Hello, everybody. In this week’s episode we visit the Nashville, TN prerelease. I get real player’s opinions on the new set, include a few surprises, show you how one soldier took Magic to Iraq, and we meet an unforgettable naysayer, Mister Burns. As a special bonus I include a few new decklists to chew on!

The Show (16:00)

In this week we talk about:

- What do you think about Morningtide?
- Why do you come to Prereleases?
- A special Magic Show connection from Ryan
- What card are you most excited about?
- Magic in Iraq
- Do you like Lorwyn block better than Time Spiral block?
- What do you think of Lorwyn block so far?
- The Dissenting Voice of Mister Burns

Text-Only Bonus

Next up is a bonus for the readers, a few decklists I’ve been working on. I love, love, love me some deckbuilding, and I’ve done my best to update a few well known archetypes using some modern cards. Let’s take a look at two builds:

Mono Blue Control Featured by Evan Erwin on 2008-01-27 (Standard) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/15359.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Creatures 3 Sower of Temptation 2 Supreme Exemplar Instants 4 Cryptic Command 2 Negate 4 Remove Soul 4 Rune Snag Legendary Creatures 3 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir 2 Venser, Shaper Savant Sorceries 4 Ancestral Vision	Tribal Instants 4 Faerie Trickery 3 Thieves' Fortune Basic Lands 13 Island Lands 4 Desert 2 Dreadship Reef 4 Mutavault 1 Tolaria West 1 Urza's Factory	Sideboard: 3 Razormane Masticore 2 Draining Whelk 4 Grimoire Thief 2 Willbender 2 Persuasion 2 Take Possession
Download this deck in Apprentice format!		Download this deck in Magic Online Text format!

This is an update to Sonic Boom, except it uses my preferred finisher, Supreme Exemplar. This is an incredible finisher, much better than that of Rimewind Owl or Guile. Why? Because it kills them in two turns instead of three (or even four), that’s why.

I don’t know if you’ve ever had the distinct pleasure of dropping a 10/10 at the end of your opponent’s turn, but I assure you it is highly sweet. As for the Elemental to Champion, well, of course that would be Mutavault. That makes Exemplar a bit more expensive at eight mana instead of seven, but considering you can tap Mutavault to activate itself, it’s not that bad at all. It also flies, doesn’t need additional mana to become lethal (like Rimewind Owl), and is generally scary as hell. My kind of creature.

Thieves’ Fortune is also Damn Solid, a card you can play for a single Blue mana when your Mutavault hits them or as a three mana Impulse that is still not a bad deal. A few Negates are peppered in there, when your opponent is sure they’ll be able to force through their spell no matter how many Rune Snags you have in the bin… oops.

The last new addition is Grimoire Thief in the sideboard for both the mirror and that annoying pr*ck of an archetype, Dragonstorm. That little guy is a beating, but the mirror can get tricky if your opponent drops a second Desert. Either way, I like this skeleton and it’s been testing well.

Next up is a deck that costs approximately a hojillion dollars.

Big Country Featured by Evan Erwin on 2008-01-27 (Standard) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/15359.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Creatures 2 Bogardan Hellkite 4 Chameleon Colossus 2 Cloudthresher 4 Countryside Crusher 3 Tarmogoyf 4 Wall of Roots Enchantments 1 Fertile Ground Instants 3 Incinerate 4 Skred Planeswalkers 2 Garruk Wildspeaker	Sorceries 3 Harmonize 4 Into the North Basic Snow Lands 4 Snow-Covered Forest 4 Snow-Covered Mountain Lands 1 Karplusan Forest 4 Mutavault 4 Treetop Village Snow Lands 4 Highland Weald 2 Mouth of Ronom 1 Scrying Sheets	Sideboard: 1 Loxodon Warhammer 2 Detritivore 1 Tarmogoyf 3 Sulfurous Blast 2 Akroma, Angel of Fury 4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss 2 Primal Command
Download this deck in Apprentice format!		Download this deck in Magic Online Text format!

This deck is the latest incarnation of Green/Red Big Mana, and it proves one thing loud and clear: Mutavault will go into every deck you build. I don’t care how stupid or crazy the decks you build in the next few years may be, Mutavault will go on it. It is truly a ‘staple’ card that belongs in virtually every deck out there. Get your playset and hold on tight, as those little slivers of cardboard will be rocking tabletops for years and years to come. Even with the loss of four snow permanents this deck is still fantastic, and of course includes a few biggies that need mentioning:

Countryside Crusher is indeed as good as advertised. The first time I dropped this guy in play and then milled four lands and revealed an Incinerate, you know this guy is bonkers. 7/7 smashing its way through your chump blocker thanks to my burn spell much?

Chameleon Colossus, while increasing the total amount of cash necessary to make this deck happen, is another winner. He Just. Ends. Games. That’s all I can tell you. He’s a monster that is incredibly difficult to deal with. With no Char in the environment, the only burn spell that kills this thing for less than four or five mana is blue (Psionic Blast). And if you drop him late they’re completely screwed, as you’ll just double his power and toughness and they’ll just lose.

Do you have any idea how popular Bitterblossom is? And how this guy completely trumps their “I hope my 1/1 fliers kill you at some point in history” theorem?

Regardless, this is my favorite deck as of right now, and of course it’s the most expensive. Ugh. Me with my one Colossus and one Countryside Crusher and all.

Conclusion

Thanks for watching, as always, and I hope you dug the camera being turned on me for once (thanks to my buddy E for grabbing the camera and forcing me to go under the spotlight). Now I know what it’s like for you guys to talk to me…

Until next week when we talk about the possible implosion of the Pro Tour, this is Evan Erwin, tapping the cards so you don’t have to.

Evan “misterorange” Erwin
dubya dubya dubya dot misterorange dot com
eerwin +at+ gmail +dot+ com
“Don’t sugarcoat it!”

Music Credits:

Title – “Is There A Ghost” by Band of Horses
Why Do You Come To Prereleases – “Someone Great” by LCD Soundsystem
Montage, Fav Card – “Zac and Sara” by Ben Folds
Magic in Iraq – “Marines Hymn” by The American Military Band
Like Lorwyn Block better – “Gold Lion” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Dissenting Voice – “The Imploding Voice” by The Smashing Pumpkins