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Limited Lessons – Drafting Greedy in Triple Shards

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Tuesday, October 14th – Perceived wisdom suggests that triple Shards of Alara Draft is a blisteringly fast format, with great aggressive options across numerous archetypes. However, what if you fly in the face of this… is it possible to best the quick beats with a greedier strategy? Nick Eisel brings us a primer on a wonderful new draft archetype, powered by obscene amounts of mana fixing. If you’re after a strategy that’s powerful, rogue, and fun, look no further!

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Peebles Primers – Mana Options in Triple Shards Draft

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Tuesday, October 14th – Drafting with three packs of Shards of Alara is proving to be flexible, funky, and fun. There are options open for both aggro and control drafters, and being greedy can reap considerable benefits. The mana fixing available across the board is outstanding, but what strategies represent the best fixing the format has to offer? BPM investigates the Taplands, Obelisks, and Panoramas, and points the way to perfectly balanced manabases. There’s also a bonus Standard section too!

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Chatter of the Squirrel – Shards Limited Redux

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Tuesday, October 14th – It turns out that Shards Sealed Deck is one of the more complex formats in recent memory, doubly so when, as I mentioned last week, you don’t open an abundance of mana-fixing. What I’m increasingly beginning to realize about this format is that the density of your mana-fixing is far less important than the timing in which you intend to cast your spells.

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Unlocking Legacy – One Sick Deck

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Tuesday, October 14th – No doubt, Ad Nauseam is sick. This is no mere Panglossian pronouncement – it has the potential to draw a lot of cards, fuel a storm finish, and it sits in the right mana acceleration colors. The most fundamental question regarding Ad Nauseam is not whether it’s good, but how to build the deck correctly. As such, we have to put in some serious thinking about how we want to resolve the draw spell and what we want to do with it. Join Doug and special guests for an exploration of the card.

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Innovations – Standard and Extended Explosion!

The StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard Open Returns to Richmond!
Monday, October 13th – Shards of Alara is shaking up all forms of Constructed Magic. From Vintage to Standard, the new cards are causing quite a stir. Today’s Innovations sees Patrick Chapin examine Extended (with an eye to Berlin) and Standard (with an eye to the upcoming StarCityGames.com $5K Open). If you want a head start on your opponents, Chapin delivers!

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So Many Insane Plays – Meandeck Ad Nauseam

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Monday, October 13th – Ad Nauseam… a card that has polarized opinion in the Vintage community. Is it a powerful effect that promises much in the Vintage-with-Shards metagame, or is it an overpriced and over-hyped waste of resources. Stephen Menendian believes the card has potential, and Team Meandeck have created a deck to prove it…

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Deconstructing Constructed – The Shards of Standard

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Monday, October 13th – This article will be all about getting ready for the StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard Open. To start, I want to clear a few misconceptions people seem to have about the format at large. After that, we’ll be taking a look more closely at the popular decks, followed by a few that may be flying under the radar at the moment. Let’s go!

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The Riki Rules – Noteworthy Offenses

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Monday, October 13th – With the Prerelease nonsense finally running its course, I sat down ready to write an article on shuffling when fate struck me a random blow. I was reading GerryT’s informative and entertaining “A Shards PTQ Story *Top 8*” and came across an odd and worrisome incident in his report…

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Feature Article – Shards of Alara Draft: Card Evaluations, Part 1

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Friday, October 10th – Shards of Alara Draft promises to be a tricky nut to crack. With a plethora of colorful options at our disposal, which way does the discerning spell-slinger turn. Rich Hoaen, the grumpy drafting goliath, takes us through his picks for the most powerful mono-colored cards in the set. If you’re looking for an edge in the 40-card format, look no further!

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Sullivan Library – Finding a New Ponza Deck

The StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard Open Returns to Richmond!
Friday, October 10th – When new cards hit the Standard metagame, people scramble to showcase new ideas. Another school of thought sees deckbuilders fire up their old strategy favorites, checking what the new set brings to the established strategy buffet. Adrian revisits his well-loved Ponza theories today… can Shards add a little spice to the mix?

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The Magic Show #117 – Aftermath

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Friday, October 10th – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to clear up some questions about last week’s episode, take a look at the new Standard environment beginning with this weekend’s Cruise Qualifier, feature a very special Shards of Alara sealed segment with Patrick Chapin, and more. Let’s go!

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Chatter of the Squirrel – Misconceptions about Shards of Alara Limited

Read Zac Hill every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, October 10th – The preoccupation with piecing together a “Shard” is probably the root cause of the misconception that this format is anything but blisteringly fast. People will sit and lollygag around, casting Obelisks and cracking sac-lands, and I have no idea what format they think they are playing.

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The Kitchen Table #254 – Shards of Alara Decks

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Friday, October 10th – Today, I want to take a simple idea for the article. With the brand new set on the shelves, I would like to build several decks that revolve around the new cards. Some decks may just have a single card from Shards of Alara, whereas others might be packed with new goodies…

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Feature Article – Standard Focus: Jund and the Angel

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Thursday, October 9th – Billy Moreno is a fine example of an outside-the-box deckbuilder. Today, alongside some excellent Shards Draft analysis, he brings us two exciting deck ideas. The first focuses on the Jund Shard, while the second looks at the power of Battlegrace Angel…

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Deep Analysis – Building Midrange With Orchids in Standard

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Thursday, October 9th – Richard continues his series of articles concentrating on new deck experimentation with a look at a midrange strategy that utilizes the promising weenie Knight of the White Orchid. Will a heavily disruptive element make a stand in the new metagame? Read on to find out…

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