Monday, November 11, 2013

PTQ Primer



I suspect that many of you might be deciding to venture out and participate in Fanatix’s very first Pro Tour Qualifier (PTQ) this upcoming weekend.  Some of you have been down this road once or twice before, if so you probably already know most of what I am going to talk about.  Hopefully lots of you will be attending your very first PTQ.  I want to go over some of the things that will happen and try to make this experience the best it can be for everyone.

First things first a PTQ is a serious tournament where the winner will get a plane ticket to where ever the Pro Tour tournament that the qualifier is linked to, in this case a trip to Valencia Spain for Pro Tour Born of the Gods.  Not to mention many boxes of product and other prizes from the store running the event.  Needless to say with so much on the line these type tournaments enforce the rules much stricter than your average FNM or Prerelease.  What this means is that there will multiple Judges at the tournament.  Judges are your friends they are not there to make things difficult.  They are there to make sure that everything is played by the rules of the game.  I am sure that our Head Judge Zak Whyte will say it at the player’s meeting, but it bears repeating: “Your opponent does not have your best interests at heart.”  What this means is if you are ever unsure no matter how small it may seem, always call and ask a judge.  It is what they are there for.

Before we even get to the actual tournament there are a few things you should bring with you.  Since this is going to be a sealed deck tournament, you should probably bring an EMPTY deck box or maybe two.  This way you have a place to put your cards between rounds.  Pen and paper or if you prefer an electronic device for keeping track of life totals.   Please don’t use dice.  If there happens to be a disagreement over what the life totals are, a judge will be far more inclined to side with the person who has life total changes documented rather than just using dice.  I recommend using new sleeves at an event like this.  While not mandatory it can save you from perhaps losing a game because the lands you got from the land box are easily recognized due to wear and tear.   To be safe sleeve ‘em up or take the time to make sure that your lands are not heavily played.
Be sure to get to the venue ahead of time, these events will start without you.  So for this one you should try and be at the Clarion Inn by at least 9:30 am Saturday.  The event is scheduled to begin promptly at 10 am.

At that time the judges will post sheets of paper at places that will contain your name and a table number by it.  Just find your table number and have a seat at one of the two available chairs for that number.  Congratulations a large number of people just quick and painlessly alphabetized themselves!  At this point a judge will go over how the tournament is going to go, how many rounds, and some rules reminders.  

Now comes the fun part, opening some packs!  Wait though don’t get too excited the cards you open will not be the ones you get to play with!  Remember what I said about this being for a pretty nice amount of prizes?  Yeah well there are some people in this world that don’t always play the game for fun and will cut corners and cheat.  This is how we make sure we keep them honest.  I really suggest not paying too much attention to the contents of your packs.  Just quickly pull out the lands and the tokens and begin separating them into piles based on color.  IF you have FOIL land in your packs you have to include it with the cards you are separating!  Remember how the judges alphabetized us?  Well now we get to alphabetize these cards.  Start with White, then Blue, Black, Red, Green, Multicolored, Artifacts and finally Lands.  If your eyesight is sharp enough the cards are also numbered on the bottom as well.  Now that they are all put in order we get to mark them all down like on this picture below from the PTQ I participated in down in Biloxi.


As you see this is a list of all the cards in Theros, there are two columns the first is PLAYED, don’t mark your cards down in this column yet.  We want to mark all these cards down in the TOTAL column.  You can see that the person that registered this deck made a mistake on Mogis’s Marauder.  It’s ok just call over a judge and they will make the changes in red to assure that everything is good.
After everyone is done comes the verify step.  Generally you will pass your pool of cards to the person across from you and they will double check your efforts, don’t worry if you had some mistakes this isn’t a test.  And you will of course check their efforts.  Now the big sweat, passing the pools around like musical chairs.  Judges tend to get creative sometimes here, but usually you will pass the pools several times left right or across until they say stop.

Alright here we go these are the cards you get to build your deck with.  I hope they are sweet.  Remember that you are not allowed to ask the players around you what you should do during the deck building stage.  I don’t want to delve too deeply into how to build a sealed deck in this article.  However here are some pointers.  Try to build a two color deck.  Try to play between 13-17 creatures. Generally you want to play around 17 lands, but don’t be afraid to play 18 in this format. Remember this is limited so the minimum deck size is 40 cards you should always try to play the minimum. If you want more insights into this Theros limited format, try hitting up or local Pro Hayden Bedsole.  He has done well so far Top 8ing both of the events he has attended this season.  He is always happy to share his knowledge.  Once you have decided on your deck, remember that PLAYED column I told you not to use, well now is the time to use it.  Mark down the quantity of each card you decide to play beside its name.  Don’t forget to also mark down the number of each basic land you use in your deck as well!  People always forget to do this and end up losing a game because of it so be careful.   Judges tend to frown on people using all foil lands for these events, feel free to bring your own non foil lands from home if you want to.  There will be lands on site for you to use as well.

It is very important that you remember what cards you have chosen and marked to be in your deck, for the rest of the day you must begin game 1 with that exact deck.  Judges will occasionally do deck checks to make sure that everyone is playing fairly.  If your deck is not the same as the deck you registered you will get a game loss.  If you choose to change cards from your main deck, remember to change them back after the match is over.

When the match is over there will be a match slip that you need to fill out.  It will ask you how many games each player won in the match and for both of you to sign it.  The winner of the match should always be the one that turns in the slip.  Always, always double check and make sure that it is filled out correctly.  If you decide after a match that you no longer want to play there is a place on the slip to write YES next to your name.  If you decide to drop from the tournament after the slip has been turned in please make sure to tell a judge.  Not properly dropping from the tournament will make someone else not have an opponent for the next round.

After the last round has completed (most likely seven or eight rounds) there will be a cut to the top eight players.  This is the spot everyone wants to get to.  These eight players will then have a booster draft.  Then play a single elimination tournament where the winner gets the prized blue envelope and a chance to chase the dream of playing this game on its biggest stage.

Don’t let the formality of all of the above dissuade you from coming out, at the end of the day it is still just playing Magic.   I hope that I have answered any questions or concerns anyone might have about this event.  However if there is anything that you have questions on ask away or give Phil a call at Fanatix.  Good luck and have fun this weekend, maybe just maybe that blue envelope could have your name on it.

JW Kingsley



Friday, November 1, 2013

Commander Clio Part 2


Hello once again! 

I’m now on to part 2 of my article covering the new commander decks! Once again here’s the link for all your commander questions in regards to rulings and gameplay:


The Five decks lists!


Anndddd the visual spoiler:

http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/commander2013/cig#

^This is still needed due to the fact the database I am using to link cards to hasn't updated with the 51 new commander cards just yet. 

Remember this article covers the last 3! If you want to read about the Oloro deck  or the Marath deck see my last article!

The third deck!

Prossh, Skyraider of Kher



This deck is pretty awesome with lots of synergies! This Prossh deck has all kinds of different ways to sacrifice your general so you can re cast him for more value or sacrifice creatures to him to finish off your opponents! Remember it only takes 21 damage from any one general to kill you no matter your life total which makes Prossh a 3 turn clock! Fecundity also does a good job to ensure you can draw exactly what you need each game. 

Suggestions for making the most of your general!

Gaea's Cradle

Unfortunately this card just keeps going up in price but it has wonderful synergies with Prossh and can produce tons of mana with all the tokens you’ll be producing so you can keep casting him again and again!

Shared Animosity

So with this, 6 kobold tokens, and Prossh the turn after you play him you swing for 35 damage. Not to mention each time you recast him the numbers increase! 63! 98! Might end up needing a little push to make it through like Garruk Wildspeaker , or Kamahl, Fist of Krosa .

Cool things that will get you killed!

Food Chain

That’s right. ALL THE KOBOLDS. Just exile Prossh and two more Kobolds each time to produce Thousands of Kobolds and thousands of mana!

Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper


This guy is great at keeping creatures on the field and providing attack power as well as sacrificial fodder! With all the sac outlets in the deck like Goblin Bombardment and Golgari Guildmage you’ll never stop pumping out Hasty 3/1s while getting rewarded for doing so.

Suggestions for making the most of your general!

Bloodghast

As long as we’re sacrificing guys this can get pretty handy! He almost always comes back and with little investment to do so! For an especially good time go ahead and throw in Perilous Forays ! And remember the Forays doesn’t just get basics! It can also get duals and the Shadowmor utility lands!

Purphoros, God of the Forge

With this guy you may not be able to turn him into a creature anytime soon but with Sek’Kuar you can ensure your opponents creatures aren’t going to live for long! And never forget all the gods are indestructible and it makes them increasingly difficult to kill!

Cool things that will get you killed!

Nether Traitor

This card with Sek’kuar is good on its own, but add in Phyrexian Altar and an Enabler such as Genesis Chamber and quickly you have almost everything you need to win the game! Not as simple as some of the combos but can end games fast and in a hurry!

Shattergang Brothers


I’ve always loved Sacrificing things and these guys do a nifty job of keeping the board clear! Each activation cost is a little much but I have high hopes for these brothers! With cards already in the deck to abuse their abilities like Endless Cockroaches and Spine of Ish Sah !

Suggestions for making the most of your general!

Ichor Wellspring and Mycosynth Wellspring

These little artifacts are awesome they give you minor value in the beginning until you need to start cashing in on your investments and keeping your opponents playing a fair game!

Illusionist's Bracer's

These things can help you make the best out of the Shattergang for buy one get one free status!  Remember the part it copies is whatever is after the colon! You won’t have to sacrifice but 1 permanent each time! 

Cool things that will get you killed!

Hammer of Purphoros

Unfortunately due to the activation cost of Shattergang I have yet to find anything truly degenerate you can do with it. However with the hammer you are provided with all 3 Types! To sacrifice and manipulate your opponents as you wish!

And now time to mention cards that are new to magic being printed for the first time in this deck!

Opal Palace –This being much like an Unknown Shores and Oran-Rief the Vastwood stapled together doesn’t seem half bad. It also has obvious synergies with Marath, Will of the Wild , Ghave Guru of Spores from the old Commader sets as well as Animar, Soul of Elements ! It’s also the only new card to be featured in all 5 decks!

Fell Shepherd - This guy’s first ability is interesting and works well with his second ability but I believe the fact he has that second ability is the whole reason I would play him. You may not like big creatures like this but if you do this guy is going to be doing some work for you. Toss in some Gravecrawler , Bloodghast action and you’ll be set!

Hidden Horror - I like how this guy was made in the fact that he helps even the board when one player has a little too much power or life. Playing into the whole style of the Commander decks!

Ophiomancer - This guy is sweet! It basically give you evil little chump blockers who shall let non pass unless they wish to die. Not to mention all the previously listed sacrifice outlets ensure you get the best value getting a token during every upkeep!

Terra Ravager -Interesting cards unfortunately no trample or other abilities to speak of. He can still be a pretty big attacker but I’m not terribly impressed.

Curse of Chaos -This is neat and could play with some madness and flashback cards as well as just basic filtering. Not my favorite curse but still cool.

Curse of Predation -Now this IS my favorite curse. Very little effort is requires to anthem your creatures and after a few turns with maybe some Thrummingbird ;) you’re creatures are out of control.

Curse of Shallow Graves - This hurts me that it requires your opponent to have creatures in play. There are lots of decks out there that don’t utilize creatures as their win conditions but that CAN BE FIXED! Cards like Hunted Horror and Exotic Orchard can ensure you get your Zombies no matter what your opponent wants!

Primal Vigor - This card is awesome. Players love Doubling Season and while this may not be another Doubling Season it’s pretty darn close, pumping out tons of creatures with tons of counters making game states insane.  However remember this card like many new cards in the set affect all players at the table. You won’t be the only one seeing double.

Restore - I really, really, like this card. I think it’s sweet. The fact that it can target opponent’s graveyards is just awesome and there are plenty of good targets for it in Commander.

Sudden Demise - This thing is really, really, good. It’s cheap and can be very, very, effective. Depending on the style deck you’re playing you can just burn away an opponent’s creatures! And this is especially good in big red decks that use lots of artifact creatures!

Tempt with Vengeance - Cards like this make me think back to playing against a deck with Death Match . Creating mass panic and causing bloodshed throughout the Tablelands. Not to mention playing this with anthem effects like Beastmaster Ascension !  

Widespread Panic - This thing like many red enchantments before it is going to be obnoxious. Not exactly an effect I can appreciate but as I’ve mentioned with previous red enchantments in this vein, I know just the person that will be casting this.

And lastly for those with high appreciation of art here's a list of reprints getting new art in this deck!

The fourth deck is here!

Jeleva, Nephalia’s Scourge


This deck is pretty sweet and is close to the type of play style I like. With cool cards to cast off of her like Phthisis  or Cruel Ultimatum for all the value you’ll be hammering down your opponent’s life total in no time. She’s aggressively costed with cool abilities and that’s why I like her.

Suggestions for making the most of your general!

Jace, The Mind Sculptor

Jace is a great card his own and a formidable force in all formats he is legal in. With Jeleva when you draw cards you want to cast you simply just activate brainstorm ability and put say Overwhelming Forces on top and cast Jeleva. Now proceed to slaughter!

Bribery

When talking about powerful spells in commander bribery is definitely one of the first that comes to mind for me. All kinds of decks use it just as a value card, but with Jeleva we get to it at little to no cost and punish our opponents for playing especially powerful creatures by using our especially powerful spells!

Cool things that will get you killed!

Time Stretch

This card is already pretty insane. Casting it for 4 mana? Also insane. There is also a way to set up a very complicated loop with it in addition with Riptide Laboratory, Archaeomancer , Lightning Greaves , Jeleva, and Jace. If you can manage that kind of feat more power to you.

Thraximundar


Thraximundar comes out of nowhere crashing into your opponent’s side of the field and hopefully getting rid of some of their best creatures. Everyone’s favorite zombie assassin is not new to the commander scene and demanded a hefty price tag for a card which only sees play in commander. Whether you’re throwing a ton of equipment on him and crashing into the red zone or making the most of a tribal synergy I can only imagine his popularity will only continue to grow.

Suggestions for making the most of your general!

Grave Pact

This thing has been around for a while and continues to deliver sweet justice across the board. I can imagine Ol’Ugly face and Thraxi walking together side by side as best friends. Be sure to play plenty of sweet sacrifice effects with these two to make the most out of it!

Grave Betrayal

This thing can get pretty insane on its own and a few creatures dying but with Thrax it just adds on the goodness! The Sweet Cinnamon Goodness! Can also go well if you’re looking at a zombie themed deck!

Cool things that will get you killed!

Rooftop Storm

Not as much of the general is involved in this but a very popular play in “Zombie Themed” Commander decks. Rooftop Storm and Gravecrawler is a match made in heaven! With these two and a sac outlet Thrax will become large enough to crumble entire civilizations, or at least crumble opponents.

Nekusar, the Mindrazer


That’s right finally your Underworld Dreams on a stick is here and he’s looking a lot like the Lich from Adventure Time. With this guy and an active Jace's Archivist your opponent’s life totals will dwindle fast, along with a few cards like Prosperity and SkyScribing your opponents aren’t going to last long.

Suggestions for making the most of your general!

Font of Mythos

This card has made many a multiplayer game more and more interesting and with this general you get extra cards and get to contribute in your opponent’s demise while pretending to be their friend.

Teferi's Puzzle Box

This card is ANNOYING. It doesn’t look like it as first but when it’s on the field you’ll begin to realize that you don’t get to make many decisions about what’s going to happen in your future. Not to mention the 4+ damage a turn your opponents will incur if this in on the field with Nekusar.

Cool things that will get you killed!

Now this doesn’t synergize terribly well with your general but both cards I could see getting play in your Nekusar deck so I don’t doubt one day the opportunity shall arise. Teferi’s Puzzle Box and Notion Thief this means your opponent can only cast instants during their upkeep and will never draw another card they get to keep. You do your normal draw before the Box ability is put on the stack.

And now time to mention cards that are new to magic being printed for the first time in this deck!

Opal Palace - See previous!

Baleful Force - This is a big Ol’dude with a good but not insane ability. He will kill people for you and help you draw cards to do it but he’s got a lot of commitment in that mana cost.

Diviner Spirit - This card has some political power and if you love group hug style Commander this is for you! However be weary where you swing this thing, some people won’t want you drawing cards even if they get to as well.

Hooded Horror -See Previous!

Terra Ravager - See Previous!

True-Name Nemesis - This thing is insane! He fits right at home in any Voltron deck that can run him and he’s pretty difficult to deal with. Of course he gets worse with more people at the table but he’s still pretty insane. He will also have some pretty great applications in legacy as a 3 mana Progenitus that can carry equiptment, not to mention he’s also a $35 card….

Curse of Chaos -See Previous!

Curse of Inertia - This whole cycle I think is pretty cool! They’re aggressively costed and at least 4 out of 5 I’d play in a deck! This one in particular can make everything unblockable help keep lands uptapped and tons of other cool things! Think big like Arcanis, the Omnipotent !


Curse of Shallow Graves - See Previous!

Eye of Doom - Another card utilizing multiplayer interactions and political power! I like it! It reminds me very much so of Dark Confidant’s Flavor text. Yes for a fairly cheap price I’m going to get to blow some things up but at what cost to myself….

Illusionist's Gambit - This thing is like parting The Red Sea. I don’t care where all this is going but it’s NOT coming at me! Might take a few read through each time you play it but definitely worth a slot when you’re playing against creature heavy decks!

Price of Knowledge - Great card to go along with your Nekusar deck. Punishing your opponents for trying to enjoy the wonderful gifts you’ve bestowed upon them.

Tempt with Reflections - All the tempting cards! Definitely a cool card as all this cycle seems to be, makes for exciting gameplay and less one sided battlefields. The only thing that hurts me is the requirement to choose a creature YOU control.

And lastly for those with high appreciation of art here's a list of reprints getting new art in this deck
These last ones aren’t entirely new but previously art was exclusive to a promo version of it.
IT IS TIME! The final deck!

Derevi, Empyrial Tactician


This card is pretty darn cool making good use of the Commander zones and getting around the cost of recasting a general. Especially good With Basalt Monolith producing lots of mana and Azami, Lady of Scrolls for all the card draw! And yes Derevi is a wizard as well!

Suggestions for making the most of your general!

Arcanis, the Omnipotent

When talking about tapping and untapping things I just can’t help but want to mention this guy. If you like drawing cards I have no doubt in my mind you wouldn’t mind playing these two together.

Lux Cannon

This thing with lots of attackers in a Derevi deck I imagine can be particularly devastating. Being able to blow up possibly multiple permanents a turn just seems insane. Remember however, the creatures must deal combat damage.

Cool things that will get you killed!

Stasis

I actually don’t particularly even think this is “Cool” but it for sure will get you killed. Under the right board state Stasis and a Vigilant Derevi can lock your opponents out of the game entirely while you slowly but surely tick down their life totals or have them just draw their entire decks with the help of additional lock down cards like Frozen Aether .

Rubinia Soulsinger


I’m very excited to see this thing reprinted with some wonderful new art and a nice and easy to understand text box! Rubinia ensures that what’s yours is mine and what’s mine…..is still mine. Taking control of your opponents creatures and happily offering them up to block can make your opponents very weary of messing with you.

Suggestions for making the most of your general!

Helm of Possession

People are amazed this card exists every time I play it and with Rubinia you can get the most value out of it. Sacrificing your opponent’s creatures to get more creatures to steal your opponent’s creatures!

Birthing Pod

Really any good value sacrifice outlet is great in this deck. People will want to get their creatures back or kill Rubinia and playing sweet cards like this lets you make the most of each time you swipe their creature so they can’t get them back!

Cool things that will get you killed!

Intruder Alarm

This card actually doesn’t do anything too insane with Rubinia as it can let you sacrifice all the creatures in play your opponents play but if you do not have a sacrifice outlet it’s not so good. The reason I bring it up is a card in the deck called Presence of Gond . With presence of Gond you can produce as many 1/1 warriors as you could possibly imagine.

Roon of the Hidden Realm


This guy is pretty great. Flickering has only gotten better with time as creatures have progressively gotten better with sweeter abilities. And being able to do it all the time is quite profitable. Roon works great with cards in the deck like Flickerwisp (he will not target permanents) and Karmic Guide !

Suggestions for making the most of your general!

Reality Acid

This is a pretty cool card honestly for a deck like this. Now remember he will not target just any permanent but he with Flickerwisp will ensure you can destroy target permanent every turn and possibly more if you can manage to untap him!

Eternal Witness

When thinking of cards that are worth flickering this one cannot help but pop into my head, she gets back everything and gives you options you wouldn’t normally have and you can use her over and over with Roon.

Cool things that will get you killed!

Time Warp

Cards like these are Degenerate to begin with. Add in some Eternal Witness/ Archaeomancer action and you lock in any amount of turns you desire. This will give you everything you need to render your opponents defenseless and conquer the battlefield!

And now time to mention cards that are new to magic being printed for the first time in this deck!

Opal Palace –See previous!

Angel of Finality - She’s nicely costed and has a good ability for flicker style decks not to mention she stops many unfair things from going on when you don’t want them to. For sure worth a slot as a solid graveyard hate card.

Bane of Progress - This guy is really cool not only is he a pretty awesome flicker effect he gets counters on top of it! Tons of deck will want this guy, he may not be a high dollar money card but I guarantee he will have several decks that will look to play him. Do remember though he will destroy yours as well! Play him wisely!

Diviner Spirit - See Previous!

Djinn of Infinite Deceits - this guy is interesting and I’m sure will create some awesome game states. One cool thing I’d like to point out is that he does in fact have utility in permanently giving yourself creatures which you otherwise only controlled temporarily though not very smoothly I might add.

Curse of Inertia - See Previous!

Curse of Predation -See Previous!

Curse of the Forsaken -See Previous!

Darksteel Mutation - Very reminiscent of cards like Turn to Frog and Humble . Good way to keep opponents creatures at bay as 0/1s! I imagine there might even end up situations where you target your own creature with this!  A word of warning however, if you play this on their creature and they have lots of equipment they can strap on all the equipment and it’ll get all equipment bonuses, only previous abilities will be lost!

Restore - See Previous!

Surveyor’s Scope - this card is pretty sweet very happy to see it here. Especially good with Ravnica bounce lands and the original Karoo’s! Not to mention just using it for value in games where you’re falling behind. Needless to say I will be casting this sometime in the future.

Tempt with Glory - Not one of the most reasonably costed of the cycle especially for the ability it gives. I don’t doubt I will want to cast all of them but this one falls short compared to the rest I believe. Ajani Goldmane would perhaps be far better suited for the position.

Unexpectedly Absent - This card is pretty sweet the most optimal way to play it being in response to a shuffle effect to ensure you opponent’s won’t be seeing their permanent anytime soon! I highly doubt X will equal many numbers but “0” the majority of the times this will be cast. Also it has some legacy promise due to its versatility in a format of shuffling and undercosted cards that need undercosted answers such as this.

And lastly for those with high appreciation of art here's a list of reprints getting new art in this deck!

These last ones aren’t entirely new but previously art was exclusive to a promo version of it.

Whew! Well guys that’s all for now. My next project will be to take and in-depth look at one of the commander decks and break it down to make improvements which best utilize the general. Here’s a quick list of the generals for you to choose from.

  • Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
  • Gahiji, Honered One
  • Jeleva, Nephalia’s Scourge
  • Marath, Will of the Wild
  • Nekusar, the Mindrazer
  • Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
  • Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
  • Roon of the hidden Realm
  • Shattergand Brothers
  • Sydri, Galvanic Genius
I haven’t included reprint generals as they’ve been out for a while and most have been thoroughly explored by now. Anyways feel free to vote on which you prefer whether it be on the facebook link to this article or you have a blogger account throw it on here. I understand this is still new so if I don’t receive enough suggestions I will randomly choose one.

Hope you guys enjoy your commander decks! Till Next time! –Clio Canfield

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