Poem of the Day #1: "Cold Eyes"

The "Poem of the Day" is a new feature that will appear, you guessed it, daily.  All are original works and may be accompanied by short essays or random thoughts about either the poem itself or the nature of poetry.  This one isn't, because you get this instead.  Whoohoo.  Aren't you excited?  I know I am.

And the men--

All shrouded grey--

Did through the mist appear.

And though the fog hangs heavy there

Their forms seemed all too clear—

The memory of faces

Shrouded cold

And those grim visaged eyes

Strike terror

In my bones

Their frozen laugh still makes me cry.

Though many years have passed since

Last I saw that host

I shall, I fear, never forget

The time I saw those

Wicked ghosts.

©2003 by Benjamin Snyder

Coming Soon

1)  A real Magic article complete with decklists. Don't get too excited now.

2) "Cabin in the Woods and the Perfection of Meta-Narrative" -- A critical evaluation of what is almost certainly the best movie you'll ever see.

3) 30 Days of Poetry -- A new poem will post every day.  For thirty days.  It made naming the tab a lot easier.

StarCityGames Interview Series Going Strong

For the three people who read this site without also reading SCG, be aware that my profiles of different Magic figures can be found over there even as we speak.

Each week I interview someone from within the Magic community in a candid, open format profile.  Unlike traditional Magic interviews, these are composed, narrative articles instead of Q&As.  So far I've showcased Chris Kluwe, the Minnesota Vikings' punter who is also an avid gamer; Tom Martell, considered by many to be the best Legacy player in the world right now; and Christine Sprankle, a cosplayer whose take on Elspeth Tirel was the talk of the last World Championships.

Coming up next is Craig Jones, the fan favorite from across the pond who shared his honest opinion on where Magic is, and where he thinks it may have gotten sidetracked.

These profiles are meant to be informative, entertaining pieces that highlight players, organizers, content producers, and community figures in a way that they haven't been focused on before.

If you would like to recommend someone as a future interview, send me an e-mail at wherethemeatcomesfrom@gmail.com.  Keep in mind, I cannot guarantee that any particular subject is going to be willing to be interviewed.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.

_ben

Tip of the Day #7: Nuts and Bolts

I'm a tinkerer, by nature, especially when it comes to building my own constructed lists or refining decks I dredge up from the corners of the internet.  In general, many competitive Magic players are constantly adding and removing cards from builds they find through coverage of professional tournaments.

The thing is, though, this is rarely the best course of action.  I never fully appreciated how well-tuned most winning decklists are until I finally gave up messing with what was working.

The truth is that a deck that takes down a Pro Tour is a honed machine, comprised of dozens of parts, assembled in such a way that it can repeat the task it was designed to do as many times as necessary.  If you imagine a deck like an engine, you'll understand that unscrewing one nut could lead to one hell of a Michael Bay style explosion.

When you are tempted to add just one Grave Titan because it should theoretically be good in the metagame you are expecting, you need to remember that you are taking something else out that had a purpose in the first place.

It can be even more problematic if you were not part of the team that originally built the list, and you swap in Rune Snags for Mana Leaks because of "the late game."  Sure, you might get away with it, and sometimes, your change may even end up being for the better, but more often than not, you just messed up the deck's basic plan.

The tip of the day is to be careful when you are re-wiring the security system of Bill Gates' house, you don't know which wires control the pirate-ninja robot butlers.

Tip of the Day #6: Play More Lands

I've had a bit of a break-through lately when it comes to DII drafts.  For whatever reason, I had gotten into the bad habit of playing fewer and fewer lands as I tried to lower my decks' curve enough that I was making enough plays to keep up with the ridiculously fast Limited environment.

On a lark, I played an aggressive U/W Skies deck and jammed the eighteenth land instead of the Moment of Heroism I really wanted to play.  I went 6-0 in games and swept the draft.  I noticed that I was making every land drop when it counted, and playing a stream of threats that I could never have managed with only three or four lands in play.

So, for this tip, I turn to Gavin Verhey: