Sam Black rocked up to Worlds with the side events set firmly in his sights… and he never wavered from his task all weekend. When the dust settled, he walked out with a PTQ win, an iPhone, and a $20,000 car… a nice day at the office by anyone’s standards. Today he takes us through the ups and, well, more ups of his tournament experience. Enjoy!
Santa was right to hire Elves – those guys are vicious on the battlefield! Dave explores the budget options in building a competitive Elf tribal deck, and takes a short look at Elf decks (and holidays) past.
“[Expletive]! I got another crappy Hideaway land!”
How many times have you either heard or uttered this phrase whenever a pack was opened in the time leading up to Worlds? I’m
willing to bet it was at least a fair amount; those Hideaway lands seemed to be the very opposite of hidden when you were
desperately hoping to crack open a big money Garruk Wildspeaker or Thoughtseize.
Level 6 Mage Tiago Chan needed a superlative performance at Worlds to reach the dizzy heights of last year’s showing. Unfortunately he fell short this time… but his passion for the game is not in question. Today’s Levelling Up brings us Tiago’s take on his preparation and Day 1 performance at Worlds. For part 2, be sure to return next week!
That’s right, folks… Zvi’s back! Today we start a multi-part series that chronicles Hall of Famer and Magic Legend Zvi Mowshowitz’s preparation and play at the 2007 World Championships. The first part deals with his thoughts going into the event, and his extensive preparation for the five rounds of Standard. He also updates his deck for the post-Worlds metagame! Check back in on Monday for part 2…
Historically, the tribal mechanic has included the ability to make competitive decks without going overly expensive. Lorwyn is no different, and the recent success of the Faeries deck is just the tip of the iceberg of good, inexpensive, and successful Tribal decks that you can build.
[Editor’s Note – Dave will be replacing Chris Romeo until Chris returns… enjoy!]
Another week, another bile-fuelled rant from John Friggin’ Rizzo! In today’s offering, the mighty JFR lays into Limited, advertizing executives, and himself, with his usual acerbic style. He also updates his funky Red/Black Madness deck in Standard, and reveals his New Year’s Resolutions! As always when reading Rizzo, remember: buyer beware.
That’s right, folks… it’s the article you’ve all been waiting for! For those of you that’ve been hiding under a rock these past few days, Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin turned up to Worlds with an exciting Mono-Red Dragonstorm deck, and proceeded to rock out all the way to the final! For part 1 of his entertaining report, read on!
The World Championships. The pinnacle of the Magic year. This year’s tournament kicked off with five rounds of Standard, and those with an eye on the post-Krakow metagame may be surprised by the makeup of the 5-0 decks at the end of Standard play. Today, I take you though the 5-0 decklists from Worlds, so those of us not qualified can do more than sit crying at our desks in an impotent display of Emo excess.
This column will be comprised of two parts. First, I’ll be recounting my FNM run with my latest Galepowder Mage deck, sharing some thoughts on where to go from here; and second, I’ll going over my new Elder Dragon Highlander deck for the big EDH game up at Richmond Comix this Sunday.
It seems that the U/B Makeshift Mannequin deck is the most fun and popular player in the current Standard environment. It has card advantage, recursion, counterpower, and evasive threats… what’s not to like? Benjamin Peebles-Mundy takes us through his particular Mannequin build, and shares some insight on the more important matchups in the current metagame.
Today we’ll be taking a break from the endless amount of Faeries articles I’ve written, and instead focus on some of the other odder Standard decks floating around. A few of these have seen play in various 8-mans on MTGO, while others have merely been my side-projects after refining Faeries. The most interesting concept to utilize has come largely from the Makeshift Mannequin decks floating around since Grand Prix: Krakow.
With Worlds around the corner, all eyes are turning to New York. As usual, a good portion of the Magic Extravaganza takes place with sixty-cards decks crafted from the Standard cardpool, and every pro and his pal is searching for the Next Big Standard Thing. Patrick looks at a successful deck from States – Skred Red – and also tilts his cap toward a new deck with a powerful pedigree…
It’s been a while since JFR spewed his heady brand of bile into our collective brainpans… but believe me, today the Mighty Rizz is back with a bang. He takes us through his latest trawl through the murkier backwaters of Standard, piloting an exciting Madness deck to good result at both States and City Champs. So, has John done it again? Has he broken the format? Click here to find out!
The past two weeks I touched on “issues” and dipped into the mailbag… this week I thought I’d get back to what I find the most fun – tinkering with Magic decks! I’m going to be going to a Friday Night Magic this week up at Richmond Comix, and one thing I want to do for the tournament is further explore what I consider a sleeper power card from Lorwyn – Galepowder Mage!
