Introduction For a format regarded as “Eternal,” the ordinary Magic player may be surprised to…
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So Many Insane Plays – Vintage and Old School Banned and Restricted List Recommendations (2019)
May through July of 2019 will go down as one of the most turbulent periods…
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So Many Insane Plays – Adventures with Alpha at the Wizards Tournament II
Old School Magic is a phenomenon that has swept the globe in the last few…
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Schools of Magic: History of Vintage – An Alternative History of the Banned and Restricted List
January 26th 2019 marks the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Duelists’ Convocation’s mandatory…
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So Many Insane Plays – The Djinn Efreet War, Part Deux
Introduction For a game that is infinitely modular, and therefore laden with infinite potential –…
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So Many Insane Plays – From 20 to 0 in 90 Seconds: Anatomy of a Vintage Game
Vintage is an amazing format. As much as I enjoy Old School formats, nothing reaches…
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So Many Insane Plays – Measuring Metagame Diversity and Balance
There is nothing that prompts more disagreement or debate in the Magic community than the…
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So Many Insane Plays – Anatomy of a Recent Vintage Challenge
On October 20th, I enrolled on Magic Online’s Vintage Challenge, a scheduled weekly Vintage tournament.…
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So Many Insane Plays – The Evolving 2018 Vintage Metagame
The end of August is a good time to take stock of the Vintage metagame:…
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Schools of Magic: History of Vintage – 2017
Years in the making, read the conclusion to Stephen Menendian’s epic History of Vintage. 2017…
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So Many Insane Plays – Suggested Banned and Restricted List Updates (2018)
Throughout my long career opining on Magic, one of the perennial topics is the Banned…
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Schools of Magic: History of Vintage – 2016
In 2016 an entire class of cards was printed, largely ignored and overlooked, and swept…
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So Many Insane Plays – Smashing ’96 Old School with Phyrexian Dreadnought
A few years ago, I undertook the effort of writing a 12-part series on Old…
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So Many Insane Plays – The Djinn-Efreet War
Motivated by circumstances I can no longer recall, I was browsing older Magic periodicals on…
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Schools of Magic: History of Vintage – 2015
2015 was a year packed with changes in of the History of Vintage. Large tournaments…
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Schools of Magic: History of Vintage – 2014
2014 is a pivot year, turning Vintage in a radically new trajectory. Consecutive years of…
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Schools of Magic: History of Vintage – 2013
By the end of 2012, the Vintage format was surprisingly open and diverse. Any perceptible…
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Schools of Magic: History of Vintage – 2012
For a format marketed as “Eternal,” each year in the History of Vintage delivers unexpected…
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Schools of Magic: History of Vintage – 2011
2011 may be one of the most tumultuous years in the history of the Vintage…
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Schools of Magic: History of Vintage – 2010
2010 was a year defined by Worldwake. Rarely before has a new Standard-legal expansion set…
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Schools of Magic: The History of Vintage – A StarCityGames Power Nine Series Retrospective
Star City Games. For nearly a decade, it was as close as an independent company…
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Schools of Magic: History of Vintage – 2009
The restoration of Time Vault led to a reckoning in Vintage, with a major mid-year…
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Schools of Magic: History of Vintage – 2008
As the clock turned forward from 2007 to 2008, it would not have been possible…
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Schools of Magic: History of Vintage – 2007
The Vintage format pivoted from the Gifts and Pitch Long era headlong in to a…
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