Author: paz

  • Correcting “Two Headed Wizards”

    Kelly Diggeses’ses latest article for MagicTheGathering.com was entitled “Two Headed Wizards.” It was a report on Developer 2HG, an event at GP Seattle/Tacoma wherein WOTC developers teamed up with random duders.

    Unfortunately, Kelly made a glaring omission: he failed to namedrop Good Gamery regular Brian Cohn.

    The offending paragraph:

    I also noticed that most teams were much better-equipped than we were in the bomb department. Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund made an appearance, as did Thraximundar, but the best table I saw was that of developer (and Latest Developments author) Tom LaPille and his partner, who had Lord of Extinction, foil Dauntless Escort, and foil Rafiq of the Many, with Mosstodon to help Lord of Extinction punch through. Nice pool, guys!

    “His partner?” Who’s that? This mystery would have been left buried for all time, robbing humanity of knowledge essential to maximal social utility. But that’s why God created Good Gamery.

    We took the liberty — nay, the obligation — of rewriting the paragraph to include the omitted information.

    I also noticed that most teams were much better-equipped than we were in the bomb department. Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund made an appearance, as did Thraximundar, but the best table I saw was that of developer (and Latest Developments author) Tom LaPille and


    and skilled, up-and-coming Magic player Brian Cohn (or “ewie” on Good Gamery).

    Right from the beginning, Tom and Brian shared a special connection because both have ties to the MiseTings and Good Gamery communities. The partner assignments were supposedly random, of course, but as soon as they were paired up we knew that Tom had pulled a few strings to make it happen.

    Things were a little bit awkward at first. Brian was a bit starstruck because Tom is a hot-shot rockstar at Wizards. Tom was a bit starstruck because Brian has masterpiece Good Gamery threads under his belt.

    But all of that disappeared when they cracked open their pool. Suddenly restraint melted away, and the two embraced with tears in their eyes as they opened

    Mycoloth and Obelisk of Alara, as well as Lord of Extinction, foil Dauntless Escort, and foil Rafiq of the Many, with Mosstodon to help Lord of Extinction punch through. Nice pool, guys!

  • Heart to Heart Chat with Mike Long

    Sunday evening, JoINrbs was playing on Skeletor’s (Reuben’s) MODO account when his opponent became curt. A verbal battle ensued, which slowly morphed into a heartfelt discussion about love, life, success, and the measure of a man.

    Then, it turned out his opponent was none other than Mike Long, former professional Magic player with no shortage of wacky money-making schemes.

    Enjoy!

    – Good Gamery Administration



    10:47 PM Wildeyed: can you play a bit faster please?


    10:48 PM Reubs: can you conceed please?


    10:48 PM Wildeyed: why are you acting lame


    10:49 PM Wildeyed: are you a 14 year old?


    10:49 PM Wildeyed: well?[


    10:49 PM Wildeyed: what’s your deal?


    10:49 PM Wildeyed: what did i do?


    10:49 PM Wildeyed: i politely asked you to play faster


    10:49 PM Wildeyed: is this the way you act in person?


    10:49 PM Reubs: play faster please


    10:49 PM Wildeyed: why don’t you respond to what i said?


    10:49 PM Wildeyed: are you proud of the way you’re acting?


    10:50 PM Wildeyed: are you not going to answer?


    10:50 PM Wildeyed: do you have any class at all?


    10:50 PM Wildeyed: hello?


    10:51 PM Wildeyed: answer me or have fun waiting 14 minutes


    10:51 PM Reubs: fyi


    10:51 PM Wildeyed: actually forgetabout it


    10:51 PM Reubs: well, first i am fine with waiting


    10:51 PM Reubs: go for it, your clock


    10:51 PM Wildeyed: just enjoy wayiting


    10:51 PM Wildeyed: great


    10:51 PM Reubs: when i have a decision


    10:51 PM Wildeyed: enjoy


    10:52 PM Reubs: and have 1.5 minutes less than you on my clock


    10:52 PM Reubs: it’s sort of rude to ask me to play faster


    10:56 PM Wildeyed: ps i built that deck, so like um, smart networking too


    10:57 PM Reubs: cool


    10:57 PM Reubs: i built it too


    10:57 PM Reubs: smart networking


    10:57 PM Wildeyed: uh huh


    10:57 PM Wildeyed: sure you did


    10:58 PM Wildeyed: pat? didn’t think so


    10:58 PM Reubs: not networking with you seems +ev


    10:59 PM Wildeyed: smart thinnking – because i haven’t um helped several people win pro championships or anything


    10:59 PM Wildeyed: oh no wait, i have


    10:59 PM Wildeyed: it’s really great when the new generation brings a real sense of courtesy and fun to the game, thanks for that


    11:00 PM Reubs: i’ve been playing a long time


    11:00 PM Reubs: i switched to poker


    11:00 PM Reubs: i make a lot of money


    11:00 PM Reubs: you have reminded me why i stopped magic


    11:00 PM Wildeyed: i bet you aren’t happy


    11:00 PM Reubs: thank you


    11:00 PM Wildeyed: ;)


    11:00 PM Reubs: right


    11:00 PM Reubs: that’s why i play poker


    11:00 PM Wildeyed: have are things with girls


    11:00 PM Reubs: and you don’t


    11:00 PM Wildeyed: ;)


    11:00 PM Wildeyed: um hum


    11:00 PM Reubs: girls are pretty good


    11:00 PM Wildeyed: you have no idea who you’re talking to dip-sh*t


    11:00 PM Reubs: big date with stephanie in a couple of days


    11:00 PM Wildeyed: i’m a millionaire, i could give a sh*t


    11:00 PM Reubs: lol


    11:00 PM Wildeyed: big date?


    11:00 PM Wildeyed: lol


    11:00 PM Wildeyed: nice


    11:00 PM Reubs: you are a millionaire


    11:01 PM Wildeyed: have fun


    11:01 PM Reubs: and you are timing out on me


    11:01 PM Reubs: in a two ticket HU queue


    11:01 PM Reubs: you are awesome dude


    11:01 PM Wildeyed: funny how the human system works


    11:01 PM Reubs: thanks for the games


    11:01 PM Reubs: g1 was close


    11:01 PM Wildeyed: you treat me with contempt – click, whir, i do the same


    11:01 PM Reubs: not sure about my play in g2


    11:01 PM Reubs: holding anathemancer, fallout, bit blast, leech, finks right now


    11:01 PM Reubs: had a lot to think about


    11:02 PM Wildeyed: you should look at the way you treat people before you see steph – or you’ll be scratching your head as to why she left you


    11:02 PM Reubs: gave you credit for not attacking and pumping leech if i telegraphed pyroclasm though


    11:02 PM Reubs: ggs


    11:02 PM Reubs: enjoy your thrilling mtg career


    11:03 PM Wildeyed: yeah that’s where i derive all of my pleasure – no i have a great life. usually i come to the magic world to help pople


    11:03 PM Wildeyed: people


    11:03 PM Wildeyed: but sometimes


    11:03 PM Reubs: that’s awesome dude


    11:03 PM Wildeyed: if you work at it a bit


    11:03 PM Wildeyed: while i’m mana screwed


    11:03 PM Wildeyed: you can bring the animal back out ;)


    11:04 PM Reubs: well you get mana screwed some % of the time


    11:04 PM Wildeyed: ggs gl with poker, i apologize for timing out


    11:04 PM Reubs: what point is there getting upset


    11:04 PM Wildeyed: also


    11:04 PM Wildeyed: read blink by malcolm gladwell if you want to know why i got upset


    11:04 PM Reubs: read it already


    11:04 PM Wildeyed: the respect study


    11:04 PM Wildeyed: uw


    11:04 PM Reubs: also i went to uw


    11:04 PM Wildeyed: they have all the couples have phoney fights


    11:05 PM Wildeyed: eventually they can tell by watching a 5-minute clip whether they will be together in 15 years


    11:05 PM Wildeyed: 95% of the time


    11:05 PM Wildeyed: with the sound turned off


    11:05 PM Reubs: they aren’t phony fights


    11:05 PM Wildeyed: they are


    11:05 PM Reubs: they are everyday discussions


    11:05 PM Reubs: no, you listen for contempt


    11:05 PM Wildeyed: look how argumentative you are


    11:05 PM Reubs: you are trying to tell me something that is incorrect, so i am correcting you


    11:05 PM Wildeyed: ha, you put it a poor way


    11:06 PM Wildeyed: that’s the point


    11:06 PM Wildeyed: you think you can interact with people


    11:06 PM Wildeyed: and treat them that way]


    11:06 PM Wildeyed: fine


    11:06 PM Wildeyed: but


    11:06 PM Wildeyed: you’ll some people off


    11:06 PM Wildeyed: even good people


    11:06 PM Wildeyed: let that be a lesson


    11:06 PM Wildeyed: i’ve away a lot of opportunities


    11:06 PM Reubs: thank you for opening my eyes to the world


    11:06 PM Wildeyed: i’ve had big ceos eating out of my hands


    11:06 PM Wildeyed: then whoosh


    11:06 PM Wildeyed: nothing


    (those poor hungry ceos ;___; – GGA)


    11:07 PM Wildeyed: i used to be that way


    11:07 PM Wildeyed: i’m just saying


    11:07 PM Wildeyed: you want to act like you know everything – great


    11:07 PM Reubs: well let me develop through my grouchy early 20s


    11:07 PM Wildeyed: i’ve got my lesson and my reward for my own bad behavior


    11:07 PM Wildeyed: you’re probably way to bright to be grouchy


    11:07 PM Reubs: then i will calm down and get chained down and learn to be nice to people


    11:07 PM Wildeyed: you read bink


    11:07 PM Wildeyed: you can correct me


    11:08 PM Wildeyed: but do you understand the point ?


    11:08 PM Reubs: yeah, it’s something i’m aware of


    11:08 PM Wildeyed: you can dig yourself in such a hole the way you’re going


    11:08 PM Wildeyed: make people hate you


    11:08 PM Wildeyed: they will hurt you


    11:08 PM Reubs: i don’t really care to make time for other people i’m not close to


    11:08 PM Wildeyed: they won’t see you as a person


    11:08 PM Reubs: i have a lot of excellent close friends


    11:08 PM Wildeyed: they’ll steal from you


    11:08 PM Wildeyed: sure


    11:08 PM Wildeyed: so did i


    11:08 PM Reubs: and all the connections i need right now


    11:08 PM Wildeyed: and so many of them stabbed me in the back when i made it


    11:08 PM Wildeyed: you have?


    11:08 PM Wildeyed: what?


    11:08 PM Wildeyed: do you think i’m lobbying you?


    11:09 PM Wildeyed: bah


    11:09 PM Wildeyed: you’re right


    11:09 PM Wildeyed: you know it all


    11:09 PM Reubs: i do not have aspirations of being president or a millionaire or anything


    11:09 PM Wildeyed: and you know everyone you need to know


    11:09 PM Reubs: i make plenty of good money


    11:09 PM Wildeyed: and they will never screw you


    11:09 PM Reubs: at the moment i am focusing on slacklining a lot


    11:09 PM Wildeyed: good luck wiht that system kiddo


    11:09 PM Reubs: and rock climbing


    11:09 PM Reubs: and poker


    11:09 PM Reubs: it’s working pretty well


    11:09 PM Wildeyed: great


    11:09 PM Wildeyed: well


    11:09 PM Wildeyed: good luck with taht


    11:10 PM Reubs: you should not pm people who are marginally behind you on time to ask them to play faster


    11:10 PM Reubs: it is irritating


    11:10 PM Reubs: and comes off as very rude


    11:10 PM Wildeyed: you were taking forever


    11:10 PM Reubs: and you should not time out on people, that’s just absurd


    11:10 PM Reubs: i play poker with two cards


    11:10 PM Reubs: magic has 60 cards in each deck


    11:10 PM Reubs: and 7 cards in each hand


    11:10 PM Reubs: and an infinitely more complex board state


    11:10 PM Reubs: and i don’t know every card in your deck


    11:11 PM Reubs: there is a huge huge amount to think about


    11:11 PM Reubs: to maximize ev


    11:11 PM Wildeyed: anyways


    11:11 PM Wildeyed: i’m not defending my actions


    11:11 PM Wildeyed: i don’t agree with my actions


    11:11 PM Wildeyed: that’s why i apologized


    11:11 PM Reubs: cool, i’m sorry i was short with you then


    11:11 PM Reubs: i have no way of knowing you aren’t a random mtgo


    11:11 PM Reubs: d1ckhead


    11:11 PM Wildeyed: i mean


    11:11 PM Wildeyed: if you treat people


    11:12 PM Wildeyed: as if


    11:12 PM Wildeyed: there are


    11:12 PM Wildeyed: random dickheads


    11:12 PM Wildeyed: i mean


    11:12 PM Reubs: that is what you did to me right?


    11:12 PM Wildeyed: you’ll bring out the dickheads even in cool people


    11:12 PM Wildeyed: no what i did was gay


    11:12 PM Wildeyed: i don’t like feeling bad around magic


    11:12 PM Wildeyed: that’s why i’m sticking around to resolve this


    11:12 PM Wildeyed: i don’t like feeling bad surrounding anything


    11:13 PM Reubs: magic constantly makes me feel bad


    11:13 PM Reubs: i played at gp: seattle


    11:13 PM Reubs: worst feeling of my life


    11:13 PM Wildeyed: i used to be such an animal


    11:13 PM Wildeyed: at live tournaments i’d lose my mind


    11:13 PM Wildeyed: regularly


    11:13 PM Reubs: poker is so much better


    11:13 PM Reubs: i 24-table


    11:13 PM Wildeyed: that’s how i got a reputation, not cheating, just being a


    11:13 PM Reubs: play with the same guys every day and they are all nice and well-mannered


    11:13 PM Wildeyed: 24-table?


    11:13 PM Wildeyed: ah yeah


    11:13 PM Wildeyed: sure


    11:13 PM Reubs: general understanding that you’re there to take money off bad players


    11:13 PM Wildeyed: poker should be better


    11:14 PM Reubs: and that you should be nice to the bad players so they keep coming back


    11:14 PM Reubs: it’s gentlemanly


    11:14 PM Reubs: magic is like


    11:14 PM Reubs: lots of people with emotional issues trying to be superior to each other


    11:14 PM Reubs: over a card game


    11:14 PM Wildeyed: yeah


    11:14 PM Wildeyed: i was typing that


    11:14 PM Wildeyed: it makes you feel morally superior


    11:14 PM Wildeyed: because you feel so freaking smart when you win


    11:15 PM Wildeyed: but it’s so often a lie what you’re feeling


    11:15 PM Reubs: i generally feel like an idiot when i win


    11:15 PM Reubs: because i didn’t play perfectly


    11:15 PM Reubs: that’s all magic has going for it in my eyes, infinitely complex


    11:15 PM Wildeyed: yeah


    11:15 PM Wildeyed: my friend david is a 2 time pt runner up


    11:15 PM Wildeyed: still can’t play


    11:15 PM Wildeyed: his mind is so jacked from the competitive days


    11:15 PM Reubs: david who?


    11:15 PM Wildeyed: he gets so angry when he loses]


    11:15 PM Wildeyed: mills


    11:16 PM Wildeyed: he’s still a brilliant deck builder


    11:16 PM Wildeyed: but he can hardly play without suffering


    11:16 PM Reubs: poker completely removes tilt from games of magic


    11:16 PM Reubs: like, you realize how absurdly high variance is


    11:16 PM Wildeyed: heh


    11:16 PM Reubs: and how little in the game is actually up to you


    11:17 PM Reubs: i just feel awful because i am spending hours playing magic instead of making tons of money playing poker or exercising and being social and stuff


    11:17 PM Wildeyed: my friend david williams suffers over mtg all the time lol


    11:17 PM Wildeyed: well


    11:17 PM Reubs: he also does foot pornos and buys diamond studded toothpicks


    11:17 PM Wildeyed: you’re falling pray to the fallacy of the inverse


    11:17 PM Wildeyed: do you know what that is?


    11:17 PM Reubs: i do not


    11:18 PM Wildeyed: if it rains the sidewalk gets wet


    11:18 PM Wildeyed: if p then q


    11:18 PM Wildeyed: our minds are really screwed up when it comes to that idea


    11:18 PM Wildeyed: we always think q = p


    11:18 PM Wildeyed: there’s zillions of studies about it


    11:18 PM Wildeyed: so


    11:18 PM Wildeyed: if it’s good to make a million dollars playing poker


    11:18 PM Wildeyed: then…


    11:18 PM Wildeyed: we feel like it’s bad not to


    11:19 PM Reubs: yeah


    11:19 PM Wildeyed: thus chasing opportunity in this manic state


    11:19 PM Reubs: i don’t know


    11:19 PM Reubs: i am not like, phil galfond obsessive over this


    11:19 PM Wildeyed: it’s very powerful to have no negative expectations


    11:19 PM Wildeyed: i don’t know phil


    11:19 PM Reubs: he’s a high stakes cash guy who doesn’t really enjoy life despite making millions


    11:19 PM Wildeyed: exactly


    11:20 PM Reubs: he’s basically the perfect example


    11:20 PM Wildeyed: i know so many miserable millionaires


    11:20 PM Wildeyed: soooo manuy


    11:20 PM Wildeyed: many


    11:20 PM Reubs: i like having an idea of what my time is worth


    11:20 PM Wildeyed: i was miserable


    11:20 PM Reubs: i’m still able to take time off poker no problem


    11:20 PM Wildeyed: i remember the day


    11:20 PM Reubs: but i value my time more


    11:20 PM Wildeyed: a half mil cleared into my account


    11:20 PM Reubs: and make sure i’m doing stuff that i like in my time off


    11:20 PM Wildeyed: and i was like: i am not a happy person


    11:20 PM Wildeyed: yeah


    11:20 PM Wildeyed: i work around 4 really hard hours a day


    11:21 PM Wildeyed: which takes usually 8 hours


    11:21 PM Wildeyed: then that’s it


    11:21 PM Wildeyed: dnd


    11:21 PM Wildeyed: magic


    11:21 PM Wildeyed: girls


    11:21 PM Wildeyed: around


    11:21 PM Wildeyed: f*cking around


    11:21 PM Wildeyed: that 8 hours is my contribution to the world


    11:21 PM Reubs: i do 1-3 hours a day and spend the rest of the time outside usually


    11:21 PM Wildeyed: yeah


    11:21 PM Reubs: i make a lot less money than you, fine by me though


    11:21 PM Wildeyed: anyways like i said, sorry for timing u out


    11:21 PM Wildeyed: bah


    11:21 PM Wildeyed: the money isn’t really that important


    11:22 PM Wildeyed: it’s true that i’m a millionaire but it’s false that it matters, which i certainly implied


    11:22 PM Reubs: i dropped out a year ago for poker


    11:22 PM Wildeyed: it just means that if i want to i can lock my door and turn off my phone and probably nobody will bug me


    11:22 PM Reubs: was making 10k a month


    11:22 PM Reubs: thinking this is awesome


    11:22 PM Reubs: then i realized i needed like 1.5k a month to do everything i wanted to do


    11:23 PM Wildeyed: dude


    11:23 PM Wildeyed: that’s a really key realization


    11:23 PM Wildeyed: i didn’t realize it until i was


    11:23 PM Wildeyed: um


    11:23 PM Wildeyed: jeez


    11:23 PM Wildeyed: 32


    11:23 PM Reubs: glad i got it out of the way early


    11:23 PM Wildeyed: anyways, it was good to met you, sorry i was lame


    11:23 PM Wildeyed: yeah


    11:23 PM Wildeyed: for sure


    11:24 PM Reubs: what’s your name
    ?

    11:24 PM Wildeyed: good to meet you man, take care


    11:24 PM Wildeyed: mike long


    11:24 PM Reubs: lol


    11:24 PM Reubs: k


    11:24 PM Reubs: do you remember


    11:24 PM Reubs: whatever t2 had owl


    11:24 PM Wildeyed: sure


    11:24 PM Reubs: you were playing RG aggro


    11:24 PM Wildeyed: we had a fun owl deck


    11:24 PM Wildeyed: yeah


    11:24 PM Reubs: JoINrbs


    11:24 PM Wildeyed: i had a great rg deck


    11:24 PM Reubs: is opponent name


    11:24 PM Wildeyed: what happened? did you beat me?


    11:24 PM Reubs: pitches autochthon wurm to nourishing shoal


    11:24 PM Wildeyed: owl could beat anybody


    11:24 PM Reubs: twincasts twice


    11:25 PM Reubs: you disconnect game one and don’t come back


    11:25 PM Wildeyed: oh yeah


    11:25 PM Wildeyed: really?


    11:25 PM Wildeyed: that’s weird


    11:25 PM Reubs: yeah


    11:25 PM Wildeyed: that’s not like me


    11:25 PM Reubs: one of my favorite moments from magic


    11:25 PM Reubs: ever


    11:25 PM Wildeyed: it must have been an internet proble


    11:25 PM Wildeyed: problem


    11:25 PM Wildeyed: or a girl


    11:25 PM Wildeyed: or…


    11:25 PM Wildeyed: i dunno


    11:25 PM Wildeyed: something else


    11:25 PM Wildeyed: or maybe i just lost it lol


    11:25 PM Wildeyed: that is funny though from your perspective


    11:25 PM Reubs: i will always believe you were like ‘ did that guy just do’


    11:25 PM Reubs: and disc’d


    11:26 PM Wildeyed: hahaha


    11:26 PM Wildeyed: sure, enjoy the thought


    11:26 PM Wildeyed: honestly


    11:26 PM Wildeyed: it’s entirely possible


    11:26 PM Wildeyed: it’s just not like me


    11:26 PM Wildeyed: that rg deck was really good


    11:26 PM Wildeyed: won a lot


    11:26 PM Reubs: owl was okay, i got a bit pet decky with it


    11:26 PM Reubs: wurm + shoal gave you over 50% in some aggro matchups


    11:26 PM Reubs: and control was always a walk


    11:26 PM Reubs: so yeah, that was fun


    11:26 PM Wildeyed: i once won 5 straight 8-mans with it right after the PT


    11:27 PM Wildeyed: anyways, that’s a cool story


    11:27 PM Wildeyed: that’s what i love about magic


    11:27 PM Wildeyed: almost everyone is connected by like 1-2 degrees


    11:28 PM Reubs: i will come make fun of you for cheating or something if i ever see you at a gp or pt


    11:28 PM Wildeyed: ok i’m gonna dash


    11:28 PM Wildeyed: sure do that


    11:28 PM Reubs: gluck


    11:28 PM Wildeyed: lol


    11:28 PM Wildeyed: that would be awesome


    11:29 PM Wildeyed: u2


    Wildeyed has left the conversation.
  • Biggest (Statistical) Beating Ever

    Earlier this year I decided I would take an interest in Shards of Alara block constructed, in part because I was getting back into Standard, and couldn’t be bothered spending up on Lorwyn and Shadowmoor block cards that were going to rotate like, any month now, and also because I was anticipating getting the Shoulder Tap to do Event Coverage for this years Block Constructed Premier Event, Pro Tour Honolulu.

    Apparently I was getting ahead of myself, and every man, woman and intern in the Wizards of the Coast offices was all “omg me, me!” and my shoulder went untapped.

    Heh, untapped.

    So anyway, in an unusual move, the Magic Online Championship Series (Season Two) was scheduled a week before this Pro Tour, and used the exact same format. Well, other than it being online instead of real life, of course, so the shuffler being broken will be a non-issue this weekend.

    (Except for Weasel, whose irl shuffler is broken.)

    Before Alara Reborn came along to shake things up, the format was undeniably ruled by Naya decks. When I say “ruled”, I probably should say “Dominated” in as much as the mere appearance of a non-Naya deck in any of the Decks of the Week top 8 lists often lead people to proclaim The End is Nigh, The Sky is Falling and other such apocalypsisms.

    Now that Alara Reborn has shaken things up, the format is undeniably ruled by Jund decks, and when I say “ruled”, I most definitely should be saying “Dominated”. The culprit, if one had to be named, would almost certainly be Bloodbraid Elf, or BBE. Technically, it’s more that the Cascade mechanic is potentially problematic, and the fact that Maelstrom Pulse and Putrit Leech are exceptionally good cards, but it’s Bloodbraid Elf that means nobody is playing X-Spells like Banefire, Martial Coup or the new and delicious Lavalanche anymore.

    Considering there were 32 Bloodbraid Elves in the top 8 of the MTGO Champs, you’d think that the metagame for this weekend was well and truly sorted out, but I was curious. You may not have noticed, but they’ve added links to the rest of the decklists from the page of top 8 lists. For science, I tentatively clicked on the link to 9th-100th.

    The top 16 showed some variance to the “BBE or Die” approach, with both 14th and 15th place playing none.

    Hydroponix – 14th Place

    Hydroponix had chosen to both go the hate ’em out with Valeron Outrider route, and to have an awesome Asterisk-esque user name. However, I’m pretty sure you could fit some Bloodbraids in there somewhere without crippling your manabase in the slightest, so I’m not sure what the point of that is, other than maybe trying to prove that you can Get There without the Elf. Considering the cash prize in that event goes to 1st place, and
    the rest just get a bunch of packs, he didn’t exactly Get There, either.

    Freyja – 15th Place

    Freyja presented a more conventional Exalted Bant build, and avoided running any Outriders. I assume because they aren’t particularly good against non-Jund decks. Not exactly an obvious move, considering they only take up what, 75% of the metagame?

    Top 8 – 32/32

    Top 16 – 24/32

    Total – 56/64

    Moving on the the top 32.

    The next 16 decks matched the top 16 in that everyone bar two were packing a playset of Bloodbraids. This time, strandba in 18th place was playing what amounted to an Old-School Naya deck. The only Alara Reborn cards he had were 3 Vithian Renegades in the sideboard. I think strandba could have fitted some Bloodbraids without even trying. I suspect, the answer here is that he did not even try. Murkkis in 20th place was the highest finisher playing an Esper Control build, which let’s face it, probably shouldn’t try to squeeze in the Elf, even though I’m assuming it probably could.

    Top 8 – 32/32

    Top 16 – 24/32

    Top 32 – 56/64

    Total – 112/128

    An Esper deck built to include Bloodbraid is probably just a 5Color Control deck, of which there are none inside the top 32. In 33rd place, Orgg Ascetic played a 5CC deck, whose only creatures were 4 Wall of Denial and wait for it, 4 Bloodbraid Elf. In 34th, ChicoMartini had Exalted Bant, and so did thekid in 37th. KT0, in 42nd place, had an interesting take on Esper Control, including a bunch of Glassdust Hulks and Architect of Wills to cycle, powering up 4 Soul Manipulation. FilippoK in 44th place had 5CC as well, but lacked the Bloodbraids to go with his Walls, instead playing a single Sphinx of the Steel Wind.

    In 50th place, Judah threw the numbers out by playing only 3 Bloodbraid Elves in his unusual 5CC build. Unusual in that the only cards he ran 4 of were Crumbling Necropolis, Savage Lands and Exotic Orchard. Everything else was quite frankly, a mess. JHawkins, 52nd, and Inuyasha, 53rd, both played 5CC, monkeywrenched85 in 55th place had a deck very similar to Orgg Ascetic, in that he actually did have the Elves, but only the Wall of Denials to keep them company. I can’t think a Wall of Denial would be particularly good company either, to be honest.

    Drake in 58th place played 5CC, and finally Your Best Friend in 62nd place, played a deck whose only creatures were 4 Wall of Denial. No doubt the Walls would tell you otherwise, regardless of what you asked them, but here is his list.

    Your Best Friend – 62th Place

    What’s he expecting to do, Martial Coup away one of his Walls before casting Cruel Ultimatum? Perhaps he’s expecting to discard one to a Blightning or something, because there’s not much else can kill ’em. I do like that he’s playing 8 Regrowths though, that’s pretty cool. Everyone else in the top 64 was playing 4 Bloodbraid Elves. Maindeck too, none in their sideboards.

    Top 8 – 32/32

    Top 16 – 24/32

    Top 32 – 56/64

    Top 64 – 95/128

    Total – 207/256

    So what will the weekend bring? Will anyone channel Zvi Mowshowitz and Bring The New Solution? Is there something amazing that everyone on Magic Online has missed? Can I possibly end this without a question mark? Seems unlikely. No wait, success!

  • Pro MTG Online #222

    Pro MTG Online #222

  • Breaking Triple ARB Draft: Aggro Jund Cascade

    Alara Reborn has been causing a lot of commotion throughout standard and extended because of the power of cascade to enable cards like Hypergenesis in extended and Seismic Assault/Swans in standard. Therefore, it is not surprising that cascade is overwhelmingly powerful in limited. I have been drafting triple Alara Reborn since it was released online and have developed a strategy that has been blowing other decks out of the water left and right: Aggro Jund Cascade.

    Let’s take a look at this archetype and what makes it so good. Aggro Jund Cascade is focused on cheap and powerful creatures that overwhelm your opponent before they can stabilize. It takes advantage of the power and synergies between Jund Hackblade, Putrid Leech, Violent Outburst, Bloodbraid Elf and Bituminous Blast to create explosive and overpowering starts. Direct damage and hasty creature cards like Sewn-Eye Drake, Giant Ambush Beetle, Breath of Malfegor and Igneous Pouncer help seal the deal before your opponent can make any truly impressive plays.

    The first thing to realize about triple ARB draft is that there are no turn one plays, aside from borderposts. The second thing to realize is that the sweeper spells, Zealous Persecution and Lavalanche are slower and less effective than Jund Charm, Infest and Volcanic Fallout. As a result, triple ARB really rewards playing an aggressive deck.

    Aggro Jund Cascade is faster than Naya or Bant beatdown because it’s men are either overpowered for their cost, like Putrid Leech or have haste like Jund Hackblade. Let’s take a look below at the sort of cards Aggro Jund Cascade wants at each casting cost before we discuss relative pick order.

    Two CC:

    Jund Hackblade

    Putrid Leech

    Terminate

    Colossal Might

    Sangrite Backlash

    Trace of Abundance

    Naya Hushblade

    Grixis Grimblade

    Three CC:

    Kathari Bomber

    Violent Outburst

    Jund Sojourners

    Vithian Renegades

    Four CC:

    Bloodbraid Elf

    Rhox Brute

    Sewn-Eye Drake

    Five CC:

    Bituminous Blast

    Deadshot Minotaur

    Giant Ambush Beetle

    Gorger Wurm

    Breath of Malfegor

    Slave of Bolas

    Six CC:

    Igneous Pouncer

    Valley Rannet

    Vengeful Rebirth

    Drafting this deck is pretty easy. Bloodbraid Elf and Bituminous Blast are both easy first picks. Beyond that, you assign a much higher priority to two-drops and Violent Outburst. Putrid Leech and Jund Hackblade are both worth a first pick in a pack without Elf, Blast or other removal. Terminate, Sangrite Backlash and Colossal Might are all great utility spells to hit off cascade. Grixis Grimblade is another fine two drop. Naya Hushblade is simply ok. Trace of Abundance is a fine card, but if you start drafting them, you have to make sure you are going to make good use of your acceleration. Rhox Brute is a good card to accelerate into. It’s also worth noting that almost every R/G/B rare is a bomb in ARB.

    To some extent, Violent Outburst is what keeps this deck ticking. Grab as many as you can.

    Early on, try to cut off R/G and R/B as much as possible. If you have the choice between two cards, you want to go for the faster and cheaper option or the cascade card. If you cut off R/G and R/B, what will likely happen is that you will start getting fed Putrid Leeches since no one else will be in G/B. Keep this in mind while you draft since you can focus early picks on Jund Hackblade and Violent Outburst, picking up Putrid Leeches later in the draft.

    Kathari Bomber is a great card in this deck since the 1/1 tokens it provides get turned on by Violent Outburst. The deck loves haste, too, so the unearth ability of the Bomber is great. Other notable creatures with haste are Giant Ambush Beetle, Swen-Eye Drake and Igneous Pouncer. The unexpected nature of these monsters can put a lot of pressure on a deck that thought it was stablizing, enabling you to squeeze through the last few points. Igneous Pouncer also does double duty of fixing mana, so in this regard, Valley Rannet is also worth a late pick. Sometimes a turn four play involves landcycling to get off three lands and playing a Jund Hackblade, so I usually try to pick up a couple of the landcycling guys.

    Finally, cards like Breath of Malfegor, Slave of Bolas and Vengeful Rebirth top out your curve, enabling you to sneak in the last few damage you need after your explosive starts. Colossal Might also accomplishes a similar role and should not be overlooked.

    All in all, this is a really powerful deck that can be drafted to be very consistent. Most of my deck lists have multiple Putrid Leeches, Jund Hackblades and Violent Outbursts. Everything else you draft should be to support that core strategy. Alara Reborn drafts are only live for a few more days, but armed with this archetype, you have plenty of time to go win some packs! Good luck.

  • Choose Your Own Alara

    You wake up in an iron-barred cell. Sunlight streams through an opening in the ceiling and through the slits in the wall. The floor is so clean you could eat off of it. You hear a distant angelic choir singing in the distance. You hate choir music.

    “Well, I’m still in Bant,” you think to yourself. “And I’ve been Bant.”

    You try to remember the last thing you can remember. You were on your way to visit your prick cousin Rafiq in Eos in order to borrow some sigils to pay your rent back in Jhess. Along the way, as you passed through the Mosaa Marketplace, you noticed a suspicious looking fellow quietly conferring with a towering dragon from which emanated malevolence and power beyond all reckoning. They were clearly up to something suspicious.

    That’s when the dragon met your gaze. The next thing you knew, you felt your mind being pulled through space, time and death, through hellish voids and uncomfortably crowd parties, pulled to a distant land known as Grixis. The name of the place echoed in your brain. You knew this was an evil place, otherwise it would be named Shalasha or something. It stank of non-Bantery, writhed with the withered wizardry of wilted wills, gave you a headache.

    But nothing compared to the headache you have now.

    What do you do?

    Yell to the guard for a some ibuprofenmancy.

    Try to climb out of the skylight.

  • Hypergenesis Combo in Classic

    When Alara Reborn spoilers were starting to hit the internet, the first Cascade spells appeared to show both restraint and caution from R&D, as most of the spells besides the obviously awesome Bloodbraid Elf had marginal effects. Free Spell mechanics, however, have a legacy not only of being broken, but of being unexpectedly broken, so there was still a lot of hope that Cascade would live up to its forbearers.

    One of the early contenders was a deck concept I first saw on the Starcity Games forums as an idea for Extended. The deck played as many of the 3cc Cascade spells as it feasibly could and had no cheaper spells than the chaff rare Hypergenesis, which you could conveniently play for free after the Time Spiral rules update. Being able to cast Hypergenesis on turn 3, or even turn 2 off of a Simian Spirit Guide could let you drop any number of broken things into play. The downside, of course, is that you are necessarily limited in the disruption cards combo decks usually need to be viable. Against a field of Spellstutter Sprites, Toils of Night and Day won’t get you there.

    With that in mind, I wondered if the combo would be viable in MODO Classic (a format similar to Legacy). You would have to deal with Force of Will and Counterbalance, but you gain your own forces as well as Elvish Spirit Guide for the potentially t1 kill.

    I am currently testing with the following list.

    A walkthrough of the elements of the deck, starting with the combo:


    4 Ardent Plea

    4 Violent Outburst

    3 Hypergenesis

    Ardent Plea and Violent Outburst are the only two Cascade spells that don’t require a target. Demonic Dread is unplayable, as cards like Forbidden Orchard don’t make it work with consistency and also interfere with your gushing.

    The Fat:


    4 Hellkite Overlord

    4 Progenitus

    4 Inkwell Leviathan

    2 Bogardan Hellkite

    I am using a much smaller creature base, as I found that comboing out in the first place is more important than guaranteeing you the kill once you do. Without effective disruption, you don’t have inevitability and card afford to sculpt a perfect hand, and that means often only being able to cheat out one creature. Also, with the pitch spells, you often are throwing away extra dudes either to stay alive or to push through the combo. Progenitus and Inkwell are the hardest to kill creatures available. The Hellkites are quick sources of damage to the face, which can be important against combo.

    The Support:


    4 Serum Powder

    4 Force of Will

    4 Gush

    Serum Powder sucks, but makes do. The Gushes are here because I wanted other spells that an opposing control deck would care about. Also, with the low land count, you often can Gush to ensure you hit your third mana.

    The Mana:


    4 Flooded Strand

    4 Wooded Foothills

    2 Breeding Pool

    2 Steam Vents

    1 Savannah

    1 Tundra

    1 Gemstone Caverns

    4 Elvish Spirit Guide

    4 Simian Spirit Guide

    I’m not sold on Gemstone Caverns, but the speed can help. Savannah is in the awkward spot of being a non-island, but you need to be able to fetch a white source out of Wooded Foothills, so it gets the call.

    The Sideboard:


    4 Commandeer

    4 Krosan Grip

    4 Pyrokinesis

    3 Eureka

    Krosan Grip is for Counterbalance and Chalice of the Void that can easily lock you out. Pyrokinesis is an early drop that takes care of Ethersworn Canonist and Meddling Mage, as well as aggro and elves combo. Eureka is also for blue decks, which often have trouble with top-of-the-curve answers. Usually Force is their only hard counter, and they rely on Daze, Counterbalance, Swords to Plowshares and Spell Snare to mop up the rest. Being able to suspend hypergenesis can set up a turn where you can potentially overrun them with three must-counter spells between a consecutive end-of-turn, upkeep and main phase.

    I was actually surprised how viable the deck is. Blue decks aren’t the autoloss they appeared to be, partially because you have card draw and as mentioned, their hard counters are limited. Meddling Mage and Counterbalance were the hardest to beat, so it’s definitely not a favorable matchup, but I’d be ok if you can bring it up to 40/60. The real draw of the deck is you also have several near-bye matchups against mono-red, zoo and other creature decks.

    The downside is that the deck is pretty inconsistent. You have no control over your draws and you need the right mix of land/spells/creatures to go off, including which lands you are lucky enough to draw. This makes mulliganing both absolutely necessary and especially costly, though, and also means you will often keep hands that are missing one component and die to decks that would ordinarily have no right beating you. The deck has a huge problem with Necropotence that goes away, but I’m not sure it fares any better versus Ad Nauseam Tendrils. It’s also not a cheap deck, considering the forces, so it’s definitely not as good as any other deck you could build for about the same money, but it’s insanely fun to play.

    Next steps regarding the deck are figuring out if I can fix the lands, if the creature mix is ok, and if the sideboard could be better. Other considerations are Magus of the Moon, Natural Order over Commandeer and maybe grip.

  • Regionals Turbo Fog Players Regret Decision

    Thousands of Magic: The Gathering players expressed feelings of disappointment and regret after choosing to play Turbo Fog at last Saturday’s Regional tournaments, only to fare poorly against those who knew how to play their decks.

    “I had been playing Five Color Control for months, but when I saw that Japanese Turbo Fog list, I knew I had to play it,” said James Griffith of San Luis Obispo. “I wanted to play something unique and different at Regionals, so I decided to play Turbo Fog like everyone else.”

    “Match 1 of Regionals was the first time I had played the deck,” said Ayden Jayden Payden of Green Bay. He admitted that his spontaneous switch to Turbo Fog may have been a mistake. “One opponent Banefired me for 8, and I played Holy Day in response, but the judge said that wouldn’t stop the damage even though the Banefire was, in a metaphorical sense, ‘attacking’ me.”

    Griffith’s 12-year-old brother Randy played red and did relatively well at Regionals. “I would attack, and my opponent would fog. But I would keep attacking and eventually they’d run out of fogs,” he said, shrugging.

    Griffith agreed and said that it was the lack of a perpetual fog that cost him vital matches. “If only there was a fog that worked turn after turn!” he shouted.

    “Make their life zero and then they can’t attack you anymore,” Randy responded, shrugging a lot. “It’s the best fog in the format.”

  • Pro MTG Online #221

    Pro MTG Online #221

  • Pro MTG Online #220

    Pro MTG Online #220