About the rating you are probably right. I am currently sitting on ~1750, however on PyroWhite days I went around ~1850. Just remember most of the time you loose big and win small, so it is really hard to stay on top when you are trying different decks (I tested almost every deck in standard at some point, and lost big points with some of them ;/)Yeah, Lazer debunked the pairing myth with an ORC earlier this year (its a shame because I really believed it).
That said rating does help you form an indication on that level your on since its just based on your win percentage etc:
Less than 1500: Terrible
1500-1600: Bad, or at least very new.
1600-1700: Average. Typical of Friday Night Magic.
1700-1800: Slightly above average.
1800-1900: Good. Able to win PTQs. <-- my current level sadly
1900-2000: Very good. Potential Pro Tour caliber. <-- my level during the PyroWhite and Cawblade days
2000+: Rare Skill. Pro Tour regular. <--- is it even possible
[url=http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/misc/9198_
Getting_To_Know_Your_DCI_Rating.html]Information source[/url]
Member from our board like Josh Silvestri and Zem also rate the rating system highly, as do I.
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How did we get on this topic, anyway I agree that the communal effect really help solidify a deck list - the main problem is (as far as I can tell) is that this community is mainly R which is an issue if you love the G based strategies and for me I like anything R which produced me results (so unless M15 makes burn bad I'll have trouble not running it).
It also seem that we enjoy playing Game of Thrones the DtR version during our "debates" as well
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Back on the EV topic, I notice the .20 increase mid yesterday - I truly hope its a good sign
About R deck - I noticed the fact people here love it, however I did the best with red when I look back:
PyroRed ~~ GP Vienna time
PyroRed ~~ PTQ Time
those decks were similar, however different
Grixis Control ~~ WMCQ, time when Lingering Souls Delver was most popular, brewed by myself to destroy delver variants, didnt face a single one in swiss when field was 40% of it. Missed top 8 by loosing to Grand Architect on a win and in, 50% of top 8 was delver ...
So am looking for something with red going on for WMCQ
I dont know about burn to be honest, do see why it shouldnt be good right now, however it seems it is pushed by RDW in the agressive department.