Magic the Gathering News Vol 8: Innistrad, Dark Ascension, Comic Con Wrap Up

Hello all and welcome to the 8th edition of Magic News via the emporium as usual, this monthly edition will cover Magic 2012's arrival onto the scene, Innistrad news and rumours and Dark Ascension which is scheduled to be the small set of Innistrad block scheduled for release next Feburary so let's begin with a look back at M12 as a whole

Magic 2012 brought with it a few new terms and a change to what we know today as Shroud and Leaving the Battlefield turning into Hexproof and Dies, that's not all it brought, we also saw new incarnations of Jace, Chandra and Garruk along with the return of Gideon and Sorin as the core set walkers of choice for the respective colors, after a few weeks magic 2012 has impacted quite a few things, changed some decks altogether, made new decks out of existing cards and brought back a old mechanic known as Bloodthirst from the ravnica block which is a nice change since last year's core set consisted of Scry cards, this year seems to be focused on the Black/Red bloodthirst style deck with the return of my favorite Lorwyn block common Ponder not because of how powerfully good the card was, but how well it got you good cards to use on turn 1, drafting of the core set has never been better as most players are returning find a certain familarity to the core set as a whole with returning commons and now being uncommons like Sengir Vampire and Shock being ever present in this year's post rotation. Magic 2012 has been a long time coming and i was personally glad to see the return of some old favorites, new cards which may end up impacting other formats and well just overall balance in terms of power levels of specific cards, remember folks we have 2012 and 2011 for the next 2 months in standard don't be afraid to use 2011's cards in existing decks till rotation if not just to make space.

Innistrad had a bit of a reveal at comic con in san diego recently with the release of new information, here is what we know so far, 2 planeswalkers will be present in this set, we are going to have dual colored mythical creatures like Werewolves, Ghosts etc, the card from the newest from the vault has yet to be spoiled, which is supposed to be a mythic level card, Lillana is confirmed to be in this set for the most part, we have yet to see proof she is but i would like to believe she is, this set is going to be the largest set we've seen in a long time, with the last largest set being Time Spiral if memory serves me correctly, if i am wrong please don't hesitate to tell me, i'm not going to fact check this fully i'm just using my memory of past sets to determine this fact. The amount of cards for the set is scheduled to be 264 cards, with about 16 mythics i would think for a set of this size, multicolor cards are abound and old types of creatures not used for horror themed sets will probably see a return, in other words, we don't know much bout innistrad at this point other then that, we do know that it is going to be huge and will impact standard for sure as expected.

Recently set number 2 of the innistrad block was revealed and it's known as Dark Ascension which is the small set of this particular block, for the official arcana announcement please go here for the full information
---> Dark Ascension Announcement which contains all the set information, even though it was first revealed at Comic Con this year, the official announcement for this set was revealed the monday after the event which as of this writing was about 6 days ago. Even though comic con didn't give us much else about this, except for a few pieces of art and the basic set information, i can tell you it drops on Feburary 3rd 2012, has a total set number of a 158 cards and may end up featuring a new sorin based on the art, we will have to wait and see of course.

Finally Comic Con 2011 is over and the wizards official panel happened twice in the 5 day span of the event, we got a taste of what's going down in From the Vault: Legends, we also got a taste of Innistrad's new stuff which is dual colored tribal theme along with stuff we've not seen before in magic, we've also got our hands on the ability to check out some of the cool products wizards is going to be sporting in the next 12 months, one of them being the new premium deck series Graveborn which i talked about already, before i make this article sound boring as hell, let me remind you that there are only a few more things to be released magic wise this year, one of them being the first set of the new block Innistrad, with a duel deck, a premium deck series and From the Vault: Legends left to go according to the chart for this year, well that's it for me for this time, this is vergil signing off for the month of July 2011, see you next magic news where i can finally talk about FTV: Legends in full glorious detail.

From the Vault: Legends Update, Reprints and old Friends

Hello everyone and welcome back to another edition of the Emporium, today's big thing is going to be all about the upcoming From the Vault: Legends and what we will see in it come it's arrival, we already know of Progenitus, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, Kresh the Bloodbraided, Rafiq of the Many and Sharrum the Hegemon well two more legends were confirmed at the San Diego Comic Con magic the gathering panel most recently, one of them is a old Portal 3 Kingdoms rare and the other is a old treefolk let's see the cards i'm talking about

Yes both Sun Quan, Lord of Wu and Doran, the Siege Tower are the newest additions of From the Vault: Legends which goes on sale in August, now let's examine both of these decisions from a price standpoint, Sun Quan is currently a 29 dollar card, while Doran the Explorer is about a 6 dollar card, so it balances itself out perfectly, both of these cards will be in foil when this is printed, for perhaps the first time ever, so we now know 7 out of the 15 cards in FTV: Legends and are sure to find out more in the coming weeks before this product is put on store shelves in august.

I would personally say this is a good choice to include a popular Black/Green/White legend in this set since the only other one printed thus far has been a certain dragon from time spiral, so this is good to see this getting foiled along with the horsemanship dude, tommorow i will most likely talk about the whole innistrad shenigans that happened at Comic Con and it's next set which is now known as Dark Ascension, till next time this is vergil signing off

General Musings on New Decks: Post Rotation U/B/R Tezzert

Hello everyone and welcome back to the 5th edition of General Musings, where i vergil focus on current standard builds and how they will be affected for post rotation, this edition we will focus on Blue/Black/Red Tezzert and U/B/W Tezzert which is 2 of the most dominant decks ever built, let's see a list before we begin analysis as per usual.

Tezzert U/B/R List Primer


Creatures


1 Treasure Mage
1 Wurmcoil Engine


Spells


4 Everflowing Chalice
2 Galvanic Blast
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Mindslaver
2 Mox Opal
4 Preordain
4 Prophetic Prism
2 Pyroclasm
2 Slagstorm
3 Sphere of the Suns
2 Stoic Rebuttal
4 Tezzert, Agent of Bolas
3 Tumble Magnet


Lands


1 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Darkslick Shores
2 Inkmoth Nexus
3 Island
2 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Tectonic Edge


Sideboard


3 Duress
1 Flashfreeze
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Kuldotha Rebirth
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Pyroclasm
4 Spreading Seas
2 Stoic Rebuttal

Now this list is prior to the banning of Jace, the Mind Sculptor thus the reason he exists in this list for my analysis, i'm sure most people have figured out what to replace him with, if you haven't yet well get to it, let's see what has to be removed for the rotation as per usual.

Tectonic Edge/Scalding Tarn/Creeping Tar Pit - As per usual, we lose these three land sources for the deck either we can add 1 Darkslick Shores/3 Blackcleave Cliffs/2 Inkmoth Nexus to this build to replace the missing land base and throw the rest into basics for the deck.

So after landbase changes it looks something like this

Lands


4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Darkslick Shores
4 Inkmoth Nexus
6 Island
4 Mountain

Or we could go into something like this for the build

3 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Darkslick Shores
4 Inkmoth Nexus
8 Island
3 Mountain


Spells wise there isn't a lot to replace either, we do lose a tad bit of ramp in this deck due to rotation, we do lose a sweeper spell but we can easily replace it, we also lose a bit of card draw, but again replaceable.

Preordain/Pyroclasm/Everflowing Chalice - Ponder and Whipflare can take all the slots for Pyroclasm/Preordain in this list easily, card draw and sweeper spells still apparent in this deck, the chalice is a bit tricky to decide on, we do have access to Manalith, i could see that replacing this, but there maybe other choices for this spot but i'll put Manalith in that spot for conveniece sake during this article

Jace, the Mind Sculptor - We have to get rid of him now that he's banned and would be rotating effectively, so double the reason to remove him from this list, i think a sideboard singleton Elixir of Immortality and probably throw in Mana Leak as a 3 of in this list so spells wise it looks a little something like this

Prophetic Prism - If i had to guess here i would suggest Ichor Wellspring or even perhaps add a Sphere of the Suns/Tumble Magnet/2 Stoic Rebuttal in it's place

Spells


4 Manalith
2 Galvanic Blast
3 Mana Leak
2 Mox Opal
1 Mindslaver
4 Ponder
4 Sphere of the Suns
4 Tumble Magnet
4 Stoic Rebuttal
2 Slagstorm
2 Whipflare
4 Tezzert, Agent of Bolas


Creatures wise this list doesn't need to change it's only 2 dudes, i was going to suggest Buried Ruin for a sideboard card as a 2 of to replace the remaning stoic rebuttal in the list so sideboard looks a little something like this

Sideboard


3 Distress
1 Flashfreeze
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Kuldotha Rebirth
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Whipflare
2 Ichor Wellspring
1 Mana Leak
3 Negate


The final list looks a little something like this

Final Tezzert U/B/R Generic List

Lands

4 Blackcleave Cliffs

4 Darkslick Shores

4 Inkmoth Nexus

6 Island

4 Mountain

Creatures

1 Treasure Mage

1 Wurmcoil Engine

Spells

4 Manalith

2 Galvanic Blast

3 Mana Leak

2 Mox Opal

1 Mindslaver

4 Ponder

4 Sphere of the Suns

4 Tumble Magnet

4 Stoic Rebuttal

2 Slagstorm

2 Whipflare

4 Tezzert, Agent of Bolas

Sideboard

3 Distress

1 Flashfreeze

1 Elixir of Immortality

1 Kuldotha Rebirth

1 Ratchet Bomb

2 Whipflare

2 Ichor Wellspring

1 Mana Leak

3 Negate

Thank you very much for reading one of my final primers for the deck, if you have different ideas how to take this list, please do let me know, this is vergil signing off.

General Musings on New Decks: Post Rotation Kuldotha Red

Kuldotha Red being a new deck type in standard these days has seen quite a bit of play since the inception of the card that spawned it, Kuldotha Rebirth being the card this deck is based around has been around for some time and spawned a deck in itself with inclusions from the core set, scars of mirrodin, mirrodin besieged and even New phyrexia, let's see the list for it.

Petr Brozek's Kuldotha Red


Creatures


4 Memnite
4 Signal Pest
4 Ornithopter
4 Goblin Bushwacker

Spells


3 Mox Opal
4 Kuldotha Rebirth
4 Flayer Husk
4 Galvanic Blast
2 Lightning Bolt
4 Devastating Summons
4 Chimeric Mass

Lands


15 Mountain
4 Contested War Zone

With that there's not a lot in this list that needs to be altered for post rotation purposes, the landbase is just fine as it is, 19 lands with 15 basics and 4 contested war zone is perfect for the deck to replace the cards we're gonna look at, let's take a look at potential choices for the deck itself.

Shock - The new replacement for Lightning Bolt, will easily fit into the 2 of slot, probably gonna end up bumping it to 3 maybe if there is room.

Crush - Believe it or not this one red drop spell is pretty awesome in itself, deals with opals, bombs etc takes out a whole slew of heavy artifact things, including ramp cards like Sphere of the Suns


Panic Spellbomb - Yes another great target for kuldotha red in this case, if your going artifact heavy this is your choice of card for the deck, plus you can use it's secondary ability when it goes boom from rebirth.

With that in mind let's look at the spells now

Spells


4 Flayer Husk
3 Mox Opal
4 Kuldotha Rebirth
4 Galvanic Blast
2 Shock
4 Panic Spellbomb
4 Chimeric Mass


Creatures wise we are gonna have to replace the goblin guide and bushwacker with something a bit more impressive let's look at some better dudes for the deck.

Phyrexian Revoker - Yep, something that deals with walkers, ratchet bombs, the works basically, perfect rebirth target too, probably put him as a 3 of in the deck or 4 of, depending on what he's needed for.

Goblin Wardriver - Why isn't this in the list, this is the best dude in red and double red is nothing to scoff at, seriously this guy is the best red dude ever printed, 2/2 for a 2 red mana dude with battle cry, busted fun.

Goblin Chieftain - I guess since he's back in M12 i guess this makes him a valued choice for this deck since it makes tons of goblins, +1/+1 and haste is also nothing to scoff at for 3 mana as a 2/2 period powering the extra few points of damage so well.

So here is the creatures for the deck let's take a look

Creatures


4 Memnite
4 Signal Pest
4 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin Wardriver


So with that let's see the final list of Kuldotha red as of post rotation

Final List

Creatures

4 Memnite

4 Signal Pest

4 Goblin Chieftain

4 Goblin Wardriver

Spells

4 Flayer Husk

3 Mox Opal

4 Kuldotha Rebirth

4 Galvanic Blast

2 Shock

4 Panic Spellbomb

4 Chimeric Mass

Lands

15 Mountain

4 Contested War Zone

With that that's pretty much how i see Kuldotha Red being till innistrad arrives, if innistrad brings a few good cards this list will of course be updated, till next time this is vergil signing off.

General Musings on New Deck: Post Rotation Boros

Boros as it's effectively known is a dominant White/Red archtype that has seen a lot of tournament play, even making some successful top 8 lists around the world, even at the pro tour level, let's see how boros is affected after the rotation hits with 2 lists this time

Pro Tour Paris List 1- Run by Vincent Lemoine

Creatures


4 Steppe Lynx
4 Mirran Crusader
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Squadron Hawk
4 Goblin Guide
3 Plated Geopede

Spells


1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Bonehoard
2 Adventuring Gear
3 Journey to Nowhere
2 Lightning Bolt
2 Arc Trail

Lands


4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Marsh Flats
2 Terramorphic Expanse
2 Teetering Peaks
6 Plains
3 Mountain


Pro Tour Paris List 2 - Run by Paul Rietzl


Creatures


4 Steppe Lynx
4 Squadron Hawk
3 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Mirran Crusader
1 Spikeshot Elder
4 Goblin Guide
4 Plated Geopede
2 Hero of Oxid Ridge

Spells


1 Koth of the Hammer
2 Adventuring Gear
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
2 Journey to Nowhere
3 Lightning Bolt

Lands


4 Arid Meas
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Marsh Flats
3 Evolving Wilds
1 Teetering Peaks
5 Plains
5 Mountains

Now if we were to compare these two lists, most of the creatures/spells and lands would be gone, we would be left with the following

Hero of Oxid Ridge, Mirran Crusader, Spikeshot Elder, Koth of the Hammer, Sword of Body and Mind and Sword of Feast and Famine, Arc Trail and Bonehoard, along with the basics for the respective colors, though through comparison of the two lists, we've seen differences, Paul Rietzl played a singleton Spikeshot Elder and 2 Hero of Oxid Ridges in his creature base cutting the obvious extra mystic and 2 mirran crusader to do so while he also opted out of Arc Trail in his list, it ended up being a dominant powerhouse since he took 2nd place behind Ben Stark while Lemoine finished in 3rd place, Now what can be added to this deck to make it standard legal again let's take a look at some choices since most of the deck is dead at this point.

Spikeshot Elder - Not only is this guy a total beast to deal with, he can be pumped to make his ability seem more powerful, or something along that lines, one of the perfect 1 drops for the deck now that Mirran Crusader can back him up easily

Mirran Crusader - If i said to you, a double striking fiend of justice, no way, i'd say yes way in this fact Crusader will always make the cut and brunt of the deck, equipped he is nasty, unequipped he is equally as nasty to deal with, pro black and green help a lot to do with this.

Stormblood Berserker - With bloodthirst back, i saw this guy at first and thought to myself he is going to make a excellent addition to any boros deck, turn 3 crusader, turn 4 attack, drop this dude have a 3/3 on your side with a double striking fiend, that's game, plus he costs a mere 2 mana, perfect for the replacement of Plated Geopede in this deck.

Porcelain Legionnare - 3/1 first strike for a mere 2 mana, i'll take it, boros don't care about losing life, as it ends up dealing more damage then it takes, sure we have a fiend here in a 3/1 sure he can be equipped easily to make for more shenigans in this deck.

Benalish Veteran - Sure he may seem like your typical 2/2 for 3 but wait till he attacks, making him a powerful force to reckon with, the first of the perfect 3 drops for this deck, i think this guy suits boros just fine

Hero of Bladehold/Hero of Oxid Ridge - Both of these fit perfectly in a boros deck as the standard 4 drops one makes tokens while attacks just get uglier and uglier, expect these as at least 2 of's in the deck of choice

So looking at the creature base we have so far

Creatures


4 Porcelain Legionnare
4 Spikeshot Elder
4 Benalish Veteran
2 Hero of Bladehold
2 Hero of Oxid Ridge
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Mirran Crusader


Looking at potential spells for the deck is not going to be that difficult, we have a singleton Koth which i feel should remain as is, The swords do have a use here even though we have no way to fetch em, since Mystic's been banned to high hell, Bonehoard is perfect and should be bumped to a 2 of at least, If we are going to talk about walkers let's see if Elspeth Tirel does the job, sure she may cost 5 mana, sure she churns out dudes at will, but this deck is all about raw power, she should be put as a 2 of in this deck since she provides a lot of useful material for it, onto the replacements though, Bolt, Journey to Nowhere and Adventuring Gear

Now we have a few choices to look at here, with the return of Oblivion Ring, Shock and Incinerate the options are as strict as can be for a time, let's look at the the potential

Oblivion Ring - Best way to deal with walkers ever printed in white, 3 drop enchantment that's nasty to deal with, nasty to get rid of, i'd probably guess it as a 3 of in the list to replace Journey to Nowhere

Shock - Perfect finisher or a good activation of Bloodthirst is key with this deck, 2 damage for 1 red mana, very reasonable i would think a good addition as a 2 or perhaps 3 of in the deck

Incinerate - Great to take down pretty much any 3 toughness creature, for a mere 2 mana too, can't be regenerated, so a good addition.

The spells for the deck look a little something like this

Spells


1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Elspeth Tirel
3 Shock
2 Incinerate

Onto the lands for the deck, we have a few options open to us, but not many, Contested War Zone, Basics, Phyrexia's core and Duals as of this point, with that being said however let's look at potentials for the deck

Contested War Zone - A great addition to the deck to replace a fetch land, should at least be a 4 of here.

Dual Lands are also nice to have for the deck, Seachrome Coast/Blackcleave Cliiffs is good, along with Sunpetal Grove/Dragonskull Summit, so a mix and match is in order

Lands

4 Contested War Zone
3 Seachrome Coast
3 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Sunpetal Grove
2 Dragonskull Summit
6 Plains
6 Mountains


Now as for the sideboard for the deck it's a mix and match situation let's see the sideboard from Rietzl's List first

Sideboard for Rietzl's List

3 Kor Firewalker
1 Mirran Crusader
1 Koth of the Hammer
4 Cunning Sparkmage
4 Arc Trail
1 Mark of Mutiny
1 Basilsk Collar


So looking at this sideboard we need to find a replacement for Kor Firewalker, Cunning Sparkmage, Mark of Mutiny and Basilsk Collar let's look at some potential suggestions based off this sideboard first

Gideon Jura - He comes to mind whenever you think of this type of deck, probably as a 2 of to replace the Mark/Collar in the sideboard, can also easily deal with most of the stuff thrown at him.

Grand Abolisher - Being able to say no to counters during your turn is awesome, activations and other things as well, a 2/2 body to boot right up Firewalker's Alley to replace him as the 3 of in the sideboard.

Manic Vandal - Deals with Mirror matchups/artifact based decks, etc, a 3 drop for a 2/2 it's perfect slot him in where Sparkmage goes as a 4 of in this build

So based off that here's the sideboard for now,

Sideboard for Deck


3 Grand Abolisher
4 Manic Vandal
2 Gideon Jura
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Mirran Crusader
4 Arc Trail


There isn't a lot of difference in the second sideboard other then the usual assortment of the 2nd sword in the list being there, an extra mark of mutiny, some Luminarch Ascension and a extra Journey and Kor Firewalker in there, i'll just leave it at that, so with that let's see the final outcome, lands varying of course but still a good amount of cards for boros to work with

Finished Deck

Creatures

4 Porcelain Legionnare

4 Spikeshot Elder

4 Benalish Veteran

2 Hero of Bladehold

2 Hero of Oxid Ridge

4 Stormblood Berserker

4 Mirran Crusader

Spells

1 Koth of the Hammer

1 Sword of War and Peace

1 Sword of Feast and Famine

3 Oblivion Ring

2 Elspeth Tirel

3 Shock

2 Incinerate

Lands

4 Contested War Zone

3 Seachrome Coast

3 Blackcleave Cliffs

2 Sunpetal Grove

2 Dragonskull Summit

6 Plains

6 Mountains

Sideboard

3 Grand Abolisher

4 Manic Vandal

2 Gideon Jura

1 Koth of the Hammer

1 Mirran Crusader

4 Arc Trail

Well that is that for this deck, after a long and through examination of the deck type, this is what i feel will work for the coming months, till innistrad arrives in september, but we will have to wait and see of course, but till next time remember folks, standard is all about the metagame, deal with that and you are on your way to victory, this is vergil signing off.

General Musings on New Decks: Post Rotation Mono Black Control

Hello all and welcome back to the 3rd edition of general musings with me vergil, today we will be taking a look at a deck that should potentially surface after the arrivial of Innistrad which is in october of this year, but for now let's see how Mono Black Control looks after the arrival of the latest core set M12, starting with a speculated list from our boys over at MTGsalvation.com

Lands
23 Swamp
4 Tectonic Edge

Creatures
3 Lillana's Specter
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Skinrender
3 Grave Titan

Spells
4 Sign in Blood
2 Doom Blade
3 Grasp of Darkness
3 Mind Sludge
2 Consuming Vapors
2 Corrupt

Artifacts
3 Mimic Vat

Sideboard
4 Duress
3 Black Knight
4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Malakir Bloodwitch

So this deck as it is is not going to survive the rotation since half of it is zendikar block, perhaps it's time to take a look at potentials for the deck itself, starting with the creature base since the Specter and Gatekeeper are gonna rotate with Zendikar block, let's see what Scars block offers in terms of dudes.

Phyrexian Obliterator - If you were going to tell me this dude wasn't going to be on the list, i would have told you to shut the hell up, this guy is bonkers, 4 black for a 5/5 trampler and makes opponents sacrifice permanents when it gets damaged talk about a bountiful harvest of a dude.

Wurmcoil Engine - Ok so a artifact dude that can be basically a huge busted 6/6 with deathtouch/lifelink and make a dude with lifelink and a dude with deathtouch is just bad ass, this is considerating the fact that control in this deck is crucial, probably gonna be a 2 of in the deck itself.

So as of this point i'd say the creature base looks a little something like this

Creatures
4 Phyrexian Obliterator
2 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Skinrender
3 Grave Titan


Spells wise is where the control elements of the deck take off like a rocket with so much returning stuff, though the lack of card draw is a dissapointment, let's see what we can scrounge up for control aspects

Smallpox - Forcing a player to sac a creature, discard a card and lose 1 life for 2 black is perhaps the best thing you could do for a deck of this nature, 4 copies of these are a must for the deck itself.

Dismember - Lists should always have 4 of these somewhere in em, phyrexian mana is awesome, it breaks the fact you can throw it in a off color deck, go nuts and still smash face -5/-5 is nothing to scoff at either, plus we have things to follow up this card should one fail.

Memoricide - Perhaps a 2 of in the sideboard to deal with those nasty infect builds and tempered steel for post rotation, 4 mana to basically remove the best card in their deck for the rest of the game and other copies of the card in their deck, this is a no scoff at card.

Go for the Throat - Instantly gonna be the next big Doom Blade for the deck, 3 Doom Blade with 4 of these in a build, time to go nuts folks, removal at it's finest hour has arrived

Despise - Pretty much the strongest answer to walkers in this format, walker deck giving you a hard time, sideboard a few of these puppies in, draw one of these, make your opponent discard a walker or a creature and boom instant awesomeness, defintely a 3 or 4 of in the deck.

Praetor's Grasp - Deck robbing has never been so fun with this thing, sorcery speed it may be but 3 mana is still a good thing in this deck, remove a walker from your opponent's deck, put it into play yourself, boom instant happiness, good way to deal with infect/tempered steel decks.

So with that in mind let's take a look at what we gotta take out of the deck for rotation purposes, not a whole lot needs to be removed from this deck, but we do lose our card draw

Sign in Blood/Consuming Vapors/Corrupt and Mind Sludge all need to go from this list but what to replace all this good stuff with let's see if this works

Spells


2 Praetor's Grasp
4 Go for the Throat
3 Grasp of Darkness
4 Dismember
4 Smallpox
3 Doom Blade


Our sideboard is developing nicely as well at this point in time, let's take a look at it.

Sideboard

2 Memoricide
4 Despise
1 Doom Blade


Our landbase is gonna change a bit to suit the format, let's look at potential candidates for the deck for our land base.

Dragonskull Summit/Blackcleave Cliffs - If it isn't broken don't fix it, this particular fixing isn't necessary but does give us a bit of a advantage since we no longer really require swamps for the deck and Tectonic Edge is done for since Worldwake rotates as of October.

Buried Ruin - Surprisingly enough, this allows us to return out Wurmcoil's or Mimic Vat's at will, something to be considered for the deck.

So the landbase is gonna look a little something like this

Lands
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
3 Buried Ruin
17 Swamp


Our final product turns out to be something cool like this

Lands

4 Blackcleave Cliffs

3 Buried Ruin

17 Swamp

Creatures

4 Phyrexian Obliterator

2 Wurmcoil Engine

4 Skinrender

3 Grave Titan

Spells

2 Praetor's Grasp

4 Go for the Throat

3 Grasp of Darkness

4 Dismember

4 Smallpox

3 Doom Blade

Sideboard

2 Memoricide

4 Despise

1 Doom Blade

The sideboard for the deck has yet to be decided on, i was thinking something along the lines of 

+2 Lashwrithe 

+1 Mindslaver

+3 Bonehoard

+2 Hex Parasite

That should do it though, i've got a lot done for this one, this maybe a potential list for MBC as of Innistrad or perhaps not, but i'd like to think it works as of this point, so this is vergil signing off

General Musings on New Decks: Post Rotation Red Deck Wins

So hello and welcome to another general musings after the saturday prerelease, we can now expect M12 to make a huge impact on this particular deck type, let's take a look at a existing list for Red Deck Wins, which is what the article's gonna be about

Red Deck Wins - Pre Rotation


Lands
4 Arid Mesa
4 Teetering Peaks
4 Scalding Tarn
8 Mountain


Creatures
4 Goblin Guide
4 Ember Hauler
4 Spikeshot Elder
4 Furnace Scamp


Spells
4 Arc Trail
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
4 Searing Blaze
4 Staggershock
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Flame Slash


Sideboard
2 Act of Aggression
4 Dismember
4 Kiln Fiend
2 Manic Vandal
3 Shatter


Now this being one of the current forms of the list, taken from the mothership site itself let's look at what rotates from the format

Arid Mesa, Scalding Tarn and Teetering Peaks - Since these all rotate post rotation, it's probably gonna be a good idea for the land base to either be 4 Dragonskull Summit/4 Blackcleave Cliffs to fix the mana, throw 4 more basics in and call it a day with the land base either that or just add colorless in Phyrexia's Core or even perhaps 4 Contested War Zone for that additional Battle cry effect of +1/+0 to all attackers, getting those extra few points of damage in the early and long run,

Bolt, Staggershock, Searing Blaze, Flame Slash - Since all of these spells rotate as well, since M12 doesn't have bolt, but Shock instead we will go ahead and replace Bolt with Shock and Searing Blaze with Incinerate, Flame Slash and Staggershock would more then likely get a replacement in the form of either Gut Shot/Volt Charge or Volt Charge/Whipflare in this case though i'd be more inclined to choose the charge/whipflare combo over Slash and Staggershock for post rotation, but there is one more then we've not considered, planeswalkers.

With Chandra, the Firebrand/Koth of the Hammer, the format is going to be fun to play, turn 4 play koth, use koth's secondary ability and bring out Chandra with it, pop chandra's first ability and begin the fun over and over and over again making a 4/4 and pinging for 1 each turn while swinging for huge damage with strike after strike, so the list would look something like this so far.

Lands
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Contested War Zone
8 Mountains

Spells
4 Shock
4 Incinerate
4 Volt Charge
4 Whipflare
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
4 Arc Trail

Now let's look at potential creatures for the deck itself, we have a few decent choices in our favour, notably the new Chandra's Phoenix and Grim Lavamancer to replace the old Goblin Guide/Ember Hauler combo since we are going to be sending a lot of things to the graveyard on our side, this fuels the Lavamancer even more so, the Phoenix is also a great choice for the deck due to Haste/flying and it ressurects each time a point of damage is dealt and this is in the graveyard, perfect 3 drop for the deck to replace the Ember Hauler me thinks, this deck has so much potential, i think i would wanna test it out on a online site to see how fast it works, or perhaps get someone to do it for me.

The sideboard on the other hand is a different story, it needs only 1 change, take out the Kiln Fiend to throw in 3 Koth and 1 Chandra for mirror matchups/ramp decks why only 1 chandra you may ask well as chandra's power level is superior to her other 2 forms, she has the only 1 of in the deck for the sideboard unless i somehow remove a singleton Shatter or even perhaps a singleton Manic Vandal so creatures wise it looks a little something like this.

Creatures
4 Furnace Scamp
4 Spikeshot Elder
4 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Grim Lavamancer

Sideboard
3 Koth of the Hammer
1 Chandra, the Firebrand
2 Act of Aggression
4 Dismember
2 Manic Vandal
3 Shatter


The final list looks a little something like this

Red Deck Wins - Post Rotation


Lands
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Contested War Zone
8 Mountains

Spells
4 Shock
4 Incinerate
4 Volt Charge
4 Whipflare
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
4 Arc Trail

Creatures
4 Furnace Scamp
4 Spikeshot Elder
4 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Grim Lavamancer

Sideboard 
3 Koth of the Hammer
1 Chandra, the Firebrand
2 Act of Aggression
4 Dismember
2 Manic Vandal
3 Shatter

Why make something as broken as RDW even more broken, but make it better and more streamlined to deal with other aggro/control builds like B/U infect, Titans and even hell it's gonna go against a Tempered Steel build at some point during it's run i hope this deck gets run, seriously i do hope someone finds the time to run this deck, since RDW is a powerful deck type and should get a redesign for post rotation, well anyways that's all the time i have for today's article, till next time magic fans this is vergil signing off

General Musings on New Decks: Post Rotation R/B Sligh

Hello folks and welcome to a general musings in which i'll talk about various ideas that may occur after the rotation of Zendikar Block which rotates out as of this fall when Innistrad arrives on store shelves in the first week of October, let's review the current standard metagame as of today we have Red/Black Vampires from Zendikar Block, Mass Polymorph which consists of mostly Zendikar Block as well with a bit of M11 thrown in for good measure, Tempered Steel which is a block constructed deck from Scars of Mirrodin, Blue/Black Infect another block constructed deck, Valakut which is about 60% Zendikar block cards with 40% core set material and the last one i can think off hand is Elves. consisting mostly of Zendikar Block related stuff, now how will this all change, let's see half of these decks are gone via the rotation and we may see some new formats rise out of the ashes of the old decks, let's start with a idea a friend of mine came up with, in the form of Red/Black sligh.

This deck basically consists of controlling the game and such, dealing the amount of damage desired let's take a look at some of the potential candidates for the deck itself, spells wise

Incinerate - If you are going to have a build with red in it, you gotta think what does 3 damage for 2 mana oh yeah Incinerate, kills creatures handily and allows for easy access for the dudes you want to go through.

Shock - Shock is another good variant card for this deck and can basically throw a whole variety of new things out there, this is the 1 drop spell of choice besides the obvious Dismember which has it's own catch phrase, would think this is like a 2 or 3 of in the deck.

Dismember - Now if it dies to dismember the chances are this card is bonkers, the "Does it Die to Dismember" thing is key to remember for this deck and it's great spot removal for a nasty Hero of Bladehold or Hero of Oxid Ridge 


Kuldotha Rebirth - This card is bonkers as well, makes 3 1/1's for the price of a artifact, allows for a easy turn 1 into 3 dudes with a alpha strike the next, potential removal aside this has to make the list at least.

Smallpox - If people told me this was getting a reprint last year i would have laughed at you, but with M12 we get smallpox, the best time spiral uncommon ever printed at least to me, had it's own deck at one point with Kamigawa Block and now is back in a big way.

Goblin Grenade - I think this is a kill spell of choice, fling you goblin tokens or a goblin of your choice, deal 5 damage this is a impact to a lot of things, great way to end the game off a alpha strike of 8 damage with a Hero of Oxid Ridge and 2 1/1 goblins

Creatures wise it's a lot simpler we have a lot of potential choices here let's look at some

Grim Lavamancer - Remember the Fire and Lightning decks well foils of these are bound to rise in price, come on reprints of Chain Lightning this is a perfect body for this deck, graveyard full of things, no problem just activate his ability once or twice and boom instant empty yard, always should be a 3 of in this deck or even 3 of 1 in the sideboard.

Hero of Oxid Ridge - Considering the power of Battle Cry, this is a great 4 drop choice for the deck, provides a nasty boost when it attacks alongside other dudes, is a decent power/toughness and has well just nasty things in mind when it comes to it, really good finisher for the deck.

Phyrexian Obliterator - Now paying 4 black mana is nothing to scoff at in this deck, personally this guy is perfect for the job, 5/5 for a trampler that makes opponents sacrifice things when damage is dealt, devious i must admit and majorly annoying to get rid of.

Hex Parasite - He kills walkers, does a pump and gets in there with massive damage and he's a artifact dude, this is perfect for the deck, sligh always loves to get rid of threats, this is a perfect addition to the list

Goblin Wardriver - Being a double red isn't that bad to cast, battle cry for a 2/2 and he's a goblin to boot so he assists Goblin Grenade when needed after a attack step, dealing even more damage which is relentless in this list.

So the list looks a little something like this

Creatures
4x Goblin Wardriver
3x Hex Parasite
3x Phyrexian Obliterator
3x Hero of Oxid Ridge
4x Grim Lavamancer

Spells
4x Dismember
4x Smallpox
4x Incinerate
4x Goblin Grenade
3x Shock

Lands
4x Blackcleave Cliffs
4x Dragonskull Summit
8x Mountain
7x Swamp

Sideboard
4x Memnite
1x Shock
1x Phyrexian Obliterator
4x Slagstorm
1x Hero of Oxid Ridge
4x Kuldotha Rebirth

I don't know if this list is playable or not, but i think it is at least it's aggro to the max and in a new standard enviroment post rotation we may see a few changes to the overall list, if anyone has any better ideas, be sure to let me know but for now this is vergil signing off

Magic 2012 Game Day Promotion Cards

It's that time again kiddies, with the full spoilers up, the last official piece of unknown news is the magic 2012 game day promo cards, this particular core set's cards are going to be Dungrove Elder and Stormblood Berserker which are both in full art frames, let's take a look see at the picture with the two cards in question

Now if i had to guess the Berserker dude is going to be for the particpation prize, top 8 will more then likely receive the full art Dungrove Elder since the rare is usually given out for the top 8 of the game day or something of that nature, i don't know wizards has to confirm this as of now and i would expect confirmation just shortly after the release of the newest core set on the block, onto good news though for those keeping track the prerelease is 2 days away, remember it's a sealed deck draft for those particpating, enjoy and this is vergil signing off from a rather short update article.

Magic 2012 Final Update: 249/249 cards spoiled

So the time is upon us, spoiler season for another set is done and we are now looking ahead to the prerelease/release parties of Magic 2012 which occur in the next few weeks, i for may end up going to the prerelease i don't know yet, however let's make a note of a few things, the full visual spoiler for all the cards can be found here -> Full Card Spoiler and the written spoiler can be found here --> Written Spoiler so with that being said let's go over some of the basics for prerelease/release weekend as per usual of any new magic the gathering set.

The prerelease/release parties are usually always sealed booster draft 6 packs of the current product which is going to be 2012 core set material, which means around 90 cards will be obtained during the process, 6 rares and maybe a mythic rare if your lucky enough to open 1 or even a foil one, the promotion card for the prerelease is Bloodlord of Vaasgoth in which i did a article about here along with the release party card named Garruk's Horde -->  Promo Cards Article check your LGS for more information on this as always, this means i won't be doing spoilers for this set, i just did updates, since the core set kinda came out way too quickly after New Phyrexia or what i like to call the most broken set since Alara Reborn because it has a nasty addition to most block decks in the form of Batterskull.


Anyhoo that's about it for M12 for me, i won't be writing another article on this unless it's a set review which happens usually after a new set is published for about 2-3 weeks, till next time magic fans this is vergil signing off.

Duel Deck Ajani vs Nicol Bolas: Update and Art Packaging

So today's latest arcana brings us a few updates for the Ajani vs Nicol Bolas duel deck which is slated to go on sale as of September 3rd, 2011 the first off being the brand new art for the two cards in question, let's see the new art first off

Now since both cards maintain their original abilites there isn't much to discuss on this one, however that being said we've still not seen the lists for these two decks, i hope to god they will be good though i wanna build a nicol bolas deck straight outta this, means i'm gonna end up dumping about 80 into this stuff, not bad i must admit, new art on both the Vengeant and Nasty Dragon as i like to refer to him, let's take a look see at what you are going to look for in stores with the packaging of both the deck boxes and what you'll get them in

Yes it's gonna look like that straight outta the box, as we expected it's gonna be Vengeant and not Goldmane who fights Bolas or Nasty Dragon as i still refer to him, this deck should be a good one and i hope to god it's worth the 19.99 i will end up dishing out for it, because as we all know sometimes Duel decks end up sucking like Knights vs Dragons did, you better not let me down wizards, anyways that's all for this edition of the update, next time i talk about this should be about the lists themselves, stay tuned and this is vergil signing off.

Magic the Gathering News Vol 7: Bannings, Arrivals and Lots, Lots more.

Hello all and welcome back to another edition of the monthly wrap up, this is volume 7 just in time for Magic 2012's arrival which occurs in just a few weeks, let's go over some of the month's big events, the bannings of Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic were perhaps the biggest pieces of news and still kinda rings in my ears as of this point, Magic Weekend Nagoya was pretty intruging as well, ended up being a fun fest for all players who play limited, along with the arrival of Commander in store shelves on June 17th, i'll even talk about my experiences with the deck i got, so let's go.

As always with a banning means a deck or two gets thrown out the window, not in this case it's like 3 decks get thrown out the window, Caw-Blade, Blue/White Control and of course Black/Blue Control, which has such stuff like Grave Titan, Creeping Tar Pit and more. Bannings can effect the state of the game but none more so then the announcement on June 20th, with the bannings of both Jace the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic were kinda heavy in standard, the two most dominate worldwake cards in existence both get banned the same day, along with a little side announcement, if you purchased the War of Attrition precon deck from New Phyrexia you're allowed to keep it as it is but if you change it you must take the Mystics out of the list and add something else into their respective slots, does this effect me, no but it effects most of the population as the last official tournament that we saw Caw-Blade in was a Star City Games open series tourney held the last weekend of June, other then that the bannings i thought were much needed, kinda late but much needed since of course Jace and Mystic were the two cards that made caw-blade a force to be reckoned with in standard with it dominating most of the top 8's for the past 6 months, it's about time you did a banning right and proper wizards, that is all i have to say about that one.

Anyways onto the next piece of news which is Magic Weekend Nagoya which happened to be a limited event, for those who don't know what Limited is it's a draft format which takes place usually once every year on the pro circuit believe it or not this was a decent event though i did not get a chance to check out the coverage yet due to spoiler season/commander launch but a huge congrats go to David Sharfman for winning it all on a PT weekend of all things, now with that said let's review the last thing on the agenda the Commander Launch Parties

Commander or EDH as it's more commonly known is a singleton format which decks consist of 1 general and 99 other cards which support the general and follow the basics of construction which are 1) Only cards that go with your general's color identity can be placed into the deck 2) You may only have 1 of each copy of card in a deck at any given time, 3) Generals exist as Legendary Creatures which start in a exile zone away from your deck, to build a commander deck you need to focus it around a general. There being plenty of legends in magic today there wasn't a problem, now they've made it easier for people to get started to play EDH or commander or whatever the hell you wanna call it, with wizards launching the Commander Precon decks which are 5 100 card decks each with various color schemes/new commanders/brand new cards made entirely for this format, i happened to get my hands on a commander deck but i will be taking a look at it in a future article, the decks went on sale as of June 17th, 2011 and were priced at 29.99 though most LGS's might be sold out of them at this point, but never fear this doesn't have a limited print run, in fact i'd go so far to say this will see a year or 2 of print then slowly fade away before wizards decides to bring out the next big detail, anyways with that being said that's all for the June wrap up edition of the Emporium due to time constraints, so till next time this is vergil signing off

Magic 2012 Update Part 12: Walkers, Reprints and Broken Cards

Hello all and welcome back to another edition of the emporium after a long sunburned filled canada day it is time to return to business as usual, today's edition of the emporium we take a look at the last 2 walkers of the set, some of the returning friends this set has to offer and a few more cards, with our first candidate being the new Chandra in the form of Chandra, the Firebrand

Unlike her previous predecessor, Chandra Nalaar this particular chandra is a 4 CMC walker and has three abilites as per expected her +1 ability pings for a single point of damage to target player or creature, great for getting rid of weenie dudes so you can ramp to her ultimate her -2 ability allows for spells to be copied and sent at another player of your choice, this is great with stuff like Incinerate, Lightning Bolt [Which Rotates soon] and Shock which replaces lightning bolt, her most interesting ability is her ultimate -6 she deals 6 damage to up to 6 target players/creatures, now if this isn't good for a red walker i dunno what is, but as it stands right now, her and Koth of the Hammer will make a hell of a good team as it stands, did i mention she has 3 starting loyalty and can be easily brought into play by Koth's second ability, well from one color walker to another, i bet your all dying to see the new Garruk in this set, introducing Garruk, Primal Hunter

Is he awesome or what for the last walker of the set, costs 5 mana 2 colorless and 3 green, has 3 starting loyalty and his +1 is his old second ability which is to put a 3/3 beast token onto the battlefield, right away your getting the most of this guy already by making a dude plus having potential for more dudes, with the ability to ramp into this guy it should not be that difficult to play him, his second ability is brand new though -3 Draw cards equal to the greatest power among creatures you control, so if you control a 5/4 Leatherback Baloth or a 6/6 Rampaging Baloths you are going to get a massive card advantage over your opponent, his last ability is just plain nasty -6 Put a 6/6 green wurm creature token onto the battlefield for each land you control, this is just a nasty ultimate, better then prior garruk 1.0 since this rewards you for having lands into play, Titans anyone but if you this guy is the best card in the set check out a reprint from Time Spiral known as Smallpox

At long last smallpox is getting the reprint it deserves, though it has the worst art i can think of it is great to see this returning as one of the many cards in the 50% reprint bracket, it's a fairly easy to cast card as a uncommon, Each player loses 1 life, discards a card, sacrifices a creature and then sacrifices a land, all for a mere 2 black mana, one of my friends kinda went butt ugly nuts when i told him this was getting a reprint, anyways it's time to see one of the last mythics of the set in the form of a Aura named Angelic Destiny

Think of this as a way to make a Baneslayer Angel without actually needing the card even though as i type this the angel has dropped to a mere 10 dollars a copy, except it doesn't grant protection from demons and dragons, but it does grant a +4/+4 boost, gives off flying and first strike, makes the creature with this attached a angel, plus it can be cast again when the creature enchanted with this dies, all for a mere 4 mana 2 colorless and 2 white mana, yes a aura as a mythic rare is possible and this proves it so, without further ado though let's take a look at a spoiler via Evan Erwin from the Magic Show known as Grand Abolisher 

Wow a 2/2 that basically says all your spells during your turn are uncounterable, costs 2 white mana to play and is a rare, yes finally something to stop those nasty Sensei's Diving Top activations or even a Cursecatcher ability in legacy, or how's about a Elixir of Immortality's reshuffle ability as a body, this thing is just plain bonkers, it's a cleric so it fits perfectly into a weenie deck, stops every spell in the game during your turn that your opponent's can cast and is a body, very nice wizards of the coast finally someone down in R&D is doing things right for a change, seriously this is how you introduce a core set, with power cards like this, without further ado it's time for the last spoiler of the weekend so far, it's name is Doubling Chant

Wow a busted sorcery, certainly replaces stuff like Mass Polymorph in this set, so lemme get this straight for each creature you control, at sorcery spell, you get to search for a creature card with the same name as each creature you control, put them onto the battlefield for free, then shuffle all for a mere 6 mana am i going instantly insane here, so you mean i can easily fetch extra titans in Valakut, trigger a frigging valakut ability like 4 times, fetch inferno titans are will and get a extra Oracle of Mul Daya the turn this is cast along with whatever other stuff you may control, nuts this is just plain nuts expect to see this as a 2 of in most Valakut builds man this is getting to be a fun set, anyways that is all for the time being, it's time to call it a article and such though i will see you tommorow for the monthly wrap up for June covering all the things you may have missed in the world of MTG, so till next time this is vergil signing off