Weatherlight: Fiery Fury Review (Part 2 of 2)
Fiery Fury has one of the most potent and unrestrained removal suites of any deck we’ve ever reviewed. Coupled with a lot of hasty creatures, it makes for a tremendously aggressive cocktail in a mono-Red framework. Of course, even the best-laid plans never survive first contact with the enemy, so to get a true idea of the deck’s capabilities we’d need to pit it against another. Jimi volunteered to be in the hot seat (ha!), and she chose the mono-Black graveyard deck Dead and Alive.
Weatherlight: Fiery Fury Review (Part 1 of 2)
In January of 2009, Mark Rosewater of Wizards R&D devoted his weekly column on the mothership to a feature called “Nuts & Bolts.” Ordinarily, Making Magic tends to discuss how different aspects of the game come about: how certain cards come into being, how themes and mechanics found their way into certain sets, colour pie considerations, and so on. But this time, Rosewater decided to delve a little deeper into the design process, and do a column on the actual methodology R&D uses to create Magic sets. It was a bit of a risk- the feature was about “card numbering” in the internal playtesting card mockups. Narrow and specialised, yes, but like most any other aspect of the game of Magic there is a segment of the player base that takes great interest in the actual process of development.
Weatherlight: Air Forces Review (Part 2 of 2)
It’s our opening match for Weatherlight as we’ve rounded the bend on Project Mirage Block. Joining me at the table today is Jimi, who is braving back spasms to make sure the decks get tested and shipped on-time. Assisting her endeavour is Gatecrasher, Weatherlight’s Green/Red beats deck, and here’s how the afternoon unfolded.
Weatherlight: Air Forces Review (Part 1 of 2)
In our last installment of Project Mirage Block, we looked at the story of Jamuraa that was spun around the framework of cards provided by the Menagerie set. It was a story of intrigue and betrayal in the wake of the mysterious disappearance of the planeswalker, Teferi, that set the continent at war. Kaervek is in his ascendancy, having swayed Jolrael to his cause and trapped Mangara in an Amber Prison. He is well on the path of achieving his ultimate ambition- mastery over all of Jamuraa.
Visions: Savage Stompdown Review (Part 2 of 2)
It’s our last foray in Visions as we prepare to move on to the next set, and so far it’s been a bit of a mixed bag. Will Savage Stompdown emulate the excellence of Unnatural Forces, or will be staring at another misfit deck along the lines of Wild-Eyed Frenzy? To find out, Jimi grabbed Unnatural Forces and we set about to battle.
Visions: Savage Stompdown Review (Part 1 of 2)
It’s our final visit to Visions, which means that we’ll soon be taking our leave of the world of Menagerie. As we’ve covered before, both Mirage and Visions were initially concepted as a single set of cards from a faction of Magic’s original playtesting groups. As it was refined with an eye towards development and release, it then was broken down into two sets. It was at this time that Wizards established the “block structure” of one large set followed by two smaller ones, and we would soon find Weatherlight grafted on to complete the Mirage block.
Visions: Wild-Eyed Frenzy Review (Part 2 of 2)
Before we diverted to cover the most recent Duel Decks release, Venser vs Koth, we were looking at the Theme Decks of Mirage block. Unlike Mirage’s decks, Visions were entirely created in-house at Wizards, and we’ve enjoyed seeing how the expanded card pool has helped deliver higher grade of deck. The mono-Red Wild-Eyed Frenzy is an aggressive Red deck featuring a gaggle of Goblins, some fat beaters, and some burn. To see how well it delivers, I challenged Sam to a match. For her part, she’s piloting the Red/Green beats deck, Savage Stompdown.
Visions: Wild-Eyed Frenzy Review (Part 1 of 2)
One of the more intriguing aspects of Magic’s many sets- yet one of the more overlooked- are the creative talents that go into crafting them. If you play the game for any length of time, certain personalities tend to become prevalent, as thgey take on the role of the face of the game. Who reading this deosn’t have at least some passing familiarity with Mark Rosewater or Aaron Forsythe? Most should recognize the name Richard Garfield, at the very least as creator of the game itself. Perhaps if you’re a regular reader of the mothership, you can rattle off a number of the game’s other contributors, but as the game nears its second full decade of existence, the contributions of those that have come before risk being fading into obscurity.
Visions: Unnatural Forces Review (Part 2 of 2)
Today we have a go with the Blue/Black Unnatural Forces. Serving as opposition is the mono-White Legion of Glory, fresh off of its own full review and playtest. CanUnnatural Forces recycle its “187 creatures” to keep the red zone clear and take control of the board, or will it fall to White’s phalanx of shock troops?
Visions: Unnatural Forces Review (Part 1 of 2)
In our opening review for Visions, the White Weenie deck Legion of Glory, we charted the development of the first two sets of Mirage block as being direct offshoots of Alpha, along with Ice Age and Invasion. Known then as Menagerie, the set developed by some of Magic’s original playtesters would contain enough content to fill out the bulk of two sets. Read more 
Ertai's Lament 