He’s been away for a while, but Mr Rizzo is back with a bang! Today’s dose of Rizzo Genius takes us through his long hard haul towards this year’s Regionals, with update after update to his popular Nearly Mono-Black in Standard deck. Expect no maindeck Black cards by the end of the article. He also recounts something rather frightening… I’ll let the great man tell that tale in his own irreverent fashion.
With Regionals just around the corner, Mike ups the ante… with not one, not two, but three Standard decks packed with Future Sight cards! Each deck has a controlling feel, and there’s copious input from Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin, who “fixes” one of Mike’s deck (much to the Resident Genius’s delight). Mike’s creations constantly warp the Constructed metagame, and these decks are no exception. If you’re looking for an edge in the coming Standard environment, look no further!
Dragonstorm is the best deck in Standard. Coming in a (not-so) close second is R/G Aggro, a.k.a. Gruul. Since this game began, folk have enjoyed beating down with little Green and Red men, and finishing the job with red burn to the face. Future Sight has brought some interesting Red and Green cards to the table… just how do they fit into the grand scheme of reducing your opponent from twenty to zero? BPM reveals all!
Don’t take this article’s title the wrong way: I’m not advocating actual cheating at Regionals. What I mean is, this year’s Regionals format allows you to play an unusually high number of decks and cards so powerful that they are like cheating. Part of this is due to the Storm mechanic, which is inherently strong. However, another part comes simply from the ways in which the Wizards of the Coast are toying with costs, drawbacks, and power levels: is it okay to have a Black Lotus if you have to wait three turns for it?
When Chris attempted to break Standard with Necrotic Sliver, his ideas fell on stony ground. Two weeks of testing and tweaking, and nothing to show for his time. So he threw the doors open to the forum folk, and begged for ideas. They replied in their droves… and today’s article bears the fruit of their labors. Three deck, each with differing degrees of success… and one deck that may well be the Next Big Thing. Intrigued? Then read on!
Dragonstorm in the strongest deck in Standard. As such, everyone is gunning for it. However, life can be difficult for the self-proclaimed Combo Killers when the tools at your disposal are nullified by a timely Gigadrowse. So what can we do? Richard takes a proactive approach, and looks for answers to the puzzle by examining the available disruption. He brings us four exciting decklists today, at least one of which can produce fantastic results against the 800-pound gorilla in the format.
Jamie Wakefield, the archetypical Green Mage, takes a long look at his Magic-playing tendencies of late. He’s tinkered with Black/Green, Blue/Green, even Red/Blue… is a more multicolored path his ticket to success, or should he return to his Mono-Green roots? He also warns of the dangers involved in teaching Magic to three people in two languages while drunk, and offers some handy tips for the sartorially-challenged amongst us.
Today’s Online Outlook charts the past week’s Metagame Shift on Magic Online. I present twelve Top 8 breakdowns for your pleasure and perusal, and we can see just what’s winning — and what’s losing — in the ever-changing world of Magic Online. Does Dragonstorm still destroy? Is Gruul Cruel? Does Gruul actually rhyme with Cruel? Inquiring minds want to know!
Craig “The Professor” Jones, fresh from narrowly missing Day 2 in Grand Prix: Stockholm, brings us his thoughts on the Red cards from Future Sight. He updates a number of Standard and Block offerings with the new cards, and tosses out a few ideas and strategies. With Regionals just weeks away, it’s time to break Standard… maybe Prof can help!
This article is just about art, flavor text, and color. Seriously. If you want to read about mechanics, or casual decks, or the like, this isn’t for you, sorry. If you want the rant… well, it’s coming. But for now, we must make do with what we have. At the time of this writing, Future Sight was fully spoilered yesterday. This means I’m writing three weeks in advance — and that means that Future Sight is probably purchase-and-play legal right now. So it’s only five more articles from here before I can play with the cards myself. What better time, I suppose, to spout off angrily about things that matter the least in the game to the tournament scene?
Thanks to a punted PTQ, Benjamin Peebles-Mundy is playing Regionals this year. With less than a month to go until the big day, BPM is embarking on a journey to find and hone his Regionals powerhouse. Each week, from now until the tournament, he’ll be looking at possible contenders, and weighing up the pros and cons of each in regards to a likely nine-round tournament. First up is Dredge. Is it good enough to take the slot?
Regionals is coming, so it’s time to knuckle down! Today’s Beautiful Struggle sees Mark in a reflective mood. In order to maximize our successes at the approaching National Qualifiers, we need to squeeze the most out of our prospective deck choices. By looking at some successful decks from tournaments past, Mark examines the strategies and thought-processes that propelled the winners to the final table…
With Regionals on the horizon, Richard returns to his intriguing Walking Anthems Standard deck, testing the important matchups and tweaking the card numbers. Hit / Run, Temporal Isolation, Necrotic Sliver… are they good enough for the final 75? His attempts to break the metagame are proceeding apace… does this latest version have what it takes?
After a week’s holiday in sunny Berlin, Jamie is back with a bang! Today he shares the latest incarnation of Busted at Three, his G/B Standard deck. Regionals is coming, and Jamie has cast his die. He also takes a long look at the Green cards of Future Sight. For the thoughts and concerns of this Green Mage Extraordinaire, read on!
Craig “The Professor” Jones applies his analytical mind to the task of dissecting the White cards from Future Sight. In particular, White cards that may reinvigorate the fortunes of the Little Deck That Could —Block Constructed White Weenie. Is Lumithread Field enough to neuter Sulfur Elemental? Does Scout’s Warning offer hope against Mystical Teachings? And has Judge Unworthy been judged worthy?
