Worldwake Spoilers: Evaluating Celestial Colonnade
January 18, 2010
It’s the spoiler season for Worldwake! Here’s a land that should be a fixture in control decks.
RG Valakut Combo: Deck Building and Playing Guide
January 17, 2010
With RG Valakut getting 3rd place in a recent high profile tournament with over 300 players, there has been an increased interest in the deck. More players looking to play it.
I thought I’d share what I’ve learned from playing the deck over the last couple weeks.
Funky Bloodchief Ascension Decklist for Extended (3rd Place at PTQ)
January 11, 2010
Adrian Sullivan, a premium author at Starcitygames.com, built this really cool Bloodchief Ascension deck that got him 3rd place at a recent PTQ.
Why Vampires is a Good Choice For Standard
January 8, 2010
Vampires started off as a popular deck in Standard. Then everyone realized that Jund was the best deck. Vampires soon became less popular since it has a poor matchup versus Jund. However, I think the time is now ripe for Vampires to be a force in the metagame.
In this premium article, Cedric Phillips talks about how he’s been winning a lot on Magic Online with Vampires. He says people are tired of playing Jund and are looking instead to play decks that beat it. He believes that Vampires has great matchups against those non-Jund decks.
I think he’s right.
Also, he wrote the article before last weekend’s SCG 5K Standard Open, where LSV got 1st place with UWR Control, so there should be more people moving away from Jund.
Why You Should Be Netdecking
January 7, 2010
Lauren Lee has a great reason to netdeck:
There is little reason to build a decklist from scratch. Back in the day, the game of Magic used to be equal parts deckbuilding and playing. Winning decklists had no way to be shared amongst the whole player pool, and thus you had to come up with your own ideas to try to beat an unknown field of decks. Magic has passed the time of those Dark Ages. We are experiencing Magic Renaissance. We have more information than we know what to do with!
Tournaments are currently skewed in favor of those who play well, not necessarily those who build well (outside of Limited). In other words, if you want to build your own deck to win a tournament, you better be damn good at it. But if you’re a Level One Kraken Hatchling, you’re better off finding a decklist someone else has already refined. Most of your time should be spent learning how to play well, not build well. The latter is an excellent ability that you will eventually pick up, but the first is essential to have. And the sooner the better.
Group Game Draft: Combining Free-For-All Multiplayer With Draft
January 6, 2010
I don’t usually cover multiplayer formats since I’m a competitive player instead of casual. But this format called Group Game Draft seems pretty fun and competitive. It’s competitive because of the draft and “Rumble Rule”.
Here are the basic rules:
- Each player uses four booster packs, rather than the traditional three (with the pass order being left-right-left-right).
- The draft is capped at six players with a minimum of four.
- All players play one big game of free-for-all multiplayer Magic.
- The “Rumble Rule” is in effect.
The “Rumble Rule” is pretty sweet and adds a fun strategic element to the game. Basically, every time you deal 20 damage, you can set aside a card in your sideboard and cast it for free anytime you could normally cast it.
This means that you can potentially play off-color bombs (Progenitus!) so you have to keep that in mind while drafting. The rule gives you incentive to attack, which is a good thing in free-for-all multiplayer since many players like to stay under the radar and not attack to avoid conflict.
Also, the rule makes certain cards insane like Breath of Malfegor.
Blue is Back in Standard: LSV’s 1st Place UWR Control Deck
January 5, 2010
Looks like blue is back in Standard.
Grixis Control posted some high finishes in December and last weekend LSV won the SGC $5k Standard Open in Los Angeles with the following Blue/White/Red Control deck.
The Importance of Taking Cheap Spells Early in Zendikar Draft
January 5, 2010
Brian David-Marshall and I were talking about draft picks the other day when he brought up an incredibly important concept that I had up until that point been unable to properly articulate.
“Good, cheap spells make the rest of your deck better, whereas expensive spells and splashes place a burden on the rest of your picks and deck in exchange for powerful effects.”
He goes on to compare early drops versus marginally better expensive spells:
If you don’t see any good early drops, then you won’t be able to draft any good early drops. If the early drops that you see are sitting next to extremely impressive mid to late drops, then you are often going to have to take the more impressive card.
However, if it’s early in a draft and you have a choice between an early drop and a marginally better expensive spell, you should almost always go with the inexpensive option. The equity that you get out of having that cheap spell in your stack outweighs the value you would gain by having a card that is slightly more powerful in the abstract. You can find an easy substitute for a decent-good four-drop. You can’t find an easy substitute for a relevant one- or two-drop.
-
Subscription Options
-
Popular MTG Cards on eBay
-
Categories
