INTRO: Howdy. Now the new Type 2 season is underway, and results from States are flooding in with a promise to define the elusive metagame. Yippee. To me,”metagame” can just as easily be translated into”now we have decks to copy on the web so we don’t have to struggle through developing our own.” Everybody break…
QUICK CORRECTION TO LAST WEEK: In changing (from a previous edition) to , I managed to keep the description for . is a 6/6 creature costing 4RR with echo, which does four points of damage to every other creature as it comes in. I am likely to get in the artwork for this article late….
So, last weekend was the weekend of the States. Lots of rogue decks, lots of Nether Go, , and Panthergeddon. I’ve spent some time poring over the reports I’ve seen so far, and it looks like some sort of metagame is starting to form. There seem to be a bunch of decks that, even if…
The first thing I need to do this week is tell you I screwed up. Last week, I published in my Grand Prix Dallas report that produces any color of mana save that which the land originally produced. This was an error. PoL creates a simple replacement effect. It replaces "This basic land produces <color>"…
Submissions. I get ’em. And I want more. But sometimes I have to reject ’em. It has been said that SOME sites will publish "anything that’s sent to them,"* but the fact is that probably a fifth of all articles submitted here get rejected – and that’s including the Featured Columnists, who usually don’t get…
Sometime, about six years ago or so when I was in my late twenties, I went date with a girl I had known for a short time, and we talked about what we were doing and where we were going in life. I think we both pretty much came to the conclusion that our friendship…
Mapquest says that Harrisburg is four hours and random minutes from Pittsburgh. Scott Teamann says it’s three and a half hours, so I can pick him up at six on Saturday morning and get there with time to spare, but on Friday night I get a "something’s come up" email. A little bummed I am,…
Ten Extended Decks to Beat #3: Trix Trix has an interesting ancestry, one that can be traced to the number of "cereal" nicknamed decks that it evolved from. First, there was Fruity Pebbles, the R/U/W/B deck that used the // engine to kill an opponent. Later, black was added to the deck to run ,…
I’m sure the question on everyone’s mind is,”Did Bennie defend his title?” The answer is”no,” but I came damn close – I lost in the quarterfinals, one match away from the finals. 4th place is a fine showing, all things considered, and I had an absolutely great time. A fantastic environment, pleasant opponents (by and…
This week’s been one of those where forces around you put aside their differences and concentrate on sabotaging your fun. The worst part is that it has happened insidiously. Everyone around me is rediscovering an interest in Magic. Still more terrifying is how smart they all are. I ask Adam for a prediction of the…
It was last Sunday night, after an exhausting session of playtesting (I was then running a janky control white deck). My chances of attending States was very slim. (Unlike myself!) I was feeling horrible, and the game that has brought me much happiness began to lack appeal for me. I guess I miss Urza’s Block…
GENERAL COMMENTS: A bit like green, red has to give up a bit of its mindless rush instincts in multiplayer and concentrate on its control aspects. Of red’s two primary themes – DIRECT DAMAGE and LAND DESTRUCTION – neither can maintain its usual stock of staples (Lightning Bolt, Stone Rain) and expect to do as…
Up until now, you may not have realized that demonically-possessed cows play a vital role in multiplayer design. I don’t blame you for not having figured this out before… Mainly because they don’t. Which begs the question: "So why in hell did you call this column ‘Diabolic Cows?’ " The answer is, as with most…
This week’s an odd one. We’re just before the States, and probably the biggest change in Magic, in the last two years. Any strategy I could give you has been hammered out by a million other strategy pundits; a million other pundits have suggested any decks I might suggest (in one form or another). That’s…
From the onset, this looks suspiciously like a tournament report (funny how titles do that), but I promise all of you rules junkies your weekly fix. That’s the great thing about tournament reports from Judges: it’s all about funky rules situations (plus some random stuff). I jetted to Dallas from San Antonio after spending a…
