Counsel of the Wyly: Stoneforged

Hello and welcome to Counsel of the Wyly, the article series about competitive formats of Magic: the Gathering. Today we're talking about the best Squire ever printed, Stoneforge Mystic! Banned in Standard for aiding the rise of the powerful Caw-Blade deck and instantly banned in Modern, this card has quite an influence on the Legacy format. Whether you're searching up Sword of Feast and Famine, Batterskull, or Umezawa's Jitte you can't deny this little 1/2's power.

The first deck we're going to look at is more favored in Europe than in the U.S., but it's still a powerhouse in the American metagame. Here are two things in life you can't avoid: Death and Taxes. This deck is basically a mono-White deck centered around Aether Vial that attacks its opponent's mana base while building a field an army of difficult-to-remove creatures. This deck creates incredible interactions that abuse Mangara of Corondor using both Flickerwisp and Karakas. This particular list is more aggressive than most, using maindeck Dismember and Mirran Crusader to push in a lot of damage that decks like Shardless B/U/G can rarely deal with.

Next, we'll look at the decks that started off very similarly to the Caw-Blade decks of Zendikar-Scars of Mirrodin Standard format, but have been refined and tuned into powerful decks in different ways. First off is the most recent Bant Stoneblade. This deck combines a lot of the power of Maverick, a G/W Aggro deck that uses a Green Sun's Zenith package to tutor up creatures that suppress the field while adding Blue for consistency and lite Counter backup. Blue also gives you access to Meddling Mage, which is a very powerful sideboard card and is starting to see a massive resurgence right now. I'm a fan of this list partly because I love both Knight of the Reliquary and Jace, the Mind Sculptor and both do very powerful things in this deck.

The next list we're looking at is similar in game plan and construction of traditional Stoneblade decks, but it completely foregoes Blue; this deck is named Team Italia. This deck gained momentum with the printing of Lingering Souls, since before the deck was confined to just Bitterblossom to ensure they would have creatures to go with their equipment. Instead of focusing on mana denial like Death and Taxes, this deck aggressively attacks its opponent's hand with Inquisition of Kozilek, Thoughtseize, Liliana of the Veil, and Tidehollow Sculler while using Dark Confidant to keep their hand filled with cards. The Red in this deck is purely just for removal such as Grim Lavamancer and Lightning Bolt. Even though Grim Lavamancer and Deathrite Shaman are a bit of a nombo together, both cards are powerful enough and different enough from each other to both see play here.

This next deck was format defining for over a year, even taking down a GP in the hands of Tom Martell. We're talking about the beast, Esper Stoneblade. This deck has experienced a ton of changes over the years and gained a powerful ally, Geist of Saint Traft. I consider this archetype to be the epitome of the Stoneblade variants with plenty of disruption, a powerful game plan, and a very versatile list of 75. This deck has been waning in popularity in the last few months as players get more greedy with its mana base and add more colors, giving way to Esper Deathblade, which plays arguably the most powerful one-drop in the format, Deathrite Shaman. The game plan of both these Stoneblade variants are very similar, but Deathblade lists have the added utility of its Green splash giving them access to Abrupt Decay to answer many problematic permanents Esper Stoneblade has difficulty answering. However, the Deathblade variant is more susceptible to mana denial, which is currently very popular.

American Delver varies from the majority of the Stoneblade variants because Stoneforge Mystic isn't the main plan. American Delver is a fairly stocked deck, but hasn't wandered from Stifle that saw play in earlier versions of the archetype. This deck also has a lot of methods to flip a Delver of Secrets on turn 2 which tends to end a lot of games quickly, but you also have the power of Stoneforge Mystic and Geist of Saint Traft in the mid to late game for reach. You also have access to repeatable removal in Grim Lavamancer which helps push in Batterskull tokens and Geist of Saint Traft.

Stoneforge Mystic has been a pillar of Legacy for years now, and is in all sorts of Aggro decks in the format. This little Squire is a true powerhouse and a card that's worth testing out if you're looking for a new deck to play or enter the Legacy format.

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-John Wyly

Player Profile: John Wyly

Age: 23

Hometown: Orlando, Fl (United States)

Team: CasualNetGaming.com

Occupation: Curmudgeon

Duration Playing MTG: 17 Years

Favorite Format(s): Legacy, Vintage, Rochester Draft

Favorite Guild: Izzet

Favorite Planeswalker: Jace, the Mind Sculptor or Ajani Vengeant
Accomplishments:

Top 8s:
N/A

Top 16s:
N/A

Decks Currently Played
The Epic Storm (Legacy)

John started playing Magic right begore Alliances was printed and has played on and off til he reached college, where he started playing more competitively. After grinding PTQs and the occasional GP, he now sparsely plays in local events and PTQs of eternal formats. He started playing with Casual Net early in 2013 and has shared his opinions ever since, usually loudly.

What does Magic mean to me?

'It's been a constant in my life and I know wherever I go in life that I can pick it back up and play. Nothing has connected me to so many people or made such lasting friendships as Magic; I still play with people I played with in elementary school. No matter what we're doing in our lives or what's going on, we can always sit down for a game or two and just have a blast. What does Magic mean to me? Without it, I wouldn't be where I am or know the people I know now and for that I'm grateful.'

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General Musings: Commanding the World of Theros

Friends, Akroans, countrymen, welcome to Theros! Moreover, welcome to Theros from a Commander perspective. We have a fresh batch of cards from the Wizards oven just waiting to be tasted. Without further ado, I present your Top 8 Theros cards for Commander as per Javier!

8. Bow of Nylea

Four nifty abilities guide Bow of Nylea to our Top 8 list. The spring season of growth provides +1/+1 counters to protect our utility creatures from Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite or a cycled Decree of Pain (or make our heavy hitters even HEAVIER). The harsh winds of summer shoot down light fliers like Mulldrifter and Kaalia of the Vast. The fall harvest gains us 3 life, which adds up over time. Finally, winter storage protects our creatures from opposing reanimation while re-buying useful creatures with tutor engines like Birthing Pod or Momir Vig, Simic Visionary. Shout outs to John Wyly for pointing out the cool seasonal themes and 1, 2, 3, 4 pattern on this card.

7. Medomai, the Ageless

All I want is to give this guy Double Strike. But in all seriousness, I was looking through the list of U/W generals for a control deck and was pretty unimpressed by the results. Ith, High Arcanist requires more creatures to work, both Isperia, Supreme Judge and Isperia the Inscrutable don't feel powerful enough, and Grand Arbiter Augustin IV just feels griefy. Medomai provides a relevant ability that doesn't make the whole table upset (as his ability only triggers on combat damage to players and cannot be reused during extra turns). Medomai's effect is especially effective with Planeswalkers like Ajani, Caller of the Pride and Venser, the Sojourner for their second abilities and Planeswalkers' inherent ability to make good use of extra turns.

6. Whip of Erebos

Mono-Black Lifelink, hell it's about time. With Grisel-banned, Mono-Black decks had to rely on Equipment cards, Wurmcoil Engine, and Drain Life effects stem the Greed-bleed of additional card draw that the color offers. Now decks have a passive Lifelink source that allows them to feed life-hungry Enchantments like Phyrexian Arena and Necropotence, which couples well with their large creatures holding a Lashwrithe or Nightmare Lash. The Reanimate effect attached to the Whip is a powerful source of card advantage as well, giving creatures one last charge into the red zone before being dragged to the Underworld for all time. Or, with cards like Conjurer's Closet or Faceless Butcher, even that downside can be circumvented.

5. Purphoros, God of the Forge

Purphoros may have a bit of trouble remaining a creature in red decks, but his other two abilities impact the board in a big way. Running creatures onto the battlefield is something most red decks like to do anyway; having those creatures Shock EACH of your opponents increases their damage output tremendously. Purphoros pairs exceptionally well with token generators like Siege-Gang Commander or even the new Prossh, Skyraider of Kher and will probably end the game on the spot with a big Krenko, Mob Boss activation. Giving your team Firebreathing also increases the threat level of each of your creatures; even a battalion of 0/1 Kobolds becomes scary after a couple pumps.

4. Curse of the Swine

Affectionately dubbed "Bacon Within" or "Hamnation," Curse of the Swine is a Blue, mana-hungry Wrath of God with conviction. I talked about this card a little bit in Into the Deck Box: Arcum Dagsson, but that was a bit of a narrow context. Curse of the Swine has strong synergy with not only Upheaval effects like Dromar, the Banisher and Kederekt Leviathan, but also has effectively no downside if its controller has an Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite on board. A far cry from Blue's usual role in the color pie, Curse of the Swine provides a powerful effect for a color that has trouble dealing with resolved threats. 

3. Elspeth, Sun's Champion

I'm never disappointed to draw Elspeth in Standard and I feel this sentiment would persist in Commander. Both her first AND second abilities protect her (from small creatures and large ones respectively) and her ultimate is game-ending. On top of her three strong abilities, Elspeth's loyalty numbers are worth taking a closer look at. She starts with 4 and ultimates at 7, which means she can ultimate off of a Doubling Season AND SURVIVE, or just needs to be protected for three Untap Phases to turn any and all of your creatures (present or future) into relevant threats. And if you manage to get an emblem and use her first ability again... let's just say your opponents will hate seeing you get 9 more power in flying every turn. 

2. Ashen Rider

Move over, Angel of Despair, there's a new Vindicate-stick in town! And it's better in every which way... For a low upgrade fee of 1 mana, Ashen Rider exiles instead of destroys, and repeats the effect upon death. This card is pretty much an auto-include in any B/W/x Reanimator strategies and works well enough as a curve-topper in other decks. Ashen Rider also works well with sacrifice effects (including the new Rescue from the Underworld). The only reason I'm still playing Angel of Despair is its synergistic subtype. Oh well, Kaalia, we have other friends anyway!

1. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

Cabal Coffers for everybody! Well, not quite... This land ACTUALLY rewards you for playing one color (instead of however many colors you want and a copy of Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth). That's not to say Nykthos only belongs in Mono-Colored decks - lands with the potential to tap for more than one mana are a boon to any deck - it is simply easier to get online in a Mono-Colored deck. Nykthos also has the advantage of tapping for colorless mana, which keeps it from ever feeling like a missed land-drop. Much easier to keep in check than Coffers, Nykthos feels similarly powerful, yet more balanced. Nykthos is also a great addition to any Elf-ball decks out there (maybe I'll stop raving and actually BUILD one of those soon.)

Honorable Mentions: 

Burnished Hart - Mana fixing for non-Green decks. Tying up your turns 3 and 4 is a little harsh, but you can't really ask for better colorless ramp. Also Sun Titan recurrable; not the worst. 

Gift of Immortality - awesome with cards like Ashen Rider and Ashnod's Altar, but doesn't really do anything on its own. Pretty good Voltron-esque card, though; protects your Uril, the Miststalker from forced sacrifices. 

I hope you're as excited to play with these cards as I am and can't wait to experience all the WTF moments they create. Good luck on the battlefield, fellow Commanders!

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-Javier Remy

PTQ Born of the Gods: Tournament Etiquette and Team Building

'I've never played in a PTQ before, but I keep hearing about them. How can I enter one and what should I expect?'

After 3 PTQ seasons and roughly a year of competitive Magic, Casual Net has not only gained many players, but we have reached out to many competitive and casual players alike throughout the Central Fl and South Florida communities. When players are looking to 'up' their game and play in a more competitive setting and even play along side our team, they tend to have a list of questions. What is a PTQ like? Should I act differently? How do I get on the team?

First of all, don't act differently. Competitive REL events are just like FNM but a little more formal. In this article, I'll briefly walk through the IPG, some expectations you can have at your first PTQ and how you can ease any nervousness. Afterwards, I'll talk about what it means to a member of Team Casual Net and how you can play join us at events and be apart of the team.

So, what does Competitive REL stand for? REL stands for Rules Enforcement Level; it labels the caliber of the event and the conduct expected of both its players and judges.

Regular REL: FNM, Prereleases, Game Day, Local Events
Competitive REL: Grand Prix Trials, SCG Invitational Qualifiers/Opens, Pro Tour Qualifiers
Professional REL: Day 2 of Grand Prixs, Pro Tours, Worlds

For the purpose of this article, we'll just discuss the differences between Regular and Comp REL.

The philosophy behind Regular REL is for the players to have an enjoyable experience and serves as a teaching experience for both players and judges. They mainly serve to educate players on rulings and give players a friendly atmosphere to play Magic. Penalties are only given in severe circumstances such as cheating or aggressive behavior.

Competitive REL is more formal, which is first seen when you walk in the door; Magic judges in uniform handing you a decklist registration sheet asking you to fill it out and submit the sheet at the Player Meeting. At Comp REL, players are expected to demonstrate a higher understanding of the rules and penalties can be issued for having an error in your decklist (Deck-Decklist Problem - DDP), making an illegal action in our game (Game Rules Violation - GRV), or even Bribery and Wagering. The Infraction Procedure Guide (Sept 2013) is the document that judges follow as a guideline to issuing penalties and provides the philosophy behind these penalties. I would recommend skimming this document before a big event just to be aware of what judges expect from players in their events. In case the document is too long for you...

Abridged Version:

DO NOT: Cheat, Lie, Steal, Bribe your opponent, Offer to wager the match on flipping coins/rock-paper-scissors, Be Aggressive/Violent, or Talk strategy with someone who is currently in a match.

DO: Fill out your decklist correctly, Follow the instructions by the judges and tournament organizers, and Call a judge if you have any questions or concerns.

I definitely can't summarize the entire document, but essentially, don't be a dick.

For Maitland, Fl this season, our PTQ is the Theros Sealed Format. In Sealed PTQs, the expected conduct has a few slight differences. In the beginning of the event, you'll receive 6 booster packs of Theros and a deck registration sheet. First, you'll fill in your name and DCI number and register the contents of the 6 booster packs on that sheet. For logistic reasons, you want to keep all of the cards in alphabetical order and organized by color. Afterwards, you'll ship this registered Sealed Pool in some arbitrary direction that is at the discretion of the Head Judge. You'll then receive a new Sealed Pool that you will generally verify to ensure that the contents are indeed correct. At this point, the Head Judge may leave you with that pool or ask you to pass the pool once more, it differs every time. Once you've received the final Sealed pool, that is yours to keep and play with for the remainder of the tournament. The Sealed Pools that you initially open are NOT yours to keep.

What happens if I open 6 Tarmogoyfs in my initial Sealed Pool and I want to keep them all?! Contact a Judge before passing the Sealed Pool and make sure the Scorekeeper knows so they can remove you from the Wizards Event Reporter; the judges can handle the rest from there.

Finally, unlike Regular REL where you can continuously modify your Sealed deck throughout the tournament, your deck must be in tact as you initially registered in Game 1 of every Round. Your entire Sealed Pool serves as your sideboard throughout the tournament. It's very important to have your land distribution and the archetype you feel is most competitive registered correctly because any 'fixes' to your deck will have to wait until Games 2 and 3 in every round.

Here's a few random terms that might come in handy:

Match Slip: Slip of paper including table number and both players names; used for recording the results of a given match. Generally, the winner of each match submits these to the Scorekeeper.

Player Meeting: Pairings before Round 1 where each player is seated alphabetically for players to listen to Head Judge and Tournament Organizer announcements and for judges to collect deck registration sheets (Constructed). Sealed Pools are registered during the Player Meeting in Sealed PTQs.

Deck List Registration Sheet: Sheet used to register either your Constructed deck or Sealed Deck. These sheets are often provided at the venue.

If you're still feeling a little uneasy, don't hesitate to contact one of our admins or local judges on the Facebook forum and barrage them with questions. Trust me, they like it.

Speaking of Casual Net, what is Team CasualNetGaming.com? (or Team CNG for short)

The actual 'Team' is somewhat of a vague term, but we use it to explain what we are and what we represent. Although I wouldn't consider ourselves a real testing team with sponsorship, a lot of us are friends that enjoy playing Magic together and going to events.

The group was founded on the principles of playing kitchen table Magic and Commander, so the mission of the community and team has remained the same for several years: embrace casual Magic and help teach new players. The competitive part of the team started in the PTQ Gatecrash season in 2012 and is now generally reserved for those that want to continue to play competitive Magic. Personally, I feel very strongly about treating new players well and helping make our Magic community a more inviting and friendly place. In a way, I hope our team can break the negative stigma of competitive Magic players being elitist and arrogant. I've heard many stories about prejudice against new players, women, overweight people, etc etc. I think this bullying is ill-placed by insecure people who seek refuge in a card game, and that behavior needs to end. I hold teammates to a high standard and I expect a lot out of them. If you feel like the mission of Casual Net is something you feel passionately about or want to be involved in, contact an admin about joining.

Who is on the team and how can I join? Our Team is open-invite and anyone may join. Considering the Team is like a group of friends, joining is as simple as having the right attitude and showing up to events to play with us and wanting to represent the group. As of now, there's no official roster considering the forum has 200+ people, but it's not out of the realms of possibility that we'll make one in the near future. As for team shirts, we will be producing more but they won't be as inclusive as they once were because they are difficult to order and make. In the future, the admins will collectively decide when a player has 'earned' the privilege to own a shirt, like a rite of passage. We will generally choose people who not only demonstrate prowess in playing ability, but people who display good character and are role models for all Magic players.

Thanks for putting up with all these logistics. I wish I had the time to write about actual Theros Limited, but I just completed my third draft yesterday and I don't think I could do the format justice just yet. Hopefully in a few weeks, I'll have a better grasp of the format and write about Theros Limited for PTQ Sarasota. Hope to see you all in Maitland this weekend and drive safely!

Check out the MTG Casual Net Archive and connect with us on Facebook!

-David J.

Counsel of the Wyly: Delving Deeper Than Ever Before

Hello and welcome to Counsel of the Wyly, the monthly article series about the Constructed formats of Magic: the Gathering. This time, we're going to look at one of my favorite creatures in one of my favorite formats; we're talking Delver of Secrets in Legacy! This little 1/1 who could has totally shaken up the format and has been used in various decks in the past two years since its printing and we'll look through the various decks that Delver sees play in.

We're going to start with the most popular and well-known Delver deck known as RUG Delver or 'Canadian Thresh' if you've been around a while.

Creatures (12):
4x Delver of Secrets
4x Nimble mongoose
4x Tarmogoyf

Spells (30):
4x Brainstorm
4x Daze
1x Forked Bolt
3x Gitaxian Probe
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Ponder
3x Spell Pierce
3x Stifle

Lands (18):
3x Flooded Strand
2x Polluted Delta
3x Scalding Tarn
3x Tropical Island
3x Volcanic Island
4x Wasteland

Sideboard (15):
1x Ancient Grudge
2x Flusterstorm
1x Grafdigger's Cage
2x Pyroblast
2x Rough//Tumble
3x Submerge
1x Sulfur Elemental
1x Tormod's Crypt
1x Young Pyromancer
1x Zuran Orb

This is a deck that has been around in various forms for years before Delver was even printed, but certainly received new life with the Human Wizard and allowed RUG Delver to dominate the Legacy format for the better part of 2012. The deck's game plan is to resolve a threat and then protect that threat using mana denial to keep their opponents behind on resources. This new list features one copy of Young Pyromancer in the board, which is a change I absolutely love since this deck already features a hefty 30 spells. Gitaxian Probe is another change in this list over previous versions that I fully support, since knowing if you'r eplaying your Delver into removal usually doesn't end well for the Delver player. This is a deck I'd mostly suggest to people who like resilient threats and outplaying your opponent.

The next Delver deck we're looking at is very different. Don't think sharing two colors makes the decks similar, since there are some drastic differences. let's take a look at American Delver.

Creatures (12):
4x Delver of Secrets
2x Geist of Saint Traft
2x Grim Lavamancer
3x Stoneforge Mystic
1x Vendilion Clique

Spells (29):
1x Batterskull
4x Brainstorm
4x Daze
3x Force of Will
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Ponder
2x Spell Pierce
4x Stifle
3x Swords to Plowshares
1x Umezawa's Jitte

Lands (19):
4x Misty Rainforest
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Tundra
3x Volcanic Island
4x Wasteland

Sideboard (15):
1x Engineered Explosives
2x Flusterstorm
1x Force of Will
2x Meddling Mage
2x Red Elemental Blast
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Rest in Peace
1x Submerge
1x Surgical Extraction
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Wear//Tear

So here we have a deck list I find absolutely fascinating. Cause what's better than Delver of Secrets? Delver holding a Jitte! We also have way more threat diversity compared to RUG Delver. We do have to add an extra land since a quarter of our threats cost three mana. This deck offers really interesting sideboard choices like Meddling Mage and Sword of Feast and Famine. I'd recommend this deck if you like Stoneforge Mystic but want to be more aggressive than the traditional Stoneblade lists.

Our next Delver deck is one I've been really curious about since we don't see it much in the States, but I've heard it's been big in Europe. Here we have Grixis Delver.

Creatures (13):
4x Delver of Secrets
4x Dark Confidant
1x Grim Lavamancer
4x Young Pyromancer

Spells (29):
4x Brainstorm
4x Daze
2x Dismember
3x Force of Will
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Stifle
4x Gitaxian Probe
4x Ponder

Lands (18):
4x Flooded Strand
1x Misty Rainforest
3x Scalding Tarn
3x Underground Sea
3x Volcanic Island
4x Wasteland

Sideboard (15):
2x Baleful Strix
1x Grim Lavamancer
3x Flusterstorm
1x Red Elemental Blast
2x Submerge
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
1x Bonfire of the Damned
3x Cabal Therapy
1x Perish

Wow, now that's an interesting deck. I mean, where else do you see cards like Bonfire of the Damned in Legacy? This version also runs the highest number of creatures out of all the decks we've looked at (and four of those creatures are even Young Pyromancer!) I think this card will find itself more and more in Legacy where cheap draw spells (cantrips) and low cost counterspells are flying around. Young Pyromancer's interaction with Cabal Therapy is also pretty sweet. We also see Dismember, which is a card you see in some RUG Delver Sideboards to deal with opposing Tarmogoyfs. The ability to maindeck this removal spell and not always have to pay four life is huge. You should pick up this deck if you love Dark Confidant (let's be honest, who doesn't?) but don't want to take a billion damage off revealing a Tombstalker.

The last Delver deck I'm gonig to discuss is one of my favorite decks in Legacy and the deck that sparked my love with Delver of Secrets. We're talking some good old fashioned U/R Delver.

Creatures (15):
4x Delver of Secrets
4x Goblin Guide
3x Grim Lavamancer
4x Snapcaster Mage

Spells (27):
4x Brainstorm
3x Chain Lightning
2x Daze
4x Force of Will
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Ponder
3x Price of Progress
2x Spell Pierce
2x Vapor Snag

Lands (18):
1x Arid Mesa
1x Bloodstained Mire
3x Island
3x Misty Rainforest
3x Mountain
4x Scalding Tarn
2x Volcanic Island
1x Wooded Foothills

Sideboard (15):
3x Flusterstorm
1x Price of Progress
1x Pyroblast
1x Red Elemental Blast
3x Smash to Smithereens
2x Sulfuric Vortex
3x Surgical Extraction
1x Vendilion Clique

So this deck differs greatly from the other Delver decks we've looked at here because this list can function like a burn deck if necessary and also has some light counter magic to keep the matchups against combo decks fair. Plus you get to play Price of Progress, which is one of the most underrated spells in Legacy in my opinion. Go on, read it a bit and let it soak in.

You'll generally cast this for 6-8 damage on average and it's an amazing spell to abuse with Snapcaster Mage. Vapor Snag is a concession to this deck's weakness against big creatures like Tarmogoyf, since a single one can stop your Goblin Guides in their tracks. being two colors also allows you to play a few more basic lands, making this deck a lot stronger against Wasteland. I'd recommend this deck to someone newer to the format or someone who wants to cast burn spells to the face and likes playing good cards.

So that's my Delver wrap up, I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the various Delver strategies in Legacy and maybe even convince you to try the little 1/1.

Check out the MTG Casual Net Archive and connect with us on Facebook!

-John Wyly

Vivid Williams: Standardized Testing

I'd like to start this article off by apologizing for the lack of content on my part from last month. A lot of time has been taken up from not only school, but work and my social life as well. With that said, words do not describe how excited I am to play in Theros Standard! With just two weeks of the format, there have been multiple decks seeing some kind of success. States/Provincials was this past weekend (not to be confused with TCG Player Fall States) and I attended the Florida States. Although the tournament only had 29 players, it still gave me a sufficient enough sample size to potentially figure out what deck I'm going to set myself on for the next couple of weeks.

Going into the event, I knew I wanted to play some kind of pro-active deck that didn't just fold to the aggressive Red Deck Wins and G/W decks that are usually popular at the beginning of rotation. This led me to the deck I had been working on at the end of Innistrad-Return to Ravnica Standard, Mythic Midrange (B/W/R). This deck is capable of doing a lot of powerful things going on from creature/Planeswalker removal, to hand disruption, to the amazing interaction between Whip of Erebos and Obzedat, Ghost Council. I ended up going 2-3 in the tournament, losing to the mirror, Naya Midrange (#nicklocastro), and RDW in the final round. Looking back, I felt like I tried to make both the aggro and control match too favorable for Game 1 which led to awkward draws against both. For anyone trying to play Midrange or Control, I'd suggest hedging your Game 1 against Control and focus Games 2 and 3 against aggro.

What should you play in the upcoming weeks? The format is so open right now that I don't think there's a 'best deck' or even a deck to beat. I really like the midrange decks that have been floating around as they can switch gears and be a role player as either a control deck or an aggro deck. G/W Aggro is amazing as it can dump its opening hand and have bigger creatures than RDW and other aggro decks. I'm also super interested in seeing how Mark Nestico's U/W Waves deck does in the upcoming weeks.

Creatures (13):
2x Frostburn Weird
4x Master of the Waves
4x Omen Speaker
3x Thassa, God of the Sea

Spells (22):
2x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
4x Jace, Architect of Thought
1x Jace, Memory Adept
3x Detention Sphere
4x Azorius Charm
1x Cyclonic Rift
3x Sphinx's Revelation
4x Supreme Verdict

Lands (25):
8x Island
5x Plains
4x Azorius Guildgate
4x Hallowed Fountain
4x Mutavualt

One of Nestico's buddies took this list to states in Oregon and won. It seems like an interesting and somewhat under the radar kind of deck that I would expect a lot of people to jump on board with. It kind of reminds me of a tempo deck, that can set up for some back breaking kills or just slowly grind their oponent out. Master of Waves having Protection from Red gives a lot of incentive to play him against RDW. A lot of the removal in Standard is Red outside of Doom Blade, Hero's Downfall.

Me personally? I'm gonna stick to the B/W/R deck I've grown accustomed to playing or try out some interation of G/W or Naya Midrange. Slamming fatties on the table and beating face has always been fun for me, so I figure why not stick to what I like. All of these lists also do reasonably well against all of the popular archetypes which is a major plus side. The format is super open right now, and even with the Pro Tour coming up this weekend, i still feel like there are infinite possibilities for someone who wants to take down their local FNM or even a 5k.

In my last article, I did some quick hits on cards that I thought would gain a lot of value post rotation. Blood Baron shot up from $8 to $20 and Jace, Architect of Thought went up to a ridiculous $26!! I don't mean to say 'I told you so' but let's face it, I told you so! As far as what to keep an eye on now, Kalonian Hydra's price has steadily dropped into the upper teens. If he becomes a $10-15 card, I'd suggest picking up a few copies. Master of Waves is also another card that hasn't received much attention aside from Mark Nestico and friends. This card is around $5 right now and $20 for a playset of Mythic playables seems pretty good to me. Garruk, Caller of Beasts has also been on the decline as of late. Everyone is so focused on Red and Blue that Green isn't getting any love. If you can get a couple of copies or even a set for a good price, I'd say go for it! It's also a good time to buy into the Theros dual lands while they're still in print. Having all of the dual lands for your decks while they're cheap ensures you can play almost any deck you want in the format.

That's all I have for you guys today! I'm not sure when I'll have time to sit down and write another aticle, but I"ll try to push them out as often as possible. I'll also answer any questions on decks or card choices anybody has, just message me on Facebook or hit me up at CCG when I'm there. 'Til next time, Casual Net!

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-Robert Williams

In the Deck Box: Arcum Dagsson

Happy Thursday, CNG! Wow, has it really been over a year since the last Into the Deck Box? Yeesh. Well, I haven't had the chance to do one yet (and Theros hasn't been sufficiently spoiled for me to rate new cards), so today's article will be about my first Commander, Arcum Dagsson.

SEE DECK!

Let's start with his stats. 3U for a 2/2 means I'm obviously not interested in dealing 21 Commander damage, so he must have a pretty strong ability. 'T: Target artifact creature's controller sacrifices it. That player may search his or her library for a noncreature artifact, put it on the battlefield, then shuffle his or her library' What a mouthful! In short, Arcum targets an artifact creature to Tinker into a noncreature artifact.

Goodbye, Ornithopter and hello Darksteel Forge! I built Arcum as a toolbox-style combo deck, playing answers to just about every threat in the game, while simultaneously having a range of my own threats that interact in powerful, but not immediately degenerate ways. I phrase it like that because most combos are inherently degenerate, but I generally chose to exclude the piece that obviously completes the combo (ex: Darksteel Forge + Nevinyrral's Disk + Mycosynthe Lattice).

The deck started off as a Myr tribal deck (as evidenced by ten Myr-themed cards within) featuring Hanna, Ship's Navigator as the Commander, but Stephen convinced me that Arcum's power level was too high to ignore and I made the switch. This deck is both an exercise and display of effect-availability across colors because most of my answers are colorless due to Blue's weakness to resolved threats. Creatures can be removed by Brittle Effigy and Lux Cannon, some life drain can be prevented by Witchbane Orb, and reanimation can be nipped at the bud by Tormod's Crypt.

There are artifacts I tutor for almost every game such as Myr Turbine to produce more fodder or Spine of Ish Sah to remove troublesome Aura Shards or Planeswalkers, but I usually prefer playing to the cards in my hand. Although I could tutor out the Darksteel Forge every game, it is much more satisfying to instead look at the Myr Battlesphere in my hand and find the Crystal Shard or Coat of Arms, or find Voltaic Key for my Lux Cannon, or use Liquimetal Coating to turn Arcum into an Avatar of Woe with amusing side-effects. The point of a singleton format like Commander is variance, so I try to prevent the deck from becoming stale for myself and my friends and instead search for a victory I have not yet used.

As far as actual combos/interactions go:

• Silver Myr + Arcum Dagsson: turn 3 General with sac fodder on board. Not really a combo, but strong start to a game. 
• Darksteel Forge + Nev Disk: one-sided Planar Cleansing (completed by Liquimetal Coating for Planeswalkers). 
• Voltaic Key + Lux Cannon: Vindicate every other Untap step.
• Etched Champion + Batterskull: 6/6 Lifelink, Vigilance, 'psued-unblockable' pain-train.
• Myr Turbine + Coat of Arms: aggro route, often complemented by Myr Battlesphere off of Turbine's second ability. 
• Inkwell Leviathan + Sculpting Steel + Phyrexian Metamorph: what's better than a 7/11 Shroud, Trample, Islandwalk? Three of them!
• Planar Portal + Caged Sun: Tapping Islands for UU helps feed the mana-hungry portal. 
• Darksteel Citadel + Mana Vault + Mox Opal: turn 1 Arcum. Hasn't actually happened yet, but I cross my fingers every game. 
• Spine of Ish Sah + Sculpting Steel + Krark-Clan Ironworks + Etherium Sculptor + Shimmer Myr: Free, Instant-speed, recurrable Vindicate. Basically ends games that have gone on longer than three hours.

Although the deck runs about as smoothly as I could ask, there are a few cards I might replace. Beguiler of Wills works well with Myr Battlesphere, but Vedalken Shackles are better in a vacuum. Witchbane Orb prevents Drain Life and infinite combos, but is often a dead draw. I'm trying Crystal Shard right now to protect Arcum or punish tap-outs, but it isn't doing as much work as I would have liked. These cards are mostly metagame choices that switch out often. Cards I've considered adding are the aforementioned Vedalken Shackles (for game-changers like Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite), but non-bos with Unwinding Clock), Brainstorm (for those awkward times when you draw the tutorable answer), and Epochrasite (returning Arcum target).

As far as Theros is concerned, the only card I'm genuinely interested in is Curse of the Swine. Blue has trouble spot-removing creatures as it is, and once you throw indestructibility or recursion into the mix, I really only have Brittle Effigy (which exiles itself). Curse of the Swine allows me to answer a number of Avacyn-buffed beaters from Kaalia of the Vast and lets me go over High Market for all but one creature in Karador, Ghost Chieftain. The Bacon leftovers can easily be cleaned up by an Evacuation or Steel Hellkite. Devotion, on the other hand has no place here. Although the mechanic works best in a mono-colored deck, Arcum only has thirteen Blue permanents and Phyrexian Metamorph barely counts. That aside, I'm hopeful that the rest of the set will bring more goodies.

I hope you enjoyed this Into the Deck Box and feel free to ask any questions, make suggestions, etc. Next month, once the set drops like a fat beat, I'll bring you the Top 8 Commander cards from Theros. Until next time, folks!

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-Javier Remy

Unlimited Dimensions: Introduction to Cube Design

I'd like to start off with a little mental exercise. Imagine, if you will, you are a Magic player. You have been playing for a good amount of time. You've gone from liking the game to loving the game. You want to make a commitment. You want to take your favorite aspects of Constructed, Limited, and Casual fun and combine them all into a time-consuming and rewarding endeavor. You want to build... a Cube.

Wait, what? 

Alright, perhaps a bit of explanation is in order. Cube is loosely defined as a format composed of a collection of the best Magic cards ever printed. The primary function of this collection is Limited play, i.e. Draft and Sealed. Most Cubes abide by a 'singleton' rule that states no nonbasic card with the same printed name are allowed much like EDH. That's pretty much the long and short of it; the format itself is relatively open-ended.

Starting Off:

There is no wrong way to construct a Cube; however, it is most helpful to have some semblance of direction. Choosing from the list below provides a strong starting point as these Cube types already have supporting theory within the community. Also, what kinds of cards someone personally enjoys can inform this decision.

• Powered: Known primary for the use of the Power Nine and similarly broken cards, this Cube is the pinnacle of overpriced and overpowered. Powered Cube is comparable to drafting Vintage decks since it features cards like Sol Ring, Library of Alexandria, and Mind Twist.
• Unpowered: The only restriction placed upon this Cube is that the previous Powered cards are considered unhealthy for Limited or completely out of budget. It is utilized and has been popularized by Magic: the Gathering Online.
• Peasant: Any cards that have ever been printed at Common or Uncommon find a place within this Cube. It is probably a solid middle ground for those who want to maintain the Cube power level experience while still keeping some money in the bank.
• Pauper: The most restrictive in terms of rarity, this Cube eschews all but cards that have been printed at Common. Many people enjoy Pauper because the gameplay focuses on what makes the five colors fundamentally unique.

The above options are by no means the only directions that can be taken. Cubes that focus on tribal synergies, specific archetypes, or amassing combinations of cards (Combos) have their own distinctive appeal.

Numbers Game:

Cube sizes can range anywhere from a nonzero number to infinity, but typically land on three integers: 360, 450, and 720. The smallest option, 360 cards, is the minimum required to provide three draftable booster packs of 15 cards to eight people at a table, or alternatively, 6 booster packs to four people for sealed. This is my personal favorite number, since it keeps the overall cost down and allows for a tightly controlled format. 450 cards is a strong middle ground if eight people regularly draft a Cube; the extra cards keep the environment from feeling too stagnant. The final possibility is the big daddy, 720 Cube. Only half of the pool will be circulating in a typical eight man draft; specific cards are much harder to find. The MTGO Cube uses this number and the large cube is probably at its best Online due to the sheer amount of people drafting it.

Establishing certain ratios between the colors, multicolor, and colorless within the Cube goes a long way for organization. About 70% of a cube will be delegated evenly to the five colors, 10% to multicolor, and the last 20% to colorless spells and lands. Using 360 as an example, these percentages roughly yield 50 of each color, 40 multicolor, and 70 colorless spells and lands.

Homework isn't so bad:

Now that the shell is in place, it is time to find some sweet cards to go in the Cube. Researching whole Cubes and specific cards is an essential step before jumping into the trading and buying phase.

The new site, Cubetutor.com is my preferred method of not only storing my cube list, but also scouring lists. The Cube Index page is a fantastic resource that provides up-to-date Cubes which have been compiled on user averages. Sites such as TappedOut.net and the MTGSalvation forums provide additional lists, but might not be as comprehensive.

Gatherer.wizards.com and Magiccards.info both have advanced search options to fill any noticeable gaps within a Cube that haven't been filled by looking at other lists. Dredging through pages of results isn't exciting, but finding diamonds in the rough definitely is.

Necessary Evils:

This last section includes things that always get glossed over, but may very well be the key parts of this whole process. First, card sleeves! Any prudent collector will advise that protecting investments is the highest priority, and only the best card sleeves can be considered for this job. Black or Silver Dragon Shields offer the most durability out of any brand I've personally used.

The Cube can't be enjoyed if there aren't enough people willing to put in a few hours. Local card shops attract players of all skill levels and can assist in founding a Cube player base if there isn't already a dedicated group. It's sad to admit that gathering interest and bodies for Cube can be a struggle. This piece requires some perseverance, and hopefully will lead to decent play-testing sessions.

Okay! Hopefully I've laid some ground work and sparked some interest in this amazing format. Join me next month when I delve into 'Designing a Better Cube'!

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-Kris Barrett