score of other combo or combo-ish decks that have potential. I’ll start by listing some of the more obscure possibilities, and then move on to the mainstream decks.

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Double or Nothing: PTQ Amsterdam in London *Top 8*

I missed the boat with this build, I really did. Lumengrid Warden? Lumengrid Sentinel? What was I playing at? I figured that the 1/3 guys would slow my opponent down a little to enable me to get to the late game, where my Mirror Golem, Vorrac and Grab the Reins would rule supreme! So how in the world did I make the Top 8?

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The StarCityGames.com Digest for the Week Ending 12/5/2003

Bannings, The Twiddle Desire Godbook, and a guide to German Nightlife, all in the latest edition of the StarCityGames.com Digest!

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Yeah, That Was Clever – The Mirrodin Rare Artifact Rankings

Oblivion Stone
Writing blurbs for the Tier 1 cards can get a little tiresome after a while. Eventually, the cards get so good that the very discussion of just how good they are becomes redundant. No one knows there are cards this good in the world. When I bust this out of a pack, it’s like a team of pixies flew by, dropped their pants, and crapped a rainbow into my brain.

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An Evening At The CMU “O”

At the end of pack one, Nick Lynn makes the mistake of talking.
“I’m drafting Mono-Artifact.” – Nick
“You’re drafting Mono-Idiot.” – Turian

Stupidity level rising.

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You CAN Play Type I #114: CAN Wizards Design For Type I?

“I don’t trust R&D to make what they think are”Type I-specific” cards. No one there knows enough about Type I, and their little gift might prove more abusive than they realized. Then, we’re stuck with it until DCI says something, and no one knows whether or not they’re looking at the new mistake until they actually make a restriction.”

The above text seems to suggest that you do not think Wizards can make cards for, or even designed with half an eye towards, Type 1. In fact, Wizards themselves have admitted they simply have not the time and resources to playtest Type 1 (a statement which, although I find it disappointing, I fully sympathize with), and they would probably agree with your assertion that no-one at Wizards knows enough about Type 1 to design cards for it. But, my question is, does anyone?

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Waiter, Menu Please! The Return of DoctorJay

I’m writing for you folks who gather regularly around dining room tables for one-on-one duels and who think competitive thrill is a 3-2 Friday Night Magic record with a deck of your own creation. I used to think my target audience was too small to matter, but writing for MTG.com changed my mind. I know you’re out there, so sit back and enjoy yourself.

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The Mirrodin Black Dilemma: Pewter Golem

If you are already committed to mono-Black, I implore you draft the Consume Spirit. You will not find a better spell. In fact, draft it over Terror in this deck. The card is that good. Okay, now it is time to leave fantasyland – you will never be mono-Black. It is too weak and too shallow.

Now Pewter Golem on the other hand… that guy bears a strong resemblance to a certain beating stick from Scourge that we all know and love.

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Ah’ll Lurn Ya Real Gud – Pale Mage Unleashed!

If you’re reading this, then you either really, really like my stuff or you are fairly interested in Aluren. For your sake, I hope it’s the latter. In any case, I’m going to stop taking dictation from the tape recorder and give it to you straight, like a normal writer. I’ve been reading a lot of forum threads on Extended lately. I’ve also been sitting in on conversations in real life and on the net about the format. One thing I’ve noticed is that nobody seems to know anything about Aluren. At least, nobody who’s talking. This has upset me to the point that I’m prepared to write in paragraphs to try and pass on my vast store of infinite knowledge about the slowest (good) combo deck in Extended.

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