Post-Rotation U/W Control - Cody Jacobs (9/13/2012)

Everyone is pretty excited about Return to Ravnica releasing in a few weeks. So in celebration I've gone ahead and brewed up a blue white control list. With any luck U/W control will once again be a tier 1 deck. Enjoy!

Creatures-13

2x Isperia, Supreme Judge

4x Judge's Familiar

3x Snapcaster Mage

2x Lyev Skyknight

1x Restoration Angel

1x Drogskol Reaver

Instants/Sorcerys-13

1x Cyclonic Rift

4x Azorius Charm

1x Sphinx's Revelation

2x Supreme Verdict

1x Feeling of Dread

3x Think Twice

1x Terminus

Enchantments-3

3x Detention Sphere

Planeswalkers-6

3x Jace, Architect of Thought

3x Tamiyo, Moon Sage

Lands-25

4x Hallowed Fountain

4x Glacial Fortress

3x Ghost Quarter

1x Moorland Haunt

7x Island

6x Plains

Sideboard (Something like this, depends on the meta game)

x4 Knight of Glory

x1 Detention Sphere

x2 Jace, Memory Adept

x2 Cyclonic Rift

x3 Geist of Saint Traft

x1 Supreme Verdict

x1 Terminus

x1 Feeling of Dread

Post-Rotation Delver - Bruce Archey (9/13/2012)

So.. There's been alot of talk recently about if Delver will still be a deck or not, after rotation. I'm going to say yes. While Delver loses it's best cards (Ponder, Gitaxian Probe, Seachrome Coast, Timely Reinforcements, Celestial Purge, etc) It still gains alot of good cards, and the base of the deck is still there. Lets look at some deck list I brewed up.

American Delver.

Creatures - 17
4x Delver of Secrets
4x Snapcaster Mage
4x Geist of Saint Traft
3x Restoration Angel
2x Augur of Bolas

Spells - 22
4x Thought Scour
4x Pillar of Flame
3x Unsummon
3x Izzet Charm
2x Syncopate
2x Geistflame
2x Azorius Charm
2x Runechanter's Pike

Land - 21
4x Hallowed Fountain
4x Sulfur Falls
4x Glacial Fortress
3x Clifftop Retreat
3x Steam Vents
2x Moorland Haunt
1x Island

(Sideboard depending on Meta)

This list looks solid and playable. Since we're losing Timely Reinforcements, Celestial Purge, Hero of Bladehold, and Blade Splicer we need Pillar of Flame to fight against Zombies. Syncopate's probably going to be the best counterspell in standard, since it can exile stuff cheaper than Dissipate can.

U/R Delver.

Creatures - 13
4x Snapcaster Mage
4x Delver of Secrets
3x Augur of Bolas
2x Talrand, Sky Summoner

Spells - 26
4x Izzet Charm
4x Thought Scour
4x Pillar of Flame
3x Think Twice
3x Unsummon
2x Geistflame
2x Runechanter's Pike
2x Flames of the Firebrand
2x Syncopate

Land - 21
4x Steam Vents
4x Sulfur Falls
8x Island
5x Mountain

(Sideboard depending on Meta)

While missing Geist of Saint Traft, Knight of Glory, and Restoration Angel U/R Delver still seems like a strong choice. Having the perfect mana base, and the perfect amount of Instants and Sorcerys is always nice.

Esper Delver

Creatures - 10
4x Snapcaster Mage
4x Delver of Secrets
2x Talrand, Sky Summoner

Spells - 28
4x Thought Scour
4x Lingering Souls
4x Midnight Haunting
4x Azorius Charm
4x Intangible Virtue
3x Favorable Winds
3x Unsummon
2x Talrand's Invocation

Land - 22
4x Hallowed Fountain
4x Glacial Fortress
4x Drowned Catacomb
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Moorland Haunt
1x Vault of the Archangel
5x Island
1x Plains
1x Swamp

(Sideboard depending on Meta)

Esper Delver is going to be pretty good once RTR hits, with Ratchet Bomb and Day of Judgment leaving. Expect this to be a strong competitor.

Well, that's all I got for now.

Thanks for Reading."

Top 10 Cards in Standard and Prices - Bruce Archey (8/21/2012)

Top 10 cards in Standard and Prices.

10. Birthing Pod - Birthing Pod's a solid card and is played in some good decks ranging from Naya Pod, Bant Pod, Zombie pod, and many more. Current Price: $2.83. Predicted Price after Rotation: $1.00-$2.00

9. Runechanter's Pike - Runechanter's Pike is a very good card and can do alot of damage rather quickly and can win the game out of nowhere. It's play in a few Delver Variants, and it's going to see alot of play for the next year. Current Price: $1.04. Predicted price after rotation: $3.

8. Huntmaster of the Fells - When Huntmaster enter's the battlefield you gain 2 life and you get a 2/2 wolf, and it pretty much forces your opponent to cast a spell. When it flips, it deals 2 damage to a creature and a player. That's alot of value. Curent Price: $16.62. Predicted Price after Rotation: $12-$17.

7. Restoration Angel - Restoration Angel is a powerhouse. A 3/4 Flyer that cost 4 mana with Flash is already enough, but when it enter's the battlefield you can blink a creature you control such as Huntmaster of the Fell's, Snapcaster Mage, Geralf's messenger, etc. To get more value out of them. Current Price: $10.87. Predicted Price after Rotation: $13+

6. Geist of Saint Traft - Geist is probably one of the best creatures in standard. I mean, 6 power swinging on turn 4 is pretty good. And you can blink it out with Restoration Angel to keep it from dieing. Current Price: $17.22. Predicted Price after Rotation: $20+

5. Ponder - Ponder is just all around a great card. Dig's for answers, shuffles away bad cards, and sets up delver flips. Current Price: 71 Cents. Predicted Price after Rotation: 25-50 cents.

4. Rancor - A 1 drop enchantment that gives a creature +2/+0 AND Trample? I'm pretty sure the card explains itself.  Current Price: $2.03. Predicted Price after Rotation: $3-$4.

3. Talrand, Sky Summoner - Talrand's probably the best 4 drop in standard right now, and there's a reason why. Everytime you cast an Instant or Sorcery you get a 2/2 Drake with Flying. That creates massive tempo, and gives you a pretty big board. Current Price: $5.19. Predicted Price after Rotation: $7-$10

2. Delver of Secrets - The best one drop in Standard, and probably the best one drop ever printed. A 3/2 Flyer that cost 1 mana is insane. No wonder alot of people hate him. Current Price: 52 Crents. Predicted Price after Rotation: $1.00+

1. Snapcaster Mage - A 2/1 body with flash that gives a instant or sorcery card in your graveyard flashback untill end of turn for only 2 mana is just insane. Current Price: $19.30. Predicted Price after Rotation: $30+

Thanks for reading.

Best Delver Variant - Bruce Archey (6/27/12)

So, after months of playtesting with Delver I've asked myself a question. What is the Best Delver Variant? So today, I'm going to talk about different types of Delver and which one of them is the best. Let's start off with Esper Token Delver.

Esper Tokens by Ben Green

Creatures
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Hero of Bladehold

Spells
1 Dismember
4 Gitaxian Probe
2 Gut Shot
3 Honor of the Pure
4 Lingering Souls
3 Mana Leak
4 Ponder
4 Vapor Snag

Land
4 Darkslick Shores
2 Evolving Wilds
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Island
2 Plains
4 Seachrome Coast
1 Swamp

Sideboard
1 Celestial Purge
2 Divine Offering
1 Hero of Bladehold
1 Moorland Haunt
1 Negate
2 Phantasmal Image
2 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
3 Timely Reinforcements

Esper Tokens is a pretty good deck, but it's weak to Ratchet Bomb, and it's mana base is unstable. So Esper Tokens is not the best delver variant, while it is a pretty good option. Let's move on to U/W Delver.

U/W Delver by Brian Eason (Top 8 @ SCG Nashville)

Creatures
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Restoration Angel
4 Snapcaster Mage

Spells
1 Dismember
1 Faith's Shield
4 Gitaxian Probe
2 Gut Shot
4 Mana Leak
4 Ponder
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
2 Sword of War and Peace
4 Vapor Snag

Land
4 Glacial Fortress
9 Island
3 Moorland Haunt
2 Plains
4 Seachrome Coast

Sideboard
1 Act of Aggression
1 Batterskull
2 Celestial Purge
2 Dissipate
2 Divine Offering
1 Dungeon Geists
2 Phantasmal Image
1 Revoke Existence
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Timely Reinforcements

Now while U/W Delver is a very solid deck, and considered the best deck in standard it is not the best Delver variant. The reason for it's success is because it has a 50%-55% win % vs every deck in standard. While that's pretty impressive, theres another delver deck that's slightly better and beats U/W Delver on a consistent bases in the mirror. Mono Blue Delver.

Mono Blue Delver by Bruce Archey

Creatures
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Invisible Stalker
4 Delver of Secrets

Spells
4 Mana Leak
4 Ponder
4 Vapor Snag
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Thought Scour
2 Gut Shot
2 Mental Misstep
1 Dismember
3 Runechanter's Pike

Land
18 Island
2 Inkmoth Nexus

Sideboard
2 Negate
2 Dissipate
2 Mental Misstep
1 Consecrated Sphinx
4 Phantasmal Image
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Ghost Quarter

While U/W Delver has Geist of Saint Traft, Moorland Haunt, and Restoration Angel Mono Blue Delver has a more consistent strategy and can take down U/W Delver in the mirror, fairly easily. Why? Because Mono Blue Delver has access to more counterspells and more clone effects, and is able to kill out of nowhere with a runechanter's pike off the top. Not to mention it has a better mana base. I'm more then likely going to play this at FNM this week, I'll write a tournament report on it, and how I do. That's all i got for now.

Thanks for reading

Knowing When to Hold 'em and When to Fold 'em - Mikhail Steelman (05/24/2012)

One of the most commonly heard phrases at any tournament is "I shouldn't have kept that hand". Most newer players have a rough time know when a hand is worth keeping and when they should just mulligan and start fresh. While every deck is diffrent and works best with diffrent hands, here are a few tips to knowing if the hand is worth keeping or not based on the most common deciding factor...Land.

The no-land hand: Easy one, don't keep it. For every story of a win from a no land hand, I can give you two for a win from a four card hand. It should also be noted that a no land hand mght be an indication that your deck isnt shuffled well enough and you should do a thourgh suffle before drawing your next hand.

 One land, X spells hand: A little harder to decide, since there are some decks that can pull this off. A general rule is , if you can't put up a defense orhave card draw for two turns, take the mulligan.

 Two land, X spells hand : this is a little safer teritory as many decks can hold thier own for two turns on this kind of hand. Depending on the deck, if you can't put up a defense for two turns on it don't keep it.

Three land, X spells : this is generally the best ratio you can get for most decks. Just make sure your mana is on color for the spells in han, and that you can be defensive/aggresive if you dont see another land for a few turns.

Four land, X spells hand : this generally a decent hand, as long as you are on color and not sitting idle for to long.

Five lands, X spells hand : this is usually not the best hand you can get for most decks, but if you can play early, and are confident that you will draw well, go for it.

Six land,X spell hand : not good, unless you are REALLY confident of your draws, mulligan and move on.

The all land hand: DON'T DO IT. much like the no land hand this is a sign that your deck isn't shuffled right and will most likely give you problems during your match, mulligan and shuffle well.

Well, that about covers the basics of knowing when to mulligan and when to keep, but I would like to add two more tips to consider while you are mulliganing. Never look at the top card of your deck if decide to mulligan. Knowing what could have been isn't going to help you, and might distract you with thoughts of "IF only i had kept it". Lastly when putting your hand back in the deck, don't just put them back on top and shuffle,but instead take the few extra seconds to separate them into the deck. You would be surprised how often you will see the same hand come back if you just shuffle them still together, and if you thought it looked bad with seven, it's going to look worse at six.

....till next time, relax and enjoy the game!

"Getting There" - Jake Kloeppel (5/20/2012)

I've been playing now since 1997.  Magic has changed a ton since then.  Mostly for the better imo.  This weekend will be around my 20th star city open.  I'll be piloting mono blue architect this weekend.  Lewis Laskin took it top top 4 and I'm hoping I can do the same.  It's similar to the mono blue grand delver that I was running a few months back.  Loved it, but I felt it was missing something.  The deck runs very well so far.  The delver matchup is the biggest issue so far.  It's not extremely difficult but it's still a challenge.  
The last star city open in birmingham that we attended was fairly a success.  Not so much for me as it was for team member Bruce.  I piloted UB heartless summoning and had issues with it all day long.  I was in the loser's bracket at one point and even had an opponent I beat suggest that I should run the card "Heartless Summoning".  I must have not seen it in at least 10 games that day.  I don't get very downtrodden when I lose.  I guess that's one of my better qualities.  Sure I get upset from time to time but I just keep on trucking.  That's why I'm so sad to
see how some players just have no respect for the newer players.  Sure they aren't gonna be great out of the gate but who cares.  They want to learn, they want to get better, and I was in the same boat when I started.  So for the new players out there, shrug it off when some of the vets are jerks.  I really mean that.  I've been stomped far too many times to remember.  Just gonna cross my fingers and hope for a little luck come this weekend in Nashville.  I know we're having a great turnout up there from our local store and I can't wait to see how it all pans out.  Bruce is gunning for his third top 16 in a row... which is incredibly impressive for his age.

Just wanted to start this off as my first article as kind of a
introduction and to show the new players some respect.  You guys deserve
it...

Under-utilized Cards from Avacyn Restored - Cody Jacobs (5/20/2012)

This article is to discuss a few cards from Avacyn Restored that, in my opinion, could possibly be used in  competitive standard decks. 

Angelic Wall- A 0/4 defender for 1 white and 1 colorless. This card reminds me of a similar card back in M11 that was greatly utilized in white control, Wall of Omens. Take off the draw a card effect and add some wings and they are basically the same thing. I believe this card could be used in blue white control as a great 2 drop answer to delver, strangleroot geist, champion of the parish, and any other early aggro. 

Cloud Shift- An instant for 1 white that blinks a target creature you control. I would love to see this card used in maybe a heavy creature bant deck using blade splicers, acidic slimes, frost titan, and anything with a good enter or leave play effect. This card is also a decent answer to any targeted removal.

Deadeye Navigator-A 5/5 for 2 blue and 4 colorless that soulbonds to give both creatures a 1 blue 1 colorless blink activated ability. Same basic idea as cloud shift. It would be a good card when paired with blade splicers, acidic slime, frost titan, or especially inferno titan. I would recommend this card be played in possibly a rug deck with plenty of ramp.

Tandem Lookout- A 2/1 for 1 blue 2 colorless that soulbonds to give both a triggered ability that lets you draw a card if they deal damage. This card would be great utilized with goblin fireslingers, hell riders, and invisible stalkers. I'd love to see this played in a red blue aggro/tempo deck.

Appetite for Brains- A 1 black sorcery that lets you look at your opponent's hand and make them discard any card with converted mana cost 4 or greater. This card reminded me of inquisition of kozilek (same card but 3 or less). Kozilek was used greatly in mono black control decks and blue black control decks to extremely cripple their opponents early game plays. This card could be used the same way but to take out your opponents win conditions and would be even better when coupled with surgical extraction. 

Human Frailty- A 1 black instant destroy target human. I honestly think this isn't an awful sideboard option in today's format. There are a lot of boros humans decks being play right now and they are very fast. Siding in a couple of these in place of a couple of mana leaks if your running esper control or any variant such as solar flare would be a great option because cavern of souls makes your counter magic a lot less effective. 

Pillar of Flame- 1 red sorcery deal 2 damage to target creature or player. A creature dealt damage this way that dies this turn is exiled. I'm not quite sure why this card isn't used more in red decks as an early game answer to delver (can't be used with moorland haunt), strangleroot geist ( nullifies undying), and gravecrawler/geralf's messenger. I recommend this card if your running any form of red and looking for cheap targeted removal.

Dual casting- 1 red 1 colorless enchantment that gives the creature, 1 red and tap; copy target sorcery or instant spell you control. This would be an awesome card to stick on any hexproof creature such as invisible stalker. A red blue deck would probably be the best colors to play this in. You could replicate all your blue draw and red burn. 

Champion of Lambholt-A 1/1 for  2 green 1 colorless. Creatures with power less then her can't block creatures you control and whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control but a +1/+1 counter on her. This card can be pretty deadly against any control deck that relies on lingering souls and timely reinforcements for early game blockers. This card would be great in a green white deck with midnight haunting and gather the townsfolk to get her big early in the game. 

Soul of the Harvest- A 6/6 trample for 2 green 4 colorless. When a nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control you may draw a card. This would be a good card used in any green ramp deck with a lot of creatures. Green lacks draw so ramping into this early game could certainly be a game changer.