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AuthorZvi Mowshowitz

Hall of Famer Zvi Mowshowitz is widely considered one of the world's best deckbuilders and players, a rare combination. He Top 8ed four Pro Tours, winning two, and eight Grand Prix, winning two. He tests with Team SCG when he's not busy with his day job.

Foundations of Kamigawa Block (Part 2 of 2)

Zvi wraps up his survey of Kamigawa Block Constructed with thoughts on what Red and Green bring to the table as well as providing an astounding ten potential decklists for Pro Tour: Philadelphia and the Block Queues on Magic Online.

Foundations of Kamigawa Block (Part 1 of 2)

Today Zvi begins his examination of Kamigawa Block Constructed, stripping each color down to its building blocks to seek out the real power and synergy in the format. Why should you listen to Zvi when he talks about Block? Because the Block Constructed Pro Tour Winner’s Trophy on his mantle says so!

The Art of Team Drafting

The first decision of every draft is whether the team that wins the die roll wants to kick off or receive. There are those who think this is a decision, but I am not one of them. In this article I will explore one of the most crucial decisions you will face in Team Rochester and explain how this single choice determines the path of the entire draft.

One Last Final Last Pro Tour

What do the secrets of Team Limited, swords of meat, the decline of American Magic, Wake Forest, and I Blame Bung have in common? They are all covered in Zvi’s lastest article documenting his thoughts on what is likely his last Pro Tour.

Two Extended Formats, Two GPs

Today Zvi muses on the best versions of the best decks to come out of the last two Grand Prix weekends, including Tsuyoshi Fujita’s incredible Sneak Attack deck. Still think the deck is a fluke? Here’s a preview of Zvi’s analysis which includes an optimized decklist: “I love this deck. It goldfishes better than any other deck in the format…”

Extended: A Tale of Two Formats

Zvi examines why there are two different Extended formats being played right now, tells you what decks you should and should not be playing, and requests that all of you Rock players out there stop bringing sticks to gun fights. The Mad Scientist also addresses your forum feedback and a variety of community issues all in one fell articulate swoop.

Chewing Gum in Singapore

For months now, Arcane has been a deck whose time had not yet come. It was always interesting, but few could doubt that such decks were outclassed in Standard while Block has yet to become important. Betrayers offered a number of new cards to add to the mix, but it was not until the announcement of The End of Affinity that it became time to look at a possible Standard build of an Arcane deck. The point of playing Arcane is to play two categories of cards – arcane spells and cards that reward you for Arcane spells. Before deciding on a theme, it would be best to meet the components.

Betrayers of Kawigawa: Standard Applications

Zvi begins to apply Betrayers of Kamigawa cards to Standard in order to gauge whether any of them will change both the current metagame and the post-banning one that will be coming in March. He also includes a new Red deck in Standard, weighs in on Aaron Forsythe’s announcement from Friday, and gives his opinion on the current Invitational voting.

The Betrayers of Kamigawa Set Review: Green, Artifacts and Lands

In Zvi’s wrap-up, he details whether or not Green got the shaft in Betrayers (as usual), checks under the hood for playable artifacts and lands, and lists his Top 9 cards of the set. If you’ve been following along, or even if you haven’t, this is not to be missed!

The Betrayers of Kamigawa Set Review: Red

“That’s an impressive list of interesting cards in a color not known for producing a lot of midlevel playable cards. Red gets some creatures for block, a few for Standard, and with XXXXX, quite possibly one for the ages.” Which cards is Zvi talking about? You’ll have to read it to find out!

The Betrayers of Kamigawa Set Review: Blue and Black

Zvi continues his review today with the Blue and the Black cards. Which cards does he signify as platinum hits and which hyped cards does he say you can pass on? You’ll have to check inside for the goods.

The Betrayers of Kamigawa Set Review: White

The set review master returns to deliver insight and analysis only he is capable of. Today Zvi starts with the White cards, ranking every card for Constructed use, and even includes his own personalized flavor text for each review. If you’ve never read a Zvi set review before, we recommend that you sign up now and check it out!

Guess Who’s Back?

Zvi returns with an incredibly thorough fourteen-page analysis of Extended Affinity. Learn why he’s not holding back any of his tech, then check out his four updated versions of this Extended powerhouse!

Clear The Land And The Fundamental Turn

Editor’s Note: A long time ago, the first Magic website was The Dojo – a site that is still legendary for publishing some of the most fundamental principles of Magic. Almost all strategical theory can be traced back to the Dojo’s loyal writers, and any serious Magic player owes these old vets a debt of…