CategoryMagic The Gathering

Deconstructing Constructed – Glass Cannons In Extended

Currently, Extended is a very diverse place, which means for many of us the strategy is picking one of the top four or five decks, practicing, and trying to take the envelope home. Past some sideboard changes or a cute maindeck addition, these decks have the capability to beat the majority as long as you play well and get a little lucky at times. However, despite the diversity of the environment, a number of people are taking glass cannons to the PTQs.

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Magic Online Musings – This Week on MTGO #47

Read The Blisterguy... every Wednesday at StarCityGames.com!

The incorrigible blisterguy returns with his weekly round-up of Magical Electronica, including a rundown of the Standard and Extended Premier Event Top 8 results, and a few choice words on Dichotomancy and sugary snacks…

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Pro Perspective – Drafting Red With Planar Chaos

Last week, columnist and Hall of Famer Raphael Levy discussed the pick orders for all four Blue archetypes in Time Spiral / Planar Chaos draft. This week, Raph moves on to the Red offerings. Early indcations show that Red could be the strongest color for Limited play in the set, which means that correct evaluation of the commons in each archetype is of paramount importance. Wanna draft TTP like a pro? Raph has the answers for you…

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Ask The Drama – The Impact of Planar Chaos: Your Questions Answered

Order Magic: the Gathering Planar Chaos!For Jeroen’s stint in the Impact series, Mr Remie tackles some of the burning Planar Chaos issues that have been on your minds. His “Ask The Drama” column this week concentrates entirely on reader-posed Planar Chaos questions – he looks at the cards that are overrated, the cards that are undervalued, and the cards that will rock Geneva. He also shares his vision of Mono-Black Control for the coming Standard environment.

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Drafting With Jeroen – Time Spiral #2

With everyone’s favorite grumpy Canadian winging his way towards Geneva (to let those PT hopefuls do some real Drafting With Rich), Jeroen “Ask The Drama” Remie has stepped manfully into the breach. For the rest of the week, Jeroen will bring us a draft each day, sharing each pick and ponderance along the way. For more protracted discussion on his card choices, come visit the forums!

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Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #164 – Breaking Down Extended So Far

Finally, finally, finally Wizards has started posting the Extended PTQ decklists again. I’ve been itching to crunch numbers, but there were no numbers to crunch. Now I have chewed through eight complete and two partial Top 8 lists, and I can share some masticated goodness. I’ll look at numbers, then break down a couple archetypes. Whether you are wondering what to expect at the PTQs or looking to refine your gauntlet decks, I got what you need.

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The Beautiful Struggle – Momir Basic for Fun and Profit

I take most games I play seriously; you should see me when I’m home for the holidays playing Pictionary with the family. However, I do try to have fun whenever I can, and one way I can is to play Momir Basic on Magic Online.

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From Right Field – He Has His Father’s Eyes

Read Chris Romeo... every Tuesday at StarCityGames.com!

Today’s From Right Field comes from the trenches of Planar Chaos. Chris takes a timely look at each card in the set, and wades in with his personal opinion regarding the color pie dilemma. Have individual color boundaries remained intact, or have such disctintions been happy-slapped into submission?

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Drafting With Jeroen – Time Spiral #1

With everyone’s favorite grumpy Canadian winging his way towards Geneva (to let those PT hopefuls do some real Drafting With Rich), Jeroen “Ask The Drama” Remie has stepped manfully into the breach. For the rest of the week, Jeroen will bring us a draft each day, sharing each pick and ponderance along the way. For more protracted discussion on his card choices, come visit the forums!

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The Combat Phase – Spanish Castle Magic

Jamie Wakefield brings us this week’s look into all things Green from the comfort of a foregin shore… Spain! He takes us through the developments he’s made to his evolving Beast Attack Mono-Green deck, and shares more stories from his ever-changing life. Soon, Jamie’s Madrid Adventure will become a permanent one, and we all wish him luck. In the meantime, can his Extended beatdown machine conquer the degenerate likes of TEPS and Scepter-Chant?

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Deep Analysis — The Impact of Planar Chaos: Extended

Order Magic: the Gathering Planar Chaos!In the second part of our Impact series on Planar Chaos, Richard Feldman looks at the cards that’ll make waves in the format du jour – Extended. Sure, everyone is going ga-ga for Extirpate, and by now the world and his dog are sick to death of Damnation… but what other cards look likely to make waves in the diverse Extended metagame? Will your pet deck flourish under the Planar Chaos regime?

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Morphology 101 and U/B Pickles

One of the more popular innovations to return with Time Spiral was the Morph mechanic. Playing a card face-down feels so decadent. Of course, when a Morph hits the table, everyone has to assume it’s the perfect answer to the problem at hand. Naoki takes us through some of the finer points of Morph play, from the simple to the sublime, and walks us through a few of the Planar Chaos goodies than can spread the Morph Love.

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Removed From Game – The Stars of Pro Tour: Geneva, Part 1

As the Pro Player of the Year Race gets underway in Geneva this week, we join the walking, talking entertainment system that is Rich “moxradio” Hagon, as he begins an epic two-part journey through the major characters in the world of Pro Magic, and explains exactly why the Player of the Year 2007 will bear an astonishing resemblance to a certain StarCityGames.com columnist…

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Sealed Dissected: Planar KO

Planar Chaos has just hit the shelves, and many of you are going to be getting ready for Friday Night Magic or upcoming Two-Headed Giant tournaments. Sealed is going to be a critical skill to brush up on, and I’ll be contributing a few pieces to this esteemed site to help you get up to speed.

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Magic Puzzles – Real Scenarios

Magic puzzles can be fun, but can they help you with your play? I think they can. These puzzles often test your analytic reasoning, and what is Magic but a game of logic? A lot of games come down to finding your one way of winning, and executing that plan perfectly…

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