2008-09 Precon Championships: The Tinsman Division
Welcome back sports fans around the world and of all ages! We’re back with more exciting Precon Championships action today as we head on over to the other half of the Rosewater Conference, the Tinsman Division! You might recall that in the 2009-10 Precon Championships, the mighty Tinsman Division gave rise to the eventual Champion, Eldrazi Arisen. Will they be able to repeat that Magic here? Only time will tell, but one thing’s for certain: five decks will head into the arena today, and only one of them will be coming out. As we all know… Jace is waiting.
New ‘Magic Beyond the Box,’ and new Event Decks!
Two bits of news today!
1. Magic Beyond the Box took a break last week from the Precon Buyer’s Guide to talk about the New Phyrexia intro decks, but those who have been following the Buyer’s Guide will be pleased to know that it’s back today. The ‘Vintage’ Era covers from Judgment all the way back to Tempest, and is filled with retailer’s prices, tidbits, and trivia for each set. Come check it out!
2. Today on the mothership the New Phyrexia Even Decks were spoiled, and the lists look very promising! Unlike the first go-round for Mirrodin Besieged (Into the Breach and Infect & Defile), this time both decks have the appearance of quality, and will be very exctiting to see. And in case anyone was wondering- yes, there will be an Event Deck giveaway, so stay tuned!
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.
2008-09 Precon Championships: Nagle Division
We begin the 2008-09 Season with the Nagle Division. Because of the large number of byes in this season’s diminished field, we’re able to bring you all the exciting divisional coverage in a single post! Unlike the other three divisions, by random chance the Nagle Division gets an entire first round of byes. Here’s the Nagle Division’s quadrant of brackets:
New Magic Beyond the Box Up… and Another Giveaway!
Today’s Magic Beyond the Box on Quiet Speculation takes a broad view of the five new Intro Decks from New Phyrexia, and highlights some very interesting trends we’re noticing in them. Oh, and if the Ertai’s Lament giveaway isn’t enough for you, we’re giving away an intro deck over there, too! Come check it out!
2008-2009 Precon Championships: The Introduction
Last November, we ran the 2009-10 Preconstructed Deck Championships, which pitted that season’s crop of precons against one another through four Divisions, until the exciting series final left only one deck standing: Rise of the Eldrazi’s Eldrazi Arisen. A tremendous success, we’re already looking forward to the upcoming season this Autumn, but in the same vein we’re also wanting to go back in time to previous seasons and anoint winners there as well. Thus we are excited to announce the commencement of the 2008-09 Precon Championships!
For the 2008-09 season, we have a much-smaller pool to draw from as there was no Core Set or large-scale supplemental product release like the Duels of the Planeswalkers. As a result, most of the early brackets are byes. As before, seeding is completely random, and will use the same Conference/Division structure.
New Phyrexia Intro Pack Giveaway
New Phyrexia is nearly upon us, and what better way to ring in the new set than to give away an Intro Pack to one of the excited precon community. That’s right, it’s another comment contest!
Here’s how it works:
Three days after we have posted reviews of all five of the New Phyrexia intro decks (Thursday, 26 May), we’ll tally up the comments left by everyone for each of the five decks. Comments on both the playtest and the review count, and you can post any number of times! (As always, posts must be at least reasonably substantive to count- “cool deck, kthnxbai!” won’t count).
Whichever deck has generated the most comments (between both halves of the review) will be the one that we will be giving away. To determine the winner, we’ll select one commenter at random who posted about that particular deck. (For instance, if Feast of Flesh got the most comments, one random commenter from the Feast of Flesh reviews will be selected to win- that’s right- Feast of Flesh).
You may want to be sure to leave a comment on each of the five decks to ensure you are in the drawing for whatever deck we end up giving away, but of course the amount of comments you leave is entirely up to you- as many or as few as you like!
We hope you’ll enjoy the New Phyrexia reviews as much as we’ll enjoy crafting them, and hey- a shot at a free Intro Pack is always a plus!
MBtB: Buyer’s Guide to ‘Classic Era’ of precons up today
Meanwhile, over on Quiet Speculation… I continue assembling the Buyer’s Guide to Precon Decks today with a look at the ‘Classic Era,’ everything from Onslaught through Coldsnap. Whether you’ve been looking to build your collection or just pick up a couple old decks for the sake of nostalgia, you owe it to yourself to check out our pricing guide before spending a single hard-earned nickel to find the cheapest way to get them. Come by and say hello!
New Phyrexia Intro Pack Decklists Up!
In case you missed it, the deck lists for the upcoming New Phyrexia intro packs has been officially confirmed on the mothership. A significant change that’s been noticed already is that both rares in the pack don’t necessarily come from New Phyrexia- SOM cards like Precursor Golem and Argentum Armor have found themselves a place in the new decks. Check it out!
Ertai’s Trickery: The Bloodsuckers’ Ball Concludes
The final third of our guest piece for Red Site Wins went up today, and The Bloodsuckers’ Ball- a Vampire aggro deck made from blending three precon decks in the current Standard environment- is now complete. Head on over and check it out!
Ertai's Lament 