AVR, Modern, and You

But first, a musical prelude...

Ladies and Gentleman, Mr. Tom Jones!

Vex bomb vex bomb you're my vex bomb
You can give it to me when I need to come along
Vex bomb vex bomb you're my vex bomb
And baby you can turn me on

  So. AVR is out in the paper world, and set to hit MTGO soon. I think it's time we start looking at how these cards might fit in with the existing Modern archetypes. Needless to say, I was quite vexed by what I found. Thank you to all the folks out there brewing these!

Vex Bomb Bump

Magicman657

Beaters 4 Goblin Guide 4 Keldon Marauders 4 Vexing Devil 12 Creatures Burn 4 Bump in the Night 4 Flames of the Blood Hand 4 Lava Spike 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Magma Jet 4 Rift Bolt 4 Shard Volley 28 Other Spells

Basic Lands 12 Mountain Dual 4 Dragonskull Summit 4 Blackcleave Cliffs 20 Lands    Editorial: < Was Brimstone Volley in original build.    Editorial: < Could be Bob or Blightning.

  This is your basic Bump deck, with (Hellspark Elemental) swapped out for Vexing Devil. 'Nuff said. I also took some liberties with the original version of this deck, namely replacing (Brimstone Volley) with (Flames of the Blood Hand).

  This deck's brewmeister comments: "Vexing Devil is my new favorite red card."

Vex Bomb Zoo

Lantern

The Menagerie 4 Steppe Lynx 4 Tarmogoyf 4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 3 Knight of the Reliquary 3 Grim Lavamancer 3 Loam Lion 3 Vexing Devil 2 Kird Ape 26 Creatures Control 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Lightning Helix 4 Path to Exile 12 Other Spells

Basic Lands 1 Forest 1 Mountain 1 Plains Fetches 4 Arid Mesa 4 Marsh Flats 3 Scalding Tarn Utility 1 Sejiri Steppe 1 Horizon Canopy 1 Slayers' Stronghold Dual 2 Sacred Foundry 2 Stomping Ground 1 Temple Garden 22 Lands

  Here we have your basic "Thalia's Menagerie" Zoo variant, with Vexing Devil taking the place of (Kird Ape)s three and four, and (Loam Lion) four.

  This deck has seen play in the paper world, and according to the brewmeister: "Vexing devil has been speeding up the aggro matchup, and even giving some early reach against control. He even ate a Wurmcoil yesterday. Slayer's has actually been awesome too, the power buff and top deck mode is awesome in matches where removal is flying around everywhere."

Vex Bomb Boros

Brewer Unknown

Beaters 4 Figure of Destiny 4 Goblin Guide 4 Ranger of Eos 4 Steppe Lynx 4 Vexing Devil 2 Goblin Bushwhacker 22 Creatures Control 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Lightning Helix 4 Path to Exile Utility 4 Proclamation of Rebirth 16 Other Spells

Basic Lands 2 Mountain 2 Plains Fetches 4 Arid Mesa 2 Marsh Flats 2 Scalding Tarn Utility 2 Flagstones of Trokair 1 Ghost Quarter 1 Slayer's Stronghold Dual 4 Sacred Foundry 2 Clifftop Retreat 22 Lands

  Well, well, well! What have we here? This delightful mashup features the aggressiveness of Boros, Ranger of Eos shenanigans, and a surprise return from the grave with Proclamation of Rebirth! Some quotes from a discussion of this deck: "I don't think I've ever seen a more appealing selection of cards than these." "Double Devil off a Ranger of Eos is backbreaking." "This deck is probably the most aggressive deck I've ever played. The crazy number of 1 drops makes it easy to overwhelm the opponent quickly..."

  We'll see if these Vex Bombs stand the Litmus Test once AVR comes online, and people try 'em in the SE's.

 More New Decks! Are We Having Fun Yet?

  A slug's work is never done. This is my third edit of the "New Decks" section. When I see a cool deck to throw at you, I put it together and throw it on the griddle. I sprinkle in a dash of card information, pretty up the dead space, and put it on a plate for you. I wipe my brow, and let out a sigh of relief. Repeat. Repeat. I think I will stop with this edit, and call it a Time Warp when this article comes out next week. So here I am at edit number three...

  ... which leads me to say Woo hoo! New stuff is still coming out! GP Yokohama is a month and a half away, GP Columbus a month later. I wonder what kind of madness we'll see between now and then... Woo hoo!

  What can I say? I do love them mashups! This is a WRUG version of the UBR Evil Twin from GP Turin. This version uses counters, instead of disruption, to get the job done, and also packs a Gifts Package main deck. I am grouping this type of deck with the Splinter Twin family.

  This deck threw me for a double loop. I saw some cards that made me think it was storm, at first. As I looked closer, there wasn't a single card with Storm in the deck! The wincon appears to be getting the Pyromancer Ascension active with the draw and filter spells, then recycling "twinned" Lightning Bolts with Noxious Revival. But what do I call it? Do I lump it with Storm? Do I lump it with R(x)DW? It has many aspects of Storm decks, but the wincon appears to be RDW Burn. I still have no clue what the "official" archetype is, but I'm calling it Pyromancer Unstorm, and leaving it in it's own category.

  Well, well, well! What do we have here? This evil, twisted, nasty deck treads on dangerous ground, often putting the pilot in bolt range during the swing for lethal. But when it connects, it connects hard! Using phyrexian mana in Apostle's Blessing to get your guys through, and pumping up Immolating Souleater, makes Death's Shadow HUGE! And if it's not quite lethal, just throw on a Tainted Strike and kill your opponent with poison counters.

  EDIT: LOL! *shaking fist* Damn you, Gavin Verhey! :) Great minds and all that rot. With both Gavin and I bringing this deck to the masses, I foresee a few more appearances of this monstrosity, and it's cousin, UB(r) Suicide Delver, in the lists.

 The following decks aren't really "new", just new variants on existing archetypes. But I thought them unusual enough to be worth mentioning. I don't think I have to go into much detail about how these decks work, because we all know how the basic archetypes in question play. 

4c Delver

syrup16g (3-1) Modern Daily #3718954 on 04/14/2012

Beaters 4 Delver of Secrets 4 Geist of Saint Traft 4 Squadron Hawk Utility 4 Snapcaster Mage 2 Vendilion Clique 18 Creatures Utility 4 Gitaxian Probe Control 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Lightning Helix 4 Path to Exile Counters 4 Remand 2 Deprive 22 Other Spells

Basic Lands 2 Island Fetches 4 Scalding Tarn 4 Misty Rainforest Utility 1 Eiganjo Castle 1 Breeding Pool 1 Pendelhaven Dual 3 Seachrome Coast 2 Hallowed Fountain 2 Steam Vents 20 Lands Sideboard 4 Spell Pierce 3 Ancient Grudge 2 Combust 2 Threads of Disloyalty 2 Timely Reinforcements 1 Surgical Extraction 1 Vendilion Clique 15 Cards

  This is basically a UWR Delver with a G splash for the Ancient Grudge Flashback, and Pendelhaven to pump up Hawks and unflipped Delvers.

  This is basically UR Gifts Tron with a G splash for Firespout, Noxious Revival, and the Ancient Grudge Flashback..

UG Tron

mlmcc1 (3-1) Modern Daily #3718968 on 04/14/2012

Beaters 1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn 1 Wurmcoil Engine 2 Creatures Utility 4 Ancient Stirrings 4 Chromatic Sphere 4 Chromatic Star 4 Expedition Map 4 Mindslaver 3 Prophetic Prism 4 Simic Signet 4 Sylvan Scrying 4 Thirst for Knowledge Planeswalkers 3 Karn Liberated 38 Other Spells

Basic Lands 2 Forest Fetches 2 Misty Rainforest Urzatron 4 Urza's Mine 4 Urza's Power Plant 4 Urza's Tower Utility 1 Academy Ruins 1 Eye of Ugin 1 Ghost Quarter Dual 1 Breeding Pool 20 Lands Sideboard 3 Spellskite 2 Condescend 2 Nature's Claim 1 Crucible of Worlds 1 Ghost Quarter 1 Grafdigger's Cage 1 Oblivion Stone 1 Obstinate Baloth 1 Relic of Progenitus 1 Seal of Primordium 1 Wurmcoil Engine 15 Cards

  This basically G Tron with a U splash for Thirst for Knowledge, and the Academy Ruins/Mindslaver lock.

The Tiers, Revisited
or
It's a Whole New Ball Game!

  It's been a while since I took a look at the Tiers, so I think it's time to visit them once again. I am looking at only the decks that have appeared so far in the second quarter of Scheduled Events. What you're seeing here is basically three weeks worth of results. Obviously, there are several archetypes that have not shown up yet: Vampires, Shamanism, Summoning Trap, etc. There are also some new archetypes and mashups making themselves known. 

  I plan on revisiting the tiers every month or so, towards the end of the month. I started this visit early, so I could get a feel of what's out there, and have a solid "baseline" to work with. As far as what I am basing my Tiers on... Tier 1 are decks that consistently show up, and place well. Tier 1.5 are decks that consistently show up, as well. However, they don't show up with the same frequency, or put up the same consistency in the 4-0 payouts. Tier 2 decks have shown up at least once, and placed 3-1, perhaps with an occasional 4-0 appearance.

  The borders between the Tiers are very fuzzy, and some decks that should (in theory) qualify for a particular Tier are set higher or lower based on performance in the previous quarter. Please note that archetypes in each Tier are presented in alphabetical, not ranking, order!

  Archetypes that are marked with * each have their own little sub-metas, as you saw in last week's Wall of Voodoo. :) Some of these sub-metas have developed in the past week...

  ... which makes me once again go Woo hoo! Despite some end-of-season doomcrier's predictions, the Modern meta continues to flourish, with new decks slipping in all the time. I've edited the introductory "new decks" section several times since starting this article, and still am holding back some for next week.

Tier 1
 Affinity
 Delver*
 Jund
 Pod*
 Tron* 

Can Go Either Way
 Caw
 Storm*

Tier 1.5
 R(x)DW*
 Splinter Twin*
 W/x Lifegain/Aggro*
 W/x Tokens*

Can Go Either Way
 Aggro Loam
 Fae
 GR Aggro
 Land Destruction
 Rock*
 RUG Pyromancer Unstorm
 U/x/x Control*
 W/x Control*
 Zoo*

Tier 2
 5c Pox Rack
 Ad Nauseam
 Bant*
 Boros
 BR Aggro*
 Dredge
 Elves
 Heeby GB*
 Hive Mind
 Infect / Infect Affinity
 Living End
 MBC
 UW Aggro
 Vengevine

  You'll notice that some of the decks have shifted up or down considerably since last time. Boros has dropped from T1/1.5 down to T2: apparently no one plays Boros anymore. Zoo has moved from T2 to T1.5/2: Zoo has been making a surprising comeback lately, R(x)DW has moved from T2 to T1.5: It's numbers have been that good this quarter!

Ham on Wry: The Erik Friborg Celebration Classic

  Rather than dwell on the death of Erik Friborg, I've decided to spit in Death's face, and celebrate his life instead. Since his birthday is coming up soon, I'm organizing a tournament in Hammy's favorite format:

  Date: Friday, May 4th, 2012 Happy Birthday, Hammy!
  Start Times: 1800 GMT (Euro Event) and 9:30PM Eastern (US Event), "last minute" registration will open 90 minutes prior to start time. Registration will close 15 minutes before Event start. These Events are free to enter, and you may play both Events.
  Format: Constructed Classic
  Structure: 4 (or more**) rounds of Swiss pairing, followed by a T8 playoff (All pairings & standings will be generated by DCI-Reporter)
  Announcements and game chat: /join HAM
  Registration and results: /join HAMCOM (Please do not chat in this room) Registration will close 15 minutes before Event start.
  Decklists will not be required. We request no deck changes between games (sideboarding during matches is obviously ok), but the "honor system" will be used.
  You may pre-register by letting me, BlippyTheSlug (US Event), or _Kumagoro_ (Euro Event), know you want to play. Don't be shy. PM us in the MTGO client and say "I want to play!"
  Players, pairings, and standings for both Events, along with the current Prize Pool, can be seen here.  You can check to see if you have been pre-registered by looking here.

  You will notice some discrepancies in the Projected Payout between the two Events. This is due to two things: clan based pledges, and individual bounties. Some of these pledges were made before the Euro Event had even been imagined. Everything else, I was told basically "give this away as you see fit", so I split it right down the middle as best I could. This is all happening so fast... I encourage active European clans and playgroups to get together, then talk to _Kumagoro_ online, and get support going for the Euro Event. It's only a little over a week away now, so hop to it! 

Current Pledges and Donations:
  Wizards of the Coast has pledged 62 IPA Draft Sets!
  Marlon MTGO has pledged 150 tickets bot credit!
  Alphabot has pledged 1 ticket bot credit to every player* (up to 100)!
  CardBot has pledged 100 tickets bot credit!
  MTGO Academy has pledged 50 PLC Boosters!
  MTGO Traders has pledged $100 in five gift certificates!
  TheCardNexus has pledged 100 tickets bot credit!
  The MTGO Bazaar has pledged 100 tickets bot credit!
  SharpBot has pledged 5 IID Draft Sets!
  ValueBot has pledged 1 ticket bot credit to every player* (up to 100)!
  Clan CerealKillaz has pledged 60, and donated 20 tickets! (60 to Winner-US Event, 20 "door prizes")
    A CK T-shirt to the highest placed CK member! (US Event)
    A second T-shirt if the event winner is a CK member! (US Event)
  Clan Yawgmoth has pledged a playset of FOIL Snapcaster Mage! (US Event)
  AJ_Impy has pledged a bounty of one playset FOIL Circle of Protection: Red to any player* losing all rounds to RDW!
  Anonymous has donated 10 tickets!
  Anonymous has donated 5 tickets and a Momir Vig Avatar! (Euro Event)
  caliban17 has donated a bounty of three Garruk Wildspeaker (PRM, PRM FOIL, and CMD) to the highest placed player* who attained a life total of at least seventy five in one game! (US Event)
  Emoticon has donated 68 Tickets and 2 RGD Draft Sets!
  grapplingfarang has pledged 5 M12, 2 ISD, and 2 DKA Boosters on various bounties!
  joekewwl has donated a playset of FOIL M12 Solemn Simulacrum! (US Event)
  JustSin has pledged a bounty of one Plateau to the highest placed RDW deck with at least one match win! (Euro Event)
  Winter.Wolf has pledged a bounty of one Plateau to the highest placed RDW deck with at least one match win! (US Event)
  xkorpio has donated a bounty of 1ea FOIL Channel, Fastbond, and Regrowth to the highest placed player* w/out FoW! (Euro Event)
  SBena_Bot has pledged 10 tickets bot credit to the Hosts!
Approximate Prize Pool Value: $2,766.46!

Current Projected Payout:
     All proceeds from Hammybot to Erik Friborg's family
     $60 donation to Hammybot in both Winner's names
     1st - US Event: 144 various Tickets/bot credit / Playset FOIL Snapcaster Mage / 2 IID Draft Set / 9 IPA Draft Set
     1st - Euro Event: 80 various bot credit / 3 IID Draft Set / 9 IPA Draft Set
     2nd - US 56/Euro 53 various Tickets/bot credit / 6 IPA Draft Set
     T4 - US 30/Euro 28 various Tickets/bot credit / 4 IPA Draft Set
     T8 - US 15/Euro 14 various Tickets/bot credit / 2 IPA Draft Set
     17th place player* in each events - 17 Tickets
     18th place player* - US Event - playset FOIL M12 Solemn Simulacrum
     First fifty players* in each event - 2 various bot credit
     Last twenty five players* in each event - 1 PLC Booster
     ("Double dipping" is possible and allowed if less than 75 players*.)
     Lowest placed player* who started 0-2 - 1 RGD Draft Set
     Highest placed player* w/out FoW - Euro Event - 1 FOIL Channel, Fastbond, and Regrowth
     Last Place Player* - Euro Event: 1 Momir Vig Avatar
     1st active ZEN Ascension of each type - US Event - 1 M12 Booster
     1st win via Door to Nothingness ability - US Event - 1 ISD + 1 DKA Boosters
     1st win via Near-Death Experience ability - US Event - 1ISD + 1DKA Boosters
     Highest placed player* who attained a life total of at least 75 in one game - US Event - 3 Garruk Wildspeaker (PRM, PRM FOIL, CMD)
     Highest placed RDW player* in each event - 1 Plateau
     Any player* who lost all rounds to RDW - 1 Playset FOIL Circle of Protection: Red
     Highest placed CK player* in US Event - 1 CK T-shirt, +1 CK T-shirt if Winner is CK
     Twenty five random players* who did not receive any other prizes*** - 1 Ticket

* A player is defined as entering the event and playing all rounds**. A bye is considered playing in a round. Failure to appear for a round is considered a drop, unless prior arrangements are made. Any drops prior to pairing announcement for final round** will be ineligible for any prizes. Any leftover credits or boosters from the Euro Event will go to the US Event. :) We're basically paying people to play!

** The base is four rounds. If we hit 64 players, we will go 5 rounds. If we hit 128 players, it will be 6 rounds. I think it possible we may go 5, and would give birth to a live insurance salesman on the spot if we get enough players to go 6. The Gods forbid we go to 7.

*** After both Events are over, all players* from both Events who did not otherwise receive a prize will be put into a pool, and up to twenty five picked at random. Any Tickets left will be donated to Hammybot.

Any left over bot credits/boosters from the Euro Event will be applied to the US Event. Anything left over after that will go to Hammybot.

  More pledges, bounties, and donations are still coming in. Some of the people I've been in contact with need a little time to organize, and I am still pounding on doors and making a nuisance of myself. You can see the current Prize Pool and tentative distribution here. Key word is tentative. This gala bloodfest is still a week and a half away, and I'm sure there will be small changes here and there.

  If you want to make a personal pledge, clan-based pledge, bounty of some sort, a la Winter.Wolf & JustSin, or a direct donation like Anonymous, let me know. There are still a couple more weeks before this glorious bloodbath. I can also broker "direct donations" to Erik's family via Hammybot, or you can help support Erik's family by buying Erik's cards from Hammybot. Speaking of which, Hammybot is currently being stocked, and should be up and running soonish. I expect a shout will be heard when it does.

  The number of "pay you to play" seats in both events has gone from fifty to seventy five, and another twenty five "door prizes" added! I do believe we've already set a record for largest prize support in an online PRE, and pledges/donations continue to come in. We will probably set a record for online PRE attendance, as well. I don't know what these numbers currently are, but the first fifty seats in the US Event have already been filled. I strongly encourage you to pre-register by PMing me in the MTGO Client. You can usually find me during the day hanging out in the Just For Fun room. You can also let me know if you want to play in the Euro Event. I have no desire to be mobbed by seventy people wanting to register at 9:28PM. I'm sure _Kumagoro_ has no desire to be besieged at 1758 GMT, either. So I am closing registration fifteen minutes prior to start time. This will give Kuma and I each time to gather our thoughts, have a shot of Jägermeißter, and get ready to take you to an unknown frontier... Woo hoo!

  With this much chum in the waters, I expect a large turnout, with a great many sharks. Erik was no carebear when it came to gameplay. In fact, I'd call him downright cut-throat. I expect a significant percentage of players showing up to not be carebears, either. To be clear: there will be sharks. Oh yes. There will be sharks.

 
Overdrive! #43 Round-up

LelouchViBritania - Overdrive! #43 Champion

W Tokens

Beaters 4 Cloudgoat Ranger 4 Creatures Anthems 4 Intangible Virtue 4 Honor of the Pure 3 Glorious Anthem Tokens 4 Conqueror's Pledge 4 Spectral Procession 4 Timely Reinforcements 4 Shrine of Loyal Legions Weapons 3 Loxodon Warhammer Planeswalkers 3 Ajani Goldmane 33 Other Spells

Basic Lands 23 Plains 23 Lands Sideboard 4 Kor Firewalker 3 Sylvok Lifestaff 3 Sacred Mesa 3 Relic of Progenitus 2 Luminarch Ascension 15 Cards

  Won against WB Tokens, RDW Sligh, RDW Burn, Goblinstorm.

justcanceled - Overdrive! #43 Runner-up

Goblinstorm

Mana Dorks 4 Simian Spirit Guide Beaters 2 Kiln Fiend 2 Goblin Bushwhacker 3 Grim Lavamancer 11 Creatures Burn 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Shrine of Burning Rage Draw and Filter 3 Faithless Looting 4 Manamorphose Beaters 4 Empty the Warrens Rituals 4 Desperate Ritual 4 Pyretic Ritual 4 Seething Song Planeswalkers 2 Koth of the Hammer 33 Other Spells

Basic Lands 12 Snow-Covered Mountain Fetches 4 Arid Mesa 16 Lands Sideboard 4 Relic of Progenitus 4 Sulfur Elemental 4 Molten Rain 3 Smash 15 Cards

  Won against MBC, Snappy Teachings, WU Tallowisp, lost to W Tokens.

Semifinalists

ShiftingShadows

RDW Burn

Burny Beaters 4 Keldon Marauders 4 Spark Elemental 4 Ball Lightning 12 Creatures Burn 4 Shard Volley 4 Incinerate 4 Brimstone Volley 4 Needle Drop 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Lava Spike 3 Hammer of Bogardan 2 Burst Lightning 2 Searing Blaze 31 Other Spells

Basic Lands 17 Mountain 17 Lands Sideboard 4 Hurly-Burly 4 Smash to Smithereens 4 Kiln Fiend 3 Flame Slash 15 Cards

  Won against Turbofog, Storm, lost to W Tokens.

  Won against Goblin Storm (not Goblinstorm!), Soul Sisters, lost to Goblinstorm.

  Goblin Storm = Goblin deck with Storm, Storm Elemental; Goblinstorm = Storm deck w/Empty the Warrens as wincon.

 
Eurodrive! #27 Round-up

  With this win, apaulogy became the first four time Eurodrive! champion! Let's see if he can top that with a hat trick!

  Won against UW Polymorph, Kithkin, UB Zombies, RDW Burn.

FallenCherub - Eurodrive! #27 Runner-up

RDW Burn

Beaters 4 Goblin Guide 3 Grim Lavamancer 2 Hellspark Elemental 2 Keldon Marauders 11 Creatures Burn 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Shard Volley 4 Burst Lightning 4 Rift Bolt 4 Lava Spike 4 Molten Rain 3 Searing Blaze 2 Flames of the Blood Hand 29 Other Spells

Basic Lands 16 Mountain Fecthes 4 Arid Mesa 20 Lands Sideboard 4 Volcanic Fallout 3 Leyline of Punishment 2 Staggershock 2 Flames of the Blood Hand 2 Smash to Smithereens 2 Relic of Progenitus 15 Cards

  For me, the dividing line between RDW Burn and RDW Sligh is twelve Creatures. This deck falls on the Burn side of that scale.

  Won against BYE, Affinity, UB Suicide Delver, lost to Jund.

Semifinalists

_BIG_BROTHERS_

Almost Standard UB Zombies

Beaters 4 Geralf's Messenger 4 Gravecrawler 4 Diregraf Ghoul 4 Diregraf Captain 4 Phantasmal Image 3 Phyrexian Obliterator 23 cards Control 4 Geth's Verdict Weapons 4 Tragic Slip 3 Mortarpod 1 Sword of Fire and Ice Planeswalkers 2 Liliana of the Veil 14 Other Spells

Basic Lands 14 Swamp 1 Island Dual 4 Darkslick Shores 4 Drowned Catacomb br /> 23 Lands Sideboard 4 Mana Leak 3 Ratchet Bomb 3 Black Sun's Zenith 2 Go for the Throat 1 Sword of War and Peace 1 Phyrexian Obliterator 1 Sever the Bloodline 15 Cards

  Won against BYE, Snappy Teachings, lost to Jund.

  Won against BYE, RDW Sligh, lost to RDW Burn.

 Where Angels Fear To Tread #4 

   Players: 18
   4-0: SethDrone
   3-1: romellos, Doqpelganger, justcanceled, SBena, Mikolaj

   Players, pairings, results, and standings can be found here.
   All decks for WAFTT #4 can be found here.

Interesting Tidbits

  A quick note on the Ham On Wry card: I tried to follow protocol as best I could, Including artist. The USAF_E-8_RET is the author of a post I found with this art via Google Image Search for "flying pig". Thus I used that moniker as the artist credit.

  Another Thunderdome PRE in Standard format is here: Friday Night Magic Massacre! By my count, that makes four now! It's wonderful for me to get a chance to actually play in them instead of running them! I'm taking my "Mono" B Zombie deck to both. There are plans in the making for yet more Thunderdome PRE on weekends! Results: Lost FNMM in Round 1 to Titan Ramp Run. Won SNB Round 1 against WG Sundial Tokens, lost Round 2 to Puresteel.

  Another week gone by, and Extended and Kaleidoscope are still dead. No one plays these formats. Yet we are still forced to view their rotting corpses whenever we enter the Scheduled Events room. I'm starting to think this is necrophilatic voyeurism on the part of the event scheduling folks. Perhaps now, with the introduction of Cube Draft, these corpses will be hauled away. We can only hope. 

http://www.mtgcast.com/?p=24599

NOVVM CONGREGATIONE PECTO
(Your Latin Lesson For The Day)

  Latin does not have the letter "U". Also, since Latin does not technically have lower case letters, I took some liberties. 

  Just because the PTQ season for PT Barcelona is over, and there is a lull in Modern Pro Play until GP Yokohama, does not mean that brewers have stopped brewing. Not by a long shot! When I peruse the Modern Deck Creation sections of the sites I frequent, I am constantly seeing new and interesting ideas. Some are just plain ridiculous, while others look to be strokes of pure genius. The daily Scheduled Events are the litmus test for many of these decks. I always enjoy coming across unusual decks when I'm looking through the Scheduled Event decklists, and I usually run into at least one. This week, I ran into three!

  Once again, Land Desruction rears it's ugly head, causing much wailing and gnashing of teeth! The game plan here is straight forward: using mana dorks to start your destruction of opponent's Lands on turn three, while applying pressure with your land eating creatures. While this deck looks superficially similar to one I reported on back in February, there are some key differences. The main ones being Trinisphere to the sideboard instead of main deck, and the addition of Firespout and Wreak Havoc. These seemingly minor changes have turned this deck from a 3-1 beast to a 4-0 monster.

  Nasty! I would not want to be on the receiving end of this deck, especially if it has a nut draw. With it's combination of hand disruption, and recurring (Bloodghast), disruptive (Sedraxis Specter), and pumped beaters (Nyxathid), it's a bad shotgun barrel to be staring down. Sideboarding to a heavy W splash is also a nice trick; the Vivid Lands easily provide you with all the color you need for your spells.

  This is an interesting take on the Jund archetype, packed chock full of beaters. The one thing I fail to understand about this build, though, is how to get the Vengevines into the graveyard. Bringing them out of the graveyard is easy: Bloodbraid Elf cascading to Putrid Leech, Radha, or Sprouting Thrinax takes care of that. But with only one Sarkhan the Mad, getting them in the graveyard can be problematic. Perhaps Faithless Looting is indicated? More likely, though, is the Vine being used as a "regular" beater; a hasty 4/3 is nothing to sneeze at!

AVR, Modern, and You

  Even though the AVR set has only been partially spoiled, some of these not-yet-released cards are already finding their way into potential builds. When DKA was released online, the first DKA card that was played in a Modern SE was Faithless Looting, the same day as the online pre-release. For some reason, I believe the first AVR card played in a Modern SE will be a Land this time:

  UR is a very popular color combination these days. Many of the Tier One(ish) decks use these colors: Storm, Splinter Twin, RUG Delver, UWR Delver, etc. Each and every one of these decks loves card filtering, and I can see this "Looting Land" being used in each and every one of them. This Land may even make a Burning Vengeance Flashback deck viable in Modern!

  A 4/3 beater for a single R? That they can "counter" by taking four to the dome? SIgn me up! This card sounds like a wonderful one-drop in a R(x)DW Sligh type deck. Or in a Zoo deck. Or in a Jund deck. Woo hoo! This li'l devil is just plain ol' nasty! I was hard pressed to decide if I would be seeing this card, or the Desolate Lighthouse first. In the end, I flipped a coin.

  I love disruption. This card has me excited, and I can definitely see it becoming a sideboard staple in disruption strategies to supplement Inquisition of Kozilek.

 I can imagine some red mages had to change their shorts when they saw this card previewed! If you can't figure out why red mages are excited over this card, I'm not going to explain it!

 Delver and Storm decks, especially those with top deck shenanigans, and blue mages in general are loving this card. Who doesn't like having an extra turn? The down side is, Miracle cards are cards you never want to see in your opening hand. How counterintuitive is that?

   This goth cutie (I guess the Avacyn angels all look goth because they were made by Sorin?) and this beat boi both look to be a wonderful reanimation/polymorph targets, according to the people discussing their future builds. At 8CMC, they're both a bit fat to hardcast.

Ham on Wry: The Erik Friborg Celebration Classic

  Rather than dwell on the death of Erik Friborg, I've decided to spit in Death's face, and celebrate his life instead. Since his birthday is coming up soon, I'm organizing a tournament in Hammy's favorite format:

  Date: Friday, May 4th, 2012 Happy Birthday, Hammy!
  Start Times: 1800 GMT (Euro Event) and 9:30PM Eastern (US Event), "last minute" registration will open 90 minutes prior to start time. These Events are free to enter, and you may play both Events.
  Format: Constructed Classic
  Structure: 4 (or more**) rounds of Swiss pairing, followed by a T8 playoff (All pairings & standings will be generated by DCI-Reporter)
  Announcements and game chat: /join HAM
  Registration and results: /join HAMCOM (Please do not chat in this room)
  Decklists will not be required. We request no deck changes between games (sideboarding during matches is obviously ok), but the "honor system" will be used. You may pre-register by letting me, BlippyTheSlug (US Event), or _Kumagoro_ (Euro Event), know you want to play. Don't be shy. PM us in the MTGO client and say "I want to play!"
  Players, pairings, and standings for both Events, along with the current Prize Pool, can be found here.  

  Wizards of the Coast has come on board! The great folks at WotC have pledged sixty two IPA Draft Sets to the pool! Woo hoo! Thank you! These will be distributed 9-6-4-4-2-2-2-2 at both Events!

  TheCardNexus has also pledged 100 tickets bot credits. This will be distributed 15-11-6-6-3-3-3-3 at both Events!

  We are now close to $1000 total value in pledges! Woo hoo! I'm hoping this will be the largest, most outrageous PRE ever! Hammy, if you're reading this from wherever you are, give the nearest Angel a wet willie (wet finger in ear) and tell her it's from me!

   You will notice some discrepancies in the Projected Payout between the two Events. This is due to two things: clan based pledges, and individual bounties. These pledges were made before the Euro Event had even been imagined. Everything else, I was told basically "give this away as you see fit", so I split it right down the middle as best I could. I've encouraged _Kumagoro_ to seek out pledges from European based sponsors that can be applied specifically to the Euro Event. I am trying to rouse some Euro-specific pledges, as well. I encourage active European clans and playgroups to get together, then talk to _Kumagoro_ online, and get support going for the Euro Event. It's only a little over two weeks away now, so hop to it! 

 Current Pledges:
  Wizards of the Coast has pledged 62 IPA Draft Sets!
  Marlon MTGO has pledged 150 tickets bot credit!
  Alphabot has pledged 1 ticket bot credit to every player* (up to 100)!
  CardBot has pledged 100 tickets bot credit!
  MTGO Traders has pledged $100 in five gift certificates!
  TheCardNexus has pledged 100 tickets bot credit!
  ValueBot has pledged 1 ticket bot credit to every player* (up to 100)!
  Clan CerealKillaz has pledged 60 tickets to the winner! (US Event only)
    A CK T-shirt to the highest placed CK member! (US Event only)
    A second T-shirt if the event winner is a CK member! (US Event Only)
  SharpBot has pledged 5 IID Draft Sets!
  Clan Yawgmoth has pledged a playset of FOIL Snapcaster Mage! (US Event only)
  Winter.Wolf has pledged a bounty of one Plateau to the highest placed RDW deck with at least one match win! (US Event only)
  SBena_Bot has pledged 10 tickets bot credit to the Hosts!

Current Projected Payout:
     All proceeds from Hammybot to Erik Friborg's family
     $60 donation to Hammybot in both Winner's names
     1st - US Event: 131 various tickets/bot credit / Playset FOIL Snapcaster Mage / 2 IID Draft Set / 9 IPA Draft Set
     1st - Euro Event: 72 various bot credit / 3 IID Draft Set / 9 IPA Draft Set
     2nd - US 47/Euro 44 various tickets/bot credit / 6 IPA Draft Set
     T4 - US 26/Euro 22 various tickets/bot credit / 4 IPA Draft Set
     T8 - US 14/Euro 13 various tickets/bot credit / 2 IPA Draft Set
     First fifty players* in each event - 2 tickets various bot credit.

* A player is defined as entering the event and playing all four** rounds. A bye is considered playing in a round. Any leftover credits from the Euro Event will go to the next players after fifty in the US Event. :) We're basically paying people to play!

  ** The base is four rounds. If we hit 64 players, we will go 5 rounds. If we hit 128 players, it will be 6 rounds. I think it possible we may go 5, and would give birth to a live insurance salesman on the spot if we get enough players to go 6.

  More pledges and donations will still be coming in. Some of the people I'm in contact with need a little time to organize, and I just started cobbling this beast together a week or so ago. You can see the current Prize Pool and tentative distribution here. Key word is tentative. This gala bloodfest is still a couple of weeks away, and I'm sure there will be small changes here and there.

  If you want to make a personal pledge, or offer up a bounty of some sort, a la Winter.Wolf, there are still a couple more weeks before the bloodbath. You can also make "direct donations" to Erik's family by buying Erik's cards from Hammybot.

  With this much chum in the waters, I expect a large turnout, with a great many sharks. Erik was no carebear when it came to gameplay. In fact, I'd call him downright cut-throat. I don't expect a significant percentage of players showing up to be carebears, either. Be prepared for this. 

  Over half of the "we pay you to play" seats in the US Event are already filled. I strongly encourage you to pre-register. I have no desire to be mobbed by seventy people wanting to register at 9:28PM. You Johnny-Come-Lately's out there, I mean you! You know who you are. Don't make me get medieval on your heinie!

Break It Down!

  Last week, Jund was struggling to catch up to the new quarter's frontrunners, Delver and Tron. In the interceding days and nights, Jund has closed that gap considerably. R(x)DW continues to put up impressive numbers, and is now jockeying with Affinity in the rankings, having passed Splinter Twin a few days ago. Some new Tron variants have shown up in the lists as well: UG & RUG Tron, as well as a 4c Delver! These three oddballs showed up too late in the weekend to go into this article, so I'll cover those decks in the next. Just as a hint, the two "new" decks that have R in their manabase have it specifically for Ancient Grudge in the sideboard. When I determine a decks color(s), I'm looking at the manabase, not at the cards in main deck.

  The meta has also developed to the point where I feel it's time to split the charts again.

  Meanwhile, in the Delver World, while URW Delver continues to put up the most numbers, UBW and RUG Delver are actually the more impressive performers. A lot of people are playing URW Delver, but more than eighty percent (that's eight zero!) of URW Delver decks that show up in the lists do so as 3-1. That's in the money, but not the big money. The few UBW Delver that show up finish 4-0 more than half of the time! Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

  RUG Delver has started showing up a lot more since the results from GP Turin. Most RUG Delvers these days are carbon copies of that GP winning decklist, with one slight modification: many are running Remand instead of Mana Leak in the 2CMC counter spot. This swap allows the RUG Delver deck a much better late game, as Mana Leak is pretty much only good in the early game. The only time it's good late game is if your opponent is careless, and happens to tap out for casting his spell. But if you tap out while sitting across from a "blue deck", you're asking for it. Anyway, I believe RUG Delver is going to be putting up more numbers in the next few weeks, and we'll see if it continues to stay in the twenty five percent range.

  The numbers don't lie. While URW is the "most popular" Delver build, UBW is the "strongest". Why more people don't run it, I cannot comprehend. W and B are the premiere colors for creature control, and Modern is (for the most part) a creature dominated format. Maybe it's the appeal of running something "red, white, and blue" that strikes a "patriotic" chord and puts on the blinders to other color possibilities. Maybe it's the big splash "Delver with a Scepter" made early in the PTQ season. Maybe it's a fashion statement. Maybe I'm just talking out the side of my neck.

 
Overdrive! #42 Round-up

  A RDW miror match for the Final!

FallenCherub - Overdrive! #42 Champion

RDW

Beaters 4 Goblin Guide 3 Grim Lavamancer 2 Keldon Marauders 2 Hellspark Elemental 11 Creatures Burn 4 Lava Spike 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Shard Volley 4 Burst Lightning 4 Rift Bolt 3 Searing Blaze 2 Staggershock 2 Flames of the Blood Hand 2 Volcanic Fallout 29 Other Spells

Basic Lands 16 Mountain Fetches 4 Arid Mesa 20 Lands Sideboard 4 Molten Rain 3 Leyline of Punishment 2 Flames of the Blood Hand 2 Smash to Smithereens 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Volcanic Fallout 15 Cards

  Won against GWB Pod, Jund Vampires, Infect, RDW.

silence1186 - Overdrive! #42 Runner-up

RDW

Beaters 4 Goblin Fireslinger 4 Stormblood Berserker 4 Stromkirk Noble 3 Grim Lavamancer 1 Spikeshot Elder 16 Creatures Utility 4 Shrine of Burning Rage Burn 4 Incinerate 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Gut Shot 4 Volt Charge 3 Shard Volley 23 Other Spells

Basic Lands 21 Mountain 21 Lands Sideboard 4 Arc Trail 4 Relic of Progenitus 2 Flames of the Blood Hand 3 Smash to Smithereens 2 Pulse of the Forge 15 Cards

  Won against Bump, GR Aggro/Storm, WG Tokens, lost to RDW.

Semifinalists

marcio costa

Infect

Beaters 4 Blight Mamba 4 Glistener Elf 4 Ichorclaw Myr 4 Necropede 4 Rot Wolf 20 Creatures Pump 4 Vines of Vastwood 4 Mutagenic Growth 3 Groundswell 3 Predator's Strike 3 Might of Old Krosa 2 Livewire Lash 2 Apostle's Blessing 21 Other Spells

Basic Lands 17 Forest Utility 2 Pendelhaven 19 Lands Sideboard 4 Hornet Sting 4 Nature's Claim 3 Fog 3 Relic of Progenitus 1 Naturalize 15 Cards

  Won against UG Polymorph, Caw, lost to RDW.

sheaj

WG Tokens

Token Generators 4 Geist-Honored Monk 4 Creatures Control 4 Day of Judgment 4 Bramblecrush Utility 4 Parallel Lives Beaters 4 Spectral Procession 4 Martial Coup 3 Timely Reinforcements Anthems 4 Intangible Virtue 2 Honor of the Pure Planeswalkers 3 Elspeth Tirel 32 Other Spells

Basic Lands 8 Plains 1 Forest Manlands 4 Stirring Wildwood Utility 3 Gavony Township Dual 4 Sunpetal Grove 4 Wooded Bastion 24 Lands Sideboard 4 Dispense Justice 4 Revoke Existence 3 Midnight Haunting 2 Rebuke 1 Honor of the Pure 1 Timely Reinforcements 15 Cards

  Won against MUC, UWR Delver, lost to RDW.

 
Eurodrive! #26 Round-up

  Won against BYE, MBC, Bloodcrank, Vengevine Zoo, UB Zombies.

  Won against Infect, RDW, Gifts Rock, Jund, lost to GBW Pod.

Semifinalists

  Won against WB Life, Doran Rock, UB Suicide Delver, lost to UB Zombies.

fliebana

Vengevine Zoo

Mana Dorks 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Noble Hierarch Beaters 4 Bloodbraid Elf 4 Knight of the Reliquary 4 Vengevine 3 Woolly Thoctar 1 Sun Titan Utility 4 Fauna Shaman 1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence 1 Qasali Pridemage 1 Lotus Cobra 31 Creatures Control 3 Path to Exile 3 Other Spells

Basic Lands 3 Forest 2 Mountain 2 Plains Fetches 4 Arid Mesa 4 Verdant Catacombs Manlands 2 Raging Ravine Utility 1 Bojuka Bog 1 Kessig Wolf Run 1 Tectonic Edge Dual 2 Copperline Gorge 2 Razorverge Thicket 1 Stomping Ground 1 Temple Garden 26 Lands Sideboard 4 Cunning Sparkmage 2 Qasali Pridemage 2 Kor Firewalker 2 Gaddock Teeg 2 Stony Silence 1 Path to Exile 1 Basilisk Collar 1 Nihil Spellbomb 15 cards

  Won against BYE, Boom/Bust Zoo, BW Control, lost to GBW Pod.

 Where Angels Fear To Tread #3 

   Players: 16
   4-0: allstar997
   3-1: SBena, r0x0r, romellos, Mikolaj

   Players, pairings, results, and standings can be found here.
   All decks for WAFTT #3 can be found here.

Interesting Tidbits

  Another week gone by, and Extended and Kaleidoscope are still dead. No one plays these formats. Yet we are still forced to view their rotting corpses whenever we enter the Scheduled Events room. I'm starting to think this is necrophilatic voyeurism on the part of the event scheduling folks. Perhaps now, with the introduction of Cube Draft, these corpses will be hauled away. We can only hope. 

  I played in the Sunday Night Brawl, a Standard format Thunderdome type PRE, this past weekend, and ended up taking the gold with:

"Mono" B Zombies

BlippyTheSlug - 1st Place - Sunday Night Brawl on 4/15/12

Beaters 4 Cemetery Reaper 4 Diregraf Ghoul 4 Ghoulraiser 4 Phyrexian Crusader 4 Skinrender 20 Creatures Control 4 Doom Blade 4 Geth's Verdict Disruption 4 Distress 2 Mind Rot Utility 2 Endless Ranks of the Dead 1 Undying Evil 17 Other Spells

Basic Lands 19 Swamp Dual 4 Dragonskull Summit 23 Lands Sideboard 4 Bump in the Night 4 Consume Spirit 3 Tribute to Hunger 2 Mind Rot 2 Undying Evil 15 Cards

  I also hear rumors of yet another Thunderdome PRE being organized! Also in Standard format. Woo hoo! It seems these bloodbaths are catching on. Two men enter, one man leaves!  If any of you PRE organizers/hosts out there want a copy of my "event patter" sheet (the text file I copy and paste from), let me know. I'll be more than happy to send you a copy.

  Rather than dwell on the death of Erik Friborg, I've decided to spit in Death's face, and celebrate his life instead. Since his birthday is coming up soon, I'm organizing a tournament in Hammy's favorite format:

  Date: Friday, May 4th, 2012 Happy Birthday, Hammy!
  Start Times: 1800 GMT (Euro Event) and 9:30PM Eastern (US Event), "last minute" registration will open 90 minutes prior to start time. These Events are free to enter, and you may play both Events.
  Format: Constructed Classic
  Structure: 4 (or more**) rounds of Swiss pairing, followed by a T8 playoff (All pairings & standings will be generated by DCI-Reporter)
  Announcements and game chat: /join HAM
  Registration and results: /join HAMCOM (Please do not chat in this room)
  Decklists will not be required. We request no deck changes between games (sideboarding during matches is obviously ok), but the "honor system" will be used. You may pre-register by letting me (US Event), or _Kumagoro_ (Euro Event), know you want to play. Don't be shy. PM us and say "I want to play!"
  Players, pairings, and standings for both Events, along with the current Prize Pool, can be found here.  

   The folks over at MTGO Traders are setting up Hammybot to handle the selling of Erik's MTGO Collection. All proceeds from the sale of Erik's cards on Hammybot will go directly to Erik's family. Expect a war report from that front in the near future, as well.

  You will notice some discrepancies in the Projected Payout between the two Events. This is due to two things: clan based pledges, and individual bounties. These pledges were made before the Euro Event had even been imagined. Everything else, I was told basically "give this away as you see fit", so I split it right down the middle as best I could. This is all happening so fast... Woo hoo! I've encouraged _Kumagoro_ to seek out pledges from European based sponsors that can be applied specifically to the Euro Event. I encourage active European clans and playgroups to get together, then talk to _Kumagoro_ online, and get support going for the Euro Event. It's only about two weeks away now, so hop to it! 

 Current Pledges:
  Wizards of the Coast has pledged 62 IPA Draft Sets!
  Marlon MTGO has pledged 150 tickets bot credit!
  Alphabot has pledged 1 ticket bot credit to every player* (up to 100)!
  CardBot has pledged 100 tickets bot credit!
  MTGO Traders has pledged $100 in five gift certificates!
  TheCardNexus has pledged 100 tickets bot credit!
  The MTGO Bazaar has pledged 100 tickets bot credit!
  ValueBot has pledged 1 ticket bot credit to every player* (up to 100)!
  Clan CerealKillaz has pledged 60 tickets to the winner! (US Event only)
    A CK T-shirt to the highest placed CK member! (US Event only)
    A second T-shirt if the event winner is a CK member! (US Event Only)
  Anonymous has donated 10 tickets!
  SharpBot has pledged 5 IID Draft Sets!
  MTGO Academy has pledged 50 PLC Boosters!
  Clan Yawgmoth has pledged a playset of FOIL Snapcaster Mage! (US Event only)
  Winter.Wolf has pledged a bounty of one Plateau to the highest placed RDW deck with at least one match win! (US Event only)
  JustSin has pledged a bounty of one Plateau to the highest placed RDW deck with at least one match win! (Euro Event only)
  SBena_Bot has pledged 10 tickets bot credit to the Hosts!
Approximate Pledge Value: $2,543.00!

Current Projected Payout:
     All proceeds from Hammybot to Erik Friborg's family
     $60 donation to Hammybot in both Winner's names
     1st - US Event: 146 various tickets/bot credit / Playset FOIL Snapcaster Mage / 2 IID Draft Set / 9 IPA Draft Set
     1st - Euro Event: 87 various bot credit / 3 IID Draft Set / 9 IPA Draft Set
     2nd - US 58/Euro 55 various tickets/bot credit / 6 IPA Draft Set
     T4 - US 30/Euro 28 various tickets/bot credit / 4 IPA Draft Set
     T8 - US 17/Euro 16 various tickets/bot credit / 2 IPA Draft Set
     First fifty players* in each event - 2 tickets various bot credit
     Last twenty five players* in each event - 1 PLC Booster
     5 random players* who did not win any other prizes - 1 Ticket

* A player is defined as entering the event and playing all four** rounds. A bye is considered playing in a round. Any leftover credits from the Euro Event will go to the next players after fifty in the US Event. :) We're basically paying people to play!

  ** The base is four rounds. If we hit 64 players, we will go 5 rounds. If we hit 128 players, it will be 6 rounds. I think it possible we may go 5, and would give birth to a live insurance salesman on the spot if we get enough players to go 6.

  More pledges and donations will be coming in. Some of the people I'm in contact with need a little time to organize, and I just started cobbling this beast together a few days ago. You can see the current Prize Pool and tentative distribution here. Key word here is tentative. This gala bloodfest is still a few weeks away, and I'm sure there will be small changes here and there.

  With this much chum in the waters, I expect a large turnout, with a great many sharks. Erik was no carebear when it came to gameplay. In fact, I'd call him downright cut-throat. I don't expect a significant percentage of players showing up to be carebears, either. The weather forecast for that day calls for a rain of gore, and gale force winds. So you will be spattered head to toe before this event is over. Be prepared for this. 

  I strongly encourage you to pre-register. I have no desire to be mobbed by seventy people wanting to register at 9:28PM. You Johnny-Come-Lately's out there, I mean you! You know who you are. Don't make me get medieval on your heinie!

GP  Turin

  Woo hoo! Over one thousand (one thousand sixty eight, to be exact) players entered GP Turin. This is freakin' awesome! I'll leave the hoopla and  dancing girls to the pro's, and let's dive right in to those Top 4 decks! I was expecting weirdness, and Turin did not disappoint.

RUG Delver

Antonino De Rosa - 1st - GP Turin on 4/1/2112

Beaters 4 Delver of Secrets 4 Tarmogoyf Utility 4 Snapcaster Mage 2 Vendilion Clique 1 Phyrexian Metamorph 15 Creatures Counters 3 Mana Leak 2 Cryptic Command 2 Deprive 2 Spell Pierce 1 Spell Snare Damage 4 Lightning Bolt 2 Burst Lightning 1 Electrolyze Utility & Control 4 Serum Visions 2 Vedalken Shackles Planeswalkers 1 Garruk Relentless 24 Other Spells

Basic Lands 1 Forest 6 Island 1 Mountain Fetches 4 Misty Rainforest 4 Scalding Tarn Dual 2 Breeding Pool 2 Steam Vents 1 Stomping Ground 21 cards Sideboard 3 Huntmaster of the Fells 3 Blood Moon 2 Ancient Grudge 2 Threads of Disloyalty 2 Relic of Progenitus 1 Combust 1 Negate 1 Spell Pierce 15 cards

  The main deck looks pretty straight forward for a RUG Delver. It's the Huntmaster sitting there in the sideboard that's making me go hmmm....

Martyr Proc

Michael Thiel - 2nd - GP Turin on 4/1/2112

Beaters 4 Ajani's Pridemate 4 Serra Ascendant Utility 4 Ranger of Eos 4 Squadron Hawk 4 Soul Warden 3 Soul's Attendant 3 Martyr of Sands 1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch 27 Creatures Other Spells 4 Spectral Procession 3 Honor of the Pure 3 Path to Exile 2 Proclamation of Rebirth 12 Cards

Basic Lands 14 Plains Utility 3 Windbrisk Heights 2 Tectonic Edge 2 Flagstones of Trokair 21 Lands Sideboard 4 Disenchant 4 Surgical Extraction 3 Grafdigger's Cage 2 Ghostly Prison 1 Path to Exile 1 Ratchet Bomb 15 cards

  Plain ol' Martyr Proc. This is the most "normal" deck in the T4; every other deck in the T4 has a slight "twist" to what we normally see.

UBeR Splinter Twin

Alessandro Lippi - T4 - GP Turin on 4/1/2112

Creatures 4 Deceiver Exarch 2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 3 Pestermite 9 Combo Creatures Combo Piece 4 Splinter Twin Disruption 3 Inquisition of Kozilek 2 Thoughtseize Counters 3 Remand 2 Dispel Damage 2 Electrostatic Bolt 2 Flame Slash Draw 4 Serum Visions 4 Sleight of Hand 2 Faithless Looting 28 Other Spells

Basic Lands 3 Island 2 Mountain Fetches 3 Misty Rainforest 4 Scalding Tarn Dual 3 Steam Vents 3 Sulfur Falls 2 Watery Grave 2 Cascade Bluffs 1 Breeding Pool 23 Lands Sideboard 2 Ancient Grudge 3 Blood Moon 2 Combust 2 Echoing Truth 4 Leyline of Sanctity 2 Relic of Progenitus 15 Cards

  Splashing B for disruption seems to be very popular in Europe!

Gifted Splinterstorm

Jose Luis Velazquez Del Pozo - T4 - GP Turin on 4/1/2112

Beaters 3 Empty the Warrens 1 Grapeshot Draw & Tutor 4 Gitaxian Probe 4 Manamorphose 4 Serum Visions 3 Gifts Ungiven Utility 4 Desperate Ritual 4 Seething Song 3 Pyretic Ritual 2 Past in Flames 1 Noxious Revival Control 4 Remand 3 Lightning Bolt 40 Cards

Basic Lands 4 Island 1 Mountain Fetches 4 Scalding Tarn 3 Misty Rainforest Utility 2 Halimar Depths Dual 3 Sulfur Falls 2 Steam Vents 1 Shivan Reef 20 Lands Splinterboard 4 Deceiver Exarch 4 Splinter Twin 3 Dispel 3 Pestermite 1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 15 cards

  This is basically Splinterstorm with Gifts added. The Rest of the T8 were Splinter Twin, Jund, RUG Storm, and RUG Delver, all of which were "plain vanilla", although both RUG Delver (winner and T8) decks had Huntmaster in the sideboard.

  Lastly, while not in the T8, this is my favorite GP Turin deck so far: instead of Storm siding into Splinter Twin, it's Splinter Twin siding into Gifts Reanimator! This deck takes the B splash for disruption of UBeR Splinter one step further, allowing the sideboard transformation into a UBR Gifts Reanimator! As you've probably noticed, I do love transformational sideboards. And this one is no exception. Most people don't expect a Splinter Twin deck to transform, while many people are ready for a Storm deck to do so.

PTQ Wrap-up

  The PTQ season for PT Barcelona is over! This section contains the last PTQ results for this past season. More late results might come in, but I don't really see the need to bring them out, as they're effectively moot points. Although I will still be trotting out any decks I see in those late results that tickle my fancy. LOL! Now that my "filler" is gone, I'm going to have to dig a little further afield in the Modern world for material to write about! We'll see what develops.

Austin, TX (3/24, 125 Players)
 GR Thin Tron - Zac Elsik - 1st
 BRW Control - 2nd
 Boros Taxes (T4)
 RUG Delver (T4)
 Splinter Twin (T8)
 GR Thin Tron x2 (T8)
 Grixis Control (T8)

GPT Turin: Barecelona, ES (3/17, 24 Players)
 Splinter Twin - Marc Samarra - 1st
 RUG Delver - 2nd
 UWB Delver (T4)
 Martyr Proc (T4)
 Affinity (T8)
 UWR Delver (T8)
 BR Vampires (T8)
 Martyr Proc (T8)

GPT Malmö: Copenhagen, DK (3/31, 18 Players)
 Boros - Rune Jørgensen - 1st
 Jund - 2nd
 Fae (T4)
 Storm (T4)
 Affinity (T8)
 Hate Caw (T8)
 Storm (T8)
 Bant (T8)

Denton, TX (3/18, 89 Players)
 Splinter Twin - Will Lowry - 1st
 Geist of St. Bant - 2nd
 BRW Control (T4)
 Eva Green (T4)
 Fae (T8)
 Affinity (T8)
 Jund (T8)
 RUG Delver (T8)

Lincoln, NE (3/24, 69 Players)
 RUG Delver - Richard Germar - 1st
 Affinity - 2nd
 Solar Flare (T4)
 G Tron (T4)
 RUG Delver (T8)
 Solar Flare (T8)
 WB Tokens (T8)
 Splinter Twin (T8)

Sacramento, CA (3/24, 104 Players)
 Ad Nauseam - Ryan Reynolds - 1st
 UWR Delver - 2nd
 Zoo (T4)
 UBW Delver (T4)
 Jund (T8)
 RUG Delver (T8)
 GR Thin Tron (T8)
 Martyr Proc (T8)

Springfield, MO (3/24, 85 Players)
 GBW Pod - John Penick - 1st
 UWR Delver - 2nd
 Summoning Trap (T4)
 GBWU Pod (T4)
 Affinity x2 (T8)
 Martyr Proc (T8)
 Geist of St. Bant (T8)

Tampa, FL (3/24, 84 Players)
 Affinity - John Cuvelier - 1st
 Jund - 2nd
 Affinity (T4)
 Geist of St. Bant (T4)
 BU Zombies (T8)
 GR Fat Tron (T8)
 RUG Delver (T8)
 Affinity (T8)

West Jordan, UT (3/24, 55 Players)
 GR Thin Tron - Bryan Hawley - 1st
 Summoning Trap - 2nd
 R(akdos)DW (T4)
 Splinter Twin (T4)
 Jund x3 (T8)
 Splinter Twin (T8)

Break It Down!

  Since the PTQ season (for PT Barcelona) is now over, I don't think I need to "break down" the PTQ meta any longer. Also, since this is the start of a new quarter, this section will now be devoted to the SE meta breakdown. Right now, this looks rather sparse, as only a few SE's have fired so far this quarter, and only seventy or so decks have been entered so far. You can now watch "live" as the Q2 meta grows from nothing and does it's thing.

  Up till now, I've only been keeping track of the "big picture" in the SE meta. I think it's time to start filling in the details. So now, in addition to their "big picture" part, I'm going to break those components down a little more. Here are the Delver and Tron charts to show what I'm talking about.

  In the GR Tron categories, "Fat" means more than twenty lands, and "Thin" means twenty lands or less. I only added categories that I remember from the Q1 meta. If a UG Delver or a WR Tron show up, they'll get added in as well. If any archetype can be said to be "cutting though the meta like a hot knife through butter", it's Tron. This archetype has gone from zero (minor player) to hero (almost every event has a few) in the space of about two months.

  Splinterstorm and Delverstorm will now be categorized in Storm, as will Gifts Storm and UBeR Storm, both of which I expect to start showing up in the SE's soon. Archetypes that only come in two flavors, like Pod (GWB & GWBU) or Fae (U & UR), I'm not sure that I want to break them down. Although someone did tell me of a "SplinterPod", which I have not seen yet.

  For those of you that like "raw numbers", here is the SE meta in it's raw form.

Overdrive! #39 Round-up

SethDrone - Overdrive! #40 Champion

RUG Delver

Beaters 4 Delver of Secrets 4 Tarmogoyf Utility 4 Snapcaster Mage 2 Vendilion Clique 1 Phyrexian Metamorph 15 Creatures Counters 3 Remand 2 Cryptic Command 2 Deprive 2 Spell Pierce 1 Spell Snare Damage 4 Lightning Bolt 2 Burst Lightning 1 Electrolyze Utility & Control 4 Serum Visions 2 Vedalken Shackles Planeswalkers 1 Garruk Relentless 24 Other Spells

Basic Lands 1 Forest 6 Island 1 Mountain Fetches 4 Misty Rainforest 4 Scalding Tarn Dual 2 Breeding Pool 2 Steam Vents 1 Stomping Ground 21 Lands Sideboard 3 Huntmaster of the Fells 3 Blood Moon 2 Ancient Grudge 2 Threads of Disloyalty 2 Relic of Progenitus 1 Combust 1 Negate 1 Spell Pierce 15 Cards

  Won against BYE, WBU Tokens, Soul Sisters, Swathstorm, and Goblins.

mayure - Overdrive! #40 Runner-up

Goblins

Goblins 4 Goblin Arsonist 4 Goblin Bushwhacker 4 Goblin Chieftain 3 Goblin Cohort 4 Goblin Guide 4 Goblin Wardriver 4 Mogg War Marshal 27 Goblins Burn 4 Goblin Grenade 4 Lightning Bolt 3 Flame Javelin 3 Searing Blaze 14 Other Spells

Basic Lands 19 Mountain 19 Lands Sideboard 2 Shard Volley 2 Combust 4 Lava Spike 2 Ball Lightning 1 Searing Blaze 1 Shatter 3 Smash to Smithereens 15 Cards

  Won against BYE, Storm, Green Taxes, Living End, lost to RUG Delver.

Semifinalists

Hellione

Living End

Cyclers 4 Street Wraith 4 Deadshot Minotaur 4 Monstrous Carabid 4 Jungle Weaver 4 Fulminator Mage 2 Architects of Will Utility 1 Shriekmaw 1 Ingot Chewer 24 Creatures Combo Piece 3 Living End Cascaders 4 Demonic Dread 4 Violent Outburst Control 3 Beast Within 14 Other Spells

Basic Lands 3 Mountain 1 Forest Fetches 4 Verdant Catacombs 4 Misty Rainforest Dual 4 Stomping Ground 4 Rootbound Crag 2 Overgrown Tomb 22 Lands Sideboard 4 Avalanche Riders 4 Leyline of Sanctity 3 Ingot Chewer 3 Faerie Macabre 1 Jund Charm 15 Cards

  Won against BYE, BRW Burning Palisade, WB Tokens, lost to Goblins.

American Nightmare

Swathstorm

Beaters 4 Grapeshot 2 Pyromancer's Swath Utility 4 Desperate Ritual 4 Pyretic Ritual 4 Seething Song 4 Past in Flames Draw 4 Faithless Looting 4 Gitaxian Probe 4 Manamorphose 4 Serum Visions 4 Thought Scour 42 Cards

Basic Lands 5 Island 2 Mountain Fetches 4 Scalding Tarn 1 Misty Rainforest Dual 4 Shivan Reef 2 Steam Vents 18 Lands Sideboard 4 Empty the Warrens 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Spell Pierce 3 Echoing Truth 15 Cards

  Won against BYE, WBR Tokens, Esper Snappy Teachings, lost to RUG Delver.

 
Eurodrive! #24 Round-up

  Won against BYE, Splinter Twin, GWB Pod, and GW Trap.

  Won against BYE, GWB Pod, Elfball, lost to Jund.

Semifinalists

  Won against GR Tron, Boros Shrines, lost to Jund.

grapplingfarang

Elfball

Elves 2 Imperious Perfect 4 Elvish Archdruid 2 Ezuri, Renegade Leader 2 Elvish Champion 4 Joraga Warcaller 3 Heritage Druid 4 Bramblewood Paragon 4 Wren's Run Vanquisher 4 Arbor Elf 4 Llanowar Elves 4 Nettle Sentinel 37 Elves Other Spells 2 Thorn of Amethyst 3 Lead the Stampede 5 Cards

Basic Lands 18 Forest 18 Lands Sideboard 2 Thorn of Amethyst 2 Tajuru Preserver 2 Viridian Shaman 3 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss 3 Wilt-Leaf Liege 3 Grafdigger's Cage 15 Cards

  Won against UB Goryo, GR Ramp Aggro, lost to GW Trap.

Interesting Tidbits

  Our next Modern format GP's are a few months away, and will be GP Yokohama on June 23-24, followed by GP Columbus on July 21-22, There are still several GP's whose format is being shown as "TBD". I can only hope that at least two of those will be Modern. 

  Our first ever Modern format PT will be PT "Hook" Seattle on Oct 19-21.

  As you can see, I've changed up the charts a bit, and hope to use these to provide you with more in-depth meta information.

Fools Rush In...

Where Angels Fear To Tread 

  I am pleased to announce a new, limited seating, Modern format event: Where Angels Fear To Tread will have it's inaugural event on Sunday, April 1st 2012 at 1800 UTC/GMT. There will only be twenty four (24) seats available, period. These seats will be filled on a first come, first served basis. No reservations will be accepted. No fees will be accepted. There is no Dress Code, but cleanliness and style is appreciated, and pants are optional. We do not have a bar, feel free to bring your own. You are responsible for your own behaviour. Let the party begin!

  I decided to use Sunday afternoon at 1800 UTC/GMT as a starting time, as this time slot is relatively convenient for players on both sides of the Atlantic. When I looked at the calendar and saw that April Fool's Day happens to be on a Sunday, boom! There it is. I believe that inaugurating an event on a "holiday" is good Feng Shue. Overdrive! started on July 4th, 2011, for example.

  This event is structured exactly like the MTGO Modern format SE's: four rounds of Swiss pairings, with prizes to all 4-0 and 3-1 players. You may play all four rounds, win or lose. Each match win gives you three points. All pairings and standings will be generated using DCI Reporter.

  The sponsor for this event is ValueBot. All prizes will be in the form of bot credits at ValueBot. ValueBot's has a very large Modern stock, and has prices consistent with the major retailers. I was told to explicitly mention that there are many foils in stock! 

  Prizes will be determined by the number of entrants. There will be one ticket credit per player entry put into a pool, which will be split thusly:
  40% of pool split between all twelve point (4-0) players.
  60% of pool split between all nine point (3-1) players.

  Using SE #3567447 (which had 24 players) as an example, this would have resulted in the lone twelve point player receiving 9.6 tickets credit, with each of the seven nine point players receiving 2.05 tickets credit. 

  Using SE #3567381 (which had 16 players) as example number two, the undefeated player would have received 6.4 tickets credit, and the four one-loss players would have gotten 2.40 tickets credit each.

  Since ValueBot uses the latest in bot technology, these prizes will be added to the bot "automatically"; there is no need to go through the process of creating a credit entry.
 

  I asked the head honcho over at ValueBot about his bot, and what he hopes to get out this. He told me "Selection, quality service, fair prices, and giving back... It is always nice to give back via PREs.  To give you an idea about successful bots - you can see that 'brand' has a lot to do with it.  Brand is really just the name.  CardBot has the best brand by far.  Alphabot is quite strong as well.  It has a lot to do with the name, but a lot more to do with consistency and just getting noticed.  I'm opening a second ValueBot (ValueBot2) - which I actually just turned on today.  The goal would be to give both ValueBot and more importantly ValueBot2 some recognition to increase its brand awareness"
 

  Let me stress again that this is a limited seating event. There will be a total of twenty four seats available at any given event. You will be able to read all the "fine print" when the official post for the event goes up on the mothership after the downtime on March 28th. Many of you have already played in my, or other, PREs, and are familiar with sending in decklists, reporting results in a seperate chat room, etc. There will nothing new or unusual in those regards.

 

  I look forward to seeing you there! 

March Madness

  In the Modern World, it seems there's a never-ending font of weird and wacky decks. Driven by the forces of demented brewers locked in rooms with enough Dr. Pepper and Doritos to choke a small horse, some more decks make their entrance to the stage....

  Who doesn't love big green fatties? The game plan here is simple and straight forward: "Hulk smash!" This deck has very little in the way of main deck control, pretty much just Pridemage & Canonist. 

  While not really a new deck, I am presenting this as evidence. Evidence of what, I don't know. I just found it giggleworthy that Goblins made T8 in a PTQ.

  This was the "unknown deck" in last week's Winnipeg PTQ report. (The corrected results are shown below). On the surface, it looks a lot like Big Zoo with (Vengevine) jammed in, along with Faithless Looting to facilitate getting (Vengevine) into the graveyard. Looking closer, it's still Big Zoo with the Vine jammed in. And (Eternal Witness) for graveyard recursion. The only problem I see with this deck is consistency in getting (Vengevine) into the graveyard. 

  There's a reason you keep seeing _Batutinha_'s name in the SE lists: because he pays attention to the meta, and is contantly brewing tasty treats like this little RUG number. Honestly, I have no idea how to play this deck; I'm an aggro Timmy. So I just broke it down as best I could, and leave it up to you to figure it out.

GPT/PTQ Round-up

  This coming weekend is the final weekend of the current PTQ season. 

3606620 (3/24, 129 Players)
 GR Tron - rizer - 1st
 Storm - 2nd
 Hive Mind (T4)
 Jund (T4)
 Melira Pod (T8)
 UWB Delver (T8)
 Splinter Twin x2 (T8)

3606628 (3/25, 213 Players)
 Storm - Zygonn - 1st
 Storm - 2nd
 Affinity (T4)
 GR Tron (T4)
 GR Tron (T8)
 Jund (T8)
 Living End (T8)
 Jund (T8)

Allentown, PA (3/10, 32 Players)
 Affinity - Frank Skarren - 1st
 UR Tron - 2nd
 Aggro Loam (T4)
 UW Tron (T4)
 Storm (T8)
 Goblins (T8)
 Jund (T8)
 Fae (T8)

Berlin, DE (3/24, 82 Players)
 Storm - Mike Hofmann - 1st
 Jund - 2nd
 Storm (T4)
 Splinter Twin (T4)
 MBC (T8)
 Caw (T8)
 Affinity x2 (T8)

Brooklyn, NY #2 (3/18, 105 Players)
 Jund - William Eads - 1st
 UWB Delver - 2nd
 Jund (T4)
 Aggro Loam (T4)
 Aggro Loam (T8)
 Jund (T8)
 UWR Delver (T8)
 Boros (T8)

Cedar Rapids, IA (3/17, 122 Players)
 Fae - Brandon Nelson - 1st
 UW Control - 2nd
 Jund (T4)
 Living End (T4)
 UW Control (T8)
 RUG Delver x2(T8)
 Dredge (T8)

Certaldo, IT (3/25, 152 Players)
 Next Level Blue - Luca Ravagli - 1st
 RUG Delver - 2nd
 WB Tokens (T4)
 Melira Pod (T4)
 Bant (T8)
 Jund (T8)
 Affinity x2 (T8)

Coimbra, PT (3/17, 160 Players)
 Jund - Pedro Martinho - 1st
 Storm - 2nd
 Melira Pod (T4)
 Zoo (T4)
 Storm (T8)
 Melira Pod x2 (T8)
 Delverstorm (T8)

Henderson, NV (3/10, 81 Players)
 Splinter Twin - Nicholas Lassen - 1st
 UW Tron - 2nd
 Esper Gifts (T4)
 Splinter Twin (T4)
 Affinity (T8)
 Splinter Twin (T8)
 Caw (T8)
 Melira Pod (T8)

Honolulu, HI (3/10, 32 Players)
 Caw - Alex Ahia - 1st
 Splinterstorm - 2nd
 UW Tron (T4)
 Esper Control (T4)
 Fae (T8)
 Aggro Loam (T8)
 Splinterstorm (T8)
 WU Control (T8)

GPT Turin: Kloten, CH (3/11, 26 Players)
 Fae - Shen Haemmig - 1st
 Zoo - 2nd
 Jund (T4)
 Storm (T4)

  Only the T4 was presented in the report.

Leeds, GB (3/17, ?? Players)
Caw - 1st
Caw x2 (T8)
Aggro Loam x3 (T8)
RUG Delver (T8)
Fae (T8)

  This was pieced together from player recollections and tweets. I'm still unclear as to any of the standings other than "Caw won". 

Leuven, BE (3/24, ?? Players)
 Fae - Christophe Gregoire - 1st
 RDW - 2nd
 Jund (T4)
 UR Tron (T4)
 Summoning Trap (T8)
 RDW (T8)
 Splinter Twin x2 (T8)

Lodz, PO (3/17, 61 Players)
 Jund - Jakub Nowak - 1st
 Red Affinity - 2nd
 UWR Delver (T4)
 Jund (T4)
 Jund (T8)
 Zoo (T8)
 UR Tron (T8)
 Affinity (T8)

London, GB (3/24, ?? Players)
 5CC - Stuart Wright - 1st
 Aggro Loam - 2nd
 Splinter Twin (T4)
 Storm (T4)
 Jund (T8)
 Bant(T8)
 Aggro Loam (T8)
 Affinity (T8)

Marseille, FR (3/25, 82 Players)
 Splinter Twin - Paul Briceno - 1st
 GR Tron - 2nd
 Jund (T4)
 Affinity (T4)
 Melira Pod (T8)
 Affinity (T8)
 Melira Pod (T8)
 Caw (T8)

Osaka, JP #1 (3/17, ?? Players)
 RUG Delver - H Tomoyuki - 1st
 UWB Delver - 2nd
 GR Tron (T4)
 Fae (T4)
 UWR Delver (T8)
 WB Tokens (T8)
 UGR Tron (T8)
 Jund (T8)

Phoenix, AZ (3/17, 103 Players)
 UWR Delver - Marc Lalague - 1st
 UWR Delver - 2nd
 UWR Delver x2 (T4)
 Aggro Loam (T8)
 Summoning Trap (T8)
 Jund (T8)
 Grixis Control (T8)

GPT Turin: Porto Sant'Elpidio, IT (3/4, 34 Players)
 Affinity - Christian Garbi - 1st
 Jund - 2nd
 Fae (T4)
 Jund (T4)
 Caw (T8)
 Hate Caw/Big Zoo mash-up (T8)
 Jund x2 (T8)

Seattle, WA #2 (3/17, 162 Players)
 Aggro Loam - Charles Wong - 1st
 UWR Delver - 2nd
 Jund x2 (T4)
 Aggro Loam x3 (T8)
 Storm (T8)
 Fae (T8)

Stockholm, SE (3/24, 83 Players)
 Caw - Patrik Thor - 1st
 Death Cloud - 2nd
 Affinity (T4)
 WB Tokens (T4)
 RUG Delver (T8)
 Melira Pod (T8)
 Splinter Twin x2 (T8)

Talinn, EE (3/25, 52 Players)
 Aggro Loam - Mikk Kaasik - 1st
 UW Tron - 2nd
 Affinity (T4)
 Fae (T4)
 UWR Delver (T8)
 Affinity (T4)
 Splinter Twin (T8)
 UW Tron (T8)

Therwil, CH (3/25, ?? Players)
 Affinity - 1st
 Jund - 2nd
 Jund (T4)
 Zoo (T4)
 UWR Delver x2 (T8)
 Jund (T8)
 Melira Pod (T8)

Torrelavega, ES (3/17, 65 Players)
 Jund - Alejandro Bermejo - 1st
 UR Fae - 2nd
 UWR Delver x2 (T4)
 UWR Delver (T8)
 Zoo x2 (T8)
 Splinter Twin (T8)

Winnipeg, CA (3/17, 70 Players)
 Splinter Twin - Brendan Kelin - 1st
 Death and Taxes - 2nd
 UW Tron (T4)
 RDW (T4)
 Jund (T8)
 UW Tron (T8)
 Fae (T8)
 Vengevine Zoo (T8)

  The "unknown" deck reported last week is another mashup: Vengevine jammed into Big Zoo.

Zagreb, HR (3/24, 78 Players)
 UWR Delver - Robin Dolar - 1st
 Jund - 2nd
 Splinter Twin (T4)
 Boros (T4)
 Karn Tron (T8)
 Summoning Trap (T8)
 Splinter Twin (T8)
 UW Tron (T8)

Break It Down!

  This may be your last time seeing these charts, other than as "historical perspective"; the PTQ season is quickly winding to a close. I'll also be able to a more leisurely look at the data, since it will have become static, rather than dynamic. While I have presented you with over one hundred twenty five PTQ results. including the fifty three that WotC has posted, there are at least two hundred more that I haven't been able to dig up. So any analyses I do on these numbers will be based on incomplete data.

    Remember, all chart images in my articles are "live", and will change as new information is added. Clicking on them will take you to the actual GoogleDocs spreadsheet that I use for tracking this data.

Sheer Speculation

  When DKA first came online, I mentioned some cards that made their impact felt in the Modern world immediately. Among them was Thalia:

"In the realms of Magic "Lore", I can see Thalia willingly allowing herself to fuse with a weakened Avacyn, and in doing so, ignite her spark; thus becoming Magic's first angel planeswalker. The sheer resulting power of a planeswalker archangel will turn the hunters into the hunted, and Innistrad's dark forces will find themselves scrambling for cover, driven to the brink of extinction as the humans once were. Looking at a close-up of her card art and the promo art for Avacyn Restored, their faces and hair color are almost identical. This may be why Thalia's card art shows her at such an unusual angle. Her flavor text (while it certainly doesn't prove anything) could support this theory. Of course, this is pure speculation, and is probably not going to happen."
 

  OK. Let me be straight up here. I pull from a lot of sources, including Gatherer. This includes comments I read while using Gatherer to research cards I'm writing about. I should point out that much of that paragraph was pulled - almost verbatim - from Gathering discussion about Thalia. So what? I liked the word choice, they echo my sentiments about Thalia, and why re-invent the wheel? When you steal from one source, it's plagiarism. When you steal from many sources, it's research. To get back on target:

  This morning, upon reading The Guardian, the Witch, and the Angel, my hope flared immediatley. Sorin, Lilly, and Garruk are already on Innistrad, and I recall statements to the effect of a new Planeswalker for AVR. Lilly wants Grislbrand's head on a platter. Garruk wants Lilly's head on a platter. A showdown at the Helvault! Woo hoo! Grand operatic melodrama fit for MTG! I hear the fluttering of rumorfly wings sighing through the æther already...

Overdrive! #39 Round-up

  Just as I was getting ready to post the decklists in the Overdrive! main thread, the power went out, and I had not saved any of my work! :( Since I was working on the desktop rather than the laptop, I now don't have the decklists from Overdrive! #39, nor do I have the chat logs to recopy them. At least GoogleDocs autosaves, so I have the archetypes and results; the best I can do is present it like a T4:

Hellione - Melira Pod - 1st
silence1186 - RW Lightning Shrine - 2nd
allstar997 - Death & Taxes (T4)
NO_Life - UW Polymorph (T4)

Eurodrive! #23 Round-up

  Won against Pod, Pod, WB Tokens, MBC

  Won against BR Control, Splinter Twin, WG Tokens, lost to Jund.

Semifinalists

  Won against GW Aggro, R(akdos)DW, lost to Jund

  Won against Simic Doubling, Kithkin, lost to MBC

Interesting Tidbits

  At this point, the rumor that "the winner of PTQ Prague is a twelve-year old kid, who also mullied to three and won in the semifinals against Splinter Twin" remains undocumented. So far I have only heard anecdotal confirmation that yes, there was a kid playing. As far as the "mully to three against Plinter Twin and win" portion goes, there is only anecdotal verification that there were mullys involved, with no numbers specified: "I was there. I didn't see the mulligan to 3 (was watching Loam and 5c-Pod at that point) but he mulliganned more than once. But the kid was 12 (looks like he's 8) and after winning game 1 in the finals vs aggro loam, he asked everyone watching: 'Hey, what format is being played in Barcelona?' Was very cute / funny."

  The Community Cup Challenge is just a few short months away. Time to start thinking about who you want to represent you (not me!) this year in the quest for the Hammy. 

  With the quarter coming to an end, an opportunity is here for me to tweak how I maintain my meta data. For example, next quarter, x/U/x Delver will be broken down, U/x/x Control will be broken down, etc. This will allow better nitpicking of the data.