A short video montage of some footage I shot during the Magic Cruise, February 7-13, 2010. Enjoy!
Be sure to check out the MC3 over at Legion Events!
Monthly Archives: February 2010
Yo! MTG Taps! Episode 12 – Now Available!
Yo! MTG Taps! Episode 12 – Worldwake, But Still Groggy is now available for download!
Check it out over on MTGCast!
We talk Pro Tour San Diego; Joe’s PTQ experience (including the “bonehead play of the year”); M11 speculation; and hey, why not some more ranting about Jund? (just a little)
Contact us at yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com
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@yomtgtaps (BHJ and Joey)
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Visit Joey’s blog:
AffinityForIslands.com
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OtherworldlyJourney.blogspot.com
Yo! MTG Taps! Exclusive Interview with Evan Erwin!
Yo! MTG Taps! MC2 Coverage Part 3 – Evan Erwin: The Man Behind The Magic Show is now available for download!
In the conclusion of our audio coverage of the Magic Cruise, Joey interviews StarCityGames’ Evan Erwin!
We also hear from local Maryland player Nick Ayd (@lemonayd on Twitter) about his experiences on the Magic Cruise.
*Be sure to check out the MC3, coming up in February 2011!*
http://legionevents.com/magic/mc3
Contact info:
Email: yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com
Voice Mail Line: 1-331-MTG-TAPS
Twitter: twitter.com/yomtgtaps
Joey Pasco’s Twitter: twitter.com/affinityforblue
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/yomtgtaps
Facebook: Become a fan of “Yo! MTG Taps!”
Bigheadjoe’s Blog: http://otherworldlyjourney.blogspot.com
Joey Pasco’s Blog: http://www.affinityforislands.com
Thanks for listening!
Chapin’s List (UW Control)
Pro-Tour San Diego: Patrick Chapin and his Blue-White Control deck were featured in a video deck tech late on Friday evening. See below:
So, sideboard notwithstanding, I wasn’t far off. Looks like Chapin ditched the Calcite Snappers (regrettably, considering the moniker I used for the deck in my last post), but otherwise a very similar list to what I have above. I’m actually surprised how close I was to getting the same manabase—I’m only off by +1 Scalding Tarn. Chapin does indeed run 2 copies each of Mind Spring and Martial Coup, along with maindeck Flashfreeze and Celestial Purge.
Notice also the FOUR copies of Cancel in Chapin’s deck.
FOUR!
CANCEL!!
AT THE PRO-TOUR!!!
At first, this seems a bit odd. Before now, the problem with most of the playable counterspells (Flashfreeze, Negate, Essence Scatter) was that they were narrow, which often made it difficult to have the correct counterspell for the situation. Enter Worldwake: along come Jace, the Mind Sculptor AND Halimar Depths—both of which help to correct this problem. With these cards, it is much, much easier to have the right counter at the right time. Still, Chapin & co. chose to run 4 copies of Cancel. Why?
The “problem” with Cancel has always been blatantly obvious. Counterspell=good. Cancel=bad. The only difference between the cards is the extra 1 mana. It might not seem like much, but imagine if the price of a staple such as gasoline increased by 33% (oh, wait…it has). Sucks, right? But Worldwake has also gifted us with a means of making up that difference: the mother-lovin’, Everflowing Chalice. As Chapin explains in the video, Chalice may be the “best signet ever,” due to its versatility.
For the curious, here are the differences from my original list:
-3 Calcite Snapper
-2 Negate
-2 Path to Exile
-1 Day of Judgment
-1 Scalding Tarn
+2 Cancel
+2 Flashfreeze
+2 Martial Coup
+2 Mind Spring
+1 Celestial Purge
Lastly, here’s Chapin’s maindeck (as he had it arranged in the deck tech):
Photo by Alexander Shearer
[2] Essence Scatter
[2] Flashfreeze
[4] Cancel
[4] Jace, the Mind Sculptor
[2] Mind Spring
[2] Martial Coup
[4] Tectonic Edge
[4] Treasure Hunt
[3] Oblivion Ring
[1] Celestial Purge
[3] Day of Judgment
[1] Path to Exile
[2] Arid Mesa
[1] Negate
[1] Iona, Shield of Emeria
[4] Everflowing Chalice
[4] Celestial Colonnade
[4] Glacial Fortress
[4] Plains
[1] Scalding Tarn
[3] Island
[4] Halimar Depths
EDIT: Added Chapin’s sideboard:
[3] Baneslayer Angel
[1] Elspeth, Knight-Errant
[1] Essence Scatter
[2] Flashfreeze
[3] Kor Firewalker
[1] Mind Control
[2] Negate
[1] Perimeter Captain
[1] Plains
Snapper Control for Standard
Just as a quick aside, I thought I’d post the list I’ve been working on for post-Worldwake Standard.
CREATURES (4):
[3] Calcite Snapper
[1] Iona, Shield of Emeria
COUNTERSPELLS (7):
[3] Negate
[2] Essence Scatter
[2] Cancel
REMOVAL (10):
[3] Oblivion Ring
[3] Path to Exile
[4] Day of Judgment
OTHER (12)
[4] Jace, the Mind Sculptor
[4] Everflowing Chalice
[4] Treasure Hunt
LANDS (27):
[4] Halimar Depths
[4] Tectonic Edge
[4] Celestial Colonnade
[4] Glacial Fortress
[3] Island
[4] Plains
[2] Scalding Tarn
[2] Arid Mesa
This list is inspired by a deck I watched Patrick Chapin play on the Magic Cruise last week. I didn’t get the list from him or anything, but I watched a couple of games and I liked what I saw.
UPDATE: Based on the coverage of PT San Diego, Chapin & crew (including Gabriel Nassif and possibly Mark Herberholz) may also be running maindeck Martial Coup and Mind Spring. I’ll update with the official list(s) sometime this weekend (as soon as I can get ’em)!
I don’t have an exact sideboard as of yet, but I’m thinking 4 Spreading Seas, 3-4 Flashfreeze, some amount of Celestial Purges, maybe a Luminarch Ascension or two. Into the Roil seems to be a great catch-all, especially for when a planeswalker slides past your Negates/Cancels; then again, a 4th copy of Oblivion Ring should do the trick (but I sure do love the cantrip option on Into the Roil). I need to test the maindeck some more to find the weak spots before I get a good idea of how the sideboard is going to end up.
So far, with no sideboard, I’ve been loving this deck. Originally I was thinking Esper was the way to go, but the Jace/Halimar Depths/Treasure Hunt engine makes Esper Charm a lot less necessary—and let’s not kid ourselves, Esper Charm is the best reason to play UWB. Cutting the black from the deck takes a lot of pressure off the manabase, freeing up space for Tectonic Edge. Having now actually played with Celestial Colonnade, it’s better than I expected. Vigilance on a manland in a control deck is just SO. GOOD.
To be honest, I’ve got mixed feelings about blue right now. Don’t get me wrong; it’s good. Really good. I love it. But the problem is, so does everyone else. While that won’t stop me from playing the decks I want to play, it’s never as much fun to play a deck when everyone else is playing it, too. On the other hand, maybe I should look at this as an opportunity to focus my efforts on how to edge out the pseudo-mirror match; that’s a skill I’ve always avoided, simply because it was not as enjoyable to play against a deck similar to my own.
Nevertheless, I’m really excited to see what the pro players have been brewing up for Pro Tour San Diego this weekend. Keep up with the coverage over at the mothership!
Yo! MTG Taps! Exclusive Interview with Patrick Chapin, & More!
Yo! MTG Taps! MC2 Coverage Part 2 – Patrick Chapin, the Mind Sculptor is now available for download!
The second installment of our coverage of the Magic Cruise: An EXCLUSIVE interview with the Innovator himself, Patrick Chapin!
Also includes bonus audio coverage of Patrick’s monologue from the Magic Cruise on the impact of Worldwake!
***EXTRA! EXTRA! DOUBLE-FEATURE FRIDAY!!***
Yo! MTG Taps! Episode 11 – The REAL Episode 11 is also now available for download!
It’s been three weeks since our last “official” episode, and we’ve got a lot to talk about! A bit about the Magic Cruise, BigHeadJoe goes over GP Oakland, and we discuss a little Standard and Worldwake. Also, we have some listener emails and our first listener voicemails!
Be sure to check out the MC3, coming up in February 2011!
Contact info:
Email: yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com
Voice Mail Line: 1-331-MTG-TAPS
Twitter: twitter.com/yomtgtaps
Joey Pasco’s Twitter: twitter.com/affinityforblue
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/yomtgtaps
Facebook: Become a fan of “Yo! MTG Taps!”
Bigheadjoe’s Blog: http://otherworldlyjourney.blogspot.com
Joey Pasco’s Blog: http://www.affinityforislands.com
Thanks for listening!
Yo! MTG Taps! Exclusive Interview with Ken Nagle
Yo! MTG Taps! MC2 Coverage Part 1 – The Ken Nagle Experience is now available for download!
The first installment of our coverage of the Magic Cruise: An EXCLUSIVE interview with lead designer of Worldwake, Ken Nagle!
Also includes bonus audio coverage of Ken’s Worldwake Design Seminar from the Magic Cruise!
Contact info:
Email: yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com
Voice Mail Line: 1-331-MTG-TAPS
Twitter: twitter.com/yomtgtaps
Joey Pasco’s Twitter: twitter.com/affinityforblue
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/yomtgtaps
Facebook: Become a fan of “Yo! MTG Taps!”
Bigheadjoe’s Blog: http://otherworldlyjourney.blogspot.com
Joey Pasco’s Blog: http://www.affinityforislands.com
Thanks for listening!
Worldwake Playtest Cards!
For those of you that don’t know, the Magic Cruise (aka the MC2) was this past week, and while I was there I did my best to document the experience.
To kick things off, I thought I’d share a behind-the-scenes look at Worldwake, courtesy of lead designer Ken Nagle. Ken was kind enough to bring along a binder full of Worldwake playtest cards. Have a look!
NOTE: If any of the images appear too small for you to read, you can right-click on the image to view it in a new window at a larger size.
You can see the progression of the cards from earlier designs, and in some cases, cards seem to have been entirely scrapped and replaced (Quicksand, Rumbling Aftershocks). I thought it was interesting that Searing Blaze originally had the name Lavalanche; apparently they decided to use the name for the Shards of Alara rare instead.
Keep checking Affinity For Islands and Yo! MTG Taps! over the next week or so for continued coverage of the events!
It Gets By With A Little Help From Its Friends
A pre-Worldwake look back at post-Zendikar blue.
Blue was never bad. Just not as good as we’re accustomed to.
A 450-lb man who loses 150 lbs—a full 33% of his body weight—would certainly not be considered “skinny” by any means.
This, I feel, sums up the current state of blue in Standard. While blue may have been worse between October and January than it ever has been, in hindsight I think it was a mistake to say it was “bad.” Counterspells were narrow and card-drawing was much less effective, true, but the color still had its strengths.
To wit: There was a time when many considered Morphling to be the best creature ever printed. With a wealth of abilities previously unheard of, Morphling could pump itself to 5/1, stack damage, and then become a 1/5; it could gain Flying; it could gain Shroud. It could untap itself, doing a passable impression of Vigilance.
Now compare Morphling to Sphinx of Jwar Isle:
For 1 additional mana, the Sphinx enters the battlefield with Flying. It enters the battlefield with Shroud. It enters the battlefield as a 5/5, and for all of these Morphling-esque characteristics it requires no more mana than the inital investment. It trades faux-Vigilance for an ability that—in a format with fetchlands, cascades, and soon Treasure Hunts—may be even more relevant. (Not to mention “Knowledge is Power” is the unofficial mantra of the blue mage, right?)
Could the Sphinx actually be better than Morphling?! Well, yes and no. It’s all about context, and when Morphling ruled the skies, blue spells were at their best. (And as much as I would’ve loved to see it, if Morphling were to have been reprinted it would likely occupy the slot in your trade binder right next to Meddling Mage.)
Still, the Sphinx exemplifies the quintessential blue finisher quite nicely: difficult to block, and easy to protect.
No, blue was not bad. Rather, it simply could not stand on its own. Yet, with another color or two along for support, blue found a way to stay strong. With a bit of persistence, blue-based control strategies started showing up as early as six weeks into the post-Zendikar format! At Worlds (late November), a Standard RWU Control deck was in the Team Finals, and Gerry Thompson unveiled his “Spread ‘Em” deck. As Conley Woods put it:
Typically, control decks are only able to emerge as “good” decks once a metagame as been firmly established. This is because the deck needs to know exactly what problems exist in order to determine which answers it must run. (Blue Uprising)
The difference between pre-Zendikar blue decks and those we’ve seen of late, as Conley goes on to point out, is that usually the counterspells are more versatile. This allows them to appear a bit earlier, as their answers don’t have to be so specifically tailored for the metagame. It is this loss of versatility, coupled with the loss of Instant-speed library manipulation, that fueled the perception of blue’s demise.
So, now we have Worldwake. Now we have the Mind Sculptor himself to help sculpt our hands into the ideal mix of answers and threats. We can dig for Treasure in the Halimar Depths, and accelerate our mana by drinking from the motherlovin’ cup. BLUE IS BACK!!!1!!
Not so fast. Let’s take a step back.
Blue mages—like starving children in a frenzy over a hunk of stale bread—have managed to drive the price of Jace, the Mind Sculptor to near-Baneslayer levels. I’m not exactly saying the price is unwarranted, because the card is certainly a piece of beauty, and I hope it’s every bit as good as people are expecting. But it has yet to prove itself. Had JtMS been released while Lorwyn was Standard-legal, I’d have been surprised to see it reach a pre-sale price half as high as it’s seeing now.
But, but…we’re SO HUNGRY!!
Worldwake is certainly giving blue a nice shot in the arm, don’t get me wrong. But I think we’re putting the cart before the horse, here. Blue mages are feeling so under-nourished from Zendikar that what may turn out to be a Happy Meal is looking like Thanksgiving Dinner.
So yes, go test your blue-based control decks. Play your Jaces, and your Treasure Hunts (I know I will be). But don’t set your expectations so highly that anything less than “bah-ro-ken” is a disappointment. I don’t think Mono Blue Control will be a reality, but pair it with a pal and I think blue control decks will be just fine.
BONUS:
A Yo! MTG Taps! Video Supplement – Coverage of the Worldwake Prerelease!
Recorded at Dream Wizards Games in Rockville, MD.
Apologies for low audio. We recorded with an iPhone, and I did my best to try to clean it up, but it’s still a bit iffy.
No footage of actual games, but hosts BigHeadJoe and Joey talk a bit about their experiences at the Magic: The Gathering – Worldwake prerelease.
Affinity For Islands 