A New Look at Jund Post Worldwake

Posted Wed - February 24, 2010 by Paul Mendoza

Who's Who in Zendikar Drafting

Posted Mon - January 04, 2010 by Neutral Grounds Staff

The main purpose of this article is to review the most popular deck archetypes in Triple Zendikar booster drafts. It aims to provide a deep insight on what makes these decks tick and how to beat them. Hopefully you would enjoy reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Draft: How Would You Rate Zendikar Commons?

Posted Wed - December 23, 2009 by taong_gagamba

I love drafting. Seven years ago, I wouldn’t even imagine I’d say that. With my minimum wage then (or your small allowance from your high school days), booster drafts were a luxury. Players would rather trade or buy cards for their constructed decks and play countless games with them. Maybe that is why the Pinoy player is good with standard constructed. Only a few fortunate ones are good with draft.

Magic Moments Ep. 9: My Own Deck and the Rise of Chna

Posted Wed - November 25, 2009 by Butch Maniego

Worlds, China, walletslayers, and much more... he's back!

Magic Moments Episode 8: Pros and Cons

Posted Wed - October 21, 2009 by Butch Maniego

Over the weekend, lots of Filipino players eagerly followed the coverage of Pro Tour Austin with the hopes of learning a lot more about the relatively new formats being born therein – the new Extended with Zendikar as well as how the pros drafted the new set. They also got an unexpected bonus – a Filipino-born player doing well enough and even taking sole possession of the lead deep into day two, only to fall short of becoming the first Pinoy to make it to the hallowed ranks of a Magic Pro Tour Top 8.

Gatekeeper of Malakir: In or Out?

Posted Wed - October 14, 2009 by seshirure

I have seen a lot of reviews with our new fellow creature from Zendikar, The Gatekeeper of Malakir. As I browse from one to another I always see the words "edict-on-a-stick"

Magic Moments Episode 7: Storm is Indeed a Broken Mechanic

Posted Tue - October 06, 2009 by Butch Maniego

One of the things we learned from last weekend's weather disaster is that we must always be prepared for anything. Just like in Magic, where your best-laid plans are often "Negated" or your fatty given a "Path to Exile" by opponent, moving you further back from your goal of winning the game, typhoon Ondoy came nearly without warning and caused so much havoc and catastrophe to most of our unwary citizenry.

Please bring donations at the Zendikar Launch Party

Posted Wed - September 30, 2009 by Neutral Grounds Staff

If you are joining the Zendikar Launch Party at the Robinsons Galleria this weekend, please bring donations to help the people affected by Ondoy. We will turn the event into a chance for the gaming community to be able to help out.

Zendikar Launch Party

Saturday, October 3, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009

Robinsons Galleria
Alabang Town Center

Each participant receives a Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle Release Party Promo card

Zendikar booster packs to be given away.

Registration time: 10-12:00 AM Fee: P1,000.00
*unused Zendikar pre-release tickets/passes can be used at this event

Magic Moments Episode 6: It's (Pack) Opening Day!

Posted Wed - September 23, 2009 by Butch Maniego

One of the better things that Wizards of the Coast has done recently is to allow smaller tournament organizers the option to run prereleases alongside their regular in-store events. This has made prereleases even more accessible to the casual gamer, not because it will make him go to tournaments any more than he is inclined to (although that could be a wondrous side effect), but because since he will be amongst friends and in actual competition, albeit at a low level, this activity could make them stick around the game more.

Magic Moments Episode 5: Aggravated Aggro

Posted Wed - September 16, 2009 by Butch Maniego

Throughout the years that I've played Magic (which wasn't since the Martial Law days contrary to what some believe), I have always considered myself as an "aggro" player, or someone who believes in bringing down my opponents' life total to zero as soon as possible. This could be accomplished with a combination of efficiently-costed creatures and either a lot of burn or some ways to prevent them from messing with your folks, gaining life or blocking.

Magic Moments Episode 4: This is My (Type of) Land

Posted Wed - September 09, 2009 by Butch Maniego

We are a mere fortnight away from the Zendikar preleases and the spoiler season is in full blast. Some insane cards are being spoiled both officially and unofficially, and Patrick Chapin has already predicted brazenly that Zendikar will be the biggest and fastest selling Magic set of all time, bigger even that M10.

Magic Moments Episode 3: Rare Pools and Rare Fools

Posted Wed - September 02, 2009 by Butch Maniego

Many years ago, before there was such a thing as MTGO and "going infinite" I learned that the best way to learn how to draft was to actually do it on a regular basis with a group of competent and competitive players. And this we were able to accomplish many years ago at Arena, a gaming shop/cafe which was open practically 24 hours a day and would hold drafts whenever there were eight warm and willing bodies present.

Magic Moments Episode 2: Prize Splits and Banana Splits

Posted Mon - August 24, 2009 by Butch Maniego

It is undeniable that far from being a cheap game to play, Magic: the Gathering does entail expenses not endemic to any other mind sport. One buys a chess set and one can already play (although one must need a chess clock to train for actual competitions). The same goes true with Scrabble (a set), contract bridge and poker (a deck of cards although poker chips are a must as well).

Magic Moments Episode 1: They Might Be Giants

Posted Tue - August 11, 2009 by Butch Maniego

Heck, I know I can write. I've been writing professionally for the better part of longer than many of you have been on this world so I guess it was just a matter of time before I trained my guns and wrote about my MtG hobby. I can't even imagine how much I've written since starting in 1982 but it must be closing in on about 10,000 articles, columns and scripts (assuming a quite modest rate of about eight pieces a week for the past 27 years) and not counting company reports, business proposals, love letters or similar missives.

Lesson #5: Busta Durafto

Posted Fri - February 06, 2009 by JT Porter

It’s been a while, sorry, just busy. What actually pushed me to take time off my busy schedule and write again is the fact that apparently, some people actually learn from these pieces of random ramblings that we call articles. The proof? One of them beat me in the final match of one of my Conflux prerelease pods.