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Innovations – Dredge: A Serious Problem, And How To Deal With It

Read Patrick Chapin every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!
Extended, the format on everyone’s mind at the moment, is plagued by a proverbial 800lb Gorilla in the room… at least, that’s the view of Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin. Dredge, he feels, is significantly warping the young metagame, to the point where the hate is generally not enough. Is the grave-born strategy that much of an issue, or can it be taken down with a little application? Decklists, matchup tips, game walkthroughs, and more!

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Down And Dirty – Pickled Popcorn Potpourri

Read Kyle Sanchez every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!
I don’t know why, but I’ve been building Extended decks. I guess I just want a new format with which to experiment. I’ve been playing freaking Slivers at my past couple of FNMs, and while fun, I really want to play with some expensive cool-looking cards. As I said last week, I’ve been trying to graft the Counterbalance plus Sensei’s Divining Top combo on to a bunch of decks, so here are two more of my semi-successful attempts.

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Flores Friday — Extended Overview

Read Mike Flores every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
With the Pro Tour looming large, it seems that all the cool kids are playing Extended. Today, Mike turns his eye to the format as a whole, and dissects the major archetypes that will be making a splash in Valencia. Each deck is laid bare, with both strengths and weaknesses writ large for all to see.

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Magical Hack – Communing With Nature

Read Sean McKeown every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
In our continuing adventures delving into the Extended format, we’ve had a chance to look at a variety of aggressive decks while working on a Psychatog deck or two. Getting a feel for the modern Extended format is a very important part of building an effective deck, and seeing just what Tarmogoyf can do is another good way for learning how to play the format. After all, if Tarmogoyf can save otherwise terrible archetypes by carrying them on his broad shoulders, it’s the kind of thing you’d need to know about when preparing for the Pro Tour in Valencia.

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The Magic Show #61 — Gleaming The Cube

Watch Evan Erwin every Friday... on StarCityGames.com!
Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to revisit one of my text articles from last year and focus on the Cube. What is the cube? It’s 410 cards of pure joy, and if you’ve warmed up to the latest Type 4 craze, I think you’ll dig this too. WARNING: Contains Spoilers.

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Unlocking Legacy – U/G Threshold versus Cephalid Breakfast Matchup Analysis

Read Legacy articles every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Today, Doug takes a look at two of the hottest new decks from Gencon and evaluates how they play against each other. Find out whether the Aether Vials in Cephalid Breakfast can create an inevitability that Threshold cannot match, or if the Spell Snares from the other side of the table are simply too much to combo out against! Take part in the forum and discuss whether Doug made the right plays or if his sideboarding plans were incorrect!

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Levelling Up – Stories and Strategy from Grand Prix: Florence

Read Tiago Chan every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
In Block Constructed’s last hurrah, Tiago Chan stuck with the tried and true: Blue/Black Teachings. He placed a creditable 46th, and recounts his performance here. But this is not your run-of-the-mill report, dear me no. It’s packed with strategic insights and laugh-out-loud stories. The format may be finished, but the memories will linger long… enjoy!

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Deep Analysis — Public Service Announcement

Read Richard Feldman every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Richard is on a mission. For the past few weeks, Mike Flores has been lending his support to the “four and one” school of deckbuilding: this theory explains why having any number of a particular card in your deck other than “four” and “one” is inherently flawed. Richard disagrees. In today’s Deep Analysis, he attempts to set the record straight with what we in England call “fightin’ talk.” Let battle commence!

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Limited Lessons — Draft Situations #3

Click here for more info on Grand Prix Daytona Beach!
It seems that Nick Eisel’s week off has lasted less than three days! In this late edition of Limited Lessons, Nick returns to his popular Draft Situations article series, and today’s tricky troubles are from the top drawer. Our Limited expert touches on choosing bombs over consistency, how to correctly analyze a draft cardpool, and when to gleefully ignore the cool plays when going for the throat…

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From Right Field – What’s in the Bag?

Read Chris Romeo every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
It’s been a while – probably too long – since I reached into my male bag. I mean, my mailbag. Without further ado, let’s see what interesting stuff is in here. As usual, I’ll be changing the names to protect whatever dignity people have left after writing to me. Unless they want me to use their name. In which case, I will decide if they’re just going for Internet immortality or if they’re being genuine.

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The Beautiful Struggle – Walk the Line

Read Mark Young every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
At the prerelease, I would be shocked if someone didn’t try to play Garruk, add a counter, play a two-drop, and activate the Overrun ability all in the same turn. Or, alternatively, someone will try to make three Beasts in one turn. Or perhaps someone will try to make a Beast during an opponent’s attack step. Of course, it doesn’t work in any of those ways; you can only use one of the loyalty abilities each turn, you can only use it once, and you can only do it at sorcery speed.

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The Kitchen Table #198 — No Rares Allowed: 200 of the Best Casual Cards (#150 – #101)

Read Abe Sargent every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Good Thursday to you! Welcome back to the series that will take 200 non-rares and put them up for your perusal. Included here are some of the best hidden gems I know. Today we are counting down 150-101, but remember, these cards are not ordered… not until we get to the Top 50. Ordering a Top 200 would be a bit much, don’t you think?)

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So Many Insane Plays — The 2007 Stephen Menendian Type Four Invitational!

Read Stephen Menendian every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Last week, Stephen took us through an entire Type Four draft, and highlighted the difficult decisions made in this most frenetic of formats. This week’s follow up article takes us through the entire game, play by play and chat by chat, with some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game being thrown about left, right, and center. If you’re looking for something a little different, then this is the format for you!

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Peebles Primers — Team Drafting With Nagy

Click here for more info on Grand Prix Daytona Beach!
This week, BPM takes a break from Constructed strategy in order to bring us a dose of Limited goodness. One of his Pro Tour: Charleston team-mates, Steve Nagy, recently took part in an interesting three-on-three team draft, and BPM was there to take notes. He takes us through each pick of the draft, highlighting the juicier decisions, and opens the doors on the intricacies of the Pros’ favorite Limited format…

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Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #194 – MTGO Status Report

Read Peter Jahn... at StarCityGames.com!
Two and a half years ago, I first downloaded MTGO, started playing and wrote my Diary of an OnLine nOOb series. I’ve been playing ever since — a lot. I want to step back and see what the online game is like, how it has affected my paper play, and where it is going.

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