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SCG Daily – Thoughts From St. Louis

We’re all going to make play mistakes, we’re all going to get out-topdecked, we’re all going to want to beleaguer our friends with some horribly tedious bad-beat story that makes them fantasize about how nice it would be to bore a corkscrew into our brains and shut us up. Despite all that, though, research has shown that retroactively winning the game in our heads by drawing one of our 43650345621 outs instead of that pesky basic land does not actually count as a win to the DCI.

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Shredder v2.0 – More Rock than Domain

The Innovator Patrick Chapin updates his powerful Shredder.dec, an Extended offering that has positive matchups against the majority of the field – especially that ornery Friggorid. Last time, the deck felt more Necro than Prison… this time, it feels more Rock than Domain. This article is packed with dedicated matchup strategy and explicit sideboarding advice… could Shredder v2.0 be the deck for you?

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Flaring Up at Nationals – A U.S. Nationals Report *3rd*

In his first article for StarCityGames, Luis Scott-Vargas takes us through a blow-by-blow account of his recent wonderful run in the U.S. National Championship. Mulligans, mana, monsters, and madness… all are present, with highs and lows aplenty! His fine run only stuttered in the Top 8, where he fell to eventual champion and playtest partner Paul Cheon… A strong performance, and a strong debut article!

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Drafting With Rich #31

Rich continues his excellent series of RGD Draft walkthroughs, presenting each pick as it happened and highlighting each card chosen. He shares his final decklist, and gives us a brief overview of his results and processes. As usual, for more detailed draft deconstruction, come visit us in the forums!

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The Weekly Guild Build: Obey the Cow God

Read Eli... every Monday (for 3 weeks) at StarCityGames.com!I’m starting up a week off, capped off by Grand Prix: Hiroshima. Lord knows, I’ve got enough writing on my plate at the moment. The fact that my builds haven’t had actual battle testing irks me, so I’ll note that my next installment will cover a Top 8 Sealed deck helmed by myself. A little taste of victory enlivens the writer’s wit. (It has nothing to do with bragging. No, not in the slightest.)

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Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #148: Vintage Versus Standard, One More Time

Last article, I wrote about the cost of Magic, specifically Standard. In the forums, the debate developed two sidetracks; the “you just hate dual lands” and “play Vintage, it’s cheaper in the long run.” The first sidetrack is just stupid — read the fu- err, fine article, I don’t hate the duals. As for the second sidetrack, well, let’s do the math…

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SCG Daily – Learning From The Basic Game

After four months’ absence, this is all I can muster. I’m really slipping. Must be all that time hanging around Tim Aten and bathing in a fountain of pure unadulterated apathy. I’ve already learnt better than to try and berate myself in the presence of The Master Himself, and without an avalanche of self-loathing I realized that my writing is completely bereft of content. But I’m assigned to a daily, so I have to try.

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The Continuing, Somewhat Confusing, Adventures of White Wafo-Tapa

With Solar Flare being the deck of choice, and with Heartbeat taking its rightful place atop the metagame mountain, Mike revisits old ground to find a solution to the skewed matchup problem. White Wafo-Tapa, born from a U/R Wildfire list, attempts to harness power and consistency, proving to be surprisingly durable against the top contenders…Is it the deck that’ll win you your next Standard tournament?

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Discussing Solar Flare

Solar Flare, the worst kept secret in Magic, continues to show strong at the top tables of high-level events. This child of Magic Online held a unique position in the metagame… and sadly, it appears that Solar Flare’s day in the sun may soon be coming to an end. Will the deck surpass its shelf-life, or will it remain a mere flash in the pan?

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Drafting With Rich #30

Rich continues his excellent series of RGD Draft walkthroughs, presenting each pick as it happened and highlighting each card chosen. He shares his final decklist, and gives us a brief overview of his results and processes. As usual, for more detailed draft deconstruction, come visit us in the forums!

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Magical Hack: Heartbeat of Summer

Read Sean McKeown... every Friday at StarCityGames.com!

With Coldsnap entering the Constructed cardpool in a matter of days, Sean looks at a possible upgrade to the popular (and intricate) Heartbeat Combo deck. Into the North? Scrying Sheets? Does it add anything to this already-powerful deck? Read on to find out!

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Legacy Duel for Duals III, Day 1: Metagame Analysis and Breakdown

Historically, SCG Duel for Duals (DFD) have been dominated by Goblins and Reset High Tide (“Solidarity”), with each of those decks winning the past two DFDs. How did they do this time?

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SCG Daily Redux – The Atlanta House Aftermath

I figured a follow-up article was in order for the Atlanta House Blog. Clearly much of the excitement occurred after the blog closed, so I wanted to fill you in on that. I also wanted to impart some of the general and specific lessons I learned during the flood of gamers. Finally, I wanted to discuss my picks for the Hall of Fame.

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SCG Daily – The Folklore of Magic #15

Adam completes his daily series with a look at the Tiddy Mun, presenting some interesting views on the nature of Black in our glorious game. And before you ask… yes, we all talk like that in England…

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Testing Standard For Nationals

Nick took a methodical, structured approach to Standard testing for the 2006 U.S. Nationals. His article today shares his process, step-by-step, with his thoughts behind a number of decks in the current metagame. He shares his test decks, and the list of his final weapon of choice, alongside some practical tips on preparing for large events. Invaluable advice for those working toward upcoming Constructed tournaments.

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