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Arcane Teachings – Under the Radar in Extended

Read Tom LaPille every Tuesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, March 4th – In his first Premium article, Tom LaPille examines the nature of being “under the radar” in the current Extended metagame. With so many options, and a plethora of powerful decks, how can we leverage our deck choice into those vital wins? Can we capitalize on the size of the format in order to run through the rounds without facing hate? Maybe we can… and Tom shows us how. [Editor’s Note: Adrian Sullivan will now run later in the week… so stay tuned!]

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Deconstructing Constructed – PTQing with the Goblins

Read Josh Silvestri every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, March 4th – I ended up playing Goblins again for my local PTQ, to which even showing up was a bit of a hurdle since just two days before I was hacking my guts all over the room. Being sick, I had no time to go get new cards, even thought I wanted to switch decks to G/B/W Hateorade for the expected field of UG Tron, Goblins, and Red Deck Wins…

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Removed from Game – Weird

Read Rich Hagon every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, March 4th – Inside the Kuala Lumpur Tournament Center. Inside The Booth. Inside Rich Hagon’s head. Yes, Rich Hagon’s head is the odd one out, because plenty of Magic players want to get into the other two. Join Rich for the 100% true tale of a very strange week in Malaysia. This article also features zero Extended decklists, all as part of the service.

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Insert Column Name Here – How Do You Draft When You Don’t Know The Cards?

Read The Ferrett every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, March 3rd – Drafting a new set is tough, but that’s not what I’m talking about. No, to make life interesting, my local store decided to hold the Lorwyn segment of my draft in Russian packs – not bad for the cards I know a lot, but what about those loopy rares? Plus, I learn a Very Important Lesson about a Morningtide card that I misunderestimated, and the first announcement of The Ferrett’s new (and sure to be overhyped) webcomic!

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MichaelJ Monday – Extended Mid-Season SWOT, Part 1

Read Mike Flores every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, March 3rd – In this rare Monday outing, Mike Flores performs an exhaustive SWOT analysis on a whopping twelve of the strongest Extended decks in the current metagame. He breaks down each archetype into Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, providing invaluable insight into the inner workings of these powerful builds. For anyone serious about the current PTQ season, this article is unmissable.

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Innovations – The Ten Greatest Magic Players of All Time

Read Patrick Chapin every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, March 3rd – This week, Patrick takes a break from creating decklists, defining formats, and presenting theories. Instead, he offers a history lesson, and takes us through his personal list of the greatest Magic players of all time. By looking at their qualities, and remembering their dominance, we can begin to grasp just what it takes to become a truly exceptional mage…

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So Many Insane Plays – Lucky? Yeah, That’s The Point

Read Stephen Menendian every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, March 3rd – Stephen returns to the Monday slot, and talks about an argument that’s as old as the hills… is the role of Luck in Magic greater than the role of Skill? Does Luck devalue Skill in the overall scheme of the game? Strangely, Stephen believes that, far from inhibiting the skillful, Luck makes Magic a more skillful game… and he’s got the mathematical proof to back up his claim.

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Feature Article – Mono-Black Control in Extended

Read Feature Articles every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, March 3rd – Like many players this Extended season, I’ve grown a bit frustrated with a format that allows so many variables to be relevant. Affinity, Dredge, Next Level Blue, Previous Level Blue, Goblins, Enduring Ideal, TEPS… the list of playable archetypes stretches on and on and on. With that in mind, I set out to sculpt an archetype that would focus on beating the most popular decks most of the time…

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Unlocking Legacy – An Enchanted World

Read Legacy articles every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, March 3rd – Learn about a deck that’s ripe for beginners, rewarding for experienced gunslingers and endorsed by U.S. National Champion and brainiac Luis Scott-Vargas! Doug takes a look at Enchantress this week, exploring the ins and outs of the deck and presenting an inexpensive introductory deck for players who are new to the format. Learn general strategies and techy plays in this feature of Unlocking Legacy!

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Levelling Up – Kuala Lumpur and Aftermath

Read Tiago Chan every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, February 29th – In the last Levelling Up article for the forseeable future, Portugal’s Tiago Chan walks us through his second draft from Pro Tour: Kuala Lumpur. He also tells us how he views his future, and his standing in the Pro Tour and Magical communities, before hanging up his hat and strolling into the sunset. Thanks for the articles, Tiago. Good luck in all your future endeavors!

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The Magic Show #85 – From Charlotte, with Love

Watch Evan Erwin every Friday... on StarCityGames.com!Friday, February 29th – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to see some highlights from my weekend in Charlotte, including some unseen footage from players there, talk about the statistical power of the StarCityGames deck database, review upcoming Banned and Restricted list revisions due on March 1st, enlighten you with some Jon Finkel facts and we reach a new Magic Show milestone. Let’s go!

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Magical Hack – Goblin Lore

Read Sean McKeown every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!Friday, February 29th – The Goblin tribe in modern Extended is an unusual beast. Recent printings have given Goblin players new tools if they want to use them… but change is always a contentious thing for some, and thus we see decklists with numbers like “1x Frogtosser Banneret” or “2x Frogtosser Banneret.” People like what they are comfortable with, and tend to not respond well to change… even changes for the better.

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Feature Article – My Travels End, and Grand Prix: Vancouver

Read Feature Articles every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, February 29th – Grand Prix: Vancouver was an interesting event. It was nice to see some PT friends before heading back home, and I had some interesting conversations with all manner of people. On the topic of Ninjas, LSV had the following to say: “It seems like a good Tier 2 deck, if you play it perfectly and your opponent makes mistakes.”

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Deep Analysis – Taking In a Top 8

Read Richard Feldman every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, February 28th – The results from Grand Prix: Vancouver are in… and the Top 8 decks are a genuine shock to the metagame. Blue/Green Tron, TEPS, Previous Level Blue… and no Doran or Dredge decks?! For those of us slogging it out at the PTQ, what exactly does this Top 8 mean to the local metagame scene? Richard takes us through the ins and outs of processing Top 8 results…

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Down And Dirty – Go Go Green Lightning: Green Aggro in Standard

Read Kyle Sanchez every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, February 28th – While there are many aggressive options for the combat-loving mage, it seems that the whole Magic community has fallen in love with Obsidian Battle-Axe. The Japanese brought us the Green elf versions of the deck, and today Kyle brings us his own spin on the archetype. He thrashes it through some games against the other top contenders in the metagame, with pleasing results. Intrigued? Then read on!

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