10.16.02  Where to Start?

Let me start by giving my apologies for my lack of writing here recently.  I've suddenly hit a HUGE busy point in my life that took up a lot of my free time.  I've been doing Card of the Day for both the Yu-Gi-Oh and the Magic site, writing for Scrye magazine and special books, writing for another special project Yu-Gi-Oh book, moderating a message group for Raw Deal, and trying to things set up for my store at Pro Tour Houston.  I've been quite the popular guy lately.  Don't worry though.  I'm back.  Things are a little less hectic, so I'm using my time to write for all of you.

Anyway, enough of that.  I was trying to decide what to write about since I've been silent for a while (at least from my online situation), but I couldn't decide what to write about.  Then I thought of a great idea!  I should just write about everything.

This is a little scatterbrained, I'm sure, but it will at least be a fun read that covers a lot of stuff.  By the way, for those of you that haven't seen Pardon the Interruption on ESPN, you are doing yourself an injustice, it's a great show with an interesting format.

Let's start with Onslaught.  The set is great.  The best part is, there are a ton of rares that will be sought after.  Some for tournament players and some for casual players.  So far, every draft I have participated in has yielded no less than six rares that I can move through my store.  That's a really good thing.  And that's including the four man drafts.  It reminds me a bit of Tempest.  If the feel stays the same I don't think too many people will be disappointed.  I know many players that the Rath Cycle years.  So far in limited, I've finished 5-1, 3-2-1, and I've won three out of four drafts.  It feels a lot like Rath Cycle limited to me.  Things are changing up a bit as I begin to recognize more cards.

Everyone seemed to fear Wellwisher in Onslaught limited.  I'm not sure why.  I've played countless opponents that had Wellwisher and won fairly easily.  I believe I have lost to one opponent packing Wellwisher thus far and it wasn't the life form the Wellwisher that made the difference.  Also, to further prove my point, I drafted THREE Wellwisher in a booster draft the other night and it mattered very little.  That went down as my first draft I didn't win in the Onslaught era.

The new legends (that people are referring to as "pit fighters") are the real deal.  People joked about them not being in many decks, but they are serious hitters.  If you need a comparison, think back to Invasion.  The legendary dragons from that set all cost six mana.  They also needed three different colors.  They made it into tournament decks.  Why wouldn't creature with the same converted mana cost and arguably better abilities make it into decks?


Pro Tour Houston is about a month away at this point.  What is everyone going to be playing?  Who knows?  Everyone has agreed that The Rock and Reanimator are definitely to of the scariest decks in the format as it stands.  However, I believe that are some options out there to deal with the problems those decks present.  Many players believed that Onslaught wouldn't offer much to the Extended tournament environment.  I don't think that is true.  I think Onslaught has some neat odds and ins to offer.  You may even see one or two decks that revolve around some strange combination of Onslaught cards.

For those of you that want to meet me, show up to Pro Tour Houston.  Come buy things from me :)  My store can always use the extra sales.  I don't mind chatting and saying high, maybe even signing some Howling Mines or Birds of Paradise.  I like Howling Mine, but I play Birds of Paradise more often, so take your pick.

That reminds me. 

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

We have made a deal with Wizards of the Cost that will make Texas players VERY happy.  If you attend Pro Tour Houston, you can play in the Grand Prix New Orleans Trials for free.  All you have to do is show them a Texas Driver's License or a Texas School ID and you can participate for free.

It's one more way to increase attendance at the Pro Tour and give back a little something to the players!

END ANNOUNCEMENT!

If you own a Gamecube and haven't bought Animal Crossing, then don't buy it.  The game will suck you in and suck your life away.  It's totally addicting.  By the way, has anyone played NBA Live 2003?  I'm debating buying it.  I'm not sure why though, since I am still playing the hell out of Madden 2003.  Gamecube is the best system ever.

Anyway, back to Magic.  I would recommend doing a lot of trading and drafting with Onslaught.  Mainly to pick up the rares that you need now.  I see a lot of price fluctuation in the future on a LOT of rares.  Many rares that are hyped now will go out of favor and I also think that some rares that are ignored now will see a lot of play once the next two Onslaught block sets are available.  Also, with it being a larger set, it is going to be a little more difficult to get all the rares you want.

Speaking rares, what's up with those sacrifice lands?  I will gladly buy all the sacrifice lands that any of you are willing to sell.  I need several of them.  Any that people want to part with will be gladly appreciated.  I'll even trade you product for them.  I can trade booster packs or whatever if you like.  I think I will be playing a lot of those and I can definitely use several.

My favorite card out of Onslaught?  Most definitely Silvos.  I think that's how most large creatures should be.  However, he is a bit undercosted.  That's part of what makes him a neat legend I suppose.

If you are a wrestling fan, you owe it to yourself to check out the WWE Raw Deal CCG.  It plays fairly fast.  It has a great website that gets updated frequently.  It also has a pretty large world community that plays the game.  (www.comicimages.com/rawdeal)

Oh, just for the record, I should be more consistent on posting articles, at least for the near future. 

I think I owe a lot of you a huge Thank You.  A lot of you are still sending e-mails and reading my older articles.  I'm glad you guys are entertained.  Hopefully you will keep reading and sending people to the site.

On a side note, if you guys are ever looking for anything, don't forget I have a store and we do mail orders :)

I guess I've rambled long enough.  You guys can definitely expect more to read in the future from me.  I know a lot of going on with a lot of people here at Pojo.  Don't worry. We aren't going away or anything.  There just some changes being made.  Hang in there with us :)


Until next time,

DeQuan Watson
PowrDragn@pojo.com