The Mystery of the Death Mage
Hey, do you like stories about Magic’s history?
Stories about the odd and the curious and the obscure?
If you answered yes to both, you won’t want to miss my feature today over at Gathering Magic.
If you like these sorts of features, don’t forget to leave a comment to let them know, and happy reading!
Shadows over Innistrad: Unearthed Secrets Review (Part 2 of 2)
Josh is back to help playtest the Shadows over Innistrad decks, and today we’re looking at how investigate performs with Unearthed Secrets. Josh has chosen the Vampires-n-madness duo of Vampiric Thirst. Will he manage to solve the mystery, or will he be become buried in Clues? Read more 
Medding Horrific Visions
Yesterday over on Gathering Magic, my latest Meddling of the delirium-based Horrific Visions deck went up. Delirium proved an intriguing mechanic to Meddle, since you need a delicate balance between different card types to make the most of it. Come check out what I put together!
As always, if you enjoy Preconstructed content on Gathering Magic (and if you’re reading this, there’s probably a pretty good chance that you do), make sure to leave a comment on the article to let them know!
Shadows over Innistrad: Angelic Fury Review (Part 2 of 2)
At last! We’ve had an unprecedented string of deck reviews without their corresponding playtests, but I’ve finally managed to get some games in. Joining me at the table is Josh, a good friend whose previous focus is on more competitive Magic, but has enjoyed the opportunity to playtest some preconstructed Magic as well. For our look at the Red/White Agnelic Fury, he’s opted to pilot the delirium-themed Horrific Visions. Read more
Battle for Zendikar: Zendikar’s Rage Review (Part 1 of 2)
If you’ve enjoyed fantasy and science fiction, you’ve probably come across Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” (also known as the “monomyth“). Â In studying a number of world mythologies and legends, Campbell found that there was a template that came up in a large number of them. A simple summary might go as follows: a hero goes on a journey or adventure, overcomes adversity, and emerges transformed by the experience. (This is a superb illustration of the principle). This was in fact the template quite deliberately used for The Weatherlight Saga, Magic’s multi-block story arc that kicked off with Tempst (after having the table set with Weatherlight itself).
In Defense of Intro Packs
Last week Mark Rosewater announced that as of the large Fall set, Kaladesh, Intro Packs would be retired in favor of the Planeswalker Decks.
I registered my disappointment today in this week’s article on Gathering Magic.
How do you feel about all this? I’d enjoy hearing your perspectives, too.
Meddling Ghostly Tide
The Blue/White Shadows over Innistrad deck gets a facelift over on Gathering Magic!
As with all Meddlings, I follow two rules when tuning/rebuilding the deck.
First, I only use commons and uncommons. No adding rares or mythics- the idea is to do a budget tune with tools that are readily available to all players.
Second, I can only use sets represented in the deck. So- Shadows over Innistrad cards only!
Come see what a rebuilt Ghostly Tide looks like.
Enjoy seeing Meddlings? Make sure to leave a comment so Gathering Magic knows! 🙂
News: Announcement Day
Big news day over at the mothership, with several developments impacting the world of Preconstructed Magic.
I am disappointed and concerned about the Intro Packs going away. There are two upsides to that, though. First, it’s cheaper to collect them, so I can swing that money over towards completing my collection and sleeving/archiving everything. Second, with only two decks to review per set instead of five, I’ll have extra time to devote to reviewing Magic’s substantial back catalogue. It’s a long history, and we’ve a long way to go!
I’ll have a full reaction piece going up next week on Gathering Magic.
On an unrelated note, you may be wondering where all of the “Part 2’s” of the deck reviews have gone lately. My family battled a stomach bug that laid us low, then Phil moved house, so I’ve just been doing Part 1’s recently. But fear not, we’re meeting up tomorrow and you’ll start to see some Part 2’s rolling out very soon!
-Jay
Meddling Angelic Fury
Check out the latest Meddling over on Gathering Magic, where I take on the runt of the litter, Angelic Fury. Can we salvage some treasure from the trash?
Battle for Zendikar: Swarming Instinct Review (Part 1 of 2)
Today’s deck, Swarming Instinct, is in some ways a symbol of failure. It’s not the deck itself- we’d hardly make that kind of a judgment without looking through the deck first- but rather, it’s a failure that wasn’t at first apparent when Wizards released Battle for Zendikar. Indeed, only with the perspective granted by the passage of time (and good data collection) can we see just where things went wrong.
Ertai's Lament 