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Innovations – Five-Color Blood in Regionals, and Decks I Dislike

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Monday, May 18th – Regionals have come and gone, and results should be rolling in soon. Today’s Innovations sees Patrick Chapin discuss Five-Color Blood and its place in the evolving metagame, before moving on to an illuminating breakdown of the decks that Patrick doesn’t believe can cut the mustard in modern Standard…

So Many Insane Plays – Exploring Possible Unrestrictions: Designing for Balance, Channel, and More!

Read Stephen Menendian every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, May 18th – Last week, Vintage maestro Stephen Menendian explored the problem of a Vintage format dominated by Mana Drain strategies. Today, Stephen takes a look at some innovative solutions for answering the questions asked by this dominance. He analyses the Banned and Restricted list, and suggests that unrestriction may be a way to balance the teetering metagame…

Drafting With Olivier – Shards/Shards/Conflux #32

Draft with Olivier Ruel... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, May 18th – 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!

Legacy’s Allure – Test Smart!

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Monday, May 18th – Do you make the most of your testing time? Do you sit around after an event, thinking you should have spent more time solving how your deck handles Blood Moon? Do you feel like your friend wastes your time when you get together to test out new, rogue decks for Legacy? Get the answers inside, in an article that promises to help not only the Legacy regular, but a player in any competitive format. Use your time to test smart, not hard!

The Long & Winding Road – Regionals Wreckage

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Monday, May 18th – You know that feeling you get when you know you’re making a mistake, but you feel helpless to stop yourself? For example, have you ever been at the bar and known that this drink, the one you have in your hands, is the one that’s going to push you over the limit? That was how I lost two matches at Regionals.

The Kitchen Table #285 – What is Wrong With You Commander Players?

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Monday, May 18th – I’ve written articles on Elder Dragon Highlander before, and I enjoy the format. Other writers talk about it more often, so I’ve allowed them to take up the space on this format, but I still like it. EDH is enjoying a great bout of sunshine as the casual format du jour, and no one knows whether it will be long lasting or not.

Reflecting Ruel – Discussing Draft #6: Naya, Bant, Exalted, and Five-Color in Alara Reborn

Read Olivier Ruel every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, May 15th – In the final article in the Discussing Draft series, Olivier Ruel and Manuel Bucher discuss their personal Top Picks from Alara Reborn in the Naya, Bant, Exalted, and Five-Color archetypes! With the multicolour madness coming to MTGO soon, this is perfect timing for those looking for tips in the newest forty-card format.

Feature Article – Combo Elves in Standard

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Friday, May 15th – In 2007, Uri Peleg and his Doran-led army took down Patrick Chapin in the final match of the World Championships. With Standard on everyone’s mind, the ex World Champion brings us an intriguing deck that attacks the format on an under-utilized front. Everyone knows that Combo Elves kicks butt in Extended… Can it do the same at Regionals?

Drafting With Olivier – Shards/Shards/Conflux #31

Draft with Olivier Ruel... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, May 15th – 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!

The Magic Show #142a – Your 2009 Regionals Metagame

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Friday, May 15th – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re back, and we’re just twenty-four hours from one of the biggest tournaments of the year: Regionals. This week we’re going to look at what everyone else is playing, what you should be playing, and what I’m wielding in this wacky, wild and token-filled metagame. Let’s go!

Magical Hack – Hacking Regionals 2009

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Friday, May 15th – Previous analysis for the Conflux Standard format showed that Cedric Phillips’ Red/White Kithkin deck was pretty much awesome, and one of the highest-competing decks in the format by the numbers. Success rates were dramatic for the few people who chose to play the deck at Pro Tour: Kyoto. But with the change of the format to include Alara Reborn, I asked a very simple question: what happens if we cut the Red for Black, and play Zealous Persecution?

You Lika the Juice? – Surprise… It’s Regionals Already!

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Friday, May 15th – Last week I wrote about a couple of decks, and I pretty much had settled on two for the PTQ weekend, one of which was the Black/Green “Neo-Elves” Rock deck. The other deck was a Cascade deck…

PV’s Playhouse – Drafting Masterclass

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Thursday, May 14th – Drafting successfully is, in part, an incredible juggling act. There are many balls to keep in the air at once. Rating cards on the fly, knowing when to hate draft, choosing between a fringe playable and a solid sideboarding option – all these skills go toward creating a 3-0 deck. Today, Paulo takes us through some of the more esoteric concepts behind the forty-card format…

Deep Analysis – On Deckbuilding

Read Richard Feldman every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, May 14th – Richard Feldman has created a plethora of powerful rogue creations down the years, with some of his builds propelling their pilots to the pinnacle of the game. Today, in his penultimate article, he brings us some invaluable insight into his personal deckbuilding process…

Flow of Ideas – Preparing For Regionals 2009

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Thursday, May 14th – It’s the week of Regionals and everyone is scouring about for the latest in technology. Alara Reborn is being added into the mix, and it’s making quite an impact. What’s easy to forget is how much information is out there about the format.