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This week I’d like to talk about a draft archetype that is near and dear to my heart: R/W jank. I was reading an article by Ken Krouner the other week and he said, “I have even heard rumors about Akki Avalanchers and Lava Spike making their way into highly aggressive decks built around Kami of Fire’s Roar,” while talking about red pick orders. Now if you’re anything like I was a few weeks back before Brian-David Marshall ushered in the era of the R/W jank deck here at Neutral Ground, you probably laughed whenever you saw someone play a Lava Spike without shocking something. That said, if you’ll give me a few minutes of your time, I’d like to introduce you to this deck, and maybe you too can whimsically debate around the draft table if there is any deck better than R/W jank.

In one of the best submissions we’ve received all year, Mark covers a variety of methods and mindsets to help you turn a losing situation into a win. We’re sure you will judge this for yourself, but Gene Siskel returned from the dead to give this article a big fat thumbs up, so you should at least check it out.

I’m going to kick a few hornets’ nests today. I think that everyone who has written about most challenging format gets it wrong, so I’m going to cover that. I will also discuss the whole issue of Contract from Below and ante in 5color. Abe Sargent has described banning Contract as the abortion issue of 5color — it raises heated debates, with zealots on both sides. Time to feed the flames.

Kanoot takes a look at the events of the second Vs. System Pro Circuit and investigates some similarities and differences between the Pro Tours, while delivering quotes like this: ‘Antonino actually had the best quote of Sunday when he said “Oh my God, I’ve been sitting here so long that I can actually feel myself growing fatter waiting for you to figure out the right play.”‘ He’d also like your help in answering a pressing question that’s on his mind after witnessing this weekend’s events.

Kanoot is stuck in a hotel room and can’t sleep again, but this time he has something besides jet lag and the bright Australian sun to blame.

Why do you draft Green? Don’t say it’s for the mana fixing. I’ve seen those pick orders that put Sakura-Tribe Elder and Kodama’s Reach over every other Green common. It’s true: Sakura-Tribe Elder and Kodama’s Reach are the best. And next comes Orochi Sustainer. But that’s not why you draft Green. Nope, you draft Green because you like fat. So why are you consistently overlooking some of the best fat in the set? Is it because it’s not Green?

Kanoot returns to answering your most pressing questions today, including: Who is the biggest ladies’ man on the Tour?

Nick drafts a four-color pile of awfulness in his latest Champions of Kamigawa Draft Walkthrough. Think I’m kidding or wondering how he ended up with the deck? See for yourself.

“As you probably surmised, the premise behind this deck is to run your opponent out of cards by repeatedly splicing Dampen Thought.” Yes, it’s a draft archetype. Yes, it’s actually good. Yep, Tim’s going to go into detail on how to draft this deck and include information on how to beat it as well. Need we say more?

Good day and welcome to the second installment of the Underused Card Hall of Fame. This is the place where I retire 30 cards, placing them in the Underused Card Hall of Fame. There are six categories, one for each color and another category for everything else. Five cards are retired from each category.
This is my excuse to write about one of my favorite topics — cards that you aren’t playing, but you should.

Kanoot takes you on a photographic guided tour of Tokyo, complete with an arcade visit and a picture of the Japanese version of Moat.

I’ve always been a believer in the idea that you learn more from defeats than from victories. Which means, over the years, that I’ve learned an awful lot. There’s a particular problem which I’ve known about for years, and which I’ve seen cost players a lot of games, but which I’ve found hard to explain properly. It’s when you lose because you are on autopilot. Let me try to explain what autopilot is.