Tuesday, May 5th – In the Magic Online Season 1 Championship, Sam Black placed 14th with the ever-popular Faeries. In today’s edition of Black Magic, Sam looks at the evolution of the archetype with Alara Reborn, before moving onto something a little fresher that makes good use of the new cards, alongside a few strong older spells that have seen no Constructed love… yet.
Monday, May 4th – Today’s article is going to be a tournament report for the Magic Online Championship Series: Season 1. There are 354 people signed up so far, so it looks like this is going to be a 9-Round doozy. The format is Standard Pre-Alara Reborn, because Magic Online is about 20+ days behind paper Magic when new sets are released, but I have had a lot of experience with this format and am comfortable with the deck I am playing.
Monday, May 4th – Regionals are on the horizon, along with a brand new Standard PTQ season, both fueled by the new gold cards in Alara Reborn. Today, Patrick Chapin investigates a slew of new and familiar strategies that incorporate cards from the new set, including updates of Faeries, Five-Color, and Red aggression.
Friday, May 1st – We’ve seen the Prerelease come and go, and excitement was had by all. At least one faithful reader noted that my advice from last week’s column (play first!) was a big help in his going 4-0 in his Prerelease flight, much to my delight, as I also saw more established players who were coasting in to rely on their overall experience to carry the day then choose to draw first and then lose some matches.
Thursday, April 30th – With Alara Reborn now in the Standard mix, it seems the whole world is working on their own versions of Red/Green Beats. The power of Cascade, a la Bloodbraid Elf, is alluring. Today, Richard Feldman tweaks and tests his Red/Green Elves list, and throws it against Five-Color Control and Boat Brew.
Wednesday, April 29th – Of the new spells in Alara Reborn, one of the most potent is surely Anathemancer. Today’s Down And Dirty sees Kyle Sanchez examining a number of exciting deck ideas that revolve around the unassuming Zombie Wizard. Will Anathemancer keep the monstrous Five-Color Control machine in check? Kyle reveals all…
Tuesday, April 28th – Fresh off the Prerelease, Dave gives his opinion of Alara Reborn’s new Cascade mechanic, and looks at ways to minimize the inherent randomness of this cool new toy.
Tuesday, April 28th – With Alara Reborn on everyone’s mind, Sam Black brings us some fresh perspective on the Standard format when then new set hits the shelves. An all-gold set was sure to provide exciting new options, and Alara Reborn does not disappoint. Sam shares his thoughts, alongside a batch of fresh decklists…
Monday, April 27th – The entire spoiler is out for Alara Reborn, and everyone seems ravenous for new technology for whatever format their heart desires. Pros rummage through articles and articles from various websites looking for Alara Block Constructed ideas, while average Joes pillage material for upcoming Pro Tour Qualifiers for PT: Austin, as well as Regionals. With all of this in mind, I figured I would begin by focusing on Standard, since this is the format most relevant to me.
Thursday, April 23rd – With the upcoming release of Alara Reborn on everyone’s mind, Richard Feldman concocts an intriguing Red/Green Beatdown deck utilizing a selection of the multicolor goodies on the table. He shares his list and sideboarding strategies, runs the deck against a pair of the format’s top contenders, and records the results!
Tuesday, April 21st – With the Alara Reborn Prerelease less than a week away, it seems like so much has been said about the Mythic and Rare previews. Dave takes a look at the commons and uncommons that are flying under the radar.
Tuesday, April 21st – Alara Reborn is coming, and it’s looking awesome. Today, deckbuilding legend Adrian Sullivan looks at some of the freshly-spoiled cardboard, and throws out a number of interesting decks for the upcoming Standard. Getting that all-important edge on the competition is vital come the rotation, so be prepared!
Tuesday, April 21st – With the Alara Reborn prerelease mere days away, it’s time to examine those cards we’ve seen so far in order to gain a handle on their strengths and weaknesses. Sam Black takes us through a plethora of promising Alara Reborn goodies, and shares his thoughts and insights on the approaching Standard metagame…
Monday, April 20th – Standard is a format that seems to be growing stale. Alara Reborn is on the horizon, and there are plenty of cards that (hopefully) will shake up the metagame. Today I’m going to take a look at a few of those cards and their potential applications for the Standard format, as well as the a few topics related to Magic Online.
Friday, April 17th – StarCityGames.com’s $1K Top 8 decks are posted. I am surprised to see the archetypes listed. Just one Faeries, just one Five-Color Control, and just one Reveillark deck? Blightning wins the whole thing and two Green/White decks round out the top 3? Have all my worries been an overreaction?
