CategoryMagic The Gathering

One Step Ahead – Legacy Reanimator and Standard Bant

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Wednesday, June 9th – In this two-pronged article, Gerry Thompson examines his favored Reanimator deck in Legacy, presenting a new list for the archetype he believes to be the best in the format by far. He then discusses Patrick Chapin’s Next Level Bant strategy in Standard, and suggests a few ways in which the deck could adapt for the current metagame.

Ideas Unbound – Mystical Teaching

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Wednesday, June 9th – Teaching Magic is pretty hard because there is so much information the new player has to absorb at once. Land and the mana system is fairly straightforward. Explaining creatures, power and toughness, and how combat works is relatively simple. Explaining other card types is also pretty easy. Instants are a little tricky because it’s not necessarily intuitive that you are allowed to do things during another person’s turn, but once you clear that hurdle, instants aren’t that complicated. Taken all together, however, the system is incredibly complex.

MTGCast #210 – Baby Powder and Revenge Crabs

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Wednesday, June 9th – In this week’s edition of MTGCast, the guys discuss M11 speculation, Grand Prix: Sendai, the StarCityGames.com Philadelphia Open, and much more!

Drafting With Olivier – Rise of the Eldrazi #2

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Wednesday, June 9th – Hall of Famer Olivier Ruel takes us through an 8-4 draft queue on Magic Online. He shares some comprehensive thoughts about both the picks and the games, and talks us through each step of the way! If you’re looking to improve your Limited game, this is the article series for you!

Black Magic – Understanding Standard and the Power of Fours

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Wednesday, June 9th – Standard, it seems, is packed with powerful options. Thankfully, there are many viable decks, and the all-conquering strategy is largely a thing of the past. However, this creates its own problems. Today, Sam Black examines one of the lynchpins in the current metagame: the power of the four-mana spells. How will you approach your next Constructed tournament?

Legacy’s Allure – Figuring Out the Philadelphia StarCityGames.com Legacy Open

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Tuesday, June 8th – What’s beefier and more filling than a Philly cheesesteak sandwich? Sixteen hot, steamy new Legacy decklists from this weekend’s StarCityGames.com Legacy Open in Philadelphia! You don’t need to fight over Pat’s or Geno’s to figure out what decks topped out this weekend. From sleek Zoo to hearty Lands, a variety of decks made the cutoff with lots of new tech and interesting innovations. Check out this week’s Legacy’s Allure for a full run-down on what to expect for your Legacy summer!

The Nose Knows – Everything You Know is Wrong: Standard and Legacy

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Tuesday, June 8th – Constructed metagames adapt with each new tournament, and the more successful mages always seems a step ahead of the crowd. Today, Kyle Boggemes looks at both Standard and Legacy, suggesting lists for both formats, and shares some interesting tips to help us get to grips with any given format…

Embracing The Chaos – They Built It

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Tuesday, June 8th – I had previously mentioned that for the new iteration of the Armada Games EDH League that I wanted to build a deck with cards I hadn’t previously played or wasn’t currently playing. I started thinking about what I’d do, knowing that I’d have two weeks (the week of PT San Juan and the following) to cook up something before the League restarted. Then, just before I left for San Juan, fellow L5 Toby Elliott linked me to a thread on MTGSalvation where they a) called me a geezer and b) had decided to build a deck for me.

So Many Insane Plays – Five Cards to Unrestrict in Vintage

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Tuesday, June 8th – Each June for the last three years, the DCI has made huge changes to the Vintage format by altering the Banned and Restricted list. Today, Stephen Menendian makes the case for unrestriction for five cards, each of which he believes will only add to the fun that is Magic’s most broken format. Do you agree with his choices?

Constructed Criticism – Solving Standard: A Conundrum

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Tuesday, June 8th – For weeks, I’ve done nothing but try to solve the equation that is Standard. Each week, a different deck rises to the top, only to be crushed the next week by that deck’s bad matchup, and the cycle repeats over and over again. In the last few weeks, Blue-White Control took down GP: Washington in the hands of Brad Nelson, but many other decks continue to perform on different stages.

Flow of Ideas – The Lost Journal of a Pro Tour: San Juan Beach House Participant (Part 1)

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Monday, June 7th – After three crazy days in DC, I am finally in San Juan. I am back on the Pro Tour again – and I hope this time I can stay on. I am only two hours in, and this already reminds me how awesome the Pro Tour is.

The Combat Phase – Hi! I’m Jamie Wakefield

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Monday, June 7th – King of the Fatties Jamie Wakefield introduces himself for those unfamiliar with his legacy, and has a few strong words for those who doubt him. He also tries a different spin on his Green-loving deckbuilding, and returns to a pair of numbers that have been synonymous with him since he started playing…

The Long & Winding Road – Rethinking DCI Restriction Policy

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Monday, June 7th – I want to clarify some points from my article last week, and at the same time, I expect some of what I say here will serve to set off a larger and more heated debate. In discussion on part of my last article (the part that wasn’t deck lists), it became clear that I may not have communicated some of my opinions on Vintage accurately or clearly, so I will try to do so this week in greater detail. [Editor’s Note – Congratulations, Matt!]

Innovations – Grand Prix: Sendai, M11 Discussion, and Vegas

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Monday, June 7th – In this week’s edition of Innovations, Patrick Chapin discusses Brian Kibler’s successful changes to the Next Level Bant deck for Grand Prix: Sendai (Congratulations, Brian!), what the M11 Core Set has to offer, and much more!

The Pro Perspective – Pro Tour: San Juan Disappointments

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Monday, June 7th – For Raphael Levy, Pro Tour: San Juan capped of a rather uninspiring six months of Magic. Today, he shares his thoughts on the format, and outlines his deck choice and team inputs. He also has a few kind words to say for an overlooked Black rare in Limited play…