Dave’s Personal Blog

I was listening to a recent episode of the Monday Night Magic podcast on the way to work this morning. They discussed the question of Core Sets… whether they should change, be gotten rid of, or what. I figured I’d recap their comments and add my own.

Ben from Michigan prompted the discussion with a phone in question. The ensuing discussion covered two points I want to comment on:

1. Changes to core sets to include more advanced concepts/mechanics. Legends were added in Tenth Edition, why not add other things? Tom figured gold (multicolored) cards were fair game as did Gavin. Gavin really wants to see cycling in core sets.

   I disagree. I think the core sets should fill two roles: a gentle introduction for new players, and a general toolbox of basic staples for advanced players. To that end I like the fact that the cards are straightforward, have basic mechanics, and single color. I also don’t really agree with adding legends to the core, but I do see how they make for more interesting/fun starter packs.

   Speaking of starter packs… I really like the new style that was introduced with Shards of Alara: a partial precon and a booster. There’s enough in place that you can open it and start playing (with the 41 card deck), but also get a taste of the collectable aspect of the game due to the included booster.

2. Getting rid of the core set. The general comment was that they shouldn’t get rid of them, but that they should be smaller (Gavin suggested 120 cards.. 1/3 of the current size). The core provides an easy way for new players to get basic cards.

   I agree that the core sets should not be stopped. They could be smaller but I don’t think they should be downsized so drastically… if at all? As I said it’s a general toolbox… it should provide a wide variety of utility cards.

   When I started playing (as Planar Chaos came out) I felt myself at a distinct disadvantage in not having that toolbox to dig into when designing decks. When 10th came out, we treated it like any other set.. and bought a bunch. It wasn’t very exciting, but it filled in a great many holes in my collection. I won’t do the same with subsequent core sets.. mostly because I probably already have the cards that will be added to it from my collection of subsequent blocks.

Saturday saw me at Superstars (where else) playing in my very first PTQ. It was a blast. 185 players in total. Everything seemed to run smoothly.

My first match was with Lokman… one of the better players in the area… certainly well placed among the Superstars regulars. I actually won that round! Yay for me. OK.. that was the high point of the day.

After loosing the next 3 rounds, I dropped and signed up for the next draft queue. the rest of the day consisted of a second draft, some casual type 2 play, and watching some of the PTQ top-8.

We drafted last night, and I ended up with a nice enough deck… Jund… heavy red. It wasn’t overly consistent, but when it worked it was great.

Here’s the deck:

I could have used more removal, but when the stingers, iguanars, and token generators got online the result was pretty sweet. Make that 2 iguanars and 2 or 3 stingers, thrown in the necrogenesis to recycle dead things. The game is built around casting guys, turning them sideways, having them kill and/or be killed, doing direct damage via the iguanars in either case. Recycle them into saprolings that can be pinged by the stingers to do direct damage or devoured by the Viashino (again doing damage).

When it worked (which was 1 match out if 3)… it was really cool.

I was at Superstars for this morning’s draft. It went pretty well. I drafted an Esper theme… artifacts. The packs were good, and other than a Tower Gargoyle that Josh hate drafted from me, I had good options. Here’s the build I went with:

Rather annoyingly, we had 9 people drafting and I got stuck with the bye in the first round. I did well second round, with a decisive 2-0 showing. Third round was against one of the stronger players in the area. Games 1 & 2 both went to him, although they were both hard won victories for him and enjoyable games. I made a few misplays in game 2 that would probably finished it in my favor leading to game 3 and a potential 3-0 record. I’ll take 2-1 though. Far better than my drafting record a couple months ago.

Next weekend is the local Pro Tour Kyoto qualifier at Superstars (go Jon & crew… you guys are rocking!). I’ll be there. I don’t really expect to top-8, but anything is possible. A ProTour appearance is definitely in my plans for next year.

Yesterday I took Pat Chapin’s “Reflecting Cruel” 5 colour control control deck to Superstars’ $1000 tournament. (You need a premium StarCity membership to access that link… if you’re serious about Magic, it’s worth it)

After 5 rounds I was 3-2 and in 12th place.

I lost round 1 to an expertly played UBR faerie deck. My opponent went on to make top 8.

I lost round 3 to one of the Superstars regulars who was piloting an elf deck. Game 1 taught me not to Esper Charm an elf player to discard. He had two Wilt-Leaf Leiges in hand which he could choose to discard and put onto play. I lost in combat after passing the turn. I won game 2 and lost the third from combat from a superior board.

The three rounds I won were fairly one sided games.

A few weeks ago I commented here that I was going to aim for 16+ hours of magic per week. Since that weekend (Sept 22) I’ve been averaging about 22 hours per week of time playing.

The practice already seems to be showing in the decks I’m drafting, and my win-loss record.

Today was (once again) spent at Superstars drafting.

It got off to a slow start, with the store opening an hour late. It was cool though.. there was a group of us waiting so we had a good talk.. comparing Shards drafting strategies and such. Eric came by near 11 and treated us at Starbucks while we waited for Jon to open the store. Then, to reward our dedication we got the first draft for half price (i.e. 1 ticket).

In draft 1, I drafted a WGr deck with a dual focus of exalted and big creatures, and good color fixing. I went 2-0, 0-2, and 2-1 for 2-1 overall… winning a ticket (the equivalent to 2 boosters… 1 per match win).

The second draft was time for something completely different: Gryxis, or more specifically uBr. Blightning rocks. Turn 3 & turn 4 blightnings totally rocks! My record was 2-1, 0-2, 2-1.. again for a 2-1 overall record… and another ticket.

The day had good value in addition to being fun and somewhat educational. I paid 3 tickets for two drafts, and won 2 tickets… plus picking up (between opening packs & trading) a half dozen rares for Nancy & I. So the day cost me $7, but I ended up with at least that in rares.

I spent today at Superstars again. A couple drafts and a few constructed games. In the first draft I ended up with a largely WG deck that was slanted toward an exalted theme. It didn’t do so well, going 1-2. The second draft resulted in a much better deck. Still no bombs, but much more solid, with more exalted creatures and a few fatties. The combination of the Rockcaster Platoon and Yoked Plowbeast with the Gustrider Exuberant was great… resulting in one final strike by 2 5/7 flying Rhinos.

Sunday saw me back at Superstars for the Shards of Alara release event: 2 flights of sealed, 4 rounds each.

I went 1-2-drop in the first flight… the deck wasn’t working so well.. and I needed to eat. Second flight went better at 2-2.

Lots of Magic… lots of fun.

My friend picked me up saturday morning and we spent the day at Superstars. First 4 round sealed, which I did moderately poorly in (2-2) followed after a while (we were the first 2 on the list for the next pod) by a 3 round draft. I went 1-2 in that. Not great… Yet! But it’s practice. At the moment that’s the primary goal.

Taking part in so many limited events is giving me a great opportunity to play with the different shards. At the prerelease I played primarily Naya colors. That worked out well. Saturday I gave Gryxis and Jund a try.

I’m really enjoying the new set.