It's the Magic: Compleation

New Hotness
Mirrodin Besieged comes out tomorrow, which has to be the case since I just got back on shift. I am really excited about a lot of things. I know most of the preview cards of note are ridiculous Rare and Mythics that I won’t be getting a lot of and I know that I said if I didn’t buy any Magic between the release of Mirrodin Besieged and New Phyrexia that I would (finances permitting) buy the best Star Trek ever made on DVD, plus seasons one and two of DS9, so I’ll actually be getting even fewer of the cards that I like than usual.

That said, I’m still kinda stoked about some of the cards.

Decimator Web: It moves your opponent one-tenth of the way towards defeat. Yeah, it’s expensive and it’s just an artifact that’s going to get removed once you drop eight mana or so into it, but I really, really, really like it because it has this meta quality to it. It says ‘opponent loses’ in a way that isn’t as blatant as Door to Nothingness or Darksteel Reactor. Even if your opponent manages to gain life, restock cards, or play Leeches, they can’t really do all three. It's an inefficient, deliberate method of killing someone with an easy and obvious answer. Its flavor text should be, “…No Mr. Beleren, I expect you to die.”

Plaguemaw Beast: I love that it can eat Saprolings and shit spore counters. It’s the cuddliest-wuddliest Phyrexian beastie-weastie ever and I will never, ever house break it. Who’s a good horror? Who’s a good horror? You are! Yes, you are!

Knowledge Pool: You had me at “exile cards from library.”

Consecrated Sphinx: It’s blatant and simple, but it’s a type of blatant simplicity I have a soft spot for, like a two-by-four with a nail in it.

Shimmer Myr: A must have for artifact decks. I mean, it doesn’t hurt that he looks like a Myr that’s going Die Hard on Phyrexia somehow, but he’s helpful, cool, and I look forward to dropping him in either a dedicated Myr deck or Archive of Frustration in the near future.

Psychosis Crawler: I have an Aeon Chronicler that I never use. I look forward to sideboarding Psychosis Crawler with the same zeal.

Sangromancer: Sangromancer is one of the few simply powerful cards I just like. It rewards you for doing dick Black things, and in a big way. A 3/3 for 4 that will probably net you three life before it dies, and probably more? I can get behind that.

Spine of Ish Sah: Yes, it’s seven whole mana to kill anything, but oh, man it’s just seven mana to kill anything.

Slagstorm: Takes a crucial distinction that a lot of cards make and lets you decide how you need it.  I definitely like it. The “rocks fall, people die” art certainly helps.

Black Sun’s Zenith: The whole Zenith cycle is cool (granted, I always like Beacon effects), but the Black One is great because it’s both a Mutilate and all kinds of fodder for Knight of Kulrath and/or Flourishing Defenses. Especially Flourishing Defenses.

WTH?
There are only two cards I don’t like: Vivisection, which just isn’t a good card (and you know I don’t usually count ineffectiveness against a card), and Blightsteel Colossus, which is ridiculous.

The only thing I’m worried about is that with something like Blightsteel Colossus, it seems less likely that New Phyrexia will be the third set. What’s going to be the benchmark for a new, triumphant Phyrexia, if not the corruption of the pillars of Mirrodin? What other Mirrodin icons, aside from perhaps Karn himself, could they release in New Phyrexia that they haven’t already? On the other hand, a resurgent, “Pure Mirrodin” could host amalgam elements (alloys, if you will) that host Phyrexian and Mirran traits. Though it wouldn’t quite be ‘pure,’ capitalizing on Proliferate effects with Metalcraft would be interesting.

This Week’s Best Thing Ever
Arbor Elf, Elvish Guidance, Green deck vs Green deck, Joraga Warcaller for 16. Did I mention Elvish Champion?-48 life.

Ugh: Group Play
In fifty-nine days, it will have been a year since I started Tournament X. I've got four matches left until I can get to the final four.
Block I
    Freight Train v Red Deck Wins

Block II
    Finalist: Close Air Support

Block III
    Josh Goblins v Sundered Veil
        winner vs 2-Fold Method

Block IV
    Law v Primalcrux Greeeeeeeeen.

If I can get everything going well, I might actually take a trip out to Texas to both see my friend Josh and to finish this thing.
    Once.
        And.
            For.
                All.

Though I am quite open for suggestions on the Josh/Jordan matchup in Block I.