==ISLANDHOME #46==
January 14th 2009
==IN THIS ISSUE...==
Extended Comes to FNC!
Drafting Don'ts: What cards to avoid
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Friday: FNM Booster Draft at Brothers Grim ($13 entry) @ 7 PM
Saturday: Standard Constructed at FNC ($5 entry) @ 1:30 PM
==EXTENDED COMES TO FNC!==
Author: Brian J. Paskoff
==DRAFTING DON'TS==
Author: Brian J. Paskoff
==EURO LANDS PROMOTION==
Author: Brian Paskoff
After a short break, Islandhome is once again accepting guest articles from our readers!
If you've got an article you'd like to submit, send it to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com. Try to keep it a reasonable length - there's no word limit, but look at previous Islandhome articles for guidance - and avoid bad language and personal insults. Also try to maintain good grammar and spelling; doesn't have to be perfect, but you should see how long it takes me to spellcheck the Madonia Minute every week!
I can't promise every submission will make it into the next week's Islandhome, but I'll try to get as many in as I can, especially ones that are relevant to a previous/upcoming event.
==IN THIS ISSUE...==
Extended Comes to FNC!
Drafting Don'ts: What cards to avoid
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Friday: FNM Booster Draft at Brothers Grim ($13 entry) @ 7 PM
Saturday: Standard Constructed at FNC ($5 entry) @ 1:30 PM
==EXTENDED COMES TO FNC!==
Author: Brian J. Paskoff
In celebration of the current PTQ season, I'm holding an Extended tournament at FNC on Saturday, January 24th. Yes, that's the same day as our usual Standard event, but don't worry if you can't or don't want to play Extended - the Standard tournament will go on at the same time as the Extended one. Unfortunately the laws of temporal physics or something like that will prevent you from playing in both events at the same time, so you'll have to pick which format you want to play. Entry fee will be $5, the same as any other normal constructed event; the only difference will be that you'll be playing with older cards. We need at least eight people for a sanctioned Extended tournament, so if you want to play, start building your decks now!
==DRAFTING DON'TS==
Author: Brian J. Paskoff
Like any aspect of playing Magic well, almost as much comes from being taught as it comes from playing. And if you want to learn what cards to draft, there are hundreds of articles on the web about that very subject, where strategists will talk about the best cards in Shards of Alara limited. But after three months of Shards, along with the good judgement every one of you has about how the game works, do you really need to be told yet again that Oblivion Ring, Branching Bolt, and Agony Warp are solid picks?
There are very few articles about the bad cards, the ones that should never make your deck unless you're struggling for a twenty-third card in your Naya deck and the store's out of Swamps. It's not uncommon for players to draft the lands out of packs rather than these cards, but sadly, all too often I see them being drafted at our draft tournaments, and can only watch sadly as they make it into players' decks. I can't stop people from drafting or playing with them at tournaments, but I can give you fair warning about them so you don't make the same mistakes!
There are actually two levels of bad - there's the regular ol' "don't take this card unless your only options are another card on this list" and "bad, but with some sideboard potential - but don't put it in your maindeck unless it's maybe your twenty-third card". And then of course there's the few exceptions where a rare card is bad in limited, but you might want to take it just because it's worth a few bucks.
Ad Nauseum - With any sort of stable limited mana curve, Ad Nauseum is too dangerous to risk it. It's a rare that almost pays for the pack it's in, and is played somewhat in Eternal formats, but it's not worth more than even a decent creature if you're trying to win.
Angel's Herald - Even if you have the mythic rare the Herald's heralding, they're very rarely worth playing. Pay no attention to the idea that playing it without the mythic is a good bluff - it never is.
Angelsong - Sideboard bad; it can be useful in the Naya vs Naya mirror. The cycling actually hurts it, because if you're cycling it early you're denying yourself the out later, and giving away that you have it for later games.
Banewasp Affliction - Not only do you need to make the enchantment stick, but then you need to find another way to actually kill the creature... which will probably only shave three or four points off your opponent's life total. This is truly one of the worst cards in the set.
Behemoth's Herald - See Angel's Herald.
Bloodthorn Taunter - Not terrible, just not good, or ever really useful.
Brilliant Ultimatum - If you're spending seven mana, and all of it's colored, and it doesn't win you the game, you know you've got a bad card.
Cathartic Adept - Chances are, you're only going to mill one or two cards before you need to use the Adept to block the much better creatures your opponent's playing.
Clarion Ultimatum - Play only if you've somehow drafted a constructed deck.
Crucible of Fire - In Lorwyn/Morningtide, this card would've been insane. In a format where all the dragons are rare and can win the game well enough on their own, well....
Cunning Lethemancer - You're going to have cards you want to hold onto for long periods of time, so forcing yourself to use them or lose them isn't good.
Dawnray Archer - Exalted's nice, pinging is nice, but a 1/1 for 2U isn't.
Demon's Herald - See Angel's Herald.
Dispeller's Capsule - Never play this maindeck ever.
Dragon's Herald - See Angel's Herald.
Etherium Astrolabe - Its only use is that it's the only artifact in the format that serves as a combat trick for Glaze Fiend.
Goblin Deathraiders - It's a goblin, a three-power creature with trample... but it's never worth attacking with it because it'll die to anything. It's not bottom of the barrel, but there's always something better.
Goblin Mountaineer - It's barely good in the sideboard.
Gustrider Exhuberant - Naya's creatures don't really need the help.
Immortal Coil - If the number of cards in your graveyard is higher than your life total, you're in bad shape, and this card's not going to save you.
Invincible Hymn - If you're on the play and play this card as soon as possible, you'll go up to 25 - not a very impressive number unless you're way behind already. And if you draw it late, it's worthless.
Jhessian Lookout - You have to be really struggling for creatures to play this.
Keeper of Progenitus - In a three color format, chances are your opponent will be thanking you for powering out their big spells.
Lich's Mirror - If you're going to lose once, you're going to lose twice... unless your opponent's sole win condition is milling you with Cathartic Adepts.
Lush Growth - It looks great, until you realize that it doesn't actually accelerate you. It's better to make sure your land base is solid than to waste a spell slot on a card that does nothing.
Marble Chalice - Gaining one life a turn isn't going to win you the game any faster, it just gives your opponents time to play better cards than you.
Mindlock Orb - It's so obviously bad in limited that I can only recall one time I've ever seen anyone play it.
Protomatter Powder - Yech. There's no artifact in the set that's worth eight mana to bring back.
Resounding Scream - The only bad Resounding spell.
Sangrite Surge - +3/+3 and double strike would be broken if this was an instant, so why is it priced like it was supposed to be one?
Savage Hunger - Some of the best big creatures in Shards help themselves and other big creatures, so wasting an Aura to give them a relatively minor boost usually isn't worth it.
Shadowfeed - Why are the cards with the best art usually so terrible? Unearth creatures don't come alone, so you'd need more than a single bullet to deal with a good unearth strategy.
Skill Borrower - The only artifact you might want to use this with is Scourglass, another rare. Definitely not worth revealing information to your opponent.
Soul's Grace - Basically amounts to "prevent all combat damage target creature would deal this turn... or a turn to be named later."
Sphinx's Herald - See Angel's Herald.
Thoughtcutter Agent - 1/1s for two are rarely good. Wasting mana every turn on a useless ping when decks are fast is just plain bad.
Tortoise Formation - Since only Violent Ultimatum targets more than one permanent, this basically boils down to a bad, narrow counterspell.
Vectis Silencers - A 1/2 for 3 is mediocre, especially when you need to pay just to make it semi-useful.
Viashino Skeleton - Another overcosted creature with an ability it should have for much cheaper. I think Wizards's intention was to make it a discard outlet for unearth dudes, but that didn't quite pan out.
Volcanic Submersion - If you have five mana and your opponent is in a position where destroying one of their lands would seriously hurt them, you've already won. It's a somewhat good sideboard card against Esper decks, but nearly any other removal spell in the format is just as good in that situation.
Lastly, I'd like to give an honorary mention to Hindering Light. While certainly not bad, its usefulness is extremely narrow. And since there are few spells that target players in the format, it's only good if you know your opponent is packing lots of removal... or a Cruel Ultimatum. The only reason I mention it here is that I often see players using three of them in their decks, which is overkill under any circumstances.
There are very few articles about the bad cards, the ones that should never make your deck unless you're struggling for a twenty-third card in your Naya deck and the store's out of Swamps. It's not uncommon for players to draft the lands out of packs rather than these cards, but sadly, all too often I see them being drafted at our draft tournaments, and can only watch sadly as they make it into players' decks. I can't stop people from drafting or playing with them at tournaments, but I can give you fair warning about them so you don't make the same mistakes!
There are actually two levels of bad - there's the regular ol' "don't take this card unless your only options are another card on this list" and "bad, but with some sideboard potential - but don't put it in your maindeck unless it's maybe your twenty-third card". And then of course there's the few exceptions where a rare card is bad in limited, but you might want to take it just because it's worth a few bucks.
Ad Nauseum - With any sort of stable limited mana curve, Ad Nauseum is too dangerous to risk it. It's a rare that almost pays for the pack it's in, and is played somewhat in Eternal formats, but it's not worth more than even a decent creature if you're trying to win.
Angel's Herald - Even if you have the mythic rare the Herald's heralding, they're very rarely worth playing. Pay no attention to the idea that playing it without the mythic is a good bluff - it never is.
Angelsong - Sideboard bad; it can be useful in the Naya vs Naya mirror. The cycling actually hurts it, because if you're cycling it early you're denying yourself the out later, and giving away that you have it for later games.
Banewasp Affliction - Not only do you need to make the enchantment stick, but then you need to find another way to actually kill the creature... which will probably only shave three or four points off your opponent's life total. This is truly one of the worst cards in the set.
Behemoth's Herald - See Angel's Herald.
Bloodthorn Taunter - Not terrible, just not good, or ever really useful.
Brilliant Ultimatum - If you're spending seven mana, and all of it's colored, and it doesn't win you the game, you know you've got a bad card.
Cathartic Adept - Chances are, you're only going to mill one or two cards before you need to use the Adept to block the much better creatures your opponent's playing.
Clarion Ultimatum - Play only if you've somehow drafted a constructed deck.
Crucible of Fire - In Lorwyn/Morningtide, this card would've been insane. In a format where all the dragons are rare and can win the game well enough on their own, well....
Cunning Lethemancer - You're going to have cards you want to hold onto for long periods of time, so forcing yourself to use them or lose them isn't good.
Dawnray Archer - Exalted's nice, pinging is nice, but a 1/1 for 2U isn't.
Demon's Herald - See Angel's Herald.
Dispeller's Capsule - Never play this maindeck ever.
Dragon's Herald - See Angel's Herald.
Etherium Astrolabe - Its only use is that it's the only artifact in the format that serves as a combat trick for Glaze Fiend.
Goblin Deathraiders - It's a goblin, a three-power creature with trample... but it's never worth attacking with it because it'll die to anything. It's not bottom of the barrel, but there's always something better.
Goblin Mountaineer - It's barely good in the sideboard.
Gustrider Exhuberant - Naya's creatures don't really need the help.
Immortal Coil - If the number of cards in your graveyard is higher than your life total, you're in bad shape, and this card's not going to save you.
Invincible Hymn - If you're on the play and play this card as soon as possible, you'll go up to 25 - not a very impressive number unless you're way behind already. And if you draw it late, it's worthless.
Jhessian Lookout - You have to be really struggling for creatures to play this.
Keeper of Progenitus - In a three color format, chances are your opponent will be thanking you for powering out their big spells.
Lich's Mirror - If you're going to lose once, you're going to lose twice... unless your opponent's sole win condition is milling you with Cathartic Adepts.
Lush Growth - It looks great, until you realize that it doesn't actually accelerate you. It's better to make sure your land base is solid than to waste a spell slot on a card that does nothing.
Marble Chalice - Gaining one life a turn isn't going to win you the game any faster, it just gives your opponents time to play better cards than you.
Mindlock Orb - It's so obviously bad in limited that I can only recall one time I've ever seen anyone play it.
Protomatter Powder - Yech. There's no artifact in the set that's worth eight mana to bring back.
Resounding Scream - The only bad Resounding spell.
Sangrite Surge - +3/+3 and double strike would be broken if this was an instant, so why is it priced like it was supposed to be one?
Savage Hunger - Some of the best big creatures in Shards help themselves and other big creatures, so wasting an Aura to give them a relatively minor boost usually isn't worth it.
Shadowfeed - Why are the cards with the best art usually so terrible? Unearth creatures don't come alone, so you'd need more than a single bullet to deal with a good unearth strategy.
Skill Borrower - The only artifact you might want to use this with is Scourglass, another rare. Definitely not worth revealing information to your opponent.
Soul's Grace - Basically amounts to "prevent all combat damage target creature would deal this turn... or a turn to be named later."
Sphinx's Herald - See Angel's Herald.
Thoughtcutter Agent - 1/1s for two are rarely good. Wasting mana every turn on a useless ping when decks are fast is just plain bad.
Tortoise Formation - Since only Violent Ultimatum targets more than one permanent, this basically boils down to a bad, narrow counterspell.
Vectis Silencers - A 1/2 for 3 is mediocre, especially when you need to pay just to make it semi-useful.
Viashino Skeleton - Another overcosted creature with an ability it should have for much cheaper. I think Wizards's intention was to make it a discard outlet for unearth dudes, but that didn't quite pan out.
Volcanic Submersion - If you have five mana and your opponent is in a position where destroying one of their lands would seriously hurt them, you've already won. It's a somewhat good sideboard card against Esper decks, but nearly any other removal spell in the format is just as good in that situation.
Lastly, I'd like to give an honorary mention to Hindering Light. While certainly not bad, its usefulness is extremely narrow. And since there are few spells that target players in the format, it's only good if you know your opponent is packing lots of removal... or a Cruel Ultimatum. The only reason I mention it here is that I often see players using three of them in their decks, which is overkill under any circumstances.
==EURO LANDS PROMOTION==
Author: Brian Paskoff
So the other day when I received my latest FNM promos for Brothers Grim in the mail, I got a little extra surprise with it. Though to be fair it was only a surprise because I forgot I had signed up for it. See, Wizards is doing this promotion exclusively for FNM-hosting locations where they send out packs Euro Lands to those stores. But unlike the other promotional cards Wizards sends out, you don't get these for playing - instead, you get them for buying a full box of any Magic set!
The Euro Lands are special lands with artwork representing different locations throughout Europe. They came in three different versions depending on their wrappers, but the ones I got are the blue pack, seen here. They feature scenes of the forests of Schwarzwald, Germany, the Danish Islands of Scandinavia, the mountains of Vesuvio, Italy, the Scottish Highlands, and the swamps of Ardennes Fagnes, Belgium. This is the first time that these lands are available to players in the US, and they're quite rare. Five come in a pack, one of each land.
Supplies are limited though, so if you were planning to buy a box of Shards for someone as a holiday gift, do it as soon as possible! this promotion will be running at Brothers Grim only for as long as we have packs to give out.
The Euro Lands are special lands with artwork representing different locations throughout Europe. They came in three different versions depending on their wrappers, but the ones I got are the blue pack, seen here. They feature scenes of the forests of Schwarzwald, Germany, the Danish Islands of Scandinavia, the mountains of Vesuvio, Italy, the Scottish Highlands, and the swamps of Ardennes Fagnes, Belgium. This is the first time that these lands are available to players in the US, and they're quite rare. Five come in a pack, one of each land.
Supplies are limited though, so if you were planning to buy a box of Shards for someone as a holiday gift, do it as soon as possible! this promotion will be running at Brothers Grim only for as long as we have packs to give out.
==GUEST ARTICLES==
Author: Brian Paskoff
Author: Brian Paskoff
After a short break, Islandhome is once again accepting guest articles from our readers!
If you've got an article you'd like to submit, send it to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com. Try to keep it a reasonable length - there's no word limit, but look at previous Islandhome articles for guidance - and avoid bad language and personal insults. Also try to maintain good grammar and spelling; doesn't have to be perfect, but you should see how long it takes me to spellcheck the Madonia Minute every week!
I can't promise every submission will make it into the next week's Islandhome, but I'll try to get as many in as I can, especially ones that are relevant to a previous/upcoming event.
==THE ISLANDHOME BLOG==
One of the things I wanted to do was have an archive of past issues online so I could refer people back to them as well as let new readers peruse old issues to see what all the fuss is about. So I've archived all the old issues on the blogosphere at islandhomemtg.blogspot.com. Go and relive all the past moments of glory!
==UPCOMING EVENTS==
January 3rd - April 19th: PTQ Season for PT Honolulu
The next PTQ season kicks off January 3rd, and the format is Extended!
Magic events will once again be held at I-Con, which is at Suffolk Community College's Brentwood campus this year. I'll have news about what tournaments are going to be run as we get closer to April, but just like last time there'll be cheap drafts and constructed events all weekend long!
PTQs in our area this season:
February 21st - Edison, NJ
March 14th - Philadelphia, PA
No details for New York PTQs are available yet.
April 3rd - April 5th: I-Con 28February 21st - Edison, NJ
March 14th - Philadelphia, PA
No details for New York PTQs are available yet.
Magic events will once again be held at I-Con, which is at Suffolk Community College's Brentwood campus this year. I'll have news about what tournaments are going to be run as we get closer to April, but just like last time there'll be cheap drafts and constructed events all weekend long!
==STORE LOCATIONS & CONTACT INFO==
Brothers Grim
1244 Middle Country Rd.
Selden, NY 11784
Phone: 631-698-2805
Website: www.brgim.com
Friendly Neighborhood Comics
19 Udall Rd.
West Islip, NY 11795
Phone: 631-470-7984
Brothers Grim
1244 Middle Country Rd.
Selden, NY 11784
Phone: 631-698-2805
Website: www.brgim.com
Friendly Neighborhood Comics
19 Udall Rd.
West Islip, NY 11795
Phone: 631-470-7984
==FIN==
See everyone this weekend!
Got forwarded Islandhome and want to sign up? Send an email to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com!
Got forwarded Islandhome and want to sign up? Send an email to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com!
-Brian Paskoff
L1 NY
L1 NY
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