Modern Madness Saturday Top 8

Not Quite Good Enough for the Modern Madness Invitational (a Dimir Death’s Shadow Tournament Report)

On By matledgeIn ModernLeave a comment

Going into Saturday’s Modern Madness Qualifier at MagicFest Vegas, I had middling expectations. I didn’t consider my Dimir Death’s Shadow deck to be well-positioned, and I hadn’t been playing my tightest throughout the weekend. Still, I figured I’d be able to win at least two or three rounds, which would be good enough for some prize tix and a good time.

Instead, on the back of a lot of luck, some (mostly) tight play, and way too much Death’s Shadow math, I ended up making it to the finals of Saturday’s Qualifier. This is how a day that started with the purchase of “one last Plague Engineer” and plans to eat at Wahlburger’s with my friend Trevor ended eight and a half hours later, with me being one Primeval Titan away from playing in Sunday’s Modern Madness Invitational.

Trevor Registers His Decklist
Trevor registering his Mono-Red Prowess list, with an extra Surgical Extraction provided by yours truly. Trevor passed me one of the two Plague Engineers I played on Saturday.
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Promo Sol Ring Art Featured

The Events and Decks I Played at MagicFest Vegas 2019

On By matledgeIn OtherLeave a comment

At the time of this writing, I’m about two weeks out from attending MagicFest Las Vegas 2019. At the time you’re reading this, however, the MagicFest just ended … which makes writing about the event a bit tricky.

To manage the gap, I’ve written up a quick synopsis of the decks and events I plan(ned) to play at MagicFest Vegas. I’ll explain my event and deck choices … and through the magic of the internet, I’ll hopefully have added in a brief summary of how the MagicFest went, right before this post publishes. (If I didn’t make it, you’ll be able to tell pretty darn quick.)

Let’s start with my favorite format that I don’t actually want to play right now: Modern.

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Finding Your First Magic Opponent

Magic – What Is This Thing Anyway?

On By matledgeIn Commander, Other, Theory1 Comment

Last week, I found myself in a bind. I was having a tough time figuring out what to write about here, and my “deadline” was approaching.

As I sat in my living room with (nearly blank) notebook in hand, my wife walked in and asked what I was doing. I told her I was failing to write a Magic post, and she promptly stole my notebook and wrote the following.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:

Hello out there in internet-land! Today we’re going to figure out what Magic is. This post is geared towards the absolute newby, so all you veterans, see you next month!

First – you need to have a deck of cards. Now, don’t do what I did and show up to your first “magic” tournament with a deck of trick cards. No, these are special cards that feature various hard-to-pronounce monsters with quotes attributed to historical figures from our nation’s proud history (I assume). Head to a Game Store to acquire these babies.

“But wait Matt P. Magic, what about tarot? Are these cards not magical too?” you may ask. Yes, young initiate, they are magical, but unfortunately they do not gather correctly. You can’t play MtG with a tarot deck. That said, I do occasionally slip a tarot card or two into my deck when I play COMMANDER, as that format is more forgiving.

Next, you will need some dice. Glitter dice are best, and in a variety of shapes. You can use these to track your life force and also to negotiate battles. Try to match your dice color to your favorite Magic color. There are five colors of magic that scholars have so far discovered. If purple, orange, or yellow are your favorite colors, you will need to choose a different game to learn. Similarly, if you are red/green colorblind, you will need to learn the difference between fires and forests. Practice, so you can tell at a moment’s notice in the heat of battle.

Your deck will need to have an assortment of lands, and an assortment of creatures to live in these lands. The price of their citizenship is that they must be ready to be summoned by you and do battle at a moment’s notice.

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Numot the Devastator Commander Featured Image

ReCycling Bin – Numot, the Land Destroyer

On By matledgeIn CommanderLeave a comment

Welcome back to the ReCycling Bin, a series in which I look back at theorycrafted Magic decks that never saw the light of day. This installment features a dragon I’ve never had the stones to Stone Rain people with.

Numot, the Devastator - Matt Plays Magic
Stone Rain x2, actually.

Numot, the Devastator was the only dragon to survive my Scion of the Ur-Dragon purge. The rest of the Scion deck hit eBay, but I swapped a different dragon in for Numot before posting, selling, and shipping the deck out.

Why, you might ask? Well, I had plans for Numot … plans to build him his own EDH deck.

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How to Handle So Many Magic Releases on Budget

How to Handle Magic’s Near-Constant Release Schedule on a Budget

On By matledgeIn OtherLeave a comment

Recently, it seems like a new Magic set releases each week. War of the Spark was quickly followed by Modern Horizons, which has already been shoved out of the spotlight by Magic 2020. And if you’re a Commander player, this summer’s releases aren’t done yet – Commander 2019 hits stores in just about four weeks.

If you’re tight on cash, managing all these new releases can be tough. Nobody NEEDS new Magic cards, but it feels good to upgrade decks or build new ones when new cards come out. No one likes feeling like they’ve been left behind (or are losing more) because of their budget.

I consider myself a fairly budget-conscious Magic player. In the face of so many recent releases, I’ve been working to define my strategy for playing Magic on a budget. This is how I handle playing Standard, Limited, Modern, and Commander (as well as a couple other formats) on a budget – hopefully, my strategies will help you manage your own purchases.

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