Category Archives: ProTrader

PROTRADER: Modern at the Edges

By: Travis Allen

Did everyone enjoy their Halloween? We had our eighth annual house party, and it was the biggest yet, a fact that surprised us considerably given that A. it fell on Halloween itself and B. we didn’t think our parties were very fun. We had assumed that there would be a wealth of options available to people Saturday night, and that as a result, our guest list would be fragmented across various activities. Normally, we shoot for an off day so as not to compete with going downtown, other house parties, etc. We also were under the impression that everyone thought our parties were fairly boring and lame. It’s been two or three years since someone threw up in the kitchen sink, nobody hooks up, and while it’s a gender-diverse event, there are nearly no single women. The biggest attraction is that Dance Dance Revolution is inevitably set up.

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I’m sure you’ve mostly all seen the news that we’re returning to Innistrad next block. We have no spoilers, or even substantive art that includes any sort of organic figure. All we’re given is a sense that the good of Innistrad has been distorted in some way, evidenced by the symbol of Avacyn contorting itself to stock suspenseful music. I’ll let others elaborate about what we can and can’t expect, though I’ll make one quick note: we’re not getting Snapcaster Mage and Liliana of the Veil back.

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expensive cards

ProTrader: Magic doesn’t have to be expensive.

PROTRADER: Modern History Set Rev—BOO! Innistrad Spooktacular

Reader beware, you’re in for a sca-

Oops… I’m sorry. Our lawyers are telling me I can’t actually open with that. I guess the people who ran school book fairs twenty years ago are pretty litigious?

You are traveling through another dimensi-

…Wait, really? FINE.

Into every generation a Slayer is bo-

Wow, that too, huh? Dang. Oh well, today we are jumping ahead (and simultaneously backwards!) in time to the Innistrad set review. Because it’s Halloween. Well, tomorrow is. Unless you’re reading this on Saturday. Or in Japan. I’m not sure how well this gimmick is playing, so let’s fast forward to the actual article.

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expensive cards

ProTrader: Magic doesn’t have to be expensive.

PROTRADER: Don’t Get Too Comfortable With Your Preferred Out

For some reason, Khans of Tarkir didn’t grab my attention. I immediately knew the set was objectively good, with all kinds of possible decks from two to five colors. Yet, when the format was all said and done, I drafted it about a dozen times total, which is quite low for me.

I had attributed this not to a lack of interest in the set, but to the fact that my wife had our first kid shortly before Khans of Tarkir‘s release. The thing is, though, that my son is way more of a handful than he was last year, and yet today, all I want to do is draft Battle for Zendikar. Considering how good Khans was, that must mean Battle is even better.

Cream of the Crop

What’s really been drawing me in is the set’s difficulty. The format is very complex, with synergy playing a much more important role than in usual sets. A blue card that is excellent in black-blue may just be straight unplayable in white-blue. Figuring out this stuff is a joy, and after nearly 20 Limited events, I’m still trying to determine the proper balance between synergy and power.

What’s surprising is that I’m not even winning very much, yet I’m still interested in the format—usually, the formats I end up playing the most are the ones where I win the most matches. In this case, it’s the learning curve and the joy of discovery keeping me coming back, which is a huge endorsement for the design of the set. I’m hoping that more match wins will start coming eventually.

The need to reconsider many standard drafting practices is comparable to another issue I ran into recently: the need to reconsider one’s various outs for cards.

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expensive cards

ProTrader: Magic doesn’t have to be expensive.