Planeshift: Comeback Review (Part 1 of 2)
Continuing the years-long epic story of the crew of the Weatherlight, 2001’s Planeshift was the second set in the Invasion Block. The Phyrexians had begun their invasion of Dominaria (the plane where much of early Magic’s worlds were set on), overlaying it with the plane of Rath to use as a staging ground. Gerrard and the surviving Weatherlight crew were in the thick of it, trying to battle back this most corrupting of evils, while Urza led a band of planeswalkers to confront Yawgmoth- leader of Phyrexia himself.
Dissension: Simic Mutology Review (Part 2 of 2)
Having come full circle, Sam and I prepared to do battle with the final matchup of the Dissension set reviews: Simic Mutology versus Azorius Ascendant. The Simic certainly have a stronger fleet of creatures, but would they be fast enough to prevent the defenses of the Azorius from becoming too entrenched to cross? We shuffled the decks and prepared to find out. Here are our match notes.
News: New ‘Magic Beyond the Box’ Article Up!
It’s Thursday, and that means an extra dose of precon discussion over at Quiet Speculation! My feature today is Five Elements of the Best Precon Decks, and knits together common strengths of the decks we’ve enjoyed reviewing the most- the ones that work.
Drop by, check it out and say hello!
Dissension: Simic Mutology Review (Part 1 of 2)
As one might imagine, no city with any hope of long-term growth would do well without some institutionalisation of medicine, and so it is with Ravnica and the Simic Combine, as represented in the Simic Mutology deck. According to the Guildpact, the function of the guild is medicine and health, but over time this has… adapted… somewhat to include medical research and mutation.
2009-2010 Precon Championships: Tinsman Division (Part 1 of 2)
Welcome back, fans of sport and competition, as we kick off our coverage of the 2009-10 Precon Championships- Tinsman Division! As you know, we’ve already crowned a Nagle Division winner, Eyes of Shadow, and now we’ll begin to determine who will face off against Liliana Vess for the right to represent the Rosewater Conference in the finals!
Dissension: Azorius Ascendant Review (Part 2 of 2)
Sam decided to operate a little out of her element and pilot Rakdos Bloodsport, the hyper-aggressive Red/Black deck against my Azorius Ascendant. Azorius was something of a trip through nostalgia-land for me, not because I was active in the game during Dissension (I wasn’t), but because my first decks at the dawn of the game tended to be White/Blue. Not so much the White/Blue Control archetype that we know today, but one that sought to enclose itself in an impregnable defense: Blessing, Moat, Circles of Protection, Farmstead and Ivory Tower were mainstays from White, paired with mainstays like Ancestral Recall, Counterspell, and Mana Short. Decks shamelessly ran past 100 cards, and constructing the perfect defense from which to hide behind and mess with my enemies was the crowning achievement of any game I was involved in.
Times have changed, and the closest I get to the Control archetype was with a Grixis/Cruel Ultimatum build. These days I’m most fond of Red and Black aggro builds. But from our analysis, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that I was about to step back through time, after a fashion. Here are our notes.
Dissension: Azorius Ascendant Review (Part 1 of 2)
For our next visit to the city of Ravnica, we’ll be looking today at the ruling body of the city- the Azorius Senate. Naturally, a city needs a governing body to function, and the Azorius guild is Guildpact-bound to maintain that duty. They don’t enforce the laws (that’s the job of the Red/White Boros Legion), but they do legislate them. To the Azorius, they are all that stand between Ravnica and sheer lawlessness and societal breakdown. To the common Ravnican, they are pompous windbags stuffed to bursting with overinflated self-importance.
2009-10 Precon Championships: Nagle Division (Part 2 of 2)
And we’re back, sports fans, with the second half of our thrilling Nagle Division coverage! It’s been a stellar clash right out of the gate, with some early favourites getting short shrift from their upstart rivals, and some strong showings from dark horse contenders like Ears of the Elves and Eyes of Shadow. The Nagle Division was initially thought a little less deep in talent than the others by dint of the fact that all three Duels of the Planeswalkers decks ended up being drawn into this Division, but they’re keen to show what they can do!
These competitors are shuffled up and ready to go, so let’s not keep them waiting!
News: First Article Up at Quiet Speculation!
Following my announcement that I’d be writing a weekly column for the new, revamped Quiet Speculation, I’m proud to announce that the first article is up! Magic Beyond the Box will be a weekly series, appearing each Thursday. Today’s piece focuses on the connection between the two releases of the Premium Deck Series, and the greater R&D principle that they illustrate. Thanks for all the support, and check it out!
News: Wizards Announces MTG: Commander
Some exciting news this morning as Wizards has unveilied it’s multiplayer product for this year. Following in the footsteps of Plaechase and Archenemy, the new Commander series is an official support of the very popular EDH format, and best of all the decks will contain a sum of 51 new cards. Here’s the launch notice, and here’s Aaron Forsythe’s thoughts on the matter for good measure. Check it out!
Ertai's Lament 