The question everybody wants to know right now, though, is what are you packin’ this time? You’ve got a tough job ahead of you, I’ll tell you – because you’re losing a lot of power from the Invasion Block and not getting much back from Onslaught. That leaves many thinking the top decks might just be Standardized Odyssey Block decks.
Imagine sitting back with a half dozen lands, a Prodigal Sorcerer, Words of Wilding, Sindbad, a Quirion Elf, and four 2/2 bears in play. Pretty harmless – even an Overrun won’t do all that much. Oh, and two Arcane Denials, a Jungle Barrier and Force of Will in hand – because you are about to tap three mana and play a card that says”game over.”
Stijn discusses NOT multiplayer, but his second-place finish at the prerelease, along with several strange combos for Future Sight and the man who countered a Silvos – and had it turn out to be an incredibly stupid move.
Oh, did I mention that I won a PTQ in Detroit on Saturday? I’m going to see you all in Chicago! Come January, I’m going to be slinging spells with the big boys – and I’m going to do my damndest to bring you all along for the ride. No detail will go unreported.
*dances the TDS dance*
In recent years, some midwestern players out of Iowa City, Iowa have taken preventative measures a step further. They have begun employing the use of something referred to as”the card count.” The card count is a nearly foolproof manner in which you are able to monitor if your opponent has drawn more cards in a game than they were supposed to.
Iain opens up a real Sealed set and attempts to build the best possible deck for the season… But he can always use the input. Did he choose the right colors? Did he choose the right cards? Come on over and help him out!
The two could not be more different – and as a result, the set is bear-trap for unwitting columnists. Beware! If you try rating the set in absolutes, the result will be a train wreck of a review. Case in point: Josh Lytle’s article on common Onslaught cards.
Do you ever feel that your true potential is squandered because of silly procedural errors that cost you games? Do you find yourself blaming judges for preventing you from being a contender?
Time to face facts, my friend: Only you can prevent game losses.
So Michael’s been running around critiquing various artists in Magic, telling ’em what paintings are good, and why. Well, one artist couldn’t take this treatment – and so Matt Cavotta himself steps forward to talk about his pieces and composition! A must-read for ANY art fan!
Almost everything is ready – the only missing link is one of the most important. We have yet to determine a flavor text for the creature! Daniel discusses the various flavor texts and states which ones he likes… And which ones he doesn’t.
Onslaught Sealed is more luck-reliant than it’s ever been before. I was at this one event where a little kid threw all 105 cards into the air, plucked forty cards at random, and 5-0’d the prerelease! And the thing was, this was a child crack addict who had never played Magic before – he thought he was playing in a high-stakes poker tournament to become the Count of Monte Cristo!
So is this true? I mean, REALLY?
You know what the best part about having forums is? The fact that I can ask you all for feedback, and get it pretty damn instantly. So I have four questions to ask of you all now – and to make things interesting, I’ll be holding the first-ever StarCityGames.com Forum Contest!
Grinning Demon is not strictly superior to Juzam. If you morph him into play, he might attack one turn sooner – but you wasted your third and fourth turns waking him up, serving him coffee, trying to get him motivated. In that way, he reminds me of me.
I want to thank everyone who voted for me for the Invitational; I was absolutely stunned to receive a spot this year. I’ll be heading off to Seattle for the Invitational in about a week – and not only do I need to figure out how to play Two-Headed Giant, but I need a card to submit. If you read this and you have any ideas about what card I should submit for the Invitational, please send me an email.
No deck that can handle the double-black mana cost has wanted a four-mana slot since Phyrexian Negator, anyway. Ben Bleiweiss called Grinning Demon”Juzam Djinns five through eight,” and that sums it up nicely – albeit in exactly the opposite way Ben intended.
