TagStandard

Down And Dirty – A Standard Facelift in Nashville

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Wednesday, November 11th – With Jund looking to dominate the format, the StarCityGames.com $5000 Nashville Standard Open produced a selection of decks that looked to topple the current metagame heavyweight. Kyle examines the funkiest decks to come out of the Top 8 of last weekend’s $5K, including the winning deck from Kali Anderson!

Black Magic – Exploring Standard

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Minneapolis
Wednesday, November 11th – With the StarCityGames.com $5000 Nashville Standard Open in the books, and a selection of other op Standard Open tournaments recently completed, Sam Black takes a detailed look at the current state of the metagame. He collates all the recent results and presents a comprehensive thirteen-deck Gauntlet, along with thoughts on each deck.

Tribal Thriftiness #90 – Domain in Spain

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Tuesday, November 10th – Domain cards in Conflux. Harrow and basic land fetching in Zendikar. Dave digs through the card pool and puts the chocolate into the peanut butter, creating a new Domain Control deck for Standard.

The Secret Lair – Choices, and Having a Plan B

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Monday, November 9th – I’m still in my new set card accumulation phase, so I thought I’d indulge my spikier (okay, semi-spikier) side and go through a couple of draft games that threw up some interesting choices. It’s a slight gear change from the usual goofy decks side of things, so bear with me.

Constructed Criticism – Dirty Jundies

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Monday, November 9th – For weeks, there has been one deck stuck in my head. At every turn, I try to beat it, but fall just short of my goal. Wall of Denial and Sphinx of Jwar Isle combined with the power of Baneslayer Angel and Ajani Vengeant aren’t enough to combat the powerful combinations that Jund brings to the table. Even with maindeck Celestial Purge, I find myself losing about 50% of the time to my own worst enemy. What can I do?

Innovations – Cracking Standard and the State Championships

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Monday, November 9th – Patrick Chapin reflects on his victory in the Michigan State Championship some eleven years ago, before turning his gaze to the current Standard metagame. He suggests an intriguing Gauntlet as Worlds looms large, and it seems he’s finally put down the Ultimatums and picked up the two-mana beatsticks. Or has he…?

The Chump Block – Angel Sledge in Standard

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Friday, November 6th – After Ascending Pyromaniacally for several weeks, our hero (me) finally felt like it might be time to put the deck that I talked about the other week on the shelf. While certainly powerful and capable of completely degenerate draws – triple Ponder, Pyromancer’s Ascension comes to mind – the long and short of the matter is that the deck is just a little bit of a dog to Jund.

Thirst for Knowledge – Cruel Control for a New Standard

The StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard Open Series Comes to Nashville!
Wednesday, November 4th – This week I’m going to switch gears back to Standard, a format that has been admittedly a little stale for me the past few weeks. The problem is that Jund has literally been the only deck people seem to want to play since Zendikar was released, with the rest of the crowd battling with fringe decks like Mono-Red and Vampires…

Down And Dirty – Red/Blue Control: Izzet The Answer For Standard?

The StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard Open Series Comes to Nashville!
Wednesday, November 4th – Kyle Sanchez turns back the clock to bring us an Izzet pun straight from the days of Ravnica. He suggests a number of intriguing Standard decks in time for the upcoming StarCityGames.con $5000 Standard Open in Nashville on Saturday, culminating in an exciting Red/Blue Control deck. Intrigued? Read on…

Constructed Criticism – Team America in Standard

The StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard Open Series Comes to Nashville!
Monday, November 2nd – For the last two weeks, I’ve been trying to find a way to make UW Control into a real deck, as I believe that the combination of Baneslayer Angel, Wall of Denial, and Sphinx of Jwar Isle are just too much for an aggro player to handle, as long as these cards are backed up with a fair amount of support. I think the deck has potential, and could be just the thing for this weekend’s StarCityGames.com $5000 Standard Open.

Innovations – Magic Online Interview with Worth Wollpert, and New Extremes in Standard

The StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard Open Series Comes to Nashville!
Monday, November 2nd – Patrick Chapin interviews Worth Wollpert on the current state of Magic Online, before moving into an examination of Standard, and a slew of interesting archetypes. He touches on the need for intelligent playtesting, perfect for those preparing for this coming weekend’s StarCityGames.com $5000 Standard Open in Nashville!

Black Magic – Catching Up On Standard

The StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard Open Series Comes to Nashville!
Thursday, October 29th – After a disappointing Pro Tour: Austin, Sam Black turns his attention to Standard in preparation for Worlds. With Jund being the top dog in the metagame, Sam brainstorms a selection of strategies designed with the Jund menace in mind…

At the Gathering – A Choir of Angels

The StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard Open Series Comes to Nashville!
Wednesday, October 28th – I’ve had a deck for Standard I’ve wanted to write about for a while now, but other columns have managed to push their way to the forefront instead. However, this week, I really wanted to get it out there for the readers. Why? Because as much as I love the deck, I’m sure it can be improved in some manner.

Down And Dirty – Finding the Right Respirator: Esper Red in Standard

The StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard Open Series Comes to Nashville!
Wednesday, October 28th – Kyle Sanchez is always game to share his latest Standard concoctions, and with Zendikar in the mix, he is not shy when creating new decks! Today, he brings us a selection of Red Esper decks, all of which look to have a positive game against the dominant Jund decks in the current metagame…

Tribal Thriftiness #88 – Front Range Magic Team Challenge

The StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard Open Series Comes to Nashville!
Tuesday, October 27th – Dave got out and played some Magic this weekend, fighting alongside his team in the second Front Range Magic Team Challenge. What did he play? How far did his teammates to carry him?