The New Red Deck Wins August 26, 2010
Posted by James in : all, strategy, constructed , 5comments
Red Deck Wins is one of the least expensive yet competitive decks you can make for standard. After someone stole my three standard decks I already had plans to play in a standard event the next day, so I ended up staying up late making a new deck. I decided the best option was red deck wins, which could be made entirely with cards worth around $5 or less. Here was my deck list: (more…)
Power 9 Cards That Didn’t Make It Into Alpha August 18, 2010
Posted by James in : all, fake cards, speculation , 4comments
Some cards were good enough to be in the power 9, but they lacked the rarity to be worth hundreds of dollars, such as Demonic Tutor, Balance, Sol Ring, and Wheel of Fortune. However, Wizards of the Coast ended up favoring Blue in the end. Ancestral Recall and Timewalk were far beyond the power level of any other card, so the four other colors got the short end of the stick. That’s not to say that ultra powerful cards weren’t considered in other colors while playtesting Alpha. Here are some of the cards that could have been playtested and rejected by research and development: (more…)
Someone Stole Three of My Decks August 13, 2010
Posted by James in : all , 8commentsLast Friday (August 6) a fat pack box containing three of my decks and lots of other goodies went missing during Friday Night magic at Superstars in downtown San Jose. The decks missing include an Ally deck, Vampire deck, and Naya deck. It contained around 20 fetch lands, 4 Noble Hierarchs, 4 foil Dragonmaste Outcast cards, around 12 Magic 2010 dual lands, 4 Knight of Reliquary cards, 4 Vampire Nocturnus cards, and more. (more…)
Is Magic: the Gathering Evil? August 12, 2010
Posted by James in : all , add a commentI have read up a little more on why people think Harry Potter, Dungeons and Dragons, and Magic are evil. I posted my findings in Is Fantasy, such as Dungeons and Dragons or Harry Potter, Immoral? on my other website.
Drafting 2011 Part 6: Green August 3, 2010
Posted by James in : all, strategy, tips, draft , 6comments
Green doesn’t have the mind blowing power of the other colors, but it does have big creatures and mana fixing. The main idea of green is that you can play a couple other colors of your choice without worrying a lot about having mana problems. My top 10 favorite green common and uncommon cards are the following: (more…)
$5 Draft at Superstars (Downtown San Jose) August 1, 2010
Posted by James in : all, random , add a commentSuperstars is now offering a deal for each Friday Night Magic in August 2010. If you pay for your Friday Night Magic event and preregister for the main Saturday Standard event simultaneously, you can get to draft for $5 or play in a free Standard event. (Every Friday night you get to choose between drafting or playing Standard.)
Superstars was already giving $10 drafts on Friday Night, but this deal is even better.
Also, this Sunday August 8, 2010 Superstars is having a $10 sealed deck event with $1,000 of prizes. (more…)
Drafting Magic 2011 Part 5: Red July 28, 2010
Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, limited, draft , 5comments
Red is by far my favorite color to draft in Magic 2011, but the problem is that everyone else seems to feel the same way and they often take all the best red cards before I have a chance. Here are my top 10 red common and uncommon cards for Magic 2011: (more…)
Drafting Magic 2011 Part 4: Black July 23, 2010
Posted by James in : all, strategy, tips, limited, draft , 6comments
These are my favorite 10 black commons and uncommons when drafting Magic 2011: (more…)
Drafting Magic 2011 Part 3: Blue July 16, 2010
Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, limited, draft , 3comments
This is a list of the top 10 blue uncommon and common cards that I would want to get in draft. (more…)
Drafting Magic 2011 Part 2: White July 14, 2010
Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, limited, draft , 3commentsHere are my favorite top 10 white common and uncommon white cards in Magic 2011. These are the cards I would want most if I was playing white. (more…)
Drafting Magic 2011: Top 10 First Picks July 9, 2010
Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, limited, draft , 11commentsWhen drafting, the first few picks we take will often determine what colors we should play, so knowing the very best cards of a draft is essential. If you get a powerful card after a couple cards have already been taken in a pack, then you should probably play that color because it looks like you don’t have a lot of competition. The most powerful cards are what I often call “first picks.” I will discuss my current favorite top 10 commons and uncommon first picks for draft. (Keep in mind that this was written before Magic 2011 was released, so this is somewhat speculative.) (more…)
Magic 2011 Top 10 Cards (Not In Magic 2010) For Standard July 8, 2010
Posted by James in : all, strategy, constructed , 3commentsMy current favorite top 10 cards in Magic 2011 that are reprints or completely new with Standard tournaments in mind are as follows: (more…)
Magic 2011 First Impressions July 7, 2010
Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews , 4commentsThe Magic 2011 spoiler has been finished and we now see a set much like Magic 2010 with some slight changes. The last several core sets have had pretty major changes for the better, so I had my hopes up, but the changes were actually very minor. Here are my current observations: (more…)
Predicting the Future Part 6: Moxes from M11 to M19 (Part 3) July 5, 2010
Posted by James in : all, fake cards, reviews, previews, speculation , 2commentsThe grand finale. Here are my final 3 card ideas for Moxes in the not-too-distant-future. (more…)
How to Get a Free Deck Box! July 1, 2010
Posted by James in : all, random , add a comment
I got 100 blue deck boxes for Magic the Gathering decks, and you can get one free whenever you buy a deck worth $19.99 or more at my ebay store, The Magic Deck. The deck box will be used to protect your deck in the mail. (more…)
Predicting the Future Part 5: Moxes from M11 to M19 (Part 2) June 28, 2010
Posted by James in : all, fake cards, reviews, previews, speculation , 5commentsToday I will introduce 3 more Moxes that could be made anytime now. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them within the next 9 years. (more…)
Predicting the Future Part 4: Moxes from M11 to M19 June 26, 2010
Posted by James in : all, fake cards, reviews, previews, speculation , 2commentsI have already presented you with my version of Mox Crystal, which I expect to be made sooner or later, but I will now present several more moxes that could be made within the next 9 years. I will start off with 3 green moxes that would actually be made in all five colors (if made at all). (more…)
Predicting the Future Part 3: Magic 2011 to 2019 June 24, 2010
Posted by James in : all, fake cards, reviews, previews, speculation , 5commentsI continue previewing cards that will be released within the next 9 years including a new Lotus, Divination, and basic land. (more…)
Playtesting June 23, 2010
Posted by James in : all, updates , add a comment
I created a new page called, “Playtesting.” (See links on top of my site.) I am looking for people in the San Jose area who are interested in playing my original card games and Magic the Gathering sets. (more…)
Predicting the Future Part 2: Magic 2011 to 2019 June 20, 2010
Posted by James in : all, fake cards, reviews, previews, speculation , 7commentsI continue to consider what cards we could be seeing any time now. I will consider a new counterspell, burn spell, and dual land that I expect to see within the next 9 years. (more…)