This marks the return of guest writer Frank Lepore who previously authored the much talked about, “Has Magic Lost Its Way” on this site. With barely a weekend remaining in the current PTQ season he offers up a last minute control deck that has performed well for him online for those of your scrambling for a blue envelope this weekend.

Some exposition:  A while back, on ChannelFireball, Gerry Thompson threw out a Grixis control decklist in an article that never got very much attention.  I never saw it or a list like it ever make any headlines, but the deck always performed solid for me.  The threats were all resilient (Wydwen, Demigod, Banefire) and almost every card was a two-for-one (Jace, Cryptic Command, Cruel Ultimatum, etc.).  This was the deck I played at the last PTQ, going 6-2 and getting 13th.  My only losses were to mono-red, which prompted me to put four Magma Spray in the board for Anathemancer/Hellspark Elemental/Figure of Destiny/Outlander which I hoped would give me the time I needed to stabalize.  Well, I gave the deck to my friend Sal to play at an FNM and he immediately fell in love with it.  He took it to the finals and from then on wanted to play it at every FNM.  But something happened.

You know how sometimes a deck no longer feels viable, even though you can’t really explain how or why you feel that way?  Like the times have just changed?

Well, that was how I had felt.  Even though nothing from M10 had really changed in the deck, it just didn’t feel like the deck to play.  I didn’t know why though.  All the cards were still great!  The deck didn’t lose anything and the format hadn’t gained anything that really hindered the deck.  Maybe I just didn’t feel right that I was the only one playing this deck; maybe I was overlooking something, or getting lucky.  Either way, I kept telling Sal to play something else.

Well, last week (8/7) he texted me with a list he wanted to play and it seemed really good.  I got to the store early and started putting it together for him, changing a few cards here and there, tweaking the mana base, and making a sideboard for him.  The final list ended up as follows:

AngelFire 2.0

Baneslayer Angel

2 Essence Scatter
2 Negate
4 Broken Ambitions
4 Cryptic Command
4 Jace Beleren
3 Ajani Vengeant
4 Volcanic Fallout
4 Baneslayer Angel
2 Bogarden Hellkite
3 Plumeveil
2 Hallowed Burial
1 Banefire
3 Rugged Parerie
3 Cascade Bluff
3 Mystic Gate
4 Reflecting Pool
2 Vivid Creek
2 Vivid Meadow
1 Vivid Crag
3 Island
2 Plains
2 Mountain
Sideboard:
4 Kitchen Finks
1 Hallowed Burial
3 Runed Halo
2 Celestial Purge
1 Pithing Needle
2 Essence Scatter
2 Negate

Before Sal got to the store, I played a few games against Brad playing Faeries and it went 2-1 pre-board against them.  I loved playing the deck because it felt like I was always in control of the game.  It was then I realized that the list was just the Grixis deck but with white instead of black!  Ha!  Sal had managed to convince me to let him play the deck he wanted to play by simply switching out one color for another and forcing me to see the deck with new eyes.  I was impressed. Read the rest of this entry »

Frank Lepore is a long-time Top8Magic listener who has previously written a tournament report for Top8Magic.com about his attempts to reach the beaches of Hawaii. This most recent piece was inspired by events at his local FNM store as well as the recent changes to the game’s rules and base set card pool.

Has Magic Lost Its Way?

The following is my cumulative opinion of three separate events that transpired last night which lead me to believe that not only is Magic in more frightening shape than it has perhaps ever been, but that it may never return to the form that I once fell in love with. Before going any further I would like to completely stress the word “opinion.” Nothing said is by any means meant to be presented as fact, and I not only welcome but encourage counter points and arguments.

The first event occurred while I was running the local FNM last night. At one point in the night, I was leaning on a counter that overlooked a game that was in progress and I began to watch. One player who was obviously less familiar with the intricacies and timings of the game, Magic’s token casual player if you will, had a Chameleon Colossus in play. He was piloting a sort of red green aggro deck. His opponent, a player who had even won a Regionals once, was playing Cascade Swans. His relevant cards were a Seismic Assault and a Ghitu Encampment with one land in hand.

The incident in question happened when the Chameleon Colossus attacked into the Swans player. He in turn activated his land and blocked. After this was declared, the Colossus player played double Colossal Might on the Colossus – which should not be said five times fast – without stopping to ask for responses or pass priority. It was at this point that his opponent said to him, “After first strike damage, kill it before the Colossal Might resolves?” Read the rest of this entry »