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Magic is fun. For most of us, fun is what got us into the game, no matter where we may have gone from there. There are a lot of old-school pros that have dropped the game over the years. They had lost the joy of the game, and had started looking at their Expected Values on Pro-Tour preparation and the return for time spent on playtesting, and they moved over to poker where they could expect it to be “worth” it. One funny thing, though. Magic is fun, even if they stopped having so much fun with it. These old pros keep showing up again and again, not treating it like a job, but instead just realizing and remembering what a good time it can be.

When Magic Online was officially released, I bought the software. I have never bought or traded for any cards online until very recently, but my account was still valuable just to be able to watch replays of premier events. Years later, I have finally purchased my first card, and it was the bargain of a lifetime. For only 2 tickets, I now have the Momir Vig avatar, which (along with basic lands) completes the most competitive deck in one very entertaining format: Momir Basic.

The irrepressible JMS returns to StarCityGames with a Casual Constructed plea: Play Tribal Wars! In this enlightening article, Jay deconstructs the Tribal format for Standard play, and presents a handy crib-sheet for the Tribes That Can, and the Tribes That Most Certainly Cannot. Looking for a new casual challenge? Then look no further!

(Oh, and JMS? It’s great to have you back!)

Rich returns with another RGD walkthrough… one that’ll be close to every MTGO player’s heart. What do the best drafters in the world take when they open not one, not two, but three rare shocklands?

Rich has dispelled his DraftCap demons, and presents a full RGD Draft walkthrough! With commentary on all the pertinent picks, and brief asides from Gabriel Nassif, you too can learn to draft like the best!

My plan for this week of dailies was to use the new “Draftcap” software to show some drafts and give commentary on my decisions. Unfortunately I’ve been unable to get it to work properly… Hopefully I can get it to work in the next few days. For now, I’ll write about my experience at Grand Prix Toronto.

It was Dissension Release week on MTGO. I wanted to play a ton, and then try some Ravnica block ideas I had floating around.

Guess how my week really went?

This week, I opened a deck with some amazing synergy. Check this out!

• Drake Familiar can return Galvanic Arc, Fists of Ironwood, or Flight of Fancy — three enchantments you want to come into play multiple times.
• Izzet Chronarch can return Repeal or Peel From Reality…
• …which can return Vedalken Dismisser or Drake Familiar to reuse their comes-into-play effects…
• …which can reuse Galvanic Arc, Fists of Ironwood, or Flight of Fancy.

Being able to recycle Galvanic Arc three times (as I did in one particularly entertaining game) will win any number of things. And it’s just plain fun.

Chris rounds out the week of lists with a look at the Ten Mana Monsters of Magic. A Top Ten List of Ten Mana Guys… when there aren’t even ten such creatures on the Magic team-sheet? What trickery is this?! Chris reveals all…

With the Pro Tour Qualifiers for PT Kobe fast approaching, Sean looks at the full-Block RGD Sealed format, with particular reference to the Top 8 lists of last weekend’s triple-whammy of Grand Prix Action. Remember, math is your friend!

Chris is steadily scaling the Mana Mountain, and the top is now in sight. However, before he reaches the summit tomorrow, he stops off at the Nine Mana Campsite. His Top 10 list will surely differ from yours… What would you pick?