The Planeswalker's Stronghold

(Contributed by John Kozlowski) Did you know that one of the most enjoyable, game swinging, and mechanically bizarre cards ever printed in Magic history is LEGAL in the 5-Color format? Chaos Orb Wizards of the Coast has provided a lot of errata and clarifications to this wonderfully quirky card, but since the emergence of competitive play, it has become a distant memory. The reality is that it is too hard to adjudicate how exactly the artifact’s ability resolves. Its unfeasible for a judge to be present during the casting and resolution of a Chaos Orb to make sure the card's instructions are followed as written. So to alleviate the problem, the DCI banned Chaos Orb in 1995, and it has not seen tournament play since. The 5-color format doesn’t necessarily abide by official rulings, and has come up with a solution of its own to allow the use of this famous card: “At any point if Chaos Orb is involved in any spell or ability, no permanents may move from their locations in play. Essent...

Like most good things in life, Magic requires a commitment or investment of some sort. Now Magic is a very forgiving mistress, and can be enjoyed at different levels, depending on just how much of an investment you are willing and able to make. It is important to remember, that at any level, there is a required investment, and the more you want to get out of if, the more investment is required. Lastly keep in mind, that this isn't something you can simply buy your way into. No matter how much money, time, or effort you put into this, if they are not invest protortionaly, you won't get the same effect as some one who does. Make noe mistake though, your investment in the game, defines you as a magic player. In such, the first question is are you a Magic player, or simply someone who plays on occasion? I've developed the following 4 points as an acid test of a Magic player. 1. Own your own cards. 2. Make a measurable, impactful, and consistant investment of your time. 3. Have ...

(Contributed by John Kozlowski) 5-Color is an alternate format for Magic: the Gathering, consisting of a 250 card deck, with a minimum of 20 cards from each color. It maintains its own Banned & Restricted list at http://www.5-color.com/ . This last week Wizards of the Coast released an preliminary explanation of the upcoming M10 revisions to the Magic: the Gathering game. Many long-time people have jumped on the band wagon, complaining reasons why they are disgusted with the revisions, and ranting that this might be the end of their Magic career. Whatever. A lot of people complain about a lot of things on the Internet. Its mostly hot air. The percentage of people who actually quit because the Game designers tweak a couple of rules and changed a few fantasy metaphors with terminology is small. If you examine the people who are doing most of the complaining, you’ll find a group who is wildly passionate about their hobby, and love the game that entertains them. What you have to rememb...

There have been a lot of recent changes to the world of Magic, so lets jump in. First up, the M10 Rule Changes . Now, I will leave the wheres and whys of this to the better minds then I, but to sum it all up, this is not that big of deal. Creature combat is the only significant change, and 6 months from now, it will be second nature. Mogg Fanatic does get a down grade, but the few cards which are inversely effected are well worth the potential new blood that will come into the game thanks to simplified combat mechanics. While we are talking about M10, the rumor season has started in full swing. That's right Lightning bolt may be making in 21st century debut. In that vein Ball lighting has been confirmed. The net result is It's a good time to be JD, or for the sleigh in general. Zac aka "Rage Quit" has pledged fewer mid-game walk outs, in the event that he owes me John's deck over the reprinting of Lightning Bolt. Frankly I think everyone wins in this one. And Sp...

(submitted by Bert Phillips) Part I When Wizards announced the changes that would accompany the release of M10 , I tried not to be a "they're killing the game" reactionary. Some changes I liked, some I didn't, but all will eventually settle in and start to feel normal, no differently than the 6th Edition changes. What I want to talk about though, is the policy behind the flavor changes. Starting with the Grand Creature Type Update a year ago, Wizards began to take great strides toward streamlining the flavor of Magic. As with everything, some changes have been good, some... questionable. The Grand Creature Type Update was a good idea, although Wizards probably overreached - I agree that "Summon Murk Dwellers " doesn't really add much to that card's flavor, but by taking every ambiguous Black creature and making it a Zombie, Spirit, or Skeleton you miss out on some cool creature types that DO add flavor (Wights, Mummies, and Ghosts all get absorbed i...

(Contributed by John Kozlowski) My first two articles ( part1 , part2 ) for Grim Tidings have been pretty advanced in terms of 5-color deck construction. I’d like to slow things down a bit and explain some basic manabase techniques to improve your 5-color experience. 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 there is a special Banned/Restricted list specific to this format. Highlander is optional, but extremely fun. Forty Percent My first piece of mana base advice is simple: Play with around 90 to 100 lands and/or mana sources. I get asked this question all the time by new players, because they have never built a deck of this size before. The same rule that applies to 60 card decks applies to 250 card decks: 40% mana is about right. If you play less ...

Magic has taken on a life of it's own, be it on the American east coast, or the Island of Japan, it is found nearly every where. Language barriers fall, bringing the game to nearly every corner of the world. Technology shows us the best players in the world in virtually real time throwing down in remote locations, and allows the meta game to develop at hyper sonic speeds. Even now technology is bringing me to you, in order to share what meager wisdom I have about he game, the community, the life which is Magic the Gathering. Now please allow me to clear the air on something. I am not one of the greats. If you have digitally wandered here today in the hopes of garnering some kernel of wisdom, some super secret tech, that will allow you to place higher at your chosen level of play, I am afraid I have bad news. Odds are you are not going to find it here. There are Magic minds far better then I, if that is your worthy goal. If you want to take your game to the "Next Level", r...