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Worldwake Review Part 2: First Picks (Limited) January 28, 2010

Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 2comments

In order to prepare for the pre-release, it might help to consider which commons and uncommons you want. When you see these it can help you decide what colors to play. I call the best commons and uncommons “first picks” because they will tend to be the first cards you take during a draft. Here are my favorite 8 commons and uncommons: (more…)

Magic 2010 Review Part 2: Second Picks July 8, 2009

Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 6comments

Second picks are a notch under first picks. They are cards that are sometimes worth taking as a first pick in a draft. It is important to know what cards are considered to be second picks because every card in your deck isn’t going to be a bomb or a first pick when playing in a draft or sealed deck tournament. Taking a close look at the second picks can help you decide what colors to play, and it will help you take the best cards in a draft. I will only discuss the common and uncommon second picks because you can’t count on getting good rares in a limited event. (more…)

Magic 2010 Review: Limited Bombs & First Picks July 7, 2009

Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 5comments

In order to understand what colors and cards are best in sealed and draft tournaments, it can be a good idea to take a look at the best cards. (more…)

Drafting Alara Reborn Part 1 May 6, 2009

Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 4comments

What colors should you play? Considering Alara Reborn, Naya is still the best shard, and Grixis has got the short end of the stick.

Although you will probably already know what colors you will play before opening the Alara Reborn pack, the colors you choose to play can be influenced based on what you hope to get in Alara Reborn. The most notable influence is probably Loxodon Warhammer. I mean Behemoth Sledge, which is a green-white uncommon. This is relatively easy to splash, so that alone isn’t going to make you want to play a green white deck. (But it can help you decide to play green or white.) (more…)

Alara Reborn Review Part 4: Limited Second Picks April 29, 2009

Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 2comments

If you can’t get one of the best bombs or first picks mentioned in my previous articles, you could still get something nearly as powerful. These I call “second picks.” Here are my favorite 12 second picks: (more…)

Alara Reborn Review Part 3: Limited First Picks April 27, 2009

Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 8comments

Yes, there are several rare first picks, but this is nothing unusual. What makes the big difference when playing in sealed and draft events are the common and uncommon first picks. (These are cards good enough to pick as your first card when playing in a draft event.) The most important first picks tend to be creature removal spells. Here are the top 8 first picks found in Alara Reborn: (more…)

Alara Reborn Review Part 2: Limited Bombs April 25, 2009

Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 1 comment so far

I have chosen what I believe to be the top 6 limited bombs of Alara Reborn. These are the best cards you can get when playing in a sealed or draft tournament. My criteria for a bomb are the following:

  1. It will win you the game if it is not stopped.
  2. It is undercosted. Lower mana cost is good.
  3. It has few colors. No colors is best.

Bombs do not have to meet all of the above criteria. Either of the first two attributes of bombs can be enough to make a card a bomb. (more…)

Draft Tips: How Many Lands? February 9, 2009

Posted by James in : all, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , add a comment

The most common rule of drafting or playing sealed is that you play 17 lands and 23 spells. There can be exceptions to this rule, but this ratio seems to work out pretty well. (more…)

Drafting Conflux Part 4: Grixis February 2, 2009

Posted by James in : all, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 1 comment so far

The best thing about Grixis is the fact that it can make use of many cards in Jund that have the same exact theme (sacrificing creatures.) The second best thing about Grixis is the fact that Dark Temper is better in Grixis than in any other deck. (more…)

Conflux Review Part 3: Sealed & Draft January 28, 2009

Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 4comments

We want to know four things about Sealed and Draft tournaments: (1) What is the best color? (2) Will I get mana screwed? (3) What are the best cards we can hope to get? (4) Will Conflux make our experience more enjoyable? (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 comment

Whether 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…)

Shards of Alara Block Constructed Part 4: Jund October 3, 2008

Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, tips, constructed, shards of alara block, sealed , 8comments

This article is old and has been replaced by a newer one found here.

Today I will reveal my idea for a Jund deck (red-black-green). (more…)

Shards of Alara Review Part 1 September 24, 2008

Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 12comments

In the first installment of my Shards of Alara review, I will discuss strategy for limited tournaments (sealed and booster draft). (more…)