Last weekend marked my first time playing in a Regional Pro Tour Qualifier (RPTQ) in person. While I had played previous RPTQ’s online, and with minimal outside support from my testing group, this would be my first time testing with a group of fellow Magic players who shared my goals, as well as making the voyage to a game store …
Standard After Hour
Pro Tour Hour of Devastation has come and gone – and what a whirlwind it was! When we left off before the Pro Tour, there were over ten potentially viable decks putting up numbers. While the limited data from Magic Online showed strong results for aggressive Mono-Red decks, I don’t think anyone could foresee that most of the pro teams …
The State of Standard: Pre-PT HOU
It’s been a few weeks since Hour of Devastation was released, and the new format is in full swing. Teams have begun their testing gauntlets, and Standard leagues continue to be some of the most popular tournaments on Magic Online. With the Pro Tour looming on the horizon, I wanted to dive into what we might expect to see in …
Constructing Constructed: Hour of Devastation
With each new set come new cards, ready to make a splash in Constructed formats. Part of the joy of preview season and new set releases is beginning to figure out what cards can slot into existing strategies, what cards can bolster fringe decks, and what cards can facilitate the creation of completely new archetypes! Hour of Devastation has been …
Modern and Legacy After GP Vegas
Grand Prix Vegas was a whirlwind of a weekend, so much so that it’s taken me a week to gather my wits and start analyzing the results. Modern was particularly interesting, as many players prepared to take down the big bad wolf of the format, Grixis Death’s Shadow. Contenders prepared a variety of strategies to attack the expected metagame. One …
4 Flavors of Death’s Shadow
Since its breakout performance at Grand Prix Vancouver in February at the hands of Josh Utter-Leyton and team, the bold new take on Death’s Shadow has quickly made a name for itself as the deck to beat in Modern. Utter-Leyton, Gerry Thompson, and Sam Black all made Top 8 with a new Death’s Shadow list that cut down on the …