In Houston, I once witnessed an eight-year-old kid (who inherited his brother’s cards once he went into the army) trade a Juzam Djinn for a Mahamoti Djinn. He didn’t want to do the trade initially, but the jerk adult who pushed for it got him to change his mind by pointing out how the Juzam”hurts” him while the Mahamoti not only flies, but has greater toughness…
Each year, I put off the scheduled column for a week and sift through reader mail a second time. Today’s the day. I’ll answer questions on the Type One World Championships, defend my dislike of Back to Basics yet again, and try to calm Anthony Alongi the heck down.
The more you try to outwit your opponents and get in their heads, the more you can forget the obvious. I see players all the time trying to be like Mike McD in”Rounders,” setting their little traps, doing more acting than Robert De Niro, not realizing how obvious it is that they’re full of BS. You don’t want to be so tricky that you trick yourself. Oftentimes, the easiest play is the best play.
If you want to know what happened in Scourge the novel but don’t have the time to read the whole book, this is your source for a storyline update unlike any you’re likely to find on the internet – three hundred and ten pages are summed up in just over five thousand words.
I answer more letters – this time from Aaron Forsythe asking about reprints, Wayne Alward bemoaning the sad fate of his created mechanic, and the most touching letter I ever received.
Former StarCityGames.com writer Richie”BSV” Proffitt continues to improve after a failed gastric bypass operation, but remains hospitalized. Click here for a special message from Richie…
I remember watching the finals of Nationals in 1995. The guy who beat me with the netdeck is playing it out versus some godawful Shivan Dragon special. He is losing anyway, as a sideboard with loads of Glooms and Flashfires is quite good against white weenie. I look at the winner’s expression, and wonder what he feels like. Would it be like the best thing ever, or more like a nice warm feeling in the stomach? I would like to be a National Champion myself. Maybe someday I will.
StarCityGames.com had always been among the largest Magic the Gathering buyers in the world, but our sales had increased to a point where we simply could not buy enough cards to meet the demand. With that in mind, we knew something had to be done…
Since the first day the Legions spoiler hit the web, there has been a scramble to build a good deck that includes Withered Wretch and/or Graveborn Muse. Both cards offer very powerful effects, but each had trouble finding the right team to go with them. After some initial practice with Stephane Damizet’s winning zombie deck, I have to say that I’m quite impressed.
Longbow Archers is probably the dumbest card to remove from the base set. Seriously, they ejected a solid 2/2 for WW, and brought in Sword Dancer? That’s like trading gold bullion for bronzed puke, and I can’t imagine the reasoning behind it. Well, actually I can – they probably couldn’t fit the first strike reminder text in the box alongside”This may block creatures with flying.” If they’re so mindful about space, perhaps they can tell me how best to maneuver my foot up their collective poop chutes (with a minimum of chafing on entry or extrusion on exit)?
I am one of the people who thought that Counterspell was not overpowered. Too many of you whined about control. I think that you whined because you couldn’t adapt, and you were too in love with your little fatties to try to adapt. Well, guess what? Control is more than just blue counters. I’m going to feel really good when I start using other control methods to kill you precious fatties.
I’ve been playing with Scourge in Limited for a few weeks now. I’ve been practicing for Nationals, I used it in the Team Grand Prix in Pittsburgh and have been discussing card quality with my teammates. All this Scourge work gave me a hankering to try my hand at something I haven’t done before: A comprehensive set review.
So I had an amazing winning streak. What was my secret? Oh, very well, I’ll tell you. Lean closer.
As I finished tying up the loose ends on my list of black cards, I realized the true depth of the color in the set: In Scourge, there are solid playables all the way down to #21! Cut black hard the first pack, and you’ll rarely be disappointed. Speaking of disappointment, I discovered that Jeff Cunningham has a much larger reader base than I do, so I think it’s time to inform you about how he really plays. Fun Fact: One time, when an opponent played Decree of Pain against Jeff Cunningham, he got so mad that he kicked a puppy down a flight of stairs.
I can’t say enough good about this card, as I have actually started drafting white again because of it. Before Scourge, I would only touch white for a bomb Onslaught rare, and now I draft white whenever I feel I have a good chance of getting this card in pack three… And it’s not Zombie Cutthroat, Frontline Strategist, Zealous Inquisitor, Noble Templar, or an Aven.
