Friday MTG Miscellany

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

Some very cool things going on this weekend.  First off, our local card shop, OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario, Canada-Land is dropping an incredible random prize giveaway of a Dragon's Maze Booster Box for each Friday Night Magic event for the month of June, 2013.  This is certainly worth the 45 minute drive north of Toronto.

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This weekend, if you are in Providence state-side, or in Gothenburg, Sweden, then you are in for some great Magic: the Gatherting Grand Prix action.
• Grand Prix Providence - Return to Ravnica Block Team Sealed/Draft
• Grand Prix Gothenburg - Return to Ravnica Block Sealed/Draft  
 

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Of course, the other big news this weekend is the release of Modern Masters.  Whether you are an avid Modern format player, a collector or just nostalgic for some of the older cards, you'll likely be very very pleased with this product release.  We here at MTG Realm don't have the money to pick up a box right now but will likely make a few strategic singles purchases from MTG Mint Card to upgrade some of our Modern builds.

 

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Finally, we suggest you check out TJ's Magic Arcana post on the mothersite today.  Trick has a great summary of the 24 or so Modern Masters cards which received new kick-butt art.

 

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GP Quebec City 2013

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

It was certainly a very busy weekend for Magic: the Gathering players.  Not only was is Gatecrash Game Day, but there was also TWO Grand Prix events taking place.  GP Charlotte (sealed format) broke records for being the largest-attended event to date with 2,692 players while here in Canada, GP Quebec (standard format) attracted 800 games who braved the cold weather to get down to gaming at the Centre des Congrès de Québec.  We had a blast at Game Day at OMG! Games and were happy with our new cards we picked up at MTG Mint Card to complete our decks.

Photoset 

February 23, 2013 

Magic: the Gathering - Grand Prix Tournament

2,693 gamers at GP Charlotte 2013 - images from Joey Pasco ‏@AffinityForBlue and Magic Pro Tour ‏@magicprotour

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We've been talking to other magic players for the last few weeks and we all agree that typically the standard format would have, within a few weeks after the newest set release, distilled to produce only a handful of decks which 'rules the roost' until the next release.  As home-brew fans, we love that the format is as diverse as it is.  Here is an excellent summary by WotC minion Josh Bennet posted to the mothersite describing the current metagame as it looked on day 2 in  Ville de Québec.  Grand Prix Québec attirant des centaines de joueurs de Magic qui se disputeront des prix et la gloire dans une ambiance de festival.
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Sunday, 11:22 a.m. – Day 2 Metagame Breakdown, by Josh Bennett

If the health of a format is measured by the number of viable decks, it appears that Standard is is a very good place right now. Following the diverse Top 8 at Pro Tour Gatecrash and the breakout success of The Aristocrats, it was an open question how the metagame would shape itself. The Pros who stayed in Canada to battle this weekend agreed that, while they expected a lot of Jund, it was important to have game against a variety of deck types. Looking at the 128 players who crossed into Day 2, that intuition proved correct. Here's how it shakes out.
 
Jund Midrange - 21This deck is stocked with haymakers: Rakdos's Return, Garruk, Primal Hunter, Huntmaster of the Fells, Thragtusk and Liliana of the Veil. Farseek and occasionally Arbor Elf help to speed the deck to its powerful plays, and Aburpt Decay and even Murder (remember Murder?) let it deal with the format's boogeyman, Boros Reckoner.

Blue-White-Red - 17
The aggressive Sphinx's Revelation deck turns on the powerful four-card package of Boros Reckoner, Augur of Bolas, Restoration Angel and Snapcaster Mage. Those cards let it take a defensive posture against aggro decks, while going on the beatdown against the more dedicated control decks. Of all the decks in the field, it may be the only truly "Midrange" deck.

Esper - 12
"The Other Sphinx's Revelation Deck" plays pure control, but still with very little countermagic. Instead it relies on sweepers and spot removal, with Think Twice acting as a bridge to the format's defining card draw spell. Nephalia Drownyard gives the deck an inescapable win condition.

 
Jund Aggro - 12
Playing a much different game than its stockier brother, this deck harnesses the power of Burning-Tree Emissary and Flinthoof Boar for explosive starts, and touches black for Dreg Mangler, Abrupt Decay and Falkenrath Aristocrat.

Human Reanimator - 11
Centered around stocking the graveyard with humans then casting Unburial Rites on Angel of Glory's Rise, the newest version of this deck adds Undercity Informer and Burning-Tree Emissary to the mix for an instant mill kill. Not all of the Reanimator decks this weekend are wise to the tech.

Wolf-Run Bant - 11
Straight from the Top 8 at Montreal, this deck is reminiscent of the first BantSphinx's Revelation decks, but now with better mana and access to the power of Kessig Wolf-Run.
 
Naya Midrange - 7
Thragtusk, Restoration Angel, Huntmaster of the Fells, acceleration, removal and often both Aurelia, the Warleader AND her Fury.
 
The Aristocrats - 7
The deck that Tom Martell played to his Pro Tour victory. Designed by Sam Black, it is a tight package of synergies.
 
Naya Humans - 6
The beatdown sensation from MTGO. Twelve one-drop humans, Lightning Mauler, Burning-Tree Emissary, Mayor of Avabruck, Frontline Medic. Surprise, you're dead.
 
Gruul - 4
Both the land-light version with a "curve" that seems to stop at two, as Ben Stark played at Montreal, and a bigger version that goes up to Wolfir Silverheart and Increasing Savagery.
 
Saito Zoo - 3
The best creatures from Naya backed by Mizzium Mortars and Domri Rade.
 
Jund Zombies - 2
An update of the formerly-popular Red-Black zombies to include Lotleth Troll.
 
Other - 15
A take on Conley Woods's "Black by Popular Demand", Boros Beatdown, Black-Red Aggro, Dark Naya, Green-White, Junk Goodstuff, two takes on Junk Rites with Craterhoof Behemoth, Mono-Red, two takes on Orzhov Zombies, a Red-White-Black Planeswalker Control, Junk with Homicidal Seclusion, Token Reanimator, and Blue-White Humans.
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Gatecrash Spoilers 13

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

It was a busy weekend for Magic: the Gathering fans.  For tournaments, Jon Stern took a standard format Bant Aura build to win Grand Prix Atlantic City, while Ken Yukuhiro went to first place with a Rakdos sealed strategy at Grand Prix: Singapore.  We looked at Bant Aura shortly after the prerelease but had dismissed it.  We're now having a second look - Essentially this strategy uses inexpensive auras such as Ethereal Armor, Spectral Flight, or Rancor on some key creature spells like Invisible Stalker, Geist of Saint Traft or  Silverblade Paladin to land some serious damage.  If you are thinking about getting a deck like this off the ground, swing by MTG Mint Card to pick up those extra cards you don't have yet.

Anywhoos, let's get going on today's Gatecrash spoilers and previews from the Mothersite and around the 'net . . .

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Blind Obedience, 1w
Enchantment, Rare
Extort (Whenever you cast a spell, you may pay {WB}. If you do, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain that much life.)
Artifacts and creatures your opponents control enter the battlefield tapped.

Mothersite preview.  This will certainly deliver a kick to the tenders of those builds favouring hasty critters and should have an immediate impact on some of today's popular standard format builds.  This is also a lovely early drop extort for Orzhov.

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Lord of the Void, 4bbb
Creature - Demon, Mythic Rare
Flying
Whenever Lord of the Void deals combat damage to a player, exile the top seven cards of that player's library, then put a creature card from among them onto the battlefield under your control.
7/7

Gathering Magic preview.  Looks like another card for the EDH / Commander fans - especially if their General is Kaalia of the Vast to sneak this fatty into play without paying it's mana cost.
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Legion Loyalist (spelling?), r
Creature - Goblin Soldier, Rare
Haste
Battalion - Whenever Legion Loyalist and at least two other creatures attack, creatures you control gain first strike and trample until end of turn and can't be blocked by tokens this turn.
1/1

Dengeki Online preview.  Interesting card here.  For standard, we can see that this would be used more as a combat trick or to be saved for an alpha strike with the new Gruul 'bloodrush' tech.  The token hate here may push it into some sideboards but we're unsure whether it could make the cut for standard - perhaps this in a Boros battalion build with Frontline Medic.

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Assemble the Legion, 3rw
Enchantment, Rare
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a muster counter on Assemble the Legion. Then put a 1/1 red and white Soldier creature token with haste onto the battlefield for each muster counter on Assemble the Legion.

SSGLive preview.  This was previewed during the Grand Prix Atlantic City Coverage on Saturday.  At five mana, this Boros enchantment appears to be a bit too late for the party and could be easily nerf'd by card such as Thrull Parasite.  We're thinking we'll see this in the dollar rare bin unless EDH players want to take a second look at this with a bunch of anthem effects.

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Ooze Flux, 3g
Enchantment, Rare
1{G}, Remove one or more +1/+1 counters from among creatures you control: Put an X/X green Ooze creature token onto the battlefield, where X is the number of +1/+1 counters removed this way.

Mothersite preview.  Gavony Township, Increasing Savagery, Mikaeus, the Lunarch and Ajani Goldmane can provide some counters to fuel your token creation here and Parallel Lives may double your production rate.  This card may be decent in EDH / Commander, but we'll likely not give this a nod for standard.

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Simic Charm, gu
Instant, Uncommon
Choose one - Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn; permanents you control gain hexproof until end of turn; or return target creature to its owner's hand.

Moxes preview.  This is a nice utility card which will likely find a home in several different standard and modern format builds.  There is nothing wrong with having a choice between Giant Growth, Hexproof or Unsummon, and we consider two mana OK to have a range of choices here.  This can even save one of your own critters from spot removal / board wipes by bouncing it back into the safety of your hand.
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