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Magical Hack – Extended Midseason Catch-Up

Read Sean McKeown every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, March 13th – This week we’re going to look at the recent state of Extended, and see what the season looks like with just about a month left to play, and an intensive PTQ schedule still on my calendar to give me plenty of chances at seeing the new girlfriend in a bikini on a beach in Hawaii. Let’s be honest, our motivations are what our motivations are, and if you can alter your motivations a bit to give yourself even more desire to bash someone’s brains with your deck at a PTQ, how can that be a bad thing?

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You Lika The Juice? – Esper Elixir, M10 Musings

Read Bennie Smith every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, March 13th – In light of the snorefest metagame coming out of Kyoto I thought it would be a great time to talk about a deck utterly and completely off the radar. Then along comes Jacob Van Lunen’s Building on a Budget last Thursday featuring… an Esper Elixir deck! Of course, why not?

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Deconstructing Constructed – Your Deck Sucks

Read Josh Silvestri every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, March 13th – This week’s article will be on Standard and how all of your favorite decks suck, much in the vein of Mike Flores article on the subject from years ago. This means the article will be basically half sarcastic and mocking and generally mean, even though a lot of it is tongue-in-cheek. So I expect maybe 30% of you to read this and not flame me about the tone

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Innovations – Blame it on the Counterbalance

Read Patrick Chapin every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, March 12th – After the disappointment of Pro Tour: Kyoto, Patrick Chapin had high hopes. However, when it rains, it pours. Grand Prix: Chicago was not the unmitigated triumph he was looking for. Today, he takes us through his Legacy experiences, and shares some excellent advice for fledgling deckbuilders out there…

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Deep Analysis – Streaking at Grand Prix: Chicago

Read Richard Feldman every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, March 12th – After last week’s article, Richard Feldman’s forthright views on dredge caused a storm in the forums. With a few tweaks, he put his money where his mouth is for Grand Prix: Chicago, and posted a very creditable Day 2 finish. Today, he talks us through his performance from the tournament, and analyses his decisions along the way…

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Drafting With Olivier – Shards/Shards/Conflux #4

Draft with Olivier Ruel every day... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, March 12th – That’s right, folks… the popular “Drafting With” series is back! French uber-pro Olivier Ruel takes us through an 8-4 draft on Magic Online, sharing his picks from 1 to 45, and supplying interesting pick debates and information. For more analysis, visit the forums!

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Flow of Ideas – Through My Eyes: A GP Chicago Story

Read Gavin Verhey every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, March 12th – “Did you catch the definition of scription-fiction?” whispered Heather as she shifted from her seat next to me in the lecture hall and glanced in my direction. Scription-fiction, scription-fiction… where are you? The elusive term finally catches my eye when I notice I had written down “3x scription fiction” instead of “3x Natural Order” in my Threshold decklist.

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The Justice League – A Tale of Haggling, Triggers, and Crime Fighting

Read The Justice League every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, March 12th – A couple of rounds into the day, it was brought to my attention by TO Alan Hochman that one or two spectators at the GP had been described as acting suspiciously. The people in question were pointed out to me and I was asked, along with other judges, to be extra vigilant, as more bags had already been reported missing that morning. I spotted one of these individuals watching Ben Wienberg’s match while I was walking around…

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Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #266 – Grand Prix: Chicago

Read Peter Jahn... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, March 12th – I spent the weekend in Chicago, at the largest North American Grand Prix ever. I got to watch a lot of Magic, answer a bunch of questions, and have a great time. Here are some highlights.

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Feature Article – Blightning in Kyoto

Read Feature Articles every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, March 11th – Going into the Pro Tour, Red/Black Blightning Deck Wins was one of the hottest archetypes around. Conflux gave the strategy a booster shot, and players had high hopes. Sadly, the deck didn’t quite live up to expectations. Nevertheless, Marijn Lybaert believes the deck has a place in the current metagame. Today, he shares his Kyoto build and talks us through the design process, with sideboarding plans against the metagame’s high rollers.

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Positive EV – Grand Prix: Chicago, and Conflux in Extended

Read Manuel Bucher every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, March 11th – Manuel Bucher rocked up to Grand Prix: Chicago with minimal testing. Sadly, his result mirrored this. Instead of dwelling on Legacy, he’s turned his eyes to the Extended metagame. With Extended Grand Prix tournaments in both Hannover and Singapore, and the Extended PTQ season rolling on, Manuel shares a few interesting decklists, and adds some general tips in the Conflux Extended metagame.

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Drafting With Olivier – Shards/Shards/Conflux #3

Draft with Olivier Ruel every day... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, March 11th – That’s right, folks… the popular “Drafting With” series is back! French uber-pro Olivier Ruel takes us through an 8-4 draft on Magic Online, sharing his picks from 1 to 45, and supplying interesting pick debates and information. For more analysis, visit the forums!

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The Long and Winding Road – Eternal Deep Dish

Read Matt Elias every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, March 11th – I arrived in Chicago still undecided as far as my deck choice. I was down to three options: Belcher, Dredge, and a home-brewed Painter’s Servant deck. Belcher had the benefit of familiarity and had tested well against most of the decks in the format. However, I had several concerns with running the deck for eight rounds…

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At the Gathering – Ancient Wisdom

Read Jeff Phillips every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, March 11th – We must practice diligently with our deck. This will not only increase our level of comfort with it, as noted before, but also prepares us for the actual moment of crisis, when we must make the decision, and that decision may very well determine whether we win or lose. Go to any PTQ, and you can start picking out the players who audibled into a different deck the night before.

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The Kitchen Table #276 – Updated Abedraft

Read Abe Sargent every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, March 11th – Today I want to revisit a topic near and dear to my heart. My first two articles for this website, ever, were about Abedraft. My 175th and 176th articles were about Abedraft. Now, almost two years later, I want to talk about it again.

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