The Planeswalker's Stronghold

That's right folks, the world of 5-color has recently been turned on it's ear through the unnatural act of civil war. Lines have been drawn, allegiances tested, shots have been fired! What we the community are left with now, is a virtual Mason-Dixon line breaking the community in two. Regardless of which side wins out, or if they choose to co-exist, we as a community are left to deal with the turmoil. The folks at 5-color.com, have initiated change by upping the deck size to 300 cards (25 required of each color), and making great strides to open up the B&R lists. The group of 5-color.org have regrouped, and are working to revise their B&R list. Frankly, I'm not certain that there is a clear winner, or best choice, and there may never be. It may be that these groups find a way to co-exist, but one thing is clear. Both these groups still seem to be putting the cart before the horse. Watching these two groups argue and fuss about the hows, whys, and whats of this rece

Repack Drafting originally finds it's inspiration from a conversation years ago. The topic was Final Exams at great schools of Wizardry, like Urza's own Tolarian Academy. The idea was that students would have participated in a draft exam with spells from through out the known multiverse. It also turns out that this offers a wonderful budget alternative to the drafting concept. The cost of a repack draft ends up being roughly the same cost as a new pack of retail product, but nets you a drafted collection of 45 cards. Now because of these two factors, this draft environment becomes completely different than what most mages are used to. First off, Rare Drafting as a concept is out. Secondly, block drafting strategies are out the window too. There simply is not enough valuable cards, or single block cards to make either of these a viable option. Beyond that, most of your general draft strategies will still apply. You want to keep most of your drafting to two colors. Draft decks of

(Contributed by John Kozlowski) Well that didn't take long! Within five short days, the 5-Color world has been shaken to its core, and a brand new format has been re-launched! All I can say is that I'm stunned. I truly thought the beuracracy of a Ruling Council would necessitate a vote and months of debate and inaction. Instead, Jeremy Bush, aka Zombor, aka 5CRC Chairman relaunches a new website with a new deck size, color requirements, and new B&R! This will take a little bit of time to fully digest and figure out, but basically here's the new format rules: Minimum deck size and color requirements: 300 cards minimum. No more than four of any card (except basic lands). Banned and restricted lists do apply. At least twenty five (25) cards of each color are required. Multicolored cards count toward any one of that card's colors. Proxies are allowed for any number of cards in a deck. Banned & Restricted (2009/7) Banned (Only 9 cards!) Battle of Wits Bringer Of The

(Contributed by John Kozlowski) It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that 5-Color is my favorite magic format of all time. However it seems lately the format is in a moment of crisis, perhaps the greatest ever. 5-Color participation is waning, the B&R hasn’t been reviewed since January, and recently, the website has recently unexpectedly gone down. 5-color Magic is a format that requires you to build a deck of at least 250 cards, with a minimum of 20 cards from each color. There is a special Banned/Restricted list posted at http://www.5-color.com/ but basically most cards are legal except for the Unglued/Unhinged expansions. The format is governed by the 5-Color Ruling Council (5CRC), a group comprised of seven members spread regionally across the country. Their representation is supposed to voice the opinions of the players, based on local trends and tournaments results. Over the years, the 5CRC has actively shaped the format to be the “most electrifying format” in all of Magic

Up till this point my new, my new set budget article, has always focused on the Intro packs (and formerly the Preconstructed theme decks). Which one to get, and what you could do with it, what other cards you should pick up, and what to trade away out of it. I have not been shy over the last year when it came to expressing my general displeasure, and today will be no different. The M2010 theme decks stick firmly to the general trend of mediocrity in this product line. Each new release brings at most one of the intro packs worthy of consideration, while the others remain lack luster. My recommendation here is simple, if you are looking literally for your first product purchase, these are a great product that will give you a starting point, and instill a drive to expand your collection, and you will be fine picking up picking up what ever you can find, or is of particular interest to you. Otherwise, if you can get the White Intro Pack, you should. The cards included (looking at you Honor

So you have taken the road of a Magic the Gathering player. Hopefully you have embraced my last article, and have begun making investments in the game, to provide yourself with the resources you will need. Now we take on what may be the biggest challenge to playing the game. Now you need to learn the rules. The Comprehensive rules document, is a huge chunk of work. Containing not only everything thing you ever need to know about the hows and when, but also a tun of stuff you will probably never need to know. Learning the rules is going to represent a a significant investment of your time and intellect, but it isn't insurmountable task that it may first appear. The trick is to start some place, and just move through it at your own pace. For some players this pace has taken months, years, or decades. In my opinion the best place to start is the rules guide that comes with product. My reasons here are simple, it prevents you from getting bogged down on things you won't put to use

(Contributed by John Kozlowski) If you play long enough, you soon discover that there are a lot of different styles of Magic players out there. And when I say “style”, I don’t mean “skill level”. Rather, what I really mean is philosophy, or the players approach to the game. I believe there is a wide spectrum of philosophies, ranging from purely competitive at one end to purely casual on the other. Competitive players are a pretty diverse bunch. Each player has their own scope of competitive play, and what they expect to achieve when they sit down. Some competitive players just go to FNMs, some try to win States/Regionals, while others travel around the country to participate in as many domestic and international PTQs as they can. They may be inspired by the glory of winning, or increasing their DCI rating, or actually making money in the Pro Tour. But in the purest sense, competitive players play to win. Casual players on the other hand are equally diverse. Their game expectations stil

(Contributed by John Kozlowski) Its that wonderful time again when every Magic author writes their obligatory review of the upcoming expansion set. I’m no different, but rather than expound upon why the majority of the crappy rares aren’t going to be included in your deck, I’ll just do a Top Ten list of the good cards that might make an impact on 5-Color. 5-color Magic is a format that requires you to build a deck of at least 250 cards, with a minimum of 20 cards from each color. I encourage everyone to go to the actual http://www.5-color.com/ link, but basically All cards are legal, except for the Unglued/Unhinged expansions, and the is a special Banned/Restricted list specific to this format. Highlander is optional, but extremely fun. Its obvious that there are a lot of great cards in M-10 (such as Silence, Elvish Archdruid, and Goblin Cheiftain) that are going to make an impact on Standard. I won’t even mention them other than this paragraph. Isochron Scepter is restricted, and the