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This Week in Magic
Eric and Chewie discuss the new image of Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs the Coalition posted on MTGSalvation and what it means for the reserved list as well as a few other news items:
Wizards wins Diamond Gem Awards.
PT San Diego Gazetteer is released.
Magic Cruise 3 is announced.
An interview with Ken Negle.

MTGCast News

Our ongoing contests!
#1) Worldwake Booster Pack Giveaway
- Prizes: 12 prize packs of 3x WWK boosters
- Contest: Tell us about a preview card from this or any set that made you say “WOW!”
- Where: in comments section for this episode or in this MTGCast forum thread for this episode

#2) 4x Common and Uncommon Worldwake playsets Giveaway
- Brought to you by Jason Pizzino and his incredible eBay store that you can find by his user name, jacen_solo, and make sure to check out his current Worldwake pre-sales.
- Prizes: 4x Common and Uncommon Worldwake playsets
- Contest: Create a new Goblin card that encompasses the flavor of dumb, stupid, nearly psychotic and suicidal goblins that we all love.
- Where: in comments section for this episode or in this MTGCast forum thread for this episode

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Tom & Gavin & Jack & Eric & Conley & Steve – Your Monday Night Magic news team!

Welcome to a new Mr. Suitcase.  I tried something new this episode.  I recorded my thoughts at the Worldwake prerelease live with a portable MP3 recorder.  I also interviewed several people about their pools, including our youngest competitor.  At the end of the cast I review my entire pool and look at ways I could have improved how I did.  Let me know if you like the format.

To follow me on twitter follow this link to thewachman on twitter: http://twitter.com/thewachman.  To leave me feedback drop a line in the comments section or send email to Eric@mtgcast.com

Thanks,

Mr. Suitcase

In the first episode proper of Protection from Noob, we catch up with Lennox and Josh post-pre-release, as they discuss their first introduction to the latest set. They tell stories and observations from their respective tournaments and talk about what cards they expect to see being played in Standard (Spoiler: Jace gets mentioned).

After that, they talk about Michael J Flores’ Grand Unified Theory of Magic and verbalise their thoughts on the Victory Bacon podcast (Found here: http://www.top8magic.com/2010/01/podcast-victory-bacon/)

Lennox has been playing both Twilight Princess and Spirit Tracks over the past month so this week’s show is dedicated to the Zelda franchise including music from Zelda Reorchestrated (http://www.zreomusic.com/).

Follow Lennox (@mtg_lennox) on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mtg_lennox

Your Host(s): James Lennox-Gordon
Show’s Email: lord_lenox@hotmail.com

(Author’s Note: This deck, when I wrote up the list, existed before Worldwake and now the general will probably change. The new general will be Thada Adel simply for a cheaper general, with an intresting ability. This won’t change the nature of the list, hence the addendum at the beginning as opposed to altering the list as a whole. When it comes to it, the general for this deck is rather irrelevant, and Arcanis is too slow and the card draw doesn’t necessarily help, while Thada’s artifact snatching ability may actually let this deck win!)

Awhile back Sally and I built two distinct EDH decks, one mono red the other mono blue (the generals though relatively irrelevant are Ashling, the Pilgrim and Arcanis the Omnipotent). These two decks are our first venture into the world of one color EDH decks. After throwing the decks together, (near literally since we lacked a lot of the “staples” of each color), we played against each other. The consistency of the decks really stood out. Even though both were filled with just a smattering of fun cards here and there – we had a blast. In two man EDH. With mono colored decks. In this article I will write up and explain the list for the Blue Deck.

Honestly, I’m Just for Fun:

General:
Arcanis the Omnipotent
This general heads the deck because drawing cards never hurts, his self defence (in retuning to his owner’s hand) is paramount, and he isn’t Vendilion Clique or Erayo, Soratami Ascendant.

Creatures:
Voidmage Prodigy
Serendib Sorcerer
Guile
Roil Elemental
Cosi’s Trickster
Merfolk Seastalkers
Bonded Fetch
Voidmage Apprentice
Vedalken Mastermind
Jetting Glasskite
Sphinx of Lost Truth
Drelnoch
Kederekt Leviathan
Descendant of Soramaro
Djinn of Wishes
Myojin of Seeing Winds
Mulldrifter
Sphinx of Jwar Isle
Silver Myr
Vendilion Clique

The creatures in this deck always feel lacking, but the color accounts for that. Some highlights go to Cosi’s Trickster, because I swear shuffling the most is a contest among players in an EDH game (and no matter who wins, he/she/it is happy!) Drelnoch for multiple reasons: First, its almost a bolt a turn unless they want you to draw, second, “creature – Yeti Mutant.” Need I say more? One last creature to touch upon, is Descendant of Soramaro, the ability to set the top however many (usually a lot since this deck does nothing but draw) and rearrange them should not be underestimated.

Sorcery:
Ponder
Compulsive Research
Dream Cache
Savor the Moment
Rite of Replication
Covenant of Minds
Rush of Knowledge
Fathom Trawl
Knowledge Exploitation

Mostly draw spells and nothing too sinister the all stars certainly include Rite of Replication and Rush of Knowledge. Rush always brings a smile to my face after I cast it since I usually end up drawing upwards of five cards.

Planeswalkers:
Jace Beleren

Only mono blue one so far, this deck yearns for The Mind Sculptor though.

Enchantments:
Declaration of Naught
Eyes of the Watcher
Archmage Ascension
Shapeshifter’s Marrow
Day of the Dragon
Thought Reflection

Eyes of the Watcher really makes excess mana bearable since scrying is lovely. And Day of the Dragon sticks out like a sore thumb with the low creature count but a decent amount of control magic finds its place in the deck, plus, the deck needs at least one way to win. Maybe.

Auras:
Reality Acid
Control Magic
Mind Control
Biting Tether
Confiscate

Watchful readers may notice the Vedalken Mastermind + Reality Acid Combo which can destroy any permanent for (2)(U)(U). In case some don’t understand it: play reality acid, targeting Kevin’s Mana Reflection, then target the acid with Vedalken Mastermind’s ability, which makes the acid leave play, and destroy the Mana Reflection.

Instants:
Farmilar’s Ruse
Perilous Research
Into the Roil
Vision Skeins
Twincast
Onivise
Capsize (with buyback)
Fact or Fiction
Spin into Myth
Dismal Failure
Scattering Stroke
Evacuation
Gather Specimens
Flow of Ideas
Condescend
Power Sink
Spell Burst
Logic Knot

Artifacts:
Loxodon Warhammer
Courier’s Capsule
Isochron Scepter

Most of the spells are pretty basic. Flow of Ideas works wonders with so many basic islands in the deck. Spin into Myth acts as one of few blue removal spells and EDH players everyone love it. Also, the amount of imprint-able instants (6, though I’d like to find more, hm, Boomerang, or maybe Echoing Truth) for Isochron Scepter makes that artifact marvelous. One other noteworthy artifact is Loxodon Warhammer: it makes blue creatures good, which helps, a lot. Also, Warhammer on Drelnoch acts as comic relief, life gain, and occasionally card draw!

Land:
Reliquary Tower
Bant Panorama
Terramorphic Expanse
Springjack Pasture
Soaring Seacliff
Island x 31

The lands are rather self explanatory, and the Pasture honestly is just in there for fun level. Seriously, who doesn’t like goats. The search lands (expanse and panorama) make Roil Elemental better, though I know the deck could run Grixis and Esper panoramas as well. This deck doesn’t appear too impressive. Like I stated before it lacks a lot of “staple” blue cards or bomby blue infinite combos, but overall – it’s fun. I will write up some more decklists in the upcoming weeks. (I am brewing a Reaper King Five Color Changeling Ally deck and we will see how that venture fairs)

Email: mtgradio@mtgcast.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/mtgradio

Thanks for listening!

Your Host(s): Marshall and Ryan

Show’s Email: limitedresourcespodcast@gmail.com

            So I have never attended a Saturday Pre-release. Before Zendikar, I have never attended a pre-release before. For Zendikar, I attended a small Sunday Pre-release that was run at my local store, Adventure’s Guild of Riverside, but this past weekend, was my first Saturday Pre-release. I got there at about 11:00 and everything was pretty much set up. So with sealed being the format, I talked with the TO and we decided to give the players 45 minutes for deck building.

            Registration went pretty smoothly with us having 44 players register. We ran out of promos at 36, but people still signed up anyways. Overall our event went smoothly. Everyone was excited and we had a lot of new players.

            The question I got a lot was usually about the lands and things that affected them. The most confusing was a dread statuary, a zendikon, and spreading seas.

            What happens if my opponent enchants my dread statuary with a spreading seas and I enchant it with a zendikon?

            If spreading seas enchants the statuary, the statuary loses the ability to animate due to dependancy. Dependency is hard to explain, so I won’t try, but to sum it up, in order for statuary to animate, it must be Dread Statuary non-basic land. Spreading seas makes it an island which overrides all abilities it previously had and gives it tap add 1 blue mana to your mana pool. So what happens when I put a zendkion on it? The zendikon does not care about what type of land it is. So all it will do is animate it regardless of the type it now possesses.

            What happens if my opponent uses devout lightcaster and exiles my land enchanted by corrupted zendikon, can he do that, and do I get the land back?

            Yes he can and no you don’t. This was hard for people to understand for some reason. See the land is a black permanent as it is a land and the zendikon gives it a color, which fulfills the targeting requirements of the lightcaster. So when the Lightcaster’s enter’s the battlefield trigger goes onto the stack, the target is legal. When it resolves and sees that the target is still legal, it exiles the land which upon resolution is still a black permanent. Once we check state based actions, we see that the zendikon being an aura is no longer enchanting a land and as such is sent to the graveyard. The triggered ability never triggers as the land never went to the graveyard. This is the same behavior for cards like journey to nowhere.

            I’m also going to take the time to explain a few confusing things about abyssal persecutor. While he is on the battlefield, you cannot win and your opponent can’t lose. If each player has one on the battlefield, then neither of you can win or lose until one of them dies. Lets say your opponent is at -10 and you are at 1 and you have a persecutor. Your opponent attacks you with a 6/6 and a 1/1 and you block with the persecutor which is assigned lethal damage. What happens? Interesting enough you lose. Here’s why. When damage has finished being dealt, we check state based actions. When we check them, we see that there is lethal damage on the persecutor and you are at 0 life. So the game simultaneously puts the persecutor into the graveyard and makes you lose the game. Now if we were to check state based effects again, the game would see your opponent at less than 0 and as such he/she would lose. But since you have already lost the game, the game stops and doesn’t check any remaining state based actions.

            The next card that has surprising interactions is Death’s Shadow. Death’s shadow has a static ability that alters its power and toughness by giving it -X-X where X is your life total. Now it seems straight forward, but what happens id your life total is at -10? See normally this situation wouldn’t come up since you won’t generally be at negative life, but it is possible. This is where knowing some algebra comes in handy. See we insert whatever your life total into the X. If you are at -10, we insert it into the X and we get Death’s Shadow gets -(-10),-(-10). So we then distribute the negative into the parentheses and get +10,+10. So your Death’s Shadow would be a 23,23.

            We also had an incident in the last round involving a time extension. Time had just been called and Player B asked me for a time extension because according to him, his opponent had taken too long sideboarding. My problem was that since this is not only after the fact, but near the end of the game, I had to investigate. My first thought was if he knew that his opponent was playing slow and hid this fact in order to gain an advantage, we had a case of Fraud on our hands. Now my investigation determined that he didn’t realize this until the end. So that was out. Now since I didn’t view this sideboarding process, I can’t determine how long the sideboarding actually took and whether it constituted slow play. Simply exceeding the time limit is grounds for slow play, but does not mean you will get one as it is based on the situation. Now again since I didn’t see this, I couldn’t make any determination on what was true and what was false and exactly how much time should be given if any time should be given at all. Now player B wasn’t happy about this, but continued to play the game through the extra turns. Once the game ended in a draw he continued to make fuss about the ruling. Now at this point he was toeing the line at a USC minor penalty, but the store owner intervened and talked with him and calmed him down.

            I also issued one proxy as one player had opened a foil that upon opening was fairly bent. After several hours of play, it had a fairly defined bend to a point in which it was marked. I noticed this and decided that issuing a proxy was appropriate as it was a manufacturers defect and since this was a regular REL event I felt that this was appropriate.

            After the event ended, I drafted for a bit before heading home. All in all I felt that this event went perfectly. Other than a slight hiccup in DCI event reporter round turnover was smooth and we had no major problems. I’ll be judging the Worldwake launch party Friday so if you’re in Riverside be sure to stop by Adventure’s Guild of Riverside. All participants will be entered to win an autographed FTV-exiled Balance print.

            Thats all for now and remember, when in doubt give a shout.

Dit is de podcast ontgroening van Jorn, die samen met Marcel en Joep meer dan een uur podcast volpraat.

Ah, groen… de magie uit het bos. Daar waar de druiden de energie voelen in iedere boom, in ieder dier, in ieder blaadje van iedere plant. In het bos, waar diezelfde druiden op hun hoede zijn voor gruwelijk monsterlijke beesten. Groot zijn ze. Sterk zijn ze. Stinken doen ze. In het bos waar de elfen hebben geleerd dat samenwerken essentieel is als je wilt overleven. Samen sta je sterk, ja zelfs sterker. Tussen de bomen maakt magie alles sterker, tenminste alles wat samen met datgene dat tussen die bomen woont vecht. Heb je niets te zoeken tussen die bomen wapen je dan want uit het niets wordt je omver gelopen door reusachtige monsters of beschoten door honderden pijlen voor je kans hebt gehad ook maar één schutter te zien. Ja groen is woest, groen is kracht maar voor wie goed kijkt en voelt is groen liefelijk en tijdloos mooi. Kijk goed in de lucht naar de vogels, die met die vele kleuren die schitteren in het zonlicht en op hun mooist zijn als ze vliegen in het laatste licht van de dag. Kijk naar die fiere elfen. Statig, tijdloos, vaardig en wijs. Ruik eens goed aan die bloemen met die pure kleuren en voel eens aan dat mos, zo zacht, zo zacht. Ja groen, je kunt er uren over praten…

We beginnen met het nieuws van de week (maar vooral wat ouder nieuws):

We bespreken nog wat kaarten uit de Worldwake spoiler die er na vorige aflevering zijn bijgekomen. Daarna bespreken wat nieuws van de afgelopen weken aan de hand van Aaron Forsythe’s From the Director’s Chair: 2010, we bespreken o.a. From the Vault: Relics en Archenemy en de aankondiging van M11.

Daarna is het combo tijd:

• Earthcraft + Squirrel Nest + ?Blasting Station (of Altar of Dementia)
• Myr Landshaper + Splinter

En we bespreken een mono groen deck:

Tot slot bespreken we onze meest geliefde groene kaarten (Maar we zullen er zeker ook wel een paar vergeten zijn ). Wat zijn de powerhouses van groen? Gaat het horen!

Let op: We roepen in de podcast dat Astral Slide iets kan bouncen als je cycled, hij is nog beter…

Nog wat plaatjes van besproken kaarten:Kavu Predator, Verdant Force, Life and Limb, Mirrorweave, Dizzy Spell, Life from the Loam, Priest of Titania, Genesis, Eye of the Storm, Wall of Shards, Nullmage Shepherd, Terravore, Steamflogger boss en veel meer..

Waar wij te vinden zijn? Nou..overal:

• Website: heren.magicology.nl
• Email: herenvanhetspel@gmail.com
• Twitter: twitter.com/herenvanhetspel
• iTunes
• MTGcast network: http://www.mtgcast.com
• Nedermagic: http://www.nedermagic.nl

While I was visiting my parents down South, and Kevin was packing for his internship – Tom threw down some cardboard at Armada so listen close for his story. (And how lucky he is, opening Jace, the Mindsculpter in his prerelease pool).

Proxies in EDH:

On Wednesday, I played a few EDH games with some of the Avant Card Show guys, and an intresting pet peeve of mine came to light: proxies in EDH. Listen for context, conversation, why I broke the cardinal rule of EDH, and all of our opinions on this fun format!

The Contest Winner:

Ben, please contact us with your address so we can send you your prize. And listen up because Tom reads your story too all of the listeners!

EDH General of the Week:

Thada Adel! The blue merfolk thief from Worldwake.

Email: mtgradio@mtgcast.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/mtgradio

Thanks to Carbon Leaf and MusicAlley for the podsafe intro and exit bumpers (http://music.mevio.com) and Great Escape Games in Sacramento for hosting us (www.greatescapegames.com).

Let me know if you have any questions!

This Week in Magic
Tom, Steve and Eric had a blast at the Worldwake pre-release this weekend and run through their decks, bombs and favorites cards. Few highlights are Summit Apes, Anowon, the Ruin Sage, Pilgrim’s Eye, Refraction Trap, Apex Hawks, Quag Vampires, Explore and more. We also go over the amazing article by Stephan Menendian on SCG giving us the top 50 Legacy decks!

Listener Emails
Tons of great emails, link to Zak Dolan’s 1996 World Championship deck.

MTGCast News
We say welcome to the JudgeCast and our first non-English (Dutch!) podcast, Heren van het Spel!

Our ongoing contests!
#1) Worldwake Booster Pack Giveaway
- Prizes: 12 prize packs of 3x WWK boosters
- Contest: Tell us about a preview card from this or any set that made you say “WOW!”
- Where: in comments section for this episode or in this MTGCast forum thread for this episode

#2) 4x Common and Uncommon Worldwake playsets Giveaway
- Brought to you by Jason Pizzino and his incredible eBay store that you can find by his user name, jacen_solo, and make sure to check out his current Worldwake pre-sales.
- Prizes: 4x Common and Uncommon Worldwake playsets
- Contest: Create a new Goblin card that encompasses the flavor of dumb, stupid, nearly psychotic and suicidal goblins that we all love.
- Where: in comments section for this episode or in this MTGCast forum thread for this episode

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Steve at steve@mtgcast.com

Tom & Gavin & Jack & Eric & Conley & Steve – Your Monday Night Magic news team!

Poor Dirk, falling in the well again. Oh well. No pun intended there, really.

So here we are again with the last round of Worldwake previews. There are some doozies in this one too. From Wurms that blow up the world to stupid turtles to elementals that make wolves to a crazy go nuts Upwelling guy, we cover it all. At least all of it that was up when we recorded. Enjoy the cards and the ridiculous number of pop culture references, which were flowing like…I dunno, something that flows a lot.

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We also talk about B-Class Tribes, tribal decks using the lesser-known creature types, outside of the usual more popular tribes, with less support (no Lords) so it is a great opportunity for some creative decks. Aaron discusses the Viashino tribe, Bryan talks about his surprisingly good Myr deck.

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Download it and discuss it on the forums!

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This episode features Pink Noise Waltz by Diablo Swing Orchestra, licensed under a Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Featured General of the Week is Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder.

Favorite “Junk Rare / Hidden Game” picks from the hosts (i.e. Minion of the Wastes!)

Aaron Forsythe sends in his favorite Endrek Sahr EDH deck and check it here in the MTGCast forums!

Check out the pre-release EDH challenge, the hosts current favorite EDH decks and more!

Email Us – edh@mtgcast.com

Tom at pitimp@mtgcast.com

Steve at edh@mtgcast.com

Bennie at starcitygeezer@gmail.com

Sean at spartacvs@gmail.com

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Natuurlijk is dit de eerste en dus een niet zo’n beste podcast maar toch nog leuk om naar te luisteren, al zeggen we het zelf..

In deze eerste aflevering praten Marcel en Joep. Op het begin doet Dirk ook nog even mee maar hij geeft al snel op na aanhoudende problemen met zijn verbinding…jammer, jammer.

We praten over combo’s:

• Zo-Zu, the Punisher + Storm Cauldron + life
• Hateflayer + Paradise Mantle + Heartstone

En we bestuderen een erg mooi mono rood deck dat is gebouwd rond de kaart Hostility.

Daarna kijken we nog naar de Worldwake visual spoiler.

Ohja,  natuurlijk mag je (multi)kicker spells alleen kicken als je de spell cast!

See at the end of show notes for a price guide list to take with you to your pre-release (link here as well).

Sign the petition to ban Bloodbraid Elf HERE: http://www.petitiononline.com/BanBBElf/petition.html

CONTEST: Submit a rap verse for our theme song (about 28 minutes in). The winner gets their verse used in our theme song! (and something else if we can come up with something cool). Submit entries to yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com Please don’t send recordings.

Check out Good Games Live on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ggslive#p/c/09EFD285823D469A

Contact info:
Email: yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com
Voice Mail Line *NEW* (We will play any and all messages on the show!): 1-331-MTG-TAPS
Twitter: twitter.com/yomtgtaps
Joey Pasco’s Twitter: Twitter.com/affinityforblue
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/yomtgtaps
Facebook: Search for “YO! MtG TAPS!”
Bigheadjoe’s Blog: http://otherworldlyjourney.blogspot.com
Joey Pasco’s Blog: http://www.affinityforislands.com

Thanks for listening!

—

Prices from Starcitygames.com as of 1/28/2010 at 5pm

Abyssal Persecutor $30
Admonition Angel $12.50
Amulet of Vigor $4
Anowon, the Ruin Sage $3
Archon of Redemption $1.50
Avenger of Zendikar $3
Basilisk Collar $2
Butcher of Malakir $2
Celestial Colonnade $6
Chain Reaction $3
Comet Storm $4
Creeping Tar Pit $6
Death’s Shadow $2
Dragonmaster Outcast $7.50
Eye of Ugin $4
Harabaz Druid $3
Jace, the Mind Sculptor $35
Joraga Warcaller $4
Jwari Shapeshifter $1.50
Kalastria Highborn $5
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs $2
Lavaclaw Reaches $5
Lodestone Golem $4
Marshal’ Anthem $2
Novablast Wurm $5
Omnath, Locus of Mana $12
Raging Ravine $5
Seer’s Sundial $2
Stirring Wildwood $6
Stone Idol Trap $1.25
Stoneforge Mystic $2
Terastodon $1.50
Terra Eternal $2
Thada Adel, Acquisitor $2
Wolfbriar Elemental $4
Wrexial, the Risen Deep $2.50

Every other Rare/Mythic < $1

Most Pricey Uncommons:
Everflowing Chalice .75
Kor Firewalker $1.25
Leatherback Baloth .75
Loam Lion $1
Sejiri Merfolk $1
Smother $1
Tectonic Edge $1

All other Uncommons < .75

(Author’s Note: This is a quick run through of the first weeks worth of spoilers from mainly an EDH perspective. Again, it’s real quick run through and I didn’t even get to hit all of the cards, but we certainly will on MTG Radio)

Celestial Colonnade:

It’s a dual land, and a man land, and blue white. Man lands, or the old ones at least, felt a little lackluster: they lacked power and toughness, came into play tapped, and only made one color. While this cycle also comes into play tapped, but they produce two colors and their man-forms impress me greatly. These could replace the m10 duals since most EDH decks don’t run to many basics anyway. The fact that Colonnade because a 4/4 flying, vigilant beat stick is just wonderful, especially since it can still tap for mana after attacking.

Lavaclaw Reaches:

The fact that this 2/2 man land only costs 1(B)(R) to use impresses me for EDH (and standard even). The colorless fire breathing is great, especially since the card is an elemental which means it combos with Ceaseless Searblades. Also, it’s great since many EDH decks run many colors but that doesn’t make this card much worse. It gets my approval.

Raging Ravine:

Red Green dual land which hangs onto 1/1 counter after each attack. There are some tricks with this guy like activating his ability twice (in one turn, before attacking, using mana from say Mana Reflection) would net this two 1/1 counters instead of his usual one. Also, I am intrigued to see this land/man in a green/red/blue deck with all of the Simic counter shenanigans and Gilder Bairn.

Dread Statuary:

Colorless man land, Stalking Stones cousin, this could go in some Mono EDH decks that don’t get access to the ZEN man lands, other then that, not too fantastic.

Terra Eternal:

Cheap enchantment with an unusual effect, all lands are indestructible. I see this being played in EDH groups with heavy land destruction meta, or in newfangled man land/zendikon five color decks (who knows, it could be the next big thing).

Vastwood/Crusher/Wind Zendikon:

I feel like these cycle is just doesn’t hold up to the sheer power in EDH. It makes lands reusable which is nice, but other then that (which Cruicble of Worlds) does mighty fine in its own right.

Explore:

I feel like this alternate Rampant Growth actually works well. It may seem some play but I am not sure. With all of the nonbasics in EDH I could see this being used, though, honestly, I have to play it before I can give this a definite yay or nay.

Urge to Feed:

Vampires get more spells, yay Lorywn 2.0. For all of those (cough, Bernie Smith) tribal vamprie EDH decks as a kill/pump spell. To me it seems a bit lacking, but I am sure there are those EDH Vampire fans that drool over this spell. (Also, this just in, Isochron Scepter + this = win)

Pulse Tracker:

One drops don’t fair too well in EDH but maybe in a super aggressive or beat down type vampire strategy maybe, but I doubt it.

Ruthless Cullblade:

Hey look, Gruul Draz Vampire’s sister! Who is significantly worse! Moving on!

Kalastria Highborn:

A Vampire I can get behind! In a vampire heavy EDH deck this turns all our dead undead (are vampires undead, I am still unsure to the details of that part of the lore) into Siphon Life. Also, cool combo for a Black/White EDH deck with this and Mirror Entity, so if someone plays a sweeper you can pay zero and then play black for each creature that died, gaining a bunch of life and causing a royal pain to many other players at the table. The aforementioned combo because even awesome-er with Sanguine Bond.

Hada Freeblade:

One drop ally! Hello standard potential. Also, makes the EDH five color ally deck that more much playable. One drops may not be too relevant, but for allies they help a lot since they make everyone else on the team/raid/treasure hunt a lot happier.

Harabaz Druid:

Mana ally. This guy/girl/anthropomorphic cat makes allies that much better in EDH. Mana ramp is great, and I am looking forward to playing with or against this card in my EHD group.

Join the Ranks:

Instant allies. I don’t think anything more needs to be said, unless you want me to, then email me, and I will.

Halimar Excavator:

I don’t really see many mill decks but if anyone wants to go ally mill, this is your guy! Other then that, really no place in EHD.

Joraga Warcaller:

One mana, or many mana this is an extreme elf lord. As someone who has tried to build a tribal elf EDH deck, this guy just oozes awesome (though not literally… that’d be cool, tribal – elf ooze). Especially with Bramblewood Paragon giving him another 1/1 counter (and Trample!) this guy could really find a place. (Pro tip: If you build tribal EDH, try to include Patriarch’s Bidding

Comet Storm:

Another Blaze/Fireball variant but much better with excess mana running around. Basically, it outclasses other X burn in EDH since games usually last longer (if not forever) and the ability to simply target other things for massive damage has end game potential.

Mysteries of the Deep:

Expensive blue card draw, if necessary this may see some play, though I doubt it, much better card draw exists in an eternal (casual) format.

Skitter of Lizards:

Not the best card, nothing strikingly awesome about him/them/it, but I actually am considering including it in my Ashling, the Pilgrim deck. Mulitkicker makes cards that much more appealing and with tons of excess mana, this guy can be a big surprise.

Kitesail Apprentice:

A decent soldier, might fit in a soldier EDH deck, but lackluster to me.

Canopy Cover:

Since when have Rafiq/Uril been jaguars? Honestly, this card is ridiculous for General Damage decks. I have never seen a cheaper troll shroud spell and this adds evasion on top of it. Except to have your face beaten by a kitty Rafiq of the Many soon enough.

Quest for the Nihil Stone:

This cards interaction with cycling is neat, but discard in EDH doesn’t do it for me. The rack already exists and few players play it.

Admonition Angel:

Six mana 6/6 flyer with an abuse-able ability. Play it. Play it often. Expect it to die, but play it anyway. Also, be aware of shenanigans with this and bounce spells/abilities (they work the same way bounce Oblivion Ring shenanigans work.). (Sidenote, I want this as a textless foil, such superb art.)

Tideforce Elemental:

A tapper varient that can only tap/untap creatures, once he gets broken he will see play. According to some musings over at an unoffical spoiler, he may even be breakable in Worldwake itself (hint: Unlimited landfall triggers anyone), so certainly keep an eye out for this one.

Cunning Sparkmage:

Steampunk Tim! Not too good in EDH! Moving on!

Kor Firewalker;

Another soldier, and more red hate from white, I don’t see this being played apart from soldier EDH decks.

Bestial Menace:

Incramental Dudes! This card will be played in EDH, and hopefully it will be consipered as well (hello there, Wort, the Raidmother). I really have a fondness for this card (minus the art) and I’m sure EDH decks everyone will welcome it.

Dragonmater Outcast:

Efficient one drop? Cares about lands? I’m on the fence about this guy, but in my opinion he’s better then his insect brother (Scute Mob ) since he makes other creatures that must be dealt with. Know that once you play him, either he’ll die, or you will become a target, but I have to say – I think its pretty great.

Chain Reaction:

EDH is a mulitplayer format, this counts the number of creatures and deals that much damage to all of them. Red really couldn’t hope for a better wrath and in a format where tokens and dudes are a plenty this card will simply work wonder. (CCCombo: This + dudes + Stuffy doll)

Stone Idol Trap:

Surprise Ball Lightning with a big butt. This card is good, but I’d have to play with it before I gauge it for EDH. Though, mono red may certainly enjoy.

Leatherback Baloth:

Large vanilla dude. Unless your objective is to make the largest Primalcrux ever, I really don’t see him being sleeved up for EHD.

Abyssal Persecutor:

That’s a four mana 6/6 flying trampling anti-Platinum Angel. He will see play. His ability isn’t relevant unless you win, and if you’re playing you haven’t won yet. One more thing, the way it’s written, if he is out, “your opponents can’t lose the game,” so if I’m not mistaken you can use this to keep everyone at the table alive… Interesting.

Novablast Worm:

This thing is just nuts. A 7/7 “evading,” huge, multicolored worm. He blows up the world. Many times over. My only warning with this is like most huge bombs, if you play it, expect it to die, or you to die.

Everflowing Chalice:

Cololess mana fixing with no mana symbols on it, this card will see play in EDH. I don’t think there’s much more to say, but watch out for shenanigans with this and Power Conduit or Guilder Barren.

Amulet of Vigor:

One mana artifact that makes everything you play after it significantly better. This card may see play in every EDH deck, plain and simple. Its interaction with lands is remarkable, and yet it does so much more. Great card, great cost, simply awesome.

Treasure Hunt:

Sorcery speed draw, not fantastic, but it will clear out land clumps and I still think it may break out in some EHD decks.

Quest for Ula’s Temple;

Let’s you sneak Serpents, Kraken, Leviathan, and Octopi into play… I guess that’s a plus.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor:

New favorite planeswalker, I think so. Jace makes me smile. The poster boy for magic just got my brain a storming and I couldn’t be happier. The four abilities looks funny but I am pretty sure most blue EDH decks will run this.

Legends:

Omnath, Locus of Mana:

Awesome mono green General that will not draw hate like Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, his upwelling pump, honestly, everything that can be said about him has a general has been. But, I am looking forward to building a deck with him, or at least throwing him in a deck.

Anowon, the Ruin Sage:

Vampire legend which will make mono black vampire decks happy. There are plenty of legendary vampires so I don’t know if he will become a general in his own, though he may if some newer EDH players, or newer players in general, may build a more ZEN centric EDH deck, but at the least he will definitely be included in decks that already exist.

Welcome Back to another episode of Deck Builder Radio. It is Episode #44 Meek Deep into Extended

Hello and Welcome to the show! Today Bryan discusses his thoughts on the current extended power house decks, Thopter Foundry combo. He gives his insite on the deck that he preeres and gives some reasons as to why. make sure to check back next week for more content!

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1 Academy Ruins
4 Dark Depths
2 Island
4 River of Tears
4 Sunken Ruins
2 Swamp
3 Tolaria West
4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Dark Confidant
4 Vampire Hexmage
3 Beseech the Queen
4 Chrome Mox
1 Doom Blade
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Into the Roil
4 Muddle the Mixture
1 Slaughter Pact
2 Sword of the Meek
4 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Thopter Foundry
4 Thoughtseize
Sideboard
1 Chalice of the Void
3 Deathmark
3 Duress
3 Extirpate
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Hurkyls Recall
1 Sword of the Meek
1 Thopter Foundry
1 Tormods Crypt

1 Academy Ruins
1 Ancient Den
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Hallowed Fountain
3 Island
3 Marsh Flats
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Mystic Gate
1 Plains
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Seat of the Synod
2 Snow-Covered Island
1 Snow-Covered Plains
1 Tolaria West
1 Watery Grave
3 Chrome Mox
2 Trinket Mage
2 Cryptic Command
1 Day of Judgment
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Gifts Ungiven
3 Mana Leak
1 Muddle the Mixture
3 Path to Exile
1 Pithing Needle
4 Spell Snare
2 Sword of the Meek
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
4 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Thopter Foundry
1 Tormods Crypt
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Wrath of God
Sideboard
1 Chalice of the Void
3 Cranial Extraction
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Kitchen Finks
2 Negate
2 Pulse of the Fields
1 Tormods Crypt
2 Vendilion Clique

Thanks for listening!

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Show notes are for punks on episodes this straightforward, so that’s enough of that.

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Level up with game designers Tyler Bielman, Richard Garfield and Skaff Elias as they discuss the Ding. Is this podcast skill-based? Why are undead the only real enemy? When is persistent chunkiness a good thing? And how is karate like frequent flier miles ? Listen now and feel yourself get more powerful in one quick session as Games with Garfield gets down with the Ding!

Riki and Sean keep things interesting with stories from the trenches at tourneys around the world and their own backyard in Northern California. Thanks to Carbon Leaf and the podsafe music from MusicAlley for the intro and exit bumpers (http://music.mevio.com) and Great Escape Games in Sacramento for hosting us (www.greatescapegames.com).

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This Week in Magic
We are well over 100 cards on the Worldwake unofficial spoiler on MTGS and Conley gives us a few quick hits, Tom looks at Tribal and EDH and Eric is our all-around man this show. The next new Planesalker novel, Test of Metal, is apparently coming out on October 5th, 2010 and adds more fuel to the “Return to Mirrodin” rumor fire. Some better pictures of the deck boxes for Phyrexia vs. the Coalition Duel Decks spawns another discussion of the reserved list (only pertains to NON-PREMIUM cards) with the thought it may contain Phyrexian Negator. Pro Tour San Diego is Feb 19-21 and will feature three Legacy side events. Congratulations to Nick Veccie for winning the the Atlanta TCGPlayer $5k Standard tourney with Red Deck Wins (top 8 deck lists).

Listener Emails
Lots of great emails. Here is a link to check out the Angry Video Game Nerd and also the MTGS thread with more info about the foily Beta cards!

MTGCast News
We have TWO new contests starting!

#1) Worldwake Booster Pack Giveaway
- Prizes: 12 prize packs of 3x WWK boosters
- Contest: Tell us about a preview card from this or any set that made you say “WOW!”
- Where: in comments section for this episode or in this MTGCast forum thread for this episode

#2) 4x Common and Uncommon Worldwake playsets Giveaway
- Brought to you by Jason Pizzino and his incredible eBay store that you can find by his user name, jacen_solo, and make sure to check out his current Worldwake pre-sales.
- Prizes: 4x Common and Uncommon Worldwake playsets
- Contest: Create a new Goblin card that encompasses the flavor of dumb, stupid, nearly psychotic and suicidal goblins that we all love.
- Where: in comments section for this episode or in this MTGCast forum thread for this episode

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In this article, I’ve teamed up with a friend of mine – Adriaan Van Adrichem to present some great new lists (including the updated wall list)! Adriaan has made sure I staple his name and these decks together ever since the “extended elf combo deck was stolen from him”, so all credit for these lists go to him!

Before we begin, let me just say that in my previous article, I accidentally wrote Entomb instead of Disentomb! But it is our duty as always to bring you all the tech – and Entomb in standard is certainly that!

Anyway, this first list was originally titled in a manner not friendly for your average church going family, so I’ll rename it Jackie Chan, because he always gets the first strike (I think he even made a movie about it). As you might have worked out, its a first strike based deck – but it runs very differently then you might first (strike) think when you see the list:

// Lands
12 Plains
4 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
4 Marsh Flats
4 Arid Mesa

// Creatures
4 Baneslayer Angel
4 Steppe Lynx
4 White Knight
4 Knight of the White Orchid
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Ethersworn Canonist

// Spells
4 Path to Exile
4 Brave the Elements
4 Honor of the Pure

// Sideboard
SB: 3 Pithing Needle
SB: 4 Celestial Purge
SB: 4 Journey to Nowhere
SB: 4 Martial Coup

As Adriaan made sure I say, although this list seems like an aggro deck – it runs much more like a control one. In his own words:

“Basically your game plan is to get out two or three blockers and keep them out using brave – playing more as they die. You need enough first strike power to take down anything that might get in your way. Emeria helps you recover from your own Day of Judgement’s and any removal they might have. Until your guys are 4/4 or bigger you don’t want to swing because if you start losing guys you’re in trouble since their creatures are usually bigger then yours. When you get your BS out, start swinging like mad. All out! The Baneslayer’s life gain will keep you alive. Since you have been playing the control role all game, your life should be higher then theirs and when they hit, per se, a cruel you won’t take so much of a hit and recover with Emeria.”

This deck has great results against Jund – as Ethersworn Canonist completely shuts down their cascade and White Knight shuts down Bituminous Blast, Pulse, Leech and Thrinax, while Brave the Elements has a general great game against everyone. Remember, if they simply say “Double Bolt”, your BtE’s “counter” both as they put them both on the stack. However, a professional – or anyone who has an understanding of the game would wait for each to resolve (or not resolve) first. This deck also maintains a very good matchup against Eldrazi Green.

Next article we’ll take a look at some of Adriaan’s other decks – but for now, as promised, we’ll take a look at more recent lists of the Wall deck!

At the forums, there have been many helpers with this deck. To name a few:

Lathia
Joncaputo
Cloviz
Peterjohn

They have all tested this deck very much, and have there only different lists. Thanks to them for the help!

First of all, this deck has made many changes. We’ve opted for some counter, Deft Duelist over Kraken Hatchling and Ajani Goldmane. All these add a new aspect to the decks game – counter stops those bombs and Cruel Ultimatums against control which is really vital. We generally can take care of their creatures by blocking, but big spells are hard to deal with – say Day of Judgement.

Deft Duelist has simply proven more effective then Kraken Hatchling as it can kill as well as block. For a similar reason, has been added Ajani Goldmane. It gives our walls a “killer touch”, giving them not only extra toughness, but more importantly extra power. This allows us to actually kill some of their attackers. And if we really need to, it gains us some life/provides us with a massive avatar beater. I’ll give you some lists to ponder, but this first list is Lathia’s. He’s put some really hard work in to this deck, including taking it to an undefeated tournament! Congratulations to him, and here’s his list:

9 island
9 plains
4 Glacial Fortress

4 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
3 Baneslayer Angel
4 Deft Duelist
4 Wall of Frost
4 Wall of Denial
4 Wall of Reverence

3 Luminarch Ascension
3 Ajani Goldmane
3 Path to Exile
3 Cancel
3 Negate

I thought I’d just give a shout out to him, and his list. Please note that due to budget restraints, he actually ran Battlegrace Angel over Baneslayer and still won! The following is my preferred list:

4 Glacial Fortress
4 Sejiri Refuge
8 Plains
8 Island

4 Baneslayer Angel
4 Sphinx of the Jwar Isle
4 Wall of Denial
4 Deft Duelist
4 Wall of Reverence
3 Wall of Frost

4 Path to Exile
4 Negate
3 Luminarch Ascension
2 Ajani Goldmane

Be sure to drop a comment below on any of the above lists or anything else. Also, send me an email at

not-live@live.com.au

! If you want me to review your list, feel free – I might even post it on the next article! But you can email me about anything, and I’ll reply to all!

That’s it for this article guys! Hope you enjoyed the deck lists. Before Worldwake’s Prerelease I’ll get back to you with an article detailing some more of Adriaan’s innovative lists – and then after the pre-release I’ll hit you with some interesting ideas I have for the new cards. 3/4s of the way in to the spoilers and I’m already bursting with them!

Regards,
Daniel.

Your Host(s): Will Price, Michael J. Flores, Steve Sadin, Matt Wang, and Brian David-Marshall
Show’s Email: matt@top8magic.com

Your Host(s): Will Price, Michael J. Flores, Steve Sadin, Matt Wang, and Brian David-Marshall
Show’s Email: matt@top8magic.com

Your Host(s): Will Price, Michael J. Flores, Steve Sadin, Matt Wang, and Brian David-Marshall
Show’s Email: matt@top8magic.com

Your Host(s): Will Price, Michael J. Flores, Steve Sadin, Matt Wang, and Brian David-Marshall
Show’s Email: matt@top8magic.com

Your Host(s): Will Price, Michael J. Flores, Steve Sadin, Matt Wang, and Brian David-Marshall
Show’s Email: matt@top8magic.com

Assuming it is audible, the cast (i think) came out pretty spectacular. The topic: Mike’s Unified Theory of Magic.

What do you think of Mike’s ideas? Let us know in the comments.

Your Host(s): Will Price, Michael J. Flores, Steve Sadin, Matt Wang, and Brian David-Marshall
Show’s Email: matt@top8magic.com

In this week’s DrawGo Radio, more Worldwake spoilers (from after the break to the 25:00 mark), more Extended coverage, more Standard, Legacy, more everything! Including a world-class meltdown, pro-bashing, and all the upstanding news and reporting you’ve come to expect from the DrawGo Radio staff!

Come visit us at http://www.drawgoradio.com and join the discussion in our forums!

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Join them as they introduce themselves and discuss their experiences with Magic: the Gathering, including qualifiers, Grand-Prix events, States and the Pro-Tour, and of course discussion of cards, decks and styles.

Stan and Pedro are dedicated gamers that know how to have serious fun with their game of choice!

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Welcome Back to another episode of Deck Builder Radio. It is Episode #43 Quaging the Vampires!

Hey Guys! thanks for stopping by. Today on the show Bryan will discuss the excuslive spoiler they received, Quag Vampires. Check out the rest of the show when Bryan discusses some of his picks for cards in worldwake.

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(Author’s Note: Don’t fret if you are looking forward to Worldwake spoiler review, I am beginning to type it out but I did not want to rush it. Enjoy this combo-rific article, and if you have some favorites of your own feel free to leave them in the comments!)

Combos, some players hate them and yet some swear by them. This article falls toward the latter (blame the writer’s perspective), simply because of the prevalence of certain combos in this fancy format of ours. As a quick jump into this, let’s touch on some of MTG Radio’s Twitter followers favorite combos:
@Amistod: Crystal Shard + Teferi, Mage at Zelpher ?@Cavemankellen: Hive Mind + Pact of Negation (or the others)?@Strammermax: Hinder or Spin into Myth + Tunnel Vision

Those are just some quick examples, and this article will explain many, many more, but first things must be pointed out. Some EDH combos exist just for fun, some win the game in acceptable (or semi acceptable) ways, and some are so downright mean they draw hate from all sides of the table. Now, to preface, I use the term combo loosely in this article. A combo (in my personal opinion) can be a cool interaction between cards (whether or not someone loses fails to matter to me) or just a cards interaction with the rules of EDH (like Sorin Markov second ability). But I digress. This article is about the EDH combos and how to make sure they work as planned. This is a multi-step process:
You must examine your deck and see if any combos actually exist, (skip to step 2 if you are building a deck strictly for combos)
Determine how important these combos are toward winning the game. (i.e. in my Sen Triplets deck the Thopter Foundry , Sword of the Meek , Time Sieve combo helps me win a lot of my games, but exists among many other win conditions and, more importantly, my deck can win without it)
If for step two you realize your deck runs solely on a combo (generally a bad idea) or series of combos (much better idea) to win all of its games, then the rest of the article is certainly for you. (and if not, the rest of the article can be used to beat those decks that rely on combos!)
Now, as opposed to just speaking theoretically, let’s look at some more EDH combos before I continue.
(The smiley faces represent how much I approve of the preceding combo)
Earthcraft + Squirrel’s Nest which makes infinite tiny, cute, adorable, squirrel tokens. ??
Saffi Eirksdotter + Karmic Guide + Revillark + Sacrifice outlet. (Infinite milling, or mana, or something, depending on the outlet used). ?
Mindslaver + Academy Ruins . ?
Knowledge Explotation + Eye of the Storm , ( it’s mean, yes, but I have a fond affection for it.)????
Palichron + Mana Reflection or Mirari’s Wake . (infinite mana.) ??
Kevin (of MTG Radio) uses most of the above in his Rafiq of the Many , and there are things to keep in mind. With this type of deck, certain cards become more advantageous, mainly counter spells, card draw, and tutors. Card draw is good normally and should be found in all EDH decks so I won’t hit on that as much, but the other two I plan to give their due.
First, tutors. Some players, who are in their own right, have a distaste for tutors since they feel it diminishes the highlander nature of the format. While those who use tutors more often tend to feel it just makes their deck more consistent. I think a happy medium must exist between the two (and above all else the format should be fun, so if someone is tutoring their way to victory every game in your play group, I understand and agree with the distaste), but generally a mix can be found that makes decks clever, fun, and combo-licious.
Second, counter spells. Bleh. The word itself leaves a terrible taste in my mouth, but actually, certainly in EDH, counter spells can be so multipurpose that everyone forgets spells are being countered. Cards like Draining Welk or Overwhelming Intellect shine in Elder Dragon Highlander because they protect your combo while doing something else, (Alton Brown of Good Eats would be proud since they certainly are multitaskers.) The major thing to keep aware of in EDH, especially if you normally sling counter spells in your non-multiplayer magic events, keep aware of what your countering. As Kevin likes to say, counter spells act largely as political tools. If you just counter things willy nilly then you will become a target and inevitably will lose the game. I only counter things as follows: 1) Someone, upon resolution of the spell on the stack, will inevitably win the game, 2) Someone is directly affecting me/my combos, 3) Someone at the table is breaking the golden rule (ie, their actions fit the description of “douchbaggery”). Now, the aforementioned list doesn’t follow any order or hierarchy of importance – they all just exist as things I keep aware of while playing EDH.

Now, since this article has addressed combos to a sufficient extend, I want to clear up some things, and speak directly to those who stuck around for the whole thing. First off, there are many sites and articles that list “Top 5 (10, 15, etc) EDH combos” or “Must have EDH combos,” or even the exact opposite stating “Combos ruin the EDH experience.” Personally, I think combos have their place in EDH just like other formats, the issue to me stands as fun. Mindslaver locks, unfun. Many, many squirrels (no matter how cute and adorable), relatively unfun. But on the contrary, if someone sticks Eye of the Storm, and Knowledge Exploitation , it is totally acceptable since I personally have never seen it done, and think the after effects would be awesome. Same goes for Warp World , Hive Mind . It boils down to the playgroup experience, the fun and excitement all players feel (if they don’t, you’re doing it wrong), and being prepared.
Coming to a table prepared for combos is key, certainly in a well versed playgroup where one player hypothetically sits behind Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary and wins all his/her games. Adapt to the person playing combos. In no way do I recommend the cliché of fighting fire with fire. If one person makes the game unfun, adapt play style so that player has more difficult getting of their combolicious win-conditions. Of course, this is easier in well versed play groups. From personal experience when I sit down with Kevin, Tom, and Sally – if anyone resolves Mana Reflection , especially Kevin, it will get destroyed. All in all use the multiplayer aspect of EDH to your advantage and most of all keep the game a good time for everyone.
This becomes far more difficult in new groups, when playing at Grand Prixs, or Pro Tours – events in which the decks of everyone around you are a surprise. Especially when prizes, no matter how menial, are on the line – players tend to lean toward aggressive, competitive nature and aim to crush everyone around them. This is not the nature of EDH. Two ways to combat this menace and deal accordingly is to bring a deck to one of these events to either control the game (stripping ridiculous combo locks out of peoples decks with Sadistic Sacrament or Jester’s Cap ) or playing a Group Hug style deck which aims to please and help all players at the table (generally, without a win condition of its own.) These strategies are discussed much more in the first episode of the Summon Elder Dragon Podcast on MTG Cast. The points brought up and discussed all stand out as ways to keep the douchbaggery to a minimum and make the format more welcoming to new players.
Whether liked or disliked combos exist in the game of magic, and certainly EDH opens the field to plenty of trickery, but above all else there is fun to be had. If a new combo looks good, try it out once, use the tables reactions as a guideline on if it should stay in the deck or not. Don’t use this format and its wide card pool and never before seen interactions to strip the good time from the table. As players of this normally competitive card game usually that’s something we forget. Don’t let EDH fall into the same trap. Play it for the fun of the game!

Email: mtgradio@mtgcast.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/mtgradio

Since my last two articles, the two decks I proposed have gotten a very good fan base on the MTGsalvation forums. Due to this, the two decks have been improving and developing in leaps and bounds! In this article I will give you guys the latest lists on the Edict’s Anonymous list, plus a new deck I’ve been working on call Ad Nauseum Control! Next article will be update on the Wall deck for all you interested.

Firstly, I’ll start off with the Edict list. If you don’t yet know what I’m talking about read my last article entitled Edict’s Anonymous – its a full FAQ on the list! But for those of you who are up to date, keep reading.

As I said, on the MTGsalvation forums this deck has been steadily improving and garnering some great results! Firstly, I’ll take some time to give props to people who have put some hard hours of testing in this deck and have been part of the development of this deck:

Wacky Zacky
Kilroy
Pink Floyd
Fizzler
Pass Turn
Uncoordinated
Seppyk

Give them all a cyber round of applause! Thanks to all of them and many more who have contributed posts here and there. Seppyk has written a great matchup report here that shows some very promising results, thanks very much to him for hours of hard testing:

1. Loss (0 – 12): UBR Pyromancer Ascension (Early Pyromancer Ascension. Green splash version of deck would have better chance with the pulses)
2. Win (14 – 0): B Vampires (Opponent was running a budget Vampires deck, his Doom Blades were dead cards in his hand providing me card advantage)
3. Win (4 – 0): GR Landfall (Bad Plated Geopede beatdown early, Rotting Rats/Gatekeeper control late + Bloodwitch life gain took me out of bolt range)
4. Win (20 – 0): UGW Thornling/Iona/TooManyThings (Landscrewed with 2 lands, Pathed my Bloodghast which helped me, then managed to win easily with rotting rats beatdown and late Fleshbag sacrifice)
5. Win (16 – 9): BR Aggro (Opponent was landscrewed with 2 lands, conceded)
6. Win (20 – 0): UBGRW Jank (2 recurring Bloodghasts with a 5/5 Gravelord was too much pressure)
7. Win (19 – 0): BGR Jund (Opponent was forest landscrewed, but my landbase was about the same in quality, Blightning’d me which was a non-issue with all my recursion)
8. Win (21 – 14): GB Discard (Had multiple Gatekeepers and Fleshbags in hand for big control, opponent Duress’s creature full hand, then conceded)
9. Loss (0 – 1): R Valakut Ramp (Held on to my Tendrils too long as I should have used them on my own creatures for lifegain)
10. Win (8 – 0): BG Shambler/Slime Control (Badly landscrewed, got down to 1 health, then used Tendrils three turns in a row to gain control of the game and win)
11. Win (12 – 0): BR Inquiry Discard (Creature beatdown, won one turn before he was going to Inquiry me to death)
12. Loss (0 – 7): UBR Jank (Opponent had 3 Bloodghasts in opening hand, and I had 3 Rotting Rats which helped him more than me. Despite the score, got beatdown badly)
13. Win (4 – 0): RW Jank (Opponent Quenchable Fire’d me three times. Used Disfigure on my own Bloodghast several times to avoid exile and continued to recur it)
14. Win (10 – 0): RW Aggro (Won with straight beatdown, no discard, no Bloodghasts, no recursion)
15. Win (18 – 0): BW Edict (Closer game than the score indicated, semi mirror-match as he was playing Bloodghasts and Gatekeepers except also with Cemetary Reapers and Emeria. Got rid of the Reaper as fast as possible and managed to win with a Bloodwitch)
16. Win (10 – 0): GRW Aggro (Very slow start for me with two Soul Stairs. Ended up clearing his board with a single Fleshbag recurred three times in one round. Fun!)

These are some very great results – if my maths serves me correctly thats 176 – 54!

From testing we have completely ditched the BW list and went to GB for Pulse and Nature’s Spiral – some people were testing BU (fizzler) and others mono black. Then, this morning I came across a forgotten Magic: 2010 card called Entomb.

I did a literal face palm and have now decided that my list of choice will also be mono black;

Lands
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
15 Swamp

Creatures
4 Bloodghast
4 Fleshbag Marauder
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Rotting Rat
2 Malakir Bloodwitch

Spells
4 Entomb
4 Grim Discovery
4 Quest for the Gravelord
4 Soul Stair Expedition
4 Tendrils of Corruption

This list provides a streamlined deck with very much recursion. As discussed in the previous article, you may wonder how this deck wins unless it gets Bloodwitch – but I quote Seppyk, “rotting rats beatdown”. This deck wins with mini creatures that just won’t go away. If you’re opponent has no hand, no creatures, and the removal they draw is redundant – as long as we have one creature we can win. Simple as that, and demonstrated in the 176-54 record. Seeing I am still running Catacombs and other fetch lands (for Bloodghast, Grim Discovery and Soul Stair) I have considered splashing green for Pulse only – it shouldn’t be too hard and would replace Tendrils, but that might be unnecessary and redundant.

Well, thats enough on Edicts Anonymous for now – lets move on to my latest design. This deck makes use of a severely underused card in standard that is part of a tier 1 legacy deck. What’s that? Ad Nauseum! Before I explain, I would like to say that this deck is (like most decks I make) extremely fun, original – however it still has the potency to win games.

First, let’s take a look at Ad Nauseum:

This card is amazing card draw – but it kills you along the way. Reminiscent of the old card that broke the format in half – Necropotence. The difference is that this is more expensive is not re-useable and kills you more quickly. The aim of my deck however, is to break this card in half! Let me show you how:

The main reason this card is not a staple in any mono/two coloured deck that runs black is that it kills you with ease. However, in legacy, this card is used along side 0cmc/1cmc cards that mana accelerate such as Dark Ritual, then Tendrils of Agony for the win. Our deck takes a similar concept and adapts it to the constrictions of standard.

Let me show you the list first of all:

Control:

3 Ad Nauseum
4 Path to Exile
4 Duress
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Burst Lightning
4 Wretched Banquet
4 Terminate
4 Sunspring Expedition

Finishers:
3 Martial Coup
2 Banefire

Lands:

4 Arid Mesa
4 Marsh Flats
4 Akoum Refuge
4 Plains
3 Mountain
3 Swamp
2 Reliquary Tower

The idea is to control your way to turn 5/6, gaining life and killing your opponent’s creatures – then at the end of your opponents turn, Ad Nauseum draw 10 or so cards, including a Reliquary Tower and a finisher (the great thing is that Banefire and Martial Coups converted mana costs are only 1 and 2 respectively). Because its your opponents turn, you don’t have to discard, so you take your turn with your massive hand, drop a reliquary tower – have a hand full of removal to get rid of everything they play and burn them out with bolts, burst and massive Banefires/Martial Coups!

This deck is amazing fun, and its so hard to lose once you play Ad Nauseum. The only problem is that this deck has a terrible matchup against control – you just have to hope you can burn them out as quickly as possible and its probably better to draw more than usual cards of the Ad Nauseum.

I wouldn’t say that this is as competitive the Edict or Wall deck but its certainly a lot of fun – and its quite innovative. With a bit of testing, and some development I hope that this deck can have some great success! Be sure to tell me what you think below!

If you guys have any questions – if you want me to review a rogue deck of your own, or any similar inquiries feel absolutely free to email me at: not-live@live.com.au! I will answer each and everyone of your comments! Similarly, you can find me at MTGsalvation – I’m Dantcg.

This is it for now. Thank you all for reading and be sure to come back for the next article! As previously mentioned, the next article will be an update on the Brick In the Wall deck + either discussion on Worldwake or a new deck!

Stay tuned,
Daniel.

In this episode, we go over lots of different topics, most of which are in
Section A. The other sections are each broken down by color as we discuss
everything that had been spoiled at the time of the recording. (Monday,
January 18th). Our friend Tim joins us on a rare weekday off for him. This
one is a little epic.

Worldwake White Spoilers (section B):

Worldwake Blue Spoilers (section C):

Worldwake Black Spoilers (section D):

Worldwake Red Spoilers (section E):

Worldwake Green Spoilers (section F):

Worldwake Artifacts and Lands Spoilers (section G):

WWK Product section available, including Orb of Insight
http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/products.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/products/worldwake

SCG 5k Dallas (January 9) won by 14-year old Eric Palmerduca with Vampires.
As David Campano pointed out to me on Twitter, what better time for the new
Vampire Weekend album than following a weekend where the winning deck was
Vampires?

Decks from the Event
#01 Vampires by Eric Palmerduca
#02 Jund by Brian Tidwell
#03 Valakut Ramp by Justin Corbett
#04 Barely Boros by Justin Petri
#05 Jund by David Schaub
#06 All American Control by George Blankenship
#07 Grixis Control by Anthony Laflamme
#08 Red Deck Wins by Brian Febbo
Top16 Jund by Isaac Fuller
Top16 All American Control by Maurice Bennet
Top16 Boros Bushwhacker by Kyle Sanchez
Top16 Barely Boros by Robert Kerr
Top16 Emeria’s Pledge by Kevin Yu
Top16 All American Control by Jeremy Bright
Top16 Jund by Justin Mazur
Top16 Grixis Control (Creatureless) by Nick Jones

SCG 5k LA (January 2) – LSV’s RWU Control

Decks from the Event
#01 UWR Control by Luis Scott-Vargas
#02 Jund by Arthur Halavais
#03 Eldrazi Green by Eric Hopkins
#04 Jund by Sherwin Pu
#05 UWR Control by Jeff Huang
#06 Jund by Alex Tamblyn
#07 Mono-Red Aggro by Avrom Oliver
#08 Grixis Control by Matt Sperling
Top16 Jund by Jose Holguin
Top16 Jund by Michael Peterson
Top16 Jund by Matt Nass
Top16 Jund + Blue by Nick Hughes
Top16 Jund by Vince Wongsuchit
Top16 Jund by Edd Guzman
Top16 Mono-Red Aggro by Zach Lindler
Top16 Vampires + Red by Cassius Weathersby

LSV’s RWU Decklist
Maindeck:
3 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
4 Wall of Denial
4 Spreading Seas
2 Double Negative
4 Flashfreeze
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Path to Exile
3 Ajani Vengeant

2 Jace Beleren

2 Divination
2 Earthquake
2 Mind Spring
4 Island
2 Mountain
4 Plains
4 Arid Mesa
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Sejiri Refuge

Sideboard:
4 Baneslayer Angel
3 Luminarch Ascension
2 Mind Control
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Cancel
2 Essence Scatter
2 Negate

Blogs/Podcasts Mentioned (Sorry if I missed any)
VICTORY BACON!
http://www.top8magic.com/2010/01/podcast-victory-bacon/

FiveWithFlores – Building a Better Cruel Ultimatum
http://fivewithflores.com/2010/01/building-a-better-cruel-ultimatum/

Terry Soh – Solar Flare in Standard
(SCG Premium) -  http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/standard/18498_Feature_Article_A_New_Solar_Flare_for_Standard.html

Patrick Chapin’s – Theory of Everything
(SCG Premium) -  http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/fundamentals/18652_Innovations_The_Theory_of_Everything.html

Gathering Magic – A Call to End the Reserved List
http://www.gatheringmagic.com/?p=6235

WrongWayGoBack – Full Art, Whenever Possible
http://www.wrongwaygoback.com/2010/01/mtg-design-space-redesigning-magic-card.asp

Finally, here is the video we were comparing the Release Promo of Joraga
Warcaller to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XBq0CrJnPo

(My most sincere apologies for following through on my promise to post a link to that.)

Contact YO! MtG TAPS!
Email: yomtgtaps@gmail.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/yomtgtaps
Joey Pasco on Twitter: http://twitter.com/affinityforblue
Joey Pasco’s Blog: http://www.affinityforislands.com
Bigheadjoe’s Blog: http://otherworldlyjourney.blogspot.com
YO! MtG TAPS! on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/yomtgtaps

Also we discuss “Multiplayer Shortcuts” – habits and tricks you can do to speed up a multiplayer game so you can get back to your turn again!

So give a listen, and subscribe! http://feeds2.feedburner.com/AvantCardShow

Also available on iTunes.

Okay, enough of all that. But really, ever since The Mana Pool #15 waaaaaaay back in March of ‘08, we have had an overwhelmingly positive response to our Multiplayer Mayhem episodes. And listeners have been requesting that we record an episode while playing for just as long. As I am writing this, Mike and I are actually trying to figure out why we shied away from it for so long. For some reason, we thought it would either be boring, confusing, hard to follow, or generally terrible without being able to see what was going on. But with Mike joining us for the first time in well over a year, and coming equipped with a laptop containing the appropriate recording software, there was no way we could pass up the opportunity. I grabbed my handy desktop mic and the rest, as they say, is playing in your ear. Mike thinks they’re weird to say things like that, but who are we to question them?

So again, this is it. We bring you three action packed games of multiplayer mayhem in less than three hours. And that’s including one good rules debate that actually spawned an alternate reality where the game kept going (that’s the one you’re currently in, by the way), and the Cardshark Member Promotions for January. But enough of that, we’re going to let the show speak for itself, and that’s not just because it’s been long enough that we can’t really remember anything else that happened. It’s called building tension. Yeah. That sounds good.

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-113-multiplayer-mayhem-live-t454.html
Check out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.com
Email us at themanapool@cardshark.com
Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapool
Visit Cardshark! http://www.cardshark.com
Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/member_promotions.asp
Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool
Intro music from Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.com

I like to call it “Edicts Anonymous” or “B/Walking Ediction” and other corny names such. The deck revolves around using over and over again the effects of standard’s “Walking Cruel Edicts” to keep your opponent without creatures, while you benefit from their effects. First, let me show you Cruel Edict:

As evident Cruel Edicts effect basically reads, “target opponent sacrifices a creature”. This is great as it can not only kill regular creatures, but it can take care of cards with shroud, as it doesn’t target. In standard there are a couple of effects that make your opponent sacrifice creatures; Gatekeeper of Malakir and Fleshbag Marauder. The good thing about these edict effects is that they are stuck on to a formidable body – that believe it or not – is often your course to victory.

First, I’ll give you this very interesting list, then I’ll discuss the synergies and plans of this deck:

The Edicts:

4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Fleshbag Marauder

The Profit:

4 Bloodghast
4 Quest for the Gravelord
4 Rotting Rats

The Recursion:

4 Soul Stair Expedition
4 Grim Discovery

The Support:

4 Path to Exile
3 Zealous Persecution
2 Malakir Bloodwitch

The Land:

4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Arcane Sanctum
8 Swamp
3 Plains

THE GAME PLAN:

The game plan of this deck works itself out throughout the game, but I can guarantee that it will be incredibly enjoyable no matter what – and quite the opposite for your poor opponent. You ideally start the game with a Quest/Expedition then Bloodghast. After they drop a creature, you make them sac it with either of your edicts. Continue you with this, slowly chipping away at their life totals – and when suitable go ahead and get your edicts back for more fun with some of your recursion. Save your Zealous Persecutions for those massive swings with a bunch of small dudes.

Against control, this deck plays a worse, but playable game. The good thing about our deck is that, unlike most others, we can take care of their shroud creatures (Sphinx of the Jwar Isle and Wall of Denial) without using mass removal that also wipes our own boards. Grixis Control is a much easier game as they can’t remove any of your creatures with, say, a Path to Exile, so your recurring Bloodghasts are everlasting and eventually kill them. Against UWR control, you’re Malakir Bloodwitches are key, and should be most definitely sided in so you have all 4. All in all, Control rarely has more than one creature out at a time – and all of which are easily taken down by this deck.

THE SYNERGIES:

This deck is synergy galore, synergies ‘R us or whatever you want to call it. Your Grim Discoveries are amazing, you get a creature and a land, play the land and get back the Bloodghast – 3 for 1 much? Rotting Rats are also great, they provide more damage, rip apart your opponents hand whilst having minimal effects on yourself, if not being beneficial (Bloodghast). And then they go ahead and provide a good sac for your Fleshbag Marauders.

Talking of which, they are great. Although, not as good as Gatekeeper of Malakir in most cases, sometimes you want them more so you can sac a Rotting Rats and re-use it to strip your opponents hand. Geese, sometimes they even give your Bloodghasts haste as well.

Did I mention that in the mean-time, you’re pumping out 4/4 Zombies through your Quest for the Gravelord? Amazing.

The Verdant Catacombs are there to trigger landfall effects such as Soul Stair Expedition and Bloodghast and are really beneficial in this deck, even if they’re simply a swamp that pings you.

I’ve had really good results from this deck – I’ve versed the likes of Naya, Vamps, Grixis and UWR Control to some success, even surviving multiple Baneslayers and Sorins. And, unlike a lot of decks in standard, I’ve had a complete blast on the way. I highly recommend this deck to anyone.

Well, that sums it up for this “episode” of ‘Mastering Standard, be sure to tune back next time for another fun, competitive and probably original deck! Be sure to leave a comment below – I’ll reply to all!

Regards,
Daniel.

Worldwake Spoilers:
Tom, Kevin, Bryan and I will all discuss the new Worldwake spoilers including the Wizards previews, and the ones trickeling in over at MTG Salvation. Be aware, our spoilers will have an EDH spin, but we may also touch on limited goodies since we can never stay on track.

Email: mtgradio@mtgcast.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/mtgradio
The Avant Card Show: www.avantcardshow.com

This Week in Magic
The Worldwake spoiler machine is in full effect with the official WoTC spoilers starting this week (stay tuned to the end for the very newest spoilers). Tom and Steve pick some favorites from the current spoiled list and some oddities from the Orb of Insight. Legion Event’s Magic Cruise 2 is quickly approaching on Feb 7th and attendance is marked at over 100! Channel Fireball is getting crazy with some Sealed $2K Zendikar and M10 tournaments for a $10 entry fee! And some cool historical info on our preview card, Bestial Menace, and it’s nickname of “Cone of Creatures” in a 2002 Mark Rosewater article.

What Have We Been Playing?
Tom is steeling himself in both mind and spirit for the upcoming release of Mass Effect 2 AND Star Trek Online!

Listener Emails
Tons of great feed back this week. Here is link to the David Bowie opus, Labyrinth. Link to the hall of fame video of Lucas Hager. Here is a picture of David Bowie looking particularly awesome:

MTGCast News
Stay tuned next week for our Worldwake give-away contests!

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Tom & Gavin & Jack & Eric & Conley & Steve – Your Monday Night Magic news team!

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Black Flower Music http://blackflowermusic.com/

This episode features Pink Noise Waltz by Diablo Swing Orchestra, licensed under a Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

And what a handy segue that is! That was totally unplanned *cough* *splutter* *cough*

You may be wondering what I am going on about. Today I present to you my newest list – that has been posting some really good results against most of the competitive decks in standard – including a great match up against everyone’s enemy, Jund!

Here’s the list, I’ll discuss it after:

4 Sejiri Refuge
4 Glacial Fortress
9 Island
8 Plains

4 Wall of Denial
4 Wall of Reverence
4 Wall of Frost
4 Kraken Hatchling
4 Baneslayer Angel
4 Sphinx of the Jwar Isle
1 Inkwell Leviathan

4 Path to Exile
3 Jace Beleren
3 Luminarch Ascension

I’ve had such reactions as, “OMGOYF A CONTROL DECK THAT LOSES TO DAY OF JUDGEMENT!”, but the truth is, if you lose to Day it is only because you are playing the deck incorrectly. The idea is to not over extend. Against most decks you will only need to have at max. two walls out at a time, and if you’re at that stage, a finisher. This isn’t just enough to thwart near all decks, but it keeps plenty of walls/finishers open post a wrath effect.

Against decks that you need more than two walls down, they do not run DoJ (Boros). Talking ’bout the Boros matchup – what this deck gains that other decks such as Grixis or America Control don’t have is one of the best answers to Boros, Kraken Hatchling. This gets dropped turn 1 and blocks most of their turn 1/2 plays, allowing you to get to that stage where you can drop a Wall of Denial or another such wall and gain control.

Another synergy (of sorts) I’ve noticed during my playtesting is the amount of times, late game after they have expended most of their removal, that I have a Baneslayer/Jar Jar out paired with a Wall of Reverence. This gains me heaps of life and it becomes very hard to lose from then on.

This deck has many different means of winning. It can be the simple and trusty method of dropping walls, blocking, blocking, laughing as your opponent pulls their hair out, blocking some more than dropping Jar Jar/Baneslayer for the win. Many times I’m dropping turn 1 Kraken, turn 2 Luminarch Ascension, turn 3 Wall and winning with a never-ending horde of 4/4 flying Angels. And if you’re lucky, you might be able to drop a late game Inkwell Leviathan and smile.

The thing that most attracts me to this deck, and not Grixis/America control is its streamlined and ever reliable mana-base. In a world without vivids and Reflecting Pools, running more than two colours is always a struggle, and often overrated. With this mana-base and selection of cards, I have never had mana problems – ever! Unless it be the result of a bad shuffling job.

Yet, this deck still maintains the great matchups vs Jund and similar decks. I’ve even posted (much to my shock, I admit) wins against Grixis Control and America Control – once surviving a double Cruel Ultimatum!

On a near final note, I reiterate – this deck is all about meticulous play and decisions. Never, ever over-extend and resist temptation to drop five walls, laugh, then cry as they all get wrathed away. Time your finisher’s perfectly. If you’re dropping a Baneslayer, make sure its either very safe from removal (they’ve used up heaps of it) or use it as bait to safely drop a Jar Jar for the win.

I would highly recommend this to any tournament going player, but I would also suggest you play with it for quite a bit before – it takes some getting used to. I haven’t posted a sideboard because that really depends on your meta, but I would suggest cards such as Negate or Flashfreeze, even Hindering Light. Felidar Sovereign has actually been great out of the sideboard as well, and I also suggest it.

Next time I’ll be either be posting with an updated version of this, or a new deck! This might be from anytime within a week to a day, so stay tuned!

Regards,
Daniel.