http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/ RSS Feed of the latest MDV articles and content. 29 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST en-us http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0538.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0538.htm 5 Nov 2009 02:53:00 CST 11/5/09 - "Maggot Carrier; good game." I smiled – proudly – to affirm my only win, as I pored half-briskly through my teacher's decks, to see each and miss no use. At once, I savored Magic – in fervent and perfect impatience. At once, I was defeated and exalted by its infinite facility of discovery and perfection. I hastened to a card shop, where – overwhelmed – I bought the cheapest packs from sets I'd never heard of and left. Magic enthralled me; but quite nearly, it killed me. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0537.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0537.htm 29 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/29/09 - Recently I posted an article on Merchant Magic, a new format that allows casual players to build decks with a mix of cards at all rarities, but with limits imposed at the higher end. If you haven’t had a chance to read that article, check it out. What I’ll do in this article, and likely in others, is approach the deck concepts from the point of view of Merchant Magic as a casual starting point. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=24510 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=24510 26 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/26/09 - Sign on up for this month's double elimination tournament! For this month's tournament we will be using cards from FuDaWg45's custom set of cards! Here's what FuDaWg45 has to say about the tournament: Zendikar isn't the only thing that's recently released; I, after several years of designing, have finally completed my first block. And you are invited to be one of the first players to ever play with it. Explore the three powerful new gameplay mechanics - excavate, replace, and breakthrough - by entering into the November Double Elimination Tournament today! So what are you waiting for? Sign-up in the forum, update your MWS account and get ready for some brawling with some never before used cards! ~Haggis~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/features_CONTESTS_from_the_forums.htm#102509 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/features_CONTESTS_from_the_forums.htm#102509 26 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/26/09 - YWN is judging the Monthly Card Contest for October now and he was generous enough to give everyone some extra time to submit or perfect their entry. However, that extra time is almost up. Your entries are due by the end of the day on Monday 10/26/09. I wish you all luck! ~Streetz~ [Submission Thread] [Discussion Thread] http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0536.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0536.htm 20 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/20/09 - Disclaimer: This is a limited format guide. At times it'll seem like I'm talking a lot about drafting and not at all about sealed deck. It doesn't take a stretch to realize that when I say XXXX is a good early pick, it also means that XXXX is a smart card to put in your sealed deck. This is a limited guide to key cards that will dominate or fall flat in all limited Zendikar formats. I'm not focusing on deck construction as much as I am on key cards and deck strategies. So please don't complain about me ignoring sealed decks, I'm not. It is pure happenstance that I like drafting more. ~Cashew~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0535.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0535.htm 19 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/19/09 - Zendikar is full of delicious, decadent, and delightful goodies for casual players and tournament players alike. In particular, it has some phenomenal and diverse land cards that are sure to propagate themselves naturally into all of my casual decks. For instance, cards like Valakut and Emeria can fit very nicely into pre-existing decks without a lot of thought, much like Kor Haven, Volrath’s Stronghold and Yavimaya Hollow do. One-of lands that provide variety to your deck but that fit into your mana base are awesome in my book. Despite there only being a handful of artifact cards in Zendikar, there are still some unique cards worth talking about. Two such cards are Eternity Vessel and Eldrazi Monument. We are also receiving some diverse equipment cards of which the best, in my opinion, is an uncommon! Curious? I strongly encourage you to keep reading! ~Streetz~ http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=24476 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=24476 19 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/19/09 - I will recap some of the things from Worldslaying 101, but in the meantime, welcome to Worldslaying 102! Here you will be using the knowledge you learned in 101 to build a unique and powerfully fun deck centered around one card: Worldslayer. This Mirrodin rare is capable of making everything GO BOOM! You must include four copies of the card in your deck, your deck must be 60 cards, have two different legendary cards and it must be submitted with a deck name and brief deck description. Understood?! You have until 11/9 to submit your entry! Good luck! ~Streetz~ Enter here. Discuss here. http://magicdeckvortex.com/ARTICLES_write_for_mdv.htm http://magicdeckvortex.com/ARTICLES_write_for_mdv.htm 19 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/19/09 - If you are interested in writing and seeing your unique perspective, opinion and/or writing style on the front page of a Magic Deck Vortex, this blurb is a great place to start. There are a lot of topic holes to fill within the Writers Guild of Magic Deck Vortex including talking about the new cards in Zendikar and how they affect various casual and tournament formats. Oh how about some storytelling of how you beat your nine other people in a chaos multiplayer game with one Triskelion and a bunch of elves. Or hows about an editorial about the current state of Magic? There are many options -- and you can help cover them! If you think you have a knack at writing and want to get your opinion out there on something other than a blog, let us know! I would love to see your writings on MDV. Check out this thread for more information. Thank you for visiting Magic Deck Vortex! ~Streetz~ http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showpost.php?p=312157 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showpost.php?p=312157 18 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/18/09 - The "How Deep Is The Ocean" contest was loads of fun with 26 entries and a wide array of deck types... everything from Mill to SCS to CONTROL to COMBO to THEME decks. There was even a Land Destruction decklist in there!! There were some strong decks and then there were some uber-flavorful decks. Which deck won the contest? Looks like you'll just have to click on the link to see who scored the highest. Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest. Another Deckbuilding Contest (DbC) will be posted soon! Thank you for visiting Magic Deck Vortex! Click on the "Entries are here" link to see the actual deck lists. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_monthly_card_contest.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_monthly_card_contest.htm 17 Oct 2009 10:53:00 CST 10/17/09 - The MCC (Monthly Card Contest) seems to be all the buzz in the forums lately, and thus I have decided to post a visual spoiler for all of the winners of the contest. Check it out by clicking on the above link! Enjoy! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0534.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0534.htm 16 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/16/09 - Hi there. Remember me? I'm the guy that wrote about Zendikar Black a few days ago. I was awestruck by its magnificence, and I am hoping that Zendikar White will be a match for its evil counterpart. Just like Black, Zendikar White has a new tribe too: the Kor. Sure, they've been around for a while, but they haven't had a Kor lord until now, and I have to say he's pretty sweet. Check it out, he's the first card on my list, then check back in with me at the end to see how White did in the epic battle of good versus evil. ~potatobrain~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/features_CONTESTS_from_the_forums.htm#101509 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/features_CONTESTS_from_the_forums.htm#101509 16 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/15/09 - Just a quick reminder that the deadline for this month's card creation contest is 10/20/09. That's next Tuesday. If you haven't already, make sure your entry is posted and/or finalized. Also, know there has been a slight change of plans: Your Worst Nightmare (YWN) will be judging this instead of me (Streetz). Good luck to everyone! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0533.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0533.htm 15 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/15/09 - I know what you like about Zendikar. You like the Vampires, don't you! You want to know if they crumble to dust, or do they just sparkle in the sunlight? Are they expert brooders that fall for petite blondes with super powers? Do they extract all the salt from your body with their shape changing suckers? I bet you want to know if there is a secret war raging on Zendikar between the Vampires and the Werewolves. What accent do Zendikarian Vampires have? Do they say Vampire like we do, or do they pronounce it "wom-PEER?" Well, today I'm looking at Zendikar cards... ~Drathro~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0532.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0532.htm 14 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/14/09 - AE is reviweing Zendikar Blue, providing first impressions and doing it all by himself! This will be entertaining!!! Check it out on Magic Deck Vortex! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0531.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0531.htm 13 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/13/09 - You know what I like? Black cards. You know what set I really like? Torment. You know why? Because it has Black cards that are CRAZY! Think about it: Nantuko Shade, Cabal Coffers (not really Black, but you know what I mean), Mutilate, Chainer's Edict, Ichorid... the list goes on. Torment also happened to be Sengir Vampire's first reappearance since Beatdown, and he did so sporting a new and sexy suit. So what does this have to do with Zendikar? Well, let's face it, Black hasn't exactly been the cream of the crop since the long lost days of the Odyssey Block, and I'd like to hope that this set is Black's time to shine once again. Zendikar has many great cards of the dark persuasion, some reminiscent of random oldies, some as a throwback to Torment, as well as a creature type that's been dying to be turned into a tribe since Alpha. But does it have what it takes to dethrone its spooky predecessor? http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0530.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0530.htm 12 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/12/09 - Zendikar, Zendikar, Zendikar... how I love thee. The beautiful landscapes, the full art land cards, the adventuring motif found in card names, art and execution... all of it seems amazing at a quick glance. Except for the "priceless treasures"... that's just insane! Insanely amazing! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_expansion_sets.htm#alphabeta http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_expansion_sets.htm#alphabeta 10 Oct 2009 17:53:00 CST 10/10/09 - The four original core set visual spoilers have fnally been posted! Limited Edition Alpha. Limited Edition Beta. Unlimited Edition. Revised Edition. And all of the images in the spoiler are the images from the set; not images from another set like seen on some other visual spoilers on MDV. Note that I plan on updating all of the visual spoilers so that only the images from that set are on that page. Please enjoy and thank you for visiting Magic Deck Vortex! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0393.htm#1 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0393.htm#1 9 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST Come, sit down a spell. Take any seat you like; today we're going to take a journey back in time. Make sure you open up your mind and prepare to understand things you thought you already knew or are learning for the first time. It's time to look back on a set long since released, and today we're heading all the way back to November 1994, a time when America and the world were searching for identity, having shed themselves fully from the 1980's. Generation X was declared lost as Generation Y became the first generation to truly explore and foster the Internet en masse. The mood of the nation as a whole was gloomy—Kurt Cobain had ended his life, Ronald Reagan's fate was sealed in Alzheimer’s and practically the entire nation was enamored with the first media-extravaganza scandal: OJ Simpson. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_lands.htm#123 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_lands.htm#123 8 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/8/09 - Zendikar has a plethora of exciting new lands. In fact, it has so many that 20 sections of the Visual Land Spoiler have been updated. 21 if you consider there is one new section: Lands with Comes Into Play Abilities. If you aren't familiar with the Land Visual Spoiler, know it's a fantastic utility that shows you thumbnails for each land separated by type. Everything from the different color combinations to legendary lands to damage dealing lands can be found in this spoiler. Enjoy! ~Streetz~ http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=180 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=180 7 Oct 2009 20:53:00 CST 10/7/09 - I updated a few things in the forums yesterday which caused a chain reaction of events that finally fixed the user profile pages and unlocked a plethora of new options for the forum community. I posted a very quick blog about it (see link above). If you are interested in blogging on Magic Deck Vortex, please let me know in the discussion thread for that blog post. Thank you for visiting Magic Deck Vortex! ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0262.htm#1 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0262.htm#1 7 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/7/09 - We humans have always affected our environment, shaping it according to our will in order to improve our chances of survival. As a species, we have moved from hunters and gatherers to herders and farmers, domesticating both plant and animal species that had once lived out their lives in the wild. Unsatisfied with dominating that which God deemed fit to populate the Earth, we unlocked the secrets of genetics and DNA, creating plant species that produced greater yields and animal species that produced more milk or wool or meat. But what if this knowledge was used not for the good of the species? What if a single species was created to dominate all others? http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0489.htm#1 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0489.htm#1 6 Oct 2009 02:53:00 CST 10/6/09 - You know what I noticed recently? Everyone needs a king. Wait, scratch that, wrong choice of words: everything needs a king. Think about it for a second: countries have kings (sometimes called the President), rock and roll has Elvis, the jungle has the lion, fairytales have Old King Cole, mattresses have a King size, and menus have Chicken a la King. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0529.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0529.htm 1 Oct 2009 09:53:00 CST 10/1/09 - There are certain components that almost every deck, good or bad, consists of. The following is a very generic list of these components. The first is threats, in the form of creatures, spells, or a combination. Another is support; tutors, draw, disruption, burn, etc. Last, but arguably the most important, is lands. Lands allow you to play the other components and are so important that they often take up more than 1/3 of a deck. http://magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#oct2009 http://magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#oct2009 1 Oct 2009 01:52:00 CST 10/1/09 - I'm actually on time this month for the featured links... posting them on the day they are supposed to be posted: the first day of the month. This time around I have five fun links, one of which is a veteran of the featured links section. The other four are all new! Two blogs, one oldie but goodie and one link haven all about Magic software! Feel free to discuss these links in the discussion thread for featured links (after my name). Enjoy! ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://magicdeckvortex.com/links_all.htm#oct2009 http://magicdeckvortex.com/links_all.htm#oct2009 1 Oct 2009 01:52:00 CST 10/1/09 - The "all links" page has been updated with some of the recent featured links. If you have any suggestions for this page, please let me know. Likewise, if you see any errors on the page, email me. Thanks. ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=24296 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=24296 30 Sep 2009 01:52:00 CST 9/30/09 - Wizards of the Coast recently announced it would be selling all foil booster packs with cards from the Alara Block. Each of these boosters contains 15 black-bordered premium cards and will be available for a limited time. The price tag is $11.99 per pack! They go on sale in January of 2010! Discuss this in MDV's Forums here! ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=24254 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=24254 28 Sep 2009 21:52:00 CST 9/28/09 - As many of you know by now, there are literally priceless treasures to be opened within Zendikar booster packs! Black Lotuses, Sliver Queens, Moxen, Arabian Nights rarities and more! In fact, no one is really sure exactly how much more. If you want to talk about it or talk about what you received, join the discussion in the Magic Deck Vortex forums! ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#1234567abcd http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#1234567abcd 28 Sep 2009 01:52:00 CST 9/28/09 - The visual spoiler for Zendikar in all its glory and goodness is now completed including tokens! If you haven't yet, post some combos. If you want to write any articles about Zendikar, let me know. We have the First Impressions covered but if you want to write about your favorite artworks, or a top ten article or how the set impacts EDH, 5Color, Pauper, Extended, etc... or a combo article... that would be awesome! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0528.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0528.htm 25 Sep 2009 02:53:00 CST 9/25/09 - For casual players, the whole point of playing Magic: The Gathering is to have fun. Obviously, what each player finds fun is personal. However, one common issue that comes up from time to time is the question of what constitutes a fair and fun casual format. What is the definition of a budget or casual deck? The answer, I think, is that there is no single answer. However, I’ve stumbled upon a format that meets many of my criteria and that I’ve found to be a great deal of fun. Allow me to introduce you to Merchant Magic. ~Amadeus~ Discuss here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0527.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0527.htm 24 Sep 2009 02:53:00 CST 9/24/09 - Legacy is like casual… except competitive. I know that sounds somewhat like an oxymoron, but it’s very true. Let me explain. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/features_CONTESTS_from_the_forums.htm#92309 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/features_CONTESTS_from_the_forums.htm#92309 23 Sep 2009 08:53:00 CST 9/24/09 - Congratulations Alaxam for winning first place in the Video Contest from last month. Alaxam will be awarded a $50.00 credit to MTGFanatic for his entry. You can see his video here on YouTube. His winning video will be featured on the MDV YouTube page, found here, for several weeks. You can also see the runner up video by CopySix here on YouTube. Thank you to everyone that submitted an entry for this contest! Thank you for visiting Magic Deck Vortex! ~Streetz~ [Discussion Thread] http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#1234567abc http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#1234567abc 23 Sep 2009 08:52:00 CST 9/23/09 - Updated the spoiler with almost 70 new cards! Cards images will be updated tomorrow! Updated: Added another nine cards including Arrow Valley Trap, Quest for the Holy RElic, Welkin Tern, Gomazoa, Paralyzing Grasp, Malakir Bloodwitch, Hellfire Mongrel and Grappling Hook! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#1234567ab http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#1234567ab 23 Sep 2009 01:52:00 CST 9/23/09 - Updated the spoiler with almost seventy new cards... ~Streetz~ http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/forumdisplay.php?f=108 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/forumdisplay.php?f=108 20 Sep 2009 19:52:00 CST 9/20/09 - Did you know you can post your combo ideas in the forum? Well, you can. There is a specific thread for each set as well as a thread for specific combos like infinite combos. For instance, if you want to post a combo using a spoiled Zendikar card, you can post them here. If you have a combo for Magic 2010 cards, post them here. Infinite Combos? Post them here. All of the combo threads are in their own forum, found here. Enjoy! Note you can still email them to me, although posting them in the forum is a bit easier (for me). Be sure and check out some of the existing combos already posted so you aren't duplicating something someone already submitted! Thank you for visiting Magic Deck Vortex! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#1234567a http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#1234567a 20 Sep 2009 19:52:00 CST 9/20/09 - Updated the spoiler with almost fifty new cards... Also included in the update are over 20 card arts, card images and misc. images for your viewing pleasure. Loving this set thus far!!! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0526.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0526.htm 17 Sep 2009 07:52:00 CST 9/17/09 - It's the long awaited return of Exit 267, MDV's very own series aimed at pulling together all the little tidbits from the spoiler season together! However, this won't be like previous Exit 267 articles, for a couple of reasons: 1. Between the Wizards of the Coast website and our own forum Rumor Mill, you get all the spoiler info you are going to need. I plan on a quick overview, rather than an all-encompassing report. 2. I have my own hidden agenda all lined up for this spoiler review, and I like to do things my way! Still, I guess I'd better start with a little introduction for those of you who live under rocks. ~Drathro~ http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=24090 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=24090 10 Sep 2009 01:52:00 CST 9/10/09 - I was listening to one of my favorite barbershop songs recently and thought to myself, why isn’t there a deck in the MDV deck database with that title? And thus is the point of this contest. Design and build a deck intended to be named “How Deep is the Ocean?” Interesting? I think so. You could go with the ‘fish’ theme or go another direction relying heavily on blue mana or enchantments involving water, the ocean or deep-ness. How you build this deck is completely up to you. Think outside of the box! And Good luck! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0525.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0525.htm 5 Sep 2009 01:52:00 CST 9/4/09 - I love my wife, my truck, overpowered cards, shiny cards, and cards with good alternate art. Therefore I get very excited when you combine any of those elements, let alone three of them. I thought From the Vault: Dragons was cool because it had shiny cards with cool alternate art, but most of the cards themselves didn’t entice me enough to actually acquire a set. The same cannot be said of From the Vault: Exiled. ~Swords to Factories~ Discuss here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#0909 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#0909 3 Sep 2009 02:52:00 CST The visual spoiler has been updated to include slow spoils, two more cards, two more product images, some new card images and card art pics! Lots of updates. Hopefully more this weekend. Note: I need to find images of the recently slow spoiled Nighthawk and Chandra... I haven't had time to do that yet. If you have them, email them to me. Thanks! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#sep1 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#sep1 1 Sep 2009 22:52:00 CST The visual spoiler has been updated to include slow spoils, two more cards, two more product images, some new card images and card art pics! Lots of updates. Hopefully more this weekend. Note: I need to find images of the recently slow spoiled Nighthawk and Chandra... I haven't had time to do that yet. If you have them, email them to me. Thanks! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_mechanics_main.htm#august2009 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_mechanics_main.htm#august2009 29 Aug 2009 18:52:00 CST 8/29/09 - I've added six new mechanic visual spoilers to the Mechanic Spoiler List. New additions include: Cycling, Double strike, Indestructibility, Land Untappers, Mana Creatures and Mana Artifacts. If you see any errors, accidental omissions or have any comments or requests, please email me or post it in the comment section of the forums. Thanks for visiting Magic Deck Vortex! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_INFINITE_gears_and_pieces.htm#august2009 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_INFINITE_gears_and_pieces.htm#august2009 29 Aug 2009 01:52:00 CST 8/28/09 - The infinite gears and combo pieces visual spoiler has been updated to include Eventide, Shards of Alara, Conflux, Alara Reborn and Magic 2010 cards. If you see any errors or have any suggestions, please let me know. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#august213 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#august213 28 Aug 2009 10:52:00 CST The visual spoiler has been updated to include slow spoils, two more cards, two more product images, some new card images and card art pics! Lots of updates. Hopefully more this weekend. Note: I need to find images of the recently slow spoiled Nighthawk and Chandra... I haven't had time to do that yet. If you have them, email them to me. Thanks! http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23706ab http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23706ab 25 Aug 2009 20:52:00 CST 8/25/09 - I know a few people are still working on submissions and editing their submissions, so I am extending the deadline one week. If you plan to enter this contest, please post a link to your video no later than 9/1/09. All entries will be reviewed and the winner will be announced by 9/15/09. I wish everyone luck and thank everyone for submitting an entry for the contest. After all, this contest is a celebration of MDV's seventh birthday. Not to mention you could win $50 in credit to one of MDV's advertisers. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_2009_08.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_2009_08.htm 24 Aug 2009 01:52:00 CST 8/24/09 - It's been a couple months since the last combo page so this time around I present to you 25 new combos. In these 25 combos are 21 deck links, eight infinite combos and several very fun build-a-deck-around-me combos. Just to give you a quick taste of some of the combos, here's a few of the cards found in those combos: Plague of Vermin, Lotus Vale, Planar Guide, Subterranean Spirit, Knight of the Mist, Tombstone Stairwell, Void, Patagia Viper, Atogatog, Callous Giant, Soul Echo, Hell's Caretaker and Morphling. As always there is a mix of hard core combos as well as synergistic combos on the page. Each color is represented and there isn't any specific theme tying together each of the combos. I hope you enjoy this month's featured combo page! As always, you can post combos in the forum or email them to me. Links are at the top of the page for each. ~John Streetz~ ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0524.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0524.htm 21 Aug 2009 01:52:00 CST 8/21/09 - I saw something today that made my day stop. I had to compose this article. It was something that I was not expecting, but something that I needed to express my feelings for. No, it was not the fact that Wrath of God finally received the big flying elbow from the top rope. No, it is not the fact that Ball Lightning returned… again. It is the [TEASE! ~ Keep reading for more. Don’t you hate when other sites leave you with this click me to read entire article?] ~Chris Newton~ http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23706a http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23706a 20 Aug 2009 01:52:00 CST 8/20/09 - In honor of MDV's 7th Birthday, I am running a contest in which the winner will receive a $50 credit to one of MDV's advertisers. All you need to do is create and post a short video to promote Magic Deck Vortex. If you have a video camera and/or video editing software, this should be pretty easy for you. Give it a try! More information can be found by clicking one of the following links. Deadline is 8/25/09. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0523.htm#1 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0523.htm#1 19 Aug 2009 12:52:00 CST 8/19/09 - Once more, attention must be paid to the common parasite, a lesser breed of the Magic player, using what isn't its own to succeed, essentially reaping the benefits of somebody else's hard work. Why, oh why, should there be more discussion of such creatures? Upon dissection of their grotesque cadavers, a discovery has been made. There actually exists two different species of these parasites. There is the parasite in casual Magic, and the parasite in tournament Magic. ~Kozy~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#august16 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_zendikar.htm#august16 17 Aug 2009 02:52:00 CST 8/17/08 - There have been a number of land images spoiled on www.wizards.com as well as some card images from GenCon for four cards. All of this has been added to the MDV Visual Spoiler for Zendikar! I've also started pages for Worldwake, Shake, Rattle and Roll. Enjoy! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#august20093 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#august20093 16 Aug 2009 12:52:00 CST 8/16/09 - What was once a 75 deck addition is now complete and with ten more decks than originally planned. I added a few deck submissions from the casual deck forum that had been previously DBM'd. I think this update is one of the most expansive deck database updates in the last year having decks from almost every color combination and every deck type. While doing the update I cleaned up a few pages here and there although there is quite a bit of house keeping left to do. If you see any errors, or want to help, please let me know. In the meantime, know I'm thinking about reformatting the deck database a little bit. You can see an example of what I'm thinking in the August 2009 Decks area. It includes adding more space between each deck, changing the backgrounds and the colors and a few other minor modifications. Let me know your thoughts - good or bad here: Discuss Here. In the meantime, thank you for visiting Magic Deck Vortex! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_TYPE_historical.htm#august2009 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_TYPE_historical.htm#august2009 16 Aug 2009 01:52:00 CST 8/16/09 - The Historical Deck Section of the MDV Deck Database has been updated. I've changed a few of the descriptions to better match what's actually in the deck (as opposed to general descriptions like Cocoa Pebbles or Wheaties). I have also sorted the decks by year and then deck name. Previously they were sorted by deck type, deck description and then deck name. This should be much easier to sort through now if you are a historical deck buff. In resorting the decks I discovered that I'm missing some decks from 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005 and 1995. I plan on correcting this problem very soon and started looking for historial decks this weekend. In the meantime, know that all 75 decks have been posted for the August 2009 MDV Deck Database Update. I have yet to propagate them, but they are all clickable now. Enjoy! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#august20092 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#august20092 13 Aug 2009 01:52:00 CST 8/12/09 - Ten more decks posted. 55 of 75 posted thus far. More to come this week! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0001.htm#2009 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0001.htm#2009 12 Aug 2009 01:52:00 CST 8/11/09 Editor's Note: Magic Deck Vortex (MDV) didn't start publishing articles until April of 2005, almost three years after the creation of MDV. Chris Newton started off the articles section with this excellent piece that eventually turned into a 26-plus article series. Notice the file name of this one: mdvarticle0001.htm. Since this was originally published over four years ago, MDV has published 521 other articles. That's impressive for what started off as just a deck database. In the mealtime, please enjoy this article in honor of MDV's 7 Year Anniversary. If you would like to read up more on this series, click here. ~John Streetz~ First of all, don’t call me old. Secondly, the intention of this article is not to give a detailed history of everything that happened from point A in time until point B. It is to give a series of stories that might help the younger generation of players to get a grasp on the history and tradition of the game of Magic: The Gathering. These are personal thoughts, memories, stories, and sometimes rants (and even when I do rant don’t call me old!) about the way Magic was and up to what it is... ~Chris Newton~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#august20091 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#august20091 11 Aug 2009 18:52:00 CST 8/11/09 - Nine more decks posted. 45 of 75 posted thus far. More to come this week! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#august2009 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#august2009 10 Aug 2009 00:52:00 CST 8/10/09 - 75 decks will soon be added to the MDV Deck Database. In the meantime, 36 of the 75 decks have been posted and linked to. There is a wide array of deck types this time around including Beatdown, Burn, Combo, Control, Land Destruction, Infinite, Theme Tribal, Weenie, Recursion, Lite, etc, etc. I anticipate to add a few more decks every day this week with the update complete by next weekend. Please enjoy the decks that have been added so far. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0522.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0522.htm 7 Aug 2009 00:52:00 CST 8/7/09 - Let me be straight with you. I'm not a multiplayer maven or a Pauper perfectionist, but it would be a crime if Magic Deck Vortex (What the Casual Players Use!) missed out on the opportunity to look at Magic 2010 (M10) from a Casual player's point of view. M10 is bursting with flavor for the Casual player, but what cards are really going to make a difference when you play some of those Casual and budget formats with your friends? I'll get right down to business with my top ten multiplayer favorites from M10, considering only new cards from that set. ~Drathro~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0521.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0521.htm 6 Aug 2009 00:52:00 CST 8/6/09 - Welcome to the Artifacts and Lands installment of First Impressions: Magic 2010! While this part of the tour may be small, it is by no means any less interesting. Along the way, you will see some returning favorites, some new toys, a few decklists, and even a guest speaker! Let's get started, shall we?~Drathro~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0520.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0520.htm 5 Aug 2009 00:52:00 CST 8/5/09 - This time Green is up! Streetz and Coldstone offer up their opinions and impressions of these fine cards. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0519.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0519.htm 4 Aug 2009 00:52:00 CST 8/3/09 - This time AlasterEisaroh and final_press review the new Blue cards. Keep reading!!! http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23706 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23706 3 Aug 2009 00:52:00 CST 8/3/09 - This promotional video contest is being done as a means to celebrate MDV's 7th Birthday this month. It is also being done to give MDV something promotional on YouTube. Goal: Create a promotional video for Magic Deck Vortex. How long it is, what you feature in it, etc. are all up to you. Make it something MDV can be proud of to feature on MDV's YouTube Channel. Deadline: All videos most be posted no later than 8/25/09 by the end of that day. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23701 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23701 3 Aug 2009 00:52:00 CST 8/2/09 - August is MDV’s 7th birthday!!! In light of that, we’re going to be celebrating it this month. This round is going to be a bit more straight-forward than most of the others, but hey that’s good too! This month, players are to design a card of any type and color. However, their card must contain at least some form of the number seven in any part of the card aside from the flavor text. (The flavor text can have it too, but I want it to be on the actual card as well). Enter the contest today! Read more here! ~ThunderHog~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#82009 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#82009 3 Aug 2009 00:52:00 CST 8/3/09 - This month I've got a Cube Drafting site, a YouTube site for MDV, a Planeswalker Soda site, a financial blog site and a podcasting site. Check out the featured links page, linked above, for a brief description of each site along with any applicable comments I had. Check out the links and then let MDV know your thoughts on each one or just one in particular in the forums. Thanks for visiting Magic Deck Vortex! ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/decks_of_the_day.htm#82009 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/decks_of_the_day.htm#82009 3 Aug 2009 00:52:00 CST Shred Head. I believe this is one of the decks that was in the original database. The database that existed prior to the first few deck database updates. I can only assume this because there is no date next to it in the grids. In any event, this deck uses Cephalid Vandal to your advantage by donating it to your opponent in an effort to mill them to death. Interesting stuff. I dare you to check it out. Oh, and Happy Birthday MDV! 7 years!!! Can you believe it? http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_all.htm#82009 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_all.htm#82009 3 Aug 2009 00:52:00 CST 8/2/09 - The all-links page has been updated with the recent featured links and a new section: Illinois Gaming Shop Websites. This new section is limited to gaming shops in Illinois that have any kind of Magic Tournaments. If you know of any not currently on the list, please send me an email. Likewise, if you see any errors on the page, email me. Thanks. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showpost.php?p=302455 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showpost.php?p=302455 1 Aug 2009 15:52:00 CST 8/2/09 - Several hours later, I have finished reviewing all of the decks. Overall I am really happy about the turn out for this contest with 28 entries (several more than last month) and a lot of solidly built decks. There was a nice selection of decks including Combo, Beatdown, Tribal, Mill and even a Theme deck (which I'm a sucker for). One thing that I don't care for in these contests but that showed up several times is 'infinite combo' syndrome. Does an infinite combo make the deck any more fun to play against? Does it make it any better? Not in my eyes. Unless, of course, you use a unique combo I've never seem before and the rest of the deck does well without the infinite combo. Keep reading to see the scores as well as the top five deck lists! Thank you to everyone who participated. The next contest will be posted very soon. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0518.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0518.htm 31 Jul 2009 01:02:00 CST 7/31/09 - This time hamsandwich and Coldstone tackle Red M10!!! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/article_archives_by_author.htm#33 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/article_archives_by_author.htm#33 31 Jul 2009 01:01:00 CST 7/30/09 - Three authors have reached the three or more article mark and now have their own page in the articles archives of MDV. This hopefully means we will be seeing lots more from them in the near and distant future! If you are interested in writing for Magic Deck Vortex, check out this page. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0517.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0517.htm 30 Jul 2009 01:01:00 CST 7/30/09 - Hello faithful readers, and welcome to MDV's M10 First Impressions! On today's menu, we have 17 brand spanking new cards for you, and guess what, they're all Black. Some of them are great, some are pathetic, some are totally new, and some are modern updates of old classics that will hopefully tickle your happy bones as much as they tickled ours. I must say, Wizards' idea of putting new cards in a core set really makes us happy campers, especially since many of the new cards are tip top quality. So prepare yourselves for something old, something new, something borrowed, and something that looks like the beginnings of a Vampire tribe! Oh, and check out the M10 article by AlasterEisaroh and final_press for something blue coming sometime next week. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0516.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0516.htm 29 Jul 2009 01:01:00 CST 11th Edition, I mean Magic 2010 (M10 for short) is now available on shelves of hobby shops all across the world. Nothing is more exciting than purchasing and opening CORE Set product that has been announced as 50% brand new! ...even if most of the 'new' cards are new functional reprints (read: not really new at all). But that topic is not the focus of our article today. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0487.htm#12311 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0487.htm#12311 21 Jul 2009 01:01:00 CST 7/20/09 - The other day found myself casting a Violent Ultimatum, which is seven mana, on turn four - crippling my opponent who had gone second in the match and only had three permanents in play. This is not meant to be impressive, instead it is meant to be a notice to people. It is a notice that First Impressions of a card by a person can be really damaging to someone else’s first impression. In this article I will tell you a little about an annoying trend that runs Rampant in MDV's forums. ~Chris Newton~ Discuss here. [This is reprint]. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_lands.htm#071909 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_lands.htm#071909 20 Jul 2009 01:01:00 CST The visual land spoiler on MDV has been updated with M10 lands. Enjoy! http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23534 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23534 17 Jul 2009 01:01:00 CST 7/18/09 - He's close but no cigar... The objective of this contest is to design a 60 card, no sideboard, deck using four copies of Deathbringer Thoctar. The deck type doesn't matter. What matters is that you make this the coolest deck possible while following the rules of the contest. Whether its originality or combos or whatever. Note: The winner of the contest will receive four copies of Deathbringer Thoctar. If you didn't check out the deck from last month's contest, I would highly encourage you to do so. Check out the other blurb on the main page about the winner from Be Resourceful, last month's deckbuilding contest. Four Limited Resources will be mailed to the winner of that contest much like four copies of Deathbringer Thoctar will be mailed to the winner of this contest. Good luck! Be sure and read the rules. If you haven't signed up for the forum, now is a great time to do it. ~Streetz~ http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23243 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23243 17 Jul 2009 01:01:00 CST 7/17/09 - Congratulations to Shale Warbringer for scoring highest in the recent MDV Deckbuilding contest: Be Resourceful. You can see the decks that were submitted here. You can check out the scores here. Thank you to everyone that participated. I was amused and astonished by the number of unique decks and strategies you all presented. Go, go MDVers!!! ~Streetz~ http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=163 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=163 12 Jul 2009 19:57:00 CST 7/10/09 - [BLOG] A few days ago I ranted about how aggro gets a huge bonus by the omission of Wrath of God from M10. However, aggro decks are also losing some of the tools that once helped them survive those Wraths: man-lands! As long as Tenth Edition has been legal... [Keep Reading] ~Drathro~ Discuss here. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=164 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=164 12 Jul 2009 19:56:00 CST 7/12/09 - [BLOG] As of this afternoon, the MDV visual spoiler for Magic 2010 (M10) is complete. Well, 99% complete. I'm missing a few token images, but I'm sure I'll get that squared away very quickly. In fact, someone has already sent me the beast token, so I plan on updating that tonight. This M10 Visual Spoiler (VS) marks a new trend for Magic Deck Vortex. I've taken a few comments I've received from various people over the years and decided to make the change. I am now going to be keeping separate folders for each set with the card images and thumbnails so that the card pics remain true to the set (and don't overlap)... [Keep Reading] http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_m10_core.htm#071209 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_m10_core.htm#071209 12 Jul 2009 19:55:00 CST 7/12/09 - All card pics have been posted with exception to three token images. If you have these images, please email them to me. Otherwise, enjoy the nearly 100% completed visual spoiler. The art in this set is as awesome as it is fun to play with. In other words, it's an amazing core set! ~Streetz~ Discuss Here P.S. All product and full art images have been removed from the spoiler page. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0515.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0515.htm 10 Jul 2009 01:45:00 CST 7/10/09 - They're all there: four cats, two dogs, two beautiful little girls, and their even more beautiful mother. They all want something, whether it's food, a walk, help with a puzzle, or just a good old fashioned hug. I spend the time on my long walks home from work just picturing their faces and wondering what new and interesting things we'll talk about each day. I thank my stars for having such a wonderful little brood and such a warm and welcome home. Sometimes it can ease the everyday angst I feel living in modern America and its fast-paced, dog-eat-dog atmosphere. My heart lightens a bit when I turn the corner and see the light on the porch, and my loved ones at the door, waiting to welcome me back from a hard day's work. But they can wait. Because it's Friday, and the kid in me is busting loose and heading to the mall. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0514.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0514.htm 9 Jul 2009 01:45:00 CST 7/9/09 - Whether you are a tournament or casual player, a Johnny, Timmy or whatever, you should be able to see something good in Forced Fruition. Unless, of course, your name is Amadeus. Forced Fruition is one of the crazy, wacky, Johnny enchantments Wizards of the Coast released (from Lorwyn anyway) and you shouldn’t be fooled. There are endless possibilities with this card; possibilities that are beyond just milling your opponent. Some of you may have already read about how it combos with Megrim or Underworld Dreams. However, did you stop to think for a moment what other cards might work well with it? In just reviewing the Gatherer card database for fifteen minutes I was able to find over ten other cards and/or strategies that will work really well with the card. If you were even slightly interested based on my intro, I would encourage you to read on. After all, this is a One Card to Rule Them All article... Oh, and Cashew will rounding out the second half of the article with a second One Card to Rule Them All!!! ~Streetz~ http://magicdeckvortex.com/features_polls.htm#july09 http://magicdeckvortex.com/features_polls.htm#july09 3 Jul 2009 18:45:00 CST 7/3/09 - Are you a trading fanatic like I am? Whether or not you keep an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of your incoming and outgoing trades with people online, I want to know how often you trade. Vote in this month's poll and let me know. Feel free to discuss it in this discussion thread of why you do or don't, things you like and dislike about trading with people online, etc. And most importantly, know you can trade cards with other members of MDV if you post a thread in our Bazaar of Wonders. ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. [Poll is to the right]. http://magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#july09 http://magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#july09 3 Jul 2009 18:45:00 CST 7/3/09 - Not only is there a theme this month, but there are six featured links instead of the standard five. This month I'm featured six different Magic Card Shops and Tournament Organizers from all across Illinois including Central Illinois, Chicago, Suburban Chicago and Northern Illinois. If you know of any other Illinois Shops worth featuring, please send me an email. I plan on featuring more later this year. ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23360 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23360 30 Jun 2009 01:15:00 CST 6/30/09 - If you are interested in writing and seeing your unique perspective, opinion and/or writing style on the front page of a Magic Deck Vortex, this blurb is a great place to start. There are a lot of topic holes to fill within the Writers Guild of Magic Deck Vortex including coverage of the spoiler season, alternate formats, storytelling, magic issues, editorials, card critiques, talking about art, tribal, 5-color, pauper, etc, etc. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=160 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=160 28 Jun 2009 10:15:00 CST 6/26/09 - ***SPOILER WARNING: I will be talking about a new M10 card, so if you don't want to know yet, go away.*** Everybody knows you play sets of four cards in your constructed deck whenever possible, right? Well, I've begun to notice a little sub-theme in Standard MTG lately that almost begs you to break this rule... http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_m10_core.htm#0628090 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_m10_core.htm#0628090 28 Jun 2009 10:15:00 CST 6/28/09 - MORE UPDATES! Thank you MTGS for providing the spoils! :) http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_m10_core.htm#0626090 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_m10_core.htm#0626090 26 Jun 2009 20:15:00 CST 6/26/09 - *pant* Almost 100 cards added to the text spoiler for M10 (thank you MTGSalvation) and I must say: "I'm Impressed!" Seriously, so many good reprints and great new cards... A new Crusade of sorts, tribal goodness, token generators, new cards that are really tweaked reprints, nice new art in some cases, new Equipment, Darksteel Colossus!!! ...just overall goodness thus far. All recently added cards are highlighted in blue or yellow. Enjoy this spoiler season!!! If I missed anything, let me know via email. Thanks. Discuss Here http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_2009_conflux1.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_2009_conflux1.htm 23 Jun 2009 01:15:00 CST 6/23/09 - June's combo page brings you combos from Conflux including 20 new combos, some bonus combos in the descriptions and several deck links. Everything from Magister Sphinx to Esperzoa to Extractor Demon to even Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer! Come check out this month's featured combos. If you have any new Conflux combos, there is a link on this page for posting them. Also, If you are interested in making your own combo page, much like YWN has done in the past, send me an email. ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_lands.htm#1345 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_lands.htm#1345 22 Jun 2009 01:15:00 CST 6/22/09 - One of MDV's more popular facets are the visual spoilers. Did you know MDV has a visual spoiler for just lands? That's right -- all of the lands in Magic: the Gathering separated by type, color and function. If you want to see all lands capable of producing blue and white mana, or if you want to see all of the lands with Threshold, or all of the lands that are mana-filters, or even all of the lands that don't generate mana... the MDV Land Visual Spoiler can help you out! If you have any suggestions for new catagories, please let me know. Otherwise, please enjoy this sometimes overlooked feature of Magic Deck Vortex! ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_banned_restricted_main.htm#12345 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_banned_restricted_main.htm#12345 19 Jun 2009 18:59:00 CST 6/19/09 - The MDV Banned and Restricted visual spoilers have been updated given the recent announcement www.wizards.com about the Banned and Restricted changes. Almost all formats were left unchanged with exception to Vintage. In Vintage they restricted Thirst for Knowledge! (Wow.) ...And unrestricted Crop Rotation, Enlightened Tutor, Grim Monolith and Entomb. (Equally wow.). Check out the Visual Spoilers for the B'n-R lists here! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0513.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0513.htm 16 Jun 2009 00:46:00 CST 6/16/09 -Evolution: The natural process in which one organism turns into a greater form of itself. This process takes time. Over time, even humans see themselves advancing with increased average height, longer lifespan, and elevated immunity to disease. Even Magic evolves. There was once a time when people thought Black Lotus was a perfectly well rounded card, and that it was surely okay to make a land produce two different types of mana without any drawback. Obviously, Magic: The Gathering has evolved since then. This raises one very significant question, has the Magic player became an advanced human from the ape that it once was? I say no. In fact, it is just the opposite. Devolution. ~Kozy~ http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23242 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23242 15 Jun 2009 01:01:00 CST 6/15/09 - Objective: Design a 60 card, no sideboard, deck using four copies of Limited Resources. It can be a SCS, a theme deck, a tribal deck, etc. The deck type doesn't matter. What matters is that you make this the coolest deck possible. Whether its originality or combos or whatever. Also, follow the rules of the contest. The winner gets four of this card as a prize. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/features_polls.htm#61409 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/features_polls.htm#61409 15 Jun 2009 00:01:00 CST 6/14/09 - I need to do polls more often. It's been almost a year since the last poll and ironically it was about a similar topic: Rules Changes. This poll covers your reaction to the recently announced rules changes on www.wizards.com in which zones are being renamed, lifelink is nerfed, mulligan rules changed and the whole combat damage on the stack is eradicated. This poll covers all of the changes so please consider that before you vote. Thanks for visiting MDV! ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. (Poll is to the right). http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23200 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23200 11 Jun 2009 01:16:00 CST 6/11/09 - ...sort of. Wizards of the Coast recently divulged several M10 cards and coupled it with a host of major and minor rules changes that will go live once M10 hits the shelves. Check out this discussion thread for a summary of the changes along with card images for the recently spoiled cards. Shout out your opinions on the changes - whether good or bad. Just keep them civil and constructive. Thanks for visiting Magic Deck Vortex! ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_m10_core.htm#0609090 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_m10_core.htm#0609090 10 Jun 2009 01:16:00 CST 6/10/09 - Two more images were spoiled on Facebook by WotC. They are now in MDV's card art image archive for Magic 2010. Update: Several cards were spoiled on www.wizards.com including Clone, a 2cc black vampire, a white undead destroyer, a slime and Ball Lightning!!! NOTE: I'm not a fan of the combat changes - where combat damage no longer uses the stack. Grrr, Wizards. Grrr. Discuss Here http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23142 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=23142 10 Jun 2009 01:16:00 CST 6/10/09 - Keywords have played a huge part in building the foundations of Magic as a game. Keywords have existed ever since the beginning and have only become more prominent ever since. As such, I’ve decided to name this round Keyword Extravaganza! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#MayJune2009 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#MayJune2009 6 Jun 2009 13:16:00 CST 6/6/09 - All 60 decks of the May-June Deck Database Update are now posted, propagated and complete. All pages have been updated with these new decks including by color and by type. I hope to bring more decks sometime later this month as well. There are a host of new cool decks from Standard that are must-haves in the MDV DDB as far as I'm concerned. If you have any questions with regard to the deck database, please let me know via email. Otherwise, know you can submit decks to the Magic Deck Vortex Database for review by posting them in the Casual Decks and Strategies Forum. Read up more on the [DBM] associated with deck database entries here. Thank you for visiting Magic Deck Vortex! Remember to check out MDV's sponsors and advertisers; without them there would be no MDV. If you are feeling generous, you can always donate (see button to the right). ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_m10_core.htm#060409 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_m10_core.htm#060409 5 Jun 2009 00:46:00 CST 6/4/09 - Updated the M10 visual spoiler with a bunch of new cards and art images, many of which were spoiled on Facebook. Speaking of Facebook, join MDV's Facebook Group, found here! If I missed anything, let me know via email. Thanks. Discuss Here http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0512.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0512.htm 4 Jun 2009 00:46:00 CST 6/4/09 -Hello, hello, hello my faithful readers. It is I, Potatobrain, king of tribal decks, scion of rogue decks, and master of crap rare deckbuilding. I would like to begin today's article by finally revealing my secret origin story. Today you all shall learn how I went from mild-mannered Rami the small-time economics student to Potatobrain, king of tribal decks, scion of rogue decks, and master of... well, you get the idea. ~Potatobrain~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#053109 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#053109 31 May 2009 20:46:00 CST 5/31/09 - I have 60 decks to be added to the database this time around and thus far 25 of 60 have been posted. I plan to continue working on this through the week. In the meantime - Enjoy! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_news.htm#053009 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_news.htm#053009 31 May 2009 10:46:00 CST 5/30/09 - When working on updating the deck database this morning, I realized the decks from the last update were never added to the by color and by type pages. I spent an hour this morning correcting that and changing a few minor things on individual database pages. If you are a regular visitor of these pages, you will catch the minor changes. In any event, I plan on working more on the database update this weekend. Enjoy! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/art_update_2009_05.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/art_update_2009_05.htm 30 May 2009 04:46:00 CST 5/30/09 - While I could have done all Alara Reborn arts this month, I decided to do a potpourri of arts instead including 1 Time Spiral, 12 Shadowmoor, 13 Exodus, 8 Darksteel, 8 Dissension, 9 Prophecy, 9 Onslaught, 1 Morningtide and 5 Urza's Saga. That makes 65 total! Some of the images are high quality while others are not. Enjoy! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0511.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0511.htm 29 May 2009 00:46:00 CST You just have to read this... http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/FI_CELIXIA_visual_spoiler.htm#1 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/FI_CELIXIA_visual_spoiler.htm#1 26 May 2009 21:30:00 CST 5/27/09 - Celixia is a set I created several years ago around when MDV was getting popular. It's been quite a while since I featured it but its for that reason you are seeing this on the main page today. Looking back, it wasn't a perfect fictional set by any means, but I still am happy with how it turned out. Many members of the MDV community helped to make this set what you see. We ever played a few games and held a tournament using it. Check out the cards and then feel free to discuss it here. Don't worry -- more site updates are coming very soon. I just need to juggle a few things in the meantime. ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. P.S. If you like designing cards or looking at cards designed by others, check out our Custom Cards and Sets forum, found here. Or, join one of our card creation contests, found here! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0510.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0510.htm 19 May 2009 00:46:00 CST If you've ever been curious about the basic concepts behind creating custom magic cards, today's article is for you. Otherwise, its a nice walk through of creative custom cards that you surely won't want to miss. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#050109 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#050109 13 May 2009 00:46:00 CST 5/12/09 - Five new links have been posted for May's Featured Links including a drafting site, an online magazine, a twitter account, a trading website and a podcast. The majority of which are brand new links on MDV. Enjoy! ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0509.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0509.htm 13 May 2009 00:46:00 CST First Impressions: Alara Reborn: Naya!!! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0508.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0508.htm 8 May 2009 00:46:00 CST First Impressions: Alara Reborn: Grixis!!! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0507.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0507.htm 7 May 2009 00:46:00 CST First Impressions: Alara Reborn: Jund. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0506.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0506.htm 6 May 2009 00:46:00 CST First Impressions: Alara Reborn: Esper. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0505.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0505.htm 5 May 2009 00:46:00 CST First Impressions: Alara Reborn: Bant. Join Cashew and Streetz as they take a stab at not only Bant Shard cards, but its enemy gold cards! There's some great cards in this set so don't miss out! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0504.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0504.htm 4 May 2009 00:46:00 CST First Impressions: Alara Reborn... check out hamsandwich's top ten multiplayer card pics in today's new article! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0415.htm#12313 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0415.htm#12313 29 Apr 2009 00:15:00 CST 4/29/09 - In honor of the unofficial visual spoiler theme week on MDV, I figured this article was appropriate. Originally published during MDV Theme Week from mid-2008, Michael_Zeora(MZ) talks about the Visual Spoilers and Art Catacombs on Magic Deck Vortex in a fun style of writing. MZ isn't part of the MDV Writers Guild anymore, this is still a fun and applicable piece. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_m10_core.htm#12 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_m10_core.htm#12 29 Apr 2009 00:15:00 CST 4/29/09 - Minor updates. Added a few cards. Duress is rumored to be included. 50 percent of this CORE set will be new. The Lorwyn Planeswalkers will be Mythics. There will be new dual lands. It will be awesome. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_banned_restricted_main.htm#123123 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_banned_restricted_main.htm#123123 29 Apr 2009 00:15:00 CST 4/28/09 - Over the last year much has stayed the same in Vintage and Legacy. However, for Magic Online formats, lots have changed, especially with Prismatic. I have finally taken the time to update the Banned and Restricted visual spoiler pages of MDV. Please enjoy! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_creature_types_text_list.htm#231 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_creature_types_text_list.htm#231 27 Apr 2009 01:15:00 CST 4/27/09 - With exception to Humans and a few creature types that don't have VS pages yet on MDV (like Sphinx, Rhino and Cyclops), all of the creature visual spoilers on MDV have been updated with Alara Reborn Cards. To give you an idea of the creature types affected: Angels, Archers, Assassins, Berserkers, Birds, Cats, Constructs, Demons, Dragons, Fungus, Gargoyles, Giants, Goblins, Golem, Griffin, Horrors, Illusions, Insects, Knights, Mutants, Ogres, Rats, Rogues, Scouts, Shaman, Snakes, Soliders, Spirits, Vedalken, Viashino, Walls, Warriors, Wizards, Wurms and Zombies! Phew! Please enjoy! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_alara_reborn.htm#11231 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_alara_reborn.htm#11231 24 Apr 2009 20:45:00 CST 4/24/09 - The Card Images are now available on www.wizards.com and thus MDV's visual spoiler has been updated. As done in the past, the product images and other misc. images have been removed. Please enjoy the set and the prerelease events this weekend!! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0503.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0503.htm 24 Apr 2009 00:46:00 CST Today I’m kicking a bad habit. A really bad habit that’s cost me pain, sweat, and tears. A habit that, if continued, would certainly cause me to self-destruct. And what may that habit be? I’ll give you two hints. One: It involves spending money. Two: It involves spending countless hours perusing items online. Keep reading if you want to find out. Also, I’ll be talking about one of my favorite mechanics: kicker. I’ll talk about kicker a little bit, and then present my own top ten list of kicker cards. Within the top ten list you’ll find a plethora of decks to peruse right in the article. Keep reading! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0502.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0502.htm 23 Apr 2009 00:46:00 CST Hello everyone I'm your host AlasterEisaroh, and we have a very special guest today on the premier edition of An Interview With. Our guest today is something that has been around for a long time, and yet isn't that well know. So without further ado our special guest is.... http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_alara_reborn.htm#11123 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_alara_reborn.htm#11123 22 Apr 2009 08:45:00 CST 4/22/09 - With exception to a few missing exact card names and creature types, the spoiler has been completed over at MTGS and thus I've updated this page. Updates and additions are in blue. More thumbnails to follow. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0501.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0501.htm 22 Apr 2009 00:46:00 CST 4/22/09 - “Wrath of God!!” “Uh, wait! Hold up…” taps two Islands and two Plains and plays Broken Ambitions. “I counter unless you pay 3.” Looks at board. “Okay,” puts Wrath of God in graveyard. “Okay, now we clash.” “Now we what?” “Clash, reveal the top card of your library and…” “Oh, yeah, yeah, whatever.” Looks at top card of library. “Now what? “Reveal it, what’s the converted mana cost?” Reveals Knight of Meadowgrain. “Two.” “Okay, I got a land.” Puts land to bottom of library. “Now what?...” http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0500.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0500.htm 21 Apr 2009 00:46:00 CST There are very few ways to play Magic. For the most part you draw a card, then you cast it from your hand. While there are ton of a variations to the style of cards you use - control, combo, aggro - there really isn't much beyond drawing and casting. You might do it fast, you might do it slow, but, in the end, the flow of the game is the same - draw and cast. Then Ravnica came along and revolutionized the way many people play Magic. It was no longer so much about drawing as it was about massively expanding your graveyard for dredge players. The era of the graveyard had officially begun, and dredge was its king. The fact that Leyline of the Void would often be mainboarded at tournaments was a sign of just how powerful the graveyard monster was. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0499.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0499.htm 20 Apr 2009 00:16:00 CST 4/20/09 - This week we're looking at one of the aspects of Magic: the Gathering that differentiates a set or block from the previous one - Mechanics (and not the automotive kind)! While it is true that the setting and flavor of a set is the most easily identifiable characteristic of a set or block, think about what those sets would be like if the game mechanics never changed. That would be like getting a cool Simpsons themed chess set - sure, the pieces all look new to you, but the bishop still moves diagonally, and pawns just move forward. It's still just chess. If Magic: the Gathering were like that, we might get bored with it pretty quickly, and there would certainly be very little reason for new sets. Fortunately for us Magic players, this is not the case. With each new set that is released, we get a mix of tried and true standbys like Trample, new block and set-specific mechanics like Exalted, and every once in a while even a favorite block mechanic returned for another go around, like Cycling. This week we'll be running a themed series of articles, focusing on some of our favorite(and not so favorite) mechanics. Right this very moment, you are reading the combined intro and my article on Offering, but be sure to check back each day this week for another helping of mechanic mayhem! ~Dan Wright (Drathro)~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/decks_of_the_day.htm#042009 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/decks_of_the_day.htm#042009 20 Apr 2009 00:16:00 CST Jhoira's Menagerie. Jhoira is a great card from the Time Spiral block for featuring one of the major mechanics of it: Suspend. She can basically suspend any nonland card in your hand for a minimal price of two colorless mana. You can do some fun things with this, as today's deck of the day will show you. Happy Mechanic Week! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/series_mechanic_theme_week.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/series_mechanic_theme_week.htm 20 Apr 2009 00:16:00 CST 4/20/09 - Drathro starts us out on the latest theme week to hit MDV Main: Mechanics! Check out the page linked above for all of the content associated with this week! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/art_update_2009_04.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/art_update_2009_04.htm 18 Apr 2009 21:16:00 CST 4/18/09 - Since I didn't update the art catacombs last month, I decided to update them this month with a few more images. This month I've added over 70 artwork images including four from Alliances, eight from Apocalypse, 47 from Conflux, twelve from Coldsnap and three from Exodus. Enjoy! ~Streetz~ Click on the link to see the images! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_alara_reborn.htm#111 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_alara_reborn.htm#111 18 Apr 2009 18:16:00 CST 4/18/09 - Eight more cards have been spoiled. Several of which are amazing! Check out the thumbnails at the top of the page to see some of the new cards without having to sift through the entire spoiler. Thank you, Wizards and MTG Salvation! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0245.htm#1 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0245.htm#1 17 Apr 2009 01:16:00 CST If you have been playing Magic: the Gathering for any period of time, you know at least one thing – that Magic: the Gathering is expensive. Constructing a deck can consume allowances and salaries, and you still have to be able to play the deck well to win your FNM or local tournaments. For a lot of players, the cost of making a deck can keep people from playing the game. If you look at the majority of Magic players, and see how many are interested in the game and in playing fun Magic, many are not interested in paying $40 for a play set of Wrath of God just to do well in their next FNM tournament. With all that in mind, what if I told you that you could build an extremely competitive deck for fewer than two dollars, could play in weekly tournaments for free, and win prizes? If you weren’t interested in buying expensive cards, would you be interested in that? For that matter, are you interested in a new and challenging format where budget doesn’t constrain your game? If so – welcome to the world of Pauper. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0256.htm#1 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0256.htm#1 16 Apr 2009 01:16:00 CST Magic is a sport for many, and a way of life for some - the drive to win and be competitive can take all the fun out of your game. This week, I invite all you headstrong cardslingers, all you tournament jockeys, all you stressed out Magic players to cool down, relax, and play some Magic for fun, and on a budget that's right for the most casual to the most extreme. And if you're going to cool down and play some Casual Magic for a change, what to play? Well, a Raiding the Dollar Bins deck, of course! So riddle me this: What’s the most complicated card that rewards nothing? And how can it be used in a deck that will rock your opponent’s face? I hope you’re curious, because this week’s deck is going to knock your socks off! Check it out in this edition of Raiding the Dollar Bins. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0212.htm#1 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0212.htm#1 15 Apr 2009 01:16:00 CST Welcome to the first article in the Going Blind series. In this series, we’ll be looking at some of your favorite cards in a way you’d never imagine, and we’ll be looking at cards you’ve never heard of before, all in an attempt to take a look at three, four and five card blind. For all those semi-concerned readers out there, have no fear. Raiding the Dollar Bins isn’t being cancelled. With all that being said, let’s take a look at non-bas… wait, you’re not familiar with the card blind games? Then let me illuminate the path for you. *reprint* http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0002.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0002.htm 14 Apr 2009 01:16:00 CST 4/14/09 - Death_By_Beebles has recently announced he is leaving the admin staff of the Magic Deck Vortex forums. While it saddens me to see him leaving the admin staff and the writers guild, I can appreciate all of the work he has done for the site. He was one of the first authors to ever be published on Magic Deck Vortex, and also a great influence on the site and community. Please wish him well in his future endeavors. I will be running DBB's material all this week as a means to thank and remember his great works during his four years working with Magic Deck Vortex. ~Streetz~ In the meantime, enjoy MDV's second formal article ever, by Death_By_Beebles. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_creature_types_text_list.htm#040709 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_creature_types_text_list.htm#040709 8 Apr 2009 01:16:00 CST 4/8/09 - I am in process of updating all of the creature visual spoilers. Thus far I've updated the following: Angel, Archer, Artificer, Avatar, Demon, Dragon, Fungus, Gargoyle, Horror, Hydra, Imp, Insect, Knight, Kor, Leech, Lizard, Minotaur, Monk, Moonfolk, Myr, Mystic, Ooze, Ouphe, Phoenix, Rat, Shapeshifter, Snakes, Spellshaper, Spider, Vampire, Vedalken, Viashino, Wall, Wurm and Zombie. I'm hoping to tackle the bigger creature types (like Elves, Humans, Birds, Spirits, etc.) in the next week or two. Thanks for visiting Magic Deck Vortex! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_2009_04_Gruul.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_2009_04_Gruul.htm 6 Apr 2009 01:16:00 CST 4/6/09 - Welcome to another featured combo page on Magic Deck Vortex. This time around I've limited the cards to Green, Red and Artifact making it a sort of Gruul-styled combo page. There are a lot of new combos and only a few that are from older combo pages. Check out these combos, have fun building a deck around them and then submit some of your own combos. Instructions on how to do this are on the page. If you are interested in making your own combo page, much like YWN has done in the past, send me an email. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#040109 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#040109 2 Apr 2009 16:01:00 CST 4/2/09 - This month there are five excellent links for your perusal including a webcomic, a horror site, a card trading site, a blog about an upcoming Magic set and an online gaming magazine. You may recognize some of these links but I can guarantee you haven't seen all of them. Enjoy! ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_alara_reborn.htm#033009 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_alara_reborn.htm#033009 31 Mar 2009 01:16:00 CST 3/31/09 - The visual spoiler for Alara Reborn has been updated including 10 spoiled cards, several card images, lots of images and product pics and more. If you haven't checked out the new set yet, now is your chance! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0498.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0498.htm 30 Mar 2009 01:16:00 CST Today’s card is inspired by a private contest I held in the forum last month that didn’t have a whole lot of participation, but spawned a variety of fun decks. And that’s what Magic Deck Vortex is all about, right? Decks, decks and more decks. I will be honest to say that the Firebird isn’t a card I would normally feature in this series, as I didn’t think the card had enough potential to write an entire article about. However, the deckbuilding contest submissions, along with some decks I found online, proved me wrong. This card is capable of some fun interactions, great synergies and, for sure, deserves a second look. Today I’m going to take a look at the deckbuilding contest submissions, some other decks I found online, and my own creation built around Skarrgan Firebird. Curious what I come up with? Keep reading! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0250.htm#2 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0250.htm#2 27 Mar 2009 01:16:00 CST 3/27/09 - NOTE FROM STREETZ: Given the recent computer drama I've dealt with I was unable to get anything brand new up for Friday this week. Instead I'm going to throw a treat from 2007 at you in the form of "How to Keep an Idiot Busy!" Below is a quick intro from the author, LSoR! Umm... Sounds mighty fun, don't you think? Keeping idiots busy has been one of my greatest joys in Magic ever since it was made possible (since like... always). There has been nothing more fun than seeing my opponent squirm, sigh, and cry all in the same 50-minute game we have been playing. ~LSoR~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0242.htm#2 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0242.htm#2 24 Mar 2009 01:16:00 CST I have a problem. Perhaps there’s an Anonymous group somewhere I should seek out and join – because I can’t stop picking Blue cards to feature for this series. Blue Obsession Anonymous (BOA)? Anyway, today I’m dipping into the Invasion block and grabbing a Blue rare enchantment called Sunken Hope. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=136 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=136 24 Mar 2009 01:16:00 CST 3/24/09 - So the First MDV League Tournament is finally under wraps. Congratulations FuDawg. You are the Ext EDH Champion! Fudawg landed on top of 6 man Double Elimination tournament, Claiming the B side and going on to face Lionden in the grand finally. ~Haggis~ http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=132 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=132 23 Mar 2009 01:16:00 CST 3/23/09 - This blog by Drathro is actually from last week but was supposed to be featured on the main site while I was on vacation. For more on why it wasn't posted last week, check out my blog from Monday. ~Streetz~ http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=135 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=135 23 Mar 2009 01:16:00 CST 3/23/09 - If you were wondering why the main site wasn't updated last week, it was a combination of things including the fact that I, Streetz, was on vacation. The other things include problems with publishing to MDV's FTP via a laptop using wifi. I had a laptop with me that I was prepared to make updates with but due to the problem with publishing to the FTP site, I abandoned the idea of making main site updates while in Florida in vacation. On a positive note I was able to play lots of Magic with my sister's friends and family... ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/decks_of_the_day.htm#032309 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/decks_of_the_day.htm#032309 23 Mar 2009 01:16:00 CST After a week of vacation for Streetz, the deck of the day featured is being updated again. Check out today's MonoElf deck! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/decks_of_the_day.htm#031309 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/decks_of_the_day.htm#031309 16 Mar 2009 07:16:00 CST No. I don't hate you. But this deck can sure make you feel like hating someone... if you are playing against this deck. Specifically this is a Mill type deck that uses cards like Traumatize, Haunting Echoes and Volrath's Dungeon to win over your opponent. On a side note, know that your friendly webmaster, Streetz, is on vacation this week so I can't guarantee I'll get to update this feature every day. I will try to get some work done of the site even if there aren't many updates on the main site. Feel free to check out the forums in the meantime! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_infinity.htm#031309 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_infinity.htm#031309 13 Mar 2009 07:16:00 CST 3/13/09 - Given the large number of infinite combos in YWN's recent combo page, I've finally updated the Infinite Combo Archives with these combos. If you haven't checked out the Infinite Combo Archives, click here. They are sorted by 'type of infinity'... such as Infinite Cards, Infinite Life, Infinite Damage, etc. etc... Enjoy! ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_2009_03_ywn2.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_2009_03_ywn2.htm 13 Mar 2009 00:16:00 CST 3/12/09 - What's your favorite color? Ah, it matters not. Whichever your answer might have been, I have the combo just for you. Just keep reading and you'll see it for yourself. (Yes, even if your answer was colorlessness. Keep reading!) ~Your Worst Nightmare~ Discuss Here. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/forumdisplay.php?f=15# http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/forumdisplay.php?f=15# 10 Mar 2009 00:16:00 CST 3/10/09 - So you visit Magic Deck Vortex often... checking out its combo pages, the deck database, the visual spoilers, the set rumors, the featured links, the art catacombs, the blogs... but you haven't joined the forums yet? What's keeping you from saying hello? MDV has a diverse community for you to explore beyond the red and black walls of MDV Main. I would highly encourage you to check it out. There are contests, forum games (both mindless and thought provoking), a casual deck submission forum and even forums for tournament decks and limited discussions. You can comment on articles, check out some of the user submitted artwork, post something in the fiction or avatar sections or even discuss Magic storylines and history. Maybe you want to submit a suggestion about the site or post a combo -- there's subforums for that too! Whatever your joy is, join the forums and start off by introducing yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum. First, click here to register! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#March2009 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/DDB_new_decks.htm#March2009 9 Mar 2009 00:16:00 CST 3/9/09 - Let's call this past weekend my 'catch-up' weekend. I posted a visual spoiler start-up page for Magic 2010, I published (or shall I say finished finally) the combo page for Shards of Alara and I prepped YWN's second combo page set to be published later this week. In addition to some general forum updates (mostly in the Writers Guild) and several other items I also added 33 decks to the MDV Deck Database. That's right! Finally! A Deck Database Update. You would think I would publish my DDB updates given this is Magic DECK Vortex. Anyway... The update isn't as expansive as the last few updates but that's for a number of reasons including I'm going to try updating the database more often. In the meantime, enjoy the decks! There are some new decks, some older (1996) decks and lots of decks in between. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_2009_shards_of_alara_combos_part_1.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_2009_shards_of_alara_combos_part_1.htm 7 Mar 2009 19:30:00 CST 3/7/09 - Its a good thing that combos are timeless or else I'd be in big trouble with this combo page. (It should have been posted over three months ago). While there are technically only 20 combos on the page, be sure and read the description of each as there may be hints and extras attached to each combo. If you want to submit your own combo you can either email it to me or post it in the combo thread in the forum. ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=123 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=123 7 Mar 2009 19:30:00 CST 3/7/09 - I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot about the Pro Tour Kyoto decks (check out Gabriel Nassif's Deck: Wall of Reverence maindeck and Wydwen, the Biting Gale (finally!) in the sb), but how about a few other lesser known, but still interesting Standard decks for your perusal? ~Drathro~ Discuss here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_infinity.htm#030709 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_infinity.htm#030709 7 Mar 2009 19:30:00 CST 3/7/09 - Anytime an Infinite Combo is posted in a new combo page I then add those combos to the Main Infinite Combo Page and then to each applicable sub page (like Infinite Creatures, Infinite Mana, etc). Wait a minute!!? You didn't know there was a whole section devoted to infinite combos here on Magic Deck Vortex!? Looks like you are going to have to check it out!!! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0456.htm#2 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0456.htm#2 5 Mar 2009 00:15:00 CST 3/5/09 - Dragons are stupid. They're large, bulky, and everyone seems to play them. "Here's my Dragon collection, look how awesome it is!" "This is my favorite Dragon it can kill you in one turn!" So much pro-Dragon love out there, but not from me. I'm stating it loud and proud I'm a Dragon hater. Chant with me now: Hate, Hate, Hate... I mean come on! There are so many cooler things out there than the same big ole nasty Dragons we've seen. Heck, there are things close to them too that still have that edge. Let's check out a few examples... ~Cashew~ http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=121 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=121 5 Mar 2009 00:15:00 CST 3/5/09 - The other day I posted a blog about a Deckbuilding Contest I hosted within the Forum Wizards Clan Private Forums. In the blog I talked about the contest, the prize, the decks and the winner. If you want to see the decks the fellow Forum Wizards made around Skarrgan Firebird, check out the blog. You might be surprised! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0420.htm#2 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0420.htm#2 4 Mar 2009 00:15:00 CST ...I recently was finishing up my basket of articles and needed to take them to Streetz for publication. As I got up from my desk, I decided to take one last bite of spaghetti before going. Unbeknownst to me, as I put the fork down, a meatball escaped the plate and made a mad dash across the room. I took the pages of articles and departed the desk only to find myself flipping backwards in the air. Upon landing on the ground, I looked up and saw all the pages of the three articles flipping and fluttering through the air. I laid on the ground for five minutes. "What the heck am I going to tell Streetz? I am limping because I slipped on a meatball and about broke my tailbone? The articles are mixed up because I was eating on the job? What the heck am I going to do now?" ~Chris Newton~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/decks_of_the_day.htm#2 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/decks_of_the_day.htm#2 4 Mar 2009 00:15:00 CST 3/4/09 - Is that right? The Deck of the Day feature has finally been updated again since January?! Yup. I'm going to do my best to keep this guy updated weekly. If I can keep up with that, I'll bring back the combo of the week (or day). In any event, enjoy the featured decks Monday through Friday! Thanks for visiting Magic Deck Vortex! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#030109 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#030109 1 Mar 2009 16:01:00 CST 3/1/09 - As usual, March brings us five featured links including a blog, a Facebook page, a general gaming site, a site that sells stuff and a link to one of the many other facets of Magic Deck Vortex. Curious? Check out the Featured Links Page! (Or you can look to the right on the home page...) Please enjoy and be sure to let me know what you think of each in the discussion thread. ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_all.htm#030109 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_all.htm#030109 1 Mar 2009 16:01:00 CST 3/1/09 - With this month's update of the All Links Page I've added two more categories: Illinois Shops and MDV on the Net. If you know of any other sites to list under these categories, please let me know via email. Or if you know of any other sites I can promote MDV on... email that too. Thanks. ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/art_update_2009_02.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/art_update_2009_02.htm 28 Feb 2009 13:15:00 CST 2/28/09 - The second catacomb update of the year includes fives pieces of art from Arabian Nights, Betrayers of Kamigawa, Darksteel along with three from Eventide, ten from Dissension, ten from Morningtide, seven from Legions and six from various CORE sets. .. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_2009_02.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/COMBOS_2009_02.htm 27 Feb 2009 09:15:00 CST 2/27/09 - Check out 20 new combos, some old, some new, some linked to decks and some infinite. I'm confidant you'll like the variety of combos this time around. Be patient with me as I try to get back into the swing of posting Combo Pages on Magic Deck Vortex once a month. If you want to submit your own combo you can either email it to me or post it in the combo thread in the forum. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0497.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0497.htm 26 Feb 2009 00:05:00 CST Design on a Dime: Cashew vs. Death_By_Beebles. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0496.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0496.htm 13 Feb 2009 09:01:00 CST 2/13/09 - Join Eldros and DazBoot as they review all of the Naya cards from Conflux! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0495.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0495.htm 12 Feb 2009 01:29:00 CST 2/12/09 - (ham) Good morning ladies and gents! Welcome to Jund! I’ve got to say that after weeks of deck building around the Shards of Alara, I found Jund to be my favorite one. Though flavor-wise I liked to lean a bit more towards “cleaner” shards like Bant, I can’t help but recognize the awesome effectiveness of pumping out little creatures only to feed bigger, and badder ones. Join me, hamsandwich, and Tekkactus as we take this train to what I can only describe as- “my own little slice of Hell on Earth”: Jund. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0494.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0494.htm 11 Feb 2009 01:29:00 CST 2/11/09 - It is Alara’s shard of decay and despair; disease and death. The first time around, there were vampires, demons, zombies, horrors, and pretty much every other kind of nasty you can think. This time around, they’ve given it a twist. So join us, Potatobrain and AlasterEisaroh, as we journey into the darkness for the sights, sounds, and smells of… Grixis... http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0493.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0493.htm 10 Feb 2009 01:29:00 CST 2/10/09 - Drathro and I are going to be introducing you peeps the world of metal and precisely cut clouds. I look forward to delving into this Shard, as it was my favorite from the start of this lovely multi-color block we have here. Hopefully Drathro's and my reviews of the cards will leave you feeling fulfilled and ready to have your limbs replaced with lovely and sturdy Etherium replacements. Enjoy! ~Drathro and Coldstone~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0491.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0491.htm 6 Feb 2009 01:40:00 CST Back in October, I had the surprise privilege of introducing the Shards of Alara First Impression. I've returned again to lead us into the Conflux First Impressions, this time helming the entire event instead of reviewing. Conflux as I'm sure you know is the reunification of Alara. Unlike many sets, Conflux is a distinct event and precise moment in time. We get to see creatures from Grixis looking for fresh life in Jund, and colossal beasts from Naya devastate the serenity of Bant, as it happens! This is a set about change and for once we actually get to see the change as it takes place instead of the before and after... http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=105 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=105 5 Feb 2009 00:15:00 CST 2/4/09 - I know I’ve been calling out for a lot of help recently. Between the open moderator positions, the editor positions and contest admin position you would think everyone in power had left or something. Well, that’s not the case. There are, however, plenty of responsibilities to fill and in particular, there are two I could really, really use some help with. ~Streetz~ Discuss here. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=104 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=104 5 Feb 2009 00:15:00 CST 2/4/09 - Hey, all you blog readers! I'm sure you've noticed that the MDV blogs have slowed down a bit. For me, this is because of a vacation and the upcoming "First Impressions: Conflux" articles that will appear next week on MDV, after which I will blog a little more frequently. However, some of the other bloggers have simply lost interest, and that's where you come in.~Drathro~ Discuss here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0490.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0490.htm 3 Feb 2009 00:15:00 CST 2/3/09 - Join Luthervamplord and Hamsandwich as they talk about their decks from the last match and revamp them in an effort to either win or win again. Check out their new deck lists in today's Design on a Dime Challenge! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#020209 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#020209 2 Feb 2009 01:45:00 CST 2/2/09 - Five new links have been posted for February including the new Gatherer, Deck Construct, LigaMagic, Xtreme Games and MTG Speak Out Loud. Please enjoy and be sure to let me know what you think of each in the discussion thread. ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#020109 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#020109 1 Feb 2009 18:45:00 CST 2/1/09 - The MDV Visual Spoiler for Conflux is now complete with all of the card images for the set except for the tokens. If you have the token images, please let me know. ~Streetz~ Discuss Here http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_shards_of_alara.htm#020109 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_shards_of_alara.htm#020109 1 Feb 2009 18:45:00 CST 2/1/09 - I've finally posted the token card pics. Sorry for the delay. Thank you to the many people that sent me the tokens via email. (There were quite a few over the course of time). http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_lands.htm#013109 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_lands.htm#013109 31 Jan 2009 22:02:00 CST 1/31/09 - MDV's Land Visual Spoiler has been updated with all five new lands from Conflux. If you haven't checked it out, click on the link above. It's a fantastic feature that will give you access to all of the lands of Magic at the push of a button in classical MDV-VS thumbnail format. ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0488.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0488.htm 30 Jan 2009 08:32:00 CST 1/30/09 - It is time once again to say good bye to a few contestants and see who is left standing in MDV Idol. In case you did not know, this was the final week for the contest, so that can mean only one thing… The last known survivor will be your MDV Idol! Let’s find out who it is shall we!? http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0487.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0487.htm 29 Jan 2009 00:02:00 CST The other day found myself casting a Violent Ultimatum, which is seven mana, on turn four - crippling my opponent who had gone second in the match and only had three permanents in play. This is not meant to be impressive, instead it is meant to be a notice to people. It is a notice that First Impressions of a card by a person can be really damaging to someone else’s first impression. In this article I will tell you a little about an annoying trend that runs Rampant in MDV's forums. ~Chris Newton~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0450.htm#1 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0450.htm#1 27 Jan 2009 00:02:00 CST 1/27/09 - Join Cashew as he embarks on making some tribal decks using some lesser tribes. Streetz wraps up a previous contest in the intro too. Overall, you will see several fun decks to try out for yourself. Oh, and if you are reading this for a second time, don't worry... you may have missed a few things the first time through. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0489.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0489.htm 26 Jan 2009 01:25:00 CST 1/26/09 - You know what I noticed recently? Everyone needs a king. Wait, scratch that, wrong choice of words: everything needs a king. Think about it for a second: countries have kings (sometimes called the President), rock and roll has Elvis, the jungle has the lion, fairytales have Old King Cole, mattresses have a King size, and menus have Chicken a la King. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#012609 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#012609 26 Jan 2009 01:25:00 CST 1/26/09 -- UPDATE #2: 10 more cards; spoiler completed!!! Thank you MTGS for providing the information. About 15 more card images have been posted too! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#012409 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#012409 24 Jan 2009 19:15:00 CST 1/24/09 - The Conflux Visual Spoiler has been updated. Thank you, MTGS and Wizards.com for the information, images and spoils. We're almost there! I have to admit I am a lot more excited about this set now than I was last month. Some of the recent cards spoiled are amazing! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/art_update_2009_01.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/art_update_2009_01.htm 20 Jan 2009 00:15:00 CST 1/20/09 - The first catacomb update of the year holds seventy-five pieces of artwork including 36 from Eventide, 1 from Dissension, 10 from Urza's Legacy, 3 from Apocalypse, 9 from Mercadian Masques, 6 from Weatherlight and finally 10 from Shards of Alara. (With many more to come). Enjoy! ~Streetz~ Click on the link to see the images! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0486.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0486.htm 19 Jan 2009 01:15:00 CST Last time we explored the fast powerful beats of Zoo. This month, isn't much different except instead of going ala Naya, we'll be going ala Boros. Sheer size trades for combat efficiency and lightning speed. Boros is all about the swarm and smother generating a player kill before an opponent has a chance to react. Much like Red-Green aggro, this is a deck that wins or stalls and struggles, bad hands as such should always be discarded. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#011809a http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#011809a 18 Jan 2009 19:15:00 CST 1/18/09 - Visual Spoiler Update: English versions of the available card images are now in place. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#011809 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#011809 18 Jan 2009 17:15:00 CST 1/18/09 - I am working on bringing the VS of Conflux here on Magic Deck Vortex up to date. As usual, the majority of this information was found on MTGS so many thanks to the community over there. I have yet to parse the card pics and add them to the text spoiler. That's next. Enjoy in the meantime. There are tons of images added and the spoiler is up to 82. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#011809 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#011809 18 Jan 2009 11:05:00 CST 1/17/09 - On top of the featured websites is the Eye of the Vortex new online magazine hub. The current issue is available for free for download. Click on the link. I'm sure you'll love it. Other sites include another Magic site and three non-to-magic-related sites. Curious? Click on the link to read more. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_all.htm#011809 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_all.htm#011809 18 Jan 2009 11:05:00 CST 1/17/09 - The "all links" page has been updated with the recent new featured links and a new section: Magazine Websites. This new section is limited to gaming magazines. If you know of any I've missed, please send me an email. Likewise, if you see any errors on the page, email me. Thanks. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#010609 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#010609 6 Jan 2009 00:05:00 CST 1/4/09 - Many thanks for MTGS for keeping their spoiler current. I have updated MDV's spoiler with the information found on MTGS and also the images I've collected thus far from both MTGS and Wizards' website. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=91 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=91 5 Jan 2009 00:05:00 CST 1/5/09 - Happy New Year to everyone in the MDV Community! This is a quick [update] to let you know I am working on a lot of different updates at the moment including the following: Publishing CPN's final article for the recent MDV Idol contest, Publishing Cashew's (December edition of) Casual Collection, Setting up the Site for the new year***, Posting New Featured LInks for January 2009, Publishing new Combo features, Publishing new Combos of the Day, Publishing new Decks of the Day**, Announcing the winners from the recent 2008 Forum Awards, Announcing information regarding the new MCC... [keep reading] http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#010509 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#010509 5 Jan 2009 00:05:00 CST 1/4/09 - Many thanks for MTGS for keeping their spoiler current. I have updated MDV's spoiler with the information found on MTGS and also the images I've collected thus far from both MTGS and Wizards' website. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/site_news.htm#121508 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/site_news.htm#121508 15 Dec 2008 01:36:00 CST 12/15/08 - All of the nominations have been tallied and the voting threads posted. You may now begin voting in this year's MDV Forum Awards! Be sure and check all of the categories! ~Streetz~ Vote Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/features_contests.htm#121408 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/features_contests.htm#121408 15 Dec 2008 01:36:00 CST 12/15/08 - [HOST] Dearest Idol fans and contestant, welcome to the Idol 4 Conclusion. It has been a long road to get to this point, and I must confess that due to time constraints on the Hosts end, I must truncate this contest. Originally, there was to be two more rounds, but I currently have too much on my plate and must trim back my involvement in things for a while. Therefore, I am calling the contest participation portion of Idol, and your fates now hang in the balance... held in the hands of the MDV Readers. The polls are now open. You have four options: ~CPN~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0485.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0485.htm 11 Dec 2008 01:36:00 CST 12/11/08 - Mechanics, there are a lot of them: the classic first strike, the ancient banding, and even the mysterious morph. I would like to talk about two mechanics today, one of them is a little old, and one of them is brand new. Lets see how they stand up to each other. ~Ryuzaki(L) and hamsandwich~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0484.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0484.htm 10 Dec 2008 01:36:00 CST 12/10/08 - Around the time that Master's Edition 2 was to be released for Magic: the Gathering Online, Streetz asked his writers if we would like to write an article in honor of its release. I quickly scanned the list for cards that I would like to write about. One card quickly stood out as a classic: Necropotence. Unfortunately for me, Necropotence has been done on MDV, and done to death in general. Fortunately for you, that means I had to think outside the box for my second choice, Dystopia! ~Drathro~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0483.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0483.htm 9 Dec 2008 01:36:00 CST 12/9/08 - Welcome, sports fans, to another article by MDV's resident alternate format junkie: Luthervamplord. “Wait Luther, why mention alternate formats in an article about the Casual game? Have you been drinking Mal’s blood again?” Why hello Timmy, nice to see you again. As for the blood: No, not recently at least – Streetz was complaining about Mal missing his deadlines. There is, however, reason to my madness young fellow. Casual, itself, should be classified as an alternate format. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0482.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0482.htm 8 Dec 2008 01:36:00 CST Week three has come and gone, and now we march on BOLDLY!!! It is time for week number four http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0481.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0481.htm 4 Dec 2008 01:36:00 CST 12/4/08 - It has been a long time since I last turned more than one creature sideways after declaring an attack. What? Where did that come from? Pretty random right? Considering that these are the words leading into an article written by the local Control-Freak, you can see why I wouldn’t be doing this very often. I mean, there are times that I forget to attack with my Mutavault when there is clearly no one to block, because I normally don’t declare attacks. I am parrying them. So why would I be leading into an article like this? ~Chris Newton~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0479.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0479.htm 1 Dec 2008 01:06:00 CST 12/1/08 - Today we have a special treat for all you casual gamers. Potatobrain has put together another article for the Writer's Guild, notching another score in what we hope will be a long and prosperous career. Join him while he takes you through his deckbuilding process and let him know how you feel in the forums. Enjoy! Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0480.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0480.htm 1 Dec 2008 01:06:00 CST Welcome back to another episode of Words from the Streetz: Uncommon and Common Magical Treasures. In this, part six of the series, I will be talking about the Mirrodin Block, revisiting the Shadowmoor Block (including Shadowmoor and Eventide) and possibly dipping into a bit of Shards of Alara. Interested? Excited? Curious? Whatever your emotion is at the present time, click on the article link. You may find out that your collection of commons and uncommons are worth more than your rares! http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0478.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0478.htm 25 Nov 2008 01:01:00 CST Check out this exclusive interview with MaRo! http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=21133 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=21133 25 Nov 2008 01:01:00 CST 11/25/08 - REMINDER: Nominations end at end of November... As part of the 2008 Forum Awards, you have the chance to nominate your favorite articles from the year. Please go to this thread to make up to five nominations. ~Streetz~ [Discuss Here] http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0477.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0477.htm 21 Nov 2008 06:26:00 CST Week three is here and now we will begin to see the surviving competitors begin to separate themselves from each other. Only one can walk away with the title MDV Idol. Will it be you? http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0476.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0476.htm 21 Nov 2008 06:26:00 CST Welcome back Johnnie! It’s been a while, but the series that takes those dusty binder dwelling rares and puts them to work is back. However, this time I'm going to throw caution to the wind and use an uncommon card. Today I'm going to delve into the Ravnica block and dust off a card I've been secretly plotting to use for years. I'm talking about the one and only, Dark Heart of the Wood. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?p=267238#post267238 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?p=267238#post267238 21 Nov 2008 06:26:00 CST 11/21/08 - As part of the 2008 Forum Awards, you have the chance to nominate your favorite articles from the year. Please go to this thread to make up to five nominations. ~Streetz~ [Discuss Here] http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0475.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0475.htm 14 Nov 2008 01:06:00 CST Last month, I mentioned facing a crossroads. Down one path lies Shards of Alara and a handful of amazing commons and uncommons, down the other lies some rares that make up the base of Boros Deck Wins, White Weenie, Zoo, Gaea's Might, and Red Deck Wins. The biggest selling point between each path is the price stability. Shards of Alara cards fluctuate heavily since Standard tournament decks are ill-defined still, while the rares we want have been stable for years. After checking the common and uncommon prices it was a no brainer to pick up some Shards and a few other sets right now. They were simply just too well priced and powered to pass up. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=44 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=44 13 Nov 2008 01:06:00 CST 11/13/08 - You can find the MDV FORUM AWARDS 2008 Forum here. Please read the rules (in each nomination thread) and note that you only get one nomination. There are tons of categories this year so don't miss any of them with your nomination. ~Streetz~ P.S. While your checking out this blog... check out some of the others too!!! [Discuss Here] http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0474.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0474.htm 12 Nov 2008 01:06:00 CST There is a conversation brewing with the release of Shards of Alara and the entire change of the Wizards of the Coast print policy. In that discussion, people pointed out how the old ways were better, but then some people counter pointed, and now the conversation has begun to include whether or not the game itself was better in the present, or back in the day. Would Necro crush Tog? Would Faeries be able to outpace Stasis? Would a Reveillark build be able to do anything against the Prison? I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I do have a strong opinion on this particular part of the conversation. Step inside to find out what my opinion is and see if you are for, or against me and my Perspective of the History of Magic. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0473.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0473.htm 10 Nov 2008 08:06:00 CST 11/10/08 - It’s week number two in MDV Idol 4: The New Blood. The entries are rolling in and the Judges are overwhelmed with the number of entries. What is next in line? More card designs, by you, the Casual Fans. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=20979 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/showthread.php?t=20979 7 Nov 2008 19:06:00 CST 11/7/08 - This is just a gentle reminder to let you know registration for the MDV IDOL 4 contest ends today 11/7/08. To register, all you have to do to enter is post your card in this thread. The contest rules, guidelines and objectives are found here. Deadline to join is 11/7. Deadline to edit your entry is 11/8/08. Join in on the fun and post your entry for MDV IDOL 4!!! ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0472.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0472.htm 7 Nov 2008 01:06:00 CST Have you ever been nostalgic for your pet deck from days gone by? You really like that old decklist you found in the archives, but you only own new cards? Want to play your deck from four years past, but your friends want to play Standard? Why not try recreating that deck in a new format! Today, we'll build an update to an historic deck, and see what kind of a mess we end up with. ~Drathro~ Discuss Here. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0471.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0471.htm 5 Nov 2008 01:06:00 CST In the immortal words of Dr. Gregory House, "You're an idiot." How's that for an opening? It wasn't a hook or a line either. Seriously, I'm not joking; you are an idiot. Hopefully, it has sunk in now that Uncle Sam told you as well. I'd say I'm sorry, but honestly, I'm not. http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0470.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0470.htm 3 Nov 2008 01:06:00 CST 11/3/08 - Howdy folks! Did you miss me? Shards of Alara is upon us, and that means it’s time for some bargains. Cards from Time Spiral will be dropping in price, and a lot of once “good cards” for Standard are about to become dollar bin fodder. We’re not messing around with Time Spiral this episode though; we’re going to be checking out my favorite card from Eventide, and how you can abuse it without spending a load of cash. Have I caught your attention yet? Check out the full article after the jump. ~Death_By_Beebles~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#110308 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/links_featured.htm#110308 3 Nov 2008 01:06:00 CST 11/3/08 - A new wiki site, an MTGO Draft site, a Spanish site which seems to specialize in leaking new art for upcoming sets, an alternate play variant website and a price gathering website... all of which are in this month's featured links. Curious? Click the link and check them all out! Then swing back to the forums and discuss them. ~Streetz~ Discuss Here. http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=19 http://magicdeckvortex.com/vbforums/blog.php?b=19 2 Nov 2008 17:15:00 CST 11/2/08 - Read up on my latest Blog entry to understand why there is now a "Donation" button on the MDV Main page. There are also some other updates pertaining to the site, the forums and visual spoilers... Thank you for visiting MDV. Click here to read about the updates. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_lands.htm#110208 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/visual_spoilers_lands.htm#110208 2 Nov 2008 12:45:00 CST 11/2/08 - Shards of Alara brings us two new cycles of lands. I have update the Land Visual Spoiler of Magic Deck Vortex to include these two cycles. Unfortunately, it only affected two different sections of the archive. However, its still a very useful little tool. If you have any suggestions or questions, please let me know in the forum. ~Streetz~ http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0469.htm http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0469.htm 31 Oct 2008 01:06:00 CST *The lights rise, landing on a familiar figure standing on stage. He is looking down at his watch… waiting…* Do you know what time it is? I think I need a little help, because my watch has stopped working. *lifts his watch to his ear and listens for a moment* I hear the ticking, but the time still reads wrong. It is telling me that it is time for another MDV Idol, but I don’t think that is right. Didn’t we already have one this year? http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#103008 http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/VS_conflux.htm#103008 30 Oct 2008 01:06:00 CST 10/30/08 - A list of possible cards names for the upcoming Conflux expansion were leaked online a few weeks ago. I updated the spoiler with this information as well as thumbnails of the rumored reprints based on this list. Enjoy! I've also added some possible art images from the set. ~Streetz~