Is there anything more enjoyable than putting infinite counters all over your army? One reader doesn’t think so! See Jess help decorate the battlefield with dice and aggression in this week’s Dear Azami!
…Anafenza, the<br> Foremost is a great commander for Living Death strategies as well, since her hoser ability tends to…
…Craft with Pride Heated Argument Impractical Joke Improvisation Capstone Living History Maelstrom Artisan // Rocket Volley Magmablood Archaic Mica, Reader of…
The genteel Casual Fridays tradition begins anew, this time with the brown cards…
…multiple creatures come into play at once, due to Living Death for example, then Portcullis will trigger on all of…
…Think a baby Living Hive. Sealed: You're unlikely to get the mana to cast this - or any of the…
Tuesday, August 11th – Time to get down and dirty with the team from the Naughty Corner, as we begin our exploration of the Black cards in M10. Having enlisted the help of some of the finest DCI minds, if you’ve ever wondered about how to Regenerate a Drudge Skeletons without getting your fingers burned, plus a host of other basic and not-so-basic essentials, join the class.
…Some black spells channel your allegiance to black into death — the more Swamps you have, the deadlier they are. But…
…The power of land death is primarily tied to the cost of the spell, not the bells and wistles you…
…House of Horror* (“Swimming”), “Tennis” (i.e., the death-race set), and “Ultimate” (i.e., our return to Tarkir). This…
…Suddenly I am in tremendous trouble and looking at death in 2 turns. My next draw is nothing to help…
Mike has a voracious appetite for Standard Constructed playtesting. Today’s Flores Friday sees the Resident Genius bring us his Top 10 tips on how to thrive and survive in the coming Time Spiral Standard maelstrom. He shares two strong decklists – one U/G, and one more experimental – and waxes lyrical on some of the stronger threats and answers available in the fledgling format.
…In Extended, he can keep from out-living his welcome with Cabal Therapy, but in a deck with all cheap…
…Tom – Recur I lose game one late, when Tom Duresses me and, taking the counter, casts Living Death putting Spirit…
Today sees the return of the incomparable Jamie Wakefield, in the first of his weekly columns here at StarCityGames.com. And what better way for Jamie to begin than with a long look at the state of Mono-Green Aggro in Standard? Jamie shares his latest Green beatdown machine, waxes lyrical about the health of the current Standard format, and shares stories with his usual wit and vigor. Mr Wakefield, it’s great to have you back!
…I play with it a bit, adding in Life / Death and Zombify, since a second- or third-turn Verdant Force…
Thursday, October 14th – Many times in my career as a content writer, I’ve felt haunted, tortured by the same dream every night. A dream filled with corpulent cash-money shades, their lurking forms slipping into my bedroom between door and jamb.
…Arrest (Scar of Mirrodin) *Bladehold houses a rogues’ gallery filled with the living “statues” of the worst enemies of the…
…A walking enchantment-kill that can be recycled using recurring/living death. Will probably dethrone Cloudchaser Eagle. Rating: B Opal…
…1 x Putrid Goblin 1 x Tymaret, Chosen from Death 1 x Blood Artist 1 x Reassembling Skeleton 1 x…
The First Law of Mentat: A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it, and flow with it. Kevin Binswanger offers a very thorough analysis of the Star City “Duel for Duals” tournament results and the overall state of the Legacy metagame. A must read for anyone preparing for the upcoming Legacy GPs.
…decks had to run Cabal Therapy, Patriarch’s Bidding / Living Death and Scald. These cards should be replaced by gems…
…Ultimately, it is the “safest” to ban all three, but maybe Modern doesn't need to be safe, and living…
Tuesday, December 14th – Some articles are so good that they should be required reading for Magic players, no matter what era. Mike Flores, Magic’s most influential writer and deckbuilder, has many such articles. This is one of his best.
…Dave Price was getting screwed out of the Top 8 at every turn at every other tournament, but was living…
Sheldon Menery had a remarkable time in the Command Zone at SCG CON Summer! In Part 1 of a two-part series, he covers his adventures on Friday and Saturday.
…In the mid-game, there’s a massive counter war over Living Death. When it looked like I’d be…
Ari Lax has pulled out all the stops! Whether you prefer one chart to look at or well over 6,000 words of analysis, his latest Manageable Modern entry will give you plenty to think about as you shape your deck for your next Modern event, like the #SCGINVI!
…Eidolon of the Great Revel, Searing Blaze, Living End, and Conflagrate are good examples. This is a big part of…
When a set confounds Chas, a guy that’s been doing Magic finance for over two decades, you really know this one is special! It wasn’t easy, but Chas has put together the most comprehensive look at this set’s economy around!
…At the very least, casual and Commander demand should keep Teysa in the<br> $2-$3 range. “Doubles your death…
Can people really time the Magic Finance market? Cassie LaBelle draws on past specialty sets to predict the future of Mystery Boosters!
…If we weren’t living through such uncertain times, I’d likely call *Modern Horizons* singles a pretty strong buy…
Thursday, January 13th – Tom Reeve has made it to the Top 8 of the SCG Talent Search and throws a curve ball by talking about Commander! He shows you how to build 100-card decks…
…You don’t have to use<br> Buried Alive<br> to set up some game-ending<br> Living Death<br…
He’s been quiet for a while now, but it’s impossible to keep a good man down! John F Rizzo, after a brief work-enduced hiatus, returns to StarCityGames.com with a glorious attempt to break Extended in half. This article contains twelve budding Extended decklists… surely there’ll be something for even the most discerning of deckbuilding palates.
…Okay, it started as “Enter Twilight’s Call, ” and sorta humpbacked along to “let’s add the new ‘Death.” I…
Tuesday, January 13th – Is this game we play, somehow, art. And perhaps more relevantly – really, more to the root of why I want to write this article – are the game’s creators, maybe even its players, in some sense artists?
…what they seek when they want companionship – the artful living of another person – what absent which they cannot be fully…
Bennie Smith shares his close call with another State Championship and tells you all about the archetype and the card he thinks will have a big effect on #SCGPROV!
…ish) • Ghave, Guru of Spores (Melira Combo) • Glissa Sunseeker (death to artifacts!) • Glissa, the Traitor (undying artifacts!) • Grimgrin, Corpse-Born…
…While you're busy drawing Millstones, Extirpates, and Coercions, I'll just beat you to death with my Squires.” That…
Mike Flores wrote an interesting article on degree of difficulty. I found the Flores’ article interesting not because I strongly disagree with him – but because I think the real issue is worth exploring: what skills does Type One test? Vintage is clearly unlike any other format. Nick Eisel once described some in-game analysis contained in one of my articles as “bizarro world.” Rather than compare Type One on a better or worse scale, this article will explore and explain what I think are the critical skills Vintage players must have to be successful.
…By turn 3 he had Living Wished for Mishra’s Workshop, had two lands in play and multiple Moxen. What…
It’s been three weeks of 150 cards from the uncommon and common sections of Magicdom. Today we count down the Top 50 cards remaining. The previous 150 were all at approximately the same level, but today’s cards are going to be in the form of a countdown, taking you all the way to number one. [Editor’s Note — 200 Articles! Nice work, Abe!]
…It also works wonders with a lot of Black recursion cards, from #1 below to Living Death. Note that this…
This week Cassidy fine-tunes Michael’s Sen Triplets Commander deck with his hands-on approach. Check out the changes he suggests!
…Never seen that thing played before.” “Living Death. Wow. Come up with that one on your own?” “ Insurrection? Really? Hold…
…The Phyrexians are a living disease. They are adaptive, relentless, toxic, and viral. To make the best Phyrexian set, we…
As the Pro Player of the Year Race gets underway in Geneva this week, we join the walking, talking entertainment system that is Rich “moxradio” Hagon, as he begins an epic two-part journey through the major characters in the world of Pro Magic, and explains exactly why the Player of the Year 2007 will bear an astonishing resemblance to a certain StarCityGames.com columnist…
…Because in the end, every time a round is paired, you’re facing down a living, breathing organism, and one…
…Blasphemous Act, Decree of Pain, Feed the Swarm, Languish, Living Death, and Bitter Downfall account for six removal spells for…
…Screamwhip {4} Artifact – Equipment (rare) Living Weapon Equip {B/P}{B/P} Equipped creature gets +1/+1 for each Swamp…
…I personally try to err on the side of living with my mistakes on the theory that I might eventually…
…It's the very embodiment of the barrier between the utsushiyo and the kakuriyo, the living essense of the difference…
Patrick Chapin concludes his review of M13 with an eye to new brews by going over green, gold, artifacts, and land. Prepare for the new Standard format to kick off this weekend at SCG Open Series: St. Louis.
…Curse of Death’s Hold is brutal, but we could always play Witchbane Orbs (plus Ratchet Bomb and alternate victory…
Mark Rosewater recently discussed what slice of the pie White should get. Maybe this is a good week to talk about White Weenie. And let’s face it: If Rosewater presents Marge Simpson as a color’s mascot, we’re not expecting much.
…The last column”The Death of Art” met with unforeseen technical difficulties, since it was loaded with graphics. Hopefully, we…
I have written about hundreds of decks over the years. There are some cards I come back to again and again as a deckbuilder. I decided to pull out the best, most unusual cards that are not typically in such lists, and bring them together. This will exclude cards like Swords to Plowshares or Flametongue Kavu in favor of other cards. I also decided to focus solely on non-rares, and instead investigate other commons and uncommons.
…Combine those with the Gate and you have the lynchpin of a deck. \#172 — Death Denied — (Common, Black, Saviors) — Here…
…The only times we really see Cascade in action these days are in the Living End and Restore Balance decks…
Friday, June 13th – With Regionals now behind us, and not enough results on the books to actually work up a good post-script on the U.S. Regionals by my weekly deadline, I seem to have permission to do what I’ve wanted to do for some time now: discuss Block Constructed.
…Maybe he needed help, or maybe I was just spooked, but with death and explosions in front of me I…
What do Heidi Klum, Elle Macpherson, and Two-Headed Dragon have in common? Nothing (we assume) except they all get mentioned in Chris’s article today. One he uses as the impetus for a new fun Standard deck while the other two are just there to root him on – you guess which is which.
…I was living longer and able to make Two-Headed Dragons much more often. Guess what? Go on. At least…
Usman Jamil talks about the cards that were added to the Magic Online Cube with the release of Avacyn Restored and provides some suggestions for changes they can make to the cube in the future.
…Suggestions *Hex Parasite — > Lashwrithe* As mentioned earlier, this is to replace Korlash as the living weapon ability and Phyrexian mana…
Getting thrown into the Legacy waters without support can really throw a new player for a loop! Michael Martin retells his experience at the Invitational with Reanimator.
…Batterskull and Sword of Fire and Ice me to death. Game three, I keep a one-lander on the play…
…Anticipate The artist who studied under Donato Giancola, the living master, has almost sold all of his Magic originals. He…
Regular readers know I go nuts over every new set; I literally love each new Magic set, and for at least a little while, my favorite set of all time is the most recent Magic release. The reason why I’ve been a passionate fan of Magic year after year since I cracked open my first starter deck back in 1994 is the joy of discovering new cards, and brainstorming new card combinations and deckbuilding possibilities.
…I discovered the joys of Survival of the Fittest / Living Death. Auntie’s Hovel: Yeah! Finally a dual I’m…
Cassidy returns to some well-worn space for him, venturing once again into Angel Tribal with Radiant, Archangel at the helm. He’s learned how to build this exact deck from experience, but it’s shaped differently for a reader than it would be for himself…
…Consider this living vicariously through you. And you’re welcome. THE DECK That was deceptively tricky, Mark. I didn’t…
…There was no emotion to read on it, no panic in death, no begging or bargaining, no pity. The elves…
…do ‘comes into play’ abilities trigger if I cast Living Death? A: You have 2 triggers to deal with - the…
Sure, you know Mark Rosewater designs cards… But you only know that because he does all the PR stuff. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Michael Elliott was the man responsible for shadow, cycling, slivers, licids, growing enchantments, the Rancor bouncing enchantments, echo, rebels and mercenaries, spellshapers, the oaths, fading, the avatars, gating, the en-Kors, the Laccoliths, the Flowstones, madness, the incarnations, amplify, and more… So we sat him down for a good long interview to ask him why it looks like Wizards is predesigning our decks for us, how he would redesign Magic if he could do it from the ground up, his rivalry with MaRo, and what the most unpublishable mechanic he ever created was!
…Probably Living Death. I know he likes that effect and he’s done a couple of variations on it. He…
I’ve had a very interesting time the last few weeks. I went to Regionals using someone else’s decklist, and lost. I used another new decklist today, and performed better. In either case, their builds were strange to me, and while I was comfortable with the archetypes, I wasn’t comfortable with some of the choices. Allow me to share with you the lessons I learned when I used someone else’s deck.
…You know how he won that game? He flipped Jushi and *beat me to death with it*. Okay, and Invoke…