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AuthorBen Goodman

As a member of the Magic Online clan Cymbrogi, Ben has had a hand in designing and developing many successful decks, including the "Ghost Dad" archetype that he piloted to a 22nd place finish at Pro Tour: Honolulu.

Not Magical Hack — Mono-Blue in Block

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I would say that this article will be different from your normal Magical Hack, but I don’t think it will be. You’re going to hear the same kind of stories that you always do when you come to a site like this one. But my perspective is different than what it once was – since the last time I’ve written, I’ve fallen off the face of the earth, completely reorganized and relocated my life, sold off my physical and digital collections, quit the game for six months, and returned again in the everlasting hunt for a healthy yet time-consuming hobby. Seeing as I’m writing this at 1:22am, you might have guessed that I haven’t been successful at the healthy part.

Selecting 10th Edition – Nantuko Husk!

At least I can say I help up my part of the bargain the last time I went through this. Unfortunately, the other Ben resorted to babbling buffoonery bereft of brainpower and proved that he was the weaker half of the Ben squad. No more, I say. From here on out, I will only follow in the footsteps of Papa Knut, patron saint of correct choices and dashing good looks. And Papa Knut spoke unto me and said:

“You are doing Nantuko Husk. That is all.”

And the heavens shook with his words.

Battle Royale Round 3: The Ring of Fire

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Sadly for Ben, he was unable to channel the spirit of Dan Paskins, and his Mono-Red Burn deck faltered at the fifth. Just where did it all go wrong? Has Mr Paskins been lying to us all these years? Is Red actually rubbish? Ben reveals each victory and failure with his usual humorous flair…

Battle Royale Round 3: A Tribute to Dan Paskins

StarCityGames.com - Battle Royale!

After trouncing the talented Richard Feldman in last week’s Battle Royale, the Ridiculous Hat now sets his sight on the next target in the roll-call of writers… the ornery Talen Lee. So, will he bring the snakes to the fight, to fend off Talen’s probable Nephilim deck? Or will he move to pastures new? What color deck will he pilot today? (Hint: there’s a clue in the article title.)

Selecting 10th Edition – Loxodon Warhammer!

This week’s Selecting 10th Edition has become more than the face-off between Warhammer and Plate… as Knut licks his Baloth-related wounds, a Ridiculous Hat steps to the… erm… plate, elevating the contest into a Battle of the Bens! Which Ben will be victorious? Read on to find out!

Battle Royale Round 2: Slithering Back

This week’s Battle Royale sees the undefeated Richard Feldman take on Ben “Ridiculous Hat” Goodman. We’ve seen Richard’s deck, dubbed “Snakes on a Plane.” Now it’s Ben’s turn… and his deck is surprising, to say the least. A $25 Standard deck, for a best-of-five battle on MTGO, that must be capable of defeating an army of slippery snakes… Bizarrely, it seems that Ben is fighting fire with fire.

SCG Daily – Lessons from Losses: TGI5

It’s time for the last installment of my daily column, and I think that it went fairly well. I will miss writing it… As for now, I’m going to talk about a deck that is legal in the current Standard format. Some dashing young upstarts played it at Pro Tour Honolulu, but the history of it has been lost to the sands of time… until now.

SCG Daily – Lessons from Losses: Four Skullclamp

Today, I don’t think one particular anecdote will cover the extent of this lesson, so I’m going to tell two. That and bad beat anecdotes tend to be rather short due to the nature of said beats. It’s hard for one to write an article’s worth of amusing anecdote when one is out of the tournament in 3 rounds.

SCG Daily – Lessons from Losses: Three Little Words

Today I’m going to talk about the hardest lesson that I’ve ever learned from Magic. The tournament I’m about to describe was a failure before I even sat down for my first match, and the events that happened therein had a large effect on the American magic landscape…

SCG Daily – Lessons from Losses: The Second Pass

The tournament we’re going to cover here today is not necessarily a total failure – I finished in the prizes, I had a winning record, and I was one win away from qualifying. That one potential win and the lack of results thereof, though, is the crux of this article. In that sort of situation, one loss can offset an entire tournament’s worth of wins. The lesson today is one that will hopefully help change some of your tournament near-wins to tournament wins.

The Hat Rack: The Inaugural Address

Ben brings us an article free of Ghost Dad today… So what, I hear you ask, does it contain? The answer to that? Everything. There’s a look at some possible Dissension cards, Ben’s thoughts on the current Standard environment, some tournament tidbits from GP Madison, a complete RRG Draft walkthrough, plus much much more! A fine article, delivered with a fair dose of good humor.

SCG Daily – Lessons from Losses: First (and Foremost)

I’ve elected to take SCG Daily this week to further my plans of literary domination, and to continue revealing how much of an awful player I am. As you can see from the title of the article, I’ve gotten some of the best lessons I’ve learned in this game from horrible tournament failures, and I can’t think of any better way to be a helpful writer than to tell you what not to do. So listen up, kids, and don’t be like Ben.

Ghost Dad Stories: A PT Honolulu Report, Part 1 *22nd*

Magic the Gathering Pro Tour Honolulu!

Today, Ben Goodman (a.k.a. Ridiculous Hat) spins his tale of Pro Tour Honolulu. With detailed match description and full sideboarding analysis, plus insight and humor on the Pro Tour itself, Ben’s report is perfect for those running B/W at this weekend’s Grand Prix Madison. Love it or hate it, Ghost Dad will be haunting the metagame for many months to come…