CategoryMagic The Gathering

Chatter of the Squirrel – Honolulu, and a Hole in the World

Read Zac Hill every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, June 10th – How do you talk about something like this while remaining fully honest? With yourself, with the people who take the time to read you? I ran hot. I played well, but I don€™t want to claim that I attained some newfound mastery. Bloodbraid Elf was clearly the best card in the format, so we played more and better Bloodbraid Elves.

Drafting With Olivier – Shards/Conflux/Reborn #7

Draft with Olivier Ruel... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, June 10th – 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!

Down And Dirty – Make Lands Go Boom Boom Boom!

Saturday, June 13th - SCG 5K Atlanta!
Wednesday, June 10th – With Standard PTQs continuing apace, and both Grand Prix: Barcelona and Grand Prix: Seattle informing the developing metagame, Kyle Sanchez rocks out with an intriguing take on Cascade and Land Destruction. Is this the strategy that will catapult you to a fabled Blue Envelope? Read on to find out!

[Editor’s Note: Due to a technical issue, Sam Black’s article is delayed until later in the week. Stay tuned!]

Tribal Thriftiness #71 – Lots of Magic, Lots of Thoughts

Read Dave Meeson every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, June 9th – The last two weeks were Magic-ful for Dave, who played in a Grand Prix, watched some Magic on TV (sorta), and had some 10th Edition thoughts thanks to Friday Night Magic. And so he presents another column filled with distractions, dissertations, and desserts. That’s right, there’s dessert in there.

The Starkington Post – Weekly Digest

Read the Starkington Post!
Tuesday, June 9th – In the past seven days, The Starkington Post (Bill Stark’s daily Magic blog) has brought us extensive coverage from the Mustache Invitational, a look at the Magic Online Championship Series Block Constructed decks, and more!

Legacy’s Allure – Cleaning The Legacy Banned List

Read Doug Linn every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, June 9th – The Legacy Banned list includes over sixty cards, the longest banned list of any format in Magic. Doug proposes nearly a dozen cards that could and should come off of the Legacy Banned list. Read why Doug considers unbanning cards that few people will play is a worthwhile endeavor and why some cards that used to have a lot of bite are tame by today’s standards. Get the evaluations before the June Banning announcements and weigh in with your opinion as well!

Sullivan Library – 2C5C: The Two-Color/Five-Color Shards Draft

Read Adrian Sullivan every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, June 9th – Adrian Sullivan believes he’s uncovered the solution to drafting Shards/Conflux/Reborn: The Two-Color/Five-Color archetype! Today’s Sullivan Library sees Adrian examine the strategy in depth, with a full walkthrough and some interesting choices. Enjoy!

Positive EV – The Formats of Pro Tour: Honolulu

Read Manuel Bucher every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, June 9th – Manuel Bucher’s performance at Pro Tour: Honolulu wasn’t quite enough to see him into Day 2. Nevertheless, he believes he’s made some profound discoveries regarding both Shards Block Constructed and Shards Block Draft. He dislikes the first format, but has recently reached an epiphany regarding the forty-card format. If you’re struggling to win in Shards/Conflux/Reborn, Manu has the advice you need!

The Long & Winding Road – Lotus Notes

Read Matt Elias every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, June 8th – Last week, I discussed the potential advantages you can gain by playing a deck that, despite being a solid performer, is off the “radar” of the majority of players. This advantage can be magnified when you take the core of an existing deck and move it in a different direction, or create a new deck that other players haven’t seen before.

Constructed Criticism – A Standard Understanding: Prepping for the $5000 Standard Open

Saturday, June 13th - SCG 5K Atlanta!
Monday, June 8th – The StarCityGames.com $5000 Standard Open is coming to Atlanta on June 13th (as well as a PTQ on the 14th), and I am here to provide you with some of my thoughts about the current format. I’ve been battling on Magic Online for plenty of hours, bashed a few PTQs, read coverage of the recent Grand Prix tournaments, and feel like the format is shaping up to be awesome

So Many Insane Plays – Magical Mixed Bag

Read Stephen Menendian every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, June 8th – In today’s article, Stephen takes a look at a fun Rotisserie draft format that is of interest to Eternal players, speculates on the implications of a potential major rules change, tries to break a Hidden Gem, and shares personal insights into what it means to play Magic…

Innovations – Pro Tour: Honolulu Tournament Report, Part 1

Read Patrick Chapin every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, June 8th – At Pro Tour: Honolulu, Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin helped design and perfect the powerful Five-Color Cascade deck that powered Zac Hill to the Top 8. Today, he shares some fun from Day 1 of the PT, and talks about the Block Constructed metagame in general.

Insert Column Name Here – Politics and the Stages of Multiplayer

Read The Ferrett every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!Monday, June 8th – Last week, I discussed Patrick Chapin’s Three Stages of Game Development and how they apply to multiplayer Magic. And today, we’ll discuss how those stages apply to everyone’s favorite topic in multiplayer Magic: politics.

Reflecting Ruel – Sleepless in Tacoma

Saturday, June 13th - SCG 5K Atlanta!
Friday, June 5th – Those of us that read Wednesday’s Drafting With Olivier will have picked up that Olivier didn’t have much fun in Seattle. Today, he tells us exactly what went wrong… and what, at the end of the weekend, went right.

You Lika The Juice? – My Magic Origin

Read Bennie Smith every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, June 5th – The Origins theme week over at MagictheGathering.com has had me waxing nostalgic of late. I’ve been playing Magic a really long time – since Unlimited and Arabian Nights packs were available for purchase – but I often forget just how disconnected that time is for many of those who play the game now.