Innistrad: Carnival of Blood Review (Part 2 of 2)
It’s our leadoff game for Innistrad, and we couldn’t be more excited. After the lot of us feeling somewhat less than enthusiastic by the end of Scars Block, the release of a set as flavourful as Innistrad has the house buzzing. Today I’m piloting the Vampire deck, Carnival of Blood, and Jimi has her pick of the litter to pit against me. She opts to go for the Spirit tribal deck, Spectral Legions. We shuffle them up, deal out seven, and kick things off! Here are our notes from this first match.
Innistrad: Carnival of Blood Review (Part 1 of 2)
Ten years ago, Wizards of the Coast introduced a new world to players of Magic, and a new story began. Set on a remote continent of the world, Otaria, 2001’s Odyssey brought a new cast of characters, new themes, and- of course- new mechanics. Although there wasn’t a great deal of flavourful resonance typing the mechanic to the set, the graveyard became the focus of the new bag of tricks. First up was a mechanic that rewarded you for having a well-stocked graveyard, with spells and creatures that became more powerful when a threshold of seven cards were there. And while the set included a number of ways to stock it, flashback ensured that played or discarded cards could have a second lease on life.
These were fine enough ideas, but there was some feeling within Wizards that the set really didn’t quite do them justice. Without any thematic tie to the graveyard they were more or less just naked mechanics, and it had the feeling of an opportunity missed. What a graveyard-based set really needed was something that would weave in the tropes and themes associated with actual graveyards. What it needed was a little dose of horror.
2010-11 Precon Championships: Round 7 and the Leaderboard
Three down, one to go! That’s where the 2010-11 Precon Championships stands right now with regards to its four Divisions. Last weekend saw the Turian Division conclude with some of the most exciting precon action yet! First we had a battle of New Phyrexian decks with Life for Death making a valiant stand against the Event Deck Rot from Within. Although it had a few weapons at uits disposal, it was no match for the blistering speed of the mono-Green infect deck, and collapsed before its brutality as Trample Civilization Underfoot had done the round before.
On the day’s other match, the mighty Tezzeret couldn’t withstand the power of Archenemy’s Bring About the Undead Apocalypse. The graveyard recursion deck surprised many, who felt that Tezz’s artifact shenanigans would be enough to take him the distance. And when it moved on to defeat Rot from Within in a highly-charged clash to claim Turian Division’s pennant, more than a few were stunned by the upset.
Booster Battle Pack Review (Part 2 of 2)
Time to put our labours to the test! In the first part of our review, I build a 25-card Red/Green deck augmented by a few choice gems from my booster pack. Jimi has done the same, and we’re eager to pit the two decks against one another. Here are the notes from our matchup.
Booster Battle Pack Review (Part 1 of 2)
In the hullabaloo with the impending release of Innistrad and all the spoilers that go with it, the recent launch of a new Magic product- the Booster Battle Pack- seems to have gone largely unnoticed. A new limited product, the phrase “deck of semi-randomized cards” in the marketing blurb got our attention. If they are only semi-randomized, does that make them to some degree planned? And if they’re planned, could that put them in the realm of preconstruction? Close enough, we thought, and picked one up to investigate.
The Pack consists of two cardboard deck boxes, and within each deck are four things. First, a booster pack of Magic 2012. Next, an insert (either the “Booster Battle Pack” tutorial or the ubiquitous “How to Play” one). Finally, there were two plastic-wrapped packs of 10 cards, each containing five cards of a single colour and five corresponding land cards. The object is simple- take your deck of 20 cards, then open the booster and add five more of your choice. Shuffle up, and you’re ready to go! Jimi and I sat down to test them out and put them through their paces.
For my part, my base cards were Red and Green. I opened the Red first, and noted that there were four commons and one uncommon. My base was interesting: a Fiery Hellhound and Firebreathing each gave me a way to turn extra Red mana into damage, though these are always somewhat constrained in a deck playing more than one colour. But aha, a trick! There was a Goblin Tunneler present as well, which gave me some sneakiness as I could make a creature unblockable, attack with it and then pump up its power. Devious!
2010-11 Precon Championships: Turian Division (Part 2 of 2)
Welcome back sports fans and thrill-seekers of all ages! Today we have some exciting Turian Division action as we cut the field from four decks to one. The action promises to be hot and heavy as we have some of the field’s strongest contenders readying to do battle with one another for the right to represent the Division in the Conference Finals. Our first battle today is between two decks from New Phyrexia, but there the similarity ends. One of them- the favourite- is an Event Deck, Rot from Within, which put up one of the most dominating performances to date when it obliterated Archenemy’s Trample Civilization Underfoot in the first round. Aiming for an upset is Life for Death, the Phyrexian mana-fuelled Intro Pack deck.
Duel Decks- Ajani vs Nicol Bolas: Ajani’s Deck Review (Part 2 of 2)
Our second tilt with Duel Decks: Ajani vs Nicol Bolas sees the roles reversed this time, with Sam taking on the piloting of Bolas. In our last matchup, you might recall that Sam had me handily beat two games to one, though in the third her Ajani deck never had a chance. Would that trend continue, or would we see the decks pan out as evenly matched?
Duel Decks- Ajani vs Nicol Bolas: Nicol Bolas’s Deck Review (part 2 of 2)
Our opening game of the Duel Decks: Ajani vs Nicol Bolas, I had no trouble at all finding an eager opponent. With Sam’s two favourite planeswalkers being the ones in this set, she already had her playmat and spindown die set up before I even broke out the decks. As we found in our analysis, the decks offered early-game advantage to Ajani, while Bolas steadily rose to power the longer the game went on. Would I be able to hold off the Nayan assault long enough to give His Draconic Majesty a chance?
2010-11 Precon Championships: Round 6 and the Leaderboard
This past weekend saw us kick off the Turian Division in the Forsythe Conference, and it showed once again that you can never count any deck out. Our predictors did a great job this week, with a 61% accuracy rating- the highest in the competition so far. Still, the round was not without its share of upset. Nearly everyone guessed that the brutal Event Deck Rot from Within was going to dispatch Trample Civilization Underfoot- though the brutality with which it did so surely caught even this commentator by surprise. Most also rightly tabbed Tezzeret to prevail over Magic 2011’s Stampede of Beasts, making this a very black day for Green fat. And while it was a bit more divided, we still had a majority of predictors feel that New Phyrexia’s Life for Death would carry the day against Scars of Mirrodin’s Relic Breaker, and they weren’t disappointed.
Duel Decks- Ajani vs Nicol Bolas: Ajani’s Deck Review (Part 1 of 2)
A young man of seemingly unassuming destiny ekes out a living away from civilisation in a perilous land. Although it will take him awhile to fully understand and awaken, there is a power lying dormant within him, and a great destiny to go with it. He might have continued to live an otherwise quite ordinary life, but fate has other plans. When his family is murdered by agents of a great and maelvolent evil, a chain of events is set in motion that will see him awaken the potential that has lain dormant within him.
But his powers are raw and unfocused; it takes the guiding hand of a mentor to allow him to learn how to exert control over them. He struggles with the blinding, corrupting forces of rage and aggression. In a harrowing battle against his adversary he then finds himself gravely injured. Nursed back to health, he rises stronger than before. In full command of his powers, he seeks out the shadowy villain behind the corruption and destruction of most everything he has held dear, and emerges triumphant. Our hero today is none other than…
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Ertai's Lament 