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!
Grand Prix: Krakow taught the world that, as usual, Islands are the lands to beat. Of course, Lorwyn also offers the Standard deckbuilder a number of strong Tribal options. So, where should you lay your hat? With the guys, or with the spells? Kyle thinks you can do better than merely opting for the control or aggro options. He presents three interesting Standard decks that seem ideally metagamed to the current environment…
I have failed you. Remember a few weeks ago how we had a vote on which card I should use in my next deck? No Rest for the Wicked won. However, Shivan Wumpus and Lord of the Pit tied for second, missing the top slot by only one vote. I promised to do decks on the two runners-up too. I’ve done a Shivan Wumpus deck. I was going to do Lord of the Pit this week. I even had a great name for the deck: Pit Boss. But I chickened out and went for an Elf deck instead.
Aggressive mirror-matches are much maligned in Magic. While folk look on control versus control fights as the true Magical path, aggro versus aggro is often labeled as hugely luck based or draw dependant. Today’s Deep Analysis sees Richard throw monsters at other monsters in an attempt to ascertain the truth behind such myths…
Welcome back to the series on Faeries. This should be the last or next to last article I need to write on the subject, since I’ll basically have covered the majority of matches in Standard after this. I blame this recreation of My Fires (My Faeries! Roofles) on my obsession with aggro decks once I tweak them enough. If anyone playing Vintage remembers my 20 page Food Chain Goblins primer you can understand the detail I’ll go into if I think the deck is worthwhile.
Deckbuilding is difficult. Sure, it’s relatively easy to come up with a semi-competitive deck, one that could do some rocking in an 8-man queue of an FNM… but deckbuilding for a tournament like Worlds? From scratch? That’s a different kettle of fish. Adrian takes us through some of the pitfalls one can face when shuffling up a rogue sixty. He also presents a fresh Standard deck that jumps through the correct deckbuilding hoops…
