Theft of Swords Review

As a voracious reader, I am always on the lookout for new books, especially in the fantasy genre. It's gotten to the point where I've taken to walking up and down the aisles of my local library, waiting for something to catch my eye. While this isn't exactly the most efficient method, I have discovered a few gems that I might otherwise have missed. Theft of Swords, by Michael J. Sullivan, is just such a book.

I absolutely love the tagline from the back cover: "They killed the king. They pinned it on two men. They chose poorly."

Theft of Swords tells the story of two men who form the most unlikely of partners. Royce Melborn is a skilled thief and assassin who trusts no one and love nothing; Hadrian Blackwater is former mercenary with a soft heart for those in need. Together they are Riyria, an infamous duo who make their living carrying out impossible missions for those with the coin to pay. But in the course of their work, they are swept up in the currents of "an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires."

What makes Theft of Swords so good is not its unique setting or characters or plot, although these are all excellent. Indeed, Sullivan admits that he purposely uses a quasi-European medieval setting complete with dwarves, elves, magic swords, dragons, and the like - all the staples of modern fantasy. But what makes Theft of Swords so good is the author's ability to tell a good story. Royce and Hadrian are larger-than-life, capable of handling almost anything thrown at them. Yet, as a reader I was fascinated both by their own internal struggles to understand themselves and their ability to figure out what is really going on and how to come out ahead in the end. Additionally, Sullivan has the ability to layer plot on top of plot with great intricacy and skill. Like an onion, just when you think you've got a handle on what's really going on, another deeper layer is revealed. It's clear that the trilogy is really designed to tell one big story; yet the events of the first book (and even the individual parts within) have a satisfying arc all of their own. Finally, I found Sullivan's prose to be quite refreshing. Rather than the deep, complex, or just plain wordy style that characterizes a lot of modern fantasy, Theft of Swords reads more like a movie or screenplay. His style is decidedly light or minimalistic, giving you just enough to visualize what's going on without any extraneous detail. This makes what could otherwise be a long read into a real page-turner.

I greatly enjoyed this book, and I strongly recommend it. Pick up a copy on Amazon today. You won't regret it.

MPDC Season 26 Champion

Another season of Monday Pauper Deck Challenge is in the books, and with it we bid farewell to the Return to Ravnica block in Standard. I can't think of a better way to close it out than to highlight the championship winning decklist from MPDC Season 26 WORLDS: 4CC ETB, which stands for Four Color Control Enters the Battlefield. And it just so happens that the deck is built around three of best Commons from Return to Ravnica block: the Gatekeepers! Let's take a look at the list:

4CC ETB

1st place by MyGalaxy in MPDC 26 WORLDS

Creatures 4 Centaur Healer 4 Cloudfin Raptor 4 Keening Apparition 4 Saruli Gatekeepers 4 Sunspire Gatekeepers 4 Ubul Sar Gatekeepers 24 cards Other Spells 4 Gods Willing 3 Peel from Reality 3 Sign in Blood 2 Font of Return 1 Zephyr Charge 13 cards

Lands 4 Simic Guildgate 3 Azorius Guildgate 3 Evolving Wilds 2 Dimir Guildgate 2 Forest 2 Orzhov Guildgate 2 Selesnya Guildgate 1 Golgari Guildgate 1 Island 1 Plains 1 Swamp 1 Transguild Promenade 23 cards Sideboard 4 Revoke Existence 3 Duress 3 Negate 2 Shrivel 2 Pillar of Light 1 Zephyr Charge 15 cards

It's pretty easy to see what this deck is trying to accomplish! Recurring the Gatekeepers (as well as the Centaur Healer) with both Peel from Reality and Font of Return creates some amazing card value. While the metagame saw its share of aggressive strategies, this list ensures that it can live long enough to get this value with eight different sources of Life-gain! It also has great game against Enchantment-based strategies, with 4 Keening Apparition in the main and another 4 Revoke Existence in the board. Throw in Gods Willing to protect those creatures, Sign in Blood for card draw, and even a one-of Zephyr Charge to sneak all of those ground based creatures past your opponent's defenders, and you've got quite the game plan! Congrats to MyGalaxy on his unique build and his excellent piloting skills in taking this deck undefeated through the entire tournament!

I can't wait to see what new archetypes emerge with Khans of Tarkir. And maybe you'll be the one to pilot one of those new archetypes to victory in the capstone event of Season 27 of MPDC, which starts next Monday, October 20th. Don't miss it!

MPDC 27.01 and the Standard Pauper Filter

All this week I've been writing about the latest bug with the Standard Pauper filter on Magic Online. As I announced last time, this bug actually affects both Classic and Standard Pauper, allowing cards once printed at Common to be legal in their respective formats.

According to the latest word on this bug, the issue will be fixed during the October 22nd downtime. However, this means that the bug will still be in place for the first event of the new season of Monday Pauper Deck Challenge, which is scheduled for Monday, October 20th. Now in the past, we've sometimes started the season with some sort of wacky or unusual format. So it seems fitting that for MPDC 27.01, I will simply allow any deck that passes the Standard Pauper filter.

Let me be clear. Unless things change between now and then, all of the following cards will be legal for MPDC 27.01, even though they are not printed at Common in the new Standard format:

• Arc Lightning 
• Congregate  
• Darksteel Citadel  
• Eternity Snare  
• Gather Courage  
• Gravedigger  
• Heat Ray  
• Reprisal  
• Riddle of Lightning  
• Springleaf Drum  
• Stab Wound

This also will provide some useful data in seeing just how disruptive these cards really are in the metagame. However, by no means does this mean I will necessarily support the inclusion of these cards in the event that the bug is NOT fixed on October 20th. But it seemed like a perfect opportunity to add a little spice into the new metagame.

So spread the word. Let your friends know. MPDC will be on its normal end-of-season break for October 13th, and will be a special event on October 20th in which the cards listed above will be legal for that event.

It's Getting Bigger

Last time, I wrote about the new bug with the Standard Pauper filter on Magic Online that now allows any Uncommon currently in Standard that was once printed at Common into matches. Obviously this would have a big impact on the metagame going forward.

As it turns out, it wasn't just the Standard Pauper filter that was bugged...

While the community has gotten reassurances that the Magic Online team is aware of these issues, thus far there is no word on what the problem is or when it will be fixed...

As far as MPDC is concerned, until the problem is resolved, there seems to be three options:

1. Simply go with the filter as is. The "Uncommon-Commons" would now be allowed into the format. 
2. Continue with the rules as they are. This means that despite the fact that players will technically be able to enter a match with illegal cards, once they are discovered, that player will receive a match-loss.
3. Change the way registration works such that Gatherling enforces the rarity restrictions rather than Magic Online.

This is a big issue, and I appreciate all those who have commented thus far. Here are some of my initial thoughts:

•  Looking at the list of Commons that would be added to the format, only Arc Lightning, Gravedigger and Stab Wound would see widespread play with the potential to disrupt the format in an unhealthy way. The rest of the cards might find a home in particular archetypes, but aren't really broken or overpowered. But Gravedigger in particular is a strong card with no real answers in the format. Of course, the same might be said for Font of Return.
• Having new players enter what they believe is a legal deck, only to be disqualified due to a bug with Magic Online, seems like a good way not to keep new players. While MPDC worked this way for a long time, I have no doubt it hurt the growth of our player base. And having a filter that doesn't work properly only makes the problem worse, since the new players would have every right to believe that their deck was in fact legal.
• The third solution seems like a good idea, but in fact Gatherling doesn't actually work that way, at least not the version we use on pdcmagic.com. Even if you force players to enter a decklist to register, they can still just enter nonsense characters into the decklist and bypass that restriction. And it certainly doesn't tell a player that a card entered isn't legal for a particular format. So if we wanted to go down this road, we would have to switch over to the software at Gatherling.com, essentially leaving pdcmagic altogether.

Hopefully this will all be a moot point. The Magic Online team is aware of the issue, and one can hope the problem will be resolved before the next season of MPDC starts. We shall see.

More Card Legality Issues in Standard Pauper

A couple months back, I wrote about a persistent error with the Standard Pauper filter on Magic Online. Essentially, the problem was that the filter would show certain cards as legal for Standard Pauper, but wouldn't actually let you join a match with those cards in your decklist. All of the offending cards were reprints that at one point were Commons, but were now Uncommons in Standard, and thus not actually Standard Pauper legal.

But now the bug has taken an unexpected turn. As was first reported on this post over at pdcmagic.com, these cards no longer prevent you from joining a Standard Pauper match. Without any fanfare or announcement, this bug has just added 11 cards to the format. Here's the full list of cards:

• Arc Lightning 
• Congregate  
• Darksteel Citadel  
• Eternity Snare  
• Gather Courage  
• Gravedigger  
• Heat Ray  
• Reprisal  
• Riddle of Lightning  
• Springleaf Drum  
• Stab Wound 
  

So, in regards to MPDC (as well as its sister tournament SPDC), what should our policy be regarding these cards? On the one hand, these 11 cards are technically not Standard Pauper legal, as they are NOT printed at Common in the current Standard set. On the other hand, by prohibiting them, we return to the days prior to the implementation of the Standard Pauper filter, where players were required to police every match for cards that weren't legal. More often than not, this punished new players, forcing them to take a match-loss for an illegal card. Not exactly a great experience.

I will be mulling over this situation for the next week or so. Thursday, I will post some of my thoughts on the matter. In the mean time, I'd love to hear what you guys think about the situation. Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

Orzhov Pilgrim Post-Rotation

Looking at the results from the most recent Standard Pauper tournaments, it is clear that the Orzhov Pilgrim deck is the deck to beat for next week's capstone Worlds event. Additionally, this will be one of the archetypes that will be a solid starting point for deckbuilding in the new Standard once Khans of Tarkir is released on Magic Online. So today I want to take a look at this decklist, discuss how it will be affected by rotation, and offer some initial thoughts on what new cards might find a home here.

Let's start by taking a look at Forli's build of this archetype, which he piloted to an undefeated 1st place finish in MPDC 26.06:

WB Pilgrim

Creatures 4 Akroan Skyguard 4 Auramancer 4 Heliod's Pilgrim 4 Hopeful Eidolon 4 Wingsteed Rider 2 Keening Apparition 22 cards Other Spells 4 Ethereal Armor 4 Gods Willing 4 Pacifism 2 Font of Return 2 Stab Wound 1 Ajani's Presence 17 cards

Lands 11 Plains 4 Evolving Wilds 4 Orzhov Guildgate 2 Swamp 21 cards Sideboard 4 Celestial Flare 4 Duress 2 Keening Apparition 2 Beckon Apparition 1 Pillar of Light 1 Feast of Dreams 1 Ajani's Presence 15 cards

Of these 75 cards, only 43 cards will survive rotation. Gone are Auramancer, Beckon Apparition (SB), Celestial Flare (SB), Duress (SB), Ethereal Armor, Keening Apparition, Orzhov Guildgate,  Pacifism, and Stab Wound. Of these, the loss of Auramancer, Ethereal Armor, Keening Apparition, and Pacifism are probably the most significant: Auramancer for its recursion of the deck's numerous Enchantments; Ethereal Armor for its ability to turn any creature into a massive threat; Keening Apparition for its ability to act as a creature and also Enchantment-hate; and Pacifism as excellent spot removal that could be searched up using Heliod's Pilgrim. So what does Khans of Tarkir bring to the mix?

1. Erase is the best option for Keening Apparition. While it obviously doesn't have the added utility of being a 2/2 creature, it can fulfill the same role as Instant speed Enchantment removal. It's cheap and even prevents the Enchantment from being returned from the Graveyard. Feast of Dreams, Moral Obstinacy, and Revoke Existence are also worth consideration.

2. Kill Shot is probably the best stand-in for Pacifism. While it can't be tutored up using Heliod's Pilgrim, it does allow you to kill anything as long as your opponent actually attacks with it. Most of the time that won't be a problem, since Standard Pauper rarely includes solid utility creatures. Kill Shot also has the advantage of not be vulnerable to Enchantment hate.

3. With most of the relevant Auras leaving the format, Auramancer wouldn't be as effective as it was previously. This means that Font of Return should be able to perform a similar role. Again, having this effect tied to a creature is obviously much better, but in a longer game Font of Return can generate a ton of value. And since it's an Enchantment, it can still be fetched by Heliod's Pilgrim.

4. Sadly, there simply is no replacement that even comes close to the value of Ethereal Armor. Molting Snakeskin is probably the closest analog, in that it pumps the creature's power, is cheap, and allows it to survive combat with Regeneration. Eternal Thirst has also seen some play already in this deck, and is also a decent substitute.



Other cards from Khans of Tarkir that might be worth considering for this deck include: Ainok Bond-Kin, Bitter Revelation, Sultai Scavenger, and Unyielding Krumar.

If you've got other ideas for this archetype, I'd love to hear them! Let me know in the comments below.

Hearthstone Resources

Today I looked back at some of my previous blog posts regarding Hearthstone, and I was surprised to see I've only been playing it for about four months. Although I have heard from several Magic players I respect that they find Hearthstone to be too shallow for them to continue to be interested in, I continue to enjoy it as much today as I did when I first started.

Since Hearthstone is still a relative newcomer, there isn't a ton of great resources for the game online. But I have found three websites that I check almost daily for new content, and I have been very pleased with what I've found. So today I wanted to share those three websites with my readers in hopes that you will also find them helpful. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. IHearthU: This site is probably the most similar to strategy sites for Magic Online. It's daily articles include decklists, a report on the current metagame, some strategy tips, several popular podcasts, as well as some feature matches between two well-known players. If you look closely, you'll even find articles by ChannelFireball's own Paulo Vitor, otherwise known as PV. You can even hire Hearthstone pros for coaching!
   
2. Liquid Hearth: This site is more of a collection of articles and information from around the Hearthstone community. While it does have a few feature articles, most of the content includes links to decklists from recent tournaments or official Blizzard events, some custom content including new ideas for heroes or cards, and news tidbits from a variety of sources. This is also the home of Trump's official Arena pick orders, which is an awesome resource for new and journeyman players looking to improve their Arena results.
   
3. HearthHead: This site isn't updated as often, but tends to have more in-depth content on specific decks, strategies, and news from around the community. But what really makes it shine is its database of tools, which include an Arena practice mode, automated feeds from all official posts and tweets from Blizzard development, and an amazing card database that allows you to keep track of what cards you own and use that data to automatically filter their huge list of decks to see what you can already build for Constructed and build decks right from their site. 

So if you're a fan of Hearthstone and you haven't checked out these websites, you're missing out! Give them a try - you won't be disappointed!