News: Dark Ascension Intro Packs Fully Spoiled
Hey folks, just a quick note to let everyone know that if they haven’t checked it out yet, the full Dark Ascension Intro Pack deck lists are up at the Magic Arcana today on the mothership. While the hover-over card images aren’t fully updated yet, you can still get a full look at what’s on offer!
As a reminder, our full reviews of Dark Ascension’s decks begin Saturday with opening coverage of the Boros-coloured Swift Justice. We’ll see you then!
News: Images of the Dark Ascension Intro Packs Revealed
Just a quick note this morning directing you to head over to MTG Salvation if you haven’t done so already, and check out the pictures of the Intro Packs that have turned up. No deck lists yet, but we do have names and faces- a great start!
News: Official Trailer Released for Tap: Max’s Game
You may recall back in October we made mention of a Czech film in production called Tap: Max’s Game. A “sports drama” based on Magic: the Gathering, it tells the story of a group of friends who return to the game after breaking apart and going their separate ways. When they look to reassemble the team for a shot at the national championships, they find a surprising nemesis: one of their own who’d turned his back on their friendship and gone pro.
New Year’s Eve: Pack to Fortune 2011
Some of you may recall last year we staged an event called “Pack to Fortune.” A fun and whimsical fortune-telling device centered around reader participation and an unopened booster pack of cards, we looked to divine what we had in store for the coming year based upon what you opened. It was a lot of fun and we had some great responses.
News: Wizards Spoils Innistrad Event Decks
If you haven’t seen them yet, head on over to today’s Arcana on the mothership for the strategy and decklists for Deathfed and Hold the Line! With a release date of 10/29, you can be certain we’ll be giving them the full Ertai’s Lament treatment!
Tap: Max’s Game
Every once in awhile, you discover something which just seems to blend a few of your interests together in that chocolate-and-peanut-butter sort of way to make you really get excited at the prospect of seeing them all put together. As it happens, we here at the Lament are huge fans of Magic: the Gathering. Who knew, right? Beyond that, we take tremendous enjoyment from foreign cinema, because it affords us opportunities to look through windows to this fascinating world we might not otherwise have had. Finally, we really love a good, old-fashioned inspirational sports flick. Whether it’s Miracle or Hoosiers or, hell, Baseketball, there’s something irresistibly compelling about seeing a collection of underdogs line up for the kind of shot we all dream of- overcoming colossal adversity and emerging as heroes.
So imagine our enthusiasm today when we learned about Tap: Max’s Game. A film in the style of a sports drama from our friends in the Czech Republic (although we’ve not quite forgiven you for Jaromir Jagr’s hair), in Czech and about a group of friends who used to play Magic: the Gathering together. When one of them decides to begin playing again, it’s up to him to reunite the team for one last shot at glory on the big stage of the National Championships.
In other words, an absolute must-watch. Need more? Check out the official trailer.
MBtB: The Precons of Innistrad
Magic Beyond the Box takes a breather from building the Standard Cube this week as I- like most of the Magic world- turn my eye towards Innistrad. What does the future hold for its Intro Packs and Event Decks? I have a few guesses…
MBtB: Onward White Creatures in Standard!
Those of you following along with the ‘Standard Cube Project’ will be pleased to know that we round out White today with a browse through its creatures on Magic Beyond the Box. The Standard Cube Project is an ongoing effort to build a beginner-friendly cube that mirrors today’s standard environment. Come see how we balanced casting costs, and which creatures made the cut!
MBtB:A Continuing Cube Adventure!
For those that have been following along with my “Building a Cube 101” series over at Quiet Speculation, the next installment is up today. In it, I whittle down my selections for White instants and sorceries, with some surprising choices!
For those new to the site, I’m building a cube based on today’s Standard environment. Cubes are a ton of fun to build and play, but setting up your first one can be a daunting task. How many creatures? How many spells? For this beginner’s tutorial, I’m using Wizards’ own ratios as found in today’s Standard card pool as a blueprint. Come join us as we build it together!
Announcing Duel Decks: Venser vs Koth!
Visitors to the mothership this morning were greeted with an especially interesting announcement in today’s Magic Arcana- the announcement of the next Duel Decks! Looks like it’s going to be a faceoff between two of the planeswalkers from Scars of Mirrodn- Venser, the Sojourner versus Koth of the Hammer.
Also of note, Wizards will be reversing the release order of the planeswalker and factional Duel Decks. Up until now the factional decks have been released earlier in the year, and planeswalker ones later. Beginning next year with this release, the planeswalker ones will come first.
Read all about it- and check out some new art- over at the Magic Arcana!
Ertai's Lament 