The moment we’ve all been waiting for, folks… Mike Flores tackles the Gold Cards of Guildpact. What are the strong cards? What are the weak? Are there any true Constructed contenders? With his usual wit and clarity, Mike spills a considerable amount of beans, and upsets a fair few applecarts. [White] – [Blue] – [Black] – [Red] – [Green]
…I just don’t like this card in any format where you are likely to see Mana Leak, Remand, and…
…A full four copies of both Force Spike and Mana Leak may be dead in the late game: but they…
…He something that pairs well with equipment and even mana rocks as a five-mana thing. I found it's…
…Jolting Merfolk 1 x Looter il-Kor 1 x Mana Leak 1 x Man-o’-War 1 x Merfolk Looter…
When I started playing Magic, Set Reviews were a dime a dozen. Writers, sensing easy material, would happily copy their word-count’s worth of extant material into a file and then run through it commenting in a flippant fashion on the cards that they didn’t care about, then have sparks of energy around the cards they really did want to talk about. As I started writing, I just assumed that Set Reviews were the Done Thing.
…turn three, allow a Harrow followed by, say, a Mana Leak or Remand. But you have to wonder, will any…
Thursday, April 9th – For the second article chronicling Paulo’s extensive Magic travel, we have ruminations on Legacy and Extended. Paulo shares the testing, the stories, and the plays involved in all three tournaments. Enjoy!
…and started playing sloppily, running into stuff like topdecked Mana Leak on his Worm Harvest when he could have Crimed…
…In game one I Duressed him, seeing a hand with Force, Mana Leak, Ophidian and Morphling. I had no permission…
…people knew that it was, playing around a facedown Mana Leak is pretty easy. Draft: 2.5<br> Sealed: 2…
Thursday, April 24th – Abe continues his exploration of the creative process behind Core Set card selection, and turns his eye toward the Limited game…
…It lacks Remove Soul, Mana Leak or other cheap, early game counters. It has all of the tricks of the…
Thursday, November 5th – In the concluding part of his entertaining and uplifting report, Brian Kibler recounts each story of Days 2 and 3 play. From his 0-3 draft, to that game in the quarterfinals, it’s all here! [Editor’s Note: Due to illness, there’s no Adrian Sullivan article this week. Get well soon, Adrian!]
…Albert had Mana Leak when I tried to land Elspeth, and I was quickly stuck playing out Qasali Pridemages and…
Friday, April 24th – Whenever Prerelease time rolls around, I like spend my column on the before taking a look at the ins and outs of that upcoming format, taking advantage of the fact that my weekly deadline is usually a day or two after the complete spoiler is compiled by mtgsalvation.com. As of the time of this writing it is Wednesday afternoon and we have 145 out of 145 cards spoiled, and while there is no guarantee that each and every card has the exact correct text it is still more than enough to work with in order to figure out how Shards of Alara-Alara Reborn Limited is going to feel.
…Offering to Asha — 2WU for a Mana Leak variant… counter a spell unless you pay four mana; either way they…
…Miscalculation is like a happy medium between Quench and Mana Leak. In some ways it's even better since at…
A deeper examination of why Richard feels he’s right.
…Obviously resolving Death Cloud will be a tall order, but Mana Leak is a pretty weak answer to a late…
Thursday, March 4th – The forums have been crying out for it, and Cedric has delivered! After posting a heartbreaking 9th-place finish at Grand Prix: Oakland, Cedric Phillips presents a comprehensive primer on the Extended Dredge strategy. Card choices, matchups, sideboarding, and play tips… it’s all here!
…Between Meddling Mage, Gaddock Teeg, Mana Leak, and Negate, it is extremely difficult to resolve Dread Return. Instead, we turn…
Still wondering what to play at Grand Prix Madison? This article examines the bare bones of the Team Constructed format, and includes a whopping twenty – yes, twenty – viable decklists for the Team Constructed metagame. With sideboarding hints and deck-pairing strategies, a fascinating overview of the coming season’s PTQ format is only a click away…
…against bounce in the form of Hinder, Remand, and Mana Leak. Of course, you probably have to give them a…
Friday, September 24th – The long-awaited financial article on Scars of Mirrodin! Make sure you know how to trade and value cards before your Prerelease! Ben Bleiweiss reviews the entire set for valuable cards and predicts their rise and fall.
…Gatekeeper of Malakir, Eternal Witness, Aether Vial, Lightning Bolt, Mana Leak, and the such. Having a good number of *good…
I know, I know. Everybody is going to be doing a set review – and eventually, you’ll want to swear off reading set reviews altogether. I feel your pain, I really do. Just… Trust me on this one. Before you get burned out on set reviews and Onslaught discussion, try to give me a chance.
…Having to keep mana open to surprise block with this guy is like having to keep mana open for Second…
…MTGSalvation {1}{U} Mana Leak Common Instant Counter target spell unless its controller pays {3}. Howard Lyon \#62/249 Source…
Brian revisits a format he created called The Danger Room and reveals the changes he made to it along with his favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes.
…Looter<br> Augur of Bolas<br> Remove Soul<br> Mana Leak<br> Snapcaster Mage<br> Complicate<br> Deep Analysis<br…
Mirari, Standstill, Holistic Wisdom… All overrated and overhyped. Trust me.
…The extra mana may be the difference between the blue deck being in Mana Drain or Mana Leak range already…
More cards, more prices, more observations! Should The First Sliver be one of the most expensive cards in the set? Should Plague Engineer be one of the cheapest rares? Those and more, plus This Week’s Trends!
…Does that mean that I’m down on this two-mana planeswalker? Heck no! Wrenn and Six are oozing with…
…start off slowly, with my trying to play around Mana Leak. Then, when Paul cast an end step Fact or…
With my eligibility for the Hall of Fame looming, I’ve become a bit nostalgic about my Magic career. There are a lot of great memories, and I thought that there might be people out there interested to take a stroll down memory lane with me…
…The play was horrible, since he had seen both Force Spike and Mana Leak from me in previous<br> games…
…As everyone well knows a copy of the spoiler list was obtained from a potential leak via Magic Online, and…
…They only have access to four counters, all being Mana Leak. By turns three to four, they have access to…
Tuesday, December 30th – Today, Brazilian pro Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa concludes his excellent tournament report from his recent Top 8 performance at the 2008 World Championships. He takes us through Draft 2 and Extended, before presenting his current versions of both Standard Faeries and Extended Zoo.
…The same goes for Remand — it’s just worse than Mana Leak most of the time, and probably worse than…
Thursday, October 22nd – Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, Brazilian’s finest mage, put in countless hours of testing for Pro Tour: Austin… and they paid off in spades! Today, he shares his preparation stories and part 1 of his exhaustive tournament report. Congratulations, PV!
…meant it had so many dead draws later on — Mana Leak, Spell Snare, Ancestral Visions, lands — which is not something…
…Turn two, Terminate, Mana Leak and Punishing Fire came online, etc. I did my best to memorize his list and…
…The counter-magic is not great in Modern, so Mana Leak is usually the only way to counter an early…
…This often comes in the form of efficient countermagic like Mana Leak or Spectral Interference and cheap kill spells like…
It’s the greatest trick in the book. How the hell do writers put together a set analysis when they probably haven’t even physically seen half the cards, let alone played with them? With just four days to go, Rich Hagon gives you all the tools you need to fully understand your Lorwyn spoiler. Find out the Magic behind the Magic, and let the Noetic Scales drop from your eyes. You’ll never look at a Spoiler the same way again!
…At one, expect super-narrow (Spell Snare), and at two think of counters that aren’t always counters (Mana Leak…
…Week #40 (September 30, 2002) – “The Leak That Was” (\*\*\*\*) I don’t think I wrote a column that created more…
People misuse the term”rogue” more than they do the term”fascist.” They hear the word in context and they think they know what it means. Rogue doesn’t mean bad. If you play with bad cards, please don’t call them rogue. Bad cards are bad. Rogue cards are very good when the metagame predictions are right and the strategies hold, even if they may seem bad otherwise. A Gray Ogre is not a good card. No rogue deck designer would ever tell you to play with Gray Ogre even if you had a deck where Gray Ogre seemed like the perfect fit: you can get the superior Suq’Ata Lancer at the same cost and size; you can get the slightly worse – but still superior to Gray Ogre – Goblin Chariot at the same. A Stromgald Cabal might not look much better than a Gray Ogre against a G/R land destruction opponent, but man does it put the hurt on a White combo deck.
…I actually theorized that AnGGRRRy Slug would have long game inevitability if it just played around Mana Leak, but U…
Today’s So Many Insane Plays concentrates on two things. The first is a thorough breakdown of the Bring Your Own Standard format, played at this year’s Invitational. If Mark Rosewater has his way, this could be coming to a sanctioned tournament near you! Second, Stephen takes us through the rest of his Invitational experience, including the long awaited Vintage portion…
…Generate infinite mana. Survival up Highway Robber and win the game. Duress and Mana Leak protect the combo, and cards…
…Week #40 (September 30, 2002) – “The Leak That Was” (\*\*\*\*) I don’t think I wrote a column that created more…
Monday, March 29th – Rise of the Eldrazi is on the way, an Patrick Chapin is here to walk us through some of the cards spoiled thus far. From massive fifteen-mana monsters to innocuous common mana ramp cards, the Innovator spills the beans! Warning! Contains spoilers!
…Does a 6 mana spell and a 6 mana creature and an ability that is maybe worth 2 mana make…
…This card compares favorably to Mana Leak, but a mana cost of three is a lot to me (though cheaper…
Eric Meng finished 26th place at Pro Tour Dark Ascension with B/R Zombies, then made his first Grand Prix Top 8 playing Frites at Baltimore. He shares his journey from hopeless scrub, to grinder, to Grand Prix Top 8 competitor.
…helped elsewhere in the tournament) and Matt’s probable Mana Leak or Dissipate in hand. Matt just had my number…
While Sean is more well-known for his 99-card creations than his 60’s in recent years, he’s been known to shake things up in Modern from time to time. Check out his weapon of choice for Grand Prix Charlotte, Sultai Delver, as well as why you should play it and how to play it well.
…with our disruption for one mana instead of hoping to hold up Mana Leak. Barring an opponent at one life…
How does it feel for a relative unknown to scrape and claw their way back into contention for a Pro Tour Top 8 only to finish 9th on tiebreakers? Tiago Chan now knows the feeling, and he shares the tale of his entire weekend with you in this report.
…After I untap with Soratami Savant (the one that Mana Leak), he only has a small creature, and he didn…
…around Spellstutter Sprite even if it means walking into Mana Leak. Sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two…
…He attacked me to 6 with the Baloth and ripped a Mana Leak out of my hand (over two Intuitions…
…for three to end the game, leaving mana open for Mana Leak. In the second game, two Acid-Mosses kept…
…for three to end the game, leaving mana open for Mana Leak. In the second game, two Acid-Mosses kept…
…Mana Leak 1U Interrupt Common Counter target spell unless its caster pays an additional 3. \# very good alternative to the…
Last article, I examined one of the three Guildpact mechanics: Bloodthirst. While I thought it was an inventive mechanic, I didn’t feel it lived up to its potential. The second mechanic I want to examine is my favorite from Guildpact: Replicate.
…Ergo, Remand, Hinder, and Mana Leak it is. Rewind is next on our list for inclusion, but it’s a…
Richard rounds out his triple-whammy of Block Constructed U/B Teachings articles with a play-by-play rundown of the Poison Slivers and U/G Tempo matches. He brings us his current incarnation of the U/B Behemoth, and proves once more that the metagame should fear the Teachings decks like no other. With the Block PTQ season proceeding apace, it’s time to get with the cool kids and just Play. This. Deck.
…in my ‘yard right now, Logic Knot is a Mana Leak. The opponent only has 3 lands up right now…
…EOT brainstorm finds Scepter, but only Mana Leak in hand to Imprint (though another brainstorm and a Chrome Mox in…
Friday, September 10th – The Innovator has an excellent record predicting the future success of cards… And he’s looking straight at Scars of Mirrodin!
…br> have six mana; drop Venser, then untap a land and hold open Negate or Mana Leak or Deprive. Most…
I’m tired of people giving diluted, hackneyed set reviews every time there’s a new release. A lot of players try rating cards in both Limited and Constructed, but it ends up diluting their valuations. Others attempt to rate each and every card in the set. My approach is more holistic: I have no ratings at all. Instead, I’m going to talk about the cards that will see Constructed play (sorry guys, no Limited strategy here), or that have potential to see Constructed play in the not-too-distant future. I’m gonna throw out some thoughts and ideas, and I’d like to hear what you have to say about these cards!
…It is a true Counterspell, and it does fill a major void between Mana Leak and Rewind / Last Word / Discombobulate…