Rise of the Eldrazi Announcement November 16, 2009
Posted by Norm in Rise of the Eldrazi, Spoilers.Tags: Announcement, Rise of the Eldrazi
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Today Wizards announced Rise of the Eldrazi the third set in Zendikar block. This isn’t big news because the name, images and logo were spoiled last week I believe. Still, super cool name for a set and look at the art below. Awesome.
I think I get so excited in spoiler season because the art looks so good. Better than when its printed on the cards. When viewing cards in a new set I always remember how I was excited when I first saw an art and then feeling, meh, for most cards that have great art. That is probably one reason why I (we) get so excited for a new set during the spoiler season. OK learing about the new cards is fun too.
Anyway Rise of the Eldrazi is set to be realeased on April 23, 2010. So mark your calendars now.
Execution by Wizards November 13, 2009
Posted by Norm in Casual.add a comment
Yesterday I clicked through twitter to read a post on Gathering Magic entitled Execution Counts Too. The post is about Wizards recent product releases and the disappointment in execution. I think a good summery of the article would be that the magic user base gets really excited about new ideas, yet when they are released they are disappointing. Now I don’t want to rehash his article but I suggest you head on over and read it.
Personally I think the decisions about execution are for intended target audience. Which isn’t the hardcore player. There are a lot of interesting comments on the article so I’d suggest you join in the conversation.
Heartfelt Storytime November 11, 2009
Posted by Norm in Casual.Tags: show us your noobs
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While getting caught up with MTG Realm I noticed one of his commentors had a blog about MTG called Show Us Your Noobs. OK cool name so I clicked through to see what is up.
I landed on this story where he made a homebrew bird/cat deck for a kid who hung around their shop. Click through to read the story.
It is always nice to read stories like this. Rock on.
GASP Con Prep November 11, 2009
Posted by Norm in Casual, EDH.Tags: EDH Decks, GASP Con, Sygg River Guide
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Sealed
GASP Con is quickly approaching and I’m working to keep myself prepared. Friday is the Zendikar sealed event and I don’t really have much to say about that. Except, Zendikar is starting to grow on me. I liked shards limited events better than zen but do think that this is a cool format that has a lot of explosive cards. I’m probably going to avoid a flying ally strategy if I can help it. If I had my druthers I’d love to open a Nyssa and her chosen. Play a green black deck with vampires and elves. I’ll let you know what happens.
EDH
On Saturday, and this is what I’ve really been preparing for, is the EDH showdown. They don’t really call it that but it is a good name for an EDH event. If only the event started at high noon. My EDH history is pretty lame. I’ve never seriously gotten into the format and all my previous deck attempts fall flat as either too clunky or too bulky and not enough synergies. So I’ve turned to the internet for deck ideas. The best EDH deck list collection that I found is on MTG Salvation. A really comprehensive general search (of decks they have lists for) that links to the thread with that deck list.
As for me I’m playing Sygg, River Guide based on this list from MTG Salvation user Soskei. I really wanted to play this Niv-Mizzet deck but that general has already been chosen. Anyway the Sygg deck fit two of my criteria fun and available cards on sort notice. I did make a few changes adding some counter spells, wizards who can tap to essentially spell pierce, and various merfolk. One secret tech I added is Sunken City, which I added after sorting thorough various pickups in forgotten boxes. I picked up my first Cryptic Command since foolishly trading them away back in the early days of Lorywn. And I’m contemplating a planeswalker or two.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Zendikar Draft FNM Style November 7, 2009
Posted by Norm in Draft, PTQ.Tags: Zendikar
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Zendikar Draft
Tonight I played in my first Zendikar draft, and I got my ass handed to me. I didn’t win one game, and in fact I didn’t even come close to wining one game. All I kept saying the whole night is how dissapointed I was in my deck. I’m torn between being dissapointed and chalking it up to a learning experience. One of those nights when you have a fist full of mana and enough mana on the board to cast all your spells. This happened to me at least once a match.
I found myself pulling allies. I had more that one of Stomework Puna, Makindi Shieldmate, Urara Raptor and Ondu Cleric and a few other allies to boot. I thought I was in a really good situation after deckbuilding. I knew I was light on removal but I thought that I have a good build around 16 creatures. Wrong. I was also missing a bomb.
I do think that I had bad luck tonight with my draws and land flood but I don’t think the ally strategy is as bad as 0-6.
PTQ
Tomorrow is the regional Zendikar Sealed PTQ. I’m going to have to pass on this one due some external influences. Good luck to everyone I know going to compete.
Getting Ready for States 2009 November 5, 2009
Posted by Norm in Casual, Constructed, Organized Play, Standard.Tags: goblins, states 09, warren instigator
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The Back Story
This morning I received a message on facebook from Dillon reminding me that States is right around the corner. I’m glad he did because I didn’t have it on my list of things to think about this month. Good thing I’ve been thinking a lot about standard the past few weeks. I’ve been tinkering with goblins specifically built around Warren Instgator, I’ll get to more on that later.
Flash to this afternoon with a timely visit from John, Arcane Order club member, to talk about the development of decks in the new standard. We spent the better part of an hour analyzing decks on tcgplayer.com. There are a lot of interesting builds out there, mostly aggressive and few control oriented. I don’t think I saw a Cancel all day. To state the obvious Baneslayer Angel is the best creature in most decks and fetch lands will be ever present.
Standard A GoGo
I’m not sure what I’ll be playing everything from Jund to the new Bant looks tempting. Mono red looks hot but the Planeswalkers deck is also intriguing. It is going to be a challenge figuring out who will be playing what as there hasn’t been a clear leader in the current meta.
Back to my goblins. I started with this in a more casual mindset but it has some interesting potential. I’ve played a few games and love putting chieftan onto the battlefield because of instigator. Anyway take a look and let me know what you think. Keep in mind this is based on cards I own and not what I think is the best build.
Creatures
4 x Raging Goblin
2 x Goblin Bushwhacker
1 x Goblin Guide
4 x Warren Instigator
4 x Goblin Chieftain
4 x Goblin Razerunners
2 x Siege-Gang Commander
Spells
4 x Burst Lightning
2 x Fireball
4 x Lightning Bolt
4 x Dragon Fodder
1 x Goblin Assault
2 x Trailblazer’s Boots
Land
20 x Mountain
2 x Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
GASP Con and FNM November 4, 2009
Posted by Norm in Casual, Constructed, FNM, Standard.Tags: FNM, GASP Con, Jund
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Welcome back to Casual Magic.
This month I’m planning on attending GASP con, which stands for Gaming Association of Southwest Pennsylvania. This will be my second time attending GASP con and I’m looking forward to it. Three days of gaming with a Zendikar sealed event on Friday. You can read my recap from last year here. I’ll be attending with Aaron who runs Buymorecards.net. He’s working on a new design for is site so stay tuned for an announcement when he gets it fully operational.
Anyway it has been a while since I’ve been to a good con and I’m hoping to get into some good non magic board games. Recently I’ve been playing a D&D campaign. My first. It has been very enlightening and a lot of fun. I’m expecting to meet some great people and learn some new games.
Back to Magic.
Last friday I attended my first FNM in a while. The first in Zendikar Standard for sure. Over the past few weeks I’d been tied up with events and obligations therefore keeping me from gaming. I probably wouldn’t have played because I didn’t have a deck together. But after looking at that weeks building on a budget I realized that I probably could put that deck together, and I was right.
The deck is essentially a cheap Jund build. Cheap meaning not all the expensive cards like Maelstrom Pulse and fetch lands. I felt that this build is just as good and terminate costing less that pulse is ok because most of the time I was only killing one creature at a time. Pulse in the current meta (at least for me) would have been irrelevant. Terminate costs one less and easily cast-able in this deck.
I went 3-0 at the FNM beating out vampires, a blue/white/black milldeck, and a goblin home brew. I felt that vampires was an easy matchup. The vampires were too slow against me and my removal was better. Yes they have tendrils but my lightning bolt, blightning and terminate keeps their hand, life and board under control. In my opinion vampires have a lot of potential but from what I’ve seen they are just too slow in a 1v1 match up. At the multiplayer table seems like a decent deck.
The mill deck was next and I felt that this was a 50/50 matchup. I won in two games, but game one he didn’t draw a blue mana until turn 10 and his wrath and white control could only hold out for so long. In that game I had to terminate my own Sprouting Thrinax to get creatures in around his Wall of Denial. Game two saw him either have mana or card trouble. I had to play around his Path to Exile and Archive Trap. Not a huge problem, just don’t search your library when playing against the Mill Control deck. This was even easier when my deck didn’t have a card that needed me to search.
The goblin matchup was also a smooth ride. My extra spells with bloodbraid elf and removal were hard to play around. In this decks defense I don’t think he was playing chieftan or instigator. But rather he was experimenting with Zendikar block goblins and some standard removal. I think this deck was red white with new oblivion ring that only hits creatures. I didn’t take a look at his deck list after the match although I wish I had now.
Anyway I had a lot of fun playing cheap jund especially with the fair amount of success I had with it. What are you experimenting with in the new standard? Next post I’ll share my own goblin homebrew deck list.
Where I went in September October 3, 2009
Posted by Norm in Casual.Tags: PCPGH4, PGH G-20
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What a whirl wind of a month it has been for me.
In Pittsburgh we hosted the G-20 Summit, where in my back yard the protesting was the most focused. Literally I was visiting my local card shop and I walked out the door to see buses of riot gear clad police zooming up the street to meet a protest marching through my neighborhood. I stayed away from the actual march but they were shooting OC (pepper spray like gas) at the crowd who was breaking windows and disrupting traffic along the way. It was a rather eventful day to say the least.
During September leading up to the event I was involved in a number of community and government activities revolving around the summit. In my role at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh I was a liaison between City officials and my executive committee in planning and organization. What was crazy about this aspect is there was an unexpected precedent that protesters were going to descend upon the city and leave it in a shambles. This was the expectation because something similar happened in London and Seattle recently. Meeting with the Chief of Police and Allegheny Conference officials were part of the norm in September.
What actually happened was a very low danger march that did get a little out of hand, broke a few windows and got themselves arrested. Downtown, where I work, was probably the safest place on the planet during those two days. And I want to give my thanks and support for the law enforcement who made sure downtown Pittsburgh was indeed without incident. Their main goal was to ensure that there would be no acts of terrorism during the summit. I know most residents were on edge about what could happen. The weeks leading up were exciting but tenative. Going to work the week of the event lead me to pass giant fences and barriers that were in staging before diplomats arrive.
When the summit arrived the city was bracing itself for whatever. And here is the funny part (in retrospect of course) nothing happened. If you were going to downtown that day you got there in record time. “Protesters, well I guess they like to sleep in,” I heard on the radio. I am thankful for this.
The funny thing to me about the protesters is that they really failed to do anything constructive. Like get their message across. Yes there were some groups who protested peacefully and they got some attention, but what I’m talking about is the unlawful march that got the most attention. Since they were in my neighborhood I could tell they were all from out of town and they were all (for the most part) young Caucasian individuals. And what were they protesting about? Rumors leaked that they were targeting grocery stores, banks, pharmacy’s and the local Bloomfield-Garfield Development Corporation. Ya the you know the Bloomfield-Garfield group whose goal is to educate urban youth. So you have 20 something, out of town, spoiled suburban caucasian kids running around for no good reason targeting groups who seek to help African american neighborhoods. It was like a parade with more cops and we just got to laugh at how stupid they were.
So ya the G-20 in Pittsburgh took up most of my September. I did get to play a lot of magic and I’ve been playing Planechase and Zendikar. So I haven’t fallen off the map. Coming up next week is PodCamp Pittsburgh 4 which I have been helping to organize. And failing miserably at promoting though my own sites. But if you are interested register today, the event is free, and stop by and say hi if you are around.
PodCamp Planning Session
Another G-20 Event I Helped Organize
Zendikar Orb Request September 3, 2009
Posted by Norm in Zendikar.Tags: Orb of Insight, Zendikar
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To: Anyone who is putting time into the Zendikar Orb of Insight and keeping track of their results.
If you’d like to share your results with me I’d be happy to post them. My job/life currently is preventing me from putting the time in myself. You get full credit for your effort as well as a fake foil play set of Sorin.
Drastic Inquiry Results September 3, 2009
Posted by Norm in Constructed.Tags: Drastic Inquiry, Grixis, Standard
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Yesterday I shared a Grixis Deck, Drastic Inquiry, that I was bringing to a standard event tonight. First off this was a really fun deck to play. Its unique and unexpectedness was a great asset tonight. However it is a tricky deck to play and without any time to play test the first few matches were a bit dicy learning the ins and outs. I’ve also never played a deck with such a dynamic mana base. So there was an additional learning curve for me.
Over all the deck is very competitive. Even when I lost I was grinding it out and if I could have had more mana or creatures at the right time I could have won. The deck is also capable of some very dramatic victories. The key is finding the right moment to play Burning Inquiry. The other key ranadomly discarding the cards you want in your graveyard. 
I finished the night 1-3, disappointing but not a complete failure as I was learning the new deck. If you want more details on the night let me know.
