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

PTQ Born of the Gods: Core Set M14 Sealed Format

One year ago, I made a choice to begin playing Magic: the Gathering competitively.

Last year, I experienced the loss of loved ones that I wasn't sure how to cope with. My foundation was rocked and I didn't know who I was anymore or what I wanted to accomplish. I wasn't particularly open to finding a means neither; in a way, I was stuck.

An epiphany hit me one night; do what you like and be good at it. Be good at.. Magic? I knew I liked playing Magic and I thought I was relatively decent at it, but could I really take my play to the next level? And even if I did become good at it, what could I accomplish playing a card game? Initially, I was wrought with doubt from others' ridicule and low self-esteem. But the Pro Tour dream never died. Ever since I learned to play Magic, I was hooked. I would research new cards on Gatherer and watch Pro Tour coverage all the way back to the 90s to see what kinds of cards people played with. Wouldn't it be amazing to play on the Pro Tour some day?

Before long, I made the commitment; I would compete in the PTQ Gatecrash season regardless of the doubt. The format was Sealed and would require no huge monetary investment into a Constructed deck and I've drafted a ton with my roommates back in Gainesville; how hard could it be? Without realizing, I had created a makeshift schedule and a practicing regiment that I followed almost religiously for several months. I would do a draft via an online simulator, then a sealed, then research several archetypes, then look at MTGO's winning decklists, then force draft a peculiar strategy at Ed's store, fail, then rinse and repeat. I continued doing this until I was confident with the cards in the set and what archetypes were relatively viable. Then it hit; my first PTQ in Ocoee, Fl.

This one will always be a little special to me since it was the first event we had ACTUAL team shirts, I made a new friend, and it was the first Magic event I practiced and prepared for. I was absolutely terrified to say the least. It all worked out though; I walked away with a Top 16 finish, which I could be proud of. As the season progressed, I did well here and there, but the most amazing part was all of the support. I had friends and family reading the posts over the CNG site or Facebook and wishing me good luck and offering encouraging words. Most of all, I'm thankful for all of that.

Three seasons later, here we are. Although I didn't qualify for the Pro Tour, I found a job as a Tournament Organizer for Campus Cards & Games and I became an L1 Judge. Magic became a huge part of my life and I can't say that I regret one bit of it. Recently, the PTQ Theros season was kind of my off-season as I took some time away from the PTQ grind and focused on organizing tournaments and learning how to be a better Judge and role model. Now, I take Magic somewhat less seriously than I did before; I was humbled by both my success and failures during the past three seasons and I'm just excited to play in a PTQ nowadays and I strive to do the best I can rather than stress about how many wins I need to Top 8. Probably the most important lesson I learned was during the PTQ Dragon's Maze season; support your team and support your loved ones. Everyone's dream is different, help them achieve theirs.

Now begins the PTQ Born of the Gods season; what does that mean for me? For the team?

Unlike the Sealed and Modern seasons this past year, I won't be attending the PTQ grind in full force. I'll be spending most of my time dedicated to school and catching up so I can eventually finish up here and apply to Grad School soon. There are two PTQs on my radar in Fl: North Miami and Maitland. North Miami's format is M14 Sealed coming up in a little under 2 weeks, while Maitland in October will be Theros sealed. Luckily, I get a taste of both formats, so I'll do my best to prepare for both. As for the team, I know some of my friends will be preoccupied with school, but most of the team will be competing. Now that Stephen's off the ban list, I assume he'll be taking charge of the N. Miami PTQ while Maitland is on home turf. I'm excited for this to be a good season.

'Why all the backstory? Get with the cards!'

In order to crash course our way through Core Set M14, we should first premise the differences and similarities between it and our old friend, M13.

M13 was a format of aggression. Most of the creatures were small and the set contained many combat tricks including the set's namesake mechanic, Exalted. Often, you would see board states filled with 1-2 toughness creatures and 'hitting your curve' or continuously playing threats was vital to success. The quality of removal spells in M13 was relatively mediocre, but in practice were very powerful because of the frailty of most of the creatures in the set. Most games would end on Turn 6-8, so your powerful 6 or 7 mana bomb Rare or Mythic rare would often sit on the sidelines as their impact on the board would be near negligible before the game ended. Being on the play in M13 was very important since you wanted to get your creatures on the board first and attacking since your creatures would always be better than your opponent's creatures in combat due to Exalted or by just having more of them. Control decks were Archaeomancer-dependent; since creature-heavy decks could play more creatures than the control decks were able to kill, re-buying your removal spells was extremely important in staying alive. Furthermore, Archaeomancer had 1 power that was enough to trade with an array of 1 toughness creatures in the format. R/G was considered the most powerful strategy because its Green creatures were large and mana efficient while Red's removal package and high creature density would crash through an opponent's board state with ease. White was often regarded as the weaker color and Black/White Exalted decks was the 'trap' archetype as they couldn't produce a fast enough clock against fast creature decks because Exalted creatures are frail upon blocking.

What does the M14 Limited format have to offer?

M14 is regarded as much slower than its M13 counterpart and the format is dominated by engines. In the Core Set M14: Top 8 Commons article, I made a few observations about the set including creatures with a lot of toughness, rares that are build-around-me cards, removal spells that are mediocre, and small sub-themes like sacrificing creatures and Enchantment Auras. It's no secret now that M14 is a slower set that requires you to setup a strategy and use synergies between cards to grind out your opponent.

Why isn't M14 an aggressive format? With fewer creatures at 1-3 mana with enough power to justify their worth, aggressive decks look to 4+ mana creatures to fuel their aggression like Rumbling Baloth and Marauding Maulhorn, which drives their curve higher and their tempo towards the mid-late game. Furthermore, the lack of good 1 toughness creatures and large amount of 3+ toughness creatures make cards like Volcanic Geyser and Flames of the Firebrand worse because you can't gain as much value or tempo as you could during M13 Limited. Generating early tempo is also difficult because of Wall creatures that force you to waste mana on combat tricks to punch through them, preventing you from developing your board on turns 3-5. If both players aren't necessarily worried about their life total, then generating card advantage is the key to closing most games.

In Core Sets, generally any 2 color combination will work if you have strong playables and pilot the deck well. M14; however, is more synergy-focused because the games are long and any type of card advantage engine will help push you ahead of your opponent. At around 38min in this video, LSV does an excellent breakdown of the format's premier archetypes at the World Championships 2013. What are the popular archetypes and how do they work?

B/R Sacrifice - The main engine of the deck is Act of Treason, Molten Birth, and Tenacious Dead while using Blood Bairn, Vampire Warlord, Bubbling Cauldron, and Barrage of Expendables to gain value off of the creature fodder. The deck's creatures are relatively frail, so the deck generally shines as the games go late. Most builds I've seen are done in an attrition style and use Black's strong removal spells to trade with opponent's creatures early to have enough mana to support some of its sacrifice engines for the mid-late game.

Mono Green - Since most creatures in the format are relatively small or just efficient walls, having the largest creatures among them will allow you to rule the red zone. Green has the advantage of having creatures larger than your opponent's on every section of the curve; Kalonian Tusker at 2, Advocate of the Beast on 3 and Rumbling Baloth or Briarpack Alpha on 4, so your creatures can attack profitably virtually the entire early game. In the late game, you have access to powerful finishers including Howl of the Nightpack and an array of Green bombs at Rare level Green also has its small engine with Advocate of the Beast that allows you to slowly grow your army until you push for enough damage to overwhelm your opponent's defenses.

Mono Black - This is one of the more popular archetypes since it uses Black's very efficient removal and the mono-Black good stuff cards like Corrupt and Quag Sickness. Mono-Black plays similarly to Mono-Blue by playing the role of the control deck with a some win conditions sprinkled in, but instead of focusing on drawing cards, the archetype prioritizes disruption with your opponent's resources via creature removal, Mind Rot, and small card advantage cards like Altar's Reap and Corpse Hauler. The deck can also be aggressive using Mark of the Vampire and flying creatures, but these lists are generally inconsistent.

Mono Blue - Blue is arguably the best color in M14, so why not have a deck full of blue cards? The engine of the deck resolves around Divination, Archaeomancer, and Opportunity to simply draw a bunch of cards. In a format bound by card advantage, Blue reins on top of the other 4 colors. The archetype is generally filled with a ton of removal and a few win conditions sprinkled in including Water Servant and Air Servant. Mono Blue utilizes it's draw power to play a heavy attrition game with its opponent until they are out of threats. In this archetype, the Staff of the Mind Magus really shines because it can gain you life that you may have lost in the earlier turns, helping buffer some of the early aggression from other archetypes. Generally, this archetype can also splash into other colors for removal. Often times, Black and Red cards are splashed because the quality of Doom Blade, Chandra's Outrage and even Shock in the early turns is relatively high. This is probably the most viable archetype in Sealed because splashing is relatively easy and the power level of most of the Blue cards is high enough to carry on a small splash of a 2nd color.

B/W Enchantments - This archetype uses the engine of Blightcaster and Black and White's powerful enchantments, Quag Sickness and Pacifism. The deck uses some utility with Auramancer to rebuy these enchantments while keeping your opponent's board clear. This deck also plays like a psuedo-midrange deck and makes blocking difficult for your opponent. The deck also allows you to play a Voltron-style using Mark of the Vampire, and Blessing for a little extra mileage that may even encourage playing an enchantment into an opponent's open mana because Blightcaster's -2/-2 trigger serves as a free spell with every Enchantment cast. You also have access to the Angelic Accord engine that you can support off of Bubbling Cauldron, Trading Post, Solemn Offering, and Congregate, but this is not strictly dependent on Black as the splash color, since it is also viable with Green's Brindle Boar and Voracious Wurm to capitalize on playing life-gain spells.

R/G Aggro - Traditional R/G aggro is similar to its M13 counterpart. The deck plays an aggressive curve of creatures including Goblin Shortcutter, Rootwalla, and Marauding Maulhorn alongside efficient burn and removal spells to clear the field and bash your opponent in the face. Although the strategy has lost some favor due to the Wall creatures in the set severly throwing off your ability to tempo your opponent early, the deck can make effective use of Green's large creatures and both colors' combat tricks like Giant Growth, Thunder Strike to power through. Furthermore, the archetype can take advantage of the format's mediocre removal and use Shiv's Embrace and Trollhide to create a very powerful win condition that can pressure your opponent to either over-commit resources to survive, or flat-out die.

Slivers - The archetype is pretty straightforward, play all the slivers. Generally some combination of G/R/W will provide you the most creatures and Manaweft Sliver is the backbone of the deck allowing you to cast everything in your hand. Fortify is arguably the 2nd most important card in the deck since you can save your army from a Shrivel early or punch for a ton of damage late. Slivers is arguably the 'trap' archetype in M14 as the deck is difficult to build, has a somewhat inconsistent mana base and is dependent on having the bomb Sliver rares to help fuel the deck. This archetype might be more viable in sealed since you have guaranteed access to 6 Rares slots, which could yield a couple of the bomb Slivers you need to play for the archetype.

U/G Tempo - Usually playing large green creatures and blue flyers along with Blue's powerful disruption including Time Ebb and Disperse. The deck is efficient because the Green creatures are very capable of pushing for damage while Blue's efficiency at drawing cards, countering spells, and removing creatures off the table is enough to have longevity if the game goes very late. Furthermore, Blue's evasive creatures like Trained Condor can push for damage as extra reach for the deck against decks trying to stabilize against it.

Since this PTQ season's format is Sealed, some of these archetypes we just discussed may not be feasible to build because of the sheer amount of specific cards they require. However, we can use our knowledge of the metagame's archetypes to build decks around known engines. To close up this article, let's take a look at a M14 Sealed Pool. Today (or.. a couple weeks ago), I opened up a quick 6 boosters of M14 and went ahead with one of my sealed deck practices. Check out the video to me opening the packs and my rambling thought process while doing so! BrambleVid #16: Core Set M14 Sealed Pool

Here were the following contents:

White (18):

Ajani's Chosen
Auramancer
Charging Griffin
Dawnstrike Paladin
2x Fortify
Imposing Sovereign
Indestructibility
2x Master of Diversion
2x Pacifism
Pay No Heed
Serra Angel
Siege Mastodon
Stonehorn Chanter
2x Suntail Hawk

Blue (14):
Archaemancer
Armored Cancrix
Claustrophobia
Coral Merfolk
2x Disperse
Divination
Domestication
Seacost Drake
Spell Blast
2x Time Ebb
Trained Condor
Zephyr Charge

Black (17):
Altar's Reap
Artificer's Hex
Corpse Hauler
Corrupt
Dark Favor
Diabolic Tutor
Doom Blade
Festering Newt
Liturgy of Blood
2x Nightwing Shade
Sengir Vampire
Shadowborn Apostle
2x Shrivel
Vampire Warlord
Vile Rebirth

Red  (15):
Academy Raider
2x Act of Treason
Barrage of Expendables
2x Blur Sliver
Canyon Minotaur
Chandra's Outrage
Cyclops Tyrant
Lava Axe
Lightning Talons
Maurading Maulhorn
2x Smelt
Wild Guess

Green (14):
Deadly Recluse
Elvish Mystic
Enlarge
Giant Growth
Kalonian Tusker
Plummet
Predatory Sliver
Rootwalla
2x Rumbling Baloth
Savage Summoning
Sporemound
Verdant Haven
Voracious Wurm

Artifacts (6):
Accorder's Shield
Darksteel Ingot
Bubbling Cauldron
Millsone
Pyromancer's Gauntlet
Staff of the Wild Magus

Deck I created:

Creatures (16):
Elvish Mystic
Imposing Sovereign
Deadly Recluse
Kalonian Tusker
Voracious Wurm
2x Master of Diversion
Rootwalla
Auramancer
Ajani's Chosen
2x Rumbling Baloth
Charging Griffin
Sporemound
Serra Angel
Stonehorn Chanter

Spells (7):
2x Pacifism
Giant Growth
Bubbling Cauldron
Verdant Haven
Indestructibility
Enlarge

Lands (17):
10 Forests
7 Plains

Although this deck isn't one of the main archetypes discussed earlier, I like it for a few reasons. It tempos really well because it has creatures like Imposing Sovereign and a pair of Master of Diversions that make blocking more difficult for my opponent. This decrease in blocking efficiency increases the stock of my larger Green creatures because they can attack more profitably. Furthermore, the Ajani's Chosen engine with my few Auras can produce a small number of 2/2 Cats which are more bodies to attack with and Bubbling Cauldron if I start to fall behind. I'm not exactly sure where to put Indestructibility, since it is easily answered with a Disperse or Time Ebb on the enchanted creature or an Act of Treason + sacrifice outlet, but I felt like it could be useful with Ajani's Chosen. If I had to go back, I probably wouldn't use it because it's not a combat-based format and doesn't do enough work.

Overall, I feel that G/W was the best approach with this pool. The Blue cards were criminally deficient of creatures, so I couldn't justify sleeving up the color. Even with a Verdant Haven in our list, I don't think it provides enough consistency to splash the third color. Fortunately, no two players will see a Sealed Pool the same way, so let me know what you would have built out of this pool.

On an unrelated note, I'm super tired right now and I have to go to school early tomorrow morning, so I don't have a fancy transition or exit. So...

Let's take home a Pro Tour invite in N. Miami! 

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-David J.

Vivid Williams: Standard Deviations

In just a little over a month, Standard rotation is going to once again shake up the game we all love to play. Gone will be the days of Restoration Angel flashing into block a ground pounder, Blood Artist shenanigans with Cartel Aristocrat and Falkenrath Aristocrat, and flashing back Unburial Rites and Thragtusk for value upon value upon value. While I love that Standard has so many deck options to play, it'll be refreshing to have a new set of cards to play with.

A lot of new players come into the game starting around the Core Set, and the one question people ask me the most is: 'what deck should I play?' or 'what cards should I pick up?'. My response usually goes one of two ways:

Build a cheap mono-colored deck that contains cheap rares and commons/uncommons

OR

Pick up cheap mythic rares and playable cards while they aren't expensive.

Mono-colored decks are already going to see play post rotation and these decks lack dual lands that make them cheap and viable options to start working on and update as metagames unfold. Playing Mono-Red right now with Rakdos Cackler, Ash Zealot, and Chandra's Phoenix is not only competitive, but also available for continued play post-rotation. The only expenses a deck like this would include some number of Mutavaults, which are roughly $15 a piece. If you're looking to start playing competitive Magic right now, I'd suggest a White Weenie deck with a really aggressive game plan using Brave the Elements to push through damage and protect your dudes or even Mono-Green, which plays a bunch of Mana dorks and Garruk, Caller of Beasts to finally slam a Craterhoof Behemoth onto the battlefield to bash in for a billion damage. Be warned; however, that both the White and Green decks have a lot of cards that are rotating out of Standard come September.

'But Robert, what if I want to play more than one color post rotation?!' Then, I would suggest picking up as many of the Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash Shock Lands as possible. These lands are stupidly inexpensive right now AND can let you play decks in other formats. You can also pick up cheap Mythic Rares and Rares too when you see the opportunity. For example, look at Blood Baron of Vizkopa. The only cards that can kill this creature are Mizzium Mortars and Rapid Hybridization post-rotation. I see this card having a similar trend of Falkenrath Aristocrat  where it will jump from its $5-8 range to $20 flat in an instant. If you're looking to play a Rakdos deck that brings the beats, Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch might be right up your alley. She's $1 right now! This is mind blowing!! I fully expect this card to be similar to Wolfir Silverheart last year and jump tot the $10ish area for at least a few months. Also, make sure to be on the watch for:

1. Jace, Architect of Thought ($12)
2. Angel of Serenity ($7)
3. Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius ($2.5)
4. Aurelia, the Warleader ($6)
5. Aurelia's Fury ($3)
6. Duskmantle Seer ($2.5)

While this is just speculation, I can see a few of , if not all of these cards doubling or tripling in price depending on what we see out of Theros.

That's all I've got for you guys today. Next time I sit down and write anything, spoiler season is going to be on and that means the brewing will start. 'Til next time, Casual Net!

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-Robert Williams

Newbie to Planeswalker: Research ABCs

Hi, I'm David #9! Or maybe #20? I don't even want to guess how many Davids there are now! Anyways, today I wanted to share a few tips for anyone trying to grow as a new Magic player or wanting to become serious at a format.

I'm definitely not an extremely competitive player, and I'm not the kind of guy that will play thirty versions of the same deck for two months and then try to fine-tune one to be perfect. Not yet at least. Rather, I study a format inside and out for a while until I feel familiar with as any strategies as possible and then I experiment with them all. I try to broaden my perspective, using every play style and understand cool combos, important probabilities, and weaknesses in the meta-game.

Sounds kinda pro and complicated, right? Really, I just immerse myself in Magic and digest every piece of information I can find. How? Well, here are some starting places I would recommend to EVERYONE:

The 'Daily MTG' tab in particular, and then the 'columns section' on the left. Everyone knows about this basic Wizards site, but have you actually read the Re-Constructed articles? The author takes submitted deck lists and makes them better. Read them all and I guarantee that you will pick up new strategies for fixing up your own decks! There's also a column for Magic Online, Commander, Limited, and more updated every week.

TCGPlayer.com also has a Facebook page. I strongly recommend liking them. You can see article headlines on your newsfeed, usually 1-2 a day and can get an awesome quick read. I know at least a couple things will apply to you each week. They also keep you updted on spoilers and other magic MTG news. The video deck techs are really good as well, although you have to fast forward through some of it if you don't want all your time spent up.

Star City Games isn't completely free, since a lot of their resources require paid membership. The site still hs great articles from time to time. Like TCGPlayer, Star City posts winning deck lists from recent tournaments.

Question on a card? Gatherer has all the judge rulings and sometimes very useful comments. The best part is for brewers though. The advanced search allows you to sort through all types of cards and formats in any combination so you can be sure you didn't miss that one-of sideboard card you really need but completely forgot about. Don't know every type of Squirrel card every printed? Now you do.

MTG Online:
More players to test against! Cockatrice also used to be the bomb before the site was shut down, but keep a heads up for the general playing-card interface eventually replacing it. Nothing more convenient than being able to play whenever you want from home.

Overall, you can't really go wrong with these sites. They're made for all types of skill-levels. If you read the articles from the first three sites every week, your head will soon become an alpha edition Braingeyser of so much random and useful information you'll feel like you could pick up a Vintage deck for the first time and dominate a local tournament easily. Almost. Another couple of useful sites include mgdeckbuilder.net and draft.bestiaire.org or any deck builder and draft simulator. I know I'm probably missing a couple sites; feel free to comment below with your favorites!

So you just got into Modern and read up on all the combos, popular decks, the impact of M14, the deck you want top lay, etc. Or you're still new to Magic and you can't find enough stuff that applies to a beginner on your budget. Or maybe you just don't like reading and think the internet is the source of all evil. What do you do?

1. Join a local Magic community (like Casual Net!) or become involved at your local shops and make friends in the area. A good support system and friendly constructive criticism will be your best starting point.
2. Ask if you can play your friend's deck. And your other friend's deck if they'll let you. Play Jund, White-Weenies, Tokens, Combo, the other boring combos, Maze's End decks, Mono-Red that you despise so much, Reanimator, etc. You rarely look at a deck the same way after actually playing it several times. Plus it's fun.
3. Watch pro play. Or at least your more experiened friends. It may be overwhelming seeing a play you don't understand, but eventually you start picking up on a higher-level bluffs and maybe even things like small facial expressions or playing patterns. You can experiment with those as well; remember MTG is a mind game!
4. Play in a couple tournaments. You'll notice all your bad habits soooo fast. You may think your first EDH tournament will be fine since you've been playing for years and you've done tons of Standard and Modern tourneys. Well, think again. You'll probably encounter some cruel, cruel dudes with Infect and strange cards that you have no idea how the rulings work. And two-card combos everywhere. Basically, you can't really know the format until you've competed in it. 
5. Take a deck that is at least somewhat competitive and ply it for a while, fine-tuning it as much as possible. You have to love the deck. Or at least like it. The process of meta-gaming, trial and error, and finally piloting the deck instead of the deck playing you is very important. When you can briefly glance at 30 cards in your graveyard and instantly knowing what's left in your deck, you're probably close. 

They're pretty basic, but I know not everybody has done these five things. I'll be honest, I need to do more of the second and fourth things. I PROMISE they'll all make you a better player.

Just to recap: Join a community, play as many kinds of decks as possible, watch someone better than you, compete in at least a couple tournaments, and become one with a deck.

Last and least, a few quick random tips for in-game play:

• Don't play lands if they work better as bluffing cards! If you don't have an 8-drop in your library, just hold that eighth land and make your opponent guess more. Also, shuffle your hand after every draw so if you draw a land and need to play it, you can make your opponent think you might have drawn a non-land card. 
• Never rush or feel anxious. Having a focused state of mind is the most important thing about your playing. It helps you remember triggers too. 
• Never tap out in EDH after the first several turns if you play Blue counter-spells. Unless you just don't care what the other players do. Otherwise, bad things will happen. Very few exceptions. 

That was just a starting point and reminder of the basics you should be doing. Consider becoming more involved with your play-testing group if you haven't been getting much out of it. Read at least two good articles a week. Set goals to improve in these areas and check back here later to see how you can take them to another level!

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-David Wong

About David Wong:
I've been playing since M12. My favorite colors are Bant (U/W/G). Jenara is my only EDH deck so far. Favorite Keyword: Protection. So powerful. I kinda hate netdecks. What I really enjoy is the unstable period after a release where anything can happen. Magic can make me forget I'm hungry for a couple hours, but after that I will destroy the shop's Oreo supply or go home and eat as much as possible. I'm also making my first Cube!

General Musings: Commanding M14

Thus far, we've produced a number of Commander-based articles for the blog, but have not quite taken the time to describe exactly what Commander is. To remedy this, I will preface this article with an introduction to the Commander format.

Commander is a casual, constructed format with specific deck-construction regulations. The FIRST rule is a deck may only contain one copy of any one card (except basic lands and cards that specifically state no limit a la Relentless Rats). This increases the overall entropy of a deck and makes each game a unique experience, adding to the non-competitive nature of the format. Rule TWO states that a deck must have EXACTLY 100 cards, as opposed to other constructed formats that have a minimum of 60 cards. Enabling even further randomness, having 100 unique cards promotes deck-synergy over individual interactions, making sure games don't frequently end with 'the same 2-card combo.'

Rule THREE contrasts the trend of inconsistency by stating that your deck MUST contain a Legendary Creature; the deck's commander (or general). The commander is not shuffled into its owner's deck at the start of the match, but is instead set aside in the 'Commander Zone' where it can be summoned at any time as though it were an extension of its owner's hand (timing rules still apply). The commander is the solitary piece of consistency a deck has; it is always 'in the opening hand' and may be returned to the Commander Zone upon death or exile to be cast again. KEEP THIS IN MIND: many players choose to build their decks around their commanders, electing to focus on their legend's powerful abilities to gain great advantage early in the game, when opponents are prioritizing development over removal. Although powerful, this strategy is fragile as a single removal spell can set the player back several turns and even render cards in their hand useless until they recast their commander. Other players simply choose a commander for its colors, choosing to play it as just another card in the deck which is also fine. This strategy values overall synergy and often focuses on a powerful late-game, when resources are low and a single threat - possibly the commander - can take over a game.

Rule FOUR declares that a deck cannot contain cards that have a color identity (or colored mana symbol) that is not in its commander's color identity. For example, an Olivia Voldaren deck may contain Lightning Bolt, Doom Blade and Terminate, but cannot play Swords to Plowshares, Putrefy or Crystal Shard. A good rule of thumb is that a card cannot have a colored mana symbol opposed to your general anywhere on the card (with the exception of parenthetical 'reminder' text' as in the Extort mechanic). Cards without mana costs are subject to this rule as well, so a Rafiq of the Many deck cannot contain Slaughter Pact or Garruk Relentless (as the color identity of Garruk, Veil-Cursed is Black). Cards may reference opposing colors (ex: Red Elemental Blast) or basic land types (as in Farseek and Marsh Flats), but cannot contain the colored mana symbol on the card. The two primary exceptions to this rule are Bosh, Iron Golem and Memnarch (who have colorless identities, but activated abilities that require colored mana). The FINAL rule is to have fun. Commander is a social, usually multi-player focused format where anything is possible! Commaner has its own banlist that can be found HERE. 

Completing a commander deck can be a long and rewarding process, as cards are frequently added and removed to adapt to a specific playgroup or try new strategies. However, all you really need is a group of friends, a 99-card deck (plus one commander to rule them all) and an open mind to begin playing; the rest is up to you!

Fortunately, we have the sweet smell of a brand-spankin' new set that just dropped. And with every new set comes new goodies for Commander. Today, I'm going to present my Top 8 picks for best new Commander cards. Let's jump in!

8. Elvish Mystic

'Wait, isn't this exactly the same as Llanowar Elves?' Nope! I mean, yes it does the same thing, but it has a different name, which means we can run both in our EDH decks. I'm a big fan of the Elf-ball strategy, and seeing another one of these dudes is good for Edric, Spymaster of Trest and Ezuri, Renegade Leader. Redundancy is a good thing, especially when it's purposely limited. Having one more way to hit turn-two Elvish Archruid or one more 'free' draw off of Glimpse of Nature helps these decks relevantly. I don't know; I was pretty excited.

7. Dark Prophecy

Looks a bit like Phyrexian Arena, but with less predictability. The problem with Arena is most people kill it when they see it to deny you the draw. So we got Underworld Connections, which guarantees us at least one draw if we play it on turn-four. Unfortunately this one is prone to the same answers as Arena PLUS making us susceptible to land destruction. Enter Dark Prophecy. Though much more situational than its predecessors, Dark Prophecy has incredible synergy with sacrifice outlets such as Ghave, Ghuru of Spores and Grimgrim, Corpse-Born, adding half of a Sign in Blood to every activation. Just be careful not to die to its triggers after a board wipe (Dark Prophecy is mandatory). 

6. Burning Earth

Red decks traditionally do damage as fast as they can. Burning Earth makes it so even spells your opponents cast attack their own life totals. Given how popular multi-colored decks are and how often players rely on non-basic lands (my Kaalia of the Vast deck has about 9 Basic lands, yikes!), this Enchantment can very easily deal twenty or more damage before you untap. Especially useful in aggressive mono-colored decks like Krenko, Mob Boss and Urabrask, the Unseen, where the effect is mitigated by the owner's use of Basic lands, Burning Earth is a somewhat innocuous, yet very consistent source of damage. 

5. Colossal Whale

Honestly, I'm a little unimpressed by Blue in this Core Set. Elite Arcanist feels like a mediocre Isochron Scepter, Jace's Mindseeker is a bad Diluvian Primordial, and Dismiss into Dream doesn't quite feel powerful enough (needs a targeting engine like Aboshan, Cephalid Emperor to be great). Colossal Whale; however, is a pretty sweet creature. Seven mana 5/5 is standard fare for big dudes with effects, but Colossal Whale can be a finisher with enough protection. Inhaling blockers with each swing, Colossal Whale acts like a Blue Admonition Angel (only without any 'trigger on the stack' shenanigans). Riding with Stormtide Leviathan, Colossal Whale will quickly drown enemies and with effects like Crystal Shard, you can turn a Wrath on its head by leaving behind the regurgitated creatures and rescuing your Whale before the effect resolves. Also, the 'Jonah and the Whale' reference tickles me, if you couldn't tell.

4. Angelic Accord

The more I looked at this card, the more intrigued I became by its effect. 4/4 Flying Angel tokens close out a game quickly and this Enchantment creates one at the end of each end step. Wait, so this triggers at my opponents' end steps too!? Although we can't make instant-speed angels, life gain decks will enjoy passively creating a flying army while sticking to their primary objective (similar to Sigil of the Empty Throne in Krond/Bruna decks). A few easy ways to gain 4 lie include: attacking with Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter, flinging an Angel with Brion Stoutarm, Populating an Angel with Trostani, Selesnya's Voice, discarding a card to Trading Post, having Celestial Force trig - oops, off by one.

3. Primeval Bounty

Everybody loves free stuff. Primeval Bounty turns ALL of your actions into 2-or-1s. All of your creature spells bring a date to the party, all of your non-creature spells power up the aforementioned party, and all of your lands are Glimmerposts 'in addition to their other types.' Left unchecked, this enchantment generates massive card advantage out of every single draw that will usually win the game in just a few turns. And at a modest price of 5G, this Enchantment can begin its work as early as Turn 4 with good ramp, allowing you to put early pressure on opponents while they are still setting up. 

2. Rise of the DarkRealms

Can’t decide what to Animate Dead? Big fan of Liliana Vess? Got 9 mana to spare? Then Rise of the Dark Realms is for you! Similar to Insurrection and Enter theInfinite, Rise will probably win you the game on the spot if played correctly. Setting up a huge Rise is easy enough; cards like Buried Alive and Faithless Looting set up our own graveyards while Traumatize and Life’s Finale work on our opponents. Or, you know, just wait until the end of the game when Wraths and combat have done the dirty work for you. Especially effective against those GB reanimator decks who love to jam fatties into their decks with the hope of getting some extra mileage out of them late-game.

1. Strionic Resonator

Uh… (Rune-Scarred Demon)

Uhhhh… (Sylvan Primordial)

UHHHHH… (Kaalia of the Vast)

Wow. Is anybody else incredibly excited to play with this card?! If you haven’t noticed by now, I am a big fan of incremental advantage, which this card goes a long way to produce. Most people enjoy their value creatures (creatures with “Enter the battlefield” effects) because they generate card advantage. When a creature produces an effect upon resolution and leaves behind its own body, you get value out of the creature even if it dies immediately. Strionic Resonator gives you even MORE bang for your buck on spells and abilities if you are willing to pay a slight premium. Although not as repeatable as Rings of Brighthearth, Resonator presents a subtle, yet powerful threat that makes every triggered ability you own even more daunting to opponents. Special shout-outs to Invasion and Planar Chaos dragons for taking advantage of this effect with gusto.

Honorable Mentions:

Ring of Three Wishes – heard you like Planar Portal. Here’s a cheaper one with limited uses. Proliferate or recursion might make this better.

Encroaching Wastes – heard you like LD. Somewhere between Wasteland and Tectonic Edge. More of these doesn't hurt; there are too many Cabal Coffers and Mazes of Ith running around anyway.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Perhaps not the most popular cards in the set, these are the cards that struck me as having the most relevant potential influence on the Commander scene. I hope you enjoyed this quick look at the new set and good luck, fellow Commanders!

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-Javier Remy

Counsel of the Wyly: Learn to Love the Ooze

Hello and welcome to Counsel of the Wyly, the article series written about Standard, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Commander. This week we'll be looking at Junk Reanimator, a deck that has been receiving lots of attention recently and for good reason.

This deck has been a powerhouse for months now since multiple Thragtusks and Angel of Serenity are very powerful against the aggro and control decks in the format. Here's the list I played at PTQ Theros: Tampa, Fl.

Junk Reanimator - PTQ Theros: Tampa, Fl

Creatures (24):
4x Avacyn's Pilgrim
3x Elvish Mystic
3x Centaur Healer
2x Fiend Hunter
3x Restoration Angel
4x Thragtusk
1x Shadowborn Demon
1x Acidic Slime
3x Angel of Serenity

Spells (13):
4x Grisly Salvage
3x Mulch
4x Unburial Rites
1x Sever the Bloodline
1x Garruk Relentless

Lands (23):
4x Temple Garden
4x Overgrown Tomb
2x Godless Shrine
3x Sunpetal Grove
3x Woodland Cemetery
2x Isolated Chapel
2x Forest
1x Vault of the Archangel
1x Gavony Township
1x Cavern of Souls

Sideboard (15):
2x Acidic Slime
3x Voice of Resurgence
1x Obzedat, Ghost Council
1x Garruk Relentless
2x Deathrite Shaman
2x Sin Collector
2x Abrupt Decay
2x Trostani, Selesnya's Voice

The list was fairly stocked and I think a majority of the mainboard is fine. I was unhappy with the fourth copy of Unburial Rites, the mana dork split, and Centaur Healer. I felt I wanted at least some number of Arbor Elf after adding the Shadowborn Demon since Arbor Elf can generate black mana off of Overgrown Tombs. Centaur Healer seems really good on paper, but I feel some number of Lingering Souls would have been better in this slot. The Spirit tokens block a lot more creatures and have some synergy with Voice of Resurgence out of the board. The other card I wanted to put in my mainboard was Blood Baron of Vizkopa. This card is an absolute beating against the current field since many decks do not have an answer to him once he's on board. Blood Baron of Vizkopa and Lingering Souls should also help with our worst match-up, Jund. Jund has both disruption and Scavenging Ooze that interrupt what we're doing. Most decks with Scavenging Ooze aren't difficult to fight against because we can hold our threats in our hand until we can deal with their Scavenging Ooze; however, Jund uses Rakdos's Return to make our plan ineffective. I want to add a second Acidic Slime to the main since one isn't effective enough. For our sideboard, I want a third Sin Collector because the card is very strong against against both Control decks and Jund. Games that you can cast Sin Collector on Turn 2 and follow up with a 2nd copy on Turn 3 can really disrupt what you're opponent is doing. If I was going to play this deck going forward, I'd update it like so:

Junk Reanimator - 2013 Revised

3x Avacyn's Pilgrim
2x Elvish Mystic
2x Arbor Elf
2x Fiend Hunter
3x Restoration Angel
4x Thragtusk
1x Shadowborn Demon
2x Acidic Slime
1x Blood Baron of Vizkopa
3x Angel of Serenity

Spells (14):
4x Grisly Salvage
3x Mulch
2x Lingering Souls
3x Unburial Rites
1x Sever the Bloodline
1x Garruk Relentless

Lands (23):
4x Temple Garden
4x Overgrown Tomb
2x Godless Shrine
3x Sunpetal Grove
3x Woodland Cemetery
2x Isolated Chapel
2x Forest
1x Vault of the Archangel
1x Gavony Township
1x Cavern of Souls

Sideboard (15):
1x Acidic Slime
3x Voice of Resurgence
1x Obzedat, Ghost Council
1x Garruk Relentless
2x Deathrite Shaman
2x Sin Collector
3x Abrupt Decay
2x Trostani, Selesnya's Voice

This is the deck I"ll be sleeving up until rotation since I think it's one of the best decks in the format. If your opponent is relying on Scavenging Ooze to hate you out, I think you will do well with this list. Thankfully, players aren't playing stronger hate cards like Ground Seal or Rest in Peace. Pairing a Rest in Peace or Ground Seal with a fast clock is the best way to deal with Junk Reanimator. If you see this happen in your local store, I'd recommend playing Centaur Healer in the main again.

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it and feel free to give me ay feedback. Best of luck in all your games!

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-John Wyly