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The flavor texts of Ice Age are given new substance in the novel The Eternal Ice. However, unlike The Dark’s novelization, the flavor texts from Ice Age serve in a much more environmental capacity than in a storytelling one. For example, Disa, the Restless has a large role to play in the flavor texts of Ice Age, but no place in the novel – and no real impact on the goings-on of the time period. Alternately, Jaya Ballard has many enjoyable quotes from this set and plays a large role in the story, but the two facets of her existence are not interrelated. Therefore, as usual, The Real Story Behind Ice Age will give further insight into the storyline behind the flavor texts….

Bennie clears house on his past articles, discussing why he really loves control (just not the hard counterspelly kind), goes back to see whether he’s been able to beat the notorious Chuck, and airs his views on Magic writing – and tells you why his viewpoint is valid even if he has no pro points, dangit!

The Claw, Darwin Kastle’s top 8 deck from Pro Tour: Venice, is dead… But this doesn’t mean you have to give your Kilnmouth Dragons away to the local kids! Although the modified Explosive Vegetation incarnation of the Claw is now obsolete, Dragons can live on as a version of a R/W Control deck. Basically, the Neo-Claw takes the powerful control elements of MWC, and adds board-controlling burn and important tools for control mirrors from Red to create a nice complement to the powerful flying finishers.

When people in the Magic community think of me, I can only wonder what they think, but I’m sure that in between thoughts of”That guy’s terrible!” and”What was he thinking!?” they wonder why I play the most ridiculous decks every time without fail. And trust me – I have good reasons for playing a Cleric deck at Nationals!

Some of you may be thinking of tearing up cards that go to the graveyard, but that’s not what I’m talking about – that’s a different”Ironman.” This was an equally crazed version of normal Magic: Five-hundred card decks of all five colors, ten card hands and a hundred life, played at a table with as many opponents as you could find. And one more thing: Every single card, basic lands excepted, was restricted.

I’ve come to the conclusion that Goblins are terrible. They must be! Almost everyone I talk to plays a deck that crushes the Little Red Men. A deck that goes no worse than 70/30 against the marauding mono-coloured menace.
In a field in which Goblins are rightly feared, it seems everyone is gunning for them. Everyone has that special build, that ultra tech… Which ensures that a quick red rush has no chance of succeeding. Right?

When some alien race, say thirty or forty thousand years down the road, happens upon the charred cinder in space that used to be Earth – I think they might find an epitaph that tells a similar tale. A nearly blank tombstone standing in the middle of what used to be New York, or Mexico City, or Delhi. Just one line engraved in an otherwise featureless marble column.
“Just an upgrade.”

I recently received this e-mail from Grand Prix Atlanta Organizer, Anthony Edwards. He asked that I try to help spread the word. Well… consider it spread!

Speaking of Grand Prix Atlanta, be sure to visit StarCityGames.com for LIVE COVERAGE of this monumental event… courtesy of The Ferrett, Ben Bleiweiss, Ted Knutson and the rest of the StarCityGames.com Event Coverage Team!

NEW! Level III judge and StarCityGames.com rules guru, Sheldon Menery, has been confirmed as Head Judge of Grand Prix Atlanta!

So you’ve got forty-five cards, thanks to my advice on how to pick them in this article. Some are bombs, some are solid, some are last-pick garbage. Now, what do you do to put them together?

The Legions pack is a veritable treasure trove for the U/R drafter, and even with several U/W mages at the table, you can still clean up on quality U/R cards. Enemy mages will be grabbing Stingers and Deftblade Elites, and you should happily let them. With Echo Tracer, Willbender, Wall of Deceit, Keeneye Aven, and Mistform Seaswift all ripe for the plucking, you’re the real kid in this cardboard candy store. After a while, the cracking of pack two might start to trigger an almost Pavlovian response.

The goal of the deck is to get enough mana to cast Insurrection and Day of the Dragons in the same turn. Win or lose, people are impressed by this deck – or at least, the sheer audacity of running a four-color deck based around a fifteen-mana combo. It has no real creature removal, no counters, no disruption… Just pure, solid, combo-assembling fun.

The Onslaught pack is where you build your foundation. Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and Lavamancer’s Skills were a dime a dozen, this is where you’d turn when you wanted to feed your U/R deck some gas. Well, the more things change, the more things stay the same; many of the most powerful cards in the U/R archetype are to be found here. Though Onslaught cards have been done to death with regards to pick orders and analysis, you’ll still want to pay close attention here. OLS is a strange new world, and the Onslaught pack is your doorway into it. You have to study up before it gets slammed in your face.