5 Standard Cards from Shadows over Innistrad

Today I will be talking a little bit about about some of the cards that I think will have a big impact on the first couple o weeks of this standard format. I have done some minor testing with friends and could be totally off on a lot of these predictions but only time will tell, but for now here we go.

1. Tireless Tracker

I really like this card and I would wager that a lot of lower curve green decks will be playing this card. It is always going to be good. Early it is a solid body that is just going to grow as the game goes on. Then late game it turns all of your useless lands into a brand new card. I would not be surprised to see Collected Company Decks start playing this card to start with.

2. Town Gossipmonger

















I think that if humans becomes a strong aggressive deck in the format ( and I think it will be) then this card is going to be very strong. This card may be a little slow to get going but when you do I think that it will demand a removal spell or you will quickly run over your opponent.

3. Archangel Avacyn

This one seems like a no brainer to me. Avacyn is incredible, she is a well costed, evasive threat that all subsequently saves your entire side of the board. I think Avacyn is definitely going to be the real deal and I would not be surprised to see her get even more expensive.

4. Traverse the Ulvenwald

 I think this card is great, early game it will sure up your draws and then late game it will get your bombs. Most decks should be able to fuel Delirium pretty easily so I don't think it is a stretch to have this online by turn 5 or 6.

5. Mindwrack Demon

This is the only card on this list that I am not quite sure on. I think this card will probably be nuts but there is the strong chance that this card just misses and the triggers end up killing you. If somebody can figure out a list for a G/B delirium deck where Gather the Pack can fill up the graveyard then this card will quickly close out games.

Color me Excited

After playing magic for so long I almost feel I have become the jaded old man during spoiler season of a new set. I just don't find myself getting very excited for new cards but I can say that Arlinn Kord is a notable exception to this rule. I am SO excited for this card. It just does stone cold everything.

Lets break this card down one ability at a time.

Arlinn's first +1 ability seemed really unexciting to me the first time that I read it but after thinking about it for a little bit longer I think it is probably just incredible. The most obvious home for Arlinn in my mind is Modern Jund and having the ability to just start +1'ing creatures as you draw them seems incredible. A kind of interesting play is animating a Raging Ravine and then plussing which lets you leave mana open for a removal spell.

Arlinn's 0 ability is really where she starts to get exciting for me. She makes a 2/2 wolf which albeit by itself is nothing to call home about, but when you start being able to protect Arlinn with the wolf you gain access to the other side of Arlinn which is also very powerful.

Welcome to the Buisness side of Arlinn, Arlinn, Embraced by the Moon. Her first +1 ability on her moon side seems to be the most unexciting in my opinion. However, when the most unexciting part of a planeswalker is when it gives your team a mini-overrun effect, I think we are doing just fine. This ability will be great for breaking through a board stall when needed but I think it will go largely under-activated.

I think what has me most excited about this planeswalker is her -1 on the moon side. Lightning Bolt is a a powerful magic card and having a repeatable lightning rod albeit every other turn is still a very powerful affect, especially when during the off turns you are making a 2/2 wolf.

Finally, her ultimate. I would wager that Arlinn is not the type of planeswalker that will get anywhere close to six loyalty in a game but if you do the payoff is there. All creatures have haste and can deal their power to a creature of player is game over for most decks in standard or modern.

I am incredibly excited to play this card in Modern and Standard, where do you all see Arlinn fitting into a constructed format. What cards are you looking forward to in Shadows over Innistrad.

Grand Prix Survival Guide

The Grand Prix schedule has announced a date close to you, how exciting! So what do you need to know about your first Grand Prix experience. Grand Prix's are a week full of magic that goes much beyond the main event, you can have a great time without even playing in the Grand Prix itself. 

The first important bit of information is accommodations. As soon as you make plans to go to a GP you are going to want to book a hotel. Typically there is a hotel block rented out either on site or close by that will cut you a generous break on the normal price of a room. These can go quickly so I always recommend you book sooner rather than later.

Another important thing is to preregister for your event if you plan to play in the main event. If you are planning on going to a GP that you think will sell out, you should preregister as soon as you make your plans to go. There have been multiple times where I see people upset that they made travel accommodations and couldn't play in a Grand Prix because they did not preregister, don't be that person. 

With that being said, don't feel like you need to play in the main event if you don't want to. GPs are essentially conventions for magic. There is something there for everybody, there are artist booths, side events, casual games, and trading. Don't let the format dissuade you from coming out to a Grand Prix. 

Here are a few helpful tips for your first Grand Prix Experience:

1. Limit the cards you bring- GP's are going to have a LOT of people at them. Unfortunately the world we live in, there will be some less than honest people who may not have your best interest at heart. It is easy to get distracted and for your binder with all of your sweet foils to up and walk away. Don't bring what is not absolutely necessary and if you do have to bring your binder, keep an eye on it.

2. Don't be afraid to ask a judge for help- Not sure where you side event starts? Ask a judge. Not sure where the bathroom is? Ask a judge. Where can I get some good food around here? Ask a judge. Judges are at Grand Prix to make sure you are having the best experience possible, use them as resource!

3. Shop Around- Often times at GPs there are going to be lots of vendors buying and selling cards and it can be easy to get caught up in the first booth you see. However, dealers have to compete so often times I will do at least a loop or two before I sit down with a dealer to sell cards. On the subject of selling cards do not be afraid to say no. You should never feel pressured into selling your cards, dealers will not take it to heart if you decline selling them your prized cards and if they do, they probably don't deserve your buisness.

4. Go with Friends- GP's are some of my best memories. Being able to take the weekend and travel to a new city with a few of my closest friends is the best experience. Even if your entire car loses all weekend these memories are great and you will quickly forget about the loses.

GP DC Recap (Sweet Sweet Victory)

I am still on vacation but wanted to update everybody on how the GP went for us! Grand Prix DC was potentially the most fun that I have ever had playing Magic at the competitive level. I teamed with a local player from Vermont and one of his friends from Iowa and together we made a deep run into the second day of the event.

Day 1

Day 1 when we opened our pools we were pretty excited. We had two very powerful decks and one aggressively mediocre pile (thanks for jumping on that grenade trevor). The deck that my team had given me  has me super excited. It was a green black deck featuring bombs such as Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, Zendikar Resurgence, and Gladeheart Calvary, needless to say my deck was pretty good. The highlight of Day 1 for me was easily playing with Zendikar Resurgence, this was a card that I was adamantly against, I thought it was unplayable garbage. Boy was a I wrong. This card was incredible, combined with ridiculous cards like Baloth Null and small cheap creatures it felt like I was playing storm.

Unfortunately, for the team as a whole the day did not start very well. We had the privilege of unintentionally drawing in our first round, we strongly considered dropping after that. Fortunately we did not drop. We continued to battle until we picked up the dreaded 3rd loss that would knock us out of Day 2 contention. Fortunately, that third loss did not come. We picked up our first actual loss in round three and then our second in round 6. It was crunch time, I was not going to fall short in another GP day 1. Round 8 was a personal highlight for me. When I looked up the pairings and I saw my opponent, Jim Davis, the recent SCG invitational winner. He was potentially the biggest name pro that I have ever played in my magic career and fortunately I beat him. We ended the first day with a record of 6-2-1, hardly anything to be super excited about, but I FINALLY got my Day 2.

Day 2

Day 2 was a little scary to start. One team mate really enjoyed DC unfortunately the night before he "enjoyed" DC a little too much. Fortunately he made it there in time and we started our second deck construction. Our pool was a little less exciting today but still seemed solid. I ended up with a very strong Blue/Black Eldrazi deck with bombs like Reality Smasher and Bearer of Truth. Again we had a pretty bad deck in our pool that once again Trevor took one for the team and played it. Realistically we had to put together a 4-1 performance in order to cash for $250 each. Flash forward four rounds and our team was sitting at 10-3-1. We had a win and cash. We played against a group of very nice guys from New York State and unfortunately did not get there. I lost my match and felt pretty bad about it and it all came down to my third teammate's match. Unfortunately it was with our worst deck and he was paired against what seemed to be their best deck.

Despite loosing our win and cash, I could not be happier with our performance in the GP. I am excited for GP Louisville which is the next team event that my team is planning on reuniting to battle in.

My GP Washington DC Prep

I am very excited for GP Washington DC. More so than I have been for a Grand Prix in quite some time. This will be my very first Team Grand Prix which I was a little nervous for but I could not be more confident in my team.

This is one of the GPs that I have put by far the most preparation into in a while. I have been constantly grinding sealed ques on MTGO and feel like I have a pretty solid grasp of the format. One of my teammates and I have practiced with a couple of team sealed and have a pretty good understanding of where we both want to be in our pools. I am glad that I was able to find teammates that I think I can not only win matches of Magic with but also have a lot of fun in the process.

Another one of the best parts of traveling for tournaments is getting to see new cities. I have not been to DC since I was in about 9th grade and I am in my Senior year of college now. I leave in just a few short hours for my flight to Washington DC and I am excited. I can feel it, this is our tournament (famous last words). I will have a more in depth report when I come back in about ten days as I am taking a vacation after the GP to go to Seattle. Until then.

Three Strategies to Beat the Eldrazi

Number 1- Stop being friends with anybody playing the deck. If you surround yourself with players who only play nice fair decks it will be like the Eldrazi deck is already banned. If some local spike shows up at your shop make sure to give him a dirty look so her gets the message loud and clear.

Number 2- Quit playing Modern, the format is ruined, the sky is falling, magic will never recover. It makes sense to get out now while there is still time. I hear competitive Yugioh is an incredible format right now so you mind as well jump on that train before they print some unbeatable abomination there,

Number 3- Join them, you mind as well play the most powerful deck while you can. Everybody can moan about how overpowered the deck is but that is okay. You will not be able to hear the salt over the sound their realities being completely smashed,

Sportsmanship in Magic

For today’s article I will be briefly talking about sportsmanship when playing Magic the Gathering. It seems to be a hotly contested issue whether or not you offer the handshake when winning a game of magic or if you are a total jerk for doing so.

I lean on the side of offering the handshake win or lose. I love the competitive spirit of magic and winning is a pretty big deal to me. That being said if I lose a game I still want to shake my opponent's hand because winning a game a Magic can be hard and it is a big deal, who am I to take that feeling away from my opponent?

There are definitely exceptions to this though. If an opponent is visibly upset over the match then I will not offer the handshake and instead may say something like “thank you for the games.” The other thing I am big on is saying “good game” after the match . Again I avoid this in situations such as the upset opponent or if my opponent is mana screwed and didn’t really have the opportunity to play a real game of magic.

I think one of the worst things somebody can do is if a player says “good game” and their opponent who lost responded with “no it wasn’t.” This is just incredibly bad form, as I said earlier winning a game of Magic is HUGE, it feels great and who are you to diminish that feeling. I think that it is appropriate to say good game or offer the handshake in most situations but there are always exceptions and it is mostly about your opponent's reactions.