Breaking Block: Where Should I Wedge This Stick? Part 1

When you approach a deckbuilding exercise, for instance Pro Tour San Juan at the end of May, you are going to spend a lot of time poring through spoilers and brainstorming new creations. Sure, there’s a wealth of 2-set information to use as a jump off point, but the influx of cards from Rise of the Eldrazi and metagame influences from players who aren’t weaned on MTGO queues means that you and your team will have to figure out a lot for yourselves. It’s an exciting time, but also an overwhelming one.

You may prefer to play a certain kind of deck all the time, in which case your job is a lot easier. Just find the best tools available to that strategy. Probably though, your goal is a comprehensive (or as close as you can get) understanding of the new metagame and a reasonable prediction of what the best deck is going to be. To that end, you can, of course, bash your head against a brick wall. Eyeball cards that seem good and groups of cards that seem synergistic and throw best-estimate lists together. Throw them against each other and you’ll see what sticks out. Accentuate the strong parts, refine the numbers, sand off the soft masses. Decide these are the decks people will be playing. Then set about trying to beat those decks.

Quick Hits and Name Drops

Thanks to Bill Stark for the front page blurb at his awesome MTG news site, The Starkington Post.

BDM, Mike Flores, and Zvi Mowshowitz talk through the Top8Magic.com preview card and the constructed impact of Rise of the Eldrazi in a series of podcasts. BDM was one of the first people I told about my interest in Joraga Treespeaker; Flores doesn’t seem nearly as excited. Excellent discussions, nonethless.

Hardcasting Eldrazi

I attended GP Houston this weekend, and even though I only posted a 4-2-1 with Scapeshift Zoo, the juices are flowing again. The next round of relevant tournaments are Standard qualifiers for Pro Tour Amsterdam, so that’s what I’m going to be looking at for the near future.

Coming to the format with fresh eyes (I know Jund is good, but I don’t hate it yet), the first thing that strikes me is how awesome the mana ramp is right now. Saturday, Bdm asked me what officially-spoiled card excited me most. At the time, I said Joraga Treespeaker, but that’s only because I hadn’t seen Kozilek’s Predator yet. I’m pretty comfortable comparing this guy to Garruk Wildspeaker; it offers similar flexibility and slightly better defense, while providing a Veggies effect much more consistently and just a little less explosively. I know he doesn’t come equipped with Overrun, but if that’s the party you’re going to, his three warm bodies are more than welcome. Steve Sadin, in his column at dailymtg.com, predicted heavy block play for this card but was hesitant to vouch for it in standard. Personally, I have no doubts.