Magic the Gathering Deckbuilder's Toolkit 2.0

So last year if anyone recalls the magic the gathering deck builder's tool kit which featured 285 random cards and 4 packs of the latest standard material will rejoice since the fact they are making it once again for all the usual standard elements, according to rumours there is the following few details known

• Semi Randomized Cards suitable for several magic decks.
• Four 16 card booster packs from various current sets.
• Strategy Insert with deck ideas and a how to build a good magic deck.
• Learn to Play Insert
• Magic Branded storage card box that is reusable.

This particular kit will contain Magic 2011 booster packs, Scars of Mirrodin and Mirrodin Besieged and is on sale as of 03/11/11 this year so i imagine the price will be able 20 dollars for all this stuff, the official card box image is below for those curious as well.

I know i have been waiting for this one for a while and i wondered if they were going to continue the success of the magic deck builder's toolkit which seemed like it was never going to happen, however it would seem wizards has finally decided to give fans what they want and this i feel is a perfect way to start, though the booster pack ratio is unknown as of yet, i anticpate at least 4 good booster packs regardless of what they are, so that's all for now just a short piece of news for those curious, till the next article this is vergil signing off.

Casual Deck Examination #3 U/W Fish in a Barrel

So for this edition of the casual deck examination i'll be looking at the 3rd of the many decks i have created in the past few months, which is merfolk a white/blue build which has many strategies possible due to the sideboard of this deck being so versatile, but let us discuss the main deck first shall we?


Creatures = 22
3 Mirror Entity
4 Grimore Thief
4 Drowner of Secrets
3 Sygg, River Guide
4 Stonybrook Schoolmaster
4 Judge of Currents

Spells = 16
4 Merrow Commerce
4 Mana Leak
4 Oblivion Ring
1 Intruder Alarm
3 Opposition

Lands = 22
4 Terramorphic Expanse
10 Plains
8 Island

Sideboard
2 Summon the School
3 Ink Dissolver
2 Lord of Atlantis
4 Merrow Rejerrey
1 Sygg, River Guide

Now the only real rares for the deck are Lord of Atlantis, Sygg and the Grimoire Thief, Intruder alarm which is a singleton copy and Opposition which has 3 copies in this deck, it's basically a lock down deck which features a lot of token generators, protection abilites and counterspells to boot, the basis of the deck is to draw out the game and make it go as long as possible while keeping the pace up as a mid to late game deck, this is a great multiplayer deck since you can lock down opponent's creatures and lands forcing them to concede their turn and pass it back to you via Opposition, the Lord and Rejerrey are sideboarded for a quick alpha strike deck due to the fact the rejerrey can untap stuff like lands and allow you to play more spells that very same turn, while leaving mana leak available at all times, a full set of Sygg, River Guide is needed for the deck since it protects your merfolk all the time and prevents targeting effects like Bolt, and all of that stuff from even hitting your fish, Mirror Entity is also a prominent finisher for the deck to dump all your mana into and make your dudes bigger as well for alpha strikes that are unblockable, espically sygg.

The uncommons are plentiful in this deck as Rejerrey aside there is also Drowner of Secrets which can mill you opponent down, Merrow Commerce to untap all your dudes after attacking and even stack the abilites of several copies of commerce in one turn to make a opponent beg for mercy. Summon the school in the sideboard to make a lot of dudes as well and allow opposition to be used a lot more, though there is a lot of tricks to the deck, infinte combos are also plentiful for this one.

The first combo of the deck is infinte creatures which utlilizes Intruder Alarm and Stonybrook Schoolmaster to basically make all the dudes you need for the game, the second combo also works with Intruder Alarm and  Schoolmaster but Drowner of Secrets is key to this one as you can mill your oppponent to infinte and win the game via this method, this deck is very verstaile and allows for a wide range of strategies to be played in the early to late game. Commons in this deck are plentiful as Schoolmaster, Judge of Currents, Mana Leak, O-Ring and even Ink Dissolver are perfect for the deck, they allow me to switch on the fly with what strategy my opponent is playing during the early 7 or 8 turns of the game if i have them in play, basically making opponents draw but not play a damned thing since all their good stuff is in the bin. This deck will roughly cost about 80-90 to build and that's not including sleeves for the deck, since most of the stuff here has phased out it's pretty cheap and effective for those budget builders, so till next time this is vergil saying merfolk are always plentiful and remember if you can't make a dude to chump block you probably are gonna lose, see you next time.

March 2011 Friday Night Magic Promo Card: Wall of Omens

So as is the case with every single promotion card wizards brings out the news is as follows, for those wondering what the march promo for the year is it is Wall of Omens, featuring the usual FNM symbol in the back of text box and the ever present new art for the card, as usual it's a short one this time around but i figured i'd show this off for those curious.

As you can see since wall of omens was a popular card it was the selected choice for a FNM promo card due to the fact it's original art seen here below was pretty interesting.

Howard Lyon did the art for the FNM promo and the original art was done by James Paick, so i will leave you to gaze at the glory of this card for the next while, this is vergil signing off from another shorty.

Casual Deck Examination: #2 Red/Green Eldrazi Ramp

So for this edition of the casual deck examination i'll be taking a look at the second of my casual decks and explaining to you the basics of how it works, this casual deck is known as Red/Green Eldrazi Ramp and the list is below


Lands = 23
3 Evolving Wilds
13 Mountain
7 Forest

Creatures = 15
4 Wall of Tanglecord
4 Vent Sentinel
4 Overgrown Battlement
1 Emraukl, the Aeons Torn
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre

Spells = 22
4 Burst Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Searing Blaze
4 Pyroclasm
4 Cultivate
2 Explore

Sideboard = 15
4 Naturalize
2 Fireball
2 Comet Storm
3 Flameblast Dragon
4 Arcbound Crusher

It's very simple to understand a ramp deck, get up to the mana you want say on turn 7 or 8 cast your eldrazi and it's over, i have one copy of each of the eldrazi legends in this deck and each one of their abilites is very useful in a casual multiplayer game, of course let me explain why. Ulamog and Kozilek are the backbone of the deck one blows up things, one draws me cards, allowing for a reload of my hand, all the while Emrakul, gives me a extra turn, allowing me to basically win the game on a single swing since most opponent's are down to a low life total by the time he enters the battlefield, these are the only three real rares this deck contains for a specific reason and each one is pretty costly these three alone usually end up being about half of the deck price in a single shot.'

Uncommons are plentiful in this deck ranging from Vent Sentinel, Pyroclasm for those pesky white weenie spells and arcbound crusher for the sideboard, the rest of the deck is pretty standard, sideboarding Flameblast dragon to dump all that excess mana into and win games as fast, as well as throwing fireballs at your opponent's face for maximum damage with all the excess mana you'd have by turn 6 or 7 most games, did i mention you can recycle these cards as well, thanks to the eldrazi's special abilites so you can use them over and over and over again till you win the game, protection from mill and decking elements are needed to run this deck effectively and the eldrazi provide a screen for just that, i also threw a few comet storm for the sideboard and some naturalize to deal with pesky enchantments like Honor of the Pure, Oblivion ring and even Journey to nowhere which are a real threat to the deck as a whole.

The land base is pretty basic 3 evolving wilds, some basic mountains and forests, nothing too big, i know i could use some manlands but that not gonna happen anytime soon, Raging Ravine is nice and all but not a decent fit for this deck since speed is key. you wanna try a 2 land hand and fix the mana via Explore, Overgrown battlement or throwing out a 0/6 blocker that can block air dudes in the form of Wall of Tanglecord, most games though you win via Vent Sentinel so it's always nice to have a backup for the deck in the form of the eldrazi. Some basic burn including Bolt, Searing Blaze and of course Burst Lightning to dump mana into for it's kicker cost and the overall mana fixer of the deck most times is a turn 3 cultivate which brings two lands into play one on the field one in your hand and if you didn't play a land that turn boom there is land no 5 on turn 3, it's a massive accelerant that has won me many a game and deal with some serious bad mother jammer threats and saved my bacon a dozen times over at this point, overall this deck is pretty hot and cost effective for the most part, this deck will probably run you about 70 dollars with sleeves included if your lucky, a great multiplayer build for those casual players and a nice pick up and play for those budget standard builders all except the sideboard of course, till next time this is vergil signing off.

MTG Set Review #6 Mirrodin Besieged

So as per usual of any set usually about 3 or 4 weeks after it's release it is time to review the second set of the scars of mirrodin block, Mirrodin Besieged, 155 cards with 10 basic lands, two rare lands and over 40 different artifacts to choose from in this set, Mirrodin Besieged is the small set of this year's fall block with the third set to be just a tad larger at 175 cards. So as always it is time to take a look at the mechanics of this new set and see what it brings to the table, so let us begin.

The first brand new mechanic of the set is Battle Cry, now battle cry is very simple to understand when a creature with this ability attacks every other attacking creature gains a +1/+0 bonus and each battle cry does stack, so if you had 4 creatures with battle cry everything would get a +4/+0 for none battle cry creatures and battle cry creatures would get a +3/+0 bonus, it is a very simplistic ability and a nice combat trick to understand however there is one slight problem if battle cry gave a bonus to toughness it would make things a little easier to manage but not to complain this is a decent Mirran ability and is a nice change to the usual metalcraft or anything of that nature, but again so few cards in this set got this ability, there were a total of 7 cards in this set which recieved this ability two mythics, Hero of Oxid Ridge, Hero of Bladehold, Accorder Paladin, Kuldotha Ringleader, Goblin Wardriver, Loxodon Partisan and Signal Pest. Each one of these cards is good do not get me wrong but battle cry is a weak ability compared to the next one i am going to speak of and that is Living Weapon.

Living Weapon is a phyrexian based ability which applies to all phyrexian equipment pretty much, when a equipment with this ability hits the battlefield, it generates a 0/0 germ token and the equipment attaches itself to that germ token, giving it whatever abilites the equipment has, plus when the token dies from a removal spell or anything in general the equipment remains on the field and is then able to be attached to something else a bigger better creature.Only 5 cards from this set received this new ability and they are Bonehoard, Flayer Husk, Mortarpod. Skinwing and Strandwalker. This ability was pretty good for mostly anything and Bonehoard has turned out to be a very decent equipment since it determines the number of creatures in all graveyards then it gives a +X/+X where X is the number of creatures in all graveyards along with generating a 0/0 ooze token, so in essence i say phyrexia got the better of the two new abilites for this set.

Of course since this is a scars block set, Infect, proliferate and Metalcraft have returned for a second go around, we all know their specifics by now do we not so let's not dwell on that and move straight into the mythics of the set, shall we?

10 mythic rares, that's how many were in this set, Hero of Bladehold, Hero of Oxid Ridge, Tezzert, Agent of Bolas, Glissa the Traitor, Blightsteel Colossus, Consecrated Sphinx, Massacre Wurm, Thrun, the Last Troll, Sword of Feast and Famine and of course Praetor's Council. Each one of these were interesting to say the least, we got 2 new legends out of this set, a new walker in the form of Tezzert and a bunch of interesting mythics including the Hero of Bladehold and the Hero of Oxid Ridge which i intend to discuss, Each color at least got one mythic rare since there were only 19 cards per color so it did not get shafted that badly however some mythics were less appealing to others, including Glissa and Praetor's Council which has hardly seen a lot of play these days in major events like the pro tour or even a Grand Prix. Some of these mythics though like the sword and Tezzert have some prices rise from a instant showing off in a tournament to winning tournaments, as we've seen already in the first 3 weeks since mirrodin besieged first came out. While most of these mythics are powerful some are just broken including Blightsteel Colossus which i've talked about before and Massacre Wurm, he's just nuts the instant he enters the battlefield, overall it makes the mythic rares more interesting for a smaller set then say a big set like Scars of Mirrodin since there are fewer but there are a lot more things to say bout these mythic rare cards.

The rest of the breakdown for the block was pretty much similar with commons receiving a total of 60 commons, 40 uncommons and 35 rares for the set, making this one of the heaviest small set rare blocks in a while, 10 basic lands with 2 other lands, one for each side made this seem a tad more interesting, i am partially glad i decided to review this set after all, since of course i am enjoying seeing how things turn out in the next while, well that's all she wrote for this one and remember kiddies, if someone comes knocking on your door and they are part machine smack them in the face with a stick, only kidding till next time this is vergil signing off.

Casual Deck Examination: #1 Esper White/Blue/Black

So for the duration of the article i'm going to go over a casual deck i've build in the recent month or so, due to the fact we've got a group going at a local store called 401 games where we meet one day a week and just chill and hang out while playing magic this is the start of the analysis of the decks i run while just playing casual starting with a successful deck of mine Esper Ala A Mode [Version 2 Revived] let's break the list out shall we?


Creatures = 22
4 Darklit Gargoyle
4 Tower Gargoyle
2 Sharding Sphinx
2 Sphinx Summoner
4 Court Homunclus
3 Sanctum Gargoyle
3 Master of Etherium

Support = 14
3 Infest
4 Counterspell
4 Esper Charm
3 Celestial Purge

Lands = 23
4 Arcane Sanctum
2 Esper Panorama
2 Creeping Tar Pit
5 Islands
6 Plains
4 Swamp

Now i get the fun part of going over why each of the cards are here, first let's take a look at the rares for the deck in the form of Master of Etherium, Sphinx Summoner and of course Sharding Sphinx, The Master of Etherium should be pretty obvious it makes dudes bigger and the more artifacts you control the bigger it gets, at a 3 CMC creature it's a beast when it hits the board along side a turn 2 Court Homunclus swinging in for a beatstick with 3 or perhaps a turn 2 Darklit Gargoyle swinging in for 3, most of the time though it ends up being 3 points of damage on turn 3 when this is brought out, 3 points in the air no less, that's why this deck is good it has plenty of evasion and eventually provides a lot of dudes that are decent power and toughness.

Next it's onto my favorite rare of the deck Sharding Sphinx at a whopping 6 mana cost this dude is a beast for what you pay for, fetch him turn 5 with Summoner and play him turn 6 swing with all your dudes make chump blockers as well when you deal combat damage it's a boss card which should not be overlooked when it enters the battlefield as a 4/4 flyer it's basically a token generator and would provide a decent amount of little 1/1 dudes for it's cost, it's basically a smaller version of Thopter Assembly which was recently introduced in standard with the latest set of Mirrodin Besieged. Though it's still vunerable to removal spells like Day of Judgement, Wrath of God and even Swords to Plowshares, it's still a decent card when you get down to it and would be the annoyance of any opponent this deck ends up facing.

Sphinx Summoner or as i like to call it, mr fetch any artifact in the deck is a decent rare himself a 3/3 body and when it hits the board it fetches a dude of your choice aka Sharding. Master or even a 4/4 Tower Gargoyle. underrated though as he is this is perhaps the single greatest threat in the deck as it's fetching ability means those valuable slots for cards like Demonic Tutor, Diabolic Tutor or even Vampiric Tutor are rendered useless though it could only fetch artifacts half this deck is artifacts so there is no need for concern. Again it may die quick but there is always a way to bring it back in the form of Sanctum Gargoyle to annoy your opponent and fetch your tower gargoyles or even another Sharding Sphinx.

The uncommons for the deck are pretty basic, Infest to sweep the board when your dudes are big enough, white weenie hates board sweepers, Sanctum Gargoyle for recursion, tower gargoyle for a beatstick, with a decent amount of commons to back em up in the forms of Darklit Gargoyle, Court and even Esper Charm, Purge and Counterspell for those little control elements, but your probably saying but vergil why no mana leak it's 1 and a blue instead of a double blue, i want to stop a threat before it hits the board not have to worry bout when a opponent decides to pay 3 mana to counter the mana leak, plain and simple.

Lands are a key factor here with 2 Creeping Tar Pit to spend that mana on once in a while and make a 3/2 unblockable beatstick, Esper Panorama to provide the mana fix and even some Arcane Sanctum to fix the mana further, with some basics as the targets for the Panorama's it's pretty basic and this deck can be easily constructed for about less then 50 or 60 bucks these days, depending if you do not already have all the cards, this is a beast of a multiplayer deck and allows you to sit back and make threats while your opponents take on each other, though there are a few issues this deck is pretty solid in the long run and is a lot of fun to play, hope you enjoyed the insight of a man whom used to play competitve and now has just stopped playing competitions to have a little fun since that's what the game is all about, till next time this is vergil saying, Artificers are your best friend in casual build don't be afraid, this is vergil signing off.

Duel Deck: Knights Vs Dragons Talk

Knights vs dragons again vergil are you kidding me, no i am not, in fact i would go so far to say that this is proving to me that duel decks these days are beginning to be worth it, let me explain to you why this is so, well yesterday it was revealed that Knight of the Reliquary and Bogardan Hellkite were going to be the mythics for this particular duel deck, both with brand new stunning arts as featured below for KOTR anyways.

It also means that KOTR is going to be upgraded from a regular rare to a mythic rare as we all know during the Conflux days it was just a regular rare in a small set, nowadays we've seen KOTR going for a good chunk of change, mind you he's outta standard but still it's a good chunk of change, though no hellkite preview art has been officially unveiled we will soon see how it goes for a fact, though i do wanna see how this particular dragon art is done.

So time to talk bout the decks themselves, each one will have 60 cards with 5 rares and 1 mythic rare totalling up to 12 different decent cards when you purchase the duel deck which will go on sale as of April 1st and Cost a MSRP of $19.99 and will be available in 5 different languages as always with any duel deck, English, Spanish, German, French and Italian. though anyone who's anyone knows what Knight of the Reliquary does it is still a bad mother jammer of a card even in a extended format with lands being sacrificed left and right. Lists for the decks have yet to be revealed however we still have over a month before the product's official release date and believe me when the product is released i'll be one of the many people whom review this duel deck, i believe copysix will also being doing this since this is a piece of magic related news but then again that is just me overall i look forward to buying this on april fools day which is also a family birthday for me to celebrate yes one of my family was born on april 1st so sue me, anyhoo it's time i cut this article's strings till next time, stay frosty and remember, when you untap your lands, draw a card metaphorically speaking, this is vergil signing off.

Duel Decks: Ajani vs Nicol Bolas Speculation

Well it's that time again and this week it would seem wizards has finally let the cat out of the bag with the latest duel deck, Ajani Goldmane vs Nicol Bolas, 2 60 card decks with both walkers in foil art, so we can expect to see a mono white build vs Blue/Black/Red since that's the colors represented in this particular duel deck, let's look at the picture below shall we to examine just what the hell is going on here.

As you can clearly see the war bewteen these two walkers has been taken to a new level, on the plane of alara, so we can expect one hell of a battle can't we, but what's this there is more then meets the eye, the price and release date have also been announced here but for those lazy i'll post it below Duel Deck Announcement

MSRP: $19.99
Release Date: September 2nd, 2011
Ships in: English, French, Spanish, Italian and German

Now this particular duel deck may end up having some grixis element to it but i'm sure when the decklists are revealed we will know full well what the hell is going on here, sorry for a short article again however this piece of news was noteworthy of being the 101st article for here, so till next time this is vergil signing off.

Mirrodin Besieged Event Decks

So a lot of people already know about this but i figured it should be talked about by me today, since the most recent MTG arcana has shown the lists for these event decks, the decklist names are Into the Breach which is the mono red list name and Infect and Defile which is the Blue/Black list so let's see what those lists are shall we?


2 Goblin Bushwhacker
2 Goblin Guide
4 Goblin Wardriver
1 Iron Myr
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
1 Spikeshot Elder

2 Darksteel Axe
2 Devastating Summons
2 Galvanic Blast
4 Kuldotha Rebirth
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Panic Spellbomb

21 Mountain
1 Contested War Zone

SIDEBOARD
2 Act of Treason
4 Goblin Ruinblaster
2 Into the Core
1 Leyline of Punishment
4 Searing Blaze
2 Unstable Footing

This is the mono red list and it's a real doozy of a list, it has basically all of Kuldotha red's list in it and features almost all of the cards in that original list, did i mention these decks were going to be slated at 24.99 per deck so you get what you pay for and precons no longer suck thank you wizards for desigining this deck at least, moving onto the second one and it's also pretty good.


4 Corpse Cur
4 Necropede
2 Phyrexian Vatmother
4 Plague Myr

2 Consuming Vapors
2 Contagion Clasp
4 Corrupted Conscience
2 Deprive
1 Doom Blade
4 Foresee
1 Hand of the Praetors
2 Mana Leak
3 Preordain
2 Smother

10 Island
7 Swamp
2 Drowned Catacomb
4 Jwar Isle Refuge

SIDEBOARD
3 Deathmark
1 Doom Blade
3 Flashfreeze
2 Go for the Throat
4 Negate
2 Smother

Yes you see that right, 2 phyrexian vatmother and a Hand of the Praetors included in this list, perhaps the best two infect cards to come out yet, i mean this precon is also pretty damned good it's got doom blades go for the throat in the sideboard and even 2 of the M11 dual lands overall making it a pretty forseeable force in the future for precons to be good again like they were in the old days.

Now let's go over the lists for them as a examiner, there could be some slight changes to the 2nd list by moving out a smother for like another Preordain but that's just me, the 1st list is perfect in my eyes, it's interchangeable and even has a overall feel for magic players to be decent again, if you're looking to get back into the game i think this is a good starting point for those whom want to play again anyhoo another shorty today cause really this was the only thing worth talking about, plus i'm trying to find a lot more subjects to write bout for here, till next time this is vergil signing off.

Mirrodin Besieged Game Day Choose a Side Promos

So today's arcana which you can read here ---> Action's First cards has revealed pictures of the two promotion cards you will receive if you contain a affilated deck with either the mirran side which rewards a pristine talisman or the phyrexian side which rewards a Suture Priest which is a combination of both, Blood Seeker and Soul Warden, each of course has their own affilated watermark with their respective factions and their set symbol. Though as we know wizards has already decided the outcome of the war and is just waiting for the proper time to reveal the set name so the spoiler season can begin anew for the third and final set of this fall block which comes out this may.

Over the course of the article i will be talking about the various elements of the game day event and what to expect since it is a standard event, so let's begin.

Now game day has always been about various things, showing off the new products as well as the fact there are awesome game day promotions cards to follow such as the Treasure Mage and of course the obvious top 8 card which is going to Black Sun's Zenith, both provided in full art but the cards i'm going to spoil today are completely different these are the final arts for both Suture Priest and of course Pristine Talisman.

Both cards contain their respective set symbol as well as the faction symbol making them legit for showing off,  before you ask though yes, the cleric is way better since it's a creature, but the talisman is nice since it gets you ahead in mana and provides a point of life. Game day though is always set a month after the new release of a set and is the first real chance outside of a pro tour or grand prix to get used to the standard enviroment which will feature some effective standard decks but there is another thing i want to talk about the game day starter decks which will be coming out later this month and will be set at a reasonable price of about 24.99 per starter deck containing 60 cards and even has a 15 card sideboard with a spindown life counter in it.

Though i will be talking about those lists in another article i just wanted to add that in so that is all for now and enjoy the article, see you next time this is vergil signing off.

Standard Weigh In Part 1: Price Guide and the basics to look out for

So in this edition of the my articles i'll be weighing in on standard prices today and how they affect the average magic player, including what cards are super powerful and their costs as well as other things, so as always let's begin with a serious bang.

The first key word is price in this article as most standard casual cards range from 50 cents to about 2.50 depending on where you live, however here in ontario due to the Harmonized Sales Tax in effect costs of those cards are also taxed for single purchases as well as booster pack purchases let's say you are looking for a full playset of Memnite now starcitygames has it listed as a 2 dollar card while channelfireball has it also listed as 2 dollars in price and each foil memnite according to starcitygames costs 5.49 cents while the price according to starcitygames is listed as 5.99 so there is a difference in price for the foil versions of this card, though it's not that bad a difference by only 50 cents, if you purchase it from a store in ontario however you'll be charged 13 cents per dollar for each dollar of the cost of the product since it's a entertainment product and is charged under the manner, so in a sense you'll be paying a extra 78 cents per foil memnite and for a full playset you'll end up dishing out another 3.02 in price for the set along with the usual price of about 5.50 per so you'll be dishing out the cost of Koth of the Hammer for 4 cards which in the long run means you'll be basically buying 4 times the product for the exact same price as one of the other product.

Now i don't know how the taxes are in effect in other states/provinces here in north america but i do know that each card is priced a different range, espically cards which are out of standard, just the other week i ended up paying 4.50 for 2 Master of Etherium's when the card was 6 dollars per card when it was in standard at one point, so i was saving myself a good dollar and fifty cents easily by getting them out of the loop of course, those whom are looking to go for standard be warned it's not a cheap thing to get into, since the rise of prices in standard all thanks to M10 almost 2 years ago as of this point, card prices back then were quite expensive as you would end up paying out 50 dollars per Baneslayer Angel when it was first printed, nowadays though it costs about 12 dollars for a single copy of the card, so the price range has gone down since it has not seen a lot of standard play since it's inception, it may have won a tournament or two on the pro tour but it has yet to do anything to effect the game as a whole as of this point.

Another card in which to seriously look out for is Goblin Wardriver now you remember how it started as a mere 1 dollar uncommon well it's price as of this point has risen to a serious thing of about 2.50 since the last pro tour event which was this past weekend, now if that price turns you off then you'll hate the fact a full playset of Contested War Zone when they first came out was 16 dollars roughly, nowadays it's 20 dollars since the pro tour so standard events that are that big and influence a great deal of price points for the future of standard, which i think sucks but then again who am i to complain when i see Tezzert, Agent of Bolas who sits at 50 dollars as of right now, sorry copysix but i was right it would jump to higher then it started out as, for those whom don't pay attention standard itself is a costly thing and for those intending on getting into it, be warned it's not cheap and it has a huge price on it so start slow and learn your way round the game before going into a huge event like a PT or a GP, so till next time this is vergil signing off.

Tezzert, Agent of Bolas: Why are you so good in standard

That's right for this article tezzert agent of bolas will get a feature and believe me it's quite a long one, in the article i intend to discuss the fact he's popping up in every blue/black control build regardless, as well as the fact he's getting more expensive as the days go by, plus even give a little insight on what things may shape up to be like with another broken walker like him on the fields of the standard scene, so let's begin this little hell hole.

First i want to go over the price of this particular planeswalker, which recently has seen high rises of the 50 dollar mark for one copy of this card, it is that insane, for a card that has not seen a lot of tournament play except for perhaps the most recent stuff it sure is overpriced i mean the general idea of this card is it works with artifacts and what's better then artifacts, control and control as we may recall is slightly overpowered for it's time. Though i must admit seeing another small set walker like this take the standard field so quickly not even 2 weeks after it's official release date is quite surprising though kind of expected, plus most online retailers are settling for selling him at 50 to 60 dollars per copy these days, as was proven by starcitygames and channel fireball

I mean the list he's featured in is so broken, plenty of 1 or 2 drop artifacts leading into him ramping on turn 3 with cards like Sphere of the Suns or Prophetic Prism to get that extra card, then turn things into 5/5 attackers/blockers and sit back and let the rest get done, even digging in with his +1 ability to fetch extra artifacts when you've got enough to do the job, usually though 1 or 2 animated artifacts is enough to do the job in most cases so why do people play him, just to be competitve in most tournaments for crying out loud, he's gotta be the most broken walker besides Jace, the Mind Sculptor to even hit the standard scene, thank god jace is rotating out in 8 more months though. but to drop 200-250 bucks on a playset of these boys is ridiclous, standard is becoming the most expensive format to play in, thank god though for decks like White weenie and Kuldotha Red to balance out the field for those cheap builds otherwise this would end up being a game no one plays aside from competitve tournaments.

So i ask you people is it worth it to spend 200-250 bucks on a playset of Tezzert, Agent of Bolas when you could essentially make 3 really better aggro decks for that price, the answer is no not in my eyes when he drops and or if he drops in price to a cheap walker he might be worth it, but to those whom have him good luck, hold onto those copies and when september comes round sell em at a high price you'll make a decent buck, that's all for now on this little rant of the latest walker to come off wizard's of the coast's print line till next time this is vergil signing off.

Magic the Gathering News: Vol 3, FTV: Legends, Magic Weekend Paris and much much more.

Alright it's that time again and this monthly edition of the news, Volume 3 features some recent announcements from wizards of the coast, magic weekend paris edition that's right not a pro tour, but a full on magic weekend with GP's and a Pro Tour event the same weekend, along with follow up on news that is somewhat old and all but features a twist on the new set Mirrodin Besieged as well as a few other things so let's begin this edition of the magic news.

First on the block is the announcement i wasn't expecting another From the Vault, entitled From the Vault: Legends, 15 legendary cards all printed in the new black border style, 1 of these new cards is going to be a mythic from the next fall set, entitled "Shake" the price has been detailed at a mere 34 dollars and 99 cents US, which for us canadians is gonna be a little bit more expensive but not by much, though the artwork listed below is sure to tease and make anyone go goofy over this new From the Vault.

Now if this doesn't give a clue as to the first card in this set think of a powerful mage of Zhalfir that's right Teferi, if teferi isn't reprinted in this set i think most blue players will flip out but i digress when this comes out come August 26th, i will be sure to give my final thoughts on this particular from the vault.

Next on the list is the recent pro tour stop in paris france, which also coencides with a grand prix event the same weekend, so why is there two events running at the same time, i'll tell so they can name it Magic Weekend, along with the usual pro tour stop they are pulling everything out, even the player of the year race from last year is being live webcasted for all to see on the saturday of this event as a Best of 7 event as well as the normal pro tour event top 8 being webcasted on sunday with the highlights of the best of 7 event, so i'm sure that will be a good weekend for magic and we will finally learn whom the 2010 player of the year is it gonna be a american or a frenchman the world waits in anticpation of this excellent weekend for the answer to this question.

Since Mirrodin Besieged has arrived on store shelves not even a week ago there has been some buzz about one card in particular the Mythic Rare Blightsteel Colossus and the fact it's utterly broken let's look at it from a player's view say you have a 1/1 myr artifact token on your field and Shape Anew in your hand, you play shape anew sacrifice the artifact and search for your 11/11 beast infecter with trample known as Blightsteel Colossus. did i mention it is indestrucible too, so you technically cannot kill it with anything, broken much like Darksteel Colossus before it and believe me it's one swing and your dead because of infect when you see something that ends games with a swing of a attack you know it's broken much like Emraukl, The Aeons Torn before it or even it's predecessor Darksteel Colossus so you tell me is the Blightsteel Colossus too broken for standard play, leave a comment below.

Finally on the list of things to talk about, Mirrodin Besieged game day is coming up and it is scheduled for the 6th of March, check your local store for information on this event, it welcomes two event decks which are sure to be unique in their own ways and has a few surprises in store, in the picture below are the two promo cards, one for competing in the event and one for making the top 8 of the event.

Now i like the full art cards as much as the next person but this is ridiculous but i'm sure there are those whom would disagree with me on this matter, so i'll leave it at that as the game day event is sure to make a big impact on what decks will be played in the coming months, so till next time folks this is vergil signing off and saying have a nice day.