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Levelling Up – When a Plan Doesn’t Come Together

Tiago, fresh off his 9th-place finish at Grand Prix: Dallas, turns his talented eye towards Standard in preparation for Grand Prix: Kyoto. He takes a fresh look at Angelfire, the deck that took him to the Top 8 at Worlds, and updates it with Planar Chaos goodness. He also gives us the lowdown on his unsuccessful jaunt to GP: Amsterdam.

Peebles Primers — The Standard Metagame

With Magic Online Constructed tournaments recently coming back… erm… online, Benjamin Peebles-Mundy takes a look at the diverse Standard metagame, post-Planar Chaos. Which Planar Chaos cards have made a splash in Premier Event Top 8s of late? Are Dralnu du Louvre and Mono-Green Aggro still the decks to beat? Read on to find out!

Chatter of the Squirrel — One More Shot

In a final attempt to qualify for Pro Tour: Yokohama, Zac brings us a deck of his own design that may just have the legs to take him all the way. Considering his last Extended offering was Tenacious Tron, a deck that went on to shape the metagame, then maybe Zac his deck will be the Last Man Standing at his approaching PTQ…

Tact or Friction — All Things Nice

How many people would Craig Jones have drinking his villainous Kool-Aid (and trust me, it is villainous), if this had been his Shining Moment?

9:28 MadProfessor plays Char targeting PimpHat
9:29 Turn 9: MadProfessor.
9:29 MadProfessor: OMG OMG OMG OMG
9:29 MadProfessor plays Lightning Helix targeting PimpHat
9:30 PimpHat has lost the connection

The Kitchen Table #172 – The Essentials, Volume Two

Read Abe Sargent... every Thursday at
StarCityGames.com!Hello! I hope you all had a fond week of happiness and joy since the last article. Today I am going to continue the theme I began last week when I discussed a Highlander Five-Color deck named The Essentials. The goal of The Essentials deck is to demonstrate the top cards in the format while also serving as an actual deck.

Invitation Voting — A Possible Overhaul

Last year’s voting process for the Magic Invitational was rife with controversy. In order to streamline the process and initiate a fairer system, Julien Nuijten has a few changes that he’d like to see…

Unlocking Legacy – The Legacy Mail Bag

In today’s episode of Unlocking Legacy, Dan tackles the pile of letters that accumulated after he made his call for questions.

Pro Perspective — The Grand Prix and Me

As we all know, Raph has recently lit up the Grand Prix circuit with back-to-back wins at Dallas and Singapore. Of course, those tournaments are just the tip of a huge Grand Prix iceberg… Raph has attended a whopping 57 GPs in total. Today’s Pro Perspective sees Raph take a reflective look back at some of his personal highlights and low-points. GP: Amsterdam? Guess where that one sits in the list…

Ask The Drama – Drama’s Back

This past weekend, Jeroen teamed with Old School Pro Victor van der Broek, and they proceeded to push their way to the very top of the pile, only to fall at the final hurdle. Still, a Top 8 finish at a 666-team PTQ is a fine result… and Jeroen talks us through some of the more interesting deckbuilding points.

Deconstructing Constructed – Paired Up

With Time Spiral Block Constructed the current sixty-card format of the connoisseur, Josh looks at one of the most interesting cards to come out of the new set — Wild Pair. He breaks down the creature options available to anyone looking to abuse the six-mana enchantment, and presents an intriguing pair of Pair lists from which we can expand.

Magic Grab Bag #9 – Rebellion

Rivien turns his back on the Burning Issue today, instead choosing to bring us up to date with the tribal counts now Planar Chaos is in the mix. So if you’ve been waiting for those extra Kithkins, Cockatrices, or Lammasus to power up your themed deck goodness, now’s the time to check it out! Or, y’know, make a Human deck instead.

The Combat Phase — Happy New Year!

Jamie has goals. Magic goals, and non-Magic goals. In the spirit of endeavor that mirrors his new Spanish start, Mr Wakefield declares the coming of the Wakefield New Year! He also shares his latest thoughts on his particular color of choice, and brings us his Wakefield New Year’s Resolutions. Will he stick to them? Read on to find out!

Deep Analysis — Resilience

Richard Feldman, having significantly altered the Extended format with Zac Hill and Tenacious Tron, nevertheless sees himself without a Blue Envelope for his trouble. It’s true that he put the hours in this time… so what went wrong? Today’s Deep Analysis attempts to find out, and suggests that ditching a deck in the face of extreme hate may not be a wise move at all…

From Right Field – The Rules of Engagement

Every once in a while, I find it necessary and useful to essentially hit the reset button on this column. A lot of people are new to this here site here every week, just as a lot of people are new to the game itself. Even with a column that’s as basic as mine, some people need a primer of sorts on where I’m coming from…

The Beautiful Struggle – I Heart NY

Whenever I say that it’s easier for me to get to Neutral Ground in New York City for a PTQ than many locations that are geographically closer to Washington, it raises the usual set of eyebrows. It’s a non-trivial amount of money, and a mighty long trip, just to suffer through the crush of gamers and the mental pressure of seven or eight rounds of Magic. Why I would bother going all that way for competition that is some of the toughest in the country?