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From Right Field – Learning from Hour Misteaks

Read Chris Romeo every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
I have failed you. Remember a few weeks ago how we had a vote on which card I should use in my next deck? No Rest for the Wicked won. However, Shivan Wumpus and Lord of the Pit tied for second, missing the top slot by only one vote. I promised to do decks on the two runners-up too. I’ve done a Shivan Wumpus deck. I was going to do Lord of the Pit this week. I even had a great name for the deck: Pit Boss. But I chickened out and went for an Elf deck instead.

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The Beautiful Struggle – Thanks, Merfolk!

Read Mark Young every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
MTGO didn’t have “Nix Tix” drafting over Thanksgiving weekend as they have in the past; probably as a result of server stability concerns. However, I still had some product and tickets saved up, and some downtime when the family was off doing their own things. During that time it seemed like the fish-men were flowing freely, and bringing victories with them. On Sunday alone I won two drafts and split in the finals of a third, all with decks that had at least 75% Merfolk among their creature counts.

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Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #205 – Waiting for League Games

Read Peter Jahn... at StarCityGames.com!
I was curious about how the lag time and various MTGO problems have affected league play. I decided to join some leagues and check out the quality of the competition, how long I have to wait for games, how often new leagues spawn, the number of players, the payout, etc. I might even open some useful cards.

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The Kitchen Table #209 – The Magic Role-Playing Game

Read Abe Sargent every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!Hello folks and welcome back to series that explores the caverns of the casual. Today, we are going to be doing some serious spelunking. I have spent a lot of time and research preparing today’s article, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you. The spark for today’s subject came from an old format I discovered at another site. I found this old, old format trying to turn Magic into an RPG.

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Sullivan Library – A Rogue Standard Deck Walkthrough

Read Adrian Sullivan every Tuesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Deckbuilding is difficult. Sure, it’s relatively easy to come up with a semi-competitive deck, one that could do some rocking in an 8-man queue of an FNM… but deckbuilding for a tournament like Worlds? From scratch? That’s a different kettle of fish. Adrian takes us through some of the pitfalls one can face when shuffling up a rogue sixty. He also presents a fresh Standard deck that jumps through the correct deckbuilding hoops…

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Limited Lessons – Lorwyn Over and Under

Read Nick Eisel... at StarCityGames.com!
Lorwyn drafting, both online and in real life, are now in full swing. We’ve had many a primer article here on StarCityGames.com, including a number of informative tribal articles. Today, Nick Eisel brings us a look at some of the overvalued and underappreciated cards on offer in triple Lorwyn… which of these cards do you rate too highly, and which should you be slamming into your pile?

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Drafting With Tiago – LLL #6

Draft With Tiago Chan... every day at StarCityGames.com!
That’s right, folks: The “Drafting With…” series is back! Taking up where both Rich Hoaen and Kenji Tsumura left off, we have Level 6 Mage Tiago Chan. As before, Tiago takes us through a triple Lorwyn draft from pick 1 to pick 45, before sharing his insight on the draft and the games that followed. For more detailed draft debate, come to the forums!

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Deconstructing Constructed – Faeries Versus Aggro and Standard Thoughts

Read Josh Silvestri every Tuesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Welcome back to the series on Faeries. This should be the last or next to last article I need to write on the subject, since I’ll basically have covered the majority of matches in Standard after this. I blame this recreation of My Fires (My Faeries! Roofles) on my obsession with aggro decks once I tweak them enough. If anyone playing Vintage remembers my 20 page Food Chain Goblins primer you can understand the detail I’ll go into if I think the deck is worthwhile.

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Removed From Game – Title To Follow

Read Rich Hagon every week... at StarCityGames.com!
This week, Rich Hagon invites you to put your brain into high gear, let the scales drop from your eyes, and discover how you can beat the online Pros at their own Drafting game. If you can’t work out why they pick what they pick, why your good cards don’t seem good enough, and why the same players win time after time, Rich’s visualisation techniques can help. In a reversal of his normal articles, this week features a little humor and a lot of thought. So thinking caps (and Draft caps) at the ready. Good luck.

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Chatter of the Squirrel – Rock and Nail

Read Zac Hill every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Can’t make this stuff up, folks. Get a message from Dan Ackroyd – okay, Danny Ackroyd-Isales, but story value, people, story value – asking about Rock and Nail. Never really got a chance to write about that deck, but accusations of self-flattery and the reality of an irrelevant format made me think it’d stay that way. Come to find out Extended season’s almost here. Cute.

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Insert Column Name Here – Driving Cross-Country With A Turkey In My Trunk

Read The Ferrett every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!For Thanksgiving, The Ferrett LARPed a classic computer game and drove all the way across the East Coast with a trunk full of food… Oh yeah, and played some Magic with a ludicrously strong U/W Lorwyn Sealed deck!

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Feature Article – Sixes and Sevens: Mulligans in Constructed

Read Feature Articles every Monday and Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Seven cards are better than six. This much we know. But how often can we be sure that the hand we’re keeping is stronger than a prospective six? Dan Paskins brings us an interesting look at the process of playtesting with regards to mulligan decisions. By examining those hands that win against those hands that lose, Dan helps us along the road to a greater understanding of mulligans in general.

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Innovations – Grand Prix: Daytona Tournament Report *34th*

Read Patrick Chapin every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!
Grand Prix: Daytona Beach taught the world a thing or two about the nuances of Lorwyn Limited. Tribal concerns, color shenanigans, and card evaluation were all under the harsh glare of the major tournament spotlight. Today’s Innovations brings us Patrick Chapin’s version of events, as he powered up to a 34th-place finish.

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Drafting With Tiago – LLL #5

That’s right, folks: The “Drafting With…” series is back! Taking up where both Rich Hoaen and Kenji Tsumura left off, we have Level 6 Mage Tiago Chan. As before, Tiago takes us through a triple Lorwyn draft from pick 1 to pick 45, before sharing his insight on the draft and the games that followed. For more detailed draft debate, come to the forums!

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Arcane Teachings – Sideboard Planning

Seasoned players tend to talk about “sideboarding plans,” which is not a surprise since sideboarding well is really all about planning. Tom looks at some decks and asks you to think about how their sideboards do or do not fit with the decks’ game plans. He wants to convince you that you need to be aware of and take into account your deck’s plans to build the most effective sideboard you can.

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