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!
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!
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 Meddling: Relic Breaker (Scars of Mirrodin)
It’s time for another installment of Lament’s most popular series, Ertai’s Meddling! This is the series where we take a preconstructed deck and have our way with it, gutting the cards that aren’t carrying their weight and packing in ones that will. Of course, it wouldn’t be sporting just to toss in a heaping cup full of Rares and Mythics, so we look to build within the resources of what a new or returning player might have. As such, we’ve developed the following two Rules:
Today we return to the Scars of Mirrodin precons, and it’s anti-artifact poison pill, Relic Breaker. Scars is an artifact block, absolutely crammed with them, so it was only natural to expect that one of the five decks might be dedicated to smashing things up! When we last visited Relic Breaker, we found it to be a bit of a one-trick pony. Here are the qualities we identified:
New Series on ManaNation: “Under Preconstruction”
For fans of Ertai’s Meddling, there’s a new occasional series over on Mana Nation by weekly columnist Brad Wojcheshonek. He takes the Metalcraft deck and tinkers with it to turn it into a Standard competitive deck, complete with matchup reports. It’s an entertaining read to say the least, and a nice twist on the Meddling concept. If there’s enough interest, he may do more.
Stop on over and show some support!
News: New Weekly Column on QuietSpeculation.com
A little over a year ago, I stopped in at the local comic shop and bought three packs of Zendikar and an intro deck. I’d been away from the game for many years, but had decided I wanted a game and hobby that was more socially interactive with my family than World of Warcraft (protip: running a successful guild can take up a lot of your time). Eager to make up for lost years, I scoured the internet for Magic-related websites, and turned up plenty. I found Mana Nation, which I use as my “home site” to this day; Quiet Speculation, whose emphasis on “financial Magic” intrigued me (the stock-ticker-esque price tracker is just plain cool) despite being a most reluctant trader by nature; and of course the premium sites such as Channel Fireball, Star City Games, and so forth.
I found plenty to devour, but over time I eventually noticed to my dismay that resources for the newer or returning player were greatly underrepresented. Most content (by volume) seemed to be angled towards the competitive, aspiring Magic player. With focus on strats, tech, and ‘innovations’ there was plenty to read about the ever-evolving metagame on the pro circuit. Lagging behind but definitely present was the content focused on the casual player- new theme/tribal decks, EDH builds, multiplayer, variants, etc.
But what I most wanted to read then didn’t seem to be much on the radar at all: namely, instructional pieces designed to illustrate the game to the new or returning player, aimed for that player. Much of the Magic strategy I’ve since picked up has been from poring over the lastest Standard trends and applying that to my own game. It works, but it’s not all that efficient.
Ertai’s Lament has given me a chance to start producing content for that niche, and a great deal of the feedback we get here has echoed that sentiment. New or returning players, many of whom use precon decks as their entryway to the game, appreciating discussion of the game’s fundamental principles laced throughout the deck reviews. Not from 10,000 feet on the Pro Tour circuit, but at the ground level of the game where precon decks thrive.
So that brings me ’round to the news. As of today, Quiet Speculation has relaunched itself. From its origins as a “Magic finance’ site, it is now diversifying its content, and brought onboard a raft of talent to make it a successful, general-interest destination. Want finance? It’s still there. Strategy? That’s there too. So are casual builds, Standard builds, and even rules interactions and judging.
And beginning this Thursday, I’ll be there once a week as well. My column, Magic Beyond the Box will center around Magic’s preconstructed products, just as here, but with a finer eye towards going deeper into those ground-level fundamentals of the game. If you’re a new or returning player, or know someone who is, it’ll be well worth a read! I’ll be under the casual side of things, and our editor is none other than Adam Styborski, who also pens for Mana Nation and Magicthegathering.com’s “Serious Fun.” (You can read his introductory piece here.)
Let me be clear: Ertai’s Lament isn’t going anywhere. We’re still committed to providing a deck review every other day, a challenge we set for ourselves at the start of the site that we’ve never broken. For those who enjoy that content, it’s here to stay. And for those wanting to go a little deeper into the basics of the game, we’ll be over on Quiet Speculation. Come check out the new site!
-Jay
2009-2010 Precon Championships: Nagle Division (Part 1 of 2)
Today we kick off the Championship coverage with the Rosewater Conference and the eight decks of the Nagle Division! By the end of the day only half of these decks will still be in contention- the rest will have been sent home in ignominious defeat. Here’s the Nagle Division’s quadrant of the brackets once again:
2009-10 Precon Championships: The Introduction
Welcome card slingers and sports fans of all ages to the inaugural 2009-10 Preconstructed Deck Championships (or “Precons” for short). This past season has been a very busy time for Wizards, and we’re excited to have a crowded field of decks vying to see who will claim the honours of best in class. Although in future seasons we’ll be looking to anoint a champion at the end of September (right before Standard rotates), we’re just as excited now to throw them in the ring, and see which will be the last deck standing.
Ertai's Lament 