============= PARADISE POST ============= Issue 6. November 2003. This newsletter is sent to all MTGParadise.com Forum Members. To unsubscribe email contact@mtgparadise.com with your forum username and your account will be deleted. FEATURE SPONSORS – Advertisers email contact@mtgparadise.com ---------------- GAMES PARADISE - www.gamesparadise.com.au Order Online or 1300 139 202 SPECIAL: All Boosters Boxes $149 AUD free delivery (Australia) when you mention "mtgparadise forums" in the special comments section of the online order. (Note: amount will be deducted when the order is put through the terminals manually). --------------- CARDSHARK - www.cardshark.com Cardshark is the ultimate marketplace for BUYING and SELLING collectable games. We currently support Magic, MAGIC ONLINE, and Lord of the Rings. There are NO LISTING FEES to start selling and all payments are made via PayPal. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to buy and sell cards with CardShark.com. Click this link and make a $10 purchase today and get a FREE BOOSTER PACK! http://www.cardshark.com/default.asp?referral=cardshark&source=mtgpnews2 --------------- It seems like I only started writing this newsletter last month, but between Craig and myself we have nearly done 6 issues! This last fortnight has been quiet on the Magic front with 2 foreign GPs and a smattering of PTQ's for Amsterdam. I have taken a few weeks off from playing due to work commitments and other extra curricular activities but when (or should that be if?) Mirrodin is released online in a few weeks time it is going to be on for young and old. For this issue I will be giving a roundup of the GPs that took place around the world, a quick rundown on some Magic websites and their writers and an interview with one of Adelaide's most experienced players. So here we go... GP Shizouka Japan has massive turnouts for all of its Magic tournaments and GP Shizouka was no exception with over 650 competitors. The format was Mirrodin sealed with the top 64 duking it out in Rochester draft on the Sunday. Itaru Ishida, Jin Okamoto and Masashi Ooiso all missed the cut giving some of Japan's lesser known players an opportunity to prove themselves. The top 8 consisted of an interesting mix of Japanese veterans (Kenichi Fujita and Kouichirou Maki), relative newbies (Satoshi Harada and Tomohide Sasagowa) and 4 other players who have all had previous GP Top 8 appearances. One of those players was Kazuki Katou (who also made top 8 at PT Yokohama this year) who beat out amateur Satoshi Harada in the finals with a "no frills" B/R deck with double Terror, Consume Spirit, Pyrite Spellbomb and Shatter. Harada had a G/B deck that splashed red for 2 Detonates but a real lack of fat creatures. In fact his only green creatures were Wurmskin Forger and Tel-Jilad Chosen! It was his artifact removal which carried him to the finals, but it was not enough to beat Katou. For full coverage of GP Shizouka check out this link http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=sideboard/events/gpshi03. GP Goteberg Over the other side of the globe Sweden was hosting a GP of its own in Goteberg. Turnouts were low by European standards (there were only 450 competitors) but the quality was high, with Daniel Zink, Kai Budde, Tommi Hovi, Jens Thoren and Dirk Baberowski to name but a few of the pro players in attendance. When the dust had settled on Sunday the top eight looked like a Pro Tour - Kai Budde, Tommi Hovi, Daniel Zink and Jelger Wiegersma were the name players with England's only pro player Sam Gomersall making his first top eight, and Daniel Bertelsen, David Linder and Benjamin Lindqvist filing out the rest of the eight. Jelger was top of the swiss and placed himself in seat 5 for the final draft which is one of the better positions as you get to see which colours your oppponents are drafting before you have to make a strong commitment - which obviously worked as he drafted a strong G/W deck with 3 Skyhunter Cubs, 3 Auriok Transfixers and some solid fat. On the equipment front he drafted a hoversail, Mask of Memory and a Slagwurm Armor, which could all be searched out quite cheaply with a Taj-Nar Swordsmith. This was strong enough to power past Benjamin Lindqvist and Kai Budde (in the quarters and semis respectively) and rolled over Tommi Hovi's B/R/U deck in the finals making Wiegersma GP Goteberg champion! For full coverage of GP Goteberg check out this link http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=sideboard/events/gpgot03. MAGIC WEBSITES For those of you who are MTGParadise regulars you will probably have a fair bit of knowledge about the other web sites out there and some of the writers. You know which ones are worth reading and what (or whom) to steer clear of. However I am sure there are some readers out there who don't know about these web sites or haven't had the time to sift through a dozen articles trying to find a good read. I am hopefully going to be able to change that. Here is a rough guide to the major Magic websites (and a few offbeat ones too) and their writers. This is not a comprehensive guide and a lot of the writers on here are my personal favourites but it makes a good starting point for the uninitiated. Starcitygames(www.starcitygames.com) One of the most popular Magic websites, Starcity has an excellent mix of strategy, humour and a wellstocked archive. There is also an online store for all your Magic needs and regular updates every day of the week so chances are, every time you log on there will be some new material. However because there are so many submissions it takes a lot of time to wade through them all. Okay so here is the deal:- Geordie Tait Geordie is one of my favourite writers at the moment as his articles are insightful, funny and very readable. He covers all sorts of topics from MODO, to Magic road trips to the ethics of the game. If you have not read an article by Geordie I thoroughly recommend it. Here are some of his better pieces :- If you could, you would too: why people cheat http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/expandnews.php?Article=4543 Thoughts on MODO 2.0 http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/expandnews.php?Article=5551 Love of the Game http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/expandnews.php?Article=5118 Nick Eisel Nick is still banned by the DCI but he does write the best limited strategy on the web. His "Walk With Me" series was excellent and really puts the reader in his shoes when drafting by presenting them with the picks and why he made his choices. He has written quite a few articles like this so I will leave you with these two different strategy pieces. The Snapping Thragg Experiment http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/expandnews.php?Article=5793 Knowing When to Leave the Matrix: Stumbling through a Mirrodin draft http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/expandnews.php?Article=6225 Oscar Tan writes solid constructed articles in his column "You Can Play Type 1" with the focus obviously being on the vintage format but he regularly delves into Extended and Block Constructed and on a rare occasion even Type 2. Simply punch in "Tan" in the article search finder here on the home page. Tim Aten's stuff can be quite erratic but generally he writes sound strategy articles, which always go off on a tangent about whatever is troubling him at the moment but still makes entertaining reading. His "Understanding in a MODO Crash" series are all very good. Same deal as above but with "Aten". Also watch out for Tomi Walamies as he writes excellent tournament reports from time to time for Starcity. Brainburst (www.brainburst.com) Outside of the Sideboard (which only seems to post tournament coverage now) Brainburst is the premier Magic site on the web. It's Premium Writers include some of the most prolific players at the moment such as Kai Budde, Brian Kibler and Zvi Mowshowitz. The only problem is that you can only read these articles if you are a Premium Member which means you have to pay. A month's membership costs US $4.99, $9.99 for 3 months, $17.99 for 6 months, etc. However these articles are geared for the high level, serious tournament player who is out to win a PTQ or premier tournament. Whilst they do offer good advice it is not essential for your average Magic player. They also have feature writers (much like Starcity) which cover a broad range of topics. Here are a couple of the more interesting ones.... Charles Mousseau, a.k.a The Alpha Lackey Charles has been writing his column "The Continuing Adventures of Alpha Lackey" for quite some time now and is primarily focused on the ethics of the game and good sportsmanship. If there are any shifty shenanigans at a high level tournament you can bet Charles will be on the case straight away. He also talks about hockey a fair bit (well he is Canadian) but his writing is different from the stock standard out there. For an index of his work check out http://www.brainburst.com/db/article_search_result.asp?author=Charles%20Mousseau, especially one of his latest pieces on State Championships and PT New Orleans - http://www.brainburst.com/db/article.asp?id=3511 Jarrod Bright Jarrod is from Western Australia and cropped up on the writing scene a couple of years ago, with his regular strategy column, "Nu Tech". His strategy is focused on constructed Magic, specifically Type 2 and is one of those writers who like to use a lot of statistics and analysis in their writing. His work has caught the eye of many a Pro Player and he always offers up rogue decks for the current metagame and tweaked versions of the staples. Check out http://www.brainburst.com/db/article_search_result.asp?author=Jarrod%20Bright for some good examples. Michael Thicke is the assistant editor of Brainburst and writes his own strategy column - "In the Thicke of it" which primarily focuses on limited. He often previews new sets too and gives his audience a rundown on what to expect and some strategies for the upcoming prerelease. He also writes pretty good tournament reports too (which are often hard to find online) which can be found here http://www.brainburst.com/db/article_search_result.asp?author=Michael+Thicke Both Brainburst and Starcity have excellent forums where articles are discussed, dissected and the writers occasionally flamed. The authors will always reply to questions on here too making the forums a great read at times. Sideboard (www.sideboard.com) Once this was a haven for many an internet writer whose luminaries included Gary Wise, Mike Flores and other writers of their ilk. Now there is only tournament coverage from the sideboard staff (which is still very interesting for some) but nothing for the casual player. For those of you who would like a blast from the past try looking up some of Wises' or Flores' older material, especially Wise Words - http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=sideboard/ww/20030822a Magic The Gathering.Com (www.magicthegathering.com) This website is the definitive official site for Magic and MODO. There are regular updates and often interesting interviews with the artists and designers of Magic. In fact a few of the feature writers are designers themselves and there is a wide range of articles for both novice and veteran Magic Players. It is also the "HQ" for Magic Online so if you want to know about the latest updates, ask technical questions or even check to see if the server is online this is the place to go. Mark Rosewater Mark is a senior member of the design team at Wizards and has a regular weekly column entitled "Making Magic". He talks about the development of cards, hints at where Magic is going and writes the occasional strategy piece. Most of his work is quite light hearted but still very interesting. In fact he has just written his 100th column this week and in it he looks back at everything else he has written and graded it accordingly. Definitely work a look - http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/daily/mr99 Randy Buehler Ex player, now head of R & D Buehler's column "Latest Developments" talks about where Magic is going from a designers point of view and often polls the audience on what they like to see in future sets. His writing is geared towards the casual player but tournament players may find some of his insights into the game interesting. Check out his archives at http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/authorarchive/RandyBuehler Anthony Aloongi For lovers of multiplayer Magic and other interesting formats you should have a look at Anthony's column "Serious Fun". He is a casual player himself (with a lot of experience) and often writes innovative articles in an easily readable style. His archives can be found at http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/authorarchive/AnthonyAlongi Misetings (www.misetings.com) This newsletter would not be complete without mentioning Misetings. It is hands down the funniest Magic site around and blends sarcasm, satire and occasionally strategy together beautifully. Editor Mike Bregoli has done a great job here and a lot of the writers are actually Misetings members (or even anonymous) and it is updated on a regular basis. Be sure to check out the gallery which includes a lot of cards you won't be seeing at FNM - http://www.misetings.com/gallery/. Another must read is the horoscope section and their lastest Dark Steel spolier at http://www.misetings.com/article/773 and http://www.misetings.com/article/771 respectively. Their article archive can be found at http://www.misetings.com/archives.php TOGIT (www.togit.com) I have only recently discovered this site myself but it is a real gem. The site is maintained by the TOGIT team (there are too many of them to mention here) and they cover a gamut of strategy, humour, tournament reports and even have an online card shop (thanks to MTG Planet.com). The writing standard is very good across the board as these guys know what they are talking about and visually it is one of the better sites out there. Onto the details... Osyp Lebedowicz Osyp Lebedowicz's column "Ask Joe Black" is worth a read and is up there with Misteings in the humour department. It has been a bit erratic with updates but there are still quite a few in the archives. Go to http://www.togit.com/ and click Ask Joe Black in the menu bar. Ken Krouner Ken has written for both Starcitygames and TOGIT and was the man behind the Dilemma articles with Nick Eisel on Starcity. He writes an interesting combination of strategy, humour and does a great job of analysing the game and it's players. He doesn't have much in the archives at the moment and you need to do an article search on the TOGIT homepage (www.TOGIT.com) and punch in Krouner. There are quite a few other writers on TOGIT and I have to say all of them are pretty good. I think this will be a website to look out for 6 months or so down the track once they have regular writers and updates. MTGParadise (www.mtgparadise.com) There is no way I couldn't mention Yaro's site on this list and if it wasn't for Paradise I doubt I would be writing this newsletter! I think MTG Paradise has come a long way over the years (and it is still evolving) and it is good to see an Australian Magic website being read by people all over the world. Yaro has done a good job with the forums and updates the site regularly so there aren't a lot of stale articles (even though we do need more writers!). So here is a quick rundown on what you can expect from Paradise's writers:- Minga Wong Sadly Minga does not write any more but his column "Theory of Magic" was one of the most entertaining pieces of writing (and I mean that in a nice way) on the web. His Nationals reports were very witty and even though he got himself into some hot water with one of his articles (it was about the standard of writing) he would never take himself too seriously - which for me is a trait of a good writer. Here is a link to that controversial article - http://www.mtgparadise.com/articles/january2002/2601theory_behind.shtml and another one to the archives of "Theory Behind Magic" - http://www.mtgparadise.com/articles/columns/theory_behind.shtml Kahana Chin Kahana writes from time to time for MTG Paradise and is one of the few writers that doesn't live in Australia. His column, "Just Common Sense" is geared towards constructed Magic and he comments on Type 1,2, Extended - in fact pretty much every format. He says what he thinks and loves building new decks (specifically combos!) and writing about them. There is a large archive of his work at http://www.mtgparadise.com/articles/columns/common_sense.shtml Samantha Hepworth Ever wondered what goes through the mind of a judge at a high level magic tournament? Samantha's column "In Response" provides an interesting insight into judging, written in a humourous and readable style - her two part series of GP Sydney is very good. Check out her archives at http://www.mtgparadise.com/articles/columns/in_response.shtml There are several other writers on MTG who write from time to time like Scott Hunstad, Philip Mehigan, Ben Seck (I stress very occasionally) and this English bloke who seems to write these half baked limited articles ad nauseum (when WILL he stop?) but overall the standard is very good. That rounds up my list and like I said earlier this is merely a selection, as there is so much stuff out there at the moment. If you have any questions or want to find out more about any of these websites drop us an email on newsletter@mtgparadise.com or myself directly at daimyodan@yahoo.co.uk I'll leave you with my interview for the fortnight - Oliver Oks Until next time Dan He has been playing Magic for as long as I can remember and we always run into each other at Nationals and other interstate tournaments and I thought it would be a good idea to get a SA perspective. So without further ado.... How did you get into Magic and how long have you been playing? I started playing just after Dark was released. So what's that? about 8 years I guess. Basically I had a friend who worked at Tactics (our ex local gaming store) and one day I dropped in to visit and noticed all these people playing with these stupid looking cards. Someone offered to teach me how to play and an hour later I had bought my first starter. A week later I had bought my first box. What is the Magic scene like in Adelaide? Good question. With Tactics closing down, a lot of people thought the magic scene was going to disappear. We don't have any regular drafts, and aside from the PTQs and prereleases, there's hardly any tournaments anymore. Yet over the past 2 years the turnouts for those tournaments seem to have almost doubled. Each event seems to include 10-20 new players. I have no idea where they are coming from but hopefully Lee Copus' new gaming store will provide a more stable base for the Adelaide MTG community, and the provision of regular tourneys will encourage these new people to stay in the competetive field. What has kept you playing for so long? I have two theories about that. A - I love games and I love the competition. I have a very competitive nature, so something like MTG and especially tournament magic is going to be my kind of thing. B - An upcoming event provides the perfect excuse for protracted procrastination. Magic is my perennial excuse not to do my homework. It's probably a little of both I guess. List your major achievements/finishes and any interesting stories you may have? Major achievements? How embarrassing. Err. Does 258th at PTLA99, 9th at Aus Nats 01, or 17th at APACs 01 count as major acheivements? Aside from that all I really have is about 10-12 PTQ wins/splits and one states win back in 2000. Where do you see Magic in Adelaide going in the future? As I said before, I think it's difficult to tell. Well have to wait and see how successful the new shop turns out to be. Hopefully it'll be just like Tactics in the days of old when you could walk in any time of day and be guaranteed to pick up a few games. I know you play MODO a lot, is it popular amongst SA players? I dont think so. Most of the regular Adelaide players are very casual, and they dont seem to like the idea of having to invest in a new online card collection. Personally I only know of less than 10 locals that use MODO, and of them only myself and Jarrod scriven appear to be on regularly. What do you think of the upcoming extended season? To be honest I have no idea. Our PTQ isn't until January so I'm not paying too much attention until the bannings are announced. The current metagame looks pretty ridiculous and I don't envy anyone who wants to win a qualifier in December. Thanks Ollie hope to catch up with you next year Dan