You will want to be among the first to check out the new monsters of the latest Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s TRADING CARD GAME booster set – Duelist Revolution!  This 100-card booster set has Unicorns, Scrap monsters, new Amazoness cards, and Fusion Monsters, including Yusei’s 3200 ATK Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste.

Duelist Revolution also includes many cards that can team up with cards from Hidden Arsenal 2, and Gold Series 3! Every Duelist will receive a limited edition Ultra Rare participation card and have the chance to win an exclusive Duelist Revolutiongame mat.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Customers are limited to 1 entry in the Sneak Peek PER DAY.  Due to this restriction, the quantity of Duelist Revolution Sneak Peek kits are limited so be sure to get to the store early and get yours before we run out!

Event Info:

Where:

The Game Academy

5671 E. Fowler Ave

Tampa, FL 33617

813.914.7000 (please call with any questions)

When:

August 7th & 8th; Doors open at 9 AM

Tournament Info:

Price: $20 per person

Event is open to all players, no prequalification is necessary.

Each player will receive 5 booster packs of The Duelist Revolution + 1 Ultra Rare Promo Card while supplies last

Open Dueling (use your 5 packs to construct a 20 card deck and use that to play in an open play environment; the cards you open are yours to keep)

4 Promo T-Shirts and 4 Promo play mats will be raffled off on each day of the pre-release to participants

WE WILL STILL BE HOLDING OUR REGULAR WEEKEND YU-GI-OH! TOURNAMENTS

Saturday:

1:00 PM Swiss Tournament (Advanced Format Deck Required)

$5 Entry

Each participant will receive 1 Turbo Pack

$100 store credit GUARANTEED to the top players!

Sunday:

12:00 PM Swiss Tournament (Advanced Format Deck Required)

$8 Entry

Participants will receive free pizza and 1 booster pack. Top finishers will be awarded store credit based on attendance.

If you enter this tournament, you will receive FREE ENTRY into our box tournament at 4PM.

4:00 PM Sunday Guaranteed Booster Box Tournament! (Advanced Format Deck Required)

$5 Entry (FREE if you participated in our 12PM tournament!)

Top finishers will split a booster box of the most current set.

The Game Academy will be hosting a 2K tournament on Saturday, August 14th, 2010

Where:

Embassy Suites Tampa Downtown Convention Center

513 S. Florida Avenue

Tampa, Fl 33602

For Map+Directions CLICK HERE

Entry Fee:

$25

Prize Structure:

Top 8 players will advance to play for additional prizes.

1st-$800

2nd-$400

3rd-4th-$200

5th-8th-$100

Tournament Details:

Advanced Format Deck Required

Begin registration @ 8 AM

Late registration @ 9:45 AM (if you register after this time, you will be charged a $30 entry fee)

Tournament begins @ 10:00 AM

Parking and Dining:

On-site valet parking is available for our players for the low price of $6 (normally $12)

There is a Starbucks as well as Trolleys American Café; available for lunch,

Our film crew will be recording duels for our YouTube channel and conducting deck interviews all day long!

This event is UNSANCTIONED

Side Events will run throughout the day!

For video coverage on our  last 2K event, CLICK HERE

Photos of the tournament site:

*Editor’s Note* – The Game Academy will host Legacy tournaments every Thursday; signups begin @ 6 PM and tournament entry is $7. All entry will be given back to top finishers in store credit to use towards anything in the store. Keith will always be in attendance, so if you have any questions or need deck advice don’t hesitate to ask! =)

I attended the SCG Open in Atlanta primarily with the intent of playing Legacy. Because I needed to enter four more events (and make at least one top 16), to qualify for the 50K, I decided that I’d play in standard even if I hated my deck.

Under some influence from John Cuvelier, I was fixed on running Open the Vaults. Since I don’t play a great deal of standard, I didn’t actually get to play test any games until the day before the event. About ten games later, I was done with the deck. Perhaps I just had no idea what I was doing, but I was getting crushed by outdated Mono-Red and Naya Allies, and I wasn’t doing so well against Jund either.

I tried weighing my other options, including chilling in the hotel all day and cube drafting, but decided that I should definitely play the event. I recalled Sam Riley talking about an insane Polymorph deck on our online discussion group. Moreover, Sam Riley had been trying to pawn off a few decks on our group in exchange for a cut of winnings. I decided to give him a call, and about ten hours later (less than twelve hours before the tournament), I had a 75-card copy of Riley’s UGW Polymorph ready to go. I played some practice games against Naya Allies, and it felt a bit over 50-50, though Mono-Red was still terrible. Whatever the case, the deck seemed pretty cool, so I figured I’d give it a shot.

4 Awakening Zone
2 Oblivion Ring
4 Deprive
2 Negate
3 Path To Exile
2 Iona, Shield Of Emeria
3 Elspeth, Knight-errant
3 Jace, The Mind Sculptor
2 Day Of Judgment
4 Polymorph
4 See Beyond

1 Forest
4 Island
4 Plains
1 Arid Mesa
2 Celestial Colonnade
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Khalni Garden
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Scalding Tarn
2 Seaside Citadel

Sideboard:
1 Realm Razer
4 Flashfreeze
2 Negate
1 Path To Exile
2 Silence
1 Emrakul, The Aeons Torn
1 Progenitus
2 Day Of Judgment
1 Mountain

The Mountain and Realm Razer were supposed to be for control decks, but I never actually boarded them in as I’d rather just get Iona in nearly every situation.

—

Round 1 – Michael Chen – UW Control

I started with a double mull, but hit all my land drops, while Chen was stuck on two after keeping his six. I was able to apply pressure with Elspeth and eventually resolved a Polymorph with Deprive backup.

+2 Negate, +2 Silence, -1 Elspeth, -2 Day of Judgment, -1 Path to Exile

In game two, I kept six, and ran out a turn three Awakening Zone. Michael fired back with Jace, the Mindsculptor, but I called with Elspeth. After my Soldiers took down Jace, I played one of my own, and had a Deprive for Michael’s Baneslayer Angel. Several turns later, I dug into a Polymorph, and Michael scooped it up.

1-0

Round 2 – Kennen Haas – Bant Aggro

Kennen, a local player, brought a rogue Bant aggro deck featuring the very annoying River Boa. In game one, Kennen brought some heat with multiple Rhox War Monks, but I had Awakening Zone to soak up much of the damage. Eventually, Iona came down on white, and we were off to the races. An Elspeth eventually came down to throw off some of the math, and I was able to pick up game one.

+2 Silence, +1 Path to Exile, -1 Elspeth, -1 Negate, -1 Awakening Zone

In game two, I was able to hold off Kennen’s offensive, including some River Boa beats, by holding all my Islands. On one of Kennen’s turns we had a counter war over a Garruk or something, then I untapped and played an upkeep Silence in response to my Awakening Zone trigger. With only two or three mana up, Kennen was helpless to my mainphase Polymorph into Iona on white. Kennen had a few turns to draw into an Into the Roil with counter backup, but despite several Explores and Ponders, was unable to get there.

2-0

Round 3 – Steve Smith – Mono White Control

Steve literally did nothing besides play a few Knight of the White Orchids and Everflowing Chalices. He was able to ramp into a lot of mana both games, which made me fear Into the Dust — so much so, that I boarded into Emrakul, figuring he’d have to be an idiot to not board out Day of Judgment, and Oblivion Ring would likely be played on my Planewalkers.

-2 Iona, -2 Day of Judgment, +1 Emrakul, +1 Negate, +1 Path to Exile, +1 Silence

3-0

Round 4 – Derek Davis – ?????

I have no recollection of this round, but my score sheet shows him gaining eight life at some point, so he must’ve been hitting me with Rhox War Monk and Baneslayer or an Elspeth’d Baneslayer.

4-0

Round 5 – August Benard Caras – WW/g

August was playing a pretty cool white weenie variant with Student of Warfare, Ranger of Eos and Stoneforger Mystic, with green for Knight of the Reliquary and Stirring Wildwood. He came out the gates quickly in game one, but I had Day od Judgment along with the typical ground clogging Elspeths and Awakening Zones for games two and three.

-2 Deprive, -2 Negate, +2 Day of Judgment, +1 Silence, +1 Path to Exile

5-0

Round 6 – Jeffrey Loveday – Naya Allies

I was able to steal a very close game one from Jeffrey with Iona on red, when he left only Ancient Ziggurat untapped on the end of turn five. I mulled to five in game two, and wound up land flooded, while in game three, Jeff had a very fast draw, and had time walked myself too many times with “comes into play tapped” lands.

-4 Deprive, -2 Negate, +2 Silence, +1 Path to Exile, +2 Day of Judgment, +1 Flashfreeze

5-1

(At this point Riley had been knocked out of top 8 contention at 4-2.)

Round 7 – Isaiah Ley – UG Polymorph

Game one was very epic, taking nearly the entire fifty minutes. I kept a four lander, but didn’t draw another spell until around turn seven. By then, the board was something like my Elspeth, Colonnade and Awakening Zone versus Jace, the Mindsculptor, Garruk (with three dudes, and four loyalty) and a polymorphed Iona (on White). I was able to attack Isaiah to to three with the Elspeth’d Colonnade, while he raced back with Iona. At three, Isaiah finally was able to deal with Elspeth, bouncing it with an Into the Roil. He attacked with Iona (dropping me to six), then Polymorphed the tapped Iona into an untapped one. On my turn, holding four lands and two Elspeth, I drew See Beyond. See Beyond hit another See Beyond, which hit a third See Beyond. By now, I had Deprive and Polymorph in hand. I went for Polymorph on Isaiah’s Iona, killing it and revealing his library. Based on this information, it appeared he had a Negate in hand. Since I was dead if I passed turn, I had no option but to tap out for Elspeth. To my surprise, it resolved, and some random token got in for the last three damage. Phew…

-2 Elspeth, -1 Iona, -2 Day of Judgment, +2 Negate, +2 Silence, +1 Path to Exile

Because there wasn’t much time left in the round, I boarded with the intention of locking Isaiah out of Polymorph, with no real intention of outright winning the game. Ironically, Isaiah, in desperation, tapped out for Garruk or something, and I was able to resolve Polymorph into Iona on blue.

6-1

Round 8 – David Sharfman – Jund

The match was featured on ggslive.com. See it here:
Video 1
Video 2

-1 Negate, -1 Jace, the Mindsculptor, -2 Deprive, -2 Iona, +1 Path to Exile, +1 Emrakul, +4 Flashfreeze

Game two is missing, but was fairly anticlimatic. Sharfman fired off a few Duresses early, but had very little pressure. Somewhat later, Sharfman tapped down for some threat, and got Emrakul’d.

Round 9 – David Yancey – Chapin Mono Red

The matchup was depressing. It was even close to close. David started game one, on the play, with double Goblin Guide. I tried to make some blockers with Elspeth, but they all met Searing Blaze. Game two was more of the same, with David leading out with Goblin Guide and a Dragonlord, with multiple Searing Blazes for Awakening Zone tokens and such.

-1 Jace, the Mindsculptor, -2 Negate, -4 Deprive, +4 Flashfreeze, +2 Silence, +1 Path to Exile

Round 10 – Jason Byram – Naya Allies

Jason started with a mulligan, and was very quickly facing down an Iona on white. He was able to get in with a few allies, but his Bloodbraids kept hitting white spells, and I had plenty of tokens with which to chump. With the life totals 10-13, I attacked with Iona, then played Jace to bounce Bloodbraid. Bloodbraid came back down, and hit another white spell, at which point Jason scooped it up.

-4 Deprive, -2 Negate, +2 Silence, +1 Path to Exile, +2 Day of Judgment, +1 Flashfreeze

Jason started game two with a turn two Harabaz Druid, but with Day of Judgment in hand, I mentally took a victory lap. On his second turn, Jason ran out three other allies. None had haste, and I wound up clearing the board still at 20 life. Jason played a few more guys on the following turn, but I had a Path and Oblivion Ring. An Elspeth came down on the following turn, and had no problem racing with the few creatures Jason had left.

—–

I finished in 12th place, which is good enough to get the points I need to qualify for the $50K provided I play in at least one other Open.

After the event, Riley and I discussed possible changes to the deck. I think the deck is pretty close to perfect, though I had some mana hiccups along the way. I think I’d try tweaking the mana base some, and probably try out Terramorphic Expanse, since it gives some more fixing without making Glacial Fortress terrible. Additionally, with Stark’s Planeswalker deck shaping up to be the ‘deck to beat,’ it’d probably serve well to add an addition Oblivion Ring in the main.
What’s particularly nice about the deck, is you have access to way more counterspells than any other deck in the format. I think that gives Polymorph a huge advantage in control matchups. The only real problematic matchup is mono-red aggro, but you’re likely not going to beat them with the Planeswalker deck either.

Also, I have no idea what the Progentius in the sideboard is for. Maybe someone reading this can tell me. Whatever the case, it’s getting the axe for now.

4 Awakening Zone
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Deprive
2 Negate
3 Path To Exile
2 Iona, Shield Of Emeria
3 Elspeth, Knight-errant
3 Jace, The Mind Sculptor
2 Day Of Judgment
4 Polymorph
4 See Beyond

1 Forest
4 Island
4 Plains
1 Arid Mesa
2 Celestial Colonnade
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Khalni Garden
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Scalding Tarn
2 Seaside Citadel

Sideboard:
1 Deprive
3 Celestial Purge
1 Oblivion Ring
3 Flashfreeze
2 Negate
1 Path To Exile
2 Silence
1 Emrakul, The Aeons Torn
2 Day Of Judgment

Speaking of Mono-Red, that deck seems utterly busted in this metagame. If I were to start testing for Grand Prix DC, or Regionals, I’d start with Taylor Raflowitz’s build with some minor updates. Taylor seems to be an actual master of the game, so I’m much more comfortable running something he’s been tweaking and testing with than some random net list.

Maindeck:
4 Ball Lightning
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Guide
4 Hell’s Thunder
4 Plated Geopede
4 Burst Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Searing Blaze
3 Staggershock
3 Devastating Summons

13 Mountain
4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Teetering Peaks

Sideboard:
4 Goblin Ruinblaster
3 Manabarbs
2 Unstable Footing
3 Earthquake
3 Quenchable Fire

It should have a pretty easy time taking down Polymorph and Planeswalkers, with a 50-50′ish Jund and Naya Allies matchups. I imagine Bant might be hard, and if the UW Control decks care enough, those matchups could be hard also, but UW Control has bigger fish to fry, since they pretty much get curb stomped by Polymorph and Planeswalkers.

For those curious, I scrubbed out of the Legacy with Life & Taxes. You can read more about that deck on my blog. I still feel it’s a pretty strong deck in the current metagame, but sometimes you just lose to Pernicious Deed.dec.

–

Keith McLaughlin

Where: Comfort Inn in Tampa, FL; For Map+Directions CLICK HERE

Entry Fee: $30

Prize Structure:

Payout all the way down to Top 16!

Top 8 players will advance to play for additional prizes.

Tournament Details:

Advanced Format Deck Required

Begin registration @ 8 AM

Late registration @ 9:45 AM (if you register after this time, you will be charged a $35 entry fee)

Tournament begins @ 10:00 AM

Other side events will be run throughout the day

Our film crew will be recording duels for our YouTube channel and conducting deck interviews all day long!

This event is UNSANCTIONED

Side Events will run throughout the day!

For video coverage on our 2K event, CLICK HERE

*Editor’s Note* – The Game Academy hosts an EDH league every Sunday; tournament signups begin @ 2 PM and tournament entry is $7. All entry will be given back to top finishers in store credit to use towards anything in the store. Jeremy is always in attendance to play EDH in our league, offer deck advice, and record matches for his popular YouTube channel. If you don’t have an EDH deck, don’t worry, we normally have a few extras if you want to play. See you here!
Elder Dragon Highlander:  Collector’s Edition Part II

This week we will pick up where last week left us.  We embarked on the journey into Magic the Gathering.  Some follow the path for competitive purposes, others will to amass a giant collection.  Many players seek fun and most of us are in for a little of each.  We perused a list of the top EDH cards for each color.  If you did not get a chance to catch the list, I have decided to copy it here one more time.

When I first started playing EDH, I found deck lists mind boggling.  Hundred card singleton lists are very difficult to comprehend without some framing or explanation about card choices and synergies.  Some folks try to assemble a good stuff type list that just plays a bunch of powerful cards, but this is nearly almost always a sure-fire way to end up with a suboptimal list.  Synergies and card interactions put EDH decks over-the-proverbial-top.  Therefore, you need to identify the most amazing cards that fit together to accomplish your given game plan.

With that disclaimer, it still seems relevant to create lists that collect the most powerful cards.  I love these lists and having discussions about the best cards in a color.  These discussions can help players consider cards they might have missed or may allow a deck builder to double up on effects that fit a deck’s theme or enhance the function.

Back in the day (you know the one), when I started playing EDH.  If followed deck construction advice from community forum members like Zerg (may he rest in peace) and others on various EDH forums.  I would follow Sheldon Menery’s columns and updates on the banned list, and would scour the internets for a reasonable explanation of popular deck lists.  Here are some interesting words of advice from Zerg in his forum post concerning some of the most important card to include in your EDH decks.  His descriptions are brief, but you get the general idea.

“Colorless

• Sensei’s Divining Top – anywhere. Period. Unless your playgroup is excessively annoyed by it.
• Lightning Greaves – for any deck that plans on attacking or has creatures that need to stay alive.
• Journeyer’s Kite – supplies you with lands forever, or until blown up. Mandatory in any nongreen deck.
• Gauntlet of Power and Extraplanar Lens – any monocolored deck. These cards are stupidgood.
• Nevinyrral’s Disk and Oblivion Stone – essential effect in any EDH deck and only available on two cards outside of white.
• Mind’s Eye – one of the best card draw engines in multiplayer, and available to any color.
• Solemn Simulacrum – Just really, really good.
• Sol Ring – Best artifact mana accel in the game.
• Thawing Glaciers – fills the same role as kite, every other turn.
• Maze of Ith – Surprisingly few creatures can get around it, it’s hard to remove (being a land) and fits in every deck.
• Strip Mine – utility nonbasics come with a lot of drawbacks, such as not being not fetchable by most land search cards, not benefitting from gauntlet/lens/etc, and usually not producing colored mana. However, some utility is just too strong to ignore. Same applies to every other land that made a cut to be on this list.

Black

• Yawgmoth’s Will – best card in Magic.
• Necropotence – best card draw spell in EDH.
• Cabal Coffers – Gauntlet of Power #3 in monoblack.
• Volrath’s Stronghold – Many decks would spend an actual card slot on this effect. Stronghold doesn’t even cost you a slot.
• Demonic Tutor &Co. – obvious card is obvious.
• Myojin of Night’s Reach – everyone’s hand goes “bye”. 9000 style points if whoever played it doesn’t activate the ability immediately, passes priority, and you sudden death it.
• Transmute cards – Yes, any card that merely searches for Yawgwin is good enough to make the “best of the best” list.
• Reanimation – one of the key strengths of black. Reanimation is often cheaper, more flexible, and more powerful than that creature you were thinking of adding to your deck.

Blue

• Control Magic &Co. – just like reanimation, it saves you mana, but also serves as removal, albeit usually less flexible than reanimation
• Countermagic –  often underrated in multiplayer because you “can’t counter everything”. The key is to use it to protect your other cards, not try to remove every threat.
• Magus of the Future / Future Sight – absurdity is directly proportional to the amount of mana you have, multiplied by the number of shuffle effects and tripled with Divining Top in play. The only two cards that have the potential to be dumber than Yawgwin.
• Hinder –  the easiest way in the game to say “bye, general!”
• [s]Gifts Ungiven[/s] – combo deck wins (for best results combine with Yawgwin or Eternal Witness in hand).
• Academy Ruins – See Volrath’s Stronghold.

White

• Land Tax and Weathered Wayfarer – these can be as good as green’s land search, but it’s only two cards.
• Sweepers – being able to remove anything and everything at once is white’s main strength. Be sure to include some, this is the only color that has plenty of options. Final Judgment, Hallowed Burial, Austere Command, and Rout, are usually the best.
• Condemn – Right below Hinder.
• Return to Dust – It might be silly to include a random artifact removal spell in this list, but I’ve been owned by this card so many times.
• Mistveil Plains – Probably one of the most underrated cards in the game. Combined with a tutor, you have the ability to fetch anything back from your graveyard. Also searcheable with fetchlands and hoses reanimation targeting your graveyard.

Green

• Eternal Witness – green is the only color with “return any card” effects, which are incredibly strong. Witness is by far the most abuseable of these.
• Far Wanderings – I have no idea why this isn’t in every green deck. Fetching 3 lands for 3 mana is nuts. (Keep in mind that you have threshold for about 80% of the duration of the game).
• Mana Reflection – see Gauntlet of Power.
• Tooth and Nail and Chord of Calling – chances are you have some fat creatures in your deck that you’d like in play. These are the best ways to do that.

Red

• Wheel of Fortune – the only card in red that’s on par with blue and black card draw. It’s damn good, but sadly, it’s the only thing red has.
• Reiterate – redirection/copy effects are great in general, but reiterate is head and shoulders above the rest. Nothing like copying an opponent’s cruel ultimatum. Twice. And still keeping the reiterate. In fact, this card is pretty much the only reason I want to play red.
• Gauntlet of Might – monored red gets an extra gauntlet of power, if you can afford one.
• Insurrection – usually enough to kill one opponent in multiplayer.

Multicolored

• Mirari’s Wake – Mana reflection, but better.
• Cruel Ultimatum – Just reminding you this card exists. If you don’t know what it does, click the link and read it.
• Vindicate – Tie fighters.
• Maelstrom Pulse – Not quite tie fighters.
• Terminate / Mortify / Putrefy – no reason not to have these.
• Debtor’s Knell – You’ll find something ridiculous to do with this every time you play it.

Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion – double strike is potentially very powerful and having it on a land means it’s reusable, doesn’t cost you a card, and wastes no slots in the deck.”

These thoughts do not totally match up with my thinking about EDH deck construction.  Some of the cards I find to be underpowered, too specific, or generally outclassed (e.g. Cruel Ultimatum, Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion, and Journeyer’s Kite).  However, the advice runs fairly consistent and helped shape my early thinking.  Eventually, I made it a goal to form a collection of EDH staples and core cards that would serve as the foundation for my deck construction.  I made this decision some time ago along with the idea that I would snatch up foils of my favorite staples and copies of the dual lands and older cards.  Subsequently, the Legacy format has jumped off and my collection of staples has turned into a nice investment rewarding not only in terms of the playability and fantastic aid in deck construction but also financially.

I would like to share some of the hottest movers on the EDH scene and would emplore those wishing to build a similar style collection to act fast.  Every couple of months the cards seem to take a dramatic leap in cost/value.

Buy Now:  For Fun and Profit

Let’s start with some of the cards that are both going to bowl you over and that might be a little obvious.  They might be apparent, but some folks are still out there with holes in their collections.  These are among the first cards that I would obtain and should always be on the “needed” or “wanted” lists.  At times these cards trade like a second currency, but time has proven them to be a stable investment that offers little risk.  If you are ever done with these cards you can ship them for about what you paid or more.

Dual Lands

You don’t have to play with dual lands to be successful in EDH.  However, they are simply the best lands that you can play with if you are looking to fix colors and diversify your mana-base.  If you need to be in both Blue and Black, then you have some options.  The pimped out choice is Underground Sea.  The runner up is Watery Grave, and somewhere following are cards like Underground River, Sunken Ruins, and tap lands that generate the needed colors. Here is the hitch:  as of March 24, 2010 the most inexpensive Underground Sea on popular retail sites (in near mint condition) will cost about $85.  Twelve months ago, you could have landed them for around $60.  Some of the dual lands have nearly doubled in price.  The lands with “less popular” (read as non-blue) colors have shot up from around $25 to over $40.  In early March, Wizards of the Coast announced that they will never reprint the revised (original) dual lands.  Therefore, they are likely going to continue their rise in price.  Pick these up now.

3^rd Edition/Revised

Badlands                    $40

Bayou                         $50

Plateau                       $40

Savannah                   $40+

Scrubland                   $40

Taiga                           $50

Tropical Island          $60+

Tundra                       $70

Underground Sea      $90

Judge Foils/Promo Foils

The DCI and folks at Wizards of the Coast have had their eye on EDH for a long time.  The format expanded its popularity in the judge community and Aaron Forsythe, head of Magic’s research and development, explained in an interview conducted on Youtube (Elderdragonhighlandr Interview Series) that EDH has been on the mind of developers for some time now.  Evidence pops up when you see a hefty multi-colored legendary general or giant octopus like Lorthos.  Further evidence can be found in the printing of the Judge promo cards released as payment and thanks for judges working at sanctioned events.

If you look over some of the staples listed in the format, you can nearly cross reference some of the most popular cards with the Judge promo list.  Let’s browse a couple of selections:

Promo Versions

Sol Ring                      $50+

Maze of Ith                 $40

Yawgmoth’s Will       $20

Demonic Tutor          $40

Wheel of Fortune      Unreleased (coming soon)

Foil Fetch Lands        $30-60

Aside from these judge foils, there are any number of FNM foils and promotional foils that cover the staple cards in EDH.  Eternal Witness and Necropotence can each be found reasonably.  Basically, any of these foil, promotional staples are desirable for EDH collectors.

From the Vault:  EDH Staples

Another area that Wizards has shown love to the EDH community involves the limited release, From the Vault series.  The first set was dragons and offered foil versions of some of the game’s most desirable foil dragon generals.  My favorite is Nicol Bolas.  However, the second From the Vault release secured foil versions of cards that were either impossible or improbable to find in foil.  Examples include the now banned Gifts Ungiven and the oft used staples of Mystical Tutor and Sensi’s Divining Top.  If you can find these products they are surefire EDH winners.  I keep a set and open a set for play in my decks.  Make sure to check out the upcoming From the Vault: Artifacts.  There are going to be even more EDH staples in that set.

Foreign Black Border and Rare Foils

Some cards cannot be found in foil.  For those cards, many players chase the foreign black border versions or original Alpha/Beta cards.  My dream is to own a complete collection of foreign black border dual lands.  If you are chasing the dream, you will have to be vigilant.  Stores might take a wants list and could notify you if the chase cards come through the doors.  You might happen upon them on eBay, but they are hard to find.  Occasionally, there are EDH staples or great cards that were in very short print like Moat and Mana Drain from Legends and the ever-popular Force of Will.  Those cards are likely going to increase in price and should be eventual additions to your collections.

Finally, folks should take the time to note that some cards are barely found in foil.  Merchant Scroll is a great edition for an EDH deck, but the 8^th edition foil is the only foil printing.  The uncommon is worth about $1 but its foil version is worth $25.  This situation happens occasionally.  Some promo cards are rare (like Swords to Plowshares) or the foil just drives the price.  You might watch for deals on these cards or find them in a foil bin for a great price.

I hope this series has been helpful and informative.  Thanks to the forum posters and folks who chase all of these amazing cards.  The hunt is half of the fun.

Come to The Game Academy for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Shining Darkness Sneak Peek and let loose with a barrage of new cards from this exciting new set!

Blackwings soared from the skies in 2009 and stormed the field, with big monsters, fast Summons, and awesome card effects. Now Blackwings get their biggest boost yet with The Shining Darkness, including 9 new Blackwing-themed cards. If you’ve got a Blackwing Deck or have just wanted to try them out, this set has the cards you’re looking for!

While the Blackwings continue to rule the skies, the Infernity monsters are rising up from the depths! Only a couple Infernity monsters have been available until now, but the Infernity Deck gets 15 new cards in The Shining Darkness, to bring it up to First Class competitive status. Infernities are almost sure to be the next big thing, so don’t miss out on your chance to get them!

The Shining Darkness contains 100 new cards, so get ready for new monsters, spells, and traps available for your Yu-Gi-Oh! deck!

Event Info:

Where: The Game Academy

5671 E. Fowler Ave

Tampa, FL 33617

813.914.7000 (please call with any questions)

When: May 1st & 2nd; Doors open at 9 AM

Price: $20 per person

Event is open to all players, no prequalification is necessary.

Each player will receive 5 booster packs of The Shining Darkness + 1 Promo Card while supplies last

Open Dueling (use your 5 packs to construct a 20 card deck and use that to play in an open play environment; the cards you open are yours to keep)

4 Promo T-Shirts and 4 Promo play mats will be raffled off on each day of the pre-release to participants

Free pizza for all participants

WE WILL STILL BE HOLDING OUR REGULAR WEEKEND YU-GI-OH! TOURNAMENTS

Saturday:

1:00 PM Swiss Tournament

$7 Entry

Each participant will receive 1 Turbo Pack (your choice of Turbo Pack 1 or Turbo Pack 2)

Top finishers will receive store credit to be used on anything in the store

Sunday:

12:00 PM Swiss Tournament

$8 Entry

Each participant will receive 1 Booster Pack of the most current set as well as FREE PIZZA

Top finishers will receive store credit to be used on anything in the store

]]> http://www.thegameacademyonline.com/2010/04/13/shining-darkness-yu-gi-oh-sneak-peek-info/feed/ 4 http://www.thegameacademyonline.com/2010/04/06/pokemon-tournaments-every-saturday-and-sunday/ http://www.thegameacademyonline.com/2010/04/06/pokemon-tournaments-every-saturday-and-sunday/#comments Wed, 07 Apr 2010 00:02:44 +0000 admin http://www.thegameacademyonline.com/?p=849

Every Saturday and Sunday we host our weekly Pokemon Tournament!

Saturday: Signups begin at noon, and the tournament starts @ 1 PM.

$5 Entry.

Each person that enters will get a FREE pack of the newest set.

Top finishers will be awarded store credit! Store credit can be used to buy Pokemon singles, sleeves, packs and more!

Sunday: Signups begin at noon, and the tournament starts @ 1 PM.

$7 Entry.

Each person that enters will get a FREE booster pack and slice of pizza for lunch. We will also be giving away random door prizes to players registered in the tournament!

Top finishers will be awarded store credit! Store credit can be used to buy Pokemon singles, sleeves, packs and more!

If you play Pokemon and live in the Tampa area, The Game Academy is the place to be on Saturday and Sundays!

Pokemon Tournaments every Saturday & Sunday at the Game Academy in Tampa!

Pokemon Tournaments every Saturday & Sunday at the Game Academy in Tampa!

]]> http://www.thegameacademyonline.com/2010/04/06/pokemon-tournaments-every-saturday-and-sunday/feed/ 1 http://www.thegameacademyonline.com/2010/04/05/top-8-decks-from-the-game-academys-2k-on-april-3rd-2010/ http://www.thegameacademyonline.com/2010/04/05/top-8-decks-from-the-game-academys-2k-on-april-3rd-2010/#comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:33:40 +0000 admin http://www.thegameacademyonline.com/?p=812 TOP 8 DECKLISTS FROM THE GAME ACADEMY’S 2K

Our Y3K Tournament is scheduled for 5/29/2010, details to be posted soon, so make sure to check back frequently. Until then, here are the decklists from “The Game Academy’s 2K Tournament” that happened on April 3rd, 2010. Thank you to all 115 players that showed up, we know for sure the next tournament will be much bigger! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for all the best feature matches and deck interviews from this tournament as well as upcoming tournaments. Enjoy!

Andrew Fredella – 1st place

Monsters: 20
[3] X-Saber Airbellum
[3] Ryko, Lightsworn Hunrer
[3] Gravekeeper’s Spy
[2] Super-Nimble Mega Hamster
[2] Cyber Dragon
[1] Caius the Shadow Monarch
[1] Gravekeeper’s Descendant
[1] Rescue Cat
[1] Summoner Monk
[1] Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
[1] Flamvell Magician
[1] Sangan

Spells: 14
[3] Pot of Avarice
[3] Book of Moon
[1] Nobleman of Extermination
[1] Brain Control
[1] Mind Control
[1] Cold Wave
[1] Mystical Space Typhoon
[1] Heavy Storm
[1] My Body as a Shield
[1] Allure of Darkness

Traps: 6
[2] Bottomless Trap Hole
[1] Mirror Force
[1] Torrential Tribute
[1] Solemn Judgment
[1] Trap Dustshoot

Extra deck: 15
[1] Chimeratech Fortress Dragon Dragon
[2] Stardust Dragon
[2] Arcanite Magician
[1] Mist Wurm
[1] Magical Android
[1] Red Dragon Archfiend
[1] Colossal Fighter
[1] Black Rose Dragon
[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
[1] Ally of Justice Catastor
[1] Goyo Guardian
[1] Dark End Dragon
[1] X-Saber Urbellum

Sidedeck: 15
[2] D.D. Crow
[1] Dust Tornado
[2] Thunder King Rai-Oh
[2] Starlight Road
[2] Phantom Dragon
[2] Light-Imprisoning Mirror
[2] Mirror of Oaths
[1] Proto-Cyber Dragon
[1] Chimeratech Fortress Dragon

Justin Parrish – 2nd Place

Monsters:
[1] Spirit Reaper
[1] Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind
[2] Krebons
[3] Caius the Shadow Monarch
[1] Plaguespreader Zombie
[1] Psychic Commander
[2] Goblin Zombie
[1] Mezuki
[3] Pyramid Turtle
[1] Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
[1] Dark Armed Dragon
[1] Zombie Master
[1] Shutendoji
[1] Sangan

Spells: 7
[2] Gold Sarcophagus
[1] Mystical Space Typhoon
[1] Brain Control
[1] Allure of Darkness
[1] Emergency Teleport
[1] Heavy Storm

Traps: 14
[1] Torrential Tribute
[3] Divine Wrath
[1] Mirror Force
[1] Solemn Judgment
[3] Dimensional Prison
[2] Dust Tornado
[2] Bottomless Trap Hole
[1] Trap Dustshoot

Extra Deck: 15
[2] Stardust Dragon
[1] Thought Ruler Archfiend
[1] Colossal Fighter
[1] Red Dragon Archfiend
[1] X-Saber Urbellum
[1] Black Rose Dragon
[1] Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth
[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
[1] Doomkaiser Dragon
[1] Revived King Ha Des
[1] Goyo Guardian
[1] Magical Android
[1] Psychic Lifetrancer

Sidedeck: 15
[2] Breaker the Magical Warrior
[2] Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
[2] Legendary Jujitsu Master
[2] Nobleman of Crossout
[3] Mirror of Oaths
[2] Pulling the rug
[2] Trap Hole

Robert Leander – Top 4

Monsters: 22
[1] Dark Armed Dragon
[1] Flamvell Magician
[1] Summoner Monk
[1] Sangan
[1] Gravekeeper’s Descendant
[3] Gravekeeper’s Spy
[3] X-Saber Airbellum
[1] Rescue Cat
[3] Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
[2] Super-Nimble Mega Hamster
[2] Cyber Dragon
[2] Caius the Shadow Monarch
[1] Gorz the Emissary of Darkness

Spells: 12
[3] Book of Moon
[2] Pot of Avarice
[1] Mind Control
[1] Brain Control
[1] My Body as a Shield
[1] Cold Wave
[1] Heavy Storm
[1] Mystical Space Typhoon
[1] Smashing Ground

Traps: 7
[2] Bottomless Trap Hole
[2] Dimensional Prison
[1] Torrential Tribute
[1] Mirror Force
[1] Starlight Road

Extra Deck: 15
[2] Chimeratech Fortress Dragon
[1] Mist Wurm
[2] Stardust Dragon
[1] Colossal Fighter
[1] Red Dragon Archfiend
[1] X-Saber Urbellum
[2] Arcanite Magician
[1] Black Rose Dragon
[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
[1] Goyo Guardian
[1] Ally of Justice Catastor
[1] Magical Android

Sidedeck: 15
[2] D.D. Crow
[2] Mirror of Oaths
[2] Nobleman of Crossout
[2] Trap Hole
[1] Starlight Road
[2] Phantom Dragon
[2] Legendary Jujitsu Master
[2] Proto-Cyber Dragon

Hank Elliott – Top 4

Monsters: 24
[3] Celestia, Lightsworn Angel
[2] Judgment Dragon
[2] Wulf, Lightsworn Beast
[2] Honest
[2] Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
[2] Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid
[2] Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress
[2] Flamvell Firedog
[2] Flamvell Magician
[1] Necro Gardna
[1] Plaguespreader Zombie
[1] Card Trooper
[1] Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner
[1] Jain, Lightsworn Paladin

Spells: 12
[1] Heavy Storm
[1] Mystical Space Typhoon
[3] Solar Recharge
[2] Rekindling
[2] Pot of Avarice
[1] Gold Sarcophagus
[1] Brain Control
[1] Charge of the Light Brigade

Traps: 4
[1] Beckoning Light
[1] Torrential Tribute
[2] Bottomless Trap Hole

Extra Deck: 15
[2] Stardust Dragon
[1] Goyo Guardian
[1] Black Rose Dragon
[1] Ally of Justice Catastor
[1] X-Saber Urbellum
[1] Magical Android
[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
[1] Arcanite Magician
[1] Tempest Magician
[1] Mist Wurm
[1] Thought Ruler Archfiend
[1] Colossal Fighter
[1] Red Dragon Archfiend
[1] Chimeratech Fortress Dragon

Sidedeck: 15
[2] Trap Hole
[1] Cold Wave
[1] Starlight Road
[1] My Body as a Shield
[1] Giant Trunade
[1] Asura Priest
[2] Dust Tornado
[1] Consecrated Light
[2] Royal Decree
[1] Legendary Jujitsu Master
[1] Cyber Dragon
[1] Nobleman of Crossout

Yachir Amat – Top 8

Monsters: 17
[3] Gravekeeper’s Spy
[2] Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
[3] X-Saber Airbellum
[2] Cyber Dragon
[1] Caius the Shadow Monarch
[1] Sangan
[1] Morphing Jar
[1] Summoner Monk
[1] Gorz Emissary of Darkness
[1] Rescue Cat
[1] Gravekeeper’s Descendant

Spells: 12
[1] Brain Control
[1] Mind Control
[1] Cold Wave
[1] Giant Trunade
[2] Book of Moon
[1] Heavy Storm
[1] My Body as a Shield
[1] Mystical Space Typhoon
[1] Pot of Avarice
[2] Smashing Ground

Traps: 12
[2] Compulsory Evacuation Device
[1] Dimensional Prison
[2] Bottomless Trap Hole
[1] Trap Dustshoot
[2] Royal Oppression
[1] Mirror Force
[1] Torrential Tribute
[1] Solemn Judgment
[1] Starlight Road

Extra Deck: 13
[2] Arcanite Magicain
[2] Stardust Dragon
[1] Ally of Justice Catastor
[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
[2] Magical Android
[1] Black Rose Dragon
[2] Colossal Fighter
[1] Goyo Guardian
[1] Mist Wurm

Side Deck: 15
[1] Nobleman of Crossout
[1] Dimensional Prison
[2] Legendary Jujitsu Master
[1] Lightning Vortex
[2] Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
[1] Soul Release
[2] Light-Imprisoning Mirror
[1] D.D. Crow
[1] Mirror of Oaths
[1] Widespread Dud
[1] Call of the Haunted
[1] Dust Tornado
[1] Pot of Avarice

Alex Bunts – Top 8

Monsters: 21
[1] Dark Armed Dragon
[1] Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
[1] Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind
[3] Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn
[3] Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame
[3] Blackwing – Bora the Spear
[3] Blackwing – Kulat the Moon Shadow
[2] Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor
[2] Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North
[2] Legendary Jujitsu Master

Spells: 8
[1] Heavy Storm
[1] Mystical Space Typhoon
[1] Brain Control
[1] Allure of Darkness
[2] Book of Moon
[2] Black Whirlwind

Traps: 11
[1] Mirror Force
[1] Torrential Tribute
[1] Solemn Judgment
[2] Bottomless Trap Hole
[2] Starlight Road
[2] Dimensional Prison
[2] Icarus Attack

Extra Deck: 15
[2] Blackwing Armor Master
[2] Blackwing Armed Wing
[2] Stardust Dragon
[1] Colossal Fighter
[1] Thought Ruler Archfiend
[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
[1] Magical Android
[1] Ally of Justice Catastor
[1] Black Rose Dragon
[1] Blackwing – Silverwind the Ascendant
[1] Goyo Guardian

Sidedeck: 15
[1] Delta Crow – Anti Reverse
[1] Royal Oppression
[2] Skill Drain
[1] Giant Trunade
[1] Smashing Ground
[2] D.D. Crow
[2] Dust Tornado
[1] Icarus Attack
[1] The Selection
[1] My Body as a Shield
[1] System Down
[1] Ceasefire

Justin Katz – Top 8

Monsters: 20
[3] Deep Sea Diva
[2] Mystic Tomato
[2] Destiny Hero – Malicious
[1] Plaguespreader Zombie
[1] Dark Grepher
[1] Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind
[1] Destiny Hero – Doom Lord
[2] Caius the Shadow Monarch
[1] Destiny Hero – Dasher
[1] Spined Gillman
[1] Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
[1] Elemental Hero Stratos
[1] Dark Armed Dragon
[1] Crystal Seer
[1] Armageddon Knight

Spells: 14
[3] Miracle Fusion
[2] Book of Moon
[1] Brain Control
[1] Future Fusion
[1] Foolish Burial
[1] Destiny Draw
[1] Allure of Darkness
[1] Mystical Space Typhoon
[1] Giant Trunade
[1] Heavy Storm
[1] Reinforcement of the Army

Traps: 8
[2] Bottomless Trap Hole
[1] Solemn Judgment
[1] Torrential Tribute
[1] Trap Dustshoot
[1] Interdimensional Matter Transporter
[1] Starlight Road
[1] Mirror Force

Extra Deck: 15
[3] Elemental Hero Absolute Zero
[2] Stardust Dragon
[1] Black Rose Dragon
[1] Ancient Fairy Dragon
[1] Magical Android
[1] Red Dragon Archfiend
[1] Mist Wurm
[1] Ally of Justice Catastor
[1] Thought Ruler Archfiend
[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
[1] Goyo Guardian
[1] Colossal Fighter

Sidedeck: 15
[2] Chain Disappearance
[2] Dust Tornado
[2] Mirror of Oaths
[2] Phantom Dragon
[2] Legendary Jujitsu Master
[2] D.D. Crow
[2] Pulling the Rug
[1] Lightning Vortex

Christian Cruz – Top 8

Monsters: 21
[1] Exploder Dragon
[3] Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon
[2] The Dark Creator
[3] Phantom of Chaos
[1] Prime Material Dragon
[2] Sky Scourge Norleras
[1] Koaki Meiru Dragon
[3] Dark Horus
[3] Red Eyes Wyvern
[1] Dark Armed Dragon
[1] Morphing Jar

Spells: 19
[1] Allure of Darkness
[1] Card Destruction
[1] Upstart Goblin
[1] Dark World Dealings
[1] Gold Sarcophagus
[1] Monster Reincarnation
[1] Future Fusion
[1] Foolish Burial
[1] Super Rejuvenation
[1] My Body as a Shield
[2] Hand Destruction
[2] D.D.R. – Different Dimension Reincarnation
[3] Trade-In
[1] Giant Trunade
[1] Heavy Storm

Traps: 1
[1] Starlight Road

Extra Deck: 9
[2] Five Headed Dragon
[1] Goyo Guardian
[1] Colossal Fighter
[1] Iron Chain Dragon
[1] Trident Dragon
[1] Red Dragon Archfiend
[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
[1] Stardust Dragon

Sidedeck: 15
[2] Infernal Dragon
[1] Magna Drago
[1] Clear Vice Dragon
[2] Deck Devastation Virus
[1] Brain Control
[1] Bottomless Trap Hole
[1] Torrential Tribute
[1] Mirror Force
[1] Lightning Vortex
[1] Dark Grepher
[2] Hidden Armory
[1] Upstart Goblin

*Editor’s Note* – The Game Academy hosts an EDH league every Sunday; tournament signups begin @ 2 PM and tournament entry is $7. All entry will be given back to top finishers in store credit to use towards anything in the store. Jeremy is always in attendance to play EDH in our league, offer deck advice, and record matches for his popular YouTube channel. If you don’t have an EDH deck, don’t worry, we normally have a few extras if you want to play. See you here!

Impact of the Eldrazi on Elder Dragon Highlander

I am writing this article on 3/31/2010. The first week of spoilers on www.magicthegathering.com have revealed some interesting new mechanics and particularly interesting new creatures. The Eldrazi monument promises a flood of playable creatures that are seemingly destined for play in the Elder Dragon Highlander format. At the onset of each set release, I typically scour the spoilers and preview articles in search of legendary creatures that might serve as the basis for a new deck idea. At this point, there do not appear to be any Eldrazi that seem fit to serve as general for an entire deck.

Don’t get me wrong. We are looking at some outstanding effects and really interesting monstrosities, but the drawback of being colorless is particularly limiting in EDH. Some folks build decks around legends like Karn, but they are very narrow. I like to keep my options open and tend to have spells that cost colored mana in my heart. However, the previews and spoilers have dropped enough information at this point that most EDH players are seriously awaiting the opportunity to splash some of these titans in current builds.

We will walk through some of the cards that have been leaked at this point. Many of the cards have been officially spoiled, while others have not. I am only going to discuss Eldrazi spells that have sufficient evidence backing up their existence. Therefore, we are sticking to officially spoiled cards or cards with visual proof (such as the prerelease foil/oversized Emrakul).

All is Dust

There are several interesting aspects to All is Dust. First and foremost is the card type. The card is a Tribal Sorcery and represents a board clearing color spell the likes that Magic players have never seen. This card has some advantages and disadvantages in EDH. The advantages are somewhat obvious. This Tribal Sorcery will wipe out all colored creatures, enchantments, planeswalkers, and the few colored artifacts that might see play. Boom. That is huge. The multiplayer format is pretty slow and paying 7 mana for a spell that is a likely 3+ (or more)-for-1 is very profitable. All is Dust also fills a sort of gap that different deck types needed: an answer to planeswalkers. This card should have 5-color decks shaking in their proverbial boots. I have seen decks that try to play every planeswalker hoping to capitalize on the fact that there will not be enough removal to deal with the threats. In many cases this is a safe assumption. However, All is Dust will serve as a good violation of that assumption.

The card is Mythic which will drive the price up a bit. It has good interactions with your own colorless Eldrazi spells. I imagine this card might make its way into a number of decks and could serve as a solid reset when you fall behind.

Artisan of Kazilek

This is one of the “little” Eldrazi. There seems to be an awesome X-for-1 theme running throughout the Eldrazi tribe. This theme tends to contribute to playability. However, the card advantage offered by the Eldrazi appear to be somewhat mitigated by casting cost. In the standard environment, this might make some of the cards nearly unplayable (assuming that there are not tons of reasonable and playable ways of offsetting the expensive casting costs).

In our slower format, the casting cost of creatures and expensive spells is not always such a big deal. Most players jump into the format because you can regularly be found casting 8, 9, 10 or more casting cost spells. We like our games to be epic and we like to throw our pricey legends into battle against other mythic giants. That is, simply, how we roll. It is entirely possible that this Eldrazi tribe was meant for us!

Artisan is an uncommon. He will be easily obtainable. Relative to his brethren, he is not so impressive. He packs Annihilator 2 (which might end up being a sort of annoying ability), and does grab back a creature from the grave. In a theme deck, this Eldrazi will only have a chance to return some of the less impressive creatures. All of the great tribesman have the Colossus/Progenitus clause: shuffle giant dude back into the deck so you can not attempt cheaty reanimation! Overall, this guy is okay but not that playable. He might find a niche, but I would hold out for more impressive Eldrazi.

Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre

Here is a clear example of a “more impressive Eldrazi.” He costs a 2 more colorless man than Artizan but you get a lot for that small increase in investment. He destroys a target planeswalker…er, permanent when he is cast. He grabs 2 more points of Annihilator and is indestructible. There are only a few ways to get rid of indestructible creatures in the game and they are mostly blue and white. Think about that for a minute. When this guy hits, he will be a total wrecking ball when he is cast and when he starts swinging and there is not a whole lot that folks are going to be able to do about it. His impact will be critical and I imagine he will find a place in many decks.

His drawbacks include the fact that he is 11 to cast, he is Mythic and will be a little pricey and aside from his dual types of expense, he is only a 10/10 who might not battle through the biggest of the Eldrazi. I cannot imagine too many of these guys being on the board at once, but the Eldrazi will force a sort of quickly degenerative game state the longer they are on the board. Conceptualize two or three of these guys spread across 3-4 players. As they attack, folks will be sacking off lands and maybe tokens to keep their Eldrazi in the game. One might meet a Path to Exile, but the other two will quickly wipe the board of possible answers and remaining permanent as they battle like those monsters in Nintendo’s Rampage! Pretty sick.

Skittering Invasion

Skittering Invasion is not that exciting for EDH. It is an Eldrazi Tribal Sorcery and will help accelerate bigger spells into play. However, it already seems like a pretty big spell at 7 and does not seem to do quite enough. This card might be the type of card that contributes to playability of the tribe in standard constructed, but does not appear to offer that much as a singleton copy in EDH. If you are building with the tribe, then it might be something to consider as it could feed into the overall synergy.

Ulamog’s Crusher

This guy is one of the “little” Eldrazi. Her (who knows right?) impact might be far less than some of the other giants. At a common slot, you are not really getting the typical x-for-1 nature like the rest of the tribe. I don’t see this guy getting many looks outside of the tribal theme decks. However, it may contribute in some way to pauper EDH decks. She is an 8/8 and makes a player sacrifice two permanents with each attack. I might not be pimping this one in my decks but I am sure it could find a place in variant formats.

Pathrazer of Ulamog

This guy rounds out the uncommon members of the tribe. For the investment of 3 more colorless mana you pick up an additional Annihilator point over the common Ulamog’s Crusher. The Pathrazer costs 11. If you have a choice, you might want to ignore these underlings and just play Ulamog! Ulamog is the same cost and seems to offer so much more. If you are seeking diversity or need this 9/9, you can pick up a sort of evasion with the “3 creature or more must block” ability. That might turn out to be pretty great. Suit this guy up with a Basilisk Collar or Loxodon Warhammer and he is likely going to cause some problems. I like the concept, but think that EDH players might want to chase some of the Mythic Eldrazi if they only have a spot open for 1 or 2 fatties.

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

Speaking of fatties…Kozilek is one of the few Legendary Eldrazi that offers more power and toughness than the total investment of your colorless mana. For a casting cost of 10 you are enjoy a body that will shame Darksteel Colossus. Pretty sweet. I like the fact that this card is at least a 4-for-1. This is what you get when a Stroke of Genius, a Darksteel Colossus, and a Eldrazi have on offspring from their devil’s three-way! He packs the Annihilator 4, draws 4 and will be a Mythic that you will want to play in foil!. I imagine he was spoiled first for very good reason. This guy will find a perfect place in many EDH decks.

Emrakul, the Aoens Torn

So this guy has not been officially spoiled, but this picture confirms that this giant Eldrazi mythic will be unleashed from his dark prison with the next set’s release. It is rumored that this card will be the prerelease foil. That is a great thing for EDH players. We will get foil copies of the mythic for a reasonable price! This seems like a great gift from Wizard’s of the Coast to the EDH community. So far this guy is the biggest and baddest of them all. He offers a 15/15 frame with a built in Time Warp, Annihilator 6, flying, and protection from the colorless spells that would intend to end his reign. This card narrow’s an opponents ability to remove his threat in many ways. He is uncounterable and will only be vulnerable to Jace’s bounce ability, and universal board wiping. He does cost 15, but the investment seems to promise quite a high reward! I will definitely be playing around with this guy.

A Bonus Card and Other EDH Strategies Impacted by the Eldrazi

Realms Uncharted

I did not really want to get into preview cards outside of the Eldrazi tribe, but this one was just too amazing to pass up. It seems like one of the best prospects for EDH in a very long time. The picture is a tribute to one of the most amazing EDH cards of all time: Gifts Ungiven. This card seems well positioned to become a green staple in the form. It has all kinds of synergy with Life from the Loam and will offer players a chance to search out specific land cards. I like its interactions with Knight of the Reliquary, Crucible of Worlds, and generally strategies that wish to play lands. This card will be played in Rofellos through 5-color builds. I would pick this one up early. It might get a bit pricey due to applications in constructed, but it will be worth it.

Advancing Strategies

There are any number of older cards and strategies that might excel if the Eldrazi see a large amount of play in EDH. I could imagine playing red cards like Anger that offer haste to newly cast creatures being very strong. Instant Annihilator seems busted. Whether you are playing Into War’s Web or packing Lightning Greaves, it seems like giving these guys a quick attack strategy would be game breaking.

Blue cards that steal creatures just got better. I would always tend to Bribery the guy playing Emrakul. How about you? Mind Control and other card might also work. Swaying the loyalty of these giants might pay dividends.

The necessity and importance of non-targeted removal has always been huge in EDH; however, with the invasion of the Eldrazi, this will be paramount. As the Eldrazi make it into more and more decks, playgroups will have to adjust by increasing the amount of answers.

To conclude we will close with a strategy to use against the Eldrazi. As players attempt to equip Power Artifact on a monolith to prematurely power out these gods of war, EDH players should consider returning the monsters to the prisons from which they awoke. Cards that restrict attacking a given player or even attacking at all might be a significant way to suppress the new threat found in EDH. I am partial to cards like Meek Stone or Ensaring Bridge. I typically don’t love playing prison style cards, but I do not like being on the business end of Annihilator 6 either. It is clear that as the Eldrazi rise in popularity, the metagame will have to shift to account for their potential invasion.