New ‘Magic Beyond the Box’ Post Up: Great Designer Search 2
The final of our four-article series goes live today over at Quiet Spec, and it’s one crazy ride! Shawn Main’s ‘Blight’ mechanic seemed hideously strong- imagine destroying a targeted permanent with every other spell you cast! Of course, once you sleeve up and get stuck in, things aren’t always as they seem. Come on by and check it out– one of the four gentlemen profiled will be your next Wizards of the Coast employee and Magic designer!
Mirrodin Besieged: Mirromancy Review (Part 2 of 2)
And we’re off! The first playtest for the new Mirrodin Besieged set, and Jimi’s ready for battle behind Path of Blight. In our initial review I found myself quite taken with the design of Mirromancy, but of course only time and experience would tell whether or not it was cohesively designed, or an assemblage of cards more aspirational than functional. Here are the notes from our opening clash.
The Rotters Don’t Stand a Chance: JayBoosh at the Prerelease
Best known for his outsize personality on The Eh? Team Podcast, Jay “JayBoosh” Tuharsky has been a longstanding reader and friend of the Lament. On today’s guest piece, he decided to share his thoughts and experiences from the Mirrodin Besieged prerelease weekend and thoughts on some of the new cards.
For those of you that dont know me, why the hell dont you know me? Whats wrong with you? My name is Jay, I’m part of a great Calgary Magic community, and an awesome podcast (the Eh Team!). I have been proclaimed the Limited Champion (Ed. note: *cough* casual flight *cough*), and I’ve been known to voice my opinion without filter. Today I wanted to show my support for one of my favorite MTG websites (this one!) and give you guys some insight on how my prerelease experience went.
As a quick preface, I wanted to mention that I went Mirran both days. There is one simple reason for this: consistancy. I am in favor of Phyrexia winning (who cheered for Luke Skywalker anyway?) and yes, im aware that the “power” of the Phyrexian packs was “higher” or “better”. That being said, i am in no way in favor of playing an all in or nothing format in limited. The format is frustrating enough as it is, why would i pay 60 dollars (30 each day) to potentially open a pile of unplayable crap? I personally know more than enough people that can attest to this being how their prerelease went, needless to say they didnt have any “fun.”
Mirrodin Besieged: Mirromancy Review (Part 1 of 2)
One of the landmark early theme decks released for 1998’s Stronghold was so staggeringly different from the precon decks of today that it’s almost hard to imagine a deck like it being produced for the modern game. The Sparkler was a Red/Blue deck best remembered for one defining characteristic- within its box you found a Mogg Fanatic, a Wall of Tears, a Wall of Razors… and nothing more. A grand total of three creatures. Of course, that left plenty of room for the burn (Lightning Blast, Shock), countermagic (Power Sink, Spell Blast) and general chicanery (Reins of Power, Intruder Alarm) and everything else. It was a bold and daring move, and created a very memorable and exciting deck.
It’s difficult to say whether or not you could get away with such a departure form the norm in today’s environment. Creatures in particular have come a long way since Tempest/Stronghold, and The Sparkler would certainly be under noticeably more pressure from the beefier modern beater. Most preconstructed decks have fallen into the familiar, comforting pattern of creature base with noncreature support. This formula is so entrenched in design that when a deck comes along that challenges it- even slightly- it’s a genuine occasion.
New ‘Magic Beyond the Box’ Post Up: Great Designer Search 2
Our third feature on the Great Designer Search 2 “intro deck challenge” is up over at QS, and a very different outcome! What happens when you break a mechanic on your very first attempt? Stop on over and find out!
New ‘Magic Beyond the Box’ Post Up: Great Designer Search 2
As it turns out, there was a lot to report on when we stress-tested the intro decks through a precon gauntlet for the four finalists of the Great Designer Search 2. Ethan’s evolve deck got the write-up last Thursday, and the other three decks were too big to contain in just one piece! In today’s special Magic Beyond the Box, we look at Scott Van Essen’s Breakout from Malgareth, with its exciting breakout mechanic.
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to design and develop intro decks, come check it out!
Deckmasters- Garfield vs Finkel: Garfield’s Deck Review (Part 2 of 2)
A month after the Deckmasters boxed set was released, Wizards of the Coast held the actual Deckmasters event. Richard Garfield and Jon Finkel sat down across from one another at the table of battle, and each wielded the deck that they had created. Given the tremendous fanfare that surrounded the occasion, and the fact that a special-edition product was released in its honour, the result could only have been a disappointment. It should come as little surprise to learn that the rules of the game had changed since the game’s founding, and Garfield found himself on the wrong side of them more than once. “Shouldn’t we be playing by the rules as I made them?” he quipped, making light of his plight, but the first game went to Finkel.
It was now do-or-die for Garfield in the best-of-three, but he found himself the victim of that eternal curse- mana screw. While he foundered on mana, his life total was chunked away by Finkel’s Balduvian Horde, and that was that. The vaunted Deckmasters contest ended with more of a whimper than a bang. “This is the first time I am sitting up here,” said Finkel, gracious in victory, “and am honestly unhappy that my opponent is manascrewed.”
A larger sample size minimises variance. Anything can happen in the Super Bowl, but usually the best team wins it in the seven games of the Stanley Cup. With Finkel inarguably the more skilled player of the game in his time, playing a limited three-game series actually worked in Garfield’s favour, but it was simply not meant to be.
With this on our minds, we wondered if history would now repeat itself. On the first leg of the replay Garfield’s deck had avenged its maker, going 2-1 over Finkel. But there were three more matches yet to be played.
And almost anything can happen.
Win the ‘Mirromancy’ Mirrodin Besieged Intro Pack!
In celebration of the prerelease this weekend, we’re giving away an intro pack from the new Mirrodin Besieged expansion to one lucky Lament reader! Mirromancy is one of the set’s two Mirran decks, and as you’ll see in the upcoming review this Wednesday, it’s a rather unusual departure from the norm!
To score a copy of Mirromancy, all you have to do is leave a comment below answering the following question: who will win the war on Mirrodin, and why?
It doesn’t need to be the Great American Novel, of course- but let us know where you think the block is going, and what clues you might have seen to support it. The winner will be chosen at random amongst all eligible comments on Friday, 04 February. One entry per person, please, though feel free to enjoy the discussion as well!
Deckmasters- Garfield vs Finkel: Finkel’s Deck Review (Part 2 of 2)
It’s an intriguing thing about these decks, which one might similarly feel playing one of the World Championship decks, is that they are the exact deck that a noteable Magic player sat down to duel with some time in the past. The 60 chosen cards, the opening grip of seven, the decisions whether to mull or to keep… Jon Finkel and Richard Garfield both once sat down and pondered precisely the same, giving the decks something of a historical feel. It was in this spirit of historical reenactment that Jimi and I sat down to do battle. With her in Garfield’s chair and I in Finkel’s, here are our match notes.
New ‘Magic Beyond the Box’ Article Up, Covering GDS2
After a slight delay (due to my intrepid editor’s being without power in the blizzard), Magic Beyond the Box is up today at Quiet Speculation!
Today’s piece begins a mini-series on the Great Designer 2 deck testing we at Ertai’s Lament undertook last weekend. What are the decks? How did they perform? With the decklists now submitted to Wizards and undergoing the same process there for the next week or two, come take a look!
You can find the article here.
Ertai's Lament 