Now, anybody who cracked a booster of Shards of Alara and saw this guy and Wild Nacatl didn’t need a large neon sign to tell them that he would be fantastic in an Extended format Zoo build; Ranger Zoo is nothing new, as I think the first article I saw on the deck as I was modifying my Zoo deck was on thestarkingtonpost.com by Bill Stark himself. To get an idea of how I looked at the card, lets have a look at my original build and see how I modified it for Ranger of Eos:

"Where Wild Things Are"

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Land (22) 4 Stomping Ground 4 Sacred Foundry 1 Temple Garden 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills 2 Mountain 2 Forest 1 Plains Creatures (21) 4 Mogg Fanatic 4 Kird Ape 4 Wild Nacatl 3 Isamaru, Hound of Konda 2 Duergar Hedge-Mage 4 Tarmogoyf Other Spells (17) 2 Tarfire 1 Seal of Fire 4 Lightning Helix 4 Magma Jet 3 Umezawas Jitte 3 Oblivion Ring

This version was kind of all over the place, using some questionable slots to pump Tarmogoyf. This was pre-Conflux as well, so Path to Exile was not available. Magma Jet was MVP, keeping the flow of cards going when my hand ran out. Oblivion Ring was a fine addition for dealing with such threats as Mycoloth and other annoying permanents.

Now, in order to utilize Ranger of Eos, I needed to make room for four so I could see just how potent he could be. I also felt a late game creature to fetch up would be handy, so a Figure of Destiny needed to be in here too. To make up the slots, I cut the lackluster Duergar Hedge-Mage and Isamaru; sorry puppy, fetching you up just isn’t as awesome with Legendary on your collar. Lets have a look at my list that won first at the local Extended scene:

"Rescue Rangers"

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Land (22) 4 Stomping Ground 4 Sacred Foundry 1 Temple Garden 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills 2 Mountain 2 Forest 1 Plains Creatures (24) 4 Mogg Fanatic 4 Kird Ape 4 Wild Nacatl 4 Ranger of Eos 3 Woolly Thoctar 4 Tarmogoyf 1 Figure of Destiny Other Spells (14) 4 Lash Out 4 Magma Jet 4 Tarfire 2 Umezawas Jitte Sideboard (15) 3 Duergar Hedge-Mage 3 Kataki, Wars Wage 4 Pyrostatic Pillar 3 Path to Exile 2 Gaddock Teeg

As you can see, I committed fully to four Tarfires. Lash Out is absolutely spectacular and couples greatly with Magma Jet for a dash of library manipulation. Woolly Thoctar provides some swingy beats on the third turn. When a Cat is followed by an Ape, then a Thoctar, the opponent is already scrambling; now follow that with the Deck MVP Ranger of Eos. Not a bad feeling indeed.

The weakest card I feel is honestly Tarmogoyf; cutting the ‘Goyf would involve adding a couple Jittes, changing Tarfires to Incinerates, bringing in the fourth Thoctar, and maybe another fetchable creature like a second Figure of Destiny. I’ll be tweaking and tinkering, and let me know what you think.

Now, I don’t allow this to greatly mar my deck design, but it does change my metagame slots. Keep this in mind when I post my decklists; I’m not JUST looking at the top decks when I design my sideboards and maindeck.

The reason I mention Sphinx of the Steel Wind is not necessarily that somebody mised one into play and trounced me; the deck that this was found resident was a deck built around Master Transmuter which when allowed to sit around with untapped blue mana can be a very powerful tool, fueling cards like Magister Sphinx and Sphinx Summoner.

The same sort of situation arose a while back when I was just getting back into Standard. I played my usual intro deck, something with a lot of red cards that burn or blow up stuff to get a feel for what the scene was like. Treefolk Aggro made an appearance and trounced the field. Red has a hard time dealing with indestructible stuff being played for free. Leaf-Crowned Elder is the lynchpin of the deck, but learning that is difficult when you are new to the field. I’ll also note that this same deck went to Cogcon and took first in the pre-Reborn Standard event toppling Faeries and 5c Control in the process.

So interesting decks do show up and play, and I have to keep an open mind when designing my own deck. After reading Louis Scott-Vargus’s latest article condemning Midrange strategies, I looked at my Bant deck in a different light. Now, I don’t think anyone should just outright drop a particular strategy, since the keys to success lie in preserving your options.

Bant needed to pick a direction; it played a clunky aggro game and an even more unweildy control game. My wife’s original idea for the deck was to get Wall of Reverence into play and follow up with Stoic Angel, all the while keeping the game out of reach for aggro decks behind lifegain and the Angel’s anti-swarm ability. Against Control, you get out early exalted creatures and beat in. The problem arose when you started drawing walls against control and beaters against aggro; you were outclassed.

I’ve decided I’m going to try and focus on the control route, albeit a non-traditional control route. I don’t have Cryptic Commands, so those of you looking for phenominal cosmic power will only find an itty-bitty living space. I am basing this on the idea that aggro will be dominating my meta and the few control decks I run into can be sideboarded effectively. Seeing one of my innovations gaining notoriety has given a little more confidence. The sideboard may see tweaks here and there, but the idea is to hide behind walls while my evasive attackers get pumped from exalted utility creatures.

"Bantrol"

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Land (22) 4 Seaside Citadel 4 Adarkar Wastes 4 Brushland 3 Reflecting Pool 3 Forest 3 Plains 1 Island Creatures (26) 4 Noble Hierarch 4 Qasali Pridemage 4 Jhessian Infiltrator 4 Stoic Angel 4 Wall of Denial 4 Wall of Reverence 2 Rafiq of the Many Other Spells (12) 4 Bant Charm 4 Oblivion Ring 4 Path To Exile Sideboard (15) 4 Negate 4 Dauntless Escort 3 Martial Coup 4 Mulldrifter

Let’s do this!

"Hastey Jund"

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Lands (16) 4 Karplusan Forest 8 Mountain 4 Sulfurous Springs Creatures (24) 4 Bloodbraid Elf 4 Jund Hackblade 4 Boggart Ram-Gang 4 Hells Thunder 4 Hellspark Elemental 4 Tattermunge Maniac Other Spells (20) 2 Firewild Borderpost 2 Veinfire Borderpost 4 Blightning 4 Flame Javelin 4 Incinerate 4 Giantbaiting

First things first; why no Figure of Destiny?

Figure of Destiny is an interesting card that evokes a lot of different opinions. Most people agree that he is good, but I feel he isn’t a staple but a role-player; in fast, burn ‘em out type decks I’ve never liked seeing one in my opening hand. I think he is perfect for more midrange aggressive strategies, otherwise his mana investment needs are a drain on early resources better spent elsewhere. With the modifications to this deck, it relies on its turn one drops less. I wanted another “burn” spell or hasty creature to fill this slot, and Hellspark Elemental felt just perfect for the spot keeping a mid-to-late game presence in the deck.

The Borderposts are an experiment in lowering land count with borderposts. They are also multicolor, so they work well with Jund Hackblade. They serve a dual role being a 1 drop multicolor replacement for Figure of Destiny and being a mana source/fixer. I feel its worth trying at minimal loss to the decks strategy.

Lash Out was another card I felt needed to be swaped. Bloodbraid Elf into Lash Out to eliminate an opposing blocker is excellent. Winning the clash is greater still, but cascading into Lash Out with no good targets doesn’t feel right. At first, we played with Soul’s Fire, figuring on a cascade we will always have Bloodbraid Elf to do three damage to a creature or the opponent, but we swapped for a more pressure oriented card, Blightning.

We’ll be testing this deck out and I will report here with the results.

"Junder and Blightning Strikes Twice!"

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Lands (22) 4 Savage Lands 4 Karplusan Forest 4 Llanowar Wastes 4 Treetop Village 3 Forest 2 Mountain 1 Swamp Creatures (16) 4 Goblin Outlander 4 Troll Ascetic 4 Kitchen Finks 4 Broodmate Dragon Planeswalkers (3) 3 Garruk Wildspeaker Other Spells (19) 2 Banefire 2 Violent Ultimatum 4 Fertile Ground 4 Rampant Growth 4 Terminate 3 Lash Out Sideboard (15) 4 Blightning 4 Volcanic Fallout 4 Filigree Fracture 2 Hurricane 1 Banefire

Decisions decisions…

I played in another Friday Night Magic even though I had already won the FNM Reward for the month, and won first, playtesting a deck that was inspired and conceptualized built by my wife. I mostly played it to see if I could “get it there”, as she has had some sour luck with it. So, before I discuss my play, lets look at that list!

"VigilBant"

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Lands (21) 4 Seaside Citadel 4 Brushland 4 Adarkar Wastes 1 Treetop Village 4 Plains 1 Island 3 Reflecting Pool Creatures (25) 4 Noble Hierarch 2 Knight of the White Orchid 2 Gaddock Teeg 4 Rhox War Monk 4 Wall of Reverence 4 Stoic Angel 1 Battlegrace Angel 4 Mulldrifter Other Spells (14) 4 Path To Exile 4 Oblivion Ring 4 Bant Charm 2 Negate Sideboard (15) 3 Runed Halo 2 Negate 1 Pithing Needle 2 Wrath of God 1 Martial Coup 2 Filigree Fracture 4 Celestial Purge

The longest match I had was against and “unpowered” (i.e. no Bitterblossom or Thoughtseize) version of Faeries. The match I lost was because I missplayed my Path to Exiles, allowing him to get a couple mana ahead of me. I really think I could have pulled that one off if I’d been a little more judicious. After that, I managed some decisive victories hiding behind Wall of Reverence sending in my Stoic Angel.

The weakest cards in the main were Knight of the White Orchid and Gaddock Teeg. I sided them out almost every time for usually two Wrath of God. Martial Coup was very helpful in the couple of matches I used it, and having it in the side was a nice surprise for a lot of my opponents. I’m still debating Runed Halo; I know it will someday trump my opponent, I just haven’t met them yet.

I worried a lot about planeswalker.deck making an appearance, as that seemed to be this decks bane the last couple of times it was played in an FNM. Pithing Needle is the “I’m not playing White” answer to the new permanents, and Celestial Purge is very versatile in this environment.

With Alara Reborn now available, I plan on doing some more tweaks to make this thing really hum. Here is a rough idea:

"VigilBant Returns"

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Lands (21) 4 Seaside Citadel 4 Brushland 4 Adarkar Wastes 2 Plains 1 Island 3 Forest 3 Reflecting Pool Creatures (27) 4 Noble Hierarch 4 Jhessian Infiltrator 4 Qasali Pridemage 4 Wall of Reverence 4 Stoic Angel 2 Rafiq of the Many 4 Mulldrifter 1 Battlegrace Angel Other Spells (12) 4 Path To Exile 4 Bant Charm 4 Oblivion Ring Sideboard (15) 3 Runed Halo 2 Martial Coup 2 Wrath of God 3 Negate 2 Filigree Fracture 3 Celestial Purge

Get tired of having to hide and display the pesky number pad on your iPhone in the middle of a call? I have a tip for you!  All you need to do is add commas to your contact number.  In the telephony world, commas are the equivalent of pauses. Therefore you can add commas followed by more numbers to dial the extension.

Example:  417-555-5555,,,,304  This will call the number pause for 4 seconds then dial 304.

This is ideal for business offices and technical support lines.  Now that you know the secret, get to work on your contact list and let us know how it works for you.

OK Nintendo, what gives? They claim their “next gen” console will play games in HD, but all the games I have played so far look terrible! All the jagged edges makes me wonder why I even still bother turning on the Wii…

So then I hear that the people of Hak5 were playing Wii games in high def! WHAT!? I was really excited to see that someone had figured out how to play Wii games in HD. However, my excitement quickly turned sour when I found out that you had to use a pretty beefy gaming PC and the Dolphin emulator to accomplish this.

What the hell Nintendo? The games can do 720p (and look great) and someone else has figured out an engine to do it. I am really disappointed that the engineers at Nintendo could not produce these results. I guess they are just too busy trying to decide what bunch of mini-games they are going to slap together, pass it as a complete game, ship it to the masses, and roll in the cash.

I guess that’s enough Nintendo bashing (for now). If you have a kicking, gaming PC and feel adventurous, I would suggest you give this a shot. You are going to need some game ISO’s to accomplish this. I really don’t recommend the PirateBay method, but watch this episode of Hak5 for more details on how to rip ISO’s of games you already own.

If you are on the fence about doing this (it is quite a time and hardware investment), check out the video below to help you make a decision.

BTW, if you have not checked out the video podcasts from Hak5, I recommend it. I have been watching for a while and glad to see they are finally part of the Revision3 family.

While I had fun playing the deck, I know it needs some fine tuning. I wanted to utilize Jund’s more powerful cards all the while making the deck more post-rotation friendly, so I didn’t rely on a lot of Lorwyn block cards. Let’s have a look at the list:

"Junder and Blightning!"

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Lands (22) 4 Savage Lands 4 Karplusan Forest 4 Sulfurous Springs 4 Treetop Village 2 Forest 2 Mountain 2 Swamp Creatures (13) 4 Goblin Outlander 3 Troll Ascetic 3 Sprouting Thrinax 3 Broodmate Dragon Planeswalkers (3) 3 Garruk Wildspeaker Other Spells (22) 2 Banefire 3 Violent Ultimatum 3 Fertile Ground 3 Rampant Growth 4 Shock 4 Incinerate 3 Jund Charm Sideboard (15) 3 Terror 3 Blightning 3 Volcanic Fallout 4 Kitchen Finks 2 Naturalize

This deck is begging for Terminate’s impending reprinting in Alara Reborn. The Incinerates aren’t enough, and Terror is just a little too narrow for my liking. When Tower Gargoyles and Tidehollow Scullers are everyone’s favorite creatures, I probably should just sideboard Filigree Fractures and say to heck with it.

Garruk Wildspeaker on turn three (with Fertile Ground) into turn four Violent Ultimatum came up twice, and both times it only sealed victory. Violent Ultimatum did win one game for me, stemming the tide of exalted attackers like Sigiled Paladin, there are much cheaper alternatives.

One overall concept I went with in this deck is making my creatures removal-proof;Goblin Outlander laughs at Terror, Path to Exile, and Oblivion Ring. Troll Ascetic can’t be shot at and can regroup after a shot of 1G. Broodmate Dragon comes in twos and Sprouting Thrinax bounces back from Wrath of God like no other. This worked great for me all night, particularly Troll Ascetic as he walked in seven times for victory. The weakest among them is Sprouting Thrinax, which I consistently sided-out for Kitchen Finks, which bounce back after Wrath of God too.

Without knowing what will be reprinted in Magic 2010, I’m not sure how this deck will survive the rotation of 10th edition out of Standard. Shock could be Magma Spray, Treetop Village could be cut for more Forests, but the loss of the pain lands (Karplusan Forest and Sulfurous Springs) could really hurt the mana base, not to mention losing Troll Ascetic. With that in mind, I look to play this in the upcoming FNM, with Incinerates being traded straight across for Terminates post Alara Reborn.

"Junder and Blightning Strikes Twice!"

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Lands (22) 4 Savage Lands 4 Karplusan Forest 4 Llanowar Wastes 4 Treetop Village 3 Forest 2 Mountain 1 Swamp Creatures (20) 4 Goblin Outlander 4 Troll Ascetic 4 Kitchen Finks 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Broodmate Dragon Planeswalkers (2) 2 Garruk Wildspeaker Other Spells (16) 2 Banefire 1 Violent Ultimatum 2 Fertile Ground 4 Shock 4 Terminate 3 Jund Charm Sideboard (15) 4 Blightning 4 Volcanic Fallout 4 Filigree Fracture 1 Violent Ultimatum 2 Pithing Needle

I have been a Magic: The Gathering player since Ice Age was released in 1995. While I do not have a huge collection of cards, I’ve maintained enough cards and interest to be able to play competative decks in local tournaments and to casually play with friends. While I don’t consider myself pro-caliber, I like to think I’m pretty good at the game. Before I tackle writing about some of the current decks I’m playing and such, I’d like to introduce myself to the readers as a player.

I am a Timmy-Spike whose favorite color is green. I like to play and win with flashy spells and big creatures.

My favorite format is Limited Booster Draft; some of the neatest decks are a result of a draft table. Next to drafting I’m a huge fan of Extended and Legacy. I like Extended for the smaller card pool, allowing some strategies and cards to be executed that are simply out-powered by what’s available in Legacy. Extended also has the benefit of being supported much more than Legacy. Not to say they don’t have Legacy events, its just they have Extended SEASONS. I only get into Standard if the block interests me; for example, Lorwyn did not interest me, but Shards of Alara looks really awesome. Mind you, I will play a draft in any block, but I’ll only play Standard occasionally.

If you are a Magic player in the Southwest Missouri region and find yourself at Dirt Road Comics, you just might see me there!

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There are two options regarding the speed in which your “order” will be processed.  If you choose the free option it can take a few hours, but with a small monetary donation you can have your new ring tone within minutes.  With either method you will receive an email with your new ring tone attached.  Opening the attachment dumps your new ring tone into iTunes and your are ready to synchronize. I have tried this service with three different brands of phone now and it works great!