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Flores Friday michaelj Monday – Cutting off the End Game

Last week’s Flores Friday has mutated into a special michaelj Monday… and it’s a corker! Mike discusses that most elusive of skills: cohesive strategy. By fixing a blueprint of plays, one path to success involves cutting off the important end game of your opponent. Just how do we go about this? Plus, Mike brings us a Standard deck to throw against the field: White Wafo-Tapa, updated.

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The Innovator Leaks The Real Block Decks

With Mike Flores taking a mini-break until Monday, we’ve got the next best thing (if you believe the results from our 2006 Awards article)… Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin! Today, his mercurial eye turns to the Time Spiral Block Constructed format, and he presents four decks for our consumption. Some are new twists on old favorites, while some are new offerings. Enjoy!

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From The Lab: The Applications of Imprecision

Craig “The Professor” Jones brings an interesting technical and ethical question to the table this week: is imprecise play part and parcel of the tournament experience, or is it something to be vilified and removed from our glorious game? Where do we draw the line between bluffing and misrepresentation? With some fantastic in-game examples, Craig attempts to separate the White Hats from the Black Hats…

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Drafting With Rich – TTP #10

You all know the drill by now… Rich Hoaen, Canada’s finest and grumpiest draft export, takes us by the hand and drags us through the rollercoaster ride of an 8-4 TTP Draft on Magic Online. From pick 1 to pick 45, Rich shares them all, and his final deck and draft performance are analysed in the article, the forums, and beyond. Come join in the fun!

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The Magic Show #37 — A Conversation With Chris Romeo

Hello everybody, this week’s show was built on the idea of sending cards to a soldier in Baghdad. But four hours of play can take conversations in a lot of places. Inside you’ll see what myself, Romeo, and our friend Joe think about the current state of Magic and more!

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The Real Deal – What’s Hot and What’s Not?

In today’s edition of The Real Deal, Ben gives you hot tips about which cards are burning up in price, and which are going cold! Find out the ten biggest movers in Standard, the most desired foil cards in Magic, and much more! This is an absolute must-read article!

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Magical Hack: April Fools, or The Long Road To Regionals

Really, I don’t know where to begin with the intro for this one. Sean, it seems, has gone mad… and handed over the bulk of his column to someone else. I won’t spoil the surprise, but if you’re looking for top-notch Standard matchup analysis, this will be the best — and strangest — you’ll see this dec(k)ade…

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Feature Article – Sullivan Library: Forgiveness

According to Adrian, some decks treat us better than others. Of course, we know this to be true — Osyp’s famous Arcbound Ravager quote, likening the card to our Fairy Godmother, springs to mind. So how can we recognize such “forgiving” decks, and how can we maximize our chances to win in a tournament setting? Adrian is here to show us the way!

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Levelling Up — Could Things Have Been Different?

Tiago, one of the privileged few at Level 6 in the Pro Player’s Club, is one of the best players in the world for a very good reason. Not content with notching up a loss to bad luck, Mr Chan enjoys dissecting each loss after the event, in an attempt to highlight any mistakes he may have made. In the first of what promises to be an interesting series, Tiago analyzes his losses thus far this season, and asks… Could Things Have Been Different?

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Peebles Primers – Networks

Everyone knows that the only way to improve your game is to play against the strongest players available. And it seems that success comes with the backing of a large testing team or online clan. The Eternal Question, however, is how does one position oneself in order to create such networks of playtesting talent? BPM shares his own journey, and presents some handy tips for anyone looking to take their game to the next level.

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Drafting With Rich – TTP #9

You all know the drill by now… Rich Hoaen, Canada’s finest and grumpiest draft export, takes us by the hand and drags us through the rollercoaster ride of an 8-4 TTP Draft on Magic Online. From pick 1 to pick 45, Rich shares them all, and his final deck and draft performance are analysed in the article, the forums, and beyond. Come join in the fun!

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Tact or Friction — Broken Pieces

I have a handful of bones today. Bits and pieces of decks that might have a full structure if you can find them. Nuts and bolts, structures that I’ve been busy bashing against one another, trying to find the right angle at which they become round pegs. Then, once I have properly-functioning not-good-enough decks, I can waste my time trying to make them good enough to compete in metagame of square holes.

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The Kitchen Table #174 – The Compendium of Alternate Formats, Entry Seven: Just One Star

Today’s article investigates a format where you are required to play only those cards with a one-star rating, based on the most current Inquest magazine. I found this format on a website with several alternate formats listed, and it sounded like fun to try. I love alternate formats, as long as they are deckbuilding formats.

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Removed From Game – The Pro Year So Far

With only Grand Prix: not Boston between us and the next Pro Tour event of the year in Yokohama, it’s time to bring you up to speed with all the goings on in the world of Pro Magic. For reference, here’s my 100% unofficial database of what’s happened so far. This time around, we’ll be taking a top-down approach, meaning that if you’re looking for a pithy comment on the juicy two-point brigade, you’re going to need either a lot of patience or a scroll button. Let’s rock ‘n’ roll…

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Pro Perspective – Pimp My Draft #2

Last week’s introduction to this exciting series proved to be insanely popular, and so Raph is back with another installment! With the help of a willing guinea-pig, Raph takes us through a draft from beginning to end, with the first picks being made by the non-Levy player. If you wanna get in on the action, stay tuned!

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