Archive for the ‘Popular Posts’ Category
Announcing ‘Magic Origins’
Wednesday, February 11th, 2015
In an announcement made during Pro Tour Fate Reforged, this summer’s core set will be titled, “Magic Origins.” Some of you may or may not know, but this set is going to be a very special one. Just several months ago, it was also announced that Magic will no longer have a core set. So sets like “Magic 2015,” “Magic 2014,” etc. will no longer be. This will be considered the last core set for “Magic: The Gathering.”
Interestingly enough, Wizards of the Coast had several suggestions to call the final core set, “Omega.” However, they saw this as more of a beginning and therefore went with the name Origins. Uniquely, Origins has taken five Planeswalkers and will tell of, as you may have guessed, their origin stories.
Here is what the official press release had to say,
“In the Magic: The Gathering Multiverse, some mages are born with a rare gift, simply known as “the spark.” When such mages face a great ordeal, their spark’s potential is unleashed, elevating them to become Planeswalkers and travel between the planes of the Multiverse. Magic Origins will reveal for the first time these pivotal moments for five Planeswalkers: Gideon Jura, Jace Beleren, Liliana Vess, Chandra Nalaar, and Nissa Revane.
Magic Origins is a different kind of core set than we’ve ever done before, one with ambitious story goals and deep creative impact,” says Doug Beyer, Magic’s senior creative designer. “All core sets in recent years have had Planeswalker cards, but Magic Origins doesn’t just contain five Planeswalkers-it’s also about those Planeswalker characters. It’s about certain points in time in those Planeswalkers’ lives-the events that led them to become Planeswalkers-and is meant to set up a lot of our plans for Magic’s future story. We’ll see these characters’ home worlds, learn about the joys and crises of their early lives, and discover how they became the Multiverse-traveling Planeswalkers we know today.”
Two amazing samples of artwork were released with the announcement. They depict Liliana as a healer during her younger years. The second piece of artwork shows Liliana sometime after she had chosen the darker path. One can only speculate, but how cool would it be if we got to see Liliana as a White Planeswalker?
Other Planeswalkers included in the storyline will be Geideon Jura, Jace Beleren, Nissa Revane, and Chandra Nalaar. This being considered the last core set, it can also be considered a milestone, and, therefore, Wizards will most likely make something special here. However, it’s way too early to start guessing what may even be in the set. Nonetheless, let’s not forget how Wizards like to put in special surprises every now and then for their players and devoted customers.
Magic Origins is set to release this July 11-12, 2015. For more information, click here.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: Magic, magic origins, Magic the Gathering, MTG, origins, Simeon Cortezano
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts | No Comments »
This week in Magic: Back to Burn
Thursday, February 5th, 2015
It’s time for another installment of “This Week in Magic.” With the recent bannings in Modern, I’ve been having a tough time coming up with a deck I want to play. For a while, I was playing UR Delver like many other people, and like many, I had a very successful run with it. However, that is no longer the case and it’s almost like times have reverted back to pre-Khans of Tarkir periods with a a few exceptions.
First thing on the agenda is to figure out what I’m going to play. I don’t think it’s a terrible choice to go back to playing what I was playing before – Mono Red Burn. In fact, thanks to the recent bannings, it may have gotten better in a way. Before Treasure Cruise was removed from the picture, I had seen many Mono Red Burn lists forcing the card into the decklists. I tried it out myself. At that point, you might as well be playing UR Delver. However, without the Delver package, it had become a whole new beast. I felt it was trying to do too much.
Now that we know what we’re playing let’s take a look at a sample decklist.
Mono Red Burn
4 Goblin Guide
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Monastery Swiftspear
3 Grim Lavamancer
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Shard Volley
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
4 Searing Blaze
4 Skull Crack
3 Flames of the Blood Hand
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mire
9 Mountain
1 Stomping Ground
When it comes to Mono Red Burn, I want to burn you as fast as possible. With such a low mana curve, I don’t want to risk any chance of flooding. In this case, I will gladly go with an 18 land package. I feel that the eight fetchlands are self-explanatory. Not triggering the landfall on Searing Blaze is the worse thing that can happen to a Burn player. More importantly it helps fuel the fire for Grim Lavamancer.
Helping make sure that there is plenty of wood to burn for your Grim Lavamancer is very important because Affinity is sure to make a surge thanks to the recent bannings. Grim Lavamancer will be one of your keys to being successful on a consistent basis.
The biggest change from the list I ran at GP Boston last summer has to be the Monastery Swiftspear. Some would consider her to be better than the Goblin Guide. However, I say we take the best of both worlds and run them together. There is a catch though. When it comes to running the Swiftspear, I feel that it’s important to remember that it’s okay to swing with her as a 1/2. When you start pouring your instant spells into her just to make her bigger, you begin to put yourself at a disadvantage. If you have patience with her, she’ll take you a long way.
For the most part, the deck hasn’t really changed. We’ve added a creature to the list and cut down on one burn spell. Khans of Tarkir and Fate Reforged didn’t help us out either way. One thing you may have all been wondering about is why is there a long Stomping Ground? This is for the multiple copies of Destructive Revelry that will most likely go in the side board. Speaking of side board, let’s take a look at the rest of our possible side.
2 Blood Moon
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Combust
2 Torpor Orb
4 Searing Blood
3 Destructive Revelry
Thanks to the bannings Junk is set to take the number one spot in Modern. A big reason is due to Siege Rhino. It was one of the biggest reasons why Birthing Pod began to get out of hand. There was a reason Birthing Pod changed it’s name to Rhino Pod.
I’m not going to get into too much detail here, but this side board is pretty versatile against different versions of Junk. Blood Moons are pretty good here, but are not completely necessary for the matchup. Keep in mind, though, we are dealing with a deck that is greedy when it comes to it’s mana. While it doesn’t need to, it wants to hit that third color. Combust will be one of our best removal spells against Siege Rhino. As for Torpor Orb, this is another card that is not necessary, but can still help the cause by stopping those Siege Rhino activations.
Surprisingly enough, Relic of Progenitus is a solid choice to bring in here. While Burn decks can typically outburn a Tarmogoyf, having a backup plan is still nice. Not to mention Scavenging Ooze could potentially be a problem. Relic can help make sure the graveyards are clear of any creatures. Once an Ooze gets going it can be a little hard to stop.
I feel Mono Red is poised to be one of the top decks, again, in Modern. Any deck that has a high chance to play a turn one fetchland, into an untapped shock land, followed by casting Thoughtseize is our best friend. Sadly, not everyone will be playing Junk. If Affinity makes a move for the top, that’s when Mono Red Burn players will have to be concerned. This has always been a coin flip in my experience. Nonetheless, have confidence in your play and you’ll be just fine.
Well that’s it for now. I hope you all enjoyed this week’s topic and if there is a specific topic you’d like me to cover, then let me know.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: Modern, mono red burn, Simeon Cortezano
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts | 3 Comments »
This week in Magic: A Reforged Standard format
Thursday, January 29th, 2015
Welcome back to another “This week in Magic.” I hope many of you who live on the East Coast had a wonderful experience during the Blizzard. I, for the most part, sat back and thought about Magic. What exactly did I think about? I mostly reflected upon how much Fate Reforged has changed the face of Standard (and in some instances, Modern as well). With a major tournament also in the books, players have a clearer idea as to what the competitive meta may look like going forward.
Sultai Control
For those of you who don’t know. Starcitygames held another Standard open series this past weekend in Washington, D.C. This was a pretty important event, and, based on the results, a lot of interesting things happened. The biggest headline would have to be that Abzan did not take the top spot at the end of the tournament. Instead, players found Sultai Control piloted by familiar pro, Gerard Fabiano. Unlike the Sultai Whip decks we had been used to seeing in Khans, Sultai has gone full control thanks to the introduction of Fate Reforged.
So what exactly caused the change? The introduction of a Black board sweeper has really changed how things are approached in Standard. In addition to the Black board wipe, Ugin has made its presence known in control decks who look to go the distance in their plans. The new Sultair Control deck reminds me of a BUG Superfriends deck. It looks like the point of the decks is to keep the board as clear as possible for as long as possible. All the while, you’re setting your board up to ultimate Kiora and start making little 9/9s at the end of every turn.
A new Boat Brew
Another deck that may be emerging is a new version of Boat Brew. If you know me at all or know anyone who knows me, then you should know I am a big fan of Boat Brew. Back in the day, Boat Brew was a fun RW deck (originally designed by Brian Kowal) that played small, super efficient creatures combined with a fun-loving burn package and a key card known as Reveillark. It was quite the aggro deck and certainly made some people furious.
While the present version of the deck doesn’t have Reveillark to really abuse the deck, the rest of the cast can hold it’s own. Today you have creatures like Soulfire Grandmaster and Monastery Mentor who can make and break games on their own. Together, this duo make for a killer combo.
Abzan Aggro
For the most part, Abzan Aggro didn’t change very much. However, it welcomed, with arms wide open, it’s newest cast member: Tasigur, the Golden Fang. So what’s so special about Tasigur? Some of you may recall a card from Khans by the name of Hooting Mandrils. This card was so popular that some professionals tried to find numerous ways to fit it their Standard deck. Now players have Tasigur. She may cost the same, but her added defense and ability now make her worthwhile.
UB Control
This past weekend I played in another PPTQ. This time I decided to pilot UB Control. There was huge catch to this though. I wasn’t able to get my hands on any Crux’s. So I found myself in quite a bit of a bind. I ended up playing the older lists which contained four copies of Perilous Vaults. I did, however, have a couple copies of the new planeswalker, Ugin. Ironically, he was easier to obtain than Crux of Fate.
Interestingly enough, it wasn’t so bad not playing any Crux’s. That’s not to say it was the right play. Having talked to many people at the event, it seems like a package of two Crux’s and three Perilous Vaults may be the way to go in the end. Although, after six rounds on Sunday, it may not be a crazy idea of main boarding multiple copies of Drown in Sorrow. Why main board Drown in Sorrow? First we can thank the emergence of the new Boat Brew. Secondly, the breakthrough of this new deck may be another good reason.
Temur Ascendancy combo
Just when you thought there was only one, a brand new combo has come bursting through the doors. This combo works via a Voyaging Satyr, a Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, an Ascendancy, and a Temur Sabertooth. The ultimate goal is to make unlimited mana by tapping your Nykthos, untapping it with your Voyaging Satyr, bouncing your Satyr with the use of the Sabertooth, and then replaying the Satyr. Then you simply repeat the step, make all the mana you want and the play your whole deck thanks to a Genesis Hydra.
The deck may not have made the Top 8, but it is still one you’ll have to look out for. It put up a legitimate performance and looks like a lot of fun to play.
Well that’s it for now. What do you think of the new face of Standard? Are there any new decks that you think were missed? If so, sound off below in the comment section and let us know!
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: Fate Reforged, Magic the Gathering, MTG, Simeon Cortezano, Standard
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts | 1 Comment »
This week in Magic: Feelings, Bannings, and PPTQS
Thursday, January 22nd, 2015
Welcome back to another “This week in Magic.” For our time together we’ll be covering several topics. To start things off let me share my experience at the first PPTQ held at the Abington store on January 11. On a Sunday, I felt we had a pretty good turn out. I can’t remember exactly how many people showed up, but I believe the attendance was somewhere around 50. I can definitely tell you there were six rounds of swiss with a cut to the Top 8.
Losing gracefully
The reason I want to share my experience at the PPTQ is because I was reminded about something important. As Magic players, I think it’s safe to say that we’re mostly competitive players by nature. By this I mean losing is not an option we take lightly. Winning is obviously preferred. If losing does happen, we’d rather not talk about it and, sometimes, we’d rather just move on.
However, at some point or another, we’re going to have to accept losing and take it with grace. In fact, it’s the only way, as players, we’re going to get better at the game. Let me pose a question to many of you out there. This question doesn’t just apply to those who play Magic. This question applies to anyone who plays any kind of game.
What tends to be your initial reaction when you lose? Do you rage and flip tables? Are you the type that suddenly becomes quiet and refuses to talk to even your closest friends? Well, whatever happens, I feel like keeping it in is the worst thing you can do.
I lost a close match at that PPTQ. Actually, I felt I should never have lost that match. I admit I went into thinking I was going to win, or at least, I should win. However, I also reminded myself of terrible past experiences where I lost matches to players who had only been playing for a couple of months.
When I lost that match, time stood still for me. I imagined flipping the table at screaming at the top of my lungs. Of course, in real life this didn’t happen. I kind of just stared off into the distance. All the while my opponent had continued to talk to me expressing how he thought he shouldn’t have won that game and how lucky he was to get such a “great opening hand.”
It’s time like that which are the most humbling. I may have been a little bit distant at the very end of that match. When it was all said and done, and my slip was passed in, my friends had come up to me and asked how my last match had gone. Obviously I had replayed some of the table flipping I imagined, but, in the end, I laughed and said, “I just got my butt whipped.”
Take your loss and move on. Why is losing so important? Losing makes you such a better player both in terms of play and sportsmanship.
Recent changes to banned/restricted list
In other news, Wizards of the Cost released their latest changes to the Banned/Restricted list for all formats. For those of you who may have missed the daily memo here is a breakdown of what happened:
- Modern – Treasure Cruise, Dig Through Time, and Birthing Pod were all banned. Golgari Grave-Troll was unbanned.
- Legacy – Treasure Cruise was banned. Worldgorger Dragon was unbanned.
- Vintage – Treasure Cruise was restricted. Gifts Ungiven is no longer restricted.
Standard players typically need not worry about these kind of rulings. Rarely have they been affected. However, as you can see, if you play an older format, then you may want to pay attention whenever these announcements come out.
I believe for a while we all knew out of Jeskai Ascendancy, Treasure Cruise, and Dig Through Time, that one of those was going to be banned. Right before the announcement was made, many people had made up their mind that the enchantment was most likely to get the axe. As we all know by now, this was not the case and the news certainly shook things up a bit.
Treasure Cruise is not a surprise. Like I said, it was one of three to be banned. Dig Through Time may have been a tiny bit surprising. I can see the banning of one card or the other, but to ban both at the same time caught me off guard. I can see it though. If you aren’t playing with one, you’re going to use the other. Each card has almost the same effect in regards to getting a player tons of information for a potentially small amount of mana. Banning both cards at the same time was probably the right choice.
As far as Birthing Pod is concerned, why wasn’t this banned earlier? Some may have felt that the people at Wizards needed a little more convincing. Well that certainly came in the form of Siege Rhino.
In the end, I understand why the bannings took place. It will definitely shake things up in Modern. As far as Legacy goes, I feel it just removes UR Delver from the equation. Which isn’t much if you ask me.
Upcoming events
As a quick wrap up, I just wanted to remind you all that this Friday, January 23, is the Fate Reforged Fatpack Challenge. These have been a great hit and a wonderful reason to open up more packs. So, if you think you have what it takes to take on the challenge, click here for more information about the event.
Finally, on January 25, there will be another PPTQ held at the Abington store. The format will be Standard. Doors open at 10 AM, Registration at 11 AM, and Round 1 Pairings at 12 PM. For more information on this event, click here.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: banned, Fat Pack Challenge, legacy, Modern, pPTQ, restricted, Simeon Cortezano, Vintage
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Events, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts | No Comments »
MTG ‘Fate Reforged’ Pre-orders: 24 Hours to Go!
Thursday, January 22nd, 2015
Only 24 hours left to pre-order the next set in the Khans of Tarkir block – Fate Reforged! Reserve products and single cards from this new set today and have then ready for you on January 23rd for either in-store pick up or shipped right to your front door!
Pre-order Fate Reforged Single Cards
Pre-order Fate Reforged Sealed Product
Fate Reforged pre-orders ship on Friday, January 23rd. Sealed product may not ship internationally. Orders containing pre-order items will not ship until the pre-order item becomes available.
Don’t forget to join us at either Battleground Games & Hobbies location TOMORROW for our high acclaimed Fat Pack Challenge event! Participants receive a Fate Reforged Fat Pack with which to build a 40-card deck and compete for some super-cool, exclusive prizes! Event begins promptly at 7:00 PM. Entry is just the cost of the Fat Pack. Join us! We look forward to seeing you there.
Tags: Event, Fat Pack Challenge, Fate Reforged, FRF, Magic the Gathering, MTG, New Release, Preorder, Tournament, Wizards of the Coast
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Events, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts, Store Related | No Comments »
Counterfeit ‘Magic’ Cards Found With New ‘M15’ Card Frame
Tuesday, January 20th, 2015
In an article published last Thursday by Boston Examiner featured writer David Leavitt for Examiner.com, Mr. Leavitt reported that a specific, unnamed company producing “high quality proxies” of Magic the Gathering card and selling them on their website, has found a way to reproduce the newly released Magic 2015 (M15) card face and foil stamp, including the new exclusive-to-Magic font.
Unfortunately, counterfeit Magic the Gathering cards isn’t a new thing. In January 2014, we reported that a company in China was found to be producing high quality fake Magic the Gathering cards (see “Counterfeit Magic the Gathering Cards Found“).
While this is certainly troubling, rest assured that Battleground Games & Hobbies takes counterfeit Magic the Gathering cards very seriously. All single cards are always very closely examined to ensure their authenticity; and we only order sealed product from reputable sources. In addition, in the event we find counterfeit cards, they are immediately destroyed.
Should you ever encounter counterfeit cards or have a questions about the authenticity of a card, please do not hesitate to ask us to help! Please, always report counterfeit cards to Wizards of the Coast at investigations@wizards.com. Please be sure to read Wizards of the Coast’s official statement with regards to fake cards. For more information about how to spot fake cards, please click here.
To read Mr. Leavitt’s article in it’s entirety, including pictures and a detailed interview with the individual claiming to produce these new counterfeit cards, please click here.
Source: “Counterfeit ‘Magic: The Gathering’ cards being produced in new ‘M15’ card frame” by David Leavitt
Tags: Counterfeit, David Leavitt, Examiner, Fakes, Magic the Gathering, MTG, Wizards of the Coast
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts | 1 Comment »
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