May 2013
3 posts
Variety is the Spice of Commander: Rating the...
Obviously, when a set has legends spoiled, Commander players tune in extra hard to spoilers. Return to Ravnica block has given us a whopping 20 new legends to play with, half in the enemy color pairs that still have few choices in terms of commanders. Since last month I wrote of the mechanics of Return to Ravnica, this time I would like to write on the legends. Rather than ranking them worst to...
A Voice for Vorthos: Slivers Evolved →
dougbeyermtg:
Several of you have have asked:
“Why the art change to the new slivers?”
In case you hadn’t heard, today the official Magic Twitter account @wizards_magic tweeted pictures of some new sliver cards from the upcoming set Magic 2014. Slivers have evolved a bit since you last saw them.
I’m not sure if I’m ready for how drastically slivers have changed, but some...
1 tag
Ranking The Flavor of the RtR Block Mechanics
Happy Dragon’s Maze release date!
Given the set’s release, for this week and the next post two weeks from now, I would like to look back on this fantastic block and examine some of the aspects it’s given us: Specifically, the cool new mechanics (there are a lot more than usual this block) and the new legendary creatures (again, a lot more than usual this block). The latter seems...
April 2013
6 posts
It's back!
tabakrules:
Whoa, my tumblr phased in with a new look. Spiffy! Why did it phase out? These things happen. Who can predict anything in this unsure universe? Will i phase out again? I can’t say. Probably not. At any rate, it’s here for now. Or maybe… it never really left. Suffice it to say, if you had any abilities that triggered whenever a blog left the battlefield, they didn’t trigger.
Very...
1 tag
Red Mass Removal (That Hits Fliers and Nonfliers...
Today is my last day of school and my internship for the year, and next Monday I will turn in my last assignment of the year to officially start off my summer “break.” I will be participating in a research program in June and July, but in May I will be without school and only working 10-20 hours per week, so I want to pick up writing for this blog again so I can have something to do...
mtgtutorials:
Hi! About the formats article, isn’t modern eternal? Afaik, it just means non-rotating
— clzn
You know what? You’re right. I had that mixed up in my head.
I’ll update the post.
Modern is not eternal. Eternal means you use any Magic set with minus individual cards on banned and restricted lists. Modern does not start with Alpha and are thus NOT eternal. Theyre similar in...
Magic: the Gathering Retold!: Approaching 100... →
mtgretold:
Hello there! We (I) at M:tG Retold are fast approaching the big ten-oh, and I figured in the spirit of our recent resurrection I would make the event special.
When the blog hits triple digits, the 100th subscriber will get to choose the first post-Weatherlight Saga storyline (this does not…
Awesome and hilarious MtG storyline blog for Vorthoses out there.
"New New World Order" →
markrosewater:
Today seemed like a great day to talk about R&D’s re-examining of New World Order.
I am amazed at how many people read this, know it is ‘April Fool’s Day,’ may even have read MaRio’s sign-off, and yet still think or even question whether this is real. That to me is the truely funny part of this article. People have a really low opinion of Magic...
March 2013
1 post
February 2013
3 posts
Follow Matt Tabak
If for some reason you’re following humble me and not people like WotC employees Mark Rosewater and Matt Tabak, follow them too. They’re awesome and answer a ton of questions from fans/players.
tabakrules:
As of this moment, I have 525 followers and have answered 537 of your questions. Whew! In fact, I’ve responded to every single question asked of me except two which were each...
January 2013
7 posts
Friends don't let friends go to FNM without...
youfoundawizard:
Help break the stereotype.
So true. And if you’re going to a long event, bring a toothbrush in your bag and slip off to the bathroom to brush and reapply deoderant halfway through the day when you’re between rounds. You probably need it. I know I have terrible breath and don’t want to force my opponent to concede out of their nostral agony.
5 tags
Answers to Enchantments in Red and Black
The ability of red and black to handle enchantments has been discussed numerous times since Mark Rosewater started his Tumblr. It tends to go like this: Askers question “Why can’t red and black have nice things?” to which MaRo replies “They can, but they can’t just get Naturalize variants that cost 1R and 1B,” to which askers either state “But red and...
December 2012
9 posts
Addicted to EDH: better-humans: losingmusings... →
better-humans:
losingmusings said:
How could EDH be your favorite format? :P
For my longer post about why I love EDH/Commander, click here.
To summarize:
Deckbuilding limitations that inspire my creativity
Longer games make the decks I enjoy more viable
Decks being 99…
Aside from the cards-I-already-have reasons, as my collection is miniscule, these are the reasons Commander is...
A Very Magic Christmas
I got some great gifts this year (e.g., shot glasses and a sweatshirt for the school I now go to, The Dark Knight Rises), and one of the best was a giftcard to Cardkingdom.com.
So technically for Christmas I got:
Karmic Guide,
Reveillark,
High Market
for my Kaalia deck (no way to go infinite with them, but the amazing card advantage is worth it); and
Staying Power,
Topsy Turvy,...
5 tags
My Magic Wish List
Merry Christmas everyone! And happy other holidays you may observe.
I had thought about writing of my Magic: The Gathering wish list all in one place, and after reading Sheldon Mennery’s similar article recently, I decided now was as good a time as any.
First, though, I’d like to express my thanks for what I have seen since I started playing three years ago with Zendikar. I guess...
5 tags
8 tags
6 tags
5 tags
November 2012
3 posts
Magic the Gathering!: Upon further review, I bring... →
pandatier:
sarroth:
pandatier:
Things every magic player should know: (Note, not all of these are beginner techniques, but you should know everything on this list. if you don’t, ask somebody (Me, ihititwithmyaxe, mtgfan)
Legend rule. planeswalker rule.
Play the bare minimum amount of cards allowed in a…
Better punctuation would really help this list’s readability.
Also, this is a must...
Magic the Gathering!: Upon further review, I bring... →
pandatier:
Things every magic player should know: (Note, not all of these are beginner techniques, but you should know everything on this list. if you don’t, ask somebody (Me, ihititwithmyaxe, mtgfan)
Legend rule. planeswalker rule.
Play the bare minimum amount of cards allowed in a…
Better punctuation would really help this list’s readability. Also, this is a must for...
Shop Card Kingdom
I don’t know how, but when I started buying Magic cards online I found cardkingdom.com, the online store for a Searle-based shop, before Starcity Games. Because of that I tend to use Card Kingdom more than SCG, although they are both good sites.
I just received another shipment from Card Kingdom, and it had been processed and handed off to USPS so fast I once again wondered why more people...
October 2012
6 posts
5 tags
Crazy Stupid Combo - Pestilence/Pyrohemia (and...
I’ve found myself with about 12 minutes before I have to wake my fiance up so we can head to church (I don’t usually go, but since it’s the church she used to go to all the time and the church she wants to have our wedding ceremony at, we think it’d be weird to just show up and ask, so we’re trying to go more often than we have been). So I’m going to try and...
5 tags
Tell a Story - What was the worst time you forgot...
mtgfan:
For me, it was releasing my opponent’s creature when I had Vapor Snare on it. I played a land and by doing so, I passed on my upkeep and he got to take his creature back.
Recently at the Pro Tour, someone forgot their Mistbind Clique trigger!
I don’t have a good story of forgetting an optional trigger, but I once forgot I had Privileged Position out and kept getting my commander...
8 tags
Selling Used Foil Rafiq of the Many (Shards of... →
Anyone interested? I’d love to get it out of my Commander deck before I decide to foil the whole thing. I’d rate it between Slightly Played and Near Mint, as it’s a foil so it’s slightly bent more so than most Near Mint rares I’ve sold in the past. I’ve had it for about two years, when I got it in a trade from someone dismantling his Mythic Conscription deck...
"Drive to Work #1 - Tempest" →
markrosewater:
I’ve talked the last few weeks about a little project I’m working on. Well, here it is. I’m doing a weely podcast that will be going up with each of my columns on Monday. Because I don’t want to make you have to wait, I’m posting the first one now as a little taste test of things to come. Note that this podcast will eventually be up on iTunes but some technical issues are delaying...
September 2012
6 posts
Think back: Have your favored colors in MtG...
themagicformula:
ihititwithmyaxe:
tishrex:
I originally was a UBW gal and now I’m a RW gal.
I was Red from the start, but I’ve since come to love Blue and Black almost as much. Browbeat is my favorite card, but Necropotence is a very close second.
I started as G/B or just straight G, but now my favorite combos are G/U and U/W, U/W/x, and just straight white
I started out as a huge fan...
5 tags
Mayael Commander Deck Suggestions
So I got a Mayael deck referral from nayamtg:
findmeaviolin: i really really want to make a naya colored edh and am looking at using mayael as my general.any suggestions? people tell me shes too slow but i dont think so with green running ramp. *smiles*
I love this commander and these kind of decks. *Cracks knuckles* Let’s get to it.
The first thing I would do is look up Alara block...
Apparently killing the owner of an O-Ring won't... →
addictedtoedh:
zombiecreaturetoken:
The leaves-play trigger never goes on the stack because it doesn’t have a controller anymore. I’m glad I check the Magic Judge Rules Blog from time to time, or I probably would never have known about this. Unfortunately, I doubt anyone at my LGS would believe me if I tried to explain this to them.
Yeah, this has come up a lot of times in games I’ve been...
6 tags
These Old Decks: Update (and a fare-thee-well)
I wasn’t exactly sure if I was going to have a final post today, but I’ve found myself with plenty of free time, so I’m writing this ahead of time. See, as of this week (that being the week this post is published), classes start for me again, and I’m going to be really busy. In fact, too busy to be able to continue with this blog. I put it on hiatus for the school year last...
6 tags
Embracing Vorthos: Feeding Ravnica
“The Golgari provide a necessary service in Ravnica: they dispose of the carcasses civilization leaves behind, and mysteriously they also provide sustenance for the forgotten and the needy.” [Source]
“Mysteriously”? I don’t think so. I’ve seen scavenge - I know what you’re up to, Green/Black guild.
Soylent Green is carcasses!
5 tags
Quest for Renewal - Vanguard, Two-Headed... →
polishtamales:
Formats I play casually are: EDH (Commander) & Kitchen Table Madness (Anything goes) & the ever popular “Sharpie Proxy Vintage cause I’m not putting down $20,000+ for a deck”
The phrase “Kitchen Table Madness” made me think of writing this post. Commander is the format I play the most and most enjoy building decks for and looking at other player’s...
5 tags
A Special Friday Flashback: Easy as Pie - Azorious...
The following article was posted on April 28th, 2011. It’s not one of my best, which is why it wasn’t featured in my previous Friday Flashback series, but it’s really relevant given that there’s a new “Which Guild are You” quiz. I took this one and, sure enough, I’m still Azorious. Then when looking through my articles I came across this post for the first...
August 2012
7 posts
5 tags
This Old Deck: Riku and Friends
I’d like to do something a little different this time when it comes to looking at decks. Earlier this summer, Commandercast talked about the different types of commander-deck-relationships; basically there’s, in a Likert-type scale of descending order of commander importance, 1. “the deck needs the commander to do anything,” 2. “there is huge synergy between my...
6 tags
Addicted to EDH: Decks I'm currently working on →
addictedtoedh:
Child of alara - 5 colour legends. I’m packing all my unused legendary creatures into this deck along with ant cards that go with them (time of need much?). Its just meant to be a fun way of playing all the legends I haven’t got decks for.
Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant - life gain +…
I’d like to see “Control Hug” Zedruu builds; rather than helping out...
7 tags
Crazy Stupid Combo: What Can Vigor Do For You?
At heart I’m a Timmy. But I have a lot of Johnny tendencies as well. I just tend to like janky combos rather than the more powerful ones Spike leans towards. Here I would like to share some combos you may or may not be aware of. Feel free to suggest more fun and powerful combinations these cards work well in. Johnnies unite! This time around, let’s combine…
Vigor is just a fun...
6 tags
Quest for Renewal: Star
“Star” actually refers to two different but extremely similar formats. For both exactly five players are required and it is somewhat of a team variant. The players immediately to each player’s left and right are their allies and the other two players are their opponents. You can attack anyone but spells which affect opponents do not affect the players immediately to your left and...
6 tags
Build-a-Card: Red in Multiplayer
Each of the colors, and even colorless, in Magic have their own strengths, weaknesses, tribes, and other perks to choose them over another color. Unfortunately, sometimes a color just isn’t that powerful, or is too powerful. Blue and White are often considered too powerful, Green for a while was considered weak in non-multiplayer formats (although there are still some people out there that...
