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The Magic Show #142 – Alara Reborn Standard Incoming!

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Friday, May 8th – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to be delving into Alara Reborn Standard. The pundits have spoken, our first PTQ results are here, and it’s time to delve into Alara Reborn’s hidden gems. Let’s go! [ Due to unforeseen circumstances, there’s no video content this week. Instead, Evan has written a normal text-only article. Normal business will be resumed next time out. – Craig]

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Magical Hack – Good Intentions, Bad Technology

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Friday, May 8th – The road to Hell, they say, is paved with good intentions. The road to Regionals, however, is paved with good intentions and bad technology. With the release of Alara Reborn just last week and firmly shaking up the Standard metagame, you’ll see a lot of good decks mixed in with the bad…

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You Lika The Juice? – Back… to the Future!

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Friday, May 8th – Today, I’ll share with you some of the new deck ideas I’ve been kicking around. Maybe with some feedback from you in the forums we could whip some of these into fighting shape. Regionals is just a week away, and let’s not forget that StarCityGames.com is having a double-shot PTQ weekend right here in Richmond, starting tomorrow.

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Reflecting Ruel – Gathering Information

Read Olivier Ruel every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, May 8th – When playing Magic, it is generally accepted that a good poker face is a considerable bonus. However, we’re not all blessed with such iron features. Today’s Reflecting Ruel sees Olivier examining those tiny tells we all likely make. He outlines what to look for, and gives excellent advice on how to improve our mental game.

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Next Level Magic Preview – Semi-Soft Locks

Thursday, May 7th – The following are passages from “Next Level Magic,” Patrick Chapin’s Strategy Guide that is being released as an e-book, here on StarCityGames.com, at the end of the month. Each week this month, there will be an excerpt from the book for your enjoyment. Today: Semi-Soft Locks.

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PV’s Playhouse – Standard Faeries with Alara Reborn

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Thursday, May 7th – Faeries, the loved and loathed Standard deck that revolves around Bitterblossom, has been on the chopping block for wuite some time. Volcanic Fallout was supposed to kill it, but it simply wasn’t enough. Does Alara Reborn offer solace to those battling with, and against, the Black/Blue Menace? Paulo reveals all!

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Deep Analysis – Pursuing the Best Windbrisk Heights Deck

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Thursday, May 7th – In the new Standard format, there are a number of cards that define our approach to deckbuilding. One of the strongest is Windbrisk Heights, and today’s Deep Analysis sees Richard Feldman searching for the ideal strategy to exploit the free spells it offers. If you’re looking for a fresh perspective on the blossoming metagame, this is the article for you.

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Flow of Ideas – A Shards/Conflux/Reborn Draft Recap

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Thursday, May 7th – Since the prerelease, I have been fervently drafting the full block as much as possible in preparation for the Pro Tour. Spare time on the weekdays has turned into frantic phone calls looking to cobble together eight people for a draft; weekends have become a blur of shredded booster wrappings and stacks of tips and Tricks cards. While I’m not a weak drafter by any means, I’ve got a lot of drafting to do if I want to stand up to Magic’s finest in Honolulu.

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The Justice League – Assembling Your Army

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Thursday, May 7th – It’s not very often that a 63/63 Legendary Human Warrior gets shut down by a 1/1 Frog. Yet there I was, staring down David Rappaport (a good friend and a great judge from Michigan), completely cold to his Spore Frog/Volrath’s Stronghold recursion. Meanwhile, Kresh the Bloodbraided glowered at me, craving blood and finding no joy.

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Yawgmoth’s Whimsy # 274 – How to Get to Rome

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Thursday, May 7th – Late this fall, the World Championships will take place in Rome. I so want to be there, but I know the limits of my play skill, and the amount of time I can devote to playtesting. If I make it, it will be as a judge. However, if you want to play in Rome, you can get there either by playing in real life, or online. Let’s look at how the two compare.

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Feature Article – Alara Reborn and its Impact on Limited

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Wednesday, May 6th – In the first of two articles on Limited, forty-card fanatic Quentin Martin examines the effect of Alara Reborn on the format. He examines a few of the unsung cards from the new set, and re-evaluates some of the cards we came to love in Shards/Shards/Conflux…

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Positive EV – Discussing Draft #4: Bant, White Aggro, and Five-Color in Conflux

Read Manuel Bucher every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, May 6th – In the fourth part of the excellent Discussing Draft series, Manuel Bucher and Olivier Ruel move onto their Top 20 card lists from Conflux, across a number of archetypes. Today, it’s the turn of Bant, White-based Aggro, and the all-popular Five-Color Control. Antoine Ruel also weighs in with his own White-based Aggro list…

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Drafting With Olivier – Shards/Shards/Conflux #27

Draft with Olivier Ruel... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, May 6th – 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!

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Chatter of the Squirrel – Constructing the Ideal Play Environment

Read Zac Hill every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, May 6th – Today, we’re talking about the mechanics of how people are affected by space. This article is about how we can most effectively manipulate the tournament environment – or, more commonly, how we can best accommodate the realities of that tournament environment by changing some of our own habits – to be most conducive to our success.

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At The Gathering – We Are Go For Launch Party

Read Jeff Phillips every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, May 6th – I’m excited by Thought Hemorrhage. It seems like a strong sideboard card for more than a few matchups, taking away a card that’s a central theme for them before they can deploy it. I know that a lot of people are dismissing it as a narrow card, and I agree that it’s probably not maindeckable, but it still seems relevant in some matchups. Besides, isn’t that what sideboard slots are for?

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