I don’t know if Mike has actually mentioned this anywhere or not but both of us qualified for US Nationals this past weekend at the NYC Nats Qualifier run by Gray Matter Conventions. Top8Magic.com Mockvitational winner Christian Calcano also won a berth at the same event. All three of us were running very different decks with Mike running Grixis Hits, me running GerryT’s Naya Like-Saber, and Calcano running blue-white control. This set of podcasts include Mike and I talking during the early rounds of the tournament, a post-Top 8 migration to Shake Shack, and a post mortem by Mike and from Monday.

Nationals Q \’n Effin-A! Part One

Here is the deck I played:

Naya Like-Saber

4 Noble Hierarch
3 Wild Nacatl
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Scute Mob
2 Lotus Cobra
2 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Cunning Sparkmage
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Vengevine
3 Ranger of Eos
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Behemoth Sledge
2 Raging Ravine
2 Stirring Wildwood
2 Sunpetal Grove
3 Evolving Wilds
2 Mountain
2 Plains
5 Forest
3 Misty Rainforest
4 Arid Mesa
1 Sejiri Steppe

Sideboard:

3 Vapor Snare
2 Qasali Pridemage
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Pithing Needle
1 Island
1 Behemoth Sledge
2 Path to Exile

I am excited about our exclusive preview card from Rise of Eldrazi. This card should be see play in both Standard and Block Constructed and presents some interesting challenges for deck designers. I spoke with two of them — perhaps you have even read their books — about Consuming Vapors and what impact it might have on Constructed. The first two podcasts are with Deckade author Michael J. Flores huddled outside of Shake Shack on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Mike and I also scroll through some of the officially spoiled cards and muse about their roles in Constructed formats.

The second two ‘casts were also done within line of sight of a Shake Shack. This time we were in My Files author Zvi Mowshowitz’ Chelsea apartment. We caught Zvi’s unfiltered reaction to the card as he had not seen it prior to switching on the recorder after once again talking about the highlights from the officially spoiled cards. Zvi also talked about his preparations for Pro Tour San Juan and the team he is assembling to follow up on the success of his Mythic build for PT San Diego.

Rise of Eldrazi Preview Podcast Part 1

Mike and I sat down last night to discuss recent Magic events, Rise of Eldrazi spoiled cards, and a new/old idea for a deck that has been itching at the back of Mike’s brain recently.

Blink it Like Becker Part 3

Here is the deck that Matt Ferrando used to win an online PTQ last Thursday (although technically the event dragged on well into Friday morning).

Thepths
Matt Ferrando — Winner (!!!)
MTGO PTQ for San Juan

4 Vampire hexmage
4 Dark Confidant
1 Jace, The Mind Sculptor
3 Thirst For Knowledge
4 Thoughtseize
1 Compulsive Research
4 Muddle The Mixture
1 Echoing Truth
1 Repeal
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Thopter Foundry
2 Sword of the Meek
2 Smother
1 Slaughter Pact
4 Chrome Mox
3 Tolaria West
2 Island
2 Swamp
4 River of Tears
4 Sunken Ruins
4 Urborg
4 Dark Depths
1 Academy Ruins
Sideboard
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Chalice of the Void
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Deathmark
2 Damnation
2 Jace, mind sculptor
2 Gatekeeper of Malakir
1 Ghost Quarter

Wizards of the Coast has released a pool of first look Rise of Eldrazi cards and Top8Magic.com is among the lucky recipients — this should mean an exclusive preview in the coming weeks as well.

The deadly perils of Zendikar, we learn with this set, “have served as a prison for the Eldrazi, astral monstrosities native to the Blind Eternities. Now, the perils facing adventurers on the plane of Zendikar have taken an even deadlier turn. The Eldrazi have been released.”

Let’s take a look at the just what Zendikar has been keeping at bay:

…and this guy is just an uncommon. Needless to say if one of these colorless monstrosities with Annihilator ever gets a chance to attack bad things are going to happen to you. We have already seen Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, which goes through great pains to not allow itself to be cheated into play (except via the Eye of Ugin) but that is not true of this guy. He seems like a fine monster to reanimate if you can discard him to the bin. (Take note that while these monsters are colorless they are distinctly not artifacts so you cannot get maximum card advantage out of your Thirst for Knowledge — I am afraid you will have to dump two cards).

While Kozilek, Butcher of Truth cannot hit the bin he can come into play Through the Breach although you will not get to draw extra cards. You can wipe your opponent’s board clear of permanents by “sneak attacking” an Eldrazi into play on turn two or three with a Seething Song. We have only seen two of these monstrosities so far but we have to imagine that bad things are in store for anyone facing off against them.

Eye of Ugin is part of the equation for playing “fair” with the Eldrazi but it appears their are other keys that will unlock these Lovecraftian horrors. Perhaps you want to Corpsehatch your pet monster?

Between this card, Everflowing Chalice (aka Motherlovin’ Cup), and Eye of Ugin you can kill something on turn four and have up to ten mana on turn six for summoning monsters that could turn your hair white.

A card I already love is Mnemonic Wall. I have always loved me an Izzet Chronarch in Limited but would have liked them to be a little more involved when it came to fighting. Mnemonic Wall is more than capable of keeping one whole ground pounder at bay in Limited while returning a key removal spell to deal with another. Its kind of a shame that Rise of Eldrazi is going to be a stand alone Limited set because I would happily draft Mnemonic Wall/Into the Aether decks all day long. Maaaaaybe something to think about for Block?

Annihilate is one new mechanic in the set and Rebound is another — think of it as a hybrid between Suspend and Flashback. Rebound cards that are played from your hand are Exiled and they get played again — for no cost — from exile at the beginning of your next upkeep. Obviously they are going to be solid Limited cards — such as the one pictured below — but depending on the mix of spells they could easily be Constructed quality. Here is a fine combat trick for Limited that gives you a little bonus on your next turn.

Here is a card with a little something for everyone in Limited. On one hand it is a nigh insurmountable wall but when it gets angry and attacks… Well you wouldn’t like it when it is angry — and have nothing around to block.

Finally we have Mammoth Umbra — easily my favorite piece of art of the handful of pooled preview cards — which seems like a fine “embrace” with a cool mechanic that is going to be very strong in Limited. There is certainly precedent for similar cards making the leap to Constructed if there is anything at a more reasonable casting cost. I definitely want this card on my Valakut Fireboar — if I can’t stick it on a Pathrazer that is.

Stay tuned for some additional artwork, a podcast with me an Mike, and (fingers crossed) our exclusive preview between now and the Rise of Eldrazi release event.

Check out the second part of our four card preview:

Canopy Cover Preview Card

Mike Flores and BDM will be podcasting soon about them all.

In the spirit of Flores’ podcasts (4 previous entries), I’m going into the PTQ tomorrow with the sort of attitude that I had about 15 years ago when I was first playing Magic tournaments: I will be the best and most deserving player tomorrow, and I’ll act like it.

It will only be my second ptq in this format, and the first saw me open a pretty poor sealed deck, build it almost certainly wrong, and sideboard into 4 different builds (Bg, Wu, Bw, WG) throughout the day looking for what to do with my miserable, removal-starved card pool. Nonetheless, I finished 6-2, just one win out of top 8.  Both the matches I lost I was bowled over by card-quality, but I also clearly had options in term of what cards I brought to those matches, and I might have made mistakes in this regard due, in part, to the negative attitude I had about my pool.

However, I learned a ton about the format playing with all those different builds, and my generally winning record gave me confidence that mediocre cards are no barrier to success.

So, keep your eye on this space for my upcoming post: “PTQ Massachusetts report: 1st” wherein I describe the most glamorous plays of the day and the sort of power that a winning attitude gave me.

-gcb