AuthorJohn Dale Beety

John Dale Beety is the Copy Editor for Star City Games.

The Underdog’s Guide To Winning – Almost A Tournament Report

John Dale Beety recently had one of his better PTQ results. He shares with you nine techniques that he learned for immediate improvement in tournament play while piloting his Modern Affinity Aggro deck.

The Basic Land, Beyond The Basics

What basic land costs $65 on StarCityGames.com? Basic lands have a long, long history in Magic; John Dale Beety takes you through the best of them.

Kitty! The Cats Of Magic

When Innistrad came out, I relished its many horror tropes. The only real surprise (for me, at least) was the lack of black cats. Dark Ascension took care of that!

Dark Ascension: More Questions Than Answers

It’s Dark Ascension time! While the rest of the site drenches you in the latest Constructed tech, Limited tech, pricing tech, and possibly some biotech, I’m staring at the official spoilers and going, “Ooh, pretty.” Let’s talk about flavor!

Compulsive Research – The Future Foils League

John Dale Beety loves a good promo foil. In this article, he speculates on the future FNM promos, Grand Prix promos, and judge foils. It’s Future Foil League!

Compulsive Research – Worlds, A Vision For 2013

John Dale Beety wonders how we can get back Worlds while being conscious of the finances of tournament organization. Who should be qualified? How do we bring back National pride? He considers the options here.

Compulsive Research – The Art Of Steve Argyle

Steve Argyle will be a guest artist at the Charlotte Invitational and Open. If you’re not a fan, you will be after reading this article and checking out his amazing work!

Compulsive Research – The Most Horrible Fates Of Magic

It’s neither sweet nor fitting for a creature to die for a planeswalker, but that’s the game we play.

: The Gathering – A Russian Perspective On Magic Translation

This article is a combination of efforts from two of our SCG Talent Search Competitors. Together, they dive deep into Russian translations in Magic and the unique problems that crop up when trying to convert English.

Compulsive Research – Shopping For Original Art, Steven Belledin Edition

Steven Belledin has painted such great works as Surgical Extraction, Duress, and Exotic Orchard. John Dale Beety helps you out if you’re looking to buy a new piece to hang on your wall.

Compulsive Research – The Art Of Daarken

Daarken is the artist who did Bloodghast, Birthing Pod, and Sarkhan Vol, and he will be at the StarCityGames.com Open in Las Vegas in a couple weeks! Get your cards signed, and see what other works he’s created.

Compulsive Research – Adventures In Foreign Flavor Text

John Dale Beety mixes language, history, and Magic cards all into one astounding article on foreign-language cards and flavor texts.

Compulsive Research – Innistrad’s Flavor Paradox And More

John Dale Beety discusses the Innistrad flavor paradox, showing us some great examples of horror tropes and references within the cards, and a new decklist with Heartless Summoning and an Affinity Legacy deck.

Compulsive Research – The Art of rk post

rk post is one of iconic artists of Magic, famous for works like Ichorid, Avatar of Woe, and Voice of All. Look at this comprehensive look into his Magical art history and get your cards signed at the Indianapolis Open!

Compulsive Research – A Two-Faced Look at Innistrad

They’re real, they’re confirmed as “double-face cards” (twenty of ‘em), and they’re complicated. Let’s ask some questions about double-face cards, and get into the flavor of ’em!