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Play Magic Against the Computer, or Better Than Apprentice

I’m writing this article to promote a program I’ve written, called “MTG Forge,” that lets you play Magic against a computer opponent using all the rules of a real game. It’s really fun. Currently there are 400 cards available, and you can play in three modes: Constructed (all the cards), Sealed, or Draft.

[Editor’s Note: It’s a quiet time for Magic at the moment. Roll on Lorwyn, say I. In the meantime, here’s something a little different…]

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Levelling Up – U/B/R Control at Grand Prix: San Francisco

Read Tiago Chan every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
After powering out to a 6-0 start at Grand Prix: San Francisco (albeit on the back of three byes and three great matchups), Tiago needed a simple “win and in” result to qualify for Day 2 play. Today’s Levelling Up examines where the wheels fell off the wagon. He also looks at his preparation for the GP, and explains why he spends a great deal of his time traveling to play Magic…

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The Magic Show #59 — Planeswalkin’

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 take a look at the first new card type since the introduction of the game, my upcoming performance in Pro Tour: Valencia (yes, you read that right), and more. Let’s go! Warning: Contains Spoilers.

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Not Magical Hack — Sportsmanship

Read Sean McKeown every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Sportsmanship is a gray area in Magic. That’s because everyone has a different idea about what sporting play is. Take, for instance, use of headphones while you are playing. To me it’s a sign of disrespect, but others won’t think twice about it. You can just think about it in terms of game play… for instance, what if someone calls you on the cell phone and gives you advice? That’s clearly against the rules…

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Unlocking Legacy – Tarmogoyf Deckbuilding

Read Legacy articles every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Without a doubt, Tarmogoyf is the best creature in Legacy. Unsatisfied with current Threshold decks, Kevin presents several ideas on how to best use the Goyf. He also looks at ways to build around and play around Counterbalance.

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Flores Friday – The Lesson: Two-and-a Half Decks for Post-Lorwyn Standard… Almost

Read Mike Flores every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
[Editor’s Note: This article was a little late on Friday, so we’re running it again today in case you missed it.]

Mike’s Flores Friday takes us through his preparations thus far for States… yeah, that’s right: STATES. He shares two Standard decklists pulled deep from his well of creativity, both without a Ravnica card to their name, and walks us through some sample games. How does he fare? Well, the second offering is christened “Unbeatable.dec,” so you figure it out…

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Feature Article – Sullivan Library: California Teachings – The National Champs at San Francisco

Read Feature Articles every Monday and Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
The Time Spiral Block Constructed season is winding down… there are a few PTQs left, and a European Grand Prix, but that’s about it. To round out the Block metagame talk, Adrian Sullivan dissects the winning deck from the recent Grand Prix: San Francisco, a deck that was piloted to the Top 8 by no less than three talented spellslingers…

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Deep Analysis – Tiered Metagames

Read Richard Feldman every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
This week’s Deep Analysis sees Richard bring a fresh perspective on metagaming to the table. If you look at your average Constructed PTQ or GP Top 8, you’ll see a number of different decklists doing well at the hands of highly proficient mages. How on earth do these folk come to radically different conclusions concerning the “best deck” to play at any given time? Richard reveals all!

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From Right Field – Do Zombies Dream?

Read Chris Romeo every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
While I am often referred to as “Dr. Romeo“ in this column, I‘m not a doctor in the conventional sense of the word. I’m a doctor of jurisprudence. In other words, I just have the title of doctor, like Dr. Henry Kissinger with his Ph.D. from Harvard, or Dr. Dre with his degree in funkology. So, before writing this column I had little knowledge of the physiology and neurology of Zombies. I had to find out if Zombies dreamed…

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The Beautiful Struggle – Closing the Book on Block

Read Mark Young every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
The sun is setting on Block Constructed season. The last tournament in my area was last weekend (I finished an unceremonious 2-1-2, after picking up a pair of draws with U/B Mystical Teachings). DragonCon’s website is a little confusing, but it doesn’t seem that they have any Magic tournaments this weekend, much less Block events. Grand Prix: Florence is next weekend, and then it truly will be over. For most of the Western Hemisphere it’s already time to move on to Lorwyn Block.

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The Kitchen Table #196 — Tribals on the Loose

Read Abe Sargent every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Now that we know that Lorwyn has a tribal theme, it seems like a solid idea to actually explore some tribal ideas and make some decks in homage to the new set. If Lorwyn really changes the nature of Tribal decks, then these might be the last old school tribal decks I will build for a while.

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So Many Insane Plays – Crashing The Invitational

Read Stephen Menendian every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Unsurprisingly, Stephen Menendian’s Magical thoughts are currently mired in the Invitational. Today’s So Many Insane Plays details the Voice of Vintage’s thoughts on hearing of his Invitation invite, and takes us through some his ideas on the possible upcoming formats. He breaks down the Invitational info from the past, and highlights the mammoth task ahead of him…

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Peebles Primers — A Dredge Walkthrough

Read Benjamin Peebles-Mundy every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!Now the Tenth Edition Release Events have finished, it’s business as usual with the Standard and Block Constructed Premier Events. Benjamin Peebles-Mundy returns to his beloved Vengeful Dredge deck and walks us through a tricky match against Red/Green Aggro. Just what can you do when they kill all your Dredge enablers?

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You Lika The Juice? – Preparing for Champs, Day 0

Read Bennie Smith every week... at StarCityGames.com!
With Time Spiral Block Constructed season winding down, and everyone holding their breath for news of Lorwyn trickling out from Wizards, Scrye, and other magazines, and the eagle-eyed sleuths at MTGSalvation, it’s tempting to just drift away from thinking about Magic right now. I mean, you spend eleven months devouring Magic strategy and content, you can take a month off… right?

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Chatter of the Squirrel – The Great Divide, or Why Gabe Walls is Good For You

Read Zac Hill every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
While it may shock people to hear this, Wizards’ employees do not sit enraptured at the edges of their chairs paralyzed in sheer ecstasy at the thought of handing out company dollars to random people they’ve never met before. It’s not as if being good at a card game automatically entitles you to a plethora of $40,000 checks hand-delivered to your doorstep with a smile.

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