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AuthorSam Black

Sam Black is professional Magic player who's known for his love of building decks that attack formats from unexpected angles. He's made the Top 8 of sixteen GPs covering every format as well as three Pro Tours, but he's particularly proud of his less common accomplishments, including a Top 4 at the World Championship, a win in the Team World Championship in 2008, and winning a car in 2007.

Sagas

Sam Black used to be a Dominaria doubter, but the Sagas have turned his view around! Today he explores their possibilities with several Modern brews and a bonus Standard list ahead of SCG Atlanta! History of Benalia? He has your list. Rite of Belzenlok? You know it! Song of Freyalise? Play it, Sam!

Examining Cabal Stronghold

Cabal Stronghold may be great without being totally broken. But which is it? Sam Black does the math and the work behind potential payoffs and brews up the decks that will want it for SCG Atlanta.

Goblins And Teshar In Modern, Knights In Standard

Wow. And we thought we’d seen all the brews for Dominaria! Sam Black is going in a ton of directions, and none of them have gotten their proper respect yet! Get your hands on all of them here!

Two Great Tastes Of Dominaria

Sam Black is really intrigued by two of the strangest spells we’ve seen yet! Dominaria is on its way, and Sam has tons of decks to get you going in new Standard!

Brawl!

There is a lot of joy about the prospect of the Brawl format! Sam Black, a secret lover of all casual Magic, has already brewed up a lot of decks! He can’t wait to build more once Dominaria hits!

Beating The Top 8 Of Grand Prix Phoenix

If you’re in the Modern seat for SCG Cincinnati, the Top 8 from Grand Prix Phoenix must look overwhelmingly diverse! Luckily for us, Sam Black is here to break down the eight archetypes’ strengths and weaknesses!

Early Modern Shoutouts From Dominaria

Sam Black nearly won himself a Magic tournament this past weekend, and that has him thinking: how insane is this Mox Amber card? The mastermind puts a few brews together to exploit the explosive power of the newest Mox!

Getting Weird In Modern

With Jund gaining stock, Sam Black is looking for a new path through SCG Dallas Modern! We’re used to Sam doing new and strange things, but this time he’s outdone himself! Learn the deckbuilding process of one of the best!

Mono-White Ascend At Grand Prix Memphis

With a solid 11-4 finish at Grand Prix Memphis, Sam Black sees plenty to like about the Mono-White Ascend deck he piloted! Get the inside scoop on this intriguing new archetype!

Several Different Approaches To Standard

When it comes to different format approaches, Sam Black has spent more time approaching new approaches than just about anyone! That’s why he’s got a lot of different Approach decks that you should approach testing for your next Standard event!

The Levels Of No Ban List Modern

Many of SCGCON’s attendees will have the goal of conquering the most degenerate format of them all! So how do they do it? Sam Black gets you started on the road to running over your opponents in some crazy fast games of Magic!

B/G/X Midrange In Standard: A Case Study In Building With Clusters

B/G/X Midrange brims with promise (make that an Hour of Promise!) in Standard, but what’s the best way to build it? Sam Black applies his cluster technique to explore the possibilities of Dinosaurs, token strategies, and more!

Beating Lantern Control

Sam Black was one of the most famous champions of the Lantern deck as it gained momentum! But now that it has won a Pro Tour, he knows there are many looking to gain an edge against it! Today he tells you what cards Lantern players fear most!

New Standard Decks

The Standard metagame seems pretty diverse so far, but Sam Black wants to go even further! If you’re not (somehow) into the dozen and change decks that are showing up, Sam is here to dig deeper for SCG Philly!

Metagaming In The New Standard

You may not get a better look at the new metgame than this. Sam Black goes levels deep, gives you his process, and ultimately, settles on the decks he’d start with! The Pro Tour is Modern, so he’s not holding anything back!