Top 10 Dark Ascension Cards For Standard (Tips, Strategy, Review, & First Impressions) February 3, 2012
Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, tips, standard , add a comment
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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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 , 3comments
I 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…)
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…)
My Red Deck Went Undefeated February 17, 2009
Posted by James in : all, strategy, tips, constructed, standard , 2comments
On February 14th I played in a cash prize tournament at Superstars and I won $200. There were six rounds and I won the first four. Then I just had to wait to play in the top 8, so I had two “intentional draws.” Then I won the first match of the top 8, and the top four players all split the prizes at the end. I technically won the tournament due to tiebreakers, but I didn’t play it out. (more…)
Conflux Review Part 2: Top 10 Cards January 27, 2009
Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, constructed, shards of alara block, standard, extended , add a comment
Although Shards of Alara had very few cards that could be used for either standard or extended, Conflux has at least 10 that might be good enough: (more…)
Shards of Alara Review Part 2 September 26, 2008
Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, standard, extended , 1 comment so farIn this installment I will review Shards of Alara with the constructed tournaments formats (standard and extended) in mind. (more…)