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Selecting a Deck for Fun and Profit

Tournaments are rarely won by the player who had the cleverest deck. The reason rogue victories are so memorable is that they are uncommon and unexpected. We remember the Decree Deck, the Solution, Scrounger TurboLand, and so on because we expect victories in their breakout environments from other choices. Most of the time, tournaments are won by the luckiest players making the fewest mistakes, playing the best tuned versions of consistent archetype decks. But how do players select which decks, specifically, that they will bring?

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You CAN Play Type I #140 – Would You Loan Your Moxen to an Eight-year-old?

Each June, I’ve taken to taking a step back and just assessing where I am, in column form. The column meter is now at 140, and this annual retreat into a written fortress of solitude has become very valuable. Though perhaps I find myself in the mood for something more mellow in 2004.

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Rule of Law: Are you in a band?

The problem with banding is that hardly anyone understands what it does. And since Rule of Law is designed to give people understanding of the rules, it only makes sense that I at least try to tackle banding (and its ugly stepsister,”bands with other”).

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Deck Names – You Are Not Special, Just Call It a Variation

Recently, there have been a few different decks to catch my attention, trying to pass themselves off as new archetypes despite being just slightly different from already existing or well-known decks. So today, I’m going to pull a JP Meyer and tell everyone that they’re wrong, and I’m right. (JP quotes sprinkled in to make sure you at least”heh” a couple of times.)

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Blog Fanatic: I was a Teenage Fallen Empires Box Winner, Part 2

I woke up Monday morning to find this message in my e-mail box:”My suggestion is that you not tease your readers with unfinished stories. Especially not after telling them they would only have to wait another blog to hear the finale.

Oh and you have a cute butt.”

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Ask Ken, 08/03/2004

In last week’s draft, I had a hand of: Infused Arrows, Suntouched Myr, Thought Courier, Raise the Alarm, Arcbound Worker, 2 Swamps. Do you mulligan this hand or not?

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Blog Elemental – The Art of the Finisher

Let me be clear and say that I think Qumulox is a good, solid finisher for my deck. He has won me countless games. The only times I have been unhappy to draw him is when I couldn’t find the UU in his cost, which said more about a problem with my mana base than anything else. If you have been following along with your own Nuts and Bolts experiment and want to keep the deck to budget-proportions, keep Qumulox right where he is.
For my own deck, however, I guess I’m going to try and up the style points.

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StarCityGames.com Writer Lost in Desert

Our favorite Type One curmudgeon hasn’t been heard from in weeks!

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They Keep Getting Younger – Dutch Nationals *2nd*

So how exactly did the World’s newest Magic prodigy make it to the Dutch National team, home of some of the best Magicians on the planet, in his first ever Nationals event? We have the full story, right here.

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From Right Field: All You Need is Blog

Follow Romeo as he takes you through his average Magic week, complete with awful new deck ideas, actual playtesting sections, and the usual assortment of cheesecake.

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Blog Fanatic: What’s in Store

Rich Jacques (one of our regulars) got the Wall deck at my deck challenge. Rich got paired up against Erhnam and Burnem in the fourth round, and complained bitterly about losing to River Boa two of the games. “He has four Boas, and I have only four Swords! I have no other way to deal with them!” I picked up his sideboard to find he had sided out Stinging Barriers. “Uh Rich, these guys are pretty good against one toughness creatures. “Oh my God!” yelled Virginia State Champion Wes Moss, one of Rich’s friends. “That’s like the best card in your deck. Why’d you side it out?”

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Blog Elemental — The Mastermind Behind Nuts and Bolts

So last week I get an e-mail from an R&D member who happens to be the original creator of the Nuts and Bolts preconstructed deck discussing some possible additions to the deck…

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Ask Ken, 08/02/2004

What is your take on Darksteel Pendant in Limited?

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The Mirrodin Block Limited Review – Fifth Dawn Black and Red

This one will cover my favorite topics, Black draft. Black is my current favorite son. It is severely underdrafted and very deep once you get out of the first pack. This color has aggressive cards, control cards, and they all work well together.

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Keeper is Dead, Long Live 4-Color Control!

Once I saw that 4CC was really out in forceat the Power 9, I wondered why it didn’t do better. Unfortunately I don’t have the answer. A possible explanation is improper metagaming. Decks like Fish and Suicide Black thrive on taking advantage of the weaknesses of the upper tier decks to get ahead. 4CC operates on a similar principle, hoping to have the tools to handle whatever it sits down in front of it. Today I’m going to search around in the toolbox and figure out what the”right” tools are.

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