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Chatter of the Squirrel – Threats and Answers Redux, or, Why Goldfishing Is Actively Terrible

Read Zac Hill every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, April 29th – The reason I hate the term ‘answer’ for cards like Plumeveil is threefold. One, it makes it seem like once you’ve answered a ‘question’ you’re somehow at parity, when in reality you’re pretty far ahead. Three, the term ‘answer’ makes it sound like every card in your deck is supposed to resolve a specific question, when in reality the whole value of cards like Counterspell or Plumeveil is their inherent versatility; that is, they don’t care what question you’re asking.

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At the Gathering – Having Fun Again

Read Jeff Phillips every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, April 29th – I am burnt out on Five-Color Control. I’ve been playing it for a very long while, to pretty solid success. I’d played the deck so much that I was showing up and running on autopilot. I wasn’t learning and I wasn’t getting better; I was just coasting to victory on the power of the deck, and my familiarity with it.

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MTGCast #152 – Alara Reborn Roundup

Listen to MTGCast every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, April 29th – Gavin and Tom are here this week to bring you all you need to know about Alara Reborn after the prerelease tournaments this weekend. Gavin gives us some great tips on Limited (hint, Borderposts are good!), Block Constructed, Standard and even Extended (Cascade is REALLY good).

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Insert Column Name Here – Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is, Alara Reborn Edition

Read The Ferrett every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!Tuesday, April 28th – Contrary to popular belief, StarCityGames.com does not give me free cards. I wish! So instead, I prowl the latest cards, looking for bargains. And after set release, I share what I’ve actually purchased, so you can see what I think were the best and most affordable cards at the time the set was released. What did I order this time around, and why?

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Black Magic – Standard Reborn: Investigating New Decks with Alara Reborn

Read Sam Black every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, April 28th – With Alara Reborn on everyone’s mind, Sam Black brings us some fresh perspective on the Standard format when then new set hits the shelves. An all-gold set was sure to provide exciting new options, and Alara Reborn does not disappoint. Sam shares his thoughts, alongside a batch of fresh decklists…

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Sullivan Library – The New Psychatog/Moat/The Abyss in Standard

Read Adrian Sullivan every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, April 28th – There are many cool cards in Alara Reborn. Some folk are sweet for some Pridemage goodness, or a little Spellbreaker lovin’. Some are keen for the return of Meddling Mage and Terminate. Adrian Sullivan is looking forward to rocking the attack phase with Lord of Extinction. But… it’s just a creature, right? It dies to everything… no? Adrian sets us straight…

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The Starkington Post – Weekly Digest 4

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Tuesday, April 28th – In the past seven days, The Starkington Post (Bill Stark’s daily Magic blog) has brought us talk from the prerelease, more tech for Turbo Grind, a look at the Howling Mine versus Mono Red matchup, and much more!

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Legacy’s Allure – New Hits, Old Favorites

Read Doug Linn every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, April 28th – This week, Doug considers two new cards from Alara Reborn with the potential to revolutionize the Legacy metagame. He uses the analysis strategies that Patrick Chapin first discussed several weeks ago to debate the playability and impact of some newly-spoiled cards, but that’s not all! Doug also shines light on three cards that have been around for years but haven’t found a home in Legacy… perhaps until now!

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Tribal Thriftiness #66 – Double-Action Cascade

Read Dave Meeson every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, April 28th – Fresh off the Prerelease, Dave gives his opinion of Alara Reborn’s new Cascade mechanic, and looks at ways to minimize the inherent randomness of this cool new toy.

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Innovations – Developing Shortcuts for Thinking About Magic

Read Patrick Chapin every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, April 27th – Magic Is perhaps the most complex game ever conceived. At any given point, players have a wealth of information to check and recheck. How can we maximize our ability to mine this information for strategic insight? Patrick explains the concept of shortcuts, allowing us to rewire our minds to help increase our chances for success.

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So Many Insane Plays – Alara Reborn: A Vintage Set Review

Read Stephen Menendian every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, April 27th – Multicolor cards and Vintage are not always compatible; the chances of them hitting the board on turn 1 is slim. However, Alara Reborn does offer up a couple of exciting Vintage playables, and a host of cards that could cause a splash under the right conditions. Stephen shares his thoughts on the stronger Vintage contenders in the new set…

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Drafting With Olivier – Shards/Shards/Conflux #23

Draft with Olivier Ruel... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, April 27th – 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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Constructed Criticism – The Pulse of Standard: Prepping for Regionals and PTQs

Read Todd Anderson every week... at StarCityGames.com
Monday, April 27th – The entire spoiler is out for Alara Reborn, and everyone seems ravenous for new technology for whatever format their heart desires. Pros rummage through articles and articles from various websites looking for Alara Block Constructed ideas, while average Joes pillage material for upcoming Pro Tour Qualifiers for PT: Austin, as well as Regionals. With all of this in mind, I figured I would begin by focusing on Standard, since this is the format most relevant to me.

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Removed From Game – The Birth of Reborn

Read Rich Hagon every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, April 27th – Like most Magic players who were breathing last weekend, Rich went along to the festival of Prereleaseness. Having Deck Doctored and Gun-Slung his way to inordinate quantities of victories, Rich sets us a challenging pool, and gives some helpful advice to those of us who don’t have Shuuhei Nakamura on speed dial.

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The Long & Winding Road – The Power Registry and Other Eternal Musings

Read Matt Elias every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, April 27th – While it is true that Vintage contains the best of every piece of acceleration ever printed, it also contains every answer. The existence of Null Rod, Gorilla Shaman, Pithing Needle, Wasteland plus Crucible of Worlds, Magus of the Moon, Chalice of the Void, and so on not only allow “slower” decks to be played in Vintage, but they slow down the format as a whole.

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