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Peebles Primers – Spotlight on States: Beating Down With Gaddock Teeg

Are YOU ready for States?
Our Spotlight on States series continues apace today… Benjamin Peebles-Mundy takes us through some of the ways in which you (or your opponents) can beat down with the kidney-stealing Kithkin Advisor Gaddock Teeg. BPM brings us five decklists in total: two dedicated Kithkin builds, two that rely on the non-Kithkin Green/White guys, and one decklist that’s sufficiently off the beaten path. G/W Aggro has a fine pedigree of late. Will it be enough to capture your State Championships?

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Chatter of the Squirrel – Spotlight on States: U/B Non-Teachings Control

Are YOU ready for States?
In a States field, I want to be doing abjectly powerful things. My deck contains Mind Stone, Shriekmaw, Cryptic Command, Damnation, and Scrying Sheets – all cards that I consider to be among the most powerful in the format right now. Moreover, not only do I want to be doing powerful things, I want to be doing powerful things against the broad spectrum of decks that you can expect to see at a tournament like States.

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Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #200 – Five Ways to Lose at States

Are YOU ready for States?
For a variety of reasons, I will be judging this coming weekend, not playing. I’ll babble a bit about what I would have played, then list five sure-fire ways to lose at States (in addition to playing my decks.) Everybody should them already — but I’m sure I will watch at least a ten percent of the field lose to one or more of these on Saturday. [Editor’s Note: Congratulations on article 200, Pete! Here’s to article #300!]

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So Many Insane Players – My 2007 Magic Invitational Report, Part 1: Cubing with Kenji

Read Stephen Menendian every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
The 2007 Invitational was not without its fair share of controversy, particularly over the choice of competitors. And once the dust had settled after the first three rounds of Cube Draft, the current Vintage World Champion Stephen Menendian sat proudly at 3-0. Unfortunately, the Auction of the People did not go quite so well… for more details on Stephen’s performance in the first half of the tournament, read on!

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You Lika The Juice? – Uno Momento, Por Favor

Read Bennie Smith every week... at StarCityGames.com!
I didn’t get a chance to playtest as much this past Friday as I’d like to; I got my wires crossed with Jay and he ended up committing to doing some Lorwyn Sealed at the local Friday Night Magic. Still, I went down there and grabbed some games in with him as I could, and think I’ve finally found the deck I want to run…

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Sullivan Library – Spotlight on States: Stupid Green Deck

Are YOU ready for States?
If you check the winning decklists from the past weekend’s StarCityGames.com $1K Standard Open, you’ll see that the winner took home all the marbles with a Mono-Green deck. The Green Machine, it seems, is firing on all cylinders. Today’s first Spotlight on States article takes a different view of Mono-Green, yet molds a deck that is undoubtedly brimming with power. Is this Mono-Green deck gonna rock States? Read on to find out!

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Limited Lessons – Merfolk in Lorwyn

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So, you’ve scrubbed out at States and hit the side events… what now? It’s draft time! So far, We’ve touched on drafting with Elves, Goblins, and Faeries… today, Nick touches base with the nominally strongest tribe on offer in Lorwyn: Merfolk. Sure, we all know that Silvergill Douser is a first-pick bomb, and that this deck tends to play the control role. However, there are more intricate choices and decisions to be made when piloting our fishy friends. Let Nick lead the way!

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Deconstructing Constructed – Spotlight on States: Faeries and You

Are YOU ready for States?
This article will be broken into two parts. One will be about a U/W/R midrange deck I’ve been kicking around since Brion Stoutarm came out, and the second concerns a U/B Faeries aggro control deck that is on the short list for decks I might play at States. The first half of the article will be dedicated to the Faerie build, and the second half will be with the lesser-tested midrange Brion deck.

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Removed From Game – I’m On the Road, and You’re Invited

Read Rich Hagon every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Part 2 of Rich Hagon’s Magical odyssey takes him to Essen for the Invitational. Musings on multiple formats, some thoughts on some of the game’s best, and the sickest draft deck in history (possibly).

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Insert Column Name Here – Another Saturday Night And I Ain’t Got Nobody

Read The Ferrett every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!Two men, one Saturday night, four Sealed deck pools to choose from. Watch as The Ferrett explores Lorwyn Sealed in an attempt to find the good cards so you don’t have to… And to find the bad cards before you run into them!

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Feature Article – Spotlight on States: Red Aggression in Standard

Are YOU ready for States?
The final countdown has begun! States is mere days away, and today’s Feature Article begins a series of pieces intended to inform your final deck choice for the big day. First up, we have Dan Paskins with… yup, you’ve guessed it… the Red spells. Dan brings us four competitive decks, two revolving around pairing Red with Green (And the obligatory Tarmogoyfs), and two focusing on the tribal synergies available with the Goblins. If you’re a fan of the flame, then maybe these are the decks for you…

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Innovations – Spotlight on States: Grim Teachings

Are YOU ready for States?
In the second of today’s articles in the Spotlight on States series, Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin concentrates on his strengths. He’s been busy tweaking and testing his latest version of Relic Control, priming himself for States competition at the weekend. Aggressive decks tend to come out in force for this tournament… if you’re looking to run with a controlling strategy, look no further!

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Down And Dirty – Spotlight on States: My Final Article

Are YOU ready for States?
Continuing our Spotlight on States series, Kyle Sanchez walks us through three distinct Standard strategies, two of which are currently fighting for final favor regarding his 75-select this weekend. He also takes the opportunity to say goodbye, as this is his final Monday article for StaCityGames.com… but don’t worry, Sanchez fans, I’m sure he won’t be gone for long…

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Unlocking Legacy – Combo: The Missing Link

Read Legacy articles every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Today, Chris talks about the combo season that never came, and where the Combo archetype is currently sat. He also discusses the effect this has had on Goblins and what that deck might look like post-Lorwyn.

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Still Wondering What to Play at States?

Are YOU ready for States?

Still unsure what to play at States? Here are a few suggestions from our StarCityGames.com Premium staff…

Spotlight on States: The Ghosts of States Past (Mono-Green and Rakdos in Standard) by Mike Flores

Spotlight on States: The Siege by Richard Feldman

Spotlight on States: Blue-Based Beatdown by Steve Sadin

Spotlight on States: Beating Down With Gaddock Teeg by Benjamin Peebles-Mundy

Spotlight on States: Stupid Green Deck by Adrian Sullivan

Spotlight on States: Red Aggression in Standard by Dan Paskins

Spotlight on States: Grim Teachings by Patrick Chapin

Blue/White Flying Control by Mike Flores

Wren and Stompy by Tim Aten

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