I spent 10 hours of my Thursday writing this.  Well, most of the "writing" time would best be described as research, as I had to learn how to do the prices, with a special thanks to Pete and his calm voice and great video making skills leading the way for me.  The bulk of the time was picking out what news to cover, and I may have over did it this week, I may not have.  I also had to pick out the Around the Web pieces and I can fully understand after just two weeks why Pete stepped down.  This is a time consuming column, and with better time management could be written in chunks each day instead of waiting until the night before.  Next week, I am going to try to write it like a living article, I guess in the sense that I start on Monday, and write, save it, and move on, repeat the next day and such.

My hot takes are going to be short this week, and basically restating what I said on twitter about the MPL changes this week. 

GerryT has been nothing but kind to me in our real life interactions.  His actions in regards to the World Championship and resigning from MPL to me, seem rare in today's world.  Gerry could have easily stuck it out and continued to do something that didn't sit right with him in the name of collecting a check.  He saw things that he considered to be wrong, stood up and decided to leave.  Gerry is going to land on his feet regardless, he's a great content creator, a great podcaster, and a wonderful member of the Magic community. 

Would I have done the same? 

I can't say that I would have.  With bills to pay and child support to take care of, I'm barely floating as it is now, I don't think I could have let my principles get in the way of being comfortable, and I applaud Gerry for doing the opposite.  It takes courage and bravery to do that. 

One of his issues was with how WotC has handled the MOCS.  It's been advertised poorly, with the bulk of the activity coming from Wizards of the Coasts social media pages.  Heck, I didn't even know this was a thing until last week when I sat down to write the column and had noticed that one of the broadcast team members said something about it on their twitter.  I didn't know who was in it until Randy tweeted out a Google doc. I know the answer is Arena, but why is the community finding out about these players from a dang Google doc? 

I've been approached in the past to do interviews with competitors in the MOCS on this site, and this year no one from WotC said a word to me.  It's almost like Organized Play and Marketing forgot it existed and then suddenly not.  With the ongoing beta test for the play lobby and continued improvements to the client, it's clear that MTGO is here to stay for a while, but why treat the biggest event, the Wrestlemania, if you will, of MTGO like it's a ring in a bingo hall? 

The competitors deserved a much better effort from Wizards after performing so well and reaching the pinnacle of MTGO competition.  It's sad that it wasn't delivered. 

Here is to hoping that the broadcast is great though! 

Standard:  This deck is pretty neat, as it allows to cast a walker that costs UBBBR and splash W as if it is no big deal at all.  I wish that Teferi, Hero of Dominaria was in the deck, but Interplanar Beacon is what does a lot of work here helping smooth out an incredibly stretched out and greedy manabase. 

4 color friends

by mindcandy

2 Dovin, Hand of Control 2 Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor 1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General 3 Narset, Parter of Veils 4 Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God 4 Teferi, Time Raveler 1 Ugin, the Ineffable 4 Fblthp, the Lost 4 Ritual of Soot 1 The Elderspell 3 Guild Globe 2 Mox Amber 3 Oath of Kaya 1 Oath of Teferi 3 Blood Crypt 4 Drowned Catacomb 3 Godless Shrine	4 Hallowed Fountain 4 Interplanar Beacon 1 Karn's Bastion 1 Mobilized District 1 Steam Vents 4 Watery Grave	Sideboard: 1 Narset, Parter of Veils 1 Oath of Kaya 1 The Elderspell 2 Cry of the Carnarium 4 Duress 2 Nicol Bolas, the Ravager 2 Teyo, the Shieldmage 2 Thought Erasure

Modern:  Ever cast Notion Thief in response to an Ancestral Recall?  Did it feel good?  With Narset, Parter of Veils acting as Leovold, Emissary of Trest this deck can do some pretty silly things.  Who cards about ending your turn with a Day's Undoing if your opponent is doing it with one card in hand? 

Pitch Blue

by Conley Wood, played by hzealot

4 Narset, Parter of Veils 4 Lore Broker 3 Notion Thief 3 Vendilion Clique 4 Day's Undoing 2 Commandeer 1 Commit // Memory 4 Disrupting Shoal 1 Engulf the Shore 2 Remand 2 Snapback 3 Spell Pierce 2 Spell Snare 2 Unsubstantiate 1 Vapor Snag 4 Mistvein Borderpost	2 Geier Reach Sanitarium 9 Island 1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea 4 Polluted Delta 2 Watery Grave	Sideboard: 2 Commandeer 1 Engulf the Shore 1 Spell Snare 2 Ashiok, Dream Render 2 Blast Zone 1 Damnation 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Tyrant's Scorn 2 Unmoored Ego

Legacy:  Teferi, Time Raveler is finding his way in Legacy as well.  Looks to be a mirror breaker for the control matches! 

Miracles

played by oddball, 1st Place

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 2 Teferi, Time Raveler 2 Monastery Mentor 3 Snapcaster Mage 2 Council's Judgment 4 Ponder 4 Preordain 1 Supreme Verdict 3 Terminus 4 Brainstorm 2 Counterspell 4 Force of Will 4 Swords to Plowshares 2 Back to Basics 2 Counterbalance 1 Arid Mesa 4 Flooded Strand 5 Island	3 Plains 2 Polluted Delta 2 Scalding Tarn 1 Tundra 1 Volcanic Island	Sideboard: 1 Volcanic Island 1 Celestial Purge 1 Containment Priest 1 Disenchant 1 Engineered Explosives 3 Flusterstorm 1 Narset, Parter of Veils 2 Pyroblast 1 Red Elemental Blast 2 Surgical Extraction 1 Vendilion Clique

Vintage:  I think this is Stax, I'm not sure, but whatever Mishra's Workshop powered beast this is, Karn, the Great Creator is here to tutor up artifacts and help lock your opponent down! 

Stax, I think

played by fredmcfred, 1st Place

3 Karn, Scion of Urza 4 Karn, the Great Creator 1 Lodestone Golem 4 Phyrexian Revoker 4 Walking Ballista 1 Black Lotus 1 Chalice of the Void 1 Crucible of Worlds 1 Ensnaring Bridge 4 Grim Monolith 1 Mana Crypt 1 Mana Vault 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 2 Mox Opal 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Sol Ring 4 Sphere of Resistance	1 Thorn of Amethyst 1 Trinisphere 3 Voltaic Key 4 Ancient Tomb 3 Inventors' Fair 4 Mishra's Workshop 1 Strip Mine 1 Tolarian Academy 4 Wasteland	Sideboard: 1 Voltaic Key 1 Batterskull 2 Dismember 4 Grafdigger's Cage 1 Sorcerous Spyglass 1 Time Vault 2 Tormod's Crypt 1 Witchbane Orb 2 Wurmcoil Engine