5 Ways To Get Ahead Before A Rotation

Greetings readers. The Zendikar rotation is happening in a month, and is certain to shake up Standard. Almost all of the current archetypes will be thrown out the window, and those that aren't will still change. Thus, it's a perfect time to write an article I've been holding onto for a while: how to get ahead of the competition before a rotation.

1. Practice with a resilient deck.

A lot of people, after a rotation, will suddenly have to audible into a brand new, unproved, untested deck. If you can pick a deck, for example Jund, or Time Sieve Combo, that will remain relatively untouched by the rotation, and become familiar with it, you'll be like a shark among the minnows as they try to master their new decks while you use the one you've been familiar with for a month.

This is the precise reason I'm using Jund: only six non-land cards in it will actually be affected by the rotation, so I should easily be able to adjust it to the new metagame and the new card pool.

2. Keep up on the spoilers.

If you want to get an edge, you want to know what gets spoiled basically immediately. To that end, I advise subscribing to @mtgsalvation on Twitter, and checking the spoiler sites regularly. Twitter is a great place to find breaking news: I've only recently started using it, but it's quite useful already.

If you know the cards before the rotation actually happens, you'll be able to formulate a deck for when it does happen, continuing in the spirit of point 1.

3. See what people are saying about it.

Just by reading this you're on the right track to achieving point 3: finding out information. What are people thinking about the rotation? To that end, I suggest visiting Starcitygames.com, mtgsalvation.com, this blog, and any other Magic sites that have strategy articles several times a week. With the rotation looming large, that's what everyone will talk about, so plug into the flow of information.

4. Be aware of what will be lost.

Be aware of what decks will become unworkable. For example, Faeries, Elf Combo and Five-Color Control become impossible, since the core of each deck has been nuked with Lorwyn's departure. Blightning may survive, Jund and Time Sieve Combo will survive.

You also need to be aware of the metagame shift. For example, if Jund and Time Sieve are likely to appear in large numbers, how should you adjust your deck / sideboard for it?

5. Be prepared to adapt on the fly.

Lastly, the time after a rotation is a time of great flux. New decks will appear and become invalid by the day, so be prepared to change decks after the format settles down after a few weeks. You never know: new decks may pop up to make Jund utterly impossible in the new metagame, and White Soldiers may pop up and seize power. Be prepared to adapt to anything.

Until next time, may you be calm in a sea of confusion.

Catching Up On Magic - Part 5

Drafting Alara Block

In the spirit of this series, I will assume that you already know basic Limited theory, and move straight to the specifics of this block. In Alara Block, there are too many good multi-colored cards, including the 100% multi-color Alara Reborn, to go two colors. In Alara Block, you want to pick a shard.

There are two schools of thought on the first few picks: one says you should pick a shard by picking a three-color bomb, and stick with it, the other thinks you should avoid committing to a shard for awhile. In my opinion, feel free to take a three-color bomb first pick, but no card is worth a draft, so if you can't get the cards you need, go ahead and switch shards.

My personal preference is to draft Esper, since most people don't draft Esper. The best shards objectively are Jund and Naya, but a lot of people will try to draft them. Choose what you will.

Manafixing should be picked fairly highly, especially tri-lands. If you can get good manafixing in packs 1 and 2, you can splash a fourth color in Alara Reborn if you have to.

In Shards or Shards / Conflux, two colors was fine, but now multicolor is king. You MUST draft a shard. End of story.

Drafting Magic 2010

Magic 2010, as a core set, is fairly classic draft: W/U fliers, U/B control, B/R removal, R/G aggro, G/W midrange are the main archetypes. Instead of telling you how to draft this format, I'll tell you the subtleties of it:

Magic 2010 is a slow format. Evasion is king, since it's very easy for the ground to get gummed up in a sea of 1/4's and 3/5's.

What do all these four cards have in common? They all end creature stalls, and they're all potential first picks.

If you can break a creature stall and they can't, you have the advantage. Make sure you don't get caught on the wrong end of that equation.

M10 is also a bomb driven format, with Sleep, Overrun, Fireball, Howl of the Night Pack and Mind Control all at uncommon, and plenty more at rare. Playing your bombs and stopping your opponent playing his are generally excellent strategies for any M10 draft.

The most important thing to remember in Draft is to keep your mind open as you play so you can learn. A couple of M10 and Alara drafts will teach you more than I can possibly teach you: much of drafting theory is learnt while drafting, hence the short article. I could go in depth into pick orders and that kind of stuff: but that's not what this series is about.

To be continued...

Tournament Report: August Week 1

There are a few advantages to getting your teammate to give you your deck at the event, but one major disadvantage. Unless you manage to get the answer out of him beforehand, you don't know what deck you'll be playing. As soon as I get all the cards for the Kithkin list I intend for that to change, and fast.

I showed up to the event, only to find that I would end up playing Five-Color Control, not exactly the deck of choice to play without testing. I became a bit more confident after demolishing Jeremy's Blightning deck in 3 straight games with it, however.

Quick aside: my team is composed of:

Me. I'd like to think I'm the best player out of the three, but I may be wrong. Adam's fairly skilled. My main problem is a lack of money so I can't play top-tier decks. This problem has been alleviated since I joined the team (the name is still up for debate).

Jeremy Tjaardstrada. I think that's how you spell it. Jeremy has a few competitive decks at any given time since he varies between playing them a lot. This is helpful for the team because we get to play a larger selection. He usually goes 1-3 or 2-2 at events though, and I routinely beat him. He's good, but he doesn't put in as much effort to seriously improve his game.

Adam Sesperez. A new addition to the team, me and Jeremy have known him for a while. He usually plays Merfolk or an artifact deck: he likes the Tier 2 strategies. No idea if that will change now or not. He's an experienced, skilled Magic player.

So I have a Five-Color Control deck with a suspicious lack of M10 tech (no Great Sable Stags in the SB, and no Bolts) and not all the choices I would have agreed with (no Anathemancer in the main, only one in the sideboard). But hey, what can you do, right? Pairings are drawn for Round 1 and we get underway.

Round 1 I play Jared Buellesbach. Jared is one of the better players at our store, but I've inched my way ahead of him slowly. He always plays an aggressive Red deck of some sort.

Game 1: He plays Vexing Shusher and Rise of the Hobgoblins(?). I Pulse his Shusher and take a few damage from the token. He Flame Javelins and bashes me to 13, at which point I drop a Broodmate Dragon. He uses a combination of a Mutavault and Redcap to kill my Broodmate Dragon, and I start swinging. He tries to Bolt my other one after blockers, but I Cryptic Command it, and bash him to 8. He tries for a Rise of the Hobgoblins, I Broken it and reveal a Broodmate. He concedes.

SB: In: 2 Jund Charm, 3 Firespout, 2 Celestial Purge. Out: 2 Hallowed Burial, 4 Mulldrifter, 1 Essence Scatter (remember, I'm unfamiliar with the deck. I'm almost certain these choices are wrong, but I don't know what was correct)

Game 2 we play land-go for a while. Turn 3 he lays a Dragon Fodder. I Jund Charm his guys in response to attackers, and he Javelins me to 16. He bashes me down to 13 with Ram-Gang, and on his second swing I cast Plumeveil to block. He Bolts it to finish it off. He plays a Shusher, and when he attacks I use another Plumeveil. He has nothing except Tattermunge Maniac, which he has to attack with. I block, and use EOT Esper Charm to draw two. I lay a Wall of Reverence, and at 13 life, about to gain 4 per turn, he concedes the match.

At this point I stop taking detailed notes and start taking briefer ones.

Round 2 I go up against Desmond Ng, a member of Team OMG, and a powerful opponent. Game 1 we have a long standoff, and I gain loads of life from double Wall of Reverence, until I stupidly go for a Cruel. He counters it, then Cruels me back, plays Ajani, blows up my lands, and plays Liliana. Faced with Broodmate death over the next 10 turns or so, I concede. That one was purely my fault.

I don't know what I SB'd out, but I sided in Anathemancer and Purges.

Game 2 is very uneventful. He plays Great Sable Stag and bashes me to death. My only answer is Hallowed Burial, which I don't find. I go to X-1.

Round 3 I go up against Justin Cheung, one of the top-rated players in Australia. Just my luck, eh? He's playing Five-Color Blood, though thanks to Gilt-Leaf Palace and Twilight Mire I think he's playing G/B Elves, then Jund Elves, then it finally sinks in halfway into Game 1. His Anathemancers hurt me quite badly, but I drop Obelisk of Alara and claw my way, agonisingly, to victory. It was a very long game, and we go to Game 2.

Game 2 he plays Great Sable Stag, then ANOTHER Great Sable Stag. I learnt my lesson and sided in Firespouts this time, but don't find them.

Game 3 I remember him playing a GSS and me Firespouting it, but little else. I got a Cruel off at some point, but that's the only damage I ever did to him and I got bashed to death.

Round 4, I'm now 1-2, and I go up against Tim Burke. Tim is a former National Champion, and an exceptionally good Legacy player, but he's not much for T2 anymore. Since there are no Legacy events where I live, he's getting back into it.

From the first turn I know what he's playing. As I expected, it's Elf Combo, the only Tier 1 deck that Standard and Legacy both play.

Game 1: He starts off with Nettle Sentinel, and I lay a couple of lands. He plays double Elvish Archdruid and I'm worried about him going off, but instead he bashes me for 11. I pray, and crack a Hallowed Burial off the top. He fights some more, but he's in topdeck mode and I play a Broodmate that gets there.

Game 2 I sideboard in Firespouts and Jund Charms for Plumeveils and Walls of Reverence.

He does well in this, but I draw about 3 sweepers. Heritage Druid and Nettle Sentinel get Jund Charmed, Ranger of Eos + 2 Llanowar Elves get hit with Firespout, and I have Hallowed Burial in reserve. I counter his Ranger of Eos #2, and bash him with Broodmate despite a Regal Force landing. I end the tournament 2-2. I come 6th, however, top of the 2-2's, since I played up in Rounds 2 and 3.

Then it's time for a wait before the draft. The draft is triple M10, which is good for me. I love to draft M10, and I'm pretty good at it. I usually end up with a U/B deck, but this draft may be different.

During the draft I open a Great Sable Stag first pack, first pick. So naturally, I take it. I get passed a green fattie, a decent red guy, and then, somehow, a Lightning Bolt fourth pick. I take this to mean red's wide open and set myself up for R/G.

Unfortunately, in Pack 2 it totally, TOTALLY dries up. I get almost nothing from this pack, and have to hope Pack 3 ties it together.

And boy does it. I crack Platinum Angel, which I draft instead of a great red card, because I absolutely could not resist. I also get passed some Craw Wurms, and an Enormous Baloth.

At the end of the draft I'm short a lot of playables and am forced to maindeck Dragon's Claw and Ignite Disorder. However I'm very confident that once it hits 6 mana my deck is unstoppable. I play 18 lands, including a Gargoyle Castle I was fortunate enough to grab. I have mixed feelings about my deck, but it's time to draft!

Match 1 I play Jarred Mack, a guy I haven't seen around before. Game 1, the deck works exactly as I expect. I take some early damage from Child of Night (he's playing B/R) before stabilising with a 3/3, and then start dropping Craw Wurms, Berserkers of Blood Ridge, and an Inferno Elemental. I start bashing him, but he clogs the ground. I drop Platinum Angel one turn, crack my Gargoyle the next turn, and it's all over in short order.

Game 2 was a long and difficult one. I mull to 6, and he keeps. We both get manascrewed, but me a bit more than him. I get Land 3 after a couple of turns, and start laying guys when I get a Forest. I gain about 8 life from Dragon's Claw in this game. We fight back and forth with creatures, him getting my 4/4 with a Kindled Fury. He plays Acolyte of Xathrid and Prodigal Pyromancer and starts pinging me. I play a Craw Wurm, but he drops Ball Lightning. I drop dangerously low, still being pinged, and have to block Lightning with Craw Wurm. I drop another one, and a Baloth, and I might win the race, but then he plays Wall of Bone to stop half my offence, and I lose.

Game 3, in an anticlimax, wasn't very fun. I mulliganed to 5 and didn't draw any good cards all game. He, on the other hand, curved out well and blew me over in short order.

Round 2, I play Desmond again, but I have a decent chance to beat him in Draft if I play well.

Game 1 we both play Awakener Druids. He kills mine, but I get it back with Nature's Spiral and Oakenform it after replaying it. A creature stall develops, and while I'm searching for a Platinum Angel to blow it open, he plays Overrun, and I die.

Game 2 we both keep. We start out playing small guys and trading a lot. I start getting guys out. I play a Baloth, and he Fireballs it for 7! I play a Craw Wurm which gets double blocked, then I topdeck Platinum Angel. I play it. He plays Overrun and swings. I drop to -2, and bash him to 7. I activate my Gargoyle Castle, giving him one turn to find a removal spell. He doesn't. On to Game 3!

In Game 3, he keeps, and I mulligan to 6. Not only that, I get stuck on 4 mana. I get my fifth in a couple of turns though, and begin playing big guys. In desperation, he Overruns, but I sac 3 creatures to kill 2 of his and take 6 from the last guy. I could have taken more but knew he had Fireball, so I was playing around it. I then play a Craw Wurm, and a Baloth, and he dies beneath my onslaught of giant men.

Round 3 I play Bret Willcocks. Bret's a fun guy to play, in Constructed and Limited. I usually beat him but occasionally he'll just blow me away.

Game 1 we both keep, and he's playing mono-blue. He plays a Snapping Drake and Alluring Siren, but I Ignite Disorder to kill both of them. I play a Craw Wurm, and he Clones it. I play another Craw Wurm, and our Craw Wurms trade. I pop a GC, and I've got the board advantage and win, despite his chump blocking with 1/1 fliers.

Game 2 I accidentally flip a Forest, revealing his secret sideboard plan. Not that I can do anything with the knowledge. However, to be fair I show him the Windstorm that I sided in. It's FNM so I don't get a game loss, but I do need to be more careful.

We both play small creatures, and a lot of trading happens as we fight back and forth, neither of us taking damage. I play a Craw Wurm but he Mind Controls it. I force a trade with my 4/4, and play another 4/4. From there I don't really know what happened. He just ran out of guys. One minute it was an even fight, the next I had him backpedalling. It was pretty weird, but I suppose someone at a higher level of skill than me would be able to identify what critical thing went wrong for Bret. (More on this topic in the strategy article tomorrow) And then the draft ends, and I'm 2-1.

It's a happy ending though, as the 2 OMG members who come 1st and 2nd already have playsets of Honor of the Pure, and the one who comes third takes Goblin Warchief for his deck, so I take a miracle 4th-pick Honor of the Pure, so I now have 2 out of the 4 I need.

All in all, it was a fairly good day, although 4-3 is actually a bit on the low spectrum for me: I usually go around 5-2. Still, I'm happy with my result, and especially with my Honor of the Pure, which I'll put to excellent use next Saturday.

Join me tomorrow, when I'll start talking Magic strategy.

Until next time, may your topdecks be awesome and your play be spot-on.