Wednesday, February 13th – Red Deck Wins, an Extended stalwart for many a year, does not always win. In fact, if Benjamin Peebles-Mundy is to be believed, we should probably change the name of the deck to Red Deck Loses In The Semifinals. Some decks seem destined to triumph at the PTQ level, while some bring great game to the PTQ Swiss but flounder in the Top 8. How can we identify such decks? Read on to find out!
Tuesday, February 12th – Today’s Deconstructing Constructed sees Josh Silvestri break down the Extended PTQ results seen thus far, looking at some of the more interesting decks from across the world. He also touches upon an interesting Landstill in Extended idea… will such a deck be a force in the next round of PTQs?
Kyle has prepared well for his first PTQ of the Extended season this weekend… trouble is, he’s unsure about his final deck choice. This week’s Down And Dirty sees MR Sanchez take us through his preparations for the tournament, and his thought processes behind his card choices and deck decisions. Will it lead to a blue envelope? Read on to find out!
Last week’s Deep Analysis saw Richard Feldman breaking down the Extended goodies from Morningtide. Today’s article moves away from the color and card analysis and tackles the tribal goodies that could spawn new and exciting strategies. Goblins, of course, always make an impression… but is today the day of the Rogues? The Soldiers? The Wizards? Let Richard reveal all!
Earwig Squad is my home boy. My bro. He and I play GameCube on a regular basis after he sprays me with like a can and a half of Axe. I think this is the most underrated card in the set. He’s got Negator stats, basically, and can come down as early as the second turn in most Goblin builds. Once that happens you get a ton of information and automatic strategic superiority, or at least the opportunity to dictate how the game is played on your terms.
Watch over Tom’s shoulder as he takes an in-depth video look into the Counterbalance mirror in Extended, discussing common tricks, traps, and situations through the lens of one recorded game on Magic Online. He also talks about how to best use mirror-directed sideboard cards.
Having successfully decimated Extended once before, the mighty JFR is on the prowl for a second superstar creation. Today, he talks us through the genesis of his Big Mana Rock deck, in his usual inimitable style. Strap yourself in, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride…
With some solid ideas under my belt last week, my mission should I choose to accept it was to learn what to do with the modern Goblin tribe. We are all pretty used to seeing the goblins of Onslaught in action, but these new kids on the block raise a lot of questions and keep yammering about their aunties when we try to peg their role in the scheme of things.
Here it is, folks! Our Morningtide set review, looking at the cards that’ll make a splash in the Extended metagame. Our host today is Richard Feldman, who’ll lead you through the runners and riders in the race to make an Extended splash. Early next week, Zac Hill takes over to bring us some deck applications with the new cards, before Richard returns to share his Tribal thoughts. As for a Standard set review… come back tomorrow.
Extended season is upon us. We are seeing results from two different sources: PTQ Top 8 lists and the Top 8 of online Premier Events. Both of these use the same card pools, and none of the critical cards are bugged online. Nonetheless, the results of PTQs and those of online PEs vary significantly. I’ll examine – or at least speculate on – why, and include a compilation of the results from a couple weeks of play in both formats.
Normally, when I talk about a deck I immediately go into the different matchups, how to play versus each opponent, what particular strategies to worry about, but the unique thing about Dredge is that against any given opponent there are, between maindeck and sideboard, only twelve to fifteen cards that you care about whatsoever.
Red Deck Wins has been a mainstay on the Extended scene for many a season. With Lorwyn, and now Morningtide, can the little Red (and sometimes Green) guys still kick ass and take names against the likes of Doran, Ravager, and Hierarch? Benjamin Peebles-Mundy thinks they can…
The reason I picked Dredge was because the field just isn’t prepared enough for it. You have 80-85% against the field game 1, according to pretty much all my testing and everyone else I talked to. There was a single match that wasn’t that big a blow-out, and that was game 1 against Affinity with Fatal Frenzy and Tormod’s Crypt maindeck.
With Morningtide’s official release later this week also marking its debut on the Constructed stage, Adrian Sullivan has been looking at the cards with an eye on the Extended metagame. While many Internet pundits feel that the new cards will have little impact on the powerful format, Adrian does not agree. Do you?
Tom’s journey came to an end when he won the PTQ in Butler, Pennsylvania this past Saturday… or did it? Tom shares his take on the Patrick Chapin / Gerry Thompson created Counterbalance deck, talks about the tournament, and muses about the mindset necessary to succeed at Magic.
