We’ve just made another update, but the results and reports are STILL pouring in! As always, StarCityGames.com is the one place you can find it ALL!
Jason knew he didn’t want to play Affinity for the same reasons I didn’t: Too many weaknesses. He also didn’t like Goblins because of the fact that it was something everyone would be ready for…. So we needed another option. I liked Slide and thought that it would be solid without Wild Mongrels and Circular Logics giving it hell, so I agreed. He came up with a list and I assembled it. We played a few games, but basically didn’t have time to test it at all. I had to rely on what I knew about Slide from the past to guide me.
Peter discusses three”cute” decks that he idly considered bringing to States but had to discard in the course of testing – decks like the Pentavus/Mana Echoes infinite mana combo, the Zur’s Weirding lock deck (with, of course, Words of Wisdom), and U/R Land Destruction with Mindslaver!
Play in Champs. Send us your report. So long as it gets past our esteemed editor, it’ll get posted right here on StarCityGames.com and be automatically entered into into our weekly submissions contest. But that’s where routine ends, and the REAL fun begins… [SUBMIT CHAMPS REPORT!]
Every year, StarCityGames.com compiles the most extensive collection of top eight Champs decklists in the world! If you have access to the top eight decklists from your Championship, or know of a website that has posted them, please let us know… [SUBMIT CHAMPS TOP EIGHT DECKLISTS!]
I’m not here to present what you should have played at States, or what could have won you the State Championships. I’m here to tell you my story. I’m one of the players who thinks that States is nothing more then a social event; a tournament that is best held in the presence of good friends. Much more relaxed than a Pro Tour Qualifier, but much more difficult than, oh, your local Friday Night Magic. And yet still I managed to come in fifth out of a hundred and sixty-six people.
It’s now becoming an annual event; Rizzo shows up at States with a sucka duck deck with Terror in it, reads cards to find out what the heck it is they do, loses horribly. But how could he possibly make that interesting, you ask? By whoring out his side job and writing a screenplay of how it went, complete with flashbacks, flash forwards, and a living talking Bruce who may or may not look uncannily like Brad Pitt in Fight Club.
…And to further cement the coverage, Ted interviews the Top 8 to see how they developed their decks and what they thought their chances were!
Alas, Ted didn’t manage to make the Top 8 this year – but he did prepare for his upcoming coverage of New Orleans this weekend by covering the Quarterfinals, the Semifinals, and the Finals of the West Virginia State Championships! Witness the U/B Mesmeric Orb vs. Goblin Bidding matchup, see Shane”Second Place At The Vintage Championships” Stoots attempt to take the Championship, and witness”The Jankiest Deck Ever To Make A Top 8″ versus U/B Zombies!
I was hoping Affinity would stay a little more under the radar, but it has not. Why would I hope this? Well, obviously because I am playing an Affinity deck at Champs! While all the conventional builds are fast, they all lose to very popular cards in the environment. Let me illustrate:
Affinity player:”I will cast Frogmites and Myr Enforcers and Atog. YUSSS!”
Control player:”I will Akroma’s Vengeance. Would you like to scoop up all your permanents or would you like to regenerate your one land with your Welding Jar?”
Affinity player:”Derf.”
It’s that special time of year – when Teddy K. is at his peak of performance! And as usual, The Holy Kanoot goes over the top decks you have to be prepared for at States (including one deck that’s fallen off of everyone’s radar) and their chances, and the Five Rules of the New Standard. Ted’s always had the accurate scoop before… So what are you waiting for?
So States is this weekend. What the hell am I playing? I have Affinity.dec, MRC, Mind’s Desire, Goblins, WW, and I have the cards for Rising Tog. I sit and stare at the decks piled on by desk and I thank the Magic gods that I have tested all of them. The best deck (if massive amounts of hate aren’t aimed straight at its dome) is Affinity. Because it is so easy to hate out, I can’t play it. This bothers me, because it is just so damn good. In the end, I needed a deck. So I came up with a solution.
Fresh off his second-place finish this weekend, Nate discusses what’s coming up for his favorite tournament – States! And even though the decklist is old Onslaught Block hat, what other decks are emerging that might threaten Goblins?
Chris, local player and recent addition to my playtesting group the High Plains Drifters, says that affinity is the new madness – and he’s pretty much right on the ball. If you’ve played around with affinity-based decks, they’re much like the aggro-control U/G Madness decks – drop some early threats that are both undercosted and large, back them up with a pinch of countermagic, and win the game before it gets into a war of attrition.
Yo, I’m Craig, and I’m a card-playing wizard,
Beating you up with my mono-white blizzard,
Throwing superior skill in your face,
Winning the gold in the Human Race,
Mono-white rapping like Vanilla Ice,
You wanna do well? Here’s my advice:
Swing with men and dish out defeat!
Play White Weenie, it’s the deck to beat!
In order to keep the abusive”Chrome Mox, Scepter, imprint Boomerang” lock in the deck, we’re going to have to play Blue. I’m fairly sure that Blue won’t be good enough on it’s own as it has no mass removal, and can’t really deal with threats apart from bouncing them. Given the spells we can use, I’m going to outline three decks: U/W, U/R, and U/B. We’ll test each build against Goblins and Mono Black Control to see whether each can handle aggro and control….
