News: Return to Ravnica Event Decks Revealed!
Those watching the mothership yesterday found an unexpected and early treat- the decklists for the two upcoming Event Decks for Return to Ravnica have been spoiled!
Magic 2013: Sweet Revenge Review (Part 2 of 2)
This is it, our final game for Magic 2013- the next time we touch these decks will likely be in the Preconstruced Championships next Autumn. We found the two Event Decks to be great fits and foils for one another… would the same hold true with the decks having changed hands?
Magic 2013: Repeat Performance Review (Part 2 of 2)
We’re back with our continuing Magic 2013 coverage as we unwrap the Event Deck boxes and prepare to do battle. cross the table from me sits Sam, shuffling up the flashback-heavy Sweet Revenge. For my part, I’m ready to go with a deck that’s nearly all creatures, Repeat Performance. Two decks, virtually the mirror opposite of one another. Which strategy will get the upper hand?
Magic 2013: Sweet Revenge Review (Part 1 of 2)
As we mentioned in our review of Sweet Revenge’s sibling, Repeat Performance, one of last year’s models attracted a level of criticism that was surprisingly sharp given the value of the cards within the box. Magic 2012’s Vampire Onslaught made quite an impression with a playset of Dismembers, a couple of Go for the Throats, a pair of Bloodghasts, and a Kalastria Highborn, but the discontent was more broadly applied. With a full twenty-five cards in the main deck coming from sets soon to rotate out of the Standard environment- either Zendikar block or Magic 2011- the ticking from the clock of obsolescence was particularly loud. But if we were to think that this would spell the end of the “encore” decks- one lust hurrah for a battle-tested strategy while it’s still capable of being run- we’d need to think again.
Magic 2013: Repeat Performance Review (Part 1 of 2)
Since the advent of the Event Deck for last year’s Mirrodin Besieged, the decks have come under a steady drone of criticism for their content. This is to be expected, for whenever Wizards sticks a fixed group of cards in a box and slaps a pricetag on it, the playing community immediately begin assessing it. Indeed, it’s the very principle that this site was founded upon, and it makes for an engaging and healthy debate. From the outset we’ve held a critical eye on the Event Decks as Wizards fine-tuned the product after launch, watching it go into its mono-coloured aggro phase as a hedge against its rarity caps, and have been delighted to see the growth of the product beyond that. What we haven’t touched on yet aside from a rather general manner is the other charge leveled at the Event Decks: that they are unrepresentative.
Avacyn Restored: Humanity’s Vengeance Review (Part 2 of 2)
As a third act, Avacyn Restored was everything you’d expect to get out of, say, a Return of the Jedi. Pushed to the brink, the good folk of Innistrad have fought back from the precipice, emboldened by the return of their archangel. Fittingly, the last two Event Decks of the block give us the same monsters vs humans matchup, but today the tables are turned. Piloting Humanity’s Vengeance, I’m joined at the table by Sam, who is at the helm of the Zombie-filled Death’s Encroach. Let’s see how the Humans hold up!
Avacyn Restored: Death’s Encroach Review (Part 2 of 2)
Having given both decks the once-over, we’re ready to move on to the playtesting stage. For our opener, I’ll be piloting the mono-Black Death’s Encroach, while Jimi will be on the other side of the table with the White/Blue Humanity’s Vengeance. We all know how the story ends in Innistrad, but can I write a different ending on the battlefield?
Avacyn Restored: Humanity’s Vengeance Review (Part 1 of 2)
After the initial release of the Event Decks with Mirrodin Besieged, the design of the product moved towards mono-coloured decks. After all, if the idea was to build a budget-conscious deck that had a limited card framework (read: limited rares and no mythics), then swift aggro was a perfectly viable avenue to take. Both New Phyrexia as well as Magic 2012 turned in single-colour offerings, but to continuously offer a rotating stable of such decks would surely doom the product to monotonous predictability.
Avacyn Restored: Death’s Encroach Review (Part 1 of 2)
Even Deck reviews, for us, have tended to become bittersweet affairs. Although it’s great to tear into a new precon- especially one tuned to the higher degree these tend to be- it also signals that our time with a particular set is drawing to a close. After these reviews have concluded, the next time we’ll be looking at the world of Innistrad through the prism of its precons is in Autumn when the next Preconstructed Champonships take place. Of course, there’s always the hope that we might oneday return to the plane in a future set.
Dark Ascension: Spiraling Doom Review (Part 2 of 2)
Fresh from Gleeful Flames’ hiding in our last meetup, I’m back to put Spiraling Doom to the test. Joining me at the table is Jimi, who- given her affinity for mono-Red and Boros decks- is excited to give Flames a try. We sat down for a match of three games to pit the Dark Ascension Event Decks against one another, and here’s what resulted.
Ertai's Lament 