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All right, you know the drill: I’m going to list tons of cards, then I’m going to rate them for both Champions of Kamigawa Block and Standard. Can Ponza work? Is the blue Shoal worth putting in your deck? And what Legends should you be concentrating on breaking?

…Arcanes, so the Crackshot will still act as a Shock to your opponent’s dome before it dies. *Standard: 1…

Some cards are great, but have fallen out of favor. Other cards never were in favor, but they’re still pretty darned good. Some have even been released recently but don’t seem to be getting the play that they should. What are these tragically-underused cards, and how can you use them in cool decks?

…That makes the Shock ability of the Slinger way better then the Fire Imp, and sometimes better than the FTK…

…For example, you choose the target for that player's Shock, and what card that player gets with Diabolic Tutor…

…For example, you choose the target for that player's Shock, and what card that player gets with Diabolic Tutor…

In the second part of our Impact series on Planar Chaos, Richard Feldman looks at the cards that’ll make waves in the format du jour – Extended. Sure, everyone is going ga-ga for Extirpate, and by now the world and his dog are sick to death of Damnation… but what other cards look likely to make waves in the diverse Extended metagame? Will your pet deck flourish under the Planar Chaos regime?

…battle with Silver Knight, you block, then they Sudden Shock and Firebolt him in the second main phase and Bob…

Welcome to the first of a series of six articles on 8th Edition drafting. Very little has been written on this topic, even though it is being drafted a hell of a lot on Magic Online right now. Kai Budde wrote a primer for 8th Edition Draft on Sideboard a couple of months ago, but I don’t recall ever seeing a comprehensive guide to draft picks in 8th Edition, so I have taken it upon myself to write one. This article will evaluate every card in the set from a draft perspective as well as giving some general info on each color. We’ll start with Black.

…While there are some that are very good like Dark Banishing, Master Decoy, and Shock, these commons will not dominate…

…He was in complete and utter shock. But he was happy. Little did any of us know how this “unknown…

With the Two-Headed Giant States championships occurring this weekend, Sean takes a timely look at the format. He shares a typical Two-Headed Giant cardpool, and walks us through his deck decisions and card choices. The format is new, especially with the 30-life rule, and we all need every little edge we can get. All this, plus a bonus article from a Two-Headed Column, Jason Hall!

…owner at end of turn by a split-second Shock. Dirge cracks in for five on his turn, making the…

…Zita storms through the magic barrier, wincing at the shock. Her clothing smolders and is on the brink of catching…

I never got to assemble Kaldra, but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up my other dreams, including all five Hondens in play, using the Green Myojin to toss out the other four, and to a lesser extent, attacking with an 8/12 trampling land. In addition to the Black review, this article contains a large section focusing on my attempts to pummel people with Genju of the Realms in draft.

…I didn’t knock them down to one with a Shock in my hand, then toy with them; I actually…

With the unrestriction of Gush in Vintage — alongside some other wholesale changes — Stephen has revisited the old Vintage powerhouse, GroAtog. With the full complement of Gush, plus the usual plethora of strong, cheap spells, does the deck still have what it takes to be a dominant force in the New Vintage metagame? Plus, Stephen also shares his thoughts on the DCI restrictions, and questions their policies going forward.

…This restriction, while hoped for in some quarters, was a very big shock to most of the Vintage community. Gifts…

Today, we’re going to talk about Fatties. We’re going to look over historically good fatties, a hall of fame of real king-hitters, those heavyweights and the few rare super-heavyweights. To qualify for this discussion, it’s not enough to be played. Once upon a time, Zvi said a spell that cost five mana or more, “had better win me the game right there.” This quote is trotted out many, many times by better players than you or I, and these players are almost universally wrong to mention it.

…She was without doubt, a huge, format-defining effect, and probably made Shock far better than it would ever be…

…to whatever he was seeing, his lips parted in shock. The light above them dimmed as an illusion of this…

…Yes, it can be bought back, but it’s still just a 2-mana Shock, and removal has come leaps…

…The shock never left Tatsunari's eyes as his ally carried him off, rescuing him from certain death. Chishiro's…

…Heavy Arbalest – Yes it's slow, but Shock damage has rarely been so good. (75-90) Apparently, there is a…

Monday, November 17th – Today’s So Many Insane Plays sees Vintage Master Stephen Menendian in fine form. He takes his TPS deck to a local tournament in the quest to pick up some jewelry… his report is typically intense, intricate, and illuminating.

…After the shock of the play wore off, my mind turned to getting out of this situation. I had no…

…Compare these to him receiving all ten shock lands in the original Ravnica block, which were amazing. Perhaps his receiving…

Thursday, March 12th – “Did you catch the definition of scription-fiction?” whispered Heather as she shifted from her seat next to me in the lecture hall and glanced in my direction. Scription-fiction, scription-fiction… where are you? The elusive term finally catches my eye when I notice I had written down “3x scription fiction” instead of “3x Natural Order” in my Threshold decklist.

…I think I put the stewardess into a state of shock by how fast I took up her offer, grabbed…

…She looked up at Mavren Fein with shock. “Were these the navigational tools of your ship?” “I knew we did…

The Vintage World Champion defends his title against all comers, slaying dragons, Smennendians, and Amish folks while lost in Pennsylvania, all in his own unique style (awesome sauce not included)!

…For those few who didn’t, it’ll come as a huge shock. Rock. Round 2: Jeremy playing Workshop Aggro…

Legacy. Vintage. Modern. Extended. Standard. He’s not called The Innovator for nothing. He covers all of these formats, showing you what is possible as well as which cards will surely see play.

…down version of a lame spell (like Cancel or Shock), but you do so to not reveal that you aren…

First of all, why does this list even exist? Part of me wanted to have a definitive list of bad cards, one that didn’t include mistakes such as Phyrexian Dreadnought or Lion’s Eye Diamond. It took me a long time to do research for this article, and a long time to write all the pieces. While there are a couple of cards which have slipped through the cracks (Divining Witch/Deathlace), for the most part I feel like I’ve done a good job of covering all the bases. And yet, there are arguments that certain cards are/are not the worst cards of all time…

…through early in the game when backed by a Shock or two – and we don’t need more Mogg Flunkies…

Artifacts and blue get the look-see in the latest update of Anthony’s classic series!

…The ability to shock as early as turn one puts this card as blue’s ultimate”spider.” *“I’ll hit…

When you publicly bitch about Wizards on the front page of one of the Big Three Magic websites, you’re going to get attention. When Wizards actually steps up to the plate and provides you with the information you were complaining about, you better be ready to come correct and cough up the analysis…. And so I did. Here’s everything I can figure out about Onslaught draft from Draft 3 of Chicago, as well as the story of what it was exactly that I showed to the ladies in New Orleans.

…What comes as a shock is that Red was able to support *five* players in some capacity at almost half…

Monday, November 24th – In a break from his usual Vintage exploration, Stephen Menendian explores a Mental Magic format that showcases analytical thought in its purest form. Fans of Stephen’s exhaustive play-by-play articles will find this fascinating…

…Molten Disaster<br> Quagnoth<br> Sudden Death<br> Sudden Shock<br> Take Possession<br> Trickbind<br> Wipe Away<br> Word…

…the first time they die, which can be a shock the first time you see it. It barely appears in…

Wednesday, May 21st – At the recent StarCityGames.com Mega-Magic Weekend, the real winner was the Faeries deck. After multiple rounds of grueling swiss and single elimination competition, Faeries met in the finals of both tournaments. The pilot of the winning deck each time? Alex Bertoncini. Today he shares his story, alongside invaluable advice on how to get the most from the Fae…

…wasn’t the case when he got a free Shock every turn and drew extra burn spells to boot. I…

…sort of combo that is vulnerable to a midstream Shock, but I can't think of any off the top…

…Linde and Williams, but it was still quite a shock. Elijah seemed a little perturbed and took off, no doubt…

For his fiftieth article, Richard Feldman reflects on the process of creation both he and test-partner Zac Hill underwent in the creation of their popular four-Chalice Tenacious Tron U/W Extended deck. He explains the genesis of the deck, shares every step of the design process, and takes us through a pair of strong PTQ performances. Thanks for the first fifty, Richard… here’s to the next fifty!

…to shut off Ancient Grudge (and Helix and Sudden Shock from Boros) and then to simply let the Masticore go…

…student stood in front of her, a look of shock on his face. “I. . .I didn't see you.” “That…

…When I talked to BDM, I was still a bit in shock. My semifinals match was somehow even more exciting…

…Djeru only stared, eyes wide in shock and disappointment. He couldn't answer. He only swallowed and squeezed her shoulder…

…br> Alley Grifters<br> Deathgazer<br> Lightning Hounds<br> Shock Troops<br> 2 Pit Raptor<br> Lesser Gargadon<br> Flowstone…

So it’s Sunday evening and we’ve just finished making dinner and I ask Alice,”Anything on TV tonight?” “Um, only <insert random bad movie here> and some movie called Rounders.” “?” I say.”I’ve heard of that, that’s apparently very good.” “Well,” she says,”I think I’m gonna read in bed.” Woot – Rounders for me then. Maaaaaaan,…

…Anyway, the shock of fatties leaping out of the first four packs was beginning to fade. (Whoever said this draft…

…t want packs, I recommend cards like fetch lands, shock lands, or triomes. These are highly sought after in multiple…

…fit the *Final Fantasy* theme, would it? Hey, a shock land or three would’ve been nice at this price…

Countdown to Grand Prix: Columbus! In his pre-Grand Prix: Columbus article, Dan surveys some of the most successful Legacy players in the format and shares their thoughts on the upcoming Grand Prix and the emergence of Hulk Flash.

…1.5 nearly three years ago, which was a shock to the community. When all is said and done in…

…If you cracked one Treasure to Shock an opponent, and sacrificed nothing additional to cast Dargo, the remaining cost would…

…that means there’s just a single fetch land, shock land, or triome in each deck. But nope, it’s…

…usually at instant speed, not at sorcery (i.e., Shock). However, getting to reuse it later in the game (while…

…Believe it or not, the shock lands are *not* the best lands in the set, so check out the powerful…

…Marauder (diversifies morph base, gives you alternate method of Shock damage) <br> +2 Hull Breach (or Naturalize, depending on what…

In between the 2003 Bluegrass Battle and the Origins tourneys exists the unrestriction of Berserk, the explosion of Gro-A-Tog onto the Type One metagame, and the subsequent announcement restricting Gush. This article is going to look at the archetype as it evolved and existed in its variant forms interwoven through three Origins tournament reports. Additionally, for those who aren’t into tournament reports, in the concluding sections of this article, I have some important meanderings on the decision to restrict Gush.

…Game one started as quite a shock: I was the victim of double Duress on turns 1 and 2. He…

…relevant creatures in the set for a bargain price. Shock was a windmill slam in Onslaught block because 2/2s…

…Marauder (diversifies morph base, gives you alternate method of Shock damage) <br> +2 Hull Breach (or Naturalize, depending on what…

…Cleansing Beam is an instant, but it’s five times more expensive and much more random than Shock. The second…

John Friggin’ Rizzo took his Black/Green aggro-discard deck, sporting inexplicable Breeding Pools, to his Regional championships. The inventor of Friggorid had a merry old time, signing Ichorids galore and administering hardcore beats. He overcame a few personal barriers, including one that involved urinal abuse, and finished far higher than expected. A fabulous report, full of the fun that only Rizzo can command…

…One turn later, Hyppie eats a Shock and I eat four to the face. But he still doesn’t play…

…should be made.” Rashmi stared at her friend in shock. Her confusion turned to anger. “I thought you believed in…