Tip of the Magic Hat #9

Welcome to another installment of Tip of the Magic Top Hat, a series where I will share my favorite MTG related articles or other content.  Topics will vary from week to week but will likely include things like, MTG Comedy, Strategy, Limited Play, MTG Community, MTG Finance, etc.

#1 Interview with John Avon

Category: MTG Art
By Inside the Deck
A brief glimpse into the Magic Artist John Avon.

#2 Cube: Legacy

Category: Cube

By Dave Chalker
An awesome CUBE variant were players of the Cube get to influence the cards in the Cube itself.  Changes made to the Cube accumulate over several drafts as the Cube evolves.  Sounds super sweet.  I also recommend checking out this older article that has a similar idea by Gregory Marques.

#3 The Fine Art of Khans Limited: Winning GP Ottawa

Category: Limited, Khans of Tarkir
By Seth Manfield

Seth walks us through how he took down GP Ottawa.  

Thanks for reading, check back next week for more great MTG articles, podcasts, and other MTG content.

1000+ Magic Cards on Sale! Rares and Foils!

Auction ending soon!   -   Great way to build your collection fast! 
Bid now!   -   Revised Edition through Khans of Tarkir!

1000+ Magic Cards auction starting at $7.99

1000+ Magic Cards | Revised thru Khans of Tarkir!

1000+ Magic Cards on Sale!

Auction ending soon!   -   Great way to build your collection fast! 
Bid now!   -   Revised Edition through Khans of Tarkir!

1000+ Magic Cards starting at $4.99!

PTQ - Boxborough - Worst Magic Experience Ever!

I went to PTQ Boxborough over the weekend and had the worst experience I have ever had.  I just sent this to Wizards of the Coast event feedback regarding the event:

This was definitely the worst Magic experience I have ever had.  As this was my second PTQ ever I am questioning if I should continue to pursue competitive magic.  

I started off excited to go despite the 2.5 hour drive.  The deck registration and building was well organized although chit-chat from store employees was distracting.  I lost round 1 but it was close and my opponent was nice.  I won round 2 so things were even looking up.  Round 3 was a very close match and despite losing I thought I was holding my own.  Then the event took a turn for the worse.

The event organizer got on the loud speaker and announced that there were software issues and the delay would be at least 30-45 minutes.   “Sorry,” he said, but he wasn’t really that apologetic. 

After about an hour he got on the loud speaker again and said there would be at least another 30-45 minutes still since, “the system ate the tournament, sorry.”

After waiting a little while longer and finishing up a round of cards with friends, my girlfriend and I (who was playing too and also 1-2) were wondering if we better just get on the road, since we had no idea how long it was going to take and we still had a 2.5 hour drive.  We went to ask if there was any ETA on getting things fixed but the tournament organizer, staff, and judges didn’t seem interested in taking any questions.  After feeling ignored we simply left.  

I’ve been playing Magic my whole adult life, I started back in 1993. For the most part I have only played with friends and family at home.  I’ve had years of fun doing so and recently have branched out to playing at FNM and now PTQs.  However, I am now seriously questioning if I should continue to play outside of the home and with close friends.  If this is considered an acceptable or even common experience than this is not something I would do again.   

Being out $80 for the two of us, driving 5 hours round trip and only getting to play 3 rounds of Magic was the worst Magic experience I have ever had.

Tip of the Magic Hat - GP Ottawa

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I'm just relaxing this holiday weekend and watching some GP Ottawa coverage live on Twitch!

 

Grand Prix Ottawa

magic is playing Magic: The Gathering

1000+ Magic Cards on Sale! Rares and Foils!

Auction ending soon!   -   Great way to build your collection fast! 
Bid now!   -   Revised Edition through Khans of Tarkir!

1000+ Magic Cards auction starting at $7.99

Tip of the Magic Top Hat #7

Welcome to another installment of Tip of the Magic Top Hat, a series where I will share my favorite MTG related articles or other content.  Topics will vary from week to week but will likely include things like, MTG Comedy, Strategy, Limited Play, MTG Community, MTG Finance, etc.

#1 Aaron Forsythe talks to us about Khans, Ravnica, release changes and more

Category: MTG Development
By Tim Colwill
A interesting article posted on Ten Copper.  Aaron Forsythe talks MAgic Development and gives an inside look into the process and thinking inside Wizards of the Coast.

#2 MTG History CUBE

Category: Cube

By Ant Tessitore
A cool take on CUBE.  Ant makes a huge Cube with cards from every Magic set.  Worth taking a look at this one.  I'm thinking of making a cube like it myself.

#3 Limited Resources 259 – Statistical Analysis with Matthew Watkins

Category: Limited
By Marshall Sutcliff

A great episode of Limited Resources.  While I am still sad that Brian Wong is not co-hosting I'm glad Matthew Watkins did this episode.  Learned a lot about applying statistics to learning MTG Limited. 

Thanks for reading, check back next week for more great MTG articles, podcasts, and other MTG content.

1000+ Magic Cards on Sale! Rares and Foils!

Auction ending soon!   -   Great way to build your collection fast! 
Bid now!   -   Revised Edition through Khans of Tarkir!

1000+ Magic Cards auction starting at $7.99

3-0 for Flying Crane Technique - MTGO Khans of Tarkir Draft 11/09/2014

The Draft

This draft started off with a first pack first pick End Hostilities. Ironically, I never cast the thing the entire three rounds.  I had it in my hand once or twice but it was never a good play.  I got a Warden of the Eye early as well as Flying Crane Technique and was solidly in Jeskai early in pack one.  A very late Warden in pack two was a good sign things were open for me.

Rounds 1 and 2

I had a little land trouble in round one game one and lost.  Game two and three were not too difficult and I was on to round two. My next opponent had a decent deck but a well timed Flying Crane Tech finished him off.  In the finals I faced a killer Temur deck with two Snowhorn Riders.

The Finals

It was a super close match with me winning a hard fought game one and and losing in a route in game two.  It was down to the wire in game three and I was getting low on clock.
Late into game three it seemed like I couldn't lose, I played Flying Crane Tech with a Bloodfire Expert and a Watcher of the Roost out for lethal... but he played Force away to bounce my Bloodfire Expert and go to 3.  He plays a shelter land (going to 4) and cracks back with his Wooly Loxodon and Pinewalker taking me to 4!  On my turn draw a Jeskai Student, not exciting but at it is a creature!  This way I can safely attack with the Watcher of the Roost for two, taking my opponent to two, and playing two chump blockers (I still have my Bloodfire Expert he bounced earlier).  I do this confident that I can win with this strategy. My opponent cracks back and I chump as planned.  Everything is going well except he hasn't conceded yet... so I attack with the now lethal Watcher and... he plays Drangonscale Boon to untap a blocker, but this time I have Force Away to win the game!

                                      Main Deck                                                        Sideboard

Eric's MTGO Tracker Updated v2.3

You can download the FREE MTGO Tracker here.

Please download this spreadsheet and try it out. It tracks your performance in MGTO events so you know exactly how good you are and how much you are spending on MTGO. Are you good enough to, "Go Infinite?" try it and find out!
If you like using this spreadsheet please consider donating a dollar. Thanks, Eric

Screen Shots:

Red/Black Goblins Upgraded in Tribal Cube

  Goblins (Red/Black) gets an overhaul in my Tribal Cube. 

That means lots of cool new Goblins to play with. Check out this goblin deck I just drafted. Or better yet, draft it yourself for Free!

Tip of the Magic Top Hat #6

Welcome to another installment of Tip of the Magic Top Hat, a series where I will share my favorite MTG related articles or other content.  Topics will vary from week to week but will likely include things like, MTG Comedy, Strategy, Limited Play, MTG Community, MTG Finance, etc.

#1) Speed of Khans of Tarkir Limited

Category: Limited
By:  Micah Gold-Utting
An insightful look at how to judge the speed of a format and more importantly how to take advantage of what you know about the speed.  Explained through the lens of the current set, Khans of Tarkir, the ideas here are immediately applicable now and helpful in improving one's game in the long run as well.

#2) Wizards Pulls a Beyonce, Drops Surprise Version 5 of MTGO; Fans Lose Shit

Category: MTGO, New Product, Comedy

By: The Weekly Mulligan
The answer to all of our prayers!! MTGO that actually works!  Thank you Worth, thank you!

#3) Building Three-Color Manabases in Standard

Category: Standard
By Frank Karsten

A detailed and thorough examination of how to build a three-color manabase in Khans of Tarkir Standard.  If you ever have questioned whether or not to run a fetch versus a pain land or a temple versus a shelter land wonder no longer and read this article

Thanks for reading, check back next week for more great MTG articles, podcasts, and other MTG content.

1000+ Magic Cards on Sale! Rares and Foils!

Auction ending soon!   -   Great way to build your collection fast!  

Bid now!   -   Revised Edition through Khans of Tarkir!

1000+ Magic Cards auction starting at $5.99

Tribal Cube Update - Green Elves

 Green gets an overhaul in my Tribal Cube. 

That means lots of cool new Elves to play with. Check out this elf deck I just drafted. It's a pretty new cube so please check it out and give me some
 feedback.

1000+ Magic Cards MtG Rare, Foil, Uncommons | Revised Ed. - Khans of Tarkir!

Auction ending soon!  Great way to build your collection fast and cheap!  Bid now!

1000+ Magic Cards auction starting at $7.99

Tip of the Magic Top Hat #5

Welcome to another installment of Tip of the Magic Top Hat, a series where I will share my favorite MTG related articles or other content.  Topics will vary from week to week but will likely include things like, MTG Comedy, Strategy, Limited Play, MTG Community, MTG Finance, etc.

#1) Can MTGO Appeal to the Average Gamer?

Category: MTG Finance, MTGO
By: Danny Brown
This was a great read.  An artfully crafted description of the issues facing MTGO.

#2) Gathering Magic on Cheating

Category: MTG Community: Cheating

By: Various
An article with opinions from different people in the Magic community about cheating. 

#3) Announcing Dragons of Tarkir

Category: New Product
By: Wizards of the Coast

Thanks for reading, check back next week for more great MTG articles, podcasts, and other MTG content.