Top 10 Dark Ascension Cards For Standard (Tips, Strategy, Review, & First Impressions) February 3, 2012
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This is my top 10 favorite Dark Ascension cards with Standard in mind. The cards on this list might never see play, but I think they are good when considered in isolation, and they are likely to see play at some point. (Perhaps after the next rotation.) Keep in mind that this list is created before Dark Ascension was officially released, so it is somewhat speculative. (more…)
10 Powerful Colorless Cards for Commander (EDH Tips & Strategy) January 18, 2012
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I have mentioned my 9 favorite cards for Commander, but there are several other great cards that should be in almost every deck. Here is a list of 10 cards that meet that criteria. (more…)
Top 10 Innistrad Cards for Standard (Strategy & Tips) September 22, 2011
Posted by James in : all, strategy, tips, constructed , 7comments
There are several cards that I like from Innistrad, but these are my 10 favorite cards that might be worth using in a standard constructed deck: (more…)
Top 10 New Cards in Magic 2012 for Standard July 14, 2011
Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, standard , 1 comment so far
There are many good reprints in Magic 2012, and some of them were gone for a while. Grim Lavamancer, Oblivion Ring, Incinerate, Ponder, Overrun, Goblin Grenade, Smallpox, and Solemn Simulacrum are all great cards that weren’t in Magic 2011 or any other set within the last year. My concern here are never-seen-before cards in Magic 2012 that I think could be good enough make a difference to Standard tournaments. (more…)
The Power 9 for Commander (Best Cards for EDH, Tips & Strategy) July 1, 2011
Posted by James in : all, strategy, tips, constructed , 5commentsCommander is a lot like a singleton version of Vintage (type 1), but many additional cards are banned. I will discuss which cards I think are the most broken in Commander. These cards could become banned at any time. (more…)
Top 10 Best Commander Precon Cards (EDH Tips & Strategy) June 24, 2011
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Wizards of the Coast has made Commander (AKA EDH/Elder Dragon Highlander) into an official format and five preconstructed commander decks have been released featuring 51 new cards. (Go here to see a spoiler of every card included in these decks.) I will now present my 10 favorite new commander cards from the preconstructed decks. My ratings of the cards are based on having the commander format in mind because most of the cards wouldn’t be worth playing in any other setting. (more…)
Top 10 Cards for Standard from New Phyrexia April 28, 2011
Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, constructed, standard , 6comments
Here are my current favorite cards for Standard from New Phyrexia. (more…)
Standard Red Deck Wins (Post-Mirrodin Besieged) March 15, 2011
Posted by James in : all, strategy, standard , 5commentsNot much has changed about Red Deck Wins since I discussed it last (almost two months ago), but I did well in a couple large events with my newest version: (more…)
Why Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas, is a Game Design Failure February 1, 2011
Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, constructed , 8comments
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas is quite powerful, and I agree that it’s not broken. So what’s the problem? The problem is that we can’t ignore it because it’s good. And the problem is that it’s the wrong colors. The problem is Tezzeret is wrong for the constructed metalcraft decks we should be able to make using cards from Scars of Mirrodin block. (more…)
Top 10 Cards for Standard in Mirrodin Besieged January 27, 2011
Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, constructed , 2commentsI mentioned my 3 personal favorite cards from Mirrodin Besieged, but they aren’t necessarily going to be the most important cards in Standard. Here are the top 10 cards I think will be powerful (or highly useful) for Standard: (more…)
Standard Red Deck Wins (Post-Scars of Mirrodin) January 18, 2011
Posted by James in : all, strategy, constructed, standard , add a commentI don’t know what Red Deck Wins will look like after Mirrodin Besieged, but I finally got a new red deck that did pretty well. I was able to beat 5 players in a row, then I tied to make it into the top 8. I ended up tying for fourth place. (more…)
Top 10 Scars of Mirrodin Cards for Standard September 26, 2010
Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, standard , 2comments
I don’t think poison or artifact themed decks will immediately have a strong impact on standard, and my top 10 list will be restricted to the cards I think will have an impact right away. My top 10 list is the following: (more…)
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…)
Magic 2011 Top 10 Cards (Not In Magic 2010) For Standard July 8, 2010
Posted by James in : all, strategy, constructed , 3comments
My current favorite top 10 cards in Magic 2011 that are reprints or completely new with Standard tournaments in mind are as follows: (more…)
Worldwake Review Part 4: Standard Top 12 February 3, 2010
Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, constructed, standard , 13comments
There are several cards in Worldwake that will see play in standard tournaments, but I will focus my attention to the top 12. These are the cards I expect to see the most play: (more…)
Post Zendikar Red Deck Wins November 9, 2009
Posted by James in : all, strategy, constructed, standard , 3commentsI did well with Red Deck Wins in the past, but I haven’t got a chance to play it much recently. Red Deck Wins is a tempting deck to play considering that it doesn’t require all the expensive dual lands or fetch lands. Unfortunately, the best red decks probably do require 8 fetch lands. Let’s consider a red deck with fetch lands and another one without them. (more…)
Type 3: Five Color Control October 22, 2009
Posted by James in : all, strategy, constructed , 11commentsOne great thing about Type 3 (Standard without rares) is that all our favorite deck types are still viable. Uncommons are pretty essential for making a good control deck in standard, so Pauper seems to go too far. The control decks you can make without rares aren’t too powerful, but they are powerful enough to be worth playing. (more…)
Budget Decks Part 3: Blue Control August 18, 2009
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The most powerful budget decks should be legal in legacy (Type 1.5), which is a tournament type that allows all cards from normal Magic sets except the most over-powered cards, such as the power 9. The most powerful color in magic is Blue, and it isn’t that hard to make a very powerful blue deck without spending a whole lot of money. A mono blue control deck will be a great way to make all of your friends very frustrated because it won’t let them do anything. (more…)
Budget Decks Part 2: Legacy (Type 1.5) Red Burn August 10, 2009
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Legacy (Type 1.5) is a tournament type that allows all cards from normal Magic sets except the most over-powered cards, such as the power 9. The best way to make the most powerful deck possible is to make a Legacy deck because it allows cards from every normal Magic set ever made. The best way to make the least expensive deck is to make a Legacy deck because older cards tend to be worth less. People only want the newest cards because the most popular tournaments only allows us to use cards from the newest sets. If you want to make a budget red deck for standard (type 2) tournaments, go here. (more…)
Budget Decks: Standard (Type 2) Red Burn July 17, 2009
Posted by James in : all, strategy, constructed, standard , 2comments
I have already suggested in my Magic the Gathering FAQ that a red burn deck is the best deck to make with a limited budget. Here is an uptated list of the best cards I suggest for a budget red deck: (more…)