Into the Roil: Graveborn (PDS)
I strolled the hallways of nothingness in search of battle. Quite simply, I was looking for a fight. The plane of Innistrad had left a bitter taste in my mouth. It was a new place and I was unaccustomed to its mana.
Guest Meddling: Devouring Skies (New Phyrexia)
So, here we are… the fires of war have been extinguished by the icy breath of death… all the battle cries that have planted the seed of hope into the hearts of those who charged forward have faded into a melancholic silence… all those artfully crafted weapons were exposed to decay just like the courage of those wielding them.
The plague of Phyrexia has come over Mirrodin- it has consumed another world leaving us speechless to a scenario that we explore in New Phyrexia. As corruption has spread, innovation has declined. Phyrexia’s tools for victory are fear, doubt, infiltration, and defiling what is good and noble. How do you fight an enemy that does not attack your house but your very heart? Not your home but your hope?
Guest Meddling: Doom Inevitable (Mirrodin Besieged)
Being invited for guest-meddling, I decided to look into the MBS deck that seems most appealing to me: Doom Inevitable. Although I’d rather get my after work drink with the Mirrans than the Phyrexians, the subtlety and wit with which they are pursuing their goals – though we already know the outcome – hint at a long-term master plan that needs to be admired.
The Rotters Don’t Stand a Chance: JayBoosh at the Prerelease
Best known for his outsize personality on The Eh? Team Podcast, Jay “JayBoosh” Tuharsky has been a longstanding reader and friend of the Lament. On today’s guest piece, he decided to share his thoughts and experiences from the Mirrodin Besieged prerelease weekend and thoughts on some of the new cards.
For those of you that dont know me, why the hell dont you know me? Whats wrong with you? My name is Jay, I’m part of a great Calgary Magic community, and an awesome podcast (the Eh Team!). I have been proclaimed the Limited Champion (Ed. note: *cough* casual flight *cough*), and I’ve been known to voice my opinion without filter. Today I wanted to show my support for one of my favorite MTG websites (this one!) and give you guys some insight on how my prerelease experience went.
As a quick preface, I wanted to mention that I went Mirran both days. There is one simple reason for this: consistancy. I am in favor of Phyrexia winning (who cheered for Luke Skywalker anyway?) and yes, im aware that the “power” of the Phyrexian packs was “higher” or “better”. That being said, i am in no way in favor of playing an all in or nothing format in limited. The format is frustrating enough as it is, why would i pay 60 dollars (30 each day) to potentially open a pile of unplayable crap? I personally know more than enough people that can attest to this being how their prerelease went, needless to say they didnt have any “fun.”
Guest Meddling: Blades of Victory (Magic 2011)
Not too long ago, I started playing with a group of people at my college on Monday nights. About half the group was newer players, taking their first steps into the world of Magic: the Gathering. These new players ran the gamut in skill level and what cards they had available to them, but one thing remained constant-they all wanted to improve their decks.
Let’s be honest, it’s not very difficult to realize that, say, Bog Raiders and Canyon Minotaurs aren’t winning you any games (the exception being Limited, where both are decent picks, but that is an entirely different beast). However, I constantly find newer players asking for other people to make their decks better, and while I’m certainly all for helping people out, that’s no way to learn!
Today I am taking the M11 Intro Deck Blades of Victory and outlining some simple steps that can be taken to “pump it up.” More importantly, I’ll explain some of the reasoning behind each tweak, to provide a nice basic iullustration on “why this card is better than that one.”
Guest Meddling: Upgrading the Coalition
I’m a fan of preconstructed decks, especially some of the non-intro products Wizards has been putting out. However, I take a different approach than Jay. I like to customize, tear apart, rebuild, refocus, and repurpose what I pull out of those boxes.
Sometimes I like to retool decks into easier-to-play, more-consistent versions of themselves, so that I can hand them to new players and explain them quickly. Other times I like to tinker with decks and fill them with bomby, splashy cards that make for lots of fun. Once in awhile I like to optimize for the kill. Either way, I feel like personalizing preconstructed decks is a great way to make them more interesting and more fun, utilizing some of the basic framework.
One of my favorite preconstructed decks in the past year was the Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs the Coalition set, because I loved that storyline and was thrilled to be able to play as Urza and Yawgmoth, re-enacting that climactic battle. Then I played the decks.
