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.

A Session with UR Polyplosive

If you look at my Polymorph posts from yesterday (Part 1 and Part 2), you’ll notice two things. First, and most importantly in a world where I didn’t screw up egregiously, I thought the UR build would be the worst of the 3. Second, and most importantly in this world, I forgot to put Polymorphs in the deck.

So first, an updated list:

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.