In Command; or, Color Pie, Speculation, and You

If you were paying attention to San Diego Comic Con this weekend, you may have seen this image:

You read that right. Planeswalker Commanders. And not just any Planeswalkers - old ones. If you follow the Magic storyline, you might know that Teferi gave up his spark to seal one of the time rifts endangering Dominaria. But this is Teferi as a planeswalker, meaning that these cards aren't limited to the current Magic storyline. That means that any Planeswalker is on the table. Even pre-mending ones.

As of now, the only hard fact that I can find is that there is a cycle of Planeswalkers that can be Commanders. Many are saying that they will all be characters from Magic's past, but I haven't seen that confirmed anywhere. It's possible that some of the planeswalkers appearing in this product are going to be entirely new characters, but how cool would it be if we got to see new versions of old, pre-mending Planeswalkers? [Editor's Note - since writing this, MaRo clarified that some of the Planeswalkers might not be old characters.]

Well, how about a little thought experiment/speculation. Who are the remaining 4 Planeswalkers, if we pick from old Planeswalkers from Magic's past?

Whelmed

Kiora waited.

Mostly patiently.

When the great beast the locals called Tromokratis had emerged from the depths - shark teeth gnashing, crab claws snapping, various unattributable appendages.... noodling - she had been decidedly nonplussed.

Journey into Darkness; Or, Out of the Shadows

Forget what your teachers/parents/authority figures might tell you. Magic is good for you. It's kept me healthy and whether you know it or not, it's probably doing the same for you.

I have not been playing very much Magic lately. This fact may or may not be correlated to the increase in minor panic attacks I have been having. Both of these facts are definitely causally linked to the fact that I recently moved out of New York City and haven't had (1) as much free time and (2) a place to play. (Social anxiety can make it hard to try new places/meet new people, it turns out.)

Dark Wishes; Or, All I Want For MtG-mas is a Combo Piece

The trick (if there is a trick) to deckbuilding (by which I mean more coming up with new decks than crafting a deck with a specific purpose) is wanting something. Really, really badly.

There's more to it than just wanting, of course. There's knowledge of cards, knowledge of rules, a good intuition for card selection, openness, etc..., but the way I see it, wanting something (and knowing exactly what it is that you want) counts for a lot. And there is no better time to want something than spoiler season, because chances are good that (if you want the right things) you will get what you want.

Random Decklists: Blue Man Group and Goblin Grenade Launcher

Trying something new for a little while since my life's a little crazy just now. Gonna post some rapid-fire decklists every day or so, with minimal testing and maximum whatever happens to come to mind at the time.



Standard Human Fish

4 Grand Architect
4 Aether Adept
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Invisible Stalker
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Adaptive Automaton
2 Cackling Counterpart

4 Mana Leak
2 Dissipate
2 Runechanter's Pike
4 Ponder
4 Vapor Snag

22 Island

This is a fun little aggro-controlly blue deck. An archetype that I have noooooo positive experience with. On the other hand, I wanted an excuse to use Grand Architect again, because I realllly like Grand Architect.

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Standard Chandra Brimstone Goblins, Uh... okay I am having some trouble classifying this one. TO THE DECKLIST!

2 Signal Pest
4 Goblin Arsonist
4 Spikeshot Elder
2 Perilous Myr
2 Hero of Oxid Ridge

4 Chandra, the Firebrand
4 Kuldotha Rebirth
4 Mortarpod
4 Brimstone Volley
2 Goblin Grenade
4 Infernal Plunge
2 Curse of Stalked Prey
2 Past in Flames

4 Inkmoth Nexus
16 Mountain

This one is a bit out there. Its primary focus is to get the most out of Chandra's copy ability. To some extent, I'm seeing how far it can go. In this case, it can double up on a Kuldotha Rebirth (6 goblins for 1 mana? sounds good) or drop a Goblin Grenade or Brimstone Volley for 10 if properly prepared. Infernal Plunge ties in with the sacrifice fodder and can set up a turn 2 Chandra if you're lucky. It also rolls nicely into a Past in Flames turn, much in the same way that real rituals do in real decks in real formats formats other than Standard.

Be back later this week! (really, this time)

One Year Later; or, Back to the Brink

What a long strang- no no no, we're not doing that old line. Let's start over at the beginning:

I started this blog a year ago in the wake of the Great Designer Search. At the time, I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to write about, but I knew that I wanted to write. I wanted to be something. I wanted to build myself up, and at the time, I saw three ways to go about it - as a writer, as a player, or as a deckbuilder.

Playing was out of the question. I just didn't have the time or freedom. And as for deckbuilding, it remains something that I'm passionate about, and it's something that I enjoy sharing. What I hope to bring to the table in deckbuilding is the enthusiasm for innovation and fun that I think gets lost all too often in the drive for victory. But that is an essay for another time.

Which brings us to writing - I've not been particularly prolific, and I attribute that somewhat to not knowing where exactly I'm taking this blog. I did call it Journey to Nowhere, after all. But I'm proud of most of these posts, and excited to be starting a new year of them.

And to start that new year, I'd like to go way back to the very start of things - my world of the Great Designer Search, Atheram (which I am going to rename "Athera" because I like the sound of it better. No promises that it won't change again).
If you need a refresher, check out my GDS2 post-game from last year.

And with that, a destination (if only a temporary one), I'll begin what I hope is an interesting series of posts - this Journey to Athera!

Doubt

There is a point where doubt sets in...

Can I really take this Burning Vengeance (or Furnace Celebration or Raid Bombardment... I have an unnatural fixation with 3 mana build-around-me enchantments). I know that I want to, but can I really justify it? It's so early in the draft... do I really want to force this archetype? Again?