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It's not every day you get to chat with some of the best Magic players around, but today's not just "every day", it's Pro Tour Friday! I've composed a suite of 5 short questions that Pros can quickly answer in between rounds, which I think will give us a great snapshot of what the best of the best are thinking coming into this weekend. Here's a run-down of what they said*.
First, what's your favorite BFZ card and why?
Patrick Chapin: Ob Nixilis - I like drawing cards and it's fun.
Owen Turtenwald: Woodland Wanderer - just a cool card, fun, giant, not boring because you need to play it in a 4-color deck. Most fun
Shaun McLaren: Ob Nixilis - Cool art, powerful Planeswalker.
What card do you hope you don't have to play against this weekend?
Patrick: The Great Aurora - if someone casts it against me I missed something in testing, and if it's on the stack i'm probably already losing.
Owen: Temur Battle Rage - games don't last too long when people cast it.
Shaun: Planar Cleansing, Dampening Pulse in draft.
Are there any cards that surprised you or your team in testing, either by over- or under-performing?
Patrick: Silkwrap overperformed - it's the only card for 2 or less mana that can beat a Jace or Hangarback Walker on the draw. Despise too, for similar reasons. Duress, Negate, both are really good, too.
Owen: Anticipate overperformed.
Shaun: Clash of Wills, it's not on everyone's radar.
What's the best card no-one's playing?
Patrick: Ulamog, It's like Dragonlord Atarka for only 3 more mana!
Owen: Ultimate Price - every deck has Jace, so its a great cheap answer. Not as popular as expected.
Shaun: Clash of Wills.
In a few words, what is the key to BFZ Standard?
Patrick: Fetching up battle lands.
Owen: Play 4 or 5 colors. Either you play mono-red or a 4-color deck.
Shaun: Tempo.
You can expect many more of these throughout the weekend as we continue our live on-site coverage of Pro Tour: Battle for Zendikar, only for QS Insiders!
* These are paraphrased answers, not exact quotes, but they accurately represent what was said!
