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The Long & Winding Road – Game Spots, Game Shots

Read Matt Elias every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, June 1st – When I was younger, I used to play a lot of basketball. . One of my coaches had a saying that he repeated ad nauseam: “Game spots, game shots!” . If you were spending your time in practice taking shots that you weren’t going to be taking during games, you were wasting everyone’s time, especially your own. The best way to improve your game is to treat practice as the real thing, and develop the skills you need to actually succeed come game time.

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PV’s Playhouse – Swans in Barcelona

Saturday, June 13th - SCG 5K Atlanta!
Friday, May 29th – Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa was instrumental in the design of the Standard deck that took Barcelona by storm: Cascade Swans. Today he shares the story behind the creation of the deck, and talks us through his perfect performance on Day 1 of the Grand Prix!

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The Magic Show #144 – Much Ado About Swans

Saturday, June 13th - SCG 5K Atlanta!
Friday, May 29th – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to take a look at the GP: Seattle metagame, how Swans crushed in Barcelona, and how this new combo deck will be seen everywhere this weekend. Let’s go!

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Magical Hack – Examining Barcelona

Saturday, June 13th - SCG 5K Atlanta!
Friday, May 29th – There is something so very clever about the Cascade Swans deck. Cascade is clearly at its most powerful when it is pure tutoring instead of merely card-and-mana-advantage but with a random effect generated on top of the spell, and one of the potential answers to doing this is to just play an awful lot of lands and not a lot of spells.

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You Lika The Juice? – Standard: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Saturday, June 13th - SCG 5K Atlanta!
Friday, May 29th – Windbrisk Heights shows up in 45% of all Top 8 decks at Regionals. Forty-five percent! That’s just insane. Used to be when formats grew so warped around a particular card or strategy, the Magic Community would let out a howl and Wizards would listen and react in some way…

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Drafting With Olivier – Shards/Conflux/Reborn #3

Draft with Olivier Ruel... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, May 29th – 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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Reflecting Ruel – Intelligent Netdecking 2: Turbo Fog in Barcelona

Saturday, June 13th - SCG 5K Atlanta!
Friday, May 29th – Earlier this week, Manuel Bucher and Olivier Ruel discussed the process of Intelligent Netdecking, or taking a deck from an established source and improving on the choices. Today, Oli and Manu discuss their changes made to their Turbo Fog deck before Grand Prix: Barcelona. They also share their sideboarding strategies, and update the deck with an eye to upcoming GPs and PTQs!

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Black Magic – Understanding Grand Prix: Barcelona

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Thursday, May 28th – Sam Black, Faeries Player extraordinaire, rocked through Grand Prix: Barcelona and placed in the Top 4 with the ever-present Blue/Black menace. However, today’s article doesn’t rehash the old Fae material… Instead, Sam examines the fallout from Barcelona, and the effect it has on the metagame for the approaching Grand Prix: Seattle.

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Insider Information – Barcelona Beatdown

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Seattle!
Thursday, May 28th – In the first edition of his new weekly column, Cedric Phillips takes us through the highs and lows of his journey through both days of Grand Prix: Barcelona. Packing White/Black Kithkin, he rocked out to a money finish, wrecking face with little men every step of the way. If you’re looking to run Kithkin at Seattle, this is the article for you!

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Next Level Magic Preview – Card Advantage and Virtual Card Advantage

Thursday, May 28th – 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. This week: Card Advantage and Virtual Card Advantage.

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Flow of Ideas – One More Look at TurboFog

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Seattle!
Thursday, May 28th – Last week, I covered my initial foray with TurboFog leading up to Regionals. After extensively playing the deck since then, analyzing the effect of Grand Prix: Barcelona, and repeatedly reading and hearing misconception after misconception about the deck, I feel like the deck deserves a more in depth review.

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At the Gathering – Homeward Bound

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Seattle!
Thursday, May 28th – This week, I’ll be driving up to Seattle for a little vacation. School’s out, and before my summer classes begin, I thought I would take a little trip to visit some old friends up in the Pacific Northwest. As it turns out, there’s a Magic tournament of some repute going on too.

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The Justice League – Regionals

Read The Justice League every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, May 28th – In my experience, Regionals tends to bring in a bunch of players with a wide range of ability. For some people this is the biggest tournament they will play in (unless a GP shows up close enough). With this in mind, I remind players that the Universal Tournament Rules states players must shuffle an opponent’s deck at the start of a game, and must at least cut a deck when presented after shuffling effects during a game.

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Positive EV – Intelligent Netdecking

Read Manuel Bucher every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, May 27th – In today’s Positive EV, Manuel Bucher teams up with Olivier Ruel once more. The topic is Constructed, and in particular the art of Intelligent Netdecking. With decklists by the game’s great and good available at the click of a mouse, how are we to sift the wheat from the chaff? Find out inside!

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Down And Dirty – Cascading Through PTQ Houston *3rd*

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Seattle!
Wednesday, May 27th – Kyle Sanchez took his innovative Cascade deck to battle at a recent PTQ in Houston, with excellent results. While he didn’t quit pick up a blue envelope, his deck propelled him into the Top 4. With an alleged super-matchup versus the popular Swans deck, could this be the deck to take home the bacon at Grand Prix: Seattle? Read on to find out!

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