CategoryMagic The Gathering

Sullivan Library – Learning From Outside Sources: Magic and Game Theory

Read Adrian Sullivan every Tuesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, February 12th – Improving at Magic is a tricky skill to master. Sure, we can read the sites and practice every day, but true enlightenment is hard to come by. Outside these obvious avenues, how can we hone our talents? Adrian Sullivan believes that Magic can be found, well, anywhere. Today he takes inspiration from the classroom, and looks at how a little Game Theory can improve our skills for the better…

Insert Column Name Here – I Love The Smell Of Rare Drafting In The Morning

Read The Ferrett every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!Tuesday, February 12th – He attacks, putting me down to two. I declare no blockers, hoping he has no trick, because an Earthbrawn means the end of me… Then again, blocking means that I have no hope, either, since I’d lose a creature. And then I hope I rip a land, since I haven’t touched him; he’s still at twenty. Thankfully, I do rip a land. GG. How? Read on.

Unlocking Legacy – Mulliganing and Deck Design

Read Legacy articles every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, February 11th – Today’s article addresses a commonly made mistake – incorrect mulliganing. The underused resource of mulliganing has effects on design, and Chris talks about and how to avoid it both as a player and a deckbuilder.

Arcane Teachings – Lands Are Awesome

Read Tom LaPille every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, February 11th – My favorite card type in Magic is land. Lands make mana, which allow me to cast spells and therefore interact with my opponents. Some of them even stand in fairly well for spells a decent amount of the time. However, this extended season I have learned from working with fellow players and looking at winning decklists that not everyone shares my love of land. In fact, many people appear to have a strong distaste for playing more lands than they absolutely have to.

Drafting With Tiago – LLL #58

Draft With Tiago Chan... every day at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, February 11th – Tiago Chan, Portugal’s Magic dynamo, takes us by the hand and leads us through the choppy waters of a triple-Lorwyn draft on Magic Online. He shares each and every pick, from one to forty-five, and supplies expert commentary on the draft and the games. For more detailed information, visit the forums!

Feature Article – Building Red Decks For Standard

The Star City $5,000 Standard Open comes to Charlotte, NC!
Monday, February 11th – At any given time, the Standard metagame is guaranteed to contain a number of unavoidable truths. There will always be a Blue control deck. There will always be a player running White Weenie. And there will always be an aggressive Red deck. Steve Sadin takes a look at the archetype, and introduces a few fresh ideas into the beatdown arena…

Innovations – Gratuitous Standard Decklists (a Gauntlet Full of Fish)

The Star City $5,000 Standard Open comes to Charlotte, NC!
Monday, February 11th – Today’s Innovations sees Worlds finalist Patrick Chapin walk us through his take on the current Standard Metagame. With close inspection of both the recent StarCityGames.com Standard Open and the Japanese Grand Prix Trial – plus a healthy dose of new lists and innovations – Patrick has the inside scoop on the format. If you need a fresh edge for your next tournament, look no further!

Feature Article – An Introduction to Kuala Lumpur and LLM Draft

Read Feature Articles every week... at StarCityGames.com!
The assignment at hand is a simple one: expound upon traveling to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia site of the upcoming debut of the 2008 Pro Tour season, and discuss the brand new format for said Pro Tour: Lorwyn-Lorwyn-Morningtide draft. Let’s just get right to it, shall we?

Magical Hack – Finally, An Article Not About Goblins (…Sort Of)

Read Sean McKeown every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
With the Pro Tour in Kuala Lumpur just one week away, practice for this Limited format has been fast and furious, without the benefit of Morningtide on Magic Online to enable it in digital form. The local group of drafters and serious Pro Tour players has been focusing pretty strongly on getting as many Lorwyn-Lorwyn-Morningtide drafts in as they can, and the first thing I learned about the format is that it is very different than the triple-Lorwyn drafts we’ve grown so used to playing.

The Magic Show #82 – Morningtide Standard

Watch Evan Erwin every Friday... on StarCityGames.com!
Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to take a look at the latest Top 8 decklists from the StarCityGames $1,000 tournament this past weekend, see what hit, what missed, and how two new archetypes could be set to make out with $5,000 come February 23rd at the StarCityGames Open.

Drafting With Tiago – LLL #57

Draft With Tiago Chan... every day at StarCityGames.com!
Tiago Chan, Portugal’s Magic dynamo, takes us by the hand and leads us through the choppy waters of a triple-Lorwyn draft on Magic Online. He shares each and every pick, from one to forty-five, and supplies expert commentary on the draft and the games. For more detailed information, visit the forums!

Levelling Up – Morningtide Limited Review, Part 1

Read Tiago Chan every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Mike and Patrick brought us the Standard set review. Richard and Zac brought us the Extended set review. Stephen brought us Vintage, and Abe brought us Casual play. Today, we have the start of the Limited set review! Join Tiago Chan and Nick Eisel as they rank each Morningtide card for Draft and Sealed play, starting with White, Blue, and Black. Part 2, hosted by Nick, is on Tuesday!

Flores Friday – Dictating the Field of Battle

Read Mike Flores every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Dueling in Magic can be described in countless ways. One of the more enduring metaphors sees our glorious game shrouded in the imagery of war. When setting up on the field of battle, it makes sense that, as generals, we choose to fight on our own terms. In this enlightening article, Mike waxes poetic on ways in which we can dictate the field of battle. If you’re looking for a subtle edge at your next tournament, let Mike lead the way!

The Kitchen Table #219 – The Complete Casual Morningtide Set Review: Blue, Gold, Artifacts, and Lands

Read Abe Sargent every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Good Thursday to you all. This is the column dedicated to sending you a postcard from the realm of the casual each week. For the past two weeks, I’ve taken a more holistic casual eye to the cards of Morningtide. This article is the final part of that review.

Tribal Thriftiness #9 – An Army of One (Tribe)

Read Dave Meeson every week... at StarCityGames.com!
This week, Dave takes a look at a number of things that are small and military in nature. No, not Army brats – the Kithkin Soldiers.