B/W Control in Standard
Ramunap Red is the hottest deck in Standard right now, but it may not stay dominant for long. While Pro Tour Hour of Devastation unfolded in Kyoto, stateside Standard players had a few extra hours to tweak their decks before heading to their local Friday Night Magic or PPTQ, and we’re already seeing the emergence of more viable midrange and ... Read More...
Just Plains Value
Over the years, one of the things I’ve heard a lot is that Mono-White is “just a support color,” or “not good enough” to hang in Commander – a format where Green, Blue, and Black have taken over with game-breaking card advantage. However, things seem to be looking up, as the last two years of Magic releases have provided Mono-White decks ... Read More...
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 ... Read More...
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 ... Read More...
Nicol Bolas: A History
The shadow of Nicol Bolas looms large over the history of the Magic storyline. The elder dragon planeswalker has been part of the game’s rich lore since Legends in 1994. Alongside the Eldrazi and the Phyrexians, he’s considered one of the three greatest threats to the multiverse. In Hour of Devastation, we see Bolas making a rare center stage appearance, ... Read More...
Judge’s Tower: Playing with Layers, Pt. 2
Once more, with feeling! We’re looking at layers again today, mostly because there’s still a lot of weirdness that goes on with the different layers interacting with one another. Getting the order of operations down can be a little tricky, but it’s worth hammering home. So, to start, a quick review of what the layers are, along with examples of ... Read More...
New Battle Decks: July 2017
Happy Battle Deck Day! This month, we’ve created a trio of tricolor decks that you’ll want to add to your Battle Deck collection. If you enjoy Junding your opponents out (as our friends LoadingReadyRun would say), pick up a copy of Consume the Weak! This deck features an assortment of token-generating creatures and sacrifice outlets, and not to worry – ... Read More...