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Chatter of the Squirrel – Deckbuilding as “Problem Solving”

Read Zac Hill every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, May 7th – I’m going to talk about how I went about generating a decklist for one of my Hollywood prototypes. The difference is that I’m making no claims as to the value of this particular deck. Instead, what I want to emphasize is the means through which I’ve attempted to solve an existing archetype‘s problems, and how I’ve created space for the necessary slots that try to do so. The execution isn’t what’s important; rather, it’s recognizing the holes that presently exist and taking steps to plug them.

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You Lika The Juice? – When in Richmond

Read Bennie Smith every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, May 7th – In case you’ve been under a rock for the past few weeks, you may not know that Star City Games is holding a blow-out weekend chock full of Magic starting this Friday, right here in my hometown of Richmond, Virginia. I’ve lived in Richmond all my life, and I thought it might be helpful to provide some tips for getting around for those of you who are not familiar with River City.

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Feature Article – Shadowmoor in Type 4

Read Feature Articles every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, May 7th – Which Shadowmoor cards are the best in the world of infinite mana and one spell per turn? As a player of Type 4 you probably want to know what to draft and what sweet new combos to look out for. You’ll get plenty of that here, with the Top 22 cards organized by how high they will usually be drafted.

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Limited Lessons – Black/Red in Shadowmoor Draft

Meet Magic artist John Avon at Grand Prix Indianapolis!
Tuesday, May 6th – Last week, Nick Eisel brought us his thoughts on the strongest color pairing in triple-Shadowmoor Limited – Blue/White Aggro. This week, it’s the turn of the flip-side of that particularly powerful coin – Black/Red. Is drafting the under-drafted a viable Shadowmoor strategy?

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Arcane Teachings – Judging a Deck By Its Cover

Read Tom LaPille every Tuesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, May 6th – When we roll up to a large Constructed tournament, we like to think we’re prepared. We’ve quietly and thoroughly honed our deck and sideboard with a myriad of tweaks and a plethora of gauntlet test games… right? If things haven’t gone to plan, we could be scrambling for cards in the hour before the tournament. So how do we maximize our chance of success when we’re working on no preparation whatsoever? Let Tom show us how!

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Deconstructing Constructed – Mono-Green: Now With Fewer Elves

Read Josh Silvestri every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, May 6th – I’ve been spending most of my time lately trying to create an aggro deck that was close to mono-colored and didn’t get blown out by Pyroclasm/Firespout/Wrath of God. Of course, I could just say that’s Faeries… I’ve played the deck for the past six months. However, the idea of playing against decks with a large amount of good hate every round is daunting.

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Removed From Game – Catching Up With The Pros

Read Rich Hagon every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, May 6th – It’s been a while since we caught up with the fast-moving world of Pro Magic. In his latest update, Rich Hagon examines what went right and what went wrong in Grand Prix in Vancouver, Vienna, Shizuoka, and Philadelphia, naming and shaming the winners and losers, and generally making a nuisance of himself. Just like normal.

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Insert Column Name Here – The Loveliest Time Of The Year

Read The Ferrett every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, May 5th – The Ferrett reveals a strange and awkward secret about himself, and why this applies to first-time Shadowmoor drafting. Abject lessons in What Not To Do abound.

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Innovations – All Your Decks Are Belong To Us: Combo In Standard

Read Patrick Chapin every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, May 5th – Pro Tour: Hollywood is approaching, and people looking for a little meat in the current Standard environment. While most folk currently dine on Aggro faire, swinging for two again and again, there is more to the metagame than attacking. Today, Patrick Chapin explores two combo decks. Will these builds make a splash in Hollywood?

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So Many Insane Plays – Playing With Fire

Read Stephen Menendian every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, May 5th – While the current Vintage metagame is perhaps the most vibrant we’ve ever seen, it’s safe to say that there are a number of core strategies that pepper the format. However, while these strategies appear simple at face value, some are more tricksy than others. Did you know that Tyrant Oath isn’t actually an Oath deck? Or that Quirion Dryad is a Storm card? Let Stephen explain all…

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Magic Show Monday Special Edition – Artist Interviews

Watch Evan Erwin every Friday... on StarCityGames.com!
Monday, May 5th – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. In this special Monday Magic Show episode, we talk to Anthony S. Waters and Darrell Riche about their work, their process, their tools, and their feelings on illustrating the cards we hold so dear. A big thanks to Anthony and Darrell for their participation!

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There And Back Again – Grand Prix: Brussels Intro

Read Bill Stark every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, May 5th – I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me anymore, seeing Magic twice in one day while half a world away from home. It’s like running into Brian Kowal at the Prague Castle and picking up an extra traveling companion while in the Czech Republic. Or playing cards on a train with German schoolkids out of the blue because Brandon Scheel was wearing his Pro Tour shirt and they happened to be shuffling their decks as we got on…

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Unlocking Legacy – Investigating Fetchlands

Read Legacy articles every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, May 5th – Christopher Coppola analyzes the deck thinning properties of fetchlands and dispels some misconceptions about their effects.

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Flores Friday – What we as Wizards Can Learn from the Wizards: Sideboarding in Action

Read Mike Flores every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, May 2nd – The power of a deck’s sideboard is something that is often difficult to quantify. Sure, we may fill our fifteen with cards that should impact the match in Games 2 and 3, but sometimes our meddling does little but dilute our core strategy. Today’s Flores Friday draws on the current Basketball Playoffs to investigate just how we can work to our strengths…

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Sullivan Library – Playtesting: Tips, Tricks, and Traps

Read Adrian Sullivan every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, May 2nd – Playtesting. Everyone does it. Thing is, the actual nuts and bolts behind the process is shrouded in mystery. We throw the decks against a gauntlet, hoping to gain knowledge through games and matches… but what do our results actually mean? And can our data be trusted? Adrian reveals all…

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