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Levelling Up – Blue/Black Teachings at Grand Prix: Strasbourg

Read Tiago Chan every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
So far this year, Tiago Chan hasn’t quite lived up to his Level 6 billing. Going into the tournament, he was looking to put a few uninspired results behind him, and power himself back into the running for Player of the Year. While he didn’t quite crack the final table, he finished high on Day 2 and picked up some cash and an extra point or two. With Block Constructed the format of the approaching PTQ season, now’s the time to get aquainted with the top tech…

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Pro Perspective — Ask The Judge

Read Raphael Levy every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Sadly for Player-of-the-Year-chasing Raph, Grand Prix: Strasbourg was nothing to write home about. A few wins, a few losses, and no Day 2 action. In a change of pace, Today’s Pro Perspective sees Raph asking some pertinent questions regarding cheaters and cheating. To answer these questions, we have a Level 4 and a Level 5 judge ready and eager to help! So, if you’ve ever wondered about infractions at the top level of sanctioned play, this is the article for you!

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Ask The Drama — The Masses Have Spoken

Read Jeroen Remie every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Last week, Jeroen cast his dignity in the dirt and literally begged for your questions. You responded in your droves, packing his inbox with enough content for five or six weeks! Today’s Ask The Drama begins thinning his inbox, and Jeroen answers questions on coping with playing a Big Name Pro, Mono Black in Standard, and much much more!

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You Lika The Juice? – Weirdness

Read Bennie Smith every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Before I get into the weirdness, I figure I’d toss out some red meat for Spike to feast upon. Last week I got a message from Thomas Leveille, the guy playing in the Virginia Beach City Champs program that was kicking ass on points about halfway through. So, how did it pan out? Thomas pinged me on AIM with this message last week…

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Deconstructing Constructed – A Fresh Look At Standard

Read Josh Silvestri every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
With the Block and Legacy Grand Prix over, the next major event coming up for you, John Q Draftsalot, is Regionals. This means slogging back into the Standard metagame. I’ve been doing a running test log in an attempt to build around the basic structure of the format. These are the basic tenets of the format I’ve followed thus far when creating or tuning my decks.

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Removed From Game – Making Mistakes So You Don’t Have To

Read Richard Hagon every Wednesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Join Rich as he finds yet more inventive ways to lose at Magic. Featuring a dozen MTGO matchups, he muddles and befuddles his way through Time Spiral Block Constructed, sharing stuff that you either knew already, or feel really dirty about not knowing. But that’s okay, Rich is your friend, and he’s Making Mistakes So You Don’t Have To…

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The Combat Phase — Green Day

Read Jamie Wakefield every Tuesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Jamie returns to his roots with some good old-fashioned fattie-lovin’… as he says himself, there’s nothing sweeter than casting a huge guy, watching your opponent struggle to deal, and once they have… casting another one. He also brings us up to speed on his European adventures, and shares a few Future Sight Green cards that have been tweaked with a touch of the Wakefield magic…

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Deep Analysis — Firing a Glass Cannon at Columbus

Read Richard Feldman every Tuesday... at StarCityGames.com!
As you may have read in the official coverage, Richard Feldman and Zac Hill took a fresh-looking Trinity Green deck to Grand Prix: Columbus… and Richard came very close to making the final table. Today’s Deep Analysis looks at the creation of the deck, and provides a game-by-game rundown of the Grand Prix action!

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From Right Field – Some Love for the Old Guys

Read Chris Romeo every Tuesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Chris dives deep into his Well of Budget Decks, and surfaces holding a deck with a twist. With Time Spiral packing our binders with old-fashioned cards, it’s time to send out some deck lovin’ to the Old Guys who’ve never thrown away a Magic card. As an Old Guy who never throws away my Magic cards, I approve of this message.

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The Beautiful Struggle – Inexplicable

Read Mark Young every Tuesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Armed with a freshly-cut Hatching Plans Storm Combo deck, Mark takes to the eight-man queues… and comes up short. He can’t buy a win with this deck. Yet similar builds have been rocking up premier Event Top 8s without batting a metaphorical eyelid. Where’s Mark going wrong. Is it in his play, or the deck, or the simple strategies needed to succeed? Read on to find out!

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Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #179 – Concessions and IDs

Read Peter Jahn every Tuesday... at StarCityGames.com!
At work, I have a mug that says “Everyone’s Entitled to my Opinion.” My coworkers know that that’s my mug. So, if Flores and Bennie Smith are arguing about Green, and Zac Hill writes more about concessions, is there any doubt I’ll jump on my soapbox? No, didn’t think so. This week I’ll opine on concessions, but I’ll add some facts to the debate.

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Insert Column Name Here – Musings On Legacy And Columbus

Read The Ferrett every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!I just returned from Grand Prix: Columbus, after watching it explode past everyone’s expectations with a gigantic 883 people showing up to slap dual lands and crazy old cards down. But what format were those people really playing? Was Hulk Flash actually – *gasp* – good for Legacy? And what in heck should we ban?

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Feature Article – The Road To Regionals: Vicadin And Valium

Read new Feature Articles each Monday and Thursday... only on StarCityGames.com!
He’s been away for a while, but Mr Rizzo is back with a bang! Today’s dose of Rizzo Genius takes us through his long hard haul towards this year’s Regionals, with update after update to his popular Nearly Mono-Black in Standard deck. Expect no maindeck Black cards by the end of the article. He also recounts something rather frightening… I’ll let the great man tell that tale in his own irreverent fashion.

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Limited Lessons — The Faces of Blue in TPF Draft

Read Nick Eisel every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!
Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a popular TTT draft strategy called U/R. It was the biggest and strongest draft strategy in the kingdom. Then, suddenly, along came Planar Chaos, and the strategy got a little weaker. Then came Future Sight, and the strategy fell to pieces. What went wrong? Nick answers that question, and provides an excellent breakdown of all the U/x color parings for TPF draft!

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So Many Insane Plays – Eternal Potpourri: Doomsday, Gifts, and Legacy Flash

Read Stephen Menendian every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!
Stephen takes a split-level look at the two older formats today. First up, he looks at Vintage. He brings us an interesting Doomsday list for those Vintage players who enjoy a good puzzle, and says a few words on the hardy perennial Meandeck Gifts. In Legacy, he shares his personal build of Hulk Flash, a build that he believes is the definitive version of the deck thus far…

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