Ravnica: Dimir Intrigues Review (Part 2 of 2)
Nobody likes taking a beating, even in the name of science. We might be taking liberties in calling what we do here ‘science,’ but in essence the idea is not dissimilar. We take precon decks, put them under the microscope, then introduce them into field conditions to see how they perform. In our last field test, Jimi took a savage hiding at the hands of her favourite deck archetype, the Red/White Boros. The speed of Charge of the Boros was such that her Golgari Deathcreep could scarcely begin to churn out its dredge engine, and so when asked which deck she’d like to pilot against the more contemplative Dimir Intrigues, it didn’t take her but a moment to decide. The Boros are back, and Jimi is ready for revenge. Here are the notes from our three matches.
CasualNation #48: Top Ten Theme Decks of All Time
Just a quick note to recommend an excellent article on GatheringMagic by Abe Sargent today where he lists out his Top 10 theme decks. Although I take good-natured issue with one of his points (as noted in the comments section), it’s a fun read and always grand to see precons in the spotlight. Head on over and let ’em know we’re reading!
2010-11 Precon Championships: Round 4 and the Leaderboard
Last weekend’s opening round of Tinsman Division action stumped our reader-predictors! The opening round of the Nagle Division saw a 61% accuracy rate in picking the winners of the matchups. Once the top four decks advanced to fight it out for the division, the predictions moved up to 67% accurate. Round One of the Tinsman? Forty-four percent. Without question, the relative lack of a steamroller powerhouse in the vein of War of Attrition helped explain the drop, but it’s also interesting to see how it affected the leaderboard.
Ravnica: Dimir Intrigues Review (Part 1 of 2)
In 1748 in Bavaria, a man by the name of Johann Adam Weishaupt was born. Although his own father died when he was five years old, he was raised by his godfather and given a very solid education, including enrollment at the University of Ingolstadt with a degree in law. He went on to become a law professor, and soon after a specialist in canon (church) law. In 1776, when Weishaupt was 28, he founded a secret society called the Illuminati, made up of freethinkers and dedicated to the overthrow of the established social order in Europe- an end to monarchy and state religion. Beginning with five members, the Illumanti had swelled to around 2,000 within the decade.
Whispers of the Muse: Christopher G’s “Blood and Fire”
We’ve had a number of Whispers of the Muse submissions as of late, and the preconstructed community has been offering up some great guidance! The next deck to go under the scalpel today is Magic 2012’s Blood and Fire, the deck built around the returning bloodthirst mechanic.
2010-11 Precon Championships: Tinsman Division (Part 1 of 2)
In the short history of the Preconstructed Championships, the Tinsman Division holds a place of high honour, for it was from here that the inaugural champion arose. In a story that gives hope to underdogs everywhere, Eldrazi Arisen battled its way through rare-filled opposition, first a Duel Deck, then a Planechase deck, and finally a Duels of the Planeswalkers deck to give it the right to appear in the finals. There it met Invading Spawn, and in the end this gauntlet forged a champion. And while the next season (2008-09, for we go backwards as well as forwards) added little silverware to the cabinet- its champion was vanquished by Jace’s Duel Deck- the Tinsman is hungry for victory and eager for glory. Will they be the first division with a repeat win?
Ravnica: Charge of the Boros Review (Part 2 of 2)
Our first game of Ravnica, and we’re entering into Topsy Turvy Land. Ordinarily it’s Jimi who is seen piloting Boros constructions, but today for our opening salvo she’s instead navigating the Green/Black Golgari Deathcreep, with its signature dredge mechanic. Meanwhile, I’ve got point on Boros, and will look to see if I can take Jimi out of the game before she can get her recusrion engine online. As ever, we played three games, and here are our notes.
Ravnica: Charge of the Boros Review (Part 1 of 2)
Ravnica has remained as one of the iconic sets in Magic: the Gathering’s eighteen year history, and not without good reason. Sure, it had some help from the environment it was released into, a two-year low point in the game’s popularity stemming from the broken Standard environment during Mirrodin followed by the underpowered and underwhelming Champions of Kamigawa. Magic creator Richard Garfield was back, helping design his first set since 2002’s Judgment. And the set’s guild system proved to be tremendously popular. By breaking down the set into ten two-colour guilds, Wizards in a stroke gave Ravnica a strong sense of branding and identity. Mark Rosewater has previously observed that by giving players a sense of association that they could relate to (as in, what’s your favourite guild?), they found that the flavour of the set resonated much more deeply for them.
MBtB: Onward White Creatures in Standard!
Those of you following along with the ‘Standard Cube Project’ will be pleased to know that we round out White today with a browse through its creatures on Magic Beyond the Box. The Standard Cube Project is an ongoing effort to build a beginner-friendly cube that mirrors today’s standard environment. Come see how we balanced casting costs, and which creatures made the cut!
2010-11 Precon Championships: Round 3 and the Leaderboard
What a weekend we had with the Preconstructed Deck Championships! In what will surely be one of the most startling upsets of the tournament, the Knights deck from Duel Deck: Knights vs Dragons first took down their archrival Dragons, then went on to defeat the Event Deck War of Attrition in a tense match that went the distance to three games. Many had hopes, but few had believed that Knights would emerge triumphant against so powerful a foe. Alas, the same could not be said for poor Deadspread, another underdog who fell as expected to War of Attrition.
Ertai's Lament 