CategoryMagic The Gathering

Insider Information – The Standard Gauntlet

Read Cedric Phillips every week... At StarCityGames.com!
Friday, October 9th – The StarCityGames.com $5000 Standard Open in Philadelphia is tomorrow, and Cedric has the perfect article for everyone playing! He shares his idea of the current Standard metagame, with decklists aplenty, and includes a cool rogue deck he feels may have a shot. If you’ve not yet chosen your weapon of choice, let Cedric lead the way.

PV’s Playhouse – How to Avoid Bad Ideas

Read Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, October 9th – We’ve all had bad deck ideas. We’ve all had good deck ideas. Today, Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa shows us how to avoid the former and embrace the latter. With Zendikar adding a fresh batch of goodness to the Constructed mix, can PV lead us towards breaking the format?

Reflecting Ruel – Mistakes to Avoid

Read Olivier Ruel every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, October 9th – Olivier Ruel, currently travelling the world for a myriad of Magic tournaments, brings us an interesting article that outlines a selection of common mistakes that hinder our Magic development. If you feel you’re stuck in a rut and finding it difficult to improve, Oli has the answers…

MTGCast #175 – I’m All Out Of Bubblegum

Listen to MTGCast every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, October 8th – On this week’s edition of MTGCast, there’s talk on Priceless Treasures, all-foil boosters, Zendikar draft, and more!

The Justice League – The Big Show

Read The Justice League every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, October 8th – The year is 2006. The location is Charleston, South Carolina. Your humble author, after a couple years of working PTQs and Prereleases in game stores and convention centers throughout New England, steps onto the floor of his first Pro Tour…

Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #296 – If the Shoe Fits…

Read Peter Jahn... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, October 8th – Judging is a pretty thankless job. You are noticed, almost exclusively, when you screw up. The rest of the time, you have to be alert and working all the time. There are exceptions. Every once in a while, a player thanks you for judging. That really does help a long, hard day finish on a positive note. Those exceptions aside, though, judging is a lot of work.

Flow of Ideas – Introducing Sphinx Control in Standard

Read Gavin Verhey every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, October 8th – While all of my friends have been busy playtesting Extended and draft, I have been testing like mad for the upcoming LCQ in Austin. Ever since the spoiler hit, I have been working on Standard decks. Never have I turned down so many booster drafts in my life!

Drafting With Olivier – ME3 #5

SCG 10K Philadelphia... the first major event featuring Zendikar!
Thursday, October 8th – 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!

The Dragonmaster’s Lair – Drafting Zendikar

SCG 10K Philadelphia... the first major event featuring Zendikar!
Thursday, October 8th – Pro Tour: Austin is fast approaching, and while Extended is on everyone’s mind, there’s also the little matter of six rounds of Zendikar Draft! Brian Kibler has been preparing long into the night, playing a multitude of drafts in order to gain insight on the format. He shares some important lessons today…

Sullivan Library – Standard’s Brave New World

SCG 10K Philadelphia... the first major event featuring Zendikar!
Thursday, October 8th – With the StarCityGames.com $5000 Standard Open in Philadelphia this Saturday, Adrian Sullivan takes a look at the countermagic available to potential Blue spellslingers. With Cryptic Command gone to the big Extended table in the sky, what do we have as a replacement?

The Kitchen Table #306 – Zendikar and Five

Read Abe Sargent every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, October 7th – Today, I want to do my regular review of the latest set with an eye towards Five Color and other casual formats, like Peasant and Pauper-Prismatic-Singleton online, highlander, multiplayer and more. Instead of a typical set review, which lists every single card and then says whether they are good or not, I am just going to mention the hits. These are the cards I expect to see played regularly.

At the Gathering – Giddy like a Schoolboy

Read Jeff Phillips every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, October 7th – Zendikar Prereleases and Launch parties have passed, and we’re now getting into the Constructed portion of our thinking. However, there are still plenty of people drafting out there. My store, which normally has preferred Constructed for their regularly scheduled programming, is actually planning to rotate between Constructed and Draft every other week. Zendikar is a hit, and people everywhere are wanting to draft.

Thirst For Knowledge – Zen and the Art, Part 2

Read Chris Jobin every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, October 7th – I’ve known many players in my years spent playing Magic that have told me that they enjoy Limited far more than Constructed, and I’ve personally just never felt that way. Even when Standard degenerated into a joke like Lorwyn Standard, I still would rather sleeve up 60-card decks as opposed to a draft deck. While that hasn’t necessarily changed for me, Zendikar is beginning to show me why so many players worldwide value Limited so highly.

Down And Dirty – Test Decks With Zendi Cards, Part 2

SCG 10K Philadelphia... the first major event featuring Zendikar!
Wednesday, October 7th – Zendikar is here, and Kyle has more standard decks for our consumption! Today, he tackles a selection of Red strategies, a funky artifact build, and a Five-Color Green Mana Ramp deck. With this weekend’s StarCityGames.com $5000 Standard Open in Philadelphia on the horizon, does Kyle have the key to the current Standard kingdom?

Positive EV – Zendikar Impressions, Part 2

SCG 10K Philadelphia... the first major event featuring Zendikar!Wednesday, October 7th – Last week, Manuel Bucher shared his experiences of Zendikar in Limited play. Today, with many more drafts under his belt, he brings us a fresh batch of insights into the cards he feels are stronger or weaker than they first appear…