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Ken didn’t play in the GP this weekend, but he did attend the event. If you want more explanation than that, you’ll have to check inside.

Magic is without a doubt a game with elements of both luck and skill. I happen to believe that the skill aspect is much larger than the luck part. How else would you explain repeat champions such as legends Kai Budde or Jon Finkel? One can acquire additional skill by reading strategy articles, play testing, and various other means. However, no matter how much you practice, there’s always going to be someone with more innate skill than you. There will always be bad matchups. There will always be bad draws. At some point in your Magic career, you will be the huge underdog, and this guide is for you.

What deck do you think will win the Standard portion of Worlds?

In 1994, while I was a student in New Orleans at Tulane, there was a man by the name of Tony Parodi who frequently stopped in at Jim Hanley’s Universe. Tony hated the feel of newsprint, and was not there for comic books. However, he had gotten into this great new collectible card game, and wanted Jim Hanley’s to start carrying the game, so he could pick them up during his lunch break. After weeks of pestering, the store employees finally agreed to order a single box of product. The product had already gone up above retail price on the wholesale level, so they priced the packs at $10 each. The box of Legends was put out at the register that morning at 10am. By noon, the entire box had been sold.

“I can’t believe I lost again.”
“Shucks, I just lost.”
“I thought I was going to win. I can’t believe I just lost.”
“Where are my pants?”

More mulligan decisions with the master.

Refusing to give in to the system, I decide to write today’s article. No Magic article has been in me longer than this one, yearning to breathe free. Writing this article is my greatest fear. And maybe my greatest joy as well.

It’s now halfway through the Block Constructed PTQ season. So far, the block looks pretty solid. A lot of decks have game, and nothing — not even Ravager — is dominant. It’s time for an overview and some breakdowns.

In the past month of playing at least a draft a day, I’m fairly certain that I’ve broken the MD5 draft format wide open with a single archetype. I basically go into every draft with the idea of forcing this deck in some shape or form, since the deck is extremely flexible and maximizes the power level you can obtain, while still keeping up with the tempo of the format.

Now with free Rogue Deck List! Recently Chad Ellis and others have published on a deck that I was working on (shh shh secretly) a while back. I will go into detail later as to why I disagree with a lot of what Chad thinks. First of all, here is my version…

Mike Flores is a buffoon. I can say this because I know him better than most of you, and nearly anyone who hangs out with or talks to Flores for an extended period of time will come to this realization. Oh, don’t get me wrong… Flores is brilliant. But he also has innumerable flaws, many of which I will detail here in this very article.

Today’s question of:”Can you explain some of the nicknames some players on the Pro Tour have acquired? How did William Jensen get to be known as ‘Baby Huey?’ Why is Eric Taylor so ‘Danger’ous? Since when is ‘Beverly’ a nickname for ‘Nicolas?'” is answered by none other than the Dragon Master himself, Brian Kibler!

My thrill, when it came to pro competition, was the accomplishment and not the reward. When I won money at Pro Tour: Mainz, I was thrilled that I had finally finished in the money, more so than with the money I had won. Sure, the money was good, but the part I felt best about was having done so well. This attitude is what separates the true professional Magic players from the weekend warrior Pro Tour players. Gung-ho, must-win Pro players have their eyes on the prize.