The Casual Gamer

Modern Solitaire

For the most part I am a Standard player and a drafter. They actually go hand in hand. I enjoy deck building the most about Magic and both formats utilize that aspect in my opinion the best. Yet, there is always more I want to do with the game. That is why I have recently looked into building a Modern deck.

There are some pretty fun looking Modern decks like Delver or Storm. Again I'm a sucker for anything that is friends with blue or red. Give me both and we may start to get serious. Yet I'm not exactly looking to break the bank. The mana base alone for those decks is going to send my wallet running for cover.

I could always go with Modern Burn. I've seen some cool lists from Grand Prix decks that are only like 120-150. Yet I don't want to be stingy. This is a Modern deck after all. I won't be switching it up in a month. I'll fine tune it but it'll stay by my side for awhile. That kind of commitment deserves a higher ceiling. 

Not like 500 but something I could feel comfy with. 

Maybe half that. 

A good Modern deck with blue and red that has some flare to it for under $250. That is my goal. 

After looking around the internets I got a suggestion from a player to check out this Travis Woo Narset First Turn Kill Deck. I've written before how much I love Narset. Even better is she is pretty much at bargain basement levels right now. A play set for $6 is not too shabby. Yet there was a lot I still didn't like about the deck.

The same stuff I didn't like about the other Narset First Turn Kill Deck I had seen from Gabriel Pancerzewski at Mana-Fyx Games. For one I don't want to drop my budget on Emrakul. I love the big lug. I just don't like his price. 

I also never like the heavy exile and mulligan play the deck forced on you when I played it proxy. I toyed with the Omniscience & Enter the Infinite combo but never liked that it opened me up to being milled too easily by an opponent. Plus Omniscience at $16 a pop is more than I want to assign a fringe card. That kind of price tag goes for the card that makes the entire deck run. 

For a play set of Goryo's Vengeance your going to drop about $50. That is an Emrakul. I'd rather have that playset than any number of Emrakuls. This card is one half of the coin that makes this deck. Having one in your starting hand makes it a favorable keep. I'm not saying you won't mulligan but it will jump the value of the hand. You have the entire coin in Narset & Goryo's Vegeance for roughly $53. That is budget.

This my version of the Narset first turn kill deck. It has the ability for first turn kill but I added some substance to the deck to help it go off on any turn. It also is designed to be played like a game of Solitaire. I have a lot of time alone in the shop. This kind of deck fits my play schedule. 

Solitaire

Creatures: 8

Simian Spirit Guide x4

Narset, Enlightened Master x4

Spells: 40

Faithless Looting x4

Gitaxian Probe x4

Noxious Revival x4

Pull from Eternity x4

Spoils of the Vault x1

Thought Scour x3

Tome Scour x4

Goryo's Vengeance x4

Relentless Assault x4

Waves of Aggression x4

Fury of the Horde x4

Lands: 12

City Of Brass x2

Gemstone Caverns x4

Gemstone Mine x2

Mana Confluence x4

Sideboard: 15

Feldon's Cane x1

Guttural Response x4

Nature's Claim x2

Smelt x4

Research // Development x2

Murderous Cut x2

It's pretty straight forward. Your perfect hand is a Gemstone Cavern, Narset, Goryo's Vengeance, Pull From Eternity, and a second mana source. You want your opponent to go first because then you can play the Caverns to exile the Narset to put her in the graveyard with Pull from Eternity.

Then on your turn one you Goryo's Vengeance and send Narset off to the races. If she gets 7 attack phases then you win the game. Noxious Revival helps put extra attack turn cards on top of your deck to get free cast by Narset. Pretty much once you get two attack cards exiled by Narset the game is yours. 

Tome Scour and Thought Scour help push your deck into your graveyard in hopes of hitting Narset there or grabbing a combo piece for next turn with Noxious Revival. The Faithless looting works the same way. Also lets you discard Narset from a starting hand or turn draw. 

I don't know the exact percent that it goes off on turn 1. It feels as if it goes off very consistently on turn 2. Once the deck gets flowing it tends to have the ability to go off every turn.

This is my kind of Modern Deck.

It's budget friendly. It's flashy and quirky. It's red and blue (and everything else). It's the Modern deck I want to keep handy for the next couple years. 

I'm not delusional in thinking this build is going to be on par with Delver or Storm but I know it has a chance against any deck in the format. 

Some purists would say it really isn't playing Magic. There is no real interaction with the other player. You are basically going to a tournament to sit in front of another person for 7+ rounds and play by yourself. I say that isn't true. 

Just having an opponent forces interaction. My sideboard exists for that reason. The Grafdigger's Cage is REALLY scary for this deck to see. 

I believe nobody would want to see this deck because of the chance it goes off twice. No worse feeling than being a round from the money and you get double first turn killed. That kind of stuff gets tables flipped. 

To me this balances the scales. I can't afford the big net decks but I can afford to give myself a chance against anyone sitting across from me no matter what deck they bring to the table. 

Until next time I'll keep playing by myself.

The Casual Gamer

The Spread Offense

It's been awhile. Nearly 4 months since we began our journey into the land of Tarkir. This weekend the time stream shifts and the events of the past will be changed to alter the present.

After such a strong set like Khans of Tarkir, it is hard to be the follow up set. Khans is one of the best sets in Magic history. The fact that two cards have already found their way to the banned list, including Treasure Cruise pulling the hat trick, is a testimony to the strength of the set.

Fate Reforged isn't Khans of Tarkir. It is however one of strongest support sets I've seen. The amount of commons and uncommons that are going to see regular play across formats is a pretty impressive list. Also cards like Monastery Mentor & Soulfire Grand Master will have huge impacts on the tournament scene. All in all Fate Reforged might not start off with the kind of hype that Khans did, but after people play more with the set it will turn out to be one of the more popular sets because of all the utility and diversity that it brings to the game.

As always I have found my favorite card from the set. In fact I have two favorites. I love the card Dragonrage. It will be a card that Magic players keep playsets of for decades. At face value it is a great card for game ending finishes. Load the board, swing with all, funnel all your red mana into an unblocked creature. Good Game.

Then there are the combos that this card lets you pull off. This card can generate a lot of mana fast. The drawback is you need to use that mana during the combat phase. I have three other options for that mana besides funneling into a dragon's breath mechanic.

Option one is Purphoros. His ability for giving +1/+0 for all creatures becomes really good when you have all that extra red mana. Why pump seven creatures with seven +1/+0 pumps when you do double Purphoros for +2/+0 to all creatures and use the left over mana for an extra +1/+0 pump to whomever.

Option two is Dictate of the Twin Gods. It's five mana to double all your damage. Seven 1/1 tokens are attacking. Drop the dictate and turn a potential 14 damage into 18 damage. Gets even better with more creatures.

Option three involves my other new favorite card, Arcbond. This one is a bit tricky, and brings tons of risk. With Arcbond you can turn anyone into an insta-bomb. Add in Dragonrage and you turn that bomb nuclear.

Here is the combo:

Attack with all your creatures. When they declare blocks cast Dragonrage then use three of that mana to cast Arcbond targeting one of the blockers. Then funnel all the left over mana into the creature being blocked. The arcbonded creature will then deal all that damage to every creature and player. Add in a deflecting palm to prevent all that damage and double the damage on your opponent.

I'll give you a scenario:

I'm attacking again with my seven 1/1 tokens. My opponent has a 2/2 Runeclaw Bear that he uses to block a token. He's at 16 life so he's not afraid of the six damage my other tokens represent. 

As he declares the block of his bear I then cast Dragonrage to produce seven mana. I then use three of that mana to cast Arcbond targeting Mr. Bear and then use two untapped lands to cast my deflecting palm on the bear. I finally funnel the four remaining mana from Dragonrage into the creature being blocked to give him +4/+0 for a total of five assigned damage.

As damage resolves it would play out like this: 

He would take 6 from my tokens, then his blocker would take 5 from my attacker. That blocker would then deal 5 damage to all other creatures and players. My Deflecting Palm would prevent that 5 from me and deal it to my opponent. He would take a total of 16 damage, our boards would be clear, and I would take no damage. That would give me the game. 

(Big Thank You to MtG Judge Randy Tice for helping me cross all my T's and dot all my I's)

Using this combo, and my love for Dragonrage, I have built a new budget deck for under $50. Take a look.

"Block This"

Creatures: 8

Humble Defector x2
Mardu Scout x3
Iroas, God of Victory x1
Purphoros, God of the Forge x2

Spells: 29

Defiant Strike x3
Launch the Fleet x3
Titan's Strength x3
Raise the Alarm x4
Deflecting Palm x1
Arcbond x1
Dragonrage x4
Hordling Outburst x4
Howl of the Horde x2
Dictate of the Twin Gods x1
Triplicate Spirits x3

Lands: 23

Temple of Triumph x3
Mountain x10
Plains x10

Again with budget building there are some restrictions to card selection. Red/White Spread works really well with Goblin Rabblemaster, Monastery Mentor, and Brimaz. Yet those three will run you about 200-225 to fit into your deck. Not very budget friendly.

The idea behind the deck at your core is to spread your opponent super thin. He may have 3 HUGE creatures but you've go 13 small ones. Over three turns, if nothing changes besides attackers dying to blockers, that is enough to deal 21 damage. (13-3=10, 10-3=7, 7-3=4, sum=21). Then add in combat tricks.

Attack with your 13 and go to the bread n' butter of Dragonrage. Now you've got enough to do 23 damage in one turn with your opponent's 3 blockers on the board. Defiant Strike & Titan's Strength will help add damage to your final total while filtering your deck out. Humble Defector is good for card draw and gives your opponent a blocker when you need one for the nuclear option.

The "one off" spells are for situational flavor such as Arcbond, Dictate, Palm, and Iroas.

The Howl is great when you attack with one 1/1 then cast that for a triple cast of either Outburst or Spirits (9 tokens). Even better when you convoke down for the spirits to do it all for three mana. Also it can double Dragonrage if cast pre-combat.

Purphoros is a doomsday engine. You drop tokens, he does damage. You produce a ton of mana then he buffs your tokens. You dash out your scout, it becomes a 5 damage Goblin bomb. If I had him in my opening hand, I'd hold back token spells until I got him out. Purphoros paired with token spells is dirty.

I didn't include a sideboard yet, because this deck will require heavy play testing to see all the holes. Without direct removal there will be some who urge putting that in the sideboard. I feel that keeping removal out of the deck helps streamline the true theme of the deck which is full speed ahead with little concern for what will happen next.

Should be an interesting play and worth the $50 to put together.

What decks are you brewing on a budget? Let's brew together this Friday during our Fate Reforged endless drafts. $13 entry into an 8 person pod. They'll be single elimination pods. We'll keep drafting all night until there is nobody left to play.

The Casual Gamer

Budget Black

The new standard season is upon us. It also happens to be holiday shopping time. The worst time to be a casual gamer. Your already tight gaming budget is squeezed even more. 

Once you're done with the holiday shopping hopefully you've got forty dollars left in your pocket for fun money. If so then don't fret because you can still rock a fun deck and not bust your budget.

For fans of this blog, this very sporadically updated blog, you know my passion is budget Magic. Yes the best decks in any format cost a few hundred bucks. Look at mono-black. Just four Thoughtseize and four Hero's Downfall, two staples of any black deck, eat up nearly $150. Not exactly budget friendly for eight cards. 

Yet there are replacements like Despise & Murderous Cut. Not as strong as the staples but they do cost just over $4, or 2.7% of what the staples cost, for playsets. That is pure budget Magic. 

The first rule of budget is mono-color decks are best. The answer is simple: land. If you are playing mono-colored then you don't need anything more than basics. That's like $3 in cost for your mana base leaving you $37 for the rest of your deck.

The second rule is to find a theme or a card to build around. For my budget black deck I picked Waste Not. For one it is the card designed by the entire Magic Community during voting last year. Second, I like the mechanic of the card. It's a discard engine meaning it's fueled by discard. So I found my card and my theme in one spot, Mono-black discard!

The third rule is fitting the deck to the budget. With no huge commitment to land base and Waste Not being less than $10 for a play set, I've got $27 dollars to work with. That's like a salary cap for a pro sports team. Here is what I came up with:

Trigger Happy

Creatures (12)

Master of the Feast x4
Disciple of Phenax x2
Fate Unraveler x4
Gray Merchant of Asphodel x2

Spells (25)

Despise x3
Bile Blight x3
Sign in Blood x4
Waste Not x4
Mind Rot x4
Rakshasa's Secret x2
Tormented Thoughts x2
Murderous Cut x3

Lands (23)

Swamp x23

Sideboard (15)

Tormod's Crypt x2
Dark Betrayal x4
Viper's Kiss x3
Extinguish All Hope x2
Necropolis Fiend x2
Dead Drop x2

There is my mono-black discard deck. Not bad for less than a tank of gas (even when prices are low).

The largest problem discard runs into is your opponent running out of cards. You can't target an empty hand. That is where Sign in Blood & Master of the Feast come into play. They both are cards that help restock your opponent's hand so that you have more fuel for Waste Not. This turns a drawback for the Master into an advantage. It also can make Sign In Blood a very dangerous card come late game.

Fate Unraveler turns the screws even harder. You're putting cards into your opponents hand, might as well make them pay for it. Even having one of these guys out makes cards like Sign & Master into bigger threats.

This deck is a true mid-range deck. It sets the table in the first three turns and looks to crank up the pressure beginning on turn 4. Your first turn most of the time will be a land drop. If you have a Despise in hand then cast that but otherwise you're on drop & pass duty.

Turn two opens the deck up a little with hopefully a Waste Not but you can also use a Sign or Blight if the situation calls for it. The best play is always the turn two Waste Not. It brings your deck online.

Turn three brings most of the deck into play. You should be getting land drops for the first three turns. At this point you have to decide what the best action is. I like Mind Rot to start the discard but a Master of the Feast can really put pressure on early while keeping your opponent's hand stocked. My play would be to always choose discard first.

Once Waste Not gets going you should be drawing cards and dropping zombies. Tormented Thoughts on a Master turn 4 is crazy good. It usually drops your opponent's entire hand and you end up with a flood of cards & zombies. As you keep drawing you'll keep dropping more Waste Not and the quicksand gets thicker for your opponent.

Here is the price list for the deck from TCGplayer Mid:

That is "Trigger Happy", my Magic on a budget deck for the holiday season. You can still get Mom a copy of Lethal Weapon and play competitive magic. It's a holiday miracle. 

The Casual Gamer

The Booster Box Challenge

It's finally here, rotation. 

Goodbye Ravnica block. 

Goodbye Core 2014. 

Hello Khans of Tarkir. You sexy beast you!

The biggest challenge to rotation is finding a deck you enjoy in Standard. Most people just lost half, if not more, of their current Standard deck. That either means trying to fill the holes with a new set or scrapping the old for something brand spanking new. 

You spent two years playing Esper control, why not try Temur Aggro?

That is why most people budget bigger for the post rotation set. It's got the cards that will be the foundation for Standard for the next 18 months. You'll need more than a couple of cards to begin rebuilding or starting a new. Hardcore Magic players will buy a case of boxes (6), while the casual gamer will grab a booster box. 

So I'll ask, is it better to spend that budget on the box or on the deck? 

Me, I personally think buying a box is smarter. It gives you a good base of commons and uncommons to build from over the next 18 months, plus it gives you great trade bait to pick up the cards you want, and maybe a few extras for down the road. Sure buying an entire deck in singles gives you the deck you want but then there is no flexibility and no trade bait, outside of your money cards, to pick up some versatility. 

Yet it made me wonder, "What kind of current Standard deck could I put together for 109.99?". That's a larger budget than I usually use for a deck, but if I'm willing to drop 109.99 on a box of Khans then 109.99 isn't out of the ballpark for a deck I'll play with for over a year. 

Here is the deck I came up with:

Waiting 2 Exile

Creatures (7)

Generator Servant x4

Narset, Enlightened Master x3

Spells (30)

Deflecting Palm x2

Lightning Strike x4

Magma Jet x4

Anger of the Gods x1

Howl of the Horde x3

Arc Lightning x4

Chandra, Pyromaster x2

Jace, The Living Guildpact x2

Stoke the Flames x4

Cone of Flames x1

Elspeth, Sun's Champion x1

Dig Through Time x2

Land (23)

Temple of Epiphany x1

Temple of Triumph x1

Battlefield Forge x2

Evolving Wilds x2

Island x2

Plans x2

Shivan Reef x2

Mystic Monastary x4

Mountain x7

Sideboard (15)

Erase x2

Magma Spray x3

Reprisal x2

Negate x3

Banishing Light x2

Winterflame x2

End Hostilities x1

And that is what I'll be playing for the next few months until the new set in January.

The deck I guess would fall into the category of Tempo. It can be a burn deck or a control deck. To me it is a Narset deck. When she was spoiled about a month ago, I lost my mind. She was everything I wanted in a card and more. So I built this entire deck around her.

The mana base was most import to figure out. For budget purposes I avoided fetch lands. I feel evolving wilds are just as useful and I'll take the "tappped" disadvantage so that my fetch can grab me one of my three basic land types instead of two. 

The other big money land choice would have have been Mana Confluence but I took four Mystic Monastary instead. It gives all three mana and at end game I don't have to worry about choosing between one life and casting a spell. Confluence is great for speed decks that don't care about life totals. This deck works well with tapped lands because it is flexible in play style. 

Once the mana base was taken care of I began working on my main deck. Generator Servants are a no brainer. He pushes out Narset on turn four with haste. That puts a lot of pressure on a deck to answer. Plus he helps bring out Planeswalkers earlier or cast a Dig Through Time for 3 cheaper (2 mana, delve the servant).

The rest of the deck was just finding the optimal instants and sorceries. Howl of the Horde is a game ender. Narset triggers the raid ability plus usually provides an burn spell to copy. Nothing more fun than turn four Narset then getting double Howls plus a burn spell for the win. 

The sideboard is put together to adjust for situational match ups. Negates are more protection than control. There is only a handful of spells that can remove Narset from the field. Negate counters those. The rest of the sideboard is pretty straight forward.

Now the important part, the price:

That's a full deck and a sideboard for less than a box of Khans. I'm excited to keep tinkering with this deck but after play testing this weekend, and spending the past three weeks putting the deck together, I am confident this deck would be FNM ready for Standard this Friday.

What would you play if you had to take the booster box challenge? Aggro Mono-Black? Mardu Midrange? Delver?

No matter what you play, it's going to be a fun time. We're past rotation and that feels like a new day. 

A day full of free burn spells!!!

The Casual Gamer: I've Got Gas

It's almost the most exciting day of the summer, well besides Rex Manning Day, it's almost Magic's Core set release date. This Friday we kick off a new year of Magic with a power packed Core set. After a weekend of prerelease action I have found my favorite card from the set.

Hi, my name is Chris and I'm a red aggro addict. 

For Journey Into Nyx my pick was of course a red card. I love Prophetic Flamespeaker. Now I've found the card to complete my Flamespeaker deck. That card is Act On Impulse. An uncommon that not only has awesome art but one helluva an ability.

When you play Red aggro the biggest problem you face is running out of gas. Red just doesn't have draw power. You knock your opponent to 6 by turn 5 but by then they have their board set to handle your onslaught. Now you don't have the cards to replace your falling minions. That's running out of gas. You're dead on the side of the road.

This is why Act On Impulse is huge. It's red draw in a way that truly fits with red. 

One of my friends who plays at the shop, Brent Buchanan, plays a deck that uses Prophetic Flamespeaker. I really like the deck he plays and used it to build this mono-red devotion deck that I like to call...

"Devoted to Exile" (A.k.a. I've Got Gas)

Creatures: 22

4 Legion Loyalist
4 Ash Zealot
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Rakdos Shred-Freak
4 Prophetic Flamespeaker
2 Fanatic of Mogis

Spells: 17

2 Dragon Mantle
3 Lightning Strike
3 Magma Jet
3 Wild Guess
4 Act on Impulse
2 Chandra, Pyromaster

Lands: 21

17 Mountain
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

This deck is simple. Just overload your board with fast creatures. Then when you start to run low use cards like Mantle, Guess, and Impulse to replenish your stock. The Shrine is very important because it will provide the mana needed to fully take advantage of Act On Impulse.

Here is how a good first five turns goes:

Turn 1 - Mountain in Loyalist (attack)

Turn 2 - Mountain into Burning Trees (as many as you can play) then into a Freak or Zealot. (Attack)

Turn 3 - Mountain into Flamespeaker (ATTACK)

Turn 4 - Shrine into Chandra. (Loyalty counter and ... ATTACK)

Turn 5 - Activate Shrine and play Impulse to overload the board with hopefully a Fanatic (or two)

Yes this deck has holes. Every deck does. It also has a lot of fun in it. When you do drop your Act On Impulse make sure you haven't done your land drop for the turn. That way if you exile a Shrine this way you can play it and possibly even play another Act to really see the deck go off. The true awesome is when you hit Chandra's Ultimate and use it to do a triple Act On Impulse. 

The downside to this deck is pretty much the meat and potatoes are all cycling out at the end of September. Much like Red Aggro this deck probably doesn't have a long shelf life. That is unless Khans has a ton of double red two drops. Then we might really be cooking with gas.

The Casual Gamer

One of my favorite challenges is to build a competitive deck that is cheap. A few weeks ago I was talking with Hunter Mayes, one of our regular FNM players. He mostly plays red with either a side of black or green. He wanted to test out blue. I figured why not whip up a deck idea that costs less than ten dollars to build. Then he could try it out and it would cost him less than an intro deck to put it together. Probably less since most of the cards are probably in a junk pile. 

This deck will be a good taste of what it is like to play blue. When I started playing Magic The Gathering in 1994 I was a blue player. I always liked that blue was all about tricks. It's a color made to play on your opponents turn and a color that can shift the entire board drastically with a simple combo. Both of which I wanted feature in this deck.

When Journey Into Nyx was announced I knew I wanted to make a Battlefield Thaumaturge deck. His ability to make a spell one less mana for each creature it targets has some interesting possibilities. My favorite card to use with it is Curse of the Swine. It becomes a two casting cost card that turns every creature you want into a 2/2 boar. That's strong.

Even stronger is all those boar tokens have a converted mana cost of 0. That means you can cast a Ratchet Bomb and sac it to remove every token on the board. That leaves the battlefield open for attacks. This is why I used cards that gave draw from damage to refill my hand with more fun spells. 

Below is the deck list and in the end the cost was less than $10.00 on TCGplayer.com. Again most of these cards are in people's junk boxes. The Ratchet Bombs and Thaumaturge might be the only cards not in there.

Pig Bomb

Creatures: 19

3 Vortex Elemental
4 Battlefield Thaumaturge
4 Scroll Thief
2 Stealer of Secrets
4 Thassa's Emissary
2 Mnemonic Wall

Spells:18

4 Gridlock
4 Curse of the Swine
4 Ratchet Bomb
4 Frost Breath
2 Pull from the Deep

Lands:23

23 Island

The deck looks fun to play. It accomplishes what I wanted for a blue tester deck. It can play heavy on the opponents turn with cards like Gridlock and Frost Breath. Plus it has a quirky combo to drastically shift the game. 

It also spawned a more expensive deck idea that I've named Boar Bomb. This one I am really excited about. If I was playing this deck I'd build pig bomb first and learn to play that. Then upgrade to this deck.

Boar Bomb

Creatures:18
4 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
4 Battlefield Thaumaturge
4 Nyx-Fleece Ram
4 Scroll Thief
2 Thassa's Emissary

Spells:21

4 Glimpse the Sun God
4 Gridlock
4 Launch the Fleet
4 Curse of the Swine
3 Ratchet Bomb
2 Pull from the Deep

Lands:21

4 Hallowed Fountain
11 Island
6 Plains

This deck is set up to handle a lot more and be more effective when the board is in your favor. A little less draw but cards like the Ram and Trailblazer can handle a lot of early game rush. Plus they can block boars, which makes Swine an even stronger spell. Fleet is a kill spell when the board is open to spawn an army. The rest stays the same.

We've got a lot going on this week for Magic. Monday we kick off our Commander Mondays. We'll have casual commander play going on with sign up at 3:30 and matches at 4:00 PM. This event will run until 7:00 PM each Monday. Then Thursday we have booster draft with sign up at 6:30 PM and the draft at 7:00 PM.

Friday is our first double FNM with 19 and Under Friday Night Magic having sign up at 3:30 PM and matches at 4:00 PM. This will be three rounds and wrapping up around 6:30. We will then have sign up for our all ages FNM with matches for that beginning at 7:00 PM. Entry for both events is $5.

Finally on Sunday we have our 8th Edition charity draft. There are twelve open spots. If we have more than twelve interested there will be a drawing for the spots. Each person in the draft will pay a $20 entry fee. All entry fees will be donated to the Hospice House of Mid-Michigan at Sparrow in the memory of Suzanne Bonjour. We will also include any other donations that people wish to give. 

Hope to see everyone this week for at least one of our events.

Chris' Annual "What They Should Do" NFL Mock Draft

I'm a nerd. I'm a comic book nerd. I'm a Magic the Gathering nerd. I'm also a huge draft nerd. Football, Basketball, and Fantasy Football drafts are my favorite things. Every year I release this first round NFL mock draft where I play the GM for each team. This mock draft will probably never happen. Yet this is how it should happen.

Let's put the Texans on the clock!

Pick 1 - Houston Texans - Jadeveon Clowney - DE

If Houston doesn't grab Clowney then it is because somebody offered a ton of picks and their first born. No matter who picks here this should be the player. He's a true once in a generation player with talents never seen before at his position. If work ethic is the biggest concern then JJ Watt will make all the Texans fears go away.

Pick 2 - Tampa Bay Bucs - Sammy Watkins - WR

The Rams are great at the draft and they need a lineman. There are three good LT in the draft. They can move back to get one of them plus value. The Bucs want a WR to go with Vjax. Tampa Bay will probably give up their 7th pick plus a 2nd and a 4th to move up. It might cost them a 1st next year instead of the 4th if there are multiple interests from teams. Watkins makes Tampa one of the most dangerous young offenses in the game.

Pick 3 - Jacksonville Jaguars - Blake Bortles - QB

Jags would love to move this pick. Too bad the two players worth trading up for go at 1 & 2. Jacksonville will grab the QB they need to build their franchise around. Bortles is easier to sell to the coaches and owner than Johnny Football.

Pick 4 - Cleveland Browns - Greg Robinson - LT

Browns need a QB but they have tons of picks. They'll address that later. An elite LT is a must to win in this league. They have a stud WR and TE. Now they need a guy to keep their future QB healthy. Robinson is the best tackle and probably the 2nd best player in the draft.

Pick 5 - Oakland Raiders - Mike Evans - WR

Oakland likes over hyped wideouts. They should take a LT or Mack here. They won't. Wouldn't be shocked if they went way off the board for this pick. Evans will be some teams #3/4 WR in 4 years.

Pick 6 - Atlanta Falcons - Jake Matthews - LT

Keep Matt Ryan from getting rushed and the Falcons win. Matthews does that. Welcome back to the playoffs ATL.

Pick 7 - St. Louis Rams - Taylor Lewan - LT

Rams get the left tackle they need and grab some picks from Tampa Bay. Jeff Fisher likes players with a nasty streak. Lewan is a more talented Richie Incognito. 

Pick 8 - Minnesota Vikings - Derek Carr - QB

The Vikings will get a QB here. They wanted Bortles. If Johnny Football was over 6 feet tall he'd be the pick. The vikes draft carr and then sign his brother to play back up. His arm makes this pick sellable to the fan base, especially with Patterson to throw to.

Pick 9 - Buffalo Bills - Eric Ebron - TE

Buffalo is all about upside and potential. CJ Spiller and EJ Manuel are shining examples of this. Ebron could be the best TE in the league in 4 years. He also could be Heath Miller. Not a bad pick but not work the 9th pick.

Pick 10 - Dallas Cowboys - Johnny Manziel - QB

Jerry loses his mind with each pick that Manziel falls. He finally sells out to the Lions. He trades their 16th pick, a 3rd, and a 5th to move up to grab the ultimate ticket seller. Tony Romo throws an interception.

Pick 11 - Tennessee Titans - Khalil Mack - OLB

Titans kinda want a QB and could use a CB, but Mack drops right into their lap. The beer flows freely in the war room.

Pick 12 - New York Giants - Aaron Donald - DT

Giants like to replenish the D-Line as the solution to all their problems. Donald is the best DT in the draft. Not sexy but it works.

Pick 13 - St. Louis Rams - Ha Ha Clinton-Dix - S

Rams got their LT. Now they get to grab Ha Ha as a luxury pick. He'll help push the Rams into a top 5 defense.

Pick 14 - Chicago Bears - Justin Gilbert - CB

Bears wanted Aaron Donald. They need a CB to stop all the great wideouts in their division. They take Gilbert over Dennard because his ball hawk skills are more attractive to the Bears def style.

Pick 15 - Pittsburgh Steelers - Darqueze Dennard - CB

Steelers don't know how Dennard fell to them but they are excited. Probably the best fit between player and team in the draft.

Pick 16 - Miami Dolphins - Zack Martin - OT

Lions get screwed by their trade back by losing out on their top three targets. They decide to double down. Dolphins want Martin to sure up their O-line. Dolphins give DET the 19th pick and a 3rd rounder.

Pick 17 - Baltimore Ravens - Odell Beckham Jr. - WR

Flacco needs targets and Beckham is that kind of target. Ravens get their real #1 option.

Pick 18 - NY Jets - Kyle Fuller - CB

Rex likes defense. He loves to draft it. Jets need a lot of help but Fuller is the last elite CB left on the board. Best player available rule takes effect here.

Pick 19 - Detroit Lions - Calvin Pryor - S

Lions fear losing out on a top tier secondary player. Pryor will lay wood and probably pick up some fines for it. He'll fit in perfect.

Pick 20 - Arizona Cardinals - Ryan Shazier - OLB

This pick has been a no brainer for weeks. Shazier probably already owns an apartment in Phoenix. 

Pick 21 - Green Bay Packers - CJ Mosely - ILB

Packers fill a need. Mosely is a solid Bama linebacker. He'll be a fan favorite for years.

Pick 22 - Philadelphia Eagles - Brandin Cooks - WR

Super fast, runs great routes, and is amazing after the catch. Plus Coach Chip used to watch him burn the Ducks in Pac 10 play. DeSean Who?

Pick 23 - Kansas City Chiefs - Marqise Lee - WR

KC needs weapons. They should grab a QB. Lee will be a good Steve Smith style receiver. 

Pick 24 - Cincinnati Bengals - Morgan Moses - OT

Cinci needs O-line help. Moses will be the last gift the team gives Andy Dalton.

Pick 25 - San Diego Chargers - Anthony Barr - OLB

He plays down the road at UCLA. He is the pass rusher they need in a division with less than fleet footed QBs. He'll play well with T'eo. 

Pick 26 - Dallas Cowboys - Dee Ford - DE

The Browns get the QB they want in Tony Romo. They give up the 26th pick but get a conditional 2015 5th rnd with Romo in return. Dallas gets a speed rusher to replace Ware and sell out their games as Manziel is announced the starter.

Pick 27 - New Orleans Saints - Bradley Roby - CB

Off the field issues be damned. The Saints see talent first. Roby will start game 1 and could be the rookie of the year. He also could be the best player in prison.

Pick 28 - Carolina Panthers - Cody Latimer - WR

With Steve Smith gone then the Panthers need to fill one spot ahead of all others. Latimer is the most solid receiver in the draft. He does everything well and nothing great. At worst he'll end up the teams #2 wide out in 3 years.

Pick 29 - New England Patriots - Jason Verrett - CB

Patriots enjoy value for their picks. Verrett is undersized but plays bigger than he is. He is the kind of player that thrives in New England. The best get better.

Pick 30 - San Francisco 49ers - Stephon Tuitt - DE

Aldon Smith is one more mental breakdown from being banned from the league. Tuitt is a backup plan that could be a true stud. His motor keeps him from being a top 10 player. 49ers will fix that.

Pick 31 - Denver Broncos - Joel Bitonio - OT

Denver needs to protect the QB. Bitonio can play all five position on the O-line. He'll plug where needed and his effort will make him a locker room favorite. This pick benefits the man who will replace Peyton more than it does Manning this year.

Pick 32 - Seattle Seahawks - Allen Robinson - WR

Percy Harvin showed why the Vikings traded him last year. He's talented yet can't stay on the field. Golden Tate is a Lion. The Seahawks grab Robinson to help Wilson with a HUGE target. Great dump and run receiver. His size will help when Wilson gets flushed from the pocket.

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That's my 2014 NFL Mock Draft. Again the draft won't probably go at all like this but it should. Enjoy and remember that we draft Magic The Gathering each Thursday night with sign up at 6:30 PM.

Thanks,

Chris