Thanks for those articles. I like your "no-nonsense" perspective, as well as the nod given to innovating uses of existing cards (aka "tech") in Vintage in this article.

I'm currently trying to get people interested into Vintage, and those articles will be an excellent introduction.

Thanks !

This one doesn't even exists :

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=536574

From an italian Web site.

Cc -
Type - Instant
Text - Counter target enchantment, instant, or sorcery spell. Its controller puts a Bird Token 2/2 with flying onto the battlefield under his control.

Sounds pretty good for Eternal formats

Another great read, as usual. I wish there were more tournaments analysed in it than just the Invitational, but I suspect recorded material on tournaments held at that time must be hard to obtain...

That was absolutely glorious. Guess JTMS is not "better than all" anymore.

Very sad news. Some of the cards he drew were among my favorite pieces of Magic art. 

I prefer having new chapters as often as possible (which would mean splitting 1999 and 2000), but I'm fine either way.

That was a very enjoyable and informative read as usual. Thanks again, Steve !

I finished reading it, and it was a very enjoyable read : the amount of documentation is incredible, and I really like the way this is written (really mindful of the context of a specific deck/tech, without trying to find ways to shoehorn an old concept into something new).

I didn't get a chance to test the decks, but I remember playing "Proto-Zoo", Millstone-control and Prison (Icy Manipulator/Winter Orb) decks back in 1995-1996 (didn't have any piece of power except Ancestral Recall).

At this price and this publication schedule, I don't see myself skipping future issues, this is one of the best MTG history pieces I've ever read.

Thanks a lot ! I was impatient to read the follow-up to the first part.

A really great shop in Paris is MagicBazar, they are the organizers of Bazaar of Moxen. They have a good selection of older stuff, and the people in the shop are friendly and very knowledgeable.

http://www.magicbazar.fr/

I really love reading about Magic history, and this is a great project. Thanks a lot for the hard work, Stephen.

I find it interesting that the Vintage community seems much more open to new cards than a couple years ago when Jace TMS was "LOL, 4 Mana Brainstorm". Have the numbers of Vintage-playable cards really increased over the last years (I started playing again for M10, so I don't know how spoiler seasons went before...) ?

I wouldn't suggest running "bad" spells that you don't mind exiling just to pump this. So the best case for this thing is that it allows you to gain some value back from lost counterwars, as was suggested earlier (as well as corner cases such as extraneous copies of Flusterstorm). Also, this exiles the spell, so it limits the possibility for spell reuse (Yawgmoth's Will, Snapcaster, Regrowth...).

The difference with Quyrion Dryad is that you don't have to sacrifice the benefits of your spell if it resolves.

Looks like at least a potential Oath target because you get to put it to good Necro use even if you fail to attack with it.

There is some very nice new art available on MTGO, probably for the MTGO Cube digital reprints of the original Dual Lands :
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=404015

There are never any Mythic rares in those Event decks. They are generally quite good, though.

Jace's first ability is either Fateseal 1 (targetting opponent) or Scry 1 (targetting yourself).

The article was edited since it was released, I noticed the error when I read it. It's nice that the error was corrected, but don't pretend it wasn't there in the first place.

Having two actual daughters (and zero imaginary ones) which I try to raise in respect of their fellow human beings, no matter what their race/religion/sex/orientation/gaming hobbies are, I felt absolutely unmoved by the article as a whole. It felt pretentious and full of the sweeping generalities the author pretends to abbhor.

I'm in the exact opposite situation of the one he tries to pigeonhole MtG players into : my family comes first and foremost for me, and the planning of gaming sessions (with friends at home or outside, tournaments...) is discussed and organized calmly and openly with my wife, just as her own hobbies (shopping sessions, TV evenings...) are. My wife is far from a nerdy type, but our mutual respect makes it possible for us to have a loving relationship in spite of me playing MtG, reading Sci-Fi books, or playing video games. The author's implication that gamers only look for women as walking vagina is misguided and insulting, both for gamers and women.

It doesn't help that I don't feel much sympathy for Alyssa Bereznak who had her obvious click-fishing bait succeed beyond her wildest expectations. Her article, like many on the so-called "news" sites like Gizmondo, IGN... was simple troll-bait designed not to express a viewpoint, but to attract attention (and hence clicks and avertising revenues). That's a behavior I dislike from anyone, no matter their sex.

I saw the set referred to as UNnistrad on MtGSalvation. Seems pretty appropriate for a mechanic that should have been kept to UN-sets. MaRo's article today on the design of double faced cards was the real horror story of the block, as far as I'm concerned...

Sounds pretty good in mana-dredge for sure...

(name may not be properly translated)
Enchantment
 
Whenever an opponent shuffles his or her library, you may look at the top 2 cards of that library. If you do, you may exile one of them. Then put the rest on top of that library library in any order.

This completely screws topdeck tutors, and has a chance to mess with draws after each fetch/tutor. I don't remember seeing a card like this before. The casting cost is low enough to be playable, and the effect could be good enough against decks relying on tutoring/shuffling to access their business spells. Maybe as a sideboard card in the blue mirror, or sideboard tech for fish decks ?

The brutal downfall of BSA can also be attributed to her Majesty being relegated to fun casual card in face of the 6/6 monstruosities that ruled over Standard. If Action includes a third version of Jace with the same CMC but 5 abilities including a +1 Loyalty Ancestral Recall instead of a 0 Brainstorm, I'm sure the price of JTMS will fall. I'm not sure this will be a good thing for MtG, though.

I found the article was great, including the historical evolution of Oath decks. I'm really not fond of BSC, but the attempt to capitalize on its brutal clock by reviving the Dragon Breath plan strikes me as very intriguing and at the very least worth trying as a shift from more combo-oriented Oath decks (Tidespout Tyran) or disruptive creatures (Elephant Oath).

After reading the review (props to QS for listening to the complaints), here are a couple small nitpicks :

Your analysis of Leonin Relic-Warder is spot-on, but Qasali Pridemage has an advantage over him that you don't mention : your opponent has to deal somehow with a resolved Pridemage if you have one open mana before trying to win through, say, Vault/Key, whereas the Relic-warder only works when it enters the battlefield.

There is a problem with your analysis of Signal Pest in a Noble Fish deck featuring Cold-Eyed Selkie and Exalted triggers : Exaltation triggers only if a single creature is attacking. Battle Cry only works for other attacking creatures, which sort of defeats the purpose unless you intend to attack with both the Selkie and the Pest, in which case your Hierarchs and Pridemages won't give any bonus.

Skinwing is a  2/2 Flying, not 3/3 (the germ tokens are 0/0).

Thopter Assembly has a huge synergy with Time Sieve, which you could have mentioned, even if only to compare it to Vault/Key, since synergies with existing cards was one of the reasons stated for a comprehensive set review.

In Green Sun's Zenith, you don't mention the Dryad Arbor interaction, which is strange because Dryad Arbor is Vintage playable, and the effect (Rampant Growth for G) is decent

The artifact regrowth of Glissa, the Traitor triggers when an enemy creature goes to the graveyard, not just in combat. This will be played in Extended in combination with Executioner's Capsule (incidentally one of the cheapest ways to get rid of the Giant Spaghetti Monster).


Generally speaking, my opinion of your review is that I really enjoyed the great analysis you do on cards that are Vintage playable or borderline (Knowledge Pool for example really impressed me), but find reading through the chaff boring. Nowadays, Magic sets are built for Limited first and foremost, with most of the juicy, Standard-playable stuff at Rare and Mythic, and a couple Eternal-playable cards dispatched through all rarities (Tinker bot, efficient situational counter, disruptive bear...). Which is why every set is going to have Bolt variant, Giant Growth variant, Disenchant with a twist, overpriced black kill spell and a parade of Hill Giant wanabees... Do we really need 79 words on why Blightwidow (run-of-the-mill Giant Spider with Infect thrown in) is not Vintage playable ? Or 58 words on Training Drone, a card so bad it has to be one of those so-called "skill testers" design loves to put in sets ?

Stephen,

This is very much on topic, though, because the method of delivery is a valid area of inquiry for people interested in reading your work. As an author, you obviously know that constructive criticism and feedback is important, and if people feel they can't access your set reviews because of the pricing model you and your editors have chosen, this is a valid concern.

From QS Insider's introduction :

Is Steve's review financial content ? No, although he often includes a couple trading tips aimed at Vintage players. Does it qualify as Spike or Timmy content ? I'd definitely say it does qualify as Spike content and as such should be free. If it isn't one or the other, then the last option "Insider Guest author" would make sense. Steve's articles were exactly what I had in mind when I read the part about "guest authors" in your introduction.

Regarding the incredibly small margin you have such that you can't maintain profitability unless you charge $4 for each of your $60/year paying customer who is interested in Vintage set reviews, I will trust your word, but if this is indeed the case then perhaps you should rethink your business. SCG doesn't seem to have a problem charging $30 a year giving access to all their Premium content (including financial advice, I might add). Channel Fireball also has an "all free" model that also seems to work ok for them.

Hello Stephen.

You know I'm a huge fan of your work. I've bought your Gush book in e-book form, and I'm waiting for the paperback version to arrive (preordered it as soon as QS were able to tell me the shipping cost to Europe). In fact, I registered for QS Insider ($5 per month) mostly on the basis that I would be able to access your articles this way, as a mark of trust for the quality of your work. Now, I discover that my QS Insider suscription doesn't actually allow me to access your articles, but that I get to pay an extra $4 for your set review, in addition to the $60 they intend to charge me over the year. Count me out on this one.

SCG charges $30 for the year, and you get access to all content : financial, set reviews, strategy articles, videos... This treatment of QS Insider suscribers is an outrage.