TagStandard

Innovations – Ten Shadowmoor Cards

Read Patrick Chapin every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, April 21st – Shadowmoor is here, in spirit if not yet in body. Today, Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin takes us through his personal viewpoints on ten of the more exciting cardboard rectangles available in the new set. Do you agree with his assessment?

Sullivan Library – Shadowmoor’s Shusher: Wakefield’s New Favorite Card

Read Adrian Sullivan every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, April 18th – Tomorrow morning, Magic players worldwide finally get their hands on the new cards from Shadowmoor… and one card in particular is causing waves in the anti-Blue rank and file. Today, Adrian Sullivan investigates the little Grizzly Bear that may just turn this game on its head…

Flores Friday – Snap Judgments Continued… Now with Free Deck Lists!

Read Mike Flores every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Friday, April 18th – Earlier this week, Mike Flores took us through some of his initial thoughts on the exciting Constructed cards on offer in Shadowmoor. Today, he continues where he left off, and spices things up with a few preliminary deck lists and ideas. If you’re looking for an edge in Shadowmoor Standard, here’s the perfect place to start!

Down And Dirty – Winning With Wizards: City Champion!

Read Kyle Sanchez every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, April 17th – Kyle Sanchez, armed with his funky and fresh Wizard deck, rocked up to his City Championship tournament… and walked away the victor! Today, he takes us through the intricacies behind his deck, and shows us how he made it to the top. Arbiter of Knollridge… who knew?

Deep Analysis – Taking on the Best Deck

Read Richard Feldman every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, April 17th – Last week, Richard tuned his innovative Spectral Visions deck in order to gain ground in the awful Red matchup. Today, he throws the deck against the toughest deck in the metagame: U/B Faeries. Will the tempo beats from Bitterblossom and Scion of Oona bring down Spectral Force and friends? Read on to find out!

You Lika The Juice? – Shadows of Standard, Part II

Read Bennie Smith every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, April 16th – Last week I talked about how I’m totally bored of current Standard, and I’m wanting to make decks for future Standard, the Standard of the upcoming $5K Mega-Magic Weekend tournament that Star City’s holding on May 10th right here in Richmond. To facilitate that, I began going over the cards officially spoiled as chronicled on the Shadowmoor minisite, and I appreciate all the great comments and feedback from you all in the forums.

Chatter of the Squirrel – The Trouble with Faeries

Read Zac Hill every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, April 16th – Lately, control decks have been subscribing to a tried-and-true Flores theory of “only really control the game until I can tap out for a Dragon and then kill you.” This has proven extremely effective, as per the success of Osyp’s Honolulu Top 8 deck, Wafo-Tapa’s Guile deck, and others. The beauty of Faeries is that you can circumvent even that crucial one-turn window of threat deployment.

Peebles Primers – Red Deck Wins and Shadowmoor

Read Benjamin Peebles-Mundy every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, April 16th – Shadowmoor is coming, and Standard decks across the globe are waiting for a huge injection of Cool New Toys. Today, Benjamin Peebles-Mundy takes a look at some of the previewed and spoiled cards thus far, and works them into a new take on Red Deck Wins. If you’re a fan of swinging for two, you can’t afford to miss this.

Feature Article – LSV on Shadowmoor

Read Feature Articles every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Wednesday, April 16th – It seems that the current Standard metagame is caught in a rut. Faeries, Elves, Red Green Big Mana… as usual, we’re in the need of some fresh meat. Luis Scott-Vargas is here to help! He looks at some of the more exciting cards available from Shadowmoor, and considers how the major players may adapt come the new release.

There And Back Again – The Standard Gauntlet

Read Bill Stark every Monday... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, April 15th – For many of us the next big tournament will be a combination of City Champs and/or Regionals, and while it’s true that Shadowmoor’s imminent release will no doubt shake up Standard as we know it, today we’re going to look at a few of the top decks in Standard as they are right now, where they win, where they lose, and what they might benefit from in Shadowmoor. Buckle in…

Arcane Teachings – Mono-Black Control in Shadowmoor Standard

Read Tom LaPille every Tuesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, April 15th – With the re-emergence of a certain Black sorcery into the Standard arena, a far few players are hoping that hardy perennial Mono-Black Control will return to the metagame as a timely response to the tribal creature builds that plague Constructed. Today, Tom LaPille talks with Grand Prix: Vancouver Top 4 competitor Zack Hall, and together they flesh out the Mono-Black idea…

Michaelj Monday – Shadowmoor Snap Judgments

Read Mike Flores every Friday... at StarCityGames.com!
Monday, April 14th – Shadowmoor is coming, and the world is readying itself for the New Cards. Over on

MagictheGathering.com, official previews have littered the sight for a number of days. Today, Mike looks at each of them and

examines how they might fit into Constructed. If you’re looking for those sleeper hits before they come alive, look no further!

Tribal Thriftiness #18 – New in the Dollar Bin

Read Dave Meeson every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, April 10th – Anyone who watches the news knows that the market is a fickle beast – rising and falling at the whims of buyers and sellers. So, too, is the singles market, where cards can rise or fall in price as new decks become popular and old ones lose their shine. So what’s new in the dollar bin?

Sullivan Library – Ponza in the Post-Shadowmoor Standard

Read Adrian Sullivan every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, April 10th – Land Destruction… insidious resource denial that’s alienated players since the initial printing of Stone Rain. Today’s Sullivan Library looks at the classic Ponza-style LD route, and brings it up to date with an all-new sheen and polish! Including some of the funkier Shadowmoor cards, does LD finally have a chance to shine again?

Deep Analysis – The Evolution of Spectral Visions

Read Richard Feldman every Thursday... at StarCityGames.com!
Thursday, April 10th – In this week’s illuminating Deep Analysis, Richard Feldman continues his exploration of deck design. He finally takes mammoth strides toward improving the tricky Red matchup, and his changes to both the board and maindeck are backed with comprehensive testing results. He’s even settled on a name for his creation…