Talking PyroTwin Combo

Mike Flores and I sat down for a nice windy cup of coffee to discuss his burgeoning love affair with the new PryoTwin decks that will be emerging from the post-New Phyrexia Standard format. Mike has always been a proponent of Pyromancer’s Ascension in Standard, going all the way back to last year’s Nationals season, and with the addition of free spells and the extra Splinter Twin combo thanks to the printing of the flashy new Deceiver Exarch he has declared it to be the deck to beat in the coming weeks. Why does he feel so strongly about it? I guess you will have to give a listen to find out.

Freeking Without Flores Part 2

Limited Information author and Star City Games Content Manager Steve Sadin and I pick up where we left off — more or less — with Michael J Flores in talking about the individual cards from New Phyrexia. We look at different decks the cards might go in ranging from 40 card draft decks to 99 card Commander vessels. It is an exciting and deep set with cards that shake up just about every format. Hope you enjoy it!

PS If you are going to be at the Gray Matter Conventions Prerelease in New York City on Saturday, May 7th both Steve and I will be there.

Freeking Without Flores Part 1

Limited Information author and Star City Games Content Manager Steve Sadin and I pick up where we left off — more or less — with Michael J Flores in talking about the individual cards from New Phyrexia. We look at different decks the cards might go in ranging from 40 card draft decks to 99 card Commander vessels. It is an exciting and deep set with cards that shake up just about every format. Hope you enjoy it!

PS If you are going to be at the Gray Matter Conventions Prerelease in New York City on Saturday, May 7th both Steve and I will be there.

hashtagJaceHammer

I caught up with Mike the other day to discuss the online clamor about Jace, The Mind Sculptor utterly dominating finish at Grand Prix: Dallas. We went on to discuss playing in Regionals this weekend including not only what to play but what the proper spousal compensation for taking a precious Saturday afternoon to do so is. Other topics included “bird” watching, Mike’s mono-white control deck for Standard, and the impending Game of Thrones series on HBO.

It has been awhile since I featured a guest piece on the blog — or anything for that matter, sorry — but Mitch Okun’s Facebook note about synchronicity and nostalgia at the recent Star City Games Standard Open in Edison, NJ brought a smile to my face and was something I wanted to share. Mitch was among those players who came to the very first tournaments run by what would eventually become Gray Matter Conventions — he even met his eventual wife through those events — and was a Neutral Ground regular from the day we opened the doors at the old location at 291 7th Avenue. — Brian David-Marshall

For the 1% of the human population out there who isn’t aware, I consider myself an extremely unlucky person.  It’s magnified by the fact that I play two card based games that are definitely more skill based than luck based (Magic and Poker), but for some reason the proportion of games played in the online settings of both just inevitably causes me to fall into the statistical black hole time and time again.  I stopped playing Magic for a while over it, I essentially gave up on poker to the financial swings, and I’ve stopped Magic Online for long stretches of time because of it.  However, inevitably I go back.  I *LIKE* the games.  I consider myself decently good.  And yet, as I sit here tonight, frustrated by a seemingly inhuman proportion of little bad luck swings that affect my Magic Online matches over and over and over again, I waited between rounds by reading online articles.  I went over the Wizards of the Coast’s site and found an article by Brian David-Marshall, an old friend, about the large Magic event that happened this weekend in Edison NJ.

I don’t play major events any more, but knew this thing was happening and took the opportunity to trek down with a pile of cards I wanted to consider selling.  I made pretty good money selling a lot of stuff to the online store who ran the event, but I can’t be in a room of 700+ players and not want to get involved a little, or at least watch .. and I quickly found Brian (or BDM, as he’s famously known to the Magic community) playing his 2nd round opponent.  I watched quietly and waited until between games to comment. Read the rest of this entry »

Random Encounters Part 4

So it seems like Mike wants to make a habit of meeting in Grand Central Station for podcasts. Apparently it is easier than him coming downtown to the new Top8Magic.com digs — which he has still not even come to visit yet. Somehow one of the busiest commuter stations in the world is the least acoustically challenging space we can agree to meet at. This time it did lead to a couple of random encounters including local Level 3 judge Eric Smith and a quick drive-by with Mario Batali (we did not speak to Mario, just made note of him passing by) as well as some random people asking for directions and attempting to menace us into giving them money for their CD.

Random Encounters Part 3

So it seems like Mike wants to make a habit of meeting in Grand Central Station for podcasts. Apparently it is easier than him coming downtown to the new Top8Magic.com digs — which he has still not even come to visit yet. Somehow one of the busiest commuter stations in the world is the least acoustically challenging space we can agree to meet at. This time it did lead to a couple of random encounters including local Level 3 judge Eric Smith and a quick drive-by with Mario Batali (we did not speak to Mario, just made note of him passing by) as well as some random people asking for directions and attempting to menace us into giving them money for their CD.

Mike and I were talking on this set of ‘casts — or was it the previous set — about Necrotic Ooze in Standard. It seems pretty exciting to me with Molten-Tail Masticores, Gigantomancers, and other cool-but-too-expensive-to-ever-summon creatures like Kalitas. Anyway, here is a rough list — sans any sideboard — that I have been toying around with on MTGO this week.I have had a couple of turn four kills when my three members of my one-drop squad got by unblocked with an Ooze in play and Gigantomancer in the yard. This is a very rough list but it has been a lot of fun so far and seems like something to build on.

Ooze Line Is It Anyway?
Brian David-Marshall

2 Drowned Catacomb
2 Grim Discovery
4 Birds of Paradise
1 Bloodshot Trainee
1 Swamp
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Llanowar Elves
7 Forest
4 Gigantomancer
4 Molten-Tail Masticore
4 Vengevine
4 Necrotic Ooze
1 Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Island
4 Hedron Crab
4 Fauna Shaman
4 Darkslick Shores

Random Encounters Part 2

So it seems like Mike wants to make a habit of meeting in Grand Central Station for podcasts. Apparently it is easier than him coming downtown to the new Top8Magic.com digs — which he has still not even come to visit yet. Somehow one of the busiest commuter stations in the world is the least acoustically challenging space we can agree to meet at. This time it did lead to a couple of random encounters including local Level 3 judge Eric Smith and a quick drive-by with Mario Batali (we did not speak to Mario, just made note of him passing by) as well as some random people asking for directions and attempting to menace us into giving them money for their CD.

Over the course of this last couple of ‘casting sessions Mike has begun to brew up a TurboLand variant with Genesis Wave. He recently wrote about this list over on TCGPlayer.com.

The Genesis Wave Motion Gun
Mike Flores

4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Joraga Treespeaker
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Oracle of Mul Daya
4 Overgrown Battlement
4 Primeval Titan
4 Explore
4 Genesis Wave
8 Forest
4 Halimar Depths
4 Island
4 Khalni Garden
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Tectonic Edge

Sideboard:
4 Into the Roil
4 Negate
3 Obstinate Baloth
4 Pelakka Wurm

Random Encounters Part 1

So it seems like Mike wants to make a habit of meeting in Grand Central Station for podcasts. Apparently it is easier than him coming downtown to the new Top8Magic.com digs — which he has still not even come to visit yet. Somehow one of the busiest commuter stations in the world is the least acoustically challenging space we can agree to meet at. This time it did lead to a couple of random encounters including local Level 3 judge Eric Smith and a quick drive-by with Mario Batali (we did not speak to Mario, just made note of him passing by) as well as some random people asking for directions and attempting to menace us into giving them money for their CD.

This is the Kuldotha Afterbirth deck that we discuss early in this four part series.

Kuldotha Afterbirth
Chris Cannon — Winner
Georgia 2010 State Championships

4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Smoldering Spire
1 Teetering Peaks
11 Mountain
4 Goblin Guide
4 Goblin Bushwacker
4 Goblin Cheiftan
3 Mox Opal
4 Kuldotha Rebirth
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Infiltration Lens
3 Panic Spellbomb
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Memnite
3 Galvenize Blast
2 Spikeshot Elder
1 Darksteel Axe
1 Molten-Tail Masticore

Sideboard:
3 Mark of Mutiny
3 Arc Trail
3 Goblin Ruinblaster
3 Tunnel Ignus
3 Shatter

Quest for the Rail Yard Part 3

The last of a three part podcast from me (Brian David-Marshall) and Mike Flores. In Mike’s continued quest to find acoustically challenged sites to record podcasts he set up this session inside Grand Central Station rather than travel to the new but slightly less conveniently located Top8Magic.com offices. Over the course of the three podcasts we discussed Mike’s States performance, mused about a couple of new decks, and dropped the recorder on the floor.

Finally, here is the blue deck that Mike was advocated as we wound down the podcast:

Make it Snow

4 Frost Titan
2 Jace Beleren
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Trinket Mage
1 Brittle Effigy
1 Elixir of Immortality
2 Everflowing Chalice
4 Into the Roil
4 Mana Leak
4 Preordain
2 Spell Pierce
2 Treasure Hunt
2 Volition Reins
Spells [22]
4 Halimar Depths
17 Island
4 Tectonic Edge
Sideboard:
3 All Is Dust
1 Elixir of Immortality
2 Flashfreeze
1 Jace Beleren
2 Negate
4 Ratchet Bomb
2 Spell Pierce