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Chatter of the Squirrel – The Myth of Threats and Answers

Read Zac Hill every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, April 20th – I had a great conversation earlier this week about why certain types of people play certain decks. I myself will play anything that wins, of course, but I feel tremendously uncomfortable playing the style of midrange Green deck that a lot of people seem to enjoy immensely. I can theorize all day about why it is I don’t usually find those decks suitable, but much of the preference certainly comes down to ‘feel.’

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Constructed Criticism – Enter the Maelstrom

Read Todd Anderson every week... at StarCityGames.com
Monday, April 20th – Standard is a format that seems to be growing stale. Alara Reborn is on the horizon, and there are plenty of cards that (hopefully) will shake up the metagame. Today I’m going to take a look at a few of those cards and their potential applications for the Standard format, as well as the a few topics related to Magic Online.

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Feature Article – Grixis Control for Standard

Read Feature Articles every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, April 17th – In his first article for StarCityGames.com, Level 5 Italian Pro William Cavaglieri brings us a fresh deck for Standard battle: Grixis Control. William, the creator of the innovative Red/Black Torrent of Souls deck for the last Nationals season, is having great success with his new creation. He shares the list and sideboard plans, and adds a few helpful tips for those of us who are looking to reach the next level…

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Feature Article – Looking Back at Extended: Slide and Tezzerator

Read Feature Articles every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, April 17th – In a last look at the freshly-passed Extended season, Quentin Martin examines the metagame as it was at end of play, and takes a long look at two of the fringe decks that succeeded as the season drew to a close: Astral Slide and Tezzerator.

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Drafting With Olivier – Shards/Shards/Conflux #19

Draft with Olivier Ruel... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, April 17th – 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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The Magic Show #139 – Reborn Spoiler Time!

Watch Evan Erwin every week... on StarCityGames.com!
Friday, April 17th – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going headfirst into Alara Reborn spoilers. Not only do I have an incredible spoiler all to myself, how about the fact that Meddling Mage is returning to Standard? Oh yeah, that’s right. Want to know what it looks like? Ready to get a glimpse of the incredible Todd Lockwood artwork and a raft of new spoiler goodness to boot? Let’s go!

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Magical Hack – Awaiting Rebirth

Read Sean McKeown every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, April 17th – With just over one week left until the Alara Reborn prerelease, we’ve started to see a good chunk of the new cards from MagicTheGathering.com and other official spoiler sources, and what we see so far is cause for excitement. If you are spoiler-averse and have been keeping away from seeing the cards before their release, this is not the article for you. Feel free to check back here at Magical Hack in two weeks’ time, as we’ll be taking advanced looks at Alara Reborn until the prerelease!

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You Lika The Juice? – Feeling Janet Leigh: Standard Ruminations

Read The Justice League every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, April 17th – StarCityGames.com’s $1K Top 8 decks are posted. I am surprised to see the archetypes listed. Just one Faeries, just one Five-Color Control, and just one Reveillark deck? Blightning wins the whole thing and two Green/White decks round out the top 3? Have all my worries been an overreaction?

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At the Gathering Exclusive Alara Reborn Preview – Giant Ambush Beetle!

Read Jeff Phillips every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, April 17th – Attention, readers: the following article contains spoiler information, including a new, exclusive card preview. If you do not want to be privy to this information, you will probably want to stop reading. If you do want to see this information, then by all means, read on!

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PV’s Playhouse – Five-Color Control

Read Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, April 16th – Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, the proud Faeries player we all know and love, has turned to the Dark Side. Today’s PV’s Playhouse sees the Brazilian maestro tackle Five-Color Control in Standard. While Nassif set the Gold Standard in Kyoto with Broodmate Dragons and Walls of Reverence, PV has chosen to ignore both of these powerful cards. Intrigued? Then read on!

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Deep Analysis – Blue/White Tokens in Alara Reborn Standard

Read Richard Feldman every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, April 16th – The three cards that currently define Standard: Bitterblossom, Spectral Procession, and Cryptic Command. A number of decks bring two of the three to the table: Faeries has Blossom and Command, for example. However, none of the main contenders packs both Spectral Procession and Cryptic Command. Today, Richard attempts to fix this…

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Flow of Ideas – A Look at Standard: GPT Seattle Overview

Read Gavin Verhey every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, April 16th – The date: April 11th, 2009. The location: First Pick Games in Seattle. The scene: Forty-six of Seattle’s finest, each fighting for three byes to a Grand Prix under an hour away…

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The Justice League – Active versus Passive Judging

Read The Justice League every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, April 16th – Judging is at times a careful balancing act. We want the players to have fun, but fun means different things to different people. Spike has fun by winning, and if his opponent plays fast and loose he’ll look for an opportunity for a free game win, no matter what the personal cost. However, forcing the casual player to play a precise, technical game whilst at an FNM held at a pub with alcohol at most games is an exercise in futility.

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Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #271 – Hits and Misses

Read Peter Jahn... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, April 16th – It has been an interesting couple of weeks. Magic has had some real ups and positive developments, and a few downers. Let’s review…

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Positive EV – Alara Block Constructed: Inside and Outside the Box

Read Manuel Bucher every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, April 15th – Alara Block Constructed promises to be dynamic, interesting, and wildly colorful. In today’s Positive EV, Manuel Bucher brings us an excellent introduction to the format, outlining the five premier strategies and decklists. He then steps outside the box and brainstorms a four-color base-White control list. Enjoy!

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