M11 release promos
Here are the pre-release and release promos for M11. Sun Titan looks pretty cool. I can see putting him into an allies deck to recur those dudes.
Some tips on team drafting
I'm wanting to do a team draft, though I may have 8 folks instead of 6. We'll noodle around that when the time comes. Anyway, this article has some tips for team drafting.
Pictures For Sad Children
I just heard of this web comic, Pictures For Sad Children, and viewed their whole archive over the last couple days. It's really funny, so check it out.
Travis Woo on burnout / being satisfied
(update, to add another recent column covering similar issues)
I typically scoff at videos of people talking somberly into their cameras (I do my vanity whining the right way, in audio-only form) but I think there's really good stuff in this video from Travis Woo.
Obviously, he's on a much higher level than me but I can relate the feelings he's expressing down to my own level. I love MTG, it just captures my imagination like nothing else, but I've gotta keep everything in perspective. I cannot get down in the dumps when I screw the pooch at FNM. I must resist the temptation to overspend - Lord knows I've got more important things to budget for.
So it's just about striking the right balance. This game is insanely mega-fun for me and I want to make sure it stays that way. I'm planning to host a draft night amongst friends soon, I could pee my pants I'm so excited. I also started slapping together a pair of EDH decks which, I think, will be a lot of fun to whip out with pals who haven't played in a while.
So, whatever you're into, try to keep it in the right place.
Junk Rare Draft
I did a "junk rare draft" today at the local HobbyTown. It was pretty fun, I'd definitely do it again. The way it works is, they put together randomized packs from their big 'ol box of crummy rares, then you draft with those packs instead of sealed boosters.
The cards are from any number of sets, old and recent. I ended up drafting a white-blue thing with some powerful creatures. I went 2-1, I got beat by a red-black deck that was shrewd enough to draft lots of removal and some direct damage.
While the cards are "junk" from the bulk box, I think I got plenty of really fun cards that will definitely get tossed into casual decks, or an EDH deck when I finally build one. Here's a sampling of some of the cards I played in my draft deck...
Early info on 2011 Core Set
Via the official site. Baneslayer Angel is in. M10 dual lands are in. Lightning Bolt is in. Open The Vaults is out (makes sense; it needs all that Shards block stuff).
Essence Scatter is out? What, is Remove Soul coming back? Maybe I can play with my old ones, with the weird naked dude art...
Deckbuilder’s Toolkit
I picked up the new Deckbuilder's Toolkit product today while we were fiddling around in Jefferson City, MO (came down for a friend's wedding).
I think it's a pretty good product - for a certain consumer. If you're the type of person who pre-orders booster boxes of each new set, then this "toolkit" won't really do much for you. For newer players just getting started, though, I think this is great. It's about $20 and you get 4 "recent" boosters (in my case, they were 1 Core 2010, 1 Conflux, 1 Zendikar, 1 Worldwake), 100 basic lands and 125 "semi-random" cards. The semi-random cards are all commons/uncommons but there's decent stuff in there. Lightning Bolts, Llanowar Elves, etc. Crap that a new player will really get a lot of use from. The box is pretty-cool looking and relatively sturdy so you can use it for long-term storage.
I saw this video of Evan Erwin from Star City Games opening his toolkit. I think the "semi-random" cards in mine match his almost exactly. He pulled awesome rares out of his packs... I mean, Jace? I almost want to say WOTC fed him a loaded box just to excite people, but that's a little conspiracy-theorist, no? 
For what it's worth, here are my rares...
So, two pretty great rares and two pretty crummy ones. I did get a Path to Exile in the Conflux pack so that's a good uncommon to pull. On the whole, I think the Deckbuilder's Toolkit is a way better starting place for a new player than a random Fat Pack or Intro Pack.
Naya Allies are okay
I got 2nd place (3-1) at FNM tonight with a Naya Allies build. It felt like a pretty decent deck for that environment. I lost in round 4 to a Jund deck. It was an okay matchup, we went 3 games. He made all the right choices bolting/terminating my allies as they hit the field. Also: Consume the Meek makes allies a sad panda.
I actually punted game 3, made a big mistake with a choice not to attack. I think the crux of it was that I forgot about a Raging Ravine sitting down there with his lands, so my assessment of his next-turn attack was off. Sucks because I don't know when I'll get on a track for a 4-0 FNM again 
