Dragon's Maze Draft Toss-Up: Turn//Burn vs. Far//Away

Technically, this draft toss-up would be for the format of Dragon's Maze - Gatecrash - Return to Ravnica, and there are three sets worth of cards to look through there. But I'm going to focus on cards within the same sets, so we'll look at these two studs in the "DGR" draft format.

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The Numbers (courtesy of Bestiaire.org)

Far // Away - #5 uncommon, #30 overall

Turn // Burn - #4 uncommon, #28 overall

The Analysis

First off, if this is your decision, you're excited. You have an option between two really powerful cards here. They're both removal, they're both flexible, they both run at instant speed. Both cards fuse for 5 mana. In the right circumstance, each of them has the potential to be a complete blowout. And even in the wrong circumstance, each of them is a small piece of removal (Away and Burn, respectively).

So what's the difference between them? Well, Far//Away is made valuable by its ability to get through things like hexproof or regeneration, since you're forcing the player to sacrifice, and it incorporates one of my favorite effects: Unsummon. Turn and Burn is more useful as a combat trick, when you can Burn one creature and Turn another to make it susceptible to an easy block kill. Turn//Burn is also a bit more reliable, giving a guaranteed kill of one creature as long as you can cast both parts.

I think they're both really good cards, but my pick is going to be Far//Away. While fusing either card gives you a great effect, the individual pieces of Far//Away are better in my book. An Unsummon effect is always a positive, and there are plenty of circumstances where an opponent only has a single creature, where Away will do everything you need it to do. You can also always use Far during combat to save your own creature while using Away as a kill spell. Turn and Burn are good individual effects, but not great. The value of Turn//Burn is really in destroying one targeted problem enemy for five mana. Far//Away can regularly do a good deal more than that.

The Verdict

Far//Away

Magic 2014 Draft Toss-Up: Into The Wilds vs. Dark Prophecy

Well old friends, I'm bringing back an old favorite, the draft toss-ups. In case you don't remember, what we do is grab two cards that are similarly rated on Bestiaire within a single set, and I give you a rundown of what I think of the two cards. We evaluate them based on their usefulness in a limited deck, so the resale price of the card is not part of the equation. Then I pick one, and then you make fun of me for my choice. Here we go.

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First, the justification for comparing them. They're both enchantments, both rares, and they're both new issues for M14. They rate #79 (Into the Wilds) and #85 (Dark Prophecy) overall on Bestiaire. They also both offer a form of card draw.

Another thing that they both boast is exceptionally appropriate flavor for their colors. Green's card draw is always based on creatures or lands, and black usually has a life cost for its card draw. So, both of them have that going for them.

At their cores, Dark Prophecy is a stronger card. Even with the life cost of losing creatures, nine times out of ten the card draw is going to be well worth the loss. It also opens up some profitable situations, like trading a Child of Night for a Coral Merfolk or Goblin Shortcutter in combat. While sometimes you're worried about pinging yourself to death, in general you're going to want to have the card.

Even still, Into the Wilds is a more playable card. It's got the lack of a downside which is nice, but the real value is in the casting cost. Dark Prophecy is basically unplayable except in a mono-black deck; in any other situation, you're not going to be able to get enough value by the time you cast it. Into the Wilds meanwhile will always get a little work done. It's not a bomb by any stretch, but it's perfectly playable. I'm actually pretty surprised that Dark Prophecy gets taken as high as it does. I guess with Bestiaire you don't actually have to play the deck, so you can be a little more loosey-goosey. But for me, this one's not close.

Joe's pick: Into the Wilds

Joe's 2013 MLB Award Winners

Ahoy.

AL Rookie of the Year - Chris Archer, SP, Rays
2. Wil Myers, OF, Rays
3. Dan Straily, SP, Athletics
4. Cody Allen, RP, Indians
5. Danny Farquhar, RP, Mariners

This season was fairly weak for rookies in the American League, but that makes the search for candidates a bit more fun. I get to talk about little guys who you'd never talk about, like Cody Allen, a strong middle reliever who posted very solid numbers in 77 appearances for the playoff-bound Indians. Or Danny Farquhar, who had half a bad season and half a really good season as a fill-in closer for Seattle. Dan Straily wasn't wildly impressive, but put up solid numbers, and helped his team reach the playoffs.

The top two rookies were Rays though. While Myers is the better long-term prospect, Archer had the more productive rookie season. He generated very good averages (ERA, WHIP, K/BB) over 128-plus innings, and picked up 9 wins in 23 starts. Myers was unspectacular yet solid, and both rookies contributed to Tampa Bay's success this year.


NL Rookie of the Year - Jose Fernandez, SP, Marlins
2. Yasiel Puig, OF, Dodgers
3. Shelby Miller, SP, Cardinals
4. Julio Teheran, SP, Braves
5. Nolan Arenado, 3B, Rockies

Any of the top four guys would've stood a strong chance of taking home the AL Rookie of the Year award this season, but they're all in the senior circuit, so it's big fish, big pond. Shelby Miller and Julio Teheran were outstanding, pitching like veterans for teams that played important games all season. Nolan Arenado posted decent hitting numbers and played a slick third base.

The National League had a lot more starpower in its rookie race than the AL, with Yasiel Puig being the big name. Puig was front page news everywhere he went this year, and made headlines with his instinctual and flamboyant play. He also happened to put up really impressive numbers, finishing in the team's top three in R, HR, SB, and AVG.

That said, Jose Fernandez was even better. His numbers (2.19 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, over 1 K/IP) were exceptional, and his 12 wins were more than double anyone else on the team. Among a strong list of rookie pitchers, Fernandez stands out above the rest.


AL Manager of the Year - Terry Francona, Indians

It's funny, when Francona was managing the Red Sox to their successes in the mid-2000s, I didn't give him much credit. How hard could it be to win with Pedro Martinez, Josh Beckett, and Curt Schilling, right? Well, I'm retroactively giving full marks to Francona for a job well done...twice now.

If you had told most teams on September 18th that they'd have to win every game for the rest of the season to get into the playoffs, they'd have packed it in. The Indians, knowing that any loss could mean the end of their season, reeled off victories in their final 10 games to slide into the wild card game. They were knocked out by Tampa Bay, but after half a month of "win or go home" type games, I'm giving them a pass. It was a great season by a hodgepodge of characters, and for that Francona is my choice.


NL Manager of the Year - Clint Hurdle, Pirates

He took the Pirates to the playoffs.

If I were sassy, that'd be the end of my explanation, but I'm verbose, so here's a little more. The Pirates' rotation included a pair of castoffs in A.J. Burnett and Francisco Liriano, and Hurdle and his staff were able to shape them into studs. He helped Gerrit Cole to an outstanding rookie season. And their bullpen was stellar, managed perfectly. Hurdle finished third in the Manager of the Year voting in 2007, when he took the Rockies on that torrid September and October to get to the World Series. This time, I think he deservedly brings home the brass.

AL Cy Young - Max Scherzer, SP, Tigers
2. Yu Darvish, SP, Rangers
3. Hisashi Iwakuma, SP, Mariners
4. Bartolo Colon, SP, Athletics
5. Koji Uehara, RP, Red Sox

Max Scherzer got all the accolades this season, and they were all well-deserved. He had an incredible year, going 21-3 and mowing down 240 batters in 214.1 innings, a startling rate. Yu Darvish went 13-9, respectable but not knock-your-socks-off crazy. However, Darvish struck out 277 batters, in five fewer innings than Scherzer pitched. Scherzer will deservedly win the Cy Young, but it's important not to overlook the incredible year Darvish had.

Similarly, former Oriole Koji Uehara was arguably the best reliever of all time this past season, proving unhittable despite almost never throwing pitches out of the strike zone. His 101 K/9 BB rate was the best. Ever. Iwakuma had a great second season in the United States, and Bartolo Colon managed arguably his best season as a pro at age 40.


NL Cy Young - Clayton Kershaw, SP, Dodgers
2. Adam Wainwright, SP, Cardinals
3. Cliff Lee, SP, Phillies
4. Jose Fernandez, SP, Marlins
5. Craig Kimbrel, RP, Braves

Kershaw was unreal; he put up numbers like we used to see out of Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, the all-time greats. Adam Wainwright bounced back from serious injury to immediately retake the reins as the ace of the Cardinals' staff. Cliff Lee has finally solidified himself as the best Lee pitcher in baseball history, surpassing former Red Sox starter Bill Lee. He's got his sights set on being the best Lee overall; El Caballo Carlos Lee still holds a slight edge.

Fernandez had a masterful rookie season, as describe above. Kimbrel was a dominant closer for the division champion Braves. Honorable mention goes to Matt Harvey, who likely would've cracked the list if he could've stayed healthy.


AL Most Valuable Player - Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Tigers
2. Mike Trout, OF, Angels
3. Chris Davis, 1B, Orioles
4. Adam Jones, OF, Orioles
5. Robinson Cano, 2B, Yankees

Let's start out with all the same arguments from last year about Cabrera versus Trout. Cabrera generated an insane amount of runs for his team, Trout was an all-around performer. There's no question you'd love either of them on your team. I'm saying Cabrera had a better 2013 than Trout, but the argument doesn't seem to be there this year. So we don't have to fight about it.

Chris Davis and Adam Jones both had standout years for the Orioles; they get a hometown bonus. Davis set a new Baltimore HR record, forever pushing Brady Anderson out of that slot. Steroid haters rejoice. Robinson Cano had a nice year as well...probably like a $310 million season.

NL Most Valuable Player - Clayton Kershaw, SP, Dodgers
2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Diamondbacks
3. Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pirates
4. Carlos Gomez, OF, Brewers
5. Michael Cuddyer, 1B, Rockies

Paul Goldschmidt had an outstanding season, worthy of recognition, but nobody matched Kershaw in his dominance of the league. He was a force of nature on the mound, destroying his opposition every outing. He gave up zero runs in 10 different starts, and one or two runs in 14 others. In July, his K/BB ratio was 43/2. Verlander won 24 games in his MVP season, where Kershaw had "only" 16 this year, which I imagine will be the reason that someone else actually wins the MVP, probably McCutchen. But Kershaw is my pick.

Speaking of McCutchen, he posted great numbers across the board and helped lead the Pirates to their first playoff appearance since the birth of Christ I think. Carlos Gomez was also shockingly a source of both power and speed, though it shouldn't be shocking since he hit 19 homers last year. He's still not a masher, but somehow he plants a bunch just over the fences. Michael Cuddyer and Freddie Freeman were my two finalists for the last spot, but I hate alliteration.

Fun and Useful Magic Sites

With Magic's continued growth, more and more sites are popping up that are devoted to one aspect or another of Magic. Whether it's collecting the cards, building decks, playing games, practicing drafts, or watching the business side of things, Magic has become a robust topic across the Internet.

We all know about Channel Fireball and Gatherer (and if you don't, boy, I'm just giving you all the goods today), but there are plenty of other sites out there that have a ton of useful resources for Magic players. Here are a couple I've found that I enjoy.

SupernovaBots - http://www.supernovabots.com
Online card pricing

SupernovaBots is a straightforward site that offers a quick reference for determining the potential sale (and purchase) price of a card. It's a nice thing to have open during a draft, to make sure you don't misjudge the resale value of a card. You'd feel silly if you passed on a foil Prime Speaker Zegana because you didn't realize it sells for 14 tickets (aka a whole draft). Plus, the site is in plain text, so it's easily searchable using Ctrl+F. Nice little utility.

MTGO Traders - http://www.mtgotraders.com
Online card pricing

When I was putting together my commander deck, MTGO Traders was a godsend. It was a quick, searchable reference that let me find out if a card was in my price range (generally under $0.10). Between it and Gatherer, I was able to assemble a fun deck for less than eight bucks. Turns out it was outmatched a lot of the time, but regardless, the site was a great resource. It's still a great way to find out what cards are selling for.

TappedOut.net - http://tappedout.net
Deck building, cube building, paper card pricing, mock drafts

TappedOut.net is a site that I still haven't gotten all I can get out of it yet. You can create an account and save decks, posting them for review for your friends or strangers. For any deck you create, there's a link on side that gives you an estimate on the cost of your deck, and offers a link to a custom shopping cart that already includes the cards from the deck. Granted, the link you get is way overpriced, but it's a nice enough feature at least as a quick reference.

You can also do simulated solo drafts of any set you like, as well as host drafts for other visitors of the site to join and draft. This can give you a better sense of how a real draft might go. The site is a real plethora of deck-building and practice utilities, and it's the kind of site an avid Magic player can get lost for several hours. You're welcome.

Bestiaire - http://draft.bestiaire.org/index.php
Mock drafts, card rankings

There used to be another website I used for mock drafts, but Wizards put the screws to whatever site that was. Now I use Bestiaire, and I'm enjoying it. It's super easy to start a mock draft, and the AI that's been developed for the mock drafts seems to be pretty effective. Additionally, the site accumulates draft data from each mock draft that takes place on the site, and holds a running ranking of each card in each set. You can go all the way back to Alpha and they've got draft ratings (though the ratings for newer sets are a little more current).

My one complaint about the system is that it doesn't let you see your drafted cards during each pick, only in between packs. So sometimes, if you can't remember all your picks, you can make small errors, especially early on when your deck doesn't yet have an identity. Still, the mocks are super fast, so you can get a bunch of practice in a short period of time.

MTG Goldfish - http://www.mtggoldfish.com
Card prices and tracking, deck building

I just recently discovered MTGO Goldfish, and I'm just blown away by it. The site tracks card prices across all sets for both online and paper Magic cards. And by tracks, I mean that it has data for the past several years on the progression of card prices. It's an amazing tool for those of us who are interested in the economic aspect of the game. And I absolutely, absolutely am.

The site also offers comprehensive reports on the decks that people are playing in large events. For example, you can click here to see the decks that found success in a recent Pauper event. It's also got lists of the most common decks, and the variances that people play. You can check out a sample here, where the site shows the card choices made for "Bant Hexproof" decks.

If you've got any further suggestions, post a comment son.

Anniversary Show - Today!

We're finally here. Today's the day that, one year ago, these three bros started streaming pedestrian Magic and next-level jokes. Okay, it's actually tomorrow, but we're sticking with our normal Friday plan. Sue us.

Please don't sue us, we're broke.

So what do we have in store for you tonight? Well, I don't want to give everything away, but here are some highlights you can expect from tonight's show, starting at 8:00 Eastern Time:

1. Three drafts, each by a different bro!
2. Giveaways!
3. Trivia!
4. WWYD!

So come out tonight and join us, it should be a blast!