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From The Lab – Planar Chaos White in the New Standard

Can it be true? Has Craig “The Professor” Jones really turned his back on the Dark Side in order to embrace the Light? Are his fabled tales of scorpion pit-traps and buckets of soapy frogs now a thing of the past? In today’s edition of From The Lab, Prof cooks up a set of exciting and playable decks based around the White cards in Planar Chaos. Hopefully this dalliance with the Forces of Justice will be short-lived, and he’ll be back to his diabolic ways soon…

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Flores Friday – Rebuttal: An Alternate Rule of Engagement

Earlier this week, Richard Feldman offered his “Rules of Engagement” for the current complex Extended format. While his argument held weight, Mike Flores respectfully disagrees with his assertions. Indeed, Mike believes that the current Extended format, far from being an ornery bramble-patch of treachery, is actually one of the more simplistic formats we’ve ever faced. Intrigued? Then read on…

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Peebles Primers – Time Spiral Block Constructed

Benjamin Peebles-Mundy continues his excellent series of primer articles with a formative look at four decks that should cause a splash in Time Spiral Block Constructed. Teferi COntrol, White Weenie, and Scryb & Force all come under his microscope… as does an interesting concoction known as Powerglove.dec. With Planar Chaos in the Block Constructed mix, it’s time to take up the Block challenge. Are you ready?

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Levelling Up – Pro Tour: Geneva: Day 2

Day 1 at Pro Tour: Geneva saw Tiago fighting for his Magical life after posting a 0-2 start. With a little luck and a lot of skill, he secured himself a Day 2 berth. Today’s Levelling Up continues the story, covering Drafts 3 through 5. Tiago also gives us his opinion on the U/W control draft archetype, and shares his thoughts on what to draft in TTP.

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Feature Article — Drafting With Planar Chaos

Julien Nuijten, part of the team that won this years Limited World Championship crown, brings us his thoughts on drafting with Planar Chaos. He outlines his favorite strategies, highlights some overdrafted and underdrafted cards, and shares a few tips and tricks for the coming Two-Headed Giant tournaments.

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Ask The Drama — Playtesting, Pros, and Two-Headed Giant

After Jeroen’s impassioned plea for questions last week, the Magic community rallied round and sent ‘em in by the dozen. Mr Remie casts his experienced eye over topics as diverse as proper playtesting techniques, the lack of characters on the Pro circuit, and Two-Headed Giant Sealed deck. And in light of his perceived reputation — that of negativity — he promises to be super-positive today!

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Pro Perspective — Extracts From A Pro Diary: Dallas Bound

Raphael Levy set off for Grand Prix: Dallas with a pocketful of decks and a confused mind. While he had options, he hadn’t a clue on the final 75-card conficuration he’d be running. After much back and forth deliberation, and a modicum of advice from some of the Magic Elite, he settled with Gaea’s Might Get There… and it paid out in spades. For more fun tales of preparation and play, read on!

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Deep Analysis – The Rules of Engagement

With GP: Dallas behind us, it’s time to take stock of the most varied and entertaining Extended format for some years. Today’s Deep Analysis sees Richard attempt to define exactly what became of the metagame, and create a workable set of format provisos (the Rules of Engagement) from which we can move forward. In this open and troubling format, how can we approach our future deck decisions with any level of success?

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The Combat Phase — Green Arena

Green is the topic du jour amongst the Magic populace at large… and who better to wade into the debate but the King of the Fatties himself? Jamie adds his own two cents to the Power of Green Debate, and shares a nifty Time Spiral Block deck that harnesses the power of the Forest. Looking for something more visceral than the trickiness of Vesuvan Shapeshifter and pals? Then this is the deck for you!

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Feature Article – Making Top 8 at Pro Tour: Geneva

Kenji Tsumura is on a roll. Of course, you all know this… Top 8 perfomances litter his biography like so much cheap confetti. Today, Kenji brings us the story of his Top 8 performance at Pro Tour: Geneva, in ideal time for the online release of Planar Chaos. He also shares his own personal breakdown of the cards to draft in TTP. The Japanese are the current powerhouses of Magic, and their advice is unmissable.

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So Many Insane Plays – An Honest Look At the Vintage Restricted List

The Vintage Restricted list is a source of constant controversy. In Magic’s broken format, it’s safe to say that constant policing of degenerate possibility is a must in order to promote a healty balance for the game. Stephen takes a brutal and honest look at the policy in years gone by, and comes up with some startling suggestions for improvement.

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Limited Lessons — A Two-Headed Giant Draft Walkthrough

The forums demanded, and Nick delivers! Today’s Limited Lessons examines a complete Two-Headed Giant Draft from picks 1 and 2 to the very end. Nick leads us by the hand through the rocky waters of bizarre pick orders and differing card evaluations. There is some strange fruit to be sampled in this format… don’t be left behind!

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From The Lab – Blue in Planar Chaos Standard

Craig “The Professor” Jones has been laid low by a virulent strain of rampaging anthrax- sorry, I mean influenza. Nevertheless, his illness hasn’t stopped him from knocking up a collection of interesting Standard decks based on the Blue cards from Planar Chaos. With the online release mere days away, now is the perfect time to get the heads-up on the exciting new metagame! All this, and some tips for Two-Headed Giant too!

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Flores Friday – Three Perspectives: A New Deck for Extended

In this week’s Flores Friday, Mike takes a retrospective look at his origins as a deckbuilder. He also tips his hat to his own personal muse, and presents in intriguing five-color Extended deck that wins in a variety of entertaining ways. The current Extended format is packed with a myriad of known and popular decks… Maybe this rogue choice is the true path to success.

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Peebles Primers – U/G Opposition in Extended

The current Extended format is a mulit-headed monster. Just when you think you’ve grasped the marrow of the metagame, a new deck springs up and kicks you in the kidneys. A few weeks back, the U/G Opposition deck caused a Top 8 splash, and this unappreciated strategy has been gathering momentum ever since. Fancy winning in Extended with three-mana 1/1 guys? Then this is the article for you!

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