The day after the 5k I was pretty beat, sleeved up mostly the same 75 from the day before and went 2-2 drop at a PTQ. The following weekend was another PTQ in connecticut and I decided to switch to mythic. Mythic was a bit more complicated than I estimated and while it was capable of those blowout, turn 3 Eldrazi Conscription wins- playing a deck that just turns sideways was not what I was used to in standard and I coughed up a couple wins by simply not attacking in with my lotus cobra, forgoing one exalted trigger and losing with my opponent at 1.

Those kind of things drive me crazy and I am in no mood to play the Conscription deck again after going 0-2 in a PTQ and 2-2 drop in a WPN qualifier (losing to grixis 3 times, which is just a brutal matchup post board when you have to face down 4 lightning bolt, 4 terminate and the rest of the b/r goods and jace, the mind sculptor).

To be quite honest I’m a little torn what to do right now. Jund is certainly back on the rise and a couple of my teammates here in Mass really like it (and I’ve always considered them blue mages). It’s certainly very good as the results don’t lie, and going into the 5k weekend earlier in the month, Jund kind of punched me in the teeth a little, as I thought it was a very favorable matchup for UW Tapout; but really, nothing is favorable enough vs. cascade.

For the first time maybe ever, we’re bringing all 7 members of our squad to the same tournament, so decks are pretty sparse. We can put together two Junds or a Jund and a Naya, but I likely won’t be sleeving up anything green. There is plenty of time to play Jund for me at the online PTQs next month.

So unless I want to sleeve up some devastating summons, and I don’t think I do without having a card to kill baneslayer; I don’t really want to rely on mark of mutiny and a swing FTW to beat any deck with baneslayer angel in it, I’m going to be playing UW TAPOUT.

I’ve made some tweaks, and made some pretty brutal decisions (and I still have a couple more to make I fear), but I’ll talk about the deck a bit and what changes I’ve made and why.

I really liked UW control the weekend that I played it. I always felt like there was something I could do, or that I could draw (plus ways to draw it) that would bail me out of whatever situation I found myself in. I don’t feel like that has really changed. I like cantripping on turn 2 as much as I can. I love oblivion ring and mind spring, and while people can tell me all day that Baneslayer Angel sucks, she doesn’t and she’s a baller, and I love her.

I think that UW is fine vs. most matchups, I don’t think Dauntless Escort is very hard to play around in mythic with the right answers. I think UW can still beat Jund just fine if you gear it to the aggro matchup (and I don’t think wrath effects are nearly as bad as many people think they are vs. the deck). Furthermore, creature decks are all the rage right now with jund, naya and conscription running rampant at regionals and on MTGO.

The biggest issue I’ve stuggled with is how to deal with the creatures. I know a lot of people say to just run Sphinx of Jwar Isle and not baneslayer b/c it just gives opponent’s dead cards, but most jund players are already cutting terminates and just running maelstrom pulse x4. I think that a deck that maindecks a bunch of terminates is rough, don’t get me wrong; but the meta seems to be going the other way. People are now expecting UW tapout to not run baneslayers and the UWR Planeswalker deck doesn’t (Even though they should run them out of the board), and this could be the weekend to re-capitalize on running a full squad of Baneslayers.

4 Wall of Omens 4 Baneslayer Angel 2 Elspeth, Knight Errant 2 Gideon Jura 3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 4 Spreading Seas 3 Oblivion Ring 2 Path to Exile 1 Into the Roil 2 Negate 2 Wrath of God 2 Martial Coup 2 Mind Spring 1 Chalice of the Void 4 Glacial Fortress 4 Celestial Colonnade 2 Arid Mesa 2 Scalding Tarn 6 Plains 5 Islands 3 Terramorphic Expanse

So I’ve decided to neglect Sphinx of Jwar Isle despite how “good” (read: unkillable) it is against Jund. If you don’t hit several sphinx of Jwar Isle it’s really hard to actaully beat in against Jund with your 5/5. Which is why I like Baneslayer, even if they have a couple answers to it, you can turn it sideways and not fear that you’re going to die on the swing back.

I’ve upped the Planeswalker count to be a little strong against the aggro decks and put them on difficult decisions. Gideon works best with baneslayer on the table to kill one of their attackers. Elspeth is just a difficult planeswalker to kill. This also presents far more Pulse targets, making my baneslayers a bit better.

I cut an oblivion ring, conceding that creature decks are far more popular than the control decks right now, and a lot better. Instead of just upping a Path to exile however, I decided to toss in an Into the Roil. I like into the roil for a number of reasons. It’s as good as removal vs. Mythic and it’s just a lot better than path against the control matchups. Being able to bounce my own obring to legend rule a planeswalker and reload my removal seems really strong. It’s one more maindecked blue answer to a polymorphed Iona naming white and in plenty of situations itll draw me a card.

I’ve cut a mind spring, because games where I draw 2 in my opening hand were driving me a little nuts and while I know it’s practically a win condition, the cantripping in the rest of the deck will hopefully get me there.

I really loved the 2 negates maindeck when I played it and I don’t want to cut them, they’re only really bad against Conscription and Naya, but they’re great in the mirror and against jund, so I like them in the front 60.

I’ve decided to cut a Day of judgment to add in a martial coup which is a little worse against jund and mythic and to be honest, the one maindeck change I’m likely to make is to go back to three DOJ, one martial coup, I just don’t like making myself worse in the control mirrors, especially since right now I haven’t been able to fit one of the Eldrazi gods into my sideboard.

Speaking of Sideboard:

2 Negate 1 Into the Roil 3 Celestial Purge 2 Kor Sanctifiers 3 Kor Firewalker 1 Mind Control 3 Luminarch Ascension

The only matchup I really don’t like is the Vengevine Naya matchup. I’m not really sure what I want to be doing vs. that post board but I’m going to get some testing in tonight and friday before the GP.

This is geared pretty heavily towards the control matchups, in which I like more negates, another into the roil, the sanctifiers and the Luminarchs. A few weeks ago I thought luminarchs were trash but looking at lists, people are cutting an oblivion ring or two from their 75 and enchantment destruction is almost non-existant. Some people are adopting into the roil, which could be an issue, but with 4 negates I should be able to back it up. I like keeping the sanctifiers for the mirror to deal with luminarchs and obrings still. I think that the firewalkers and the purges will be enough for the jund matchup, combined with leaving DOJ in and bringing in the Mind Control.

Maybe some more testing this weekend will tell me I’m wrong, but I’m hoping the white planeswalkers and arsenal of celestial purge in the board will help swing the Jund matchup a little bit, it’s possible that it’s not enough.

I’m pretty excited about the GP, GP Trials and even a fallback ptq on sunday, and I’m happy to be sleeving up this deck on the real battlefield. I’ll likely switch to Jund talk next week as ONline PTQs start back up and I’ve already traded for my Sarkhan the Mads and Consuming Vapors.

Til next time,

Mike Gemme
Mike@Power9Pro.com
Bobbysapphire on MTGO

To celebrate this one year anniversary, we’ve launched a new online store with lower prices, faster and easier checkout, as well as a steep discount on the Dragon’s Egg. Discounted from $45.95 to $34.95, get the Dragon’s Egg for the lowest price ever through January 31st.

We are excited that we’ve made it this far as a player-centric company focused on solutions for M:tG players, and we’re excited for what we have planned. We’d love to hear your thoughts, how can we be even better?

2 Steppe Lynx 1 Shieldmates Blessing 3 Narrow Escape 1 Arrow Volley Trap 1 Noble Vestige 1 Pitfall Trap 1 Journey to Nowhere 1 Pillarfield Ox 1 Kor Sanctifiers 1 Bold Defense 1 Lethargy Trap 1 Hedron Crab 2 Cancel 1 Caller of Gales 1 Spell Pierce 1 Mindbreak Trap 1 Merfolk Seastalkers 1 Paralyzing Grasp 1 Tempest Owl 1 Whiplash Trap 1 Living Tsunami 1 Ior Ruin Expedition 3 Desecrated Earth 1 Mire Blight 1 Ravenous Trap 1 Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet 1 Heartstabber Mosquito 2 Needlebite Trap 1 Hagra Diabolist 2 Nimana Sell-Sword 2 Giant Scorpion 1 Blood Tribute 1 Gatekeeper of Malakir 1 Grim Discovery 1 Surrakar Marauder 1 Hagra Crocodile 1 Zektar Shrine Expedition 1 Spire Barrage 1 Goblin Bushwacker 1 Pyromancer Ascension 1 Demolish 1 Mark of Mutiny 1 Tuktuk Grunts 1 Hellkite Charger 1 Inferno Trap 1 Bladetusk Boar 1 Slaughter Cry 1 Goblin Shortcutter 1 Highland Berserker 1 Burst Lightning 1 Territorial Baloth 1 Gigantiform 1 Savage Silhouetter 3 Oran-Rief Recluse 1 Baloth Cage Trap 1 Nissas Chosen 1 Vines of Vastwood 1 Tajuru Archer 1 Scythe Tiger 2 Beast Hunt 2 Adventuring Gear 1 Stonework Puma 1 Carnage Alter 1 Hedron Scrabbler 1 Blazing Torch 1 Akoum Refuge 1 Teetering Peaks 1 Turntimber Grove 1 Kazandu Refuge 1 Greypelt Refuge

This pool looked quite playable, and so I looked through a number of potential builds. The white had some solid removal in Journey To Nowhere, Arrow Volley Trap and Pitfall Trap. However, the only mana fixing that would help me was the Greypelt Refuge, which only made white attractive if I was playing green.

The blue was solid. However, I wanted something more for a main colour, and while there were some excellent playables in blue, there simply weren’t enough of them. Unfortunately the best blue card in the pool (Seastalkers) only shines when you can get multiple activations out of him. Not to say he’s not one of the best blue cards in the set (He is), but it didn’t make me want to play blue as a main colour.

When we get to black, we finally see something of substance. We have our first big bomb (Kalitas) and some removal and solid creatures. I’m a huge fan of Nimana Sell-Sword, and the pair of them makes them even more appealing. Top it all off with Surrakar Marauder and some Giant Scorpions and we’ve got our main colour.

Red also looks very promising, with one of the best bombs in the set (Hellkite Charger), and some nice removal and creatures. We also have a couple more Allies to pump our Sell-Swords if we play black, which is always useful. Again, the red had good potential for a main colour.

I was sorely tempted to play green, and it was extremely difficult to leave the green cards in the sideboard when I filled out my decklist. It had good creatures and a nice little bomb, but I wasn’t able to settle on a list I was happy with that included green.

The artifacts were quite nice to me, providing a Blazing Torch and a pair of Adventuring Gears. I didn’t play Stonework Puma, but I just don’t like a Grey Ogre variant that only has a relevant effect if another Ally is out. However, I wouldn’t fault anyone for playing it, as Allies can be quite good.

Here’s the list I ended up running.

1 Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet 1 Heartstabber Mosquito 1 Needlebite Trap 1 Hagra Diabolist 2 Nimana Sell-Sword 2 Giant Scorpion 1 Gatekeeper of Malakir 1 Grim Discovery 1 Surrakar Marauder 1 Tuktuk Grunts 1 Hellkite Charger 1 Inferno Trap 1 Bladetusk Boar 1 Slaughter Cry 1 Goblin Shortcutter 1 Highland Berserker 1 Burst Lightning 2 Adventuring Gear 1 Blazing Torch 1 Teetering Peaks 1 Akoum Refuge 9 Swamp 7 Mountain

This build aims to be aggressive enough to get the jump on the slower decks, yet have enough late game to win outright in a standstill. There are 5 Allies that were all terrific during the day, with Nimana Sell-Sword topping the list. There are 18 land to ensure that I both hit my bombs and got the most effect out of double Adventuring Gear. Other than that, the game plan of the deck is pretty simple” play guys, play bigger guys, play bombs, win. I submitted the decklist with 30 seconds to go, and was on my way to round 1.

Round 1 vs Jesse (UR Allies)
In the first game I mulligan and Jesse gets a Umara Reaptor and a Windrider Eel and a couple of allies, including Highland Berserker and Tuktuk Grunts. Unfortunately, I can’t deal with his fliers and we’re off to game 2.

I get a double Giant Scorpion and start bashing face with one that’s suited up with Adventuring Gear. Unfortunately Jesse resolves a Gomazoa and is able to Magma Rift one of my insects. He then resolves the Umara Raptor and a Stonework Puma which flies over me and knocks me eventually to 0, although he was at 2 when the final blow was struck.

0-1

Round 2 vs Connor (RB Aggro)
Connor and a few of his friends had traveled all the way from Victoria for the PTQ, so it made my 3.5 hour drive look ridiculous (although thery flew). He started off with an Akoum Refuge, and made a turn 2 Bloodghast. Luckily my Giant Scorpion blocked it all day long and prevented the little vampire from ever hitting my life total. Although his forces of Geyser Glider, Gatekeeper of Malakir and Torch Slinger was able to put me at 5, but Hellkite Charger changes the game state to an unbelievable degree. A single swing from the dragon is enough to win game 1.

In the second game, Connro gets stuck on 3 lands, and is using Goblin Guide and an unkicked Torch Slinger to try and beat me down. However, I have a Highland Berserker and Adventuring Gear which get in for some great beats, and my draws eventually outclass him so much that I can finish him off with a Needlebite Trap.

1-1

Round 3 vs Nick (GW)
I watched Nick play in the feature match of last round against teammate Sean, so I know he’s packing multiple Steppe Lynx and Cobra Trap, as well as mutiple landfall boosters. Nick gets a turn 1 Trusty Machete, and a turn 2 River Boa, which makes for a discouraging board position. Or, it would have if I didn’t have a turn 3 Gatekeeper of Malakir. Nick gets stuckon 3 land, and I just overrun him.

In games 2 and 3, River Boa and Trusty Machete both make repeat appearances, to which I have no answer. This gets even more awkward when a Quest for the Gemblades gives him a 6/5 regenerator. I can’t deal with it, and my hopes of top 8 are dashed. However, if I win from here on out I can still make prizes. I think my deck is good enough, so I do not drop.

1-2

Round 4 vs Ryan (RB control-ish)
In game 1 I go the full allies route, with double Sell-sword and berserker paving the way. His creature’s die to my removal, and a timely Goblin Shortcutter clears the way for my allies to take him to 0. My life sheet for Ryan goes 20, 16, 7, 0. Just shows how great multiple allies are.

In game 2 Ryan goes all out, and starts with Plated Geopede and backs it up with Quest for the Gravelord and Shatterskull Giant. I have no answers, and don’t deal a single point of damage.

Game 3 has Ryan lamenting the inclusion of Grappling Hook and Chandra Ablaze in his deck, due to their prohibitevely high costs (a 4 mana equip and discarding a red card respectively). I have a Sell-Sword and a pair of Giant Scorpions, which work great. I eventually cast Grim Discovery to get back Tuktuk Grunts and swing for the win.

2-2

Round 5 vs Christophe (RB)
It seems like everyone and their best friend is playing Red-Black today, and Christophe starts the game off with a Vampire Hexmage. He misses about 5 Quest for the Gravelord triggers, and my allied eventually overrun him.

In game 2, he resolves a Vampire Nighthawk, but I have the timely Inferno Trap. I when it looks like he might win (I’m at 10), I draw Hellite Charger and just win in an obsene fashion, bringing him from 19 to 0 in a few swings. Seriously, that card is so awesome.

3-2

Round 6 vs Blair (UB control)
Blair has a very nice deck, packing both Sphinx of Lost Truths and Sphinx of Jwar Isle. However, neither see play, as he struggles to play threast and remove my guys while I just keep augmenting my forces. He doesn’t have enough Hideous Ends (he had 2), and my allies just take him to the cleaners. In game 2 I resolve my Kalitas, which slaughters any chance my opponent had of defending himself.

4-2

Round 7 vs James (BWR Control)
James lets it slip that he has an Ob Nixilis. the Fallen, He casts double Kor Hookmaster and taps down my blockers, and I go all the way down to 0 without having dropped him below 20.

Game 2 is slightly better off for me, with my Bog Tatters taking put the largest chunks of his life total[/card], and we head off to game three with half an hour left in the round.

It gets to the point where I’m at 1, and he’s at 10. I have a Bog Tatters equipped with an Adventuring gear. I’m sitting on 4 Swamps and a Mountain, and see my great Hellikite Charger staring at me from my hand. I’m thrilled when I pass my turn, hoping to rip the mountain that will win me the game. However, James says he has effects on my upkeep, and casts Disfigure on my swampwalker. Of course. The card on the top of my library? Of course it was the mountain that would’ve won me the game.

4-3

While the best card of the day was undoubtedly Hellkite Charger, and unexpected gem was the double Nimana Sell-Sword They arte just so good with other allies that it’s unbelievable. They also don’t die to Hideous End!

I think that the key to Zendikar Sealed is to be agressive, and play your bombs. I can’t stress that enough, because they won me at least half my games. I also think that black is the most played colour in the format, so main-decking Bog Tatters isn’t a bad idea.

My only colour preference coming into this event was that I really didn’t want to play blue, and that sentiment hasn’t changed (Although give me the cards Blair had in Round 6 and we’ll talk). Obviously if you have enough cards to support it, go for it, but I’ve found that the most consistent push is given by green, red and black, and I’m always happy to be in one or two of those colours.

While the final results have yet to be displayed on the DCI webpage, I believe my final place to be around 29th out of more than 120 competitors. Considering that my last PTQ a year ago had me going 1-3 drop, I’ll happily take this result. The next PTQ is in 3 weeks in my home town of Edmonton, and feel free to stop by and say hi. I’ll be wearing a bright orange Power 9 Pro shirt, so I’ll be easy to spot.

Props to Jason Ness and West Can Events for hosting the PTQ, they do an admirable job at this sort of thing.

Any thoughts on this particular deck or the Zendikar sealed format in general can always go in the comments section, or through my email (zak-AT-power9pro.com) or via my twitter feed at www.twitter.com/zturchan.

Cheers,

Zak

n-dexers sticker art

Winners were selected based on how close they were able to guess what the product was for or how it related to Magic: the Gathering.

Though we had no “perfect guesses,” there were a number that were so close we couldn’t say they were wrong.
You’ll see from the locations of the winners below, that Magic players from around the world participated in our contest. We’re elated to interact with the Magic community on such a personal level and look forward to hosting more contests.

In fact we had so much fun with the N-Dexers spoiler contest that we decided to hold another contest for the N-Dexers, this time tying in the Dragon’s Egg Power 9 Pro’s first solution designed with Magic players in mind. You can see all the details for that contest here. Our teammate Zak started us off with pics of his trip to Machu Picchu. (Don’t worry, he’s not really competition for the contest).

Without further ado, the contest winners are:

• Marco Ruiz from near-by Santa Rosa, CA USA
• Daniel Santorso from Terryville, CT USA
• Andrew D’Agostino from Yardley PA, USA
• Nathan Merilees from Sechelt, British Columbia Canada
• Nicholas Chmielewski from Annerley, Queensland Australia

Thanks again to everyone who participated. It was really exciting seeing your guesses.

I’m sorry that they spill over into the margins, but I really love the quality that the bigger size affords you.  And no, I really didn’t want to crop these pictures.

Enjoy!

Me, A Galapagos Tortoise, and the Dragon's Egg. Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Me, The Dragon's Egg, and a Pre-Incan Temple in the middle of Lima, Peru.

With the stunning view of Machu Picchu in the background, I got one last shot of me and the Egg.

For those of you that needer more convincing, I used the Dragon’s Egg to carry sunscreen, insect repellant, my wallet, and a plethora of utility items during my trip.  Hooray for not having to bring a giant backpack with me all the time!

I’m looking forward to see the submissions for the contest, so do your best to impress us.

Cheers,

Zak

In fact, we’re so curious that we’re going to hold a contest and reward the winner and two runners-up with free N-Dexers!

Here’s how it works:
Take a picture of yourself with your Dragon’s Egg. The picture can be taken at a tournament, it can be of you and your friends being goofy, or maybe even at an exotic location like the top of the Empire State Building! Bonus points for playing Magic in the picture.

Email the picture to us at contact@power9pro.com. On September 20th, Power 9 Pro will select the best picture and two runners-up. The winner will receive a 60x pack of the N-Dexers and the two runners-up will each receive a 12x pack!

What you need to qualify:
A Dragon’s Egg, a digital camera, email.

That’s it. Pretty simple.

After a few delays along the road, Power 9 Pro is ready to introduce the next product we’ve designed specifically to make life easier for Magic: the Gathering players.

The next solution is called “N-Dexers.” Based on the name and the accompanying art, the solution should be fairly clear.

We’re looking to make the organization of our massive card collections easier and more clear. Along those lines, the N-Dexers will also help immensely when it comes to deck construction since you won’t have to rifle through cards looking for a specific card. I find this to be the problem even when my cards are organized alphabetically!

Here’s a breakdown of what see as the benefits of the N-Dexers over existing solutions:

• Works for either of the industry standard boxes–whether you have the vertical boxes (as frequently used by WotC in Fat Packs) or the horizontal standard (as commonly released in 800 count++ corrugated storage boxes).
• Flexibility in Organization Choices:Rather than tell YOU how to organize your cards, we wanted the solution we provided our fellow Magic players to be flexible. If you currently prefer to organize your cards by creature type or converted mana cost, then we wanted you to be able to do that! Though in all honestly, we see users most likely organizing their collections by card name, set name & color, set name & rarity, or something similar.In order to label the cards, we provide a set of label-stickers for the N-Dexers with each purchase. We’ll also make a printer-ready template available for download so you won’t have to write really small and then not be able to read the cards. We’re big on a comprehensive solutions over here. The printer template will allow each user to fill out the labels how they see best, just print the labels out and stick ‘em to the N-Dexers.
• Accessibility
  As I alluded to, when we’re constructing decks over here at Power 9 Pro, we frequently find ourselves rifling through cards looking for that single elusive card that we just know we have. It’s frustrating and extremely time consuming. This is the case even when our cards are organized. Rather than perpetuate a bad habit that includes handling our valuable collection pieces over and over again, furthering the chances of a scuff or nicked edge we decided that the N-Dexers had to increase the accessibility of our cards when placed in storage.

  The main design solution to this problem was the creation of a ‘tab pattern’ that resembles a filing cabinet. Because we anticipate some players having hundreds of tabs in their boxes, we wanted to make sure that we could quickly scan through a box without having to thumb through each of the tabs. That would defeat the purpose of the N-Dexers in the first place! Our solutions is that each tab is offset from the previous tab.

  Moreover, we English-speakers read from right to left and so the offset is from left to right, impacting readability in a truly meaningful way. Check it out!

  

• As you know, Power 9 Pro’s first product is the Dragon’s Egg, the only truly durable CCG-specific bag on the market. What good would a second product be if it didn’t play well with the first product? Not very good in our opinion! One thing we found ourselves doing over and over again is carrying different partial decks with us to tournaments and play sessions so we could lend the cards to our friends. By designing the N-Dexers to fit in the Dragon’s Egg, we can now have a mobile collection with cards and partial decks clearly demarcated from each other.
• Longevity of solution:One of Power 9 Pro’s main focuses is providing innovation and value to players. Who has time for poor quality? We sure don’t and we assume each of you doesn’t either!As I mentioned, the N-Dexers come with labels for you to put on the N-Dexer tabs. These labels can be easily removed so you can keep your set updated as collections grow and change over time.The N-Dexers come with a 5 year warranty for any manufacturing defects. However, after a series of complex computations on the half-life of plastics, multiple consultations with chemists and our insurance actuaries, we can safely say the N-Dexers, treated properly, will last close to 1000 years without compromise to functionality.

Distribution:

We are currently offering the N-Dexers in two different quantities: 12-packs and 60-packs. The 12-packs will carry a MSRP of $4.50 and the 60-packs will carry a MSRP of $17.95. If you do the math on the pricing, you’ll notice that the 60-packs are essentially a “buy 4, get a 5th free.”

The N-Dexers are currently being prep’d for distribution. Our release date for the N-Dexers to the public is August 15th. During the next couple of weeks we’re going to be getting our local retailers setup with supplies.

Saving the best for last, we recommend you sign up for our newsletter, as we’ll be notifying all subscribers of a variety of introductory discounts and packages–some of which will include discounts on the Dragon’s Egg. What are you waiting for!? Sign up!

**to all our contest participants: we’ll be contacting those who were accurate enough over the next day to send out your prize.

Anyway, my name is Dillon and I will posting here fairly often. Be sure to leave me some good comments even if you are just passing through. Onto the future, Marty.

Have you seen the ridiculous cards that are in store for us in Alara Reborn? The thing that is really cool to me is where the mechanic Cascade goes from here. The recent spoiling of Ardent Plea has been setting my teeth on edge for cards like Meddling Mage, Knight of Meadowgrain and Tidehollow Sculler just bouncing out for free. Who doesn’t love a free Springjack riding Kithkin with Exalted bonuses? Or a Volcanic Fallout pushing mage with a sex change from a decade ago? I’m sorry but I will playing with Chris Pikula’s invitational art only.

I will primarily be playing Bant control far into the Standard season because it so far imbedded into my style of play to abandon. Jenara, Asura of War is as efficient as I could possibly ask from my lovely home shard. One thing I see whenever I hear people talking about Jenara is this, “You invest mana into just to see it pathed? It sucks”. You must remember one thing: They can only play it if they have it in hand. It is obviously going to be in every deck in standard. Anything in this creature based format that doesn’t play path is going to be behind in the end. People might think “Just play Meddling Mage naming Path to Exile, you are set!” but it isn’t that easy. You see, Meddling Mage is a double edged sword for naming “Path to #$&!ing Exile” because you can’t play it either. Seeing as how you are obviously running white for him, it allows the skilled players to shine through.

Board position is sometimes a difficult thing to gauge because you are unsure what is in their hands most of the time, and you are unsure what they are going to draw usually. I have killed an Ajani Vengeant for board position and then over extended only to see my opponent to draw into another Ajani Vengeant, zap my Sower of Temptation, gain 3 life, and absolutely turn the game around. How do you even attempt to play around that? The truth is, sometimes you can’t and it hurts to say. There is luck involved, but in most cases board advantage isn’t everything, because allowing your deck to have options instead of just answers is awesome.

Bant gets the bag of tricks which is Bant Charm which will only get better for the GWU clan once Reborn strikes the scene. Meddling Mage has some serious things to attempt to ward off with these guys. We aren’t a one trick pony when it comes to removal. I see Magma Spray getting much more main deck play as well. What a nasty, nasty card. 

It is really Terminate that scares me the most. My guys have some serious toughness, it is usually a two-for-one on magma sprays for me, but Terminate is just awful. It doesn’t care what color I am, how much etherium runs through my body or that I could regenerate. It just destroys me.

Blightning will quickly branch off into mid-range Jund decks. Those green creatures are far too good to pass up. Spellbreaking, Hackblade-ing, Madrushing, beasts. Lets call it Monsters Inc. now and get it out of the way, shall we? An extremely honorable mention for Monsters Inc. would be Maelstrom Pulse. It ruins ideas of Ancient Ziggurat being your racetrack but it is worth every land in your deck. This echoing Vindicate is what Jund has been waiting for. Volcanic fallout is great, but that double red is sometimes annoying in a three color deck and sometimes easier to play around then Maelstrom Pulse. To me, I can’t play Noble Hierarch (with hopes of using her for mana) or Sower of Temptation (with hopes of keeping a creature) with Volcanic Fallout present. I just play War Monk, Rafiq and Kitchen Finks instead. Usually multiples. Playing around both of those cards? Imagine it being played off Cascade. Ouphe.

By the way, Cascade triggers “When you play this spell”, keep that in mind.

The metagame of Standard is much larger then a couple shards in Alara. Faeries, Swans, 5cc, B/W tokens, they all still exist and will be discussed in good time. I have so many other formats to talk about but I am very excited for Alara Reborn and I hope it shakes this metagame upside down. On wednesday night was trivia night and a question was asked there that went as follows: “What is the most common sign thrown at a ‘rock, paper, scissors’ tournament?”

The answer is Paper, want to know why? Rock is the most common sign thrown, so the best players use Paper. With that knowledge don’t you throw Scissors? The metagame then shifts to the standard as Paper  and from there then evolves and shifts accordingly. That is how Magic feels right now. I want more than three options. Give me a standard format that is flowing with originality. I am putting my hopes into Alara Reborn to open that door for the sake of deck builders everywhere.

Best regards,

Dillon

We’re also psyched about the Alara Reborn release on April 30 and want to make sure you gear up so you can show up at the Launch party like a bad ass.

Purchase a Dragon’s Egg Tournament Bag from www.power9pro.com between March 22 and April 15 to receive your choice of 2 free buttons from Power 9 Pro’s Zazzle.com gallery to customize your Dragon’s Egg!

As another added bonus, we’ve thrown in free shipping. Use coupon code p9pspring09 to receive free domestic shipping on your Dragon’s Egg.

But wait, there’s more! All those who purchase a Dragon’s Egg before April 15 will ALSO be entered in a random drawing to win one of our fabulous t-shirts:

Dragon’s Egg and Goblin by power9pro

Power 9 Pro Protect Your Decks by power9pro

Here’s how it works:

After you make a purchase from www.power9pro.com, email us at contact@power9pro.com and tell us which 2 buttons you would like from our product gallery at zazzle.com/power9pro.  We’ll send you 2 free buttons, and enter you in the drawing to win a free t-shirt.

On April 15, the winner will be announced on our blog, and we’ll contact the lucky someone so they can choose their t-shirt style, color, and size!

bill starks’ post focused on a series of thefts occurring at the Grand-Prix Chicago tournament. apparently by the end of the first day of Grinders, already 20 bags were missing. unsatisfied with the first day pull, at least one suspect was apprehended during the act on Day One. sparks’ break down is pretty interesting to read so i encourage everyone to check it out–it reads like the first 5 minutes of the the sting.

i’ve noticed players discussing theft at previous events, including grand prix la in janurary (i don’t believe nor want to imply theft was as much an issue there; however, the players were definitely discussing the issue). it’s seriously uncool that we players even have to think about theft. we should be thinking only about magic. that’s the only thing that matters, right?

here’s a short list of five things you can do to prevent YOUR magic stuff from being taken:

Tip 1: keep your cards with you at all times — sounds cliche but a lot of players actually don’t do this.

Tip 2: only trust your closest mtg-friends to watch your possessions–but only long enough for you to visit the restroom or buy a couple of packs. meaning, don’t impose on your friend to be responsible for your stuff.

Tip 3: only bring what you need for the tournament. this one is for the players who insist on bringing huge backpacks to tournaments, stuffed with every rare they ever opened from a pack. totally unnecessary (and a tad-bit obnoxious in my opinion). for many players, following this tip may mean getting a trade binder that only has cards worth trading for–and there are only like 100 so that shouldn’t be a problem. (sorta kidding about the 100 cards thing…sorta).

Tip 4: keep your possessions between your feet during play.

Tip 5: don’t ever forget that people will steal your things the first chance they have–so don’t give them any!

Tip 5.5: aside from being disgusted that people would stoop so low in their attempts at getting a “free ride,” [seriously! Get - A - F***g - Life!] i wanted to point out that the dragon’s egg design anticipates players needing a bag that is small enough to easily manage their tournament decks without being bulky and consuming a lot of space at the tables–let’s face it, we’re crammed into the tournament rooms. not only can the shell be taken out of the dragon’s egg (where you can keep everything in plain view on the table), the dragon’s egg itself is small enough to stay on your back during play–or as i prefer to stow it, between my feet. Copy Six said in his email that he’s also strapped the dragon’s egg across the back of his chair and not had any issues either.

putting the dragon’s egg (or any bag with your mtg cards in it), next to your feet allows for what happened to Ben Wienburg. it’s unfortunate that we players need to worry about other players looking to poach our possessions but that’s the state of things. better to just be prepared, right?

the design for the dragon’s egg is super convenient for accessing anything you need even in a cramped tournament hall while also keeping the cards secure. access + protection = god send.

proper gear may not help you win a game, but it will certainly help prevent losing $2000+ in cards at one go…