MTG Salvation

PT Kyoto is starting up right now, and with that, we're about to see a whole lot of standard tech. If this is what you seek, these are not the droids you're looking for. Instead, what I want to show you are a large group of Standard casual decks. Let me explain what I mean by that.

(Teflon Jeff fans, don't miss this one!)

The prerelease has passed us by, and Conflux is in your hands, but not yet legal. It's that awkward time, when everyone has the info, and we're all trying to find the best way to utilize it. As I write this, Conflux is four days away from becoming legal for sanctioned play. What that means is, we have a lot of new cards coming in, and some of them look like they are definitely worth playing. Let's start off by looking at the draft format.

Well, 2009 is upon us, and I have but one thing to say:

Where is my flying car?

Beyond that, I find myself full of introspection this year. 2006 and 2007 were years of strong stability in my life, and 2008, well, it was a year of change.

Do you ever sit back and wonder exactly how you lost that last game of the PTQ? You replay the game over and over, and you can't see a way you could have won. "Oh well, bad beats," you tell yourself. But what if your opponent was playing a game you weren't even aware of, and that is the reason you lost? Welcome to the land of the Mind Trick. Contained in this article are a number of tips and tricks for improving your win percentages. They are not spell progression tactics, nor are they game rules. These are not the tricks of playing Magic, these are the tricks of playing your opponent.

Parts of my last articles led to rather heated replies in the forums attempting to remind us that this is, in fact, a game. There were also posts about how one could not have fun whilst Playing To Win. There were many anecdotes and thoughts given, but the argument really came down to some people saying that playing to win meant you couldn't have fun. But is that the case?

Playing to win would seem to be an easy part of gameplay. However, there is a shockingly large number of players who aren't playing to win. In fact, all of us fall into this category at some time or another, and an extremely large number of players are in it right now. Let's examine some of the ways in which we think we're playing to win, but in fact have different goals in mind. We'll also look at ways we can increase our chances of winning.

This may surprise some of you, but I like to win. Yeah, I know, I was shocked too. Now here's the kicker. When I started playing again, I decided I wasn't going to be competitive. I was going to play for fun, hang out, teach people to play (one of my assignments from Wizards, at the time). But as I played, I found out exactly what I said earlier: I like to win. I was having a lot of fun, but I was coming home from tournaments and games frustrated because I was losing games I felt I should have won. At that time, I started following tournaments online and looking for ways to improve my game. I read some articles (just like this one!) and some tournament coverage and even a players report or two. In doing so, I read a few hints and discovered a few on my own.

Hall of Fame voting has begun, and this year there are a few wrinkles added to the mix. Let's take a look at the requirements, the changes, and some likely inductees.

Magic Weekend was a blast. I don't think I've ever in my life had so much fun and so little sleep in the same seven days. I have a huge slate of topics to cover about the weekend, so let's get started.

U.S. nationals weekend is coming upon us, and the web is teeming with articles of strategy and advice on how you can claim victory and a free trip to the City of the King, Memphis, for Worlds. Do I have any super secret tech for you? No, not at all. What I do have is a guide on how to enjoy the entire weekend, not just those hours of spellslinging in the main event.

Editor's Note: This article was originally written before the recent Regionals and includes an updated section at the end of the tournament results.

Regionals is this weekend, and, like most of you, I’m still trying to figure out what will happen at mine. So I thought I would share my thoughts with you. Buckle in, and let’s take a walk down Prediction Lane. (Two streets over from Memory Lane, but it’s a one-way running the other direction.)

Shadowmoor is upon us. The sun has set for the first time in centuries, and dark tidings have fallen upon the formerly bright and sunny world of Lorwyn. The very world itself has changed. What new monstrosities might rear their ugly head(s)? What dangers would you need to take a care for as you wander the wilderness? Join me, as I guide you through one small section of this treacherous terrain: Combos.

I’m a seriously casual player. This is only partially by my choice. Where I live, we have no official Friday Night Magic. The closest sanctioned Friday Night Magic tournaments are approximately 120 miles away. It’s not that we don’t have players, (we have Friday Night games with 15-20 people) we just have no sanctioned tournaments. So, when I found out there was a Pro Tour Qualifier in my hometown, which is about 3 hours away, I figured I’d shuffle up and play.