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Flores Friday – Sideboarding with the Once and Future #1 Apprentices

Read Mike Flores every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Last weekend, Mike Flores helped two of his self-appointed “apprentices” make Top 8 at a Time Spiral Block Constructed PTQ. Asher Hecht came third, and Josh Ravitz won the whole thing. This was due, in no small part, to excellent deck choice and playskill… but also because of the excellent sideboarding strategy. Mike brings us the low-down today, plus an exhaustive response to Adrian Sullivan’s claims regarding the 4/1 “dogma” of card numbers in deck construction.

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Feature Article – Sullivan Library: Deck Genesis

Read Feature Articles every Monday and Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Adrian Sullivan, one of the finest deckbuilding minds in the game, has done it again. Today’s Sullivan Library takes us through a fantastic new Green/White deck that has positive matchups against four of the top five decks in Standard. If that isn’t enough, the article also divulges some of the Master Builder’s deck design secrets. Looking to smash at a Standard tournament, or hoping to hone your deckbuilding skills? Then this is the article for you!

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Deep Analysis – Rock in Block

Read Richard Feldman every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Richard Feldman, fresh off a harrowing Teachings-fueled run of “nearly” performances in Time Spiral Block Constructed PTQs, has decided to try something a little different. Green/Black Rock-style decks have been a staple of every Constructed format for many a year… so why should TSP Block be any different? Richard brings us the decklist, the sideboard plans, and some crafty strategic knowledge that enables us to Rock Out With Our Rock Out (In Block Out). Or something.

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Drafting With Kenji – TPF #7

Draft with Kenji... every day at StarCityGames.com!
Richie Hoaen, our resident draft expert for many a month, has decided to hang up his boots… and in his place we’re proud to announce Kenji Tsumura! As before, Kenji will take us through a Time Spiral draft from pick 1 to pick 45, before sharing his draft deck and commenting briefly on the games. Thanks for the great run, Rich, we’ll miss you… and hello Kenji!

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From Right Field – The End of an Era

Read Chris Romeo every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
My last two columns were about staple rares that I think that budget players should try to pick up. Many people commented on the fact that the lists were “too long” and had “too many cards” on them to be considered “staples.” While I addressed that issue at the beginning of last week’s column, I want to come back to it from a different angle.

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The Beautiful Struggle – Return of the King Pawn

Read Mark Young every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Hello everyone, I’m back. August is not an easy month for someone whose job is to write about tournament Magic, but at least we have Block Constructed season to talk about. Plus, some Lorwyn information is starting to leak out; MTGSalvation has already spoiled 21 cards*. And there are always the random strategic concepts that I’ll see applied in a game and I think, “that would make a great article.”

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The Kitchen Table #194 — Magic Stinkers

Read Abe Sargent every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
I was recently thinking that I wanted to do something special for my 200th article. After come consideration, I have decided to pull out 200 cards that I think are really keen and that you should be playing with and write them all up. As I search through my cards for the goods, I have come across some real stinkers. These are some of the worst cards of all time. What I thought I would do today is to share some of these classic bombs, and then build some decks around them…

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So Many Insane Plays – Figures Don’t Lie, But Liars Figure: A Vintage Metagame Report

Read Stephen Menendian every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
On June 20th, the DCI dropped a megaton bomb. Gifts Ungiven was restricted, and Gush, Mind Twist, Black Vise, and Voltaic Key were all unrestricted. In combination with the errata on Flash and the unleashing of Future Sight, the Vintage metagame experienced a massive transformation. Today, Stephen Menendian examines the fallout from this monumental shift, and shows us where we stand amid the rubble.

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Peebles Primers — Blocking Isn’t Loose

Read Benjamin Peebles-Mundy every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Zac Hill recently offered the opinion that, in Limited at least, “blocking is loose.” Benjamin Peebles-Mundy disagrees. In part 1 of today’s Peebles Primer, he offers a very persuasive counterpoint to Zac’s claim. Once the Limited theory has finished, BPM moves onto some fun Dredge versus Aggro game descriptions in Standard, showing us the way to beat those tricky beatdown decks with fuel and fire from the grave…

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Drafting With Kenji – TPF #6

Draft with Kenji... every day at StarCityGames.com!
Richie Hoaen, our resident draft expert for many a month, has decided to hang up his boots… and in his place we’re proud to announce Kenji Tsumura! As before, Kenji will take us through a Time Spiral draft from pick 1 to pick 45, before sharing his draft deck and commenting briefly on the games. Thanks for the great run, Rich, we’ll miss you… and hello Kenji!

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Chatter of the Squirrel — Two Things

Read Zac Hill every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Last week’s piece generated some substantial commotion on the forums. One thing that really stood out from that discussion, though, was that a lot of people didn’t really seem to have a good idea of what it meant to receive a signal in a draft. While most experienced players have figured signaling out, I want to take the time to really spell out what a signal is for some of my readers who might be newer to booster draft.

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You Lika The Juice? – Storytellers and Hometown Heroes

Read Bennie Smith every week... at StarCityGames.com!
I have to say, Aaron Forsythe’s column last Friday put a huge grin on my face. When they first listed the categories for the Magic Invitational this year, the “Storyteller” category certainly raised an eyebrow and got the imagination working. Then, when they pushed back the ballot announcement, that raised expectations further – why the delay? What had changed? What was going on behind the scenes? Let’s dig into what Aaron said and figure out what’s going on…

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Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #190 – Magical Weekend

Read Peter Jahn... at StarCityGames.com!
Last week was a long, hard slog, with too much work, a nasty cold and no Magic. In short, exciting things failed to happen. What was worse was that I had already bought some online Tenth Edition packs, but the release events didn’t start until Friday. I knew the packs were there, and that I had to wait to open them. It was like being a kid two weeks before Christmas. The weekend, however, promised to be better. My goal was to play a lot of Magic, and to hit as many formats as possible.

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From The Lab Island: Why Does Everyone Hate the Pros?

Read Craig Jones every Tuesday... at StarCityGames.com!
This week, Craig “The Professor” Jones waxes lyrical on the upcoming Invitational. Does he beg for your vote? Of course he does. That said, this article is far more than self-promotion. Prof discusses the true nature of the Invitational, and posits the theory that the much-discussed Storyteller ballot is actually a complete masterstroke… read on to find out why!

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Limited Lessons — X Marks The Draft

Read Nick Eisel... at StarCityGames.com!
Today marks the opening of the Tenth Edition Draft queues on Magic Online… and Nick Eisel is here to help. In this illuminating article, Nick breaks down the top commons in each of the colors, and looks at some of the stronger draft archetypes. Is U/W the way to go with White? Is Four-Color Green, or even Five-Color Green, viable in a format bursting with mana fixing? Nick reveals all…

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