Predicting the Future Part 1: Magic 2011 to 2019 June 16, 2010
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, reviews, previews, design, speculation , 2comments
The power creep continues to make Magic cards more powerful. I will be suggesting what cards I think we could be seeing any time now due to the fact that cards are getting more powerful and will continue to do so. These cards could appear in Magic 2011, and I expect to see them before Magic 2020. (more…)
Critique of “New” Magic the Gathering & Rise of Eldrazi April 16, 2010
Posted by James in : all, random, theory, reviews, previews, design , 6comments
From Onslaught to Eventide was a golden age for Magic. The sets were extraordinarily very well balanced and fun for drafting and other limited events. Shards of Alara, Magic 2010, and Zendikar missed the mark. What about Rise of Eldrazi? I will examine the design flaws of each of these sets and give my first impressions for Rise of Eldrazi. (more…)
Historical Progress of Magic November 16, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, reviews, design , add a commentWe experience a lot of progress in our personal lives. We evolve from someone willing to touch fire and walk into traffic into a much more reasonable kind of person. Society also has progress when it comes to technological improvements. What about Magic? Is Magic better now than it used to be? Consider the following points: (more…)
Why I hate Fetch Lands November 3, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, reviews, design , 13comments
When Revised was around, I decided that I should sell my dual lands for $5 each. They were worth too much money. Then when Ravnica came out the shock duals were worth around $20. That was pure insanity, and we had little choice but get them to play Magic because Ravnica was all about multicolor decks! (more…)
Wizards of the Coast Tried October 30, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, game rules, theory, design, speculation , 3comments
Zendikar has proven to have inadequate mana fixing. The inevitable advice for us is, “Play 18 or 19 lands in a 40 card deck!” Yes, that helps, but then you often end up drawing all lands the whole game. However, Wizards did try. They designed cards that would help with mana fixing, but those cards were rejected… and apparently they were never replaced with appropriate mana fixing. (more…)
Zendikar Review Part 1: Mana Fixing September 25, 2009
Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, design , 4comments
The Zendikar Spoiler is complete, so I will now begin my Zendikar reviews, starting with mana fixing. Mana fixing comes in three forms. Color fixing, help with not enough mana, and help with too much mana. (more…)
Zendikar: The New Mechanic & The Returning Mechanic September 1, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, reviews, previews, design , 1 comment so farWe now know what mechanic has returned in Zendikar and we know what makes Zendikar such a dangerous place.
Warning: This article contains spoilers. (more…)
Infinity: A Future Magic Set Part 2 June 26, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, design , 3commentsBefore reading this, you should take a look at Part 1.
What exactly will Magic look like 50 years from now? I’m not going to show my entire Infinity set here, but I will show enough cards that can give you a pretty good idea what the game will look like. (The rule of thumb: Four casting cost cards will have one casting cost instead.) (more…)
Why Aggro Decks Are Terrible June 23, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, reviews, strategy, constructed, design , 1 comment so far
I have made great creature-based aggro (aggressive) decks for years, but it has become increasingly more difficult to make a good aggro deck. You’d think Lorwyn would have been the ultimate savior of aggro with the huge power creep for creatures, but Wizards has simply not realized something: They can make creatures with almost unlimited power, and it won’t make a difference. The problem isn’t that creatures aren’t good enough. The problem is that anti-control is nonexistent. (more…)
Infinity: A Future Magic Set June 19, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, theory, reviews, previews, design, speculation , 4comments
In October 2008 I decided to make a satirical article series, The Power Creep, about what Magic will be like 50 years in to the future.
Then around February 2009 I started making an entire Magic set based on the Power Creep articles. I was very curious and perhaps a bit power hungry. What would Magic be like 50 years from now if my predictions were correct? What if moxes and Black Lotus were no longer over-powered? I wanted to know. (more…)
More Rules Updates that We Need June 14, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, game rules, theory, complecated rules, design , 1 comment so farThere are more rules updates starting with M10 (Magic 2010) that haven’t been mentioned yet, and I will mention some of the rules that I wanted changed. Here is what Mark L. Gottlieb had to say concerning the M10 rule updates: (more…)
Will Beta Dual Lands Come Back? April 17, 2009
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Yes. This may sound absurd because of the reprint policy. No problem, they will be printed again but slightly differently. Without land types, for example. Why will this happen? For at least two reasons. One, because it will guarantee that lots of sales will be made. It will do exactly what Magic exists to do: Make money. Two, some day Revised dual lands will be too hard to get and players will demand that they get a chance to play with them. (more…)
Predicting Alara Reborn Part 4 March 20, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, design, speculation , 9comments
We know that Alara Reborn will be all gold (multicolor). It appears confirmed that every card in the whole set will be gold, so there won’t be any colorless lands or artifacts. One problem remains: What will the one drops look like? Gold cards require you to pay at least two mana, so one drops probably won’t have one mana in the casting cost. (more…)
Predicting Alara Reborn Part 3 March 17, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, theory, design, speculation , 4commentsWe know two things about Alara Reborn. One, it will probably take place after the shards unite and become a new world. (Hence the name “Alara Reborn.”) Two, it is supposed to be very unusual. I will take a look at how it might be unusual. We believe that it will be unusual because of hints given by the design team of Wizards of the Coast. Aaron Forsythe gave a hint about Alara Reborn being a bit different when he said: (more…)
Shards of Alara & Conflux Critique March 10, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, theory, design , 5commentsShards of Alara has a clunky design for playing in limited tournament events (draft and sealed deck). Consider the different themes and how they interact: (more…)
Conflux: First Impressions January 11, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, theory, reviews, previews, design , 3comments
The next set of Alara block is Conflux and we already have a partial spoiler that is quickly growing. Prereleases will be held on January 31 - February 1, 2009., and it will be officially released on February 6, 2009. Although some people speculated that there would be “new” three color shards introduced in each set, this was already denied by Wizards of the Coast. So I thought every set of Shards block was going to be permanently about the same 3-color shards. However, there was a twist. The block is transforming into a 5-color theme. We still have the same shards, but we have a lot of “5 color deck” stuff as well. (more…)
Shards of Alara Critique January 9, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, theory, reviews, constructed, shards of alara block, limited, draft, sealed, design , add a commentWhether you are playing in a Shards of Alara Sealed tournament, Draft tournament, or block constructed tournament, there are some serious unprecedented problems that we face. (more…)
Deck Types January 6, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, design , 2commentsI have mentioned in a previous article that I don’t like Wizards of the Coast telling me “deck ideas.” I like to be encouraged to think of my own deck ideas. This is one of the whole points to collectible card games. If Wizards of the Coast is going to tell us what decks to play, they might as well just have us all play preconstructed decks.
There is one thing in particular about Magic: the Gathering that tells us that we can make our own deck ideas: There are many ways of winning. There are creature decks, mill decks, stasis decks, illusionary mask decks, burn decks, dredge decks, etc. Not only are there various win conditions, but sometimes we find other ways of winning. Stasis, for example, isn’t technically a win condition, but it provides a unique kind of advantage over the opponent. In contrast, other card games seem to provide pretty much just one kind of deck (creature decks). (more…)
The Meta-Game December 30, 2008
Posted by James in : all, random, theory, reviews, design , 11commentsOne of the most important issue in Magic the Gathering is what decks are the most powerful. In particular, whether or not one deck is the “best deck.” Some people categorize the “best decks” as “the metagame.” Most people talk about “metagame” when they are interested in netdecking. The design team at Wizards of the Coast works hard day and night to prevent the game from only having one “best deck.” (When there is only one best deck, netdecking becomes too easy!) (more…)
Arbitrary Abilities December 23, 2008
Posted by James in : all, random, theory, reviews, design , 4commentsOne of the best parts of Magic the Gathering is the feeling of endless possibilities. The feeling that you can be creative an create an entirely new deck idea. One part of the game that is disrespectful to this fact are “arbitrary abilities.” What exactly do I mean by “arbitrary abilities?” I mean abilities or any part of the game that is “meaningless.” Things that do nothing by themselves and only exist to be part of a “combo.” Probably the best example of an arbitrary ability is “Arcane.” I will come back to this soon. (more…)