Tag: standard

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Roy Anderson - April 4, 2016

What SOI Standard Might Look Like

Warp World medium
SOI’s Effect on Standard

Hello fellow Looters! We are in the midst of the final week before Shadows Over Innistrad (SOI) releases. The pre-release was this past weekend, and I hope you all had fun playing with the new cards! So with SOI so close, I figured it is time to talk about Standard. There are going to be a lot of changes from this last season and this is one of the benefits, (or detriments, depending on who you ask,) of the Standard Format. Obviously, we won’t know until the cards hit the table (hopefully in sleeves…) but hopefully this will get you thinking about the format.

 

General Format Changes?

The biggest way we will see standard change during this rotation is the power reduction of available mana. Now, we are not losing the ability to play multiple colors as there are still plenty of lands in the format (Pain Lands, Battle Lands, Man Lands, The new SOI land cycle, etc.). Let me put it in perspective, though. Currently, with fetch lands and battle lands, it is possible to use one fetch to get one of any four colors and even untapped a good portion of the time. This allowed four color decks like Abzan Blue, Mardu Green, Four Color Rally, and every other deck with an uncreative name to run rampant. To put it in the words of Patrick Chapin, “You don’t have to ask yourself if you can afford to play this card, you have to ask yourself, why not?” Why not splash Jace or Siege Rhino? With the loss of the fetch lands, we are now losing the ability to have such a streamlined mana base. In addition, tri-lands and gain-a-life duels are out the door as well. It is still very possible to run that many colors but you run a heavier risk of stumbling and your deck will be a lot slower with more lands entering tapped. I fully expect to see many more two to three color decks during this standard format, which will be a welcomed change for me.

KHHAAAAN!’s of Tarkir is parting ways with standard and ushering in the slow climb of fetches until Wizards decides to reprint them. It is taking its buddy Fate Reforged with it and, between the two of them, that is a lot of cards (454 to be exact). The most notable cards we are losing from standard, aside from fetch lands, are the hyper-efficient three-color cards. This includes things like Siege Rhino, Mantis Rider, Abzan Charm, Crackling Doom, Big Knucks, and a bunch of other cards loved by these four-color decks. There was nothing stopping decks from jamming these cards for almost no additional effort and it really crushed the playability of some otherwise great cards. Mana is supposed to be a restriction and I am glad we are returning to a world where more tough deck-building choices need to be made.

Oh yeah and I guess Ugin is leaving too… Maybe he wasn’t too happy with Jace over that whole Eldrazi thing?

 

What decks are we losing?

Abzan Aggro – Will Abzan completely disappear? Probably not, but with the loss of Khan’s of Tarkir, they are losing a lot of the cards that make the deck super powerful. Warden of the First Tree, Siege Rhino, Anafenza, and Abzan Charm are all rotation which leaves the wedge less supported.

Rally – When a deck loses its namesake, it is usually not going to survive rotation. That being said, most of the other pieces remain short of Grim Haruspex. Depending on what graveyard synergy we see, from Eldritch Moon and with Collected Company still in the format, we could see an efficient creature combo deck remain strong. Plus we still have to deal with Reflector Mage

Hardened Scales – Same goes with this namesake card. Khans also housed a good number of counter’s matters cards which will squish counter strategies until they are better supported. Counters will go from being a combo to just being… regular I guess. There are still plenty of powerful counter strategies that could make their way into standard.

Most 4/5 Color Decks – They won’t be impossible to build but we definitely will not see as many of them moving forward. That being said, I could probably 100% see a 4 color super friends deck or something similar being in the format.

 

What decks could we see?

Tribal (Vampire, Werewolves, and Zombies Oh My!) – There are so many awesome tribal cards that we are seeing from this set. I would not be surprised at all to see Zombies, Spirits, or Werewolves become a playable Standard deck. This being said, I don’t see any of them being top tier. The simple fact is, you limit yourself when building around a specific tribe which at times can cost you a slot that would have gone to a slightly better creature. This won’t stop people from building tribal decks as they are some of the most fun decks to play and they are really well-supported this time around! I could fully believe a Humans, Vampire, or Werewolf deck taking down a GP at least once as well. Eldritch Moon should make this category even strong as it will add cards without causing a rotation.

Reanimator – This was a deck that saw a lot of play in the original Innistrad Standard environment and was very powerful. Ever After and  Necromantic Summons are two very powerful spells that bring things straight from the graveyard to the battlefield. I think we need to figure out some better targets as currently most of the powerful effects trigger on casting the creature rather than entering the battlefield. That being said, I am all for another Reanimator deck, (assuming there is hate for it in the format, of course).

Artifact – Color me crazy, but this archetype is something to investigate. Origins is host to all sorts of Artifacts with a high power level. Cards like Thopter Spy Network could take over an entire game and with the introduction of Clues, I think there could be something here. There are not too many constructed playable clue producers, however, in my head I have delusions of tapping six Clues with Ghirapur Aether Grid to have a repeatable  Lightning Bolt. You never quite lose that ecstatic brewer in the back of your head. We also still have creatures like Hangarback Walker and all of the various thopter producers as well.

 

Summary?

I think the format is going through a well needed change. Normally when a new block rotates in, it has a theme and it is supposed to have hate cards that weakens previous strategies to allow new cards to shine. Battle for Zendikar fell short as it failed to bring much to the table and did little to break the hold that Khan’s of Tarkir had over the format. There was little punishment for player playing tons of colors. Aggro was in too weak a spot as removal was everywhere. Now that Khans is rotating, I am not sure how Standard will look but I am a big fan of keeping things new and exciting which is why I love the Standard format.

 

Roy Anderson
@Sockymans on Twitter

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Bruce Gray - April 1, 2016

Christmas in April

Casual Encounters – Christmas in April

 

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Eldrazi Menace = Affordable MTG?

Usually I get excited for new sets during spoiler season, but something has got me super excited. Sure, going back to Innistrad seems cool and I can’t wait to find some more sweet werewolves for a deck I built 4-years ago…but that isn’t what got me truly excited. No, I’m super excited right now for the MTG world in which we live right now. Things are sweet and I want to tell you why.

Most people are bemoaning the fact that Modern sucks right now as we are overrun by Eldrazi and silly lands like Eye of Ugin and Eldrazi Temple. The pro tour was a bit of a train-wreck if you like to see a super diverse Top 8 because the format kind of got busted. Legacy hasn’t been far behind with the Eldrazi deck sliding over and giving everyone fits with super fast decks. I mean, any deck running an Endbringer and casting it on turn 3 tells me things are broken. The Eldrazi Winter is truly a thing and lots of players are pretty upset. These eternal formats aren’t supposed to be broken so easily…and yet thanks to Oath of the Gatewatch that is exactly what has happened.

Now, I’m not relishing the state of these formats, but I am super pleased that the MTG world has been so preoccupied with the Eldrazi and non-rotating formats that they have allowed Standard playable cards to tank in value. I don’t think I have ever seen so many excellent cards cost so little. Thanks to a focus on acquiring Modern staples and things that can port to Eternal formats, players have opened piles of OGW, (not to mention looking for the Expeditions,) and in the process helped depress the prices of OGW and BFZ. We’ll look at a few examples in a bit, but to a fringe constructed player or someone who plays casually this is music to our ears. Affordable MTG? Yes please!

A similar effect has happened with Battle for Zendikar and prices have been seriously reduced because everyone has been hunting furiously for the Expeditions and opened up tons of product. Mythics and highly sought after rare cards are affordable making rotation seem almost palatable.  C’mon, who doesn’t like having access to things like Drana or Undergrowth Champion at reasonable prices?  Right now these cards are indeed things that can be acquired without much trouble making piecing together what you want for a future deck much easier than in the past.

Similar effects are being felt in other Standard legal sets that are going through the usual pre-rotation lull before they leave Standard, but even in Dragons of Tarkir, a set that is NOT rotating out in a few short weeks, we are seeing prices drop to a point where they are reasonable. When premium, Standard playable powerhouses are falling to very reasonable prices you know something kind of cool is going on.

The one exception is Magic: Origins where prices have stayed high and continue to soar upwards.  Jace, Vrynn’s Prodigy alone continues to skyrocket and is listed at close to $90 a card! However, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Liliana, Heretical Healer, and Abbot of Keral Keep are all quite expensive.  Some of the pressure on Origins  is tied to the fact that it was released mid-summer, historically a low time for sales, meaning not as much of it has been opened as some of the other sets and that is forcing the prices to be higher.  

So, what does it mean?  The combination of a focus on Eternal Formats, an over abundance of some sets on account of the “Expedition Effect”, and the Modern season with a number of GP’s has really helped to force the price of Standard cards down a lot. This is great news for budget-conscious players who play casually because you can jump in and grab a number of really powerful Mythics and Rares without putting a hole in your bank book.  Check out this list of Mythics from Battle for Zendikar Block that cost ~$3!

*Please note that the price information I am using is in Canadian dollars and is subject to change according to the whims of the multiverse. 

Crush of Tentacles 2.15
General Tazri 1.03
Inverter of Truth 1.51

 

Akoum Firebird 0.80

 

Greenwarden of Murasa 1.85

 

Omnath, Locus of Rage 2.54
Part the Waterveil 2.29
Quarantine Field 1.86
Sire of Stagnation 1.81

 

There is a whole lot of casual appeal to these cards!  And this trend seems to buck a trend even for kind of janky Mythics.  If you go and pull up a set from the last 4 years, like Gatecrash for example, you will see that the price of Mythics rarely sunk this low. Now, I know Gatecrash had no Expeditions, but in many regards it was a fine set that even had Shocklands making it fairly sought after, and was drafted as a stand alone set 3 packs at a time meaning it was opened in good quantity. Despite this,  Aurelia didn’t fall below $4 while she was in Standard.  Master Biomancer was a house and held good value! Even things like Lord of the Void seemed to hold more value.  Something wonderful is happening right now that is making BFZ block much cheaper for those of us looking to play casually or on a tight budget.  

Will it stay like this for long?  No.  I can’t imagine we’ll be able to grab these sorts of cards at this price for much longer.  Once Shadows over Innistrad starts to get spoiled everyone will start to focus back in on Standard again as players look to rebound from the new Spring rotation.  However, in the meantime we have the chance to grab a strong number of very playable cards to help settle your casual appetite and get you brewing all sorts of funky decks.

So, if you are a casual player, take advantage now while the prices are good and get the cards you’ve always wanted!  This is a pretty special time, almost like Christmas, and now is the time to jump in a get what you need.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stop by next time for another Casual Encounter.

 

Bruce Gray

@bgray8791 on Twitter

 

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Roy Anderson - March 14, 2016

PPTQ Tournament Report: BW Control Standard

BW Control PPTQ Report

Hello fellow looters! This last Saturday, I decided to play in my local PPTQ (Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifier) as I have been wanting to get back into Standard. It is also a long term goal of mine to get on the Pro Tour so I have been attending more PPTQs as of late. So, before we jump into the actual tournament, let’s talk about the deck.

palacesiege

B/W Control

 

 

So before this event, I had Jeff Hoogland’s BW deck built for a PPTQ two weeks ago. After looking at some of the pieces, I decided that it was poorly positioned in the meta and made some drastic changes. I basically made the deck creature-less (aside from the one Kalitas in the sideboard) and added some harder to kill threats. I expected to see lots of rally and I absolutely hate Reflector Mage which prompted the decision. I basically made a very removal heavy deck with the plan to finish the game with a Gideon, Ob Nixilis, and Palace Siege.

Now when looking at this deck, the card that stands out the most is most likely Palace Siege. It is a slow and costly threat. That being said, it won me almost every game that I resolved it in because no one could kill it. In a deck with as much removal and card draw (due to Seagate Wreckage), I need a resilient threat that will just eventually win me the game. 

Another lynch-pin of this deck was the fact that no one’s deck was geared to beat mine because it is so outside the current creature meta of this Coco-Rally-BR Dragons-Value Creature Standard. In fact, I only lost one pre-sideboard game the entire tournament and that was because I was on a mulligan to 5 on the play.

I thought this deck was a decent meta call at the time and decided it was what I was going to take to this tournament. Worst case scenario, it was a deck packed full of powerhouse BW cards. So the real question: How did I do?

 

Round One – 4 Color Rally (Win 2-1)

This is arguably my worst match-up. Despite having two Hallowed Moonlight in the main board, I am still weak to the combo kill. This was one of the few matches that I ended up boarding out two Palace Siege as it ended up being awfully slow against a deck that can just win through attacking with 2/3 creatures.

Game One I ended up taking a mulligan to five on the play and it ended up being a pretty quick game. All he really had to do was drop a few creatures and, a few Collected Company later, I just died to combat damage. He was definitely playing an older version of rally with Grim Haruspex and a few other engine cards that made his combo less reliable. The fact that I played no creatures was great against his four Reflector Mage and Sidisi’s Faithful. I decided to board in my Languish along with my Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet. In addition, I cut some slower removal for hand disruption, primarily all four copies of Transgress the Mind as it is great against Rally.

Game Two and Three were actually pretty quick as I was able to disrupt his hand and just take over with an Ob Nixilis, Reignited in game two and a Gideon, Ally of Zendikar in game three. I will be the first to admit his draws were subpar but I was 1-0 so I was happy about it!

 

Round Two – Mardu Green (Loss 1-2)

Game one was pretty easy for me to win. Not only did he have a lot of dead cards in the matchup but I also had swift answers to all of his threats. Two Palace Siege ended up being just a little too much to come back from as he had zero cards in his deck to remove enchantments. I do also want to give an honorable mention to Seagate Wreckage here as well. This card did a surprising amount of work for me over the weekend and my hand was never empty.

Game two was a very close game with a pretty back and forth fight for control. What really hurt me was the synergy of Kolaghan’s Command, Den Protector, and Goblin Dark-Dwellers. With this, he was able to brick my removal over and over while getting his same threat back onto the board. Eventually he was able to outpace my removal and Read the Bones with Den Protectors and Dark-Dwellers and I ultimately lost to a Chandra showing up out of the blue and allowing a hit for nine. By the time I was able to get a hold on the board, I was dead to combat damage.

Game three my opponent had boarded into a slightly more aggressive shell with Sylvan Advocates, Den Protectors with Chandra and Siege Rhino to finish me off. I had a wrath in my opener and I decided to keep it, however Duress wasn’t having any of it. My wrath was taken and a flood of creatures began to hit me in the face. I lost this game fairly quickly as my draw was not geared to handle his explosive start and diversified threats.

 

Round Three – BW Eldrazi (Win 2-0)

So at first, I had no idea what this person was playing until he was basically just dropping Eldrazi on the table. I would say the deck was very good, however, had many cards that were just dead against my creature less deck.  I was able to deal with major threats like Reality Smasher and Thought-Knot Seer all while maintaining a board presence with Planeswalkers. Not only did my deck have plenty of ways to kill Reality Smasher without pitching a card but one of the true heroes again was Seagate Wreckage. It turns out it is hard to lose when drawing two cards a turn. Both games played out the same and were very enjoyable for both of us. I think that his lack of a sideboard that let him deal with my deck hurt him the most. I had brought in my Infinite Obliterations from the side and hitting all his Reality Smashers allowed me to play much safer without worry of a hasty threat. The game came down to his Shambling Vents trying to keep pace with my Palace Siege and eventually, once I removed it, his life total eventually hit zero and I had won.

 

Round Four – BR Dragons (Win 2-1)

My deck had a fairly easy time dealing with BR Dragons. I was able to chain removal until I stuck a Palace Siege or Ob Nixilis. The only card that really was hard to deal with in this match was Kolaghan, The Storm’s Fury.

Game one was very easily won. My opponent had tons of removal and I have nothing to remove. Once I stuck one of my threats, the game was over very quickly. After game one I had no idea what his deck was.

Game two I wasn’t able to sideboard very effectively due to the cards I saw. Now, after playing this game I knew where my deck was weakest against his. That was specifically against Kolaghan. He killed me with combat damage as I sat there with a bunch of sorcery speed answers in my hand.

Game three I came prepared knowing what I faced. I took out some of the sorcery speed removal I had and added more ways to remove Kolaghan from either the battlefield or my opponents hand. This proved to work quite well and game three was a pretty decisive win. My win condition was once again Palace Siege.

 

Round Five – Some Grixis List (Intentional Draw)

After the end of round four, I had a record of 3-1 which had me sitting in 5th place! Yay! I was really happy about this as it has been a while since I went top eight at a PPTQ. My opponent was at his first competitive REL tournament and when I offered to intentionally draw, I had to explain myself. I am not going to get into the math behind it here, but we both made top eight by drawing in with almost 99% certainty.

As it turns out, my math was sound. I was now in the top eight. To be honest, neither my friends nor I believed that my deck would make it and I won’t even pretend to tell you it was perfect. (Or that I didn’t cut corners to not have to buy cards…) The fact of the matter was I used my resources to target the meta in a way that worked.

 

Top Eight Round One – Mardu Green (Loss 1-2)

I know, you read  the (Loss 1-2) part. Boo! Taking game one was easy due to the number of dead  cards in his hand. Game two and three, I just couldn’t handle Dark-Dwellers, Den Protector, and spell recursion. Chandra also had some real strength against my deck as she closes the game fast. This Mardu green player had a lot more hand disruption in his sideboard as well. I will also say I wasn’t happy with my hand in game three and had to mulligan down to six on the draw. I could have gone lower but I figured I had lands and two good removal spells…that were shortly plucked from my hand by two Duress. There are worse fates than walking away with a top eight finish and prize packs.

 

What did I learn?

If I had to give the deck a weakness, it would be hand disruption. When you are playing a deck with different kinds of situational removal, having the piece you need taken from you at the wrong time can sometimes be the entire game.

Although I had a great time with the deck, I ‘m interested in attempting a UB Control shell as I feel it could be well positioned against a lot of different decks. Once Crackling Doom rotates, Sphinx of the Final Word will even get better and be a great threat over Palace Siege. We will just have to see what Shadows Over Innistrad has in store for us.

Until next time fellow looters, happy spell-slinging!

 

Roy Anderson
@Sockymans on Twitter

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Bruce Gray - February 23, 2016

Casual Encounters – Standard Pauper for BFZ

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Standard Pauper for BFZ

by Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

Welcome back folks! I’m back and I’m back on the brew train this week tackling something that I love to do (but rarely get a chance to play) and that’s Standard…PAUPER. With Standard costing about a Bajillion dollars with Jace, Fetchlands, and Hangarback Walkers in virtually every deck it is very difficult to get into a deck and have any sort of success with dumping your wallet on the counter of your LGS. Who can really afford a $700 deck for Standard?  Not me. But I can still have tons of fun and do some pretty fun things with all those commons that I open in my drafts.  So, today I’m going to dust off my boxes of commons and  brew myself up a Standard Pauper deck or two.

There are lots of themes or deck ideas that I could use as the foundation for a deck, but one thing that struck me is the relative depth of Green in most of the previous sets.  Yes, Battle for Zendikar has a bit of a bad wrap, but up until this set Green was quite deep at common and had lots of strong cards to use.  On top of Green being a deep colour, White was also pretty deep with a number of very strong choices, particularly in Origins.  So, while there are lots of viable options my starting point was to look at my Green and White cards first.

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G/W Aggro Standard Pauper

As I was flipping through the cards I made a point of ensuring that I had plenty of strong plays early on, much like I would in a draft.  Many players make the mistake of  assuming that pauper isn’t fast and aggressive because many commons are slow and clunky.  However, when you remove those slow and clunky cards you are left with a very powerful and fast format and having an early answer to play is very important. Timberpack Wolf in multiples can be very powerful, and Cleric of the Forward Order can come down and really and change the landscape of the game by erasing  early attacks with the very relevant life gain. I love Sandsteppe Outcast and getting a chance to jam that guy again is well worth the time. There are lots of early plays here and it can give me lots of options as I try to get into the game.

Next I made a point of selecting removal that I can use reliably very early or that can offer flexibility.  Pacifism, Savage Punch, and Gideon’s Reproach fit the cheap requirement, but Sheer Drop can be good on turn three, but is very good when you can cast it for its Awaken cost.

My final consideration was a finisher or two and Elk Herd, Rhox Maulers, and the Beastmaster seem like strong options. They can all ensure that the deck has a way to bust up a board stall but punching through thanks to Trample, or pumping my team. There might be something to removing the Beastmasters and putting in another pump type spell like Inspired Charge, but I like the pump and a 5/5 body in a format where big bodies can really help settle things down.

This is a list I have put together and will be looking to jam the next time my friends and I get together next.  That may not be for a while, but this list feels pretty powerful and a step in the right direction.  I’ll report back to you guys when I get a chance to test this one a little.

The other list I’m playing a round with is a kind of like a G/R landfall deck but in Standard there is a bit of a lack of really scary Landfall creatures apart from Snapping Gnarlid, Makindi Sliderunner and Valakut Predator.  That said, there are plenty of other good options.  Let’s have a  little look.

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G/R Standard Pauper BFZ

Atarka Beastbreaker is a very solid mana sink once you become Formidable…and with a Gnarlid and a Valakut Predator and one land trigger you are most of the way there.  Invoker is the same sort of huge mana sink to let you really blow things up if you can’t seem to stick a bigger body to finish off your opponent.  Gearcrafter is just good value.  Heelcutter is a bit of sleeper, but repeatedly making it difficult for your opponent to block is a very powerful option.

The spells are pretty simple.  Fiery Impulse is a way to clear the path for your dudes to get in, and the rest pump your team.  I was honestly really relishing the idea of playing Gnarlid on turn 2, playing Predator on turn 3, and then playing my land on turn 4, attacking, and then Titanic Growth and Temur Battle Rage and crunching in for a huge pile of damage. However, that is probably somewhat optimistic but fun to imagine.  Honestly, the deck is pretty self explanatory and feels like it could really lay down a wicked beating if unchecked.

Once again, this one will need a little testing to see if plays as well as it looks. It could be that I need to adjust some of the numbers but I’m very concerned about not hitting enough land drops to make the Landfall actually work out for me. I also considered more Temur Battle Rages, but the fact is that they could very often be dead cards and not really useful if I don’t have a strong target on board.  I could also see taking out the Efreets and just running Hooting Mandrills, but I like the surprise of flipping up the Efreet and then getting your opponent for a bunch.  The sideboard is also a work in progress and will need to be fleshed out as I go.  Facing down decks with bounce effects is the biggest concern because having creatures get pumped and then bounced really sucks.  Man I wish Pyroblast was legal in Standard! However, I will need to see what options are available and see what I can manage.

Well, there we have it for this week.  Sure it is a little shorter this week than most, but we’ve got two new brews that you can take out for a spin if you are in to Pauper.  I think the format is pretty sweet and even limiting ourselves to just Standard legal cards can still make for some very fun play experiences.

So, until next time have yourselves a great MTG day and be sure to stop by next time for another Casual Encounter.

 

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

@bgray8791 on Twitter

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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - January 1, 2016

Smash to Smithereens FNM March Promo

Smash to Smithereens FNM March Promo

Smash to Smithereens Art

There are two things that Red has been very good at since the dawning of MTG, direct damage and destroying artifacts. Smash to Smithereens does both of those things wrapped up in one pretty little package. While it is somewhat fringy as it does requires your opponent to be playing Artifacts it has been a very strong sideboard card in the past. There are many good options to fill this spot in the side, but if your plan is to blast them down to zero life ASAP then this might just be your choice. I’m doubtful that we will see a reprinting of it in a Standard legal set, so you’re probably looking at this in Modern against Affinity decks.

The art while not very involved has a flavourful tie-in with the current block depicting Zada and contains a pretty apt quote. Darek Zabrocki did a very nice piece here staying pretty true to Rallis’ original imagery of Zada. And who knows, maybe this is just the tip of the iceberg of Modern playable FNM promos coming for the new year. Good luck getting your hands on some !!!

Smash to Smithereens Card

EJSeltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
ejseltzer@hotmail.com

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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - December 21, 2015

Clash of Wills FNM February Promo

Clash of Wills FNM February Promo

Clash of Wills FNM

Magic has a storied history all the way back to the Alpha release of counter magic coming from Blue mages. Clash of Wills follows in the same vein as the classic Power Sink, much like Broken Ambitions or Condescend have also filled that role previously. More recently we’ve seen Syncopate used as that necessary turn two counter, which scales up later in the game unlike other ‘unless its controller pays’ counters like Mana Leak. It’s almost as if Wizards is trying to push some of the more controlling styles with recent Blue FNM Promo Anticipate just finishing up its reign as the current FNM offering.

The art is truly stunning with that pose of Jace in a skirmish with an Eldrazi by relative newcomer Anna Steinbauer. This scene really is miles beyond the original art of Jace locked in the battle of will against Alhammarret. I can only imagine that the honor of showcasing her talents on a promo card means we can look forward to more of her working in the upcoming Oath of the Gatewatch release. And the piece de resistance is that chilling quote from Jace about the true mental nature of the Eldrazi.

I hope you all get your shot at nabbing one of these babies at an FNM near you in February, and if you happen to be in Montreal be sure to take in one of our FNMs at the Butin des Trois Rois. We hope to see you there, and good luck !!!

Clash of Wills FNM

EJSeltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
ejseltzer@hotmail.com

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Samuel Carrier - October 27, 2015

Nissa’s Pilgrimage FNM January Promo

Nissa’s Pilgrimage FNM January Promo

Nissa's pilgrimage FNM

 

Green Ramp players will be quite happy, as the best green acceleration of the standard format comes as the December FNM promo.  The fact Nissa’s Pilgrimage FNM promo can ramp possibly 3 forest for 3 mana as spell mastery  is quite impressive when you can cast Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger on turn 4 or 5 easily.  Let yourself be invoked by Nissa, Vastwood Seer // Nissa, Sage Animist as this Christopher Choi art will bring to life your gigantic monsters!

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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - September 22, 2015

Anticipate FNM December Promo

Anticipate FNM December Promo

Anticipate Art

Blue mages will be rejoicing this Christmas time as they get an early present with some pop’n’flash !!! While not quite the Impulse it is still a very high impact card for any control player. While we are sure to see it find a home somewhere in Standard we will see if it can squeeze into Modern. That is also an incredible piece of Volkan Baga art which is sure to sparkle in the light. Good luck to everyone wishing for Santa to drop off an Anticipate FNM under the tree.

Anticipate Card

EJSeltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
ejseltzer@hotmail.com