Duel Decks- Venser vs Koth: Koth’s Deck Review (Part 2 of 2)
It’s our last taste of Duel Decks: Venser vs Koth, and after getting the Golden Broom award last game for going 0-and-3, Venser will certainly be looking to take the scalp off his rival. But can Koth keep the fires burning long enough to make his opponent’s next blink, his last?
2005-07 Precon Championships: Round 4 and the Leaderboard
Welcome back to the season’s most exciting Magic: the Gathering event, the 2005-07 Preconstructed Championships! We’re now halfway through the Rosewater Conference’s other Division, the Tinsman, and we’ve had some fantastic matchups. Sadly for most, the overriding principle here is the Highlander ultimatum: there can be only one. Of the eight decks that draw into the Tinsman, four of them have been cut their walking papers, with a further three to follow this coming Saturday. It’s a harsh business, but to lessen the severity is to lessen the glory.
Duel Decks- Venser vs Koth: Venser’s Deck Review (Part 2 of 2)
We’ve now given both constructions from Duel Decks: Venser vs Koth the once-over, and now it’s time to see how they play out. Joining me at the table is Jimi, all to happy to play Koth’s role as mono-Red and Boros decks are her specialty. We noted that Venser’s deck is filled with lots of little synergies…will it be enough to turn aside the wrath of the hammer?
2005-2007 Precon Championships: Tinsman Division (Part 1 of 2)
We’re already two weeks in to the 2005-07 Preconstructed Championships, and what a battle it’s been! With Endless March eagerly waiting for an opponent to determine the future of the Rosewater Conference, we next turn to the Conference’s other Division, the Tinsman! This week and next the eight competitors will be battling it out for the chance to go all the way- Conference champions destined for the finals. But we’re getting well ahead of ourselves, for first we must see who’s going to advance past the opening round! With a mortality rate of 50%, the decks lining up at the gates today are going to need every weapon in their arsenals, every trick in their books… and maybe even just a little luck to go with it!
Duel Decks- Venser vs Koth: Koth’s Deck Review (Part 1 of 2)
When Duel Decks: Venser vs Koth was announced last year, it raised more than a few eyebrows from a flavour perspective. Previous releases of the Duel Decks series had centered around conflicts between tribes, groups, or planeswalkers, and indeed that identity was the raison d’etre of the entire concept of a “duel deck.” You had the heroic Nacatl, Ajani, squaring off against the operatic arch-villain, Nicol Bolas, scheming to turn the entire plane of Alara to his own ends. Garruk and Liliana squared off in the chase for an eldtritch artifact, as seen in one of Magic’s webcomics. Phyrexia and The Coalition recreated one of the storyline’s greatest conflicts, while others paired tribes which historically had opposed one another, such as Knights and Dragons.
Duel Decks- Venser vs Koth: Venser’s Deck Review (Part 1 of 2)
Sooner or later in Magic, everything comes full circle. It is a game filled with variations upon repetition- note the many iterations of of Giant Growth that are made set after set after set- and yet it is those very variations that keep things fresh and engaging. Still, there are some constants in Magic, as there must be- the game only has five colours. We saw this circling back most recently with the Event Decks. The first Event Decks for Mirrodin Besieged were mono-Red and Blue/Green, and a series of mono-coloured decks followed. Each colour got their turn, then they looped around and began with another White deck and a multi-coloured one.
2005-07 Precon Championships: Round 3 and the Leaderboard
Magic players and sports fans of all ages, welcome back to our Prediction League update for the 2005-07 Preconstructed Championships! It’s been a week of highs and lows, but above all we at last have a champion for the Nagle Division. Of the eight decks to start in the Nagle, it was down to a field of four that had only one thing in common: they had eliminated another theme deck to get there. But as is so often said, there can be only one, and so one and only one deck had to emerge from the fray.
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?
2005-07 Precon Championships: Nagle Division (Part 2 of 2)
In last week’s exciting opening-round coverage of the Nagle Division, we found eight decks taking the field to compete for their shot at glory. The battles were hard-fought and hard-won, and by the end of the day only a quartet of contenders were still standing to advance. Today, three of them will have their hopes and dreams destroyed, but one of them… one of them will wrap itself in the Nagle banner and ready itself for the semifinals of the Rosewater Conference.
Ertai's Lament 