Standard formation.

This FNM its Standard in both tournaments.  There is an element of coincidence that we have a week of double standard just as we have the announcement of a standard PTQ in Sheffield on 13th April 2013 (if you missed it look here).  However, we are about to have a lot of standard going on all over the place; not only do we have a standard PTQ season which starts in the next couple of weeks but we also have 3 World Magic Cup Qualifiers (WMCQ) coming up too.

Move over Thragtusk - I got this...

For those who don't know about the WMCQs let me explain.  Wizards of the coast changed the way they do things last year and instead of a National Championship leading to the world championship we now have 3 World Cup qualifiers the winners of which join the top pro player from their country in forming a team to compete for the Magic World Cup (I hear there is something similar in football but my total lack of knowledge about football means I have to take other peoples word for it).  You need to have accumulated 300 planeswalker points in the year 2nd April 2012 - 17th March 2013 (I have 1225 so 300 is not too hard to do).  This year all those participating will get a foil alternate art promo in the form of the awesome Vengevine;

I love this card - my replacement for Bloodbraid Elf in Modern Jund.

Here are the dates and locations for this years WMCQs:

07th April 2013 - Dark Sphere (London).
21st April 2013 - Wargames Workshop (Milton Keynes)
02nd June 2013 - Fanboy3 (Manchester)

The London and Manchester WMCQ are double-header weekends with a PTQ on the Saturday and the WMCQ on the Sunday.  

As a result I will be organising a number of testing/practice sessions over the next few weeks to hone our decks and ideas ready for a hopefully memorable standard season.  The first of these sessions will be this Sunday at Patriot Games from 11am.  Here are some of the decks we will be testing/testing against;

Naya Agrro

4  Cavern of Souls

1  Rootbound Crag

4  Sacred Foundry

4  Stomping Ground

3  Sunpetal Grove

4  Temple Garden

20 lands

4  Boros Elite

4  Burning-Tree Emissary

4  Champion of the Parish

4  Experiment One

4  Flinthoof Boar

4  Frontline Medic

1  Ghor-Clan Rampager

4  Lightning Mauler

4  Mayor of Avabruck

33 creatures

3  Giant Growth

4  Searing Spear

7 other spells

Sideboard

3  Boros Charm

2  Fiend Hunter

2  Gruul Charm

2  Nearheath Pilgrim

3  Pacifism

3  Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

Free men are good right?

Arbor Jund

4  Blood Crypt

3  Dragonskull Summit

3  Forest

2  Kessig Wolf Run

4  Overgrown Tomb

1  Rootbound Crag

4  Stomping Ground

4  Woodland Cemetery

25 lands

3  Arbor Elf

4  Huntmaster of the Fells

2  Olivia Voldaren

4  Thragtusk

13 creatures

2  Abrupt Decay

4  Bonfire of the Damned

1  Dreadbore

4  Farseek

1  Murder

2  Pillar of Flame

2  Rakdos's Return

1  Ultimate Price

17 other spells

2  Garruk, Primal Hunter

3  Liliana of the Veil

5 planeswalkers

Sideboard

1  Devour Flesh

3  Duress

2  Grafdigger's Cage

1  Liliana of the Veil

1  Olivia Voldaren

2  Pillar of Flame

1  Rakdos's Return

2  Staff of Nin

2  Underworld Connections

So I hear turn 2 Liliana is a thing...

The Aristocrats

4  Blood Crypt

3  Cavern of Souls

1  Clifftop Retreat

4  Godless Shrine

4  Isolated Chapel

3  Plains

4  Sacred Foundry

1  Vault of the Archangel

24 lands

4  Boros Reckoner

4  Cartel Aristocrat

4  Champion of the Parish

4  Doomed Traveler

4  Falkenrath Aristocrat

3  Knight of Infamy

1  Restoration Angel

2  Silverblade Paladin

2  Skirsdag High Priest

2  Zealous Conscripts

30 creatures

2  Lingering Souls

4  Orzhov Charm

6 other spells

Sideboard

2  Blasphemous Act

2  Lingering Souls

1  Mentor of the Meek

2  Obzedat, Ghost Council

2  Rest in Peace

1  Skirsdag High Priest

2  Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

3  Tragic Slip

This card was $3 in April last year, glad I got them then...

Esper Control

4  Drowned Catacomb

4  Glacial Fortress

2  Godless Shrine

4  Hallowed Fountain

2  Island

4  Isolated Chapel

4  Nephalia Drownyard

1  Plains

2  Watery Grave

27 lands

4  Augur of Bolas

3  Restoration Angel

2  Snapcaster Mage

9 creatures

4  Azorius Charm

2  Devour Flesh

2  Dissipate

1  Dramatic Rescue

2  Planar Cleansing

4  Sphinx's Revelation

4  Supreme Verdict

4  Think Twice

1  Ultimate Price

24 other spells

Sideboard

2  Angel of Serenity

1  Dispel

2  Duress

3  Gloom Surgeon

2  Jace, Memory Adept

1  Negate

1  Psychic Spiral

1  Rest in Peace

2  Witchbane Orb

Back after a short break, mill.

Bant Control

4  Breeding Pool

3  Glacial Fortress

4  Hallowed Fountain

4  Hinterland Harbor

2  Kessig Wolf Run

1  Sacred Foundry

1  Steam Vents

1  Stomping Ground

2  Sunpetal Grove

3  Temple Garden

25 lands

3  Augur of Bolas

3  Centaur Healer

4  Restoration Angel

4  Thragtusk

14 creatures

4  Azorius Charm

1  Detention Sphere

2  Dissipate

4  Farseek

4  Sphinx's Revelation

3  Supreme Verdict

1  Syncopate

2  Think Twice

21 other spells

Sideboard

1  Centaur Healer

1  Detention Sphere

2  Garruk Relentless

1  Gisela, Blade of Goldnight

2  Negate

2  Rest in Peace

3  Rhox Faithmender

1  Supreme Verdict

2  Witchbane Orb

A great card even with Skull Crack.

So come on down and join us.  Next Friday is Standard but in a totally different way as we play 2 headed giant.  More blogs next week including the prices for the PTQ in April.