Wednesday, February 3rd - Last Tuesday was a day of Extended testing, and we discovered a few things. First, All-In-Red is a lot of fun to play, but way too swingy to want to use in a real tournament. If my goal were to make Day 2, it's a viable contender, as the power and a little luck could allow you to go 4-2, assuming you can scrounge up 3 byes.
Tuesday, January 26th - I want to talk about Extended today, specifically Hypergenesis. In preparation for Grand Prix: Oakland and the PTQ season, we're getting down to testing and tweaking decks. I decided to take a look at Hypergenesis and see exactly what people were playing…
Wednesday, January 13th - With Extended in full swing, I think it’s a good time to start examining the existing archetypes of the format. Today, I want to look at the different builds of Zoo that exist, how each differs in its game plan, possible keys to look for in both the new set, and possibly old favorites.
Wednesday, January 6th - At the beginning of 2009, I had a lot of goals before me, and I laid them out in an article, so that I and my readers could see what I hoped for in the coming year. This week, I’m going to lay out what my goals were from 2009, whether or not I achieved those goals, and then what goals are coming forth for 2010.
Wednesday, December 16th - On December 4th, I played in my local FNM with Jund to prepare for States 2009. I had been playing with Boros since Worlds, and felt very comfortable with it, but a testing session mid-week scared me off, as I had a string of bad draws in a mock-gauntlet tournament. After shuffling Jund for a while, I felt pretty competent with it, and we felt we had some good tech to bring against the (expected) field…
Wednesday, December 2nd - This coming Saturday, the 2009 State/Provincial Championships will be held in the United States and Canada. Locations throughout the country will play host to Standard tournaments open to anyone who wants the coveted title of [Insert State Here] Champion 2009.
Wednesday, November 25th - This past weekend, the Magic: the Gathering Worlds Championships were held in Rome, Italy. While there are a lot of stories and tech that is sure to come out of the event, I wanted to focus on a few innovative ideas that I saw perusing the top deck lists...
Wednesday, November 18th - This past weekend, I played in my second Pro Tour Qualifier for San Diego. I played more Limited this time than I did for the last PTQ, but still failed to walk away with the Blue Envelope. While I’m pretty sure my rating went up overall, more importantly were a few of the lessons learned over the course of the weekend, which I’m going to share with you.
Wednesday, November 11th - We have a lot of social interaction in Magic, and sometimes we end up playing people we don’t like, or are just bothered by. Sometimes, we have interactions we aren’t comfortable with. Sometimes, though, you’re that guy, and you don’t even know it. Today, I want to go over some things that I’ve witnessed or even done that you probably shouldn’t do.
Wednesday, November 4th - Communication is a funny thing. We can say something exactly the same to two different people, and get two different responses. Both inside and outside of Magic, we get mixed message, strange reads, completely baffling personality traits, and so much internal, inbred catchphrases that it’s sometimes hard to get a clear point across.
Wednesday, October 28th - I’ve had a deck for Standard I’ve wanted to write about for a while now, but other columns have managed to push their way to the forefront instead. However, this week, I really wanted to get it out there for the readers. Why? Because as much as I love the deck, I’m sure it can be improved in some manner.
Wednesday, October 21st - I had an opportunity to play at a PTQ this last weekend. Of course, by opportunity, I mean I switched work schedules, picked up an extra shift, and made an iron man 18 hour day in order to play in a Zendikar sealed PTQ.
Wednesday, October 14th - You are a terrible Magic Player. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Pretty much every player who plays Magic is horrible at it. I’m definitely in that group of horrible players, but then again, it’s a pretty big group. The worst part is, we don’t just suck in one way. We suck in multiple ways.
Wednesday, October 7th - Zendikar Prereleases and Launch parties have passed, and we’re now getting into the Constructed portion of our thinking. However, there are still plenty of people drafting out there. My store, which normally has preferred Constructed for their regularly scheduled programming, is actually planning to rotate between Constructed and Draft every other week. Zendikar is a hit, and people everywhere are wanting to draft.
Wednesday, September 30th - This has been a tumultuous week in Magic. First came the revelation of Lotus Cobra at Mythic, which many people are pointing to, along with Warren Instigator and Mindbreak Trap, as proof that Wizards is in fact a horrible, evil entity, replete with (Magic) Missiles aimed at our homes and children, and determined to run off their customers, but milking them for all their cash as fast as possible first!
Wednesday, September 23rd - The return of States highlights what I'd like to talk about today, namely some ways in which Magic is missing out on some great opportunities. The States program is an example of just one area where I feel we could see some great growth in the Magic Arena. Today, we'll run through some ideas on how to help Magic.
Wednesday, September 16th - As the pending set rotation looms ominously over competitive Magic, the mania over Zendikar continues. There are pundits a-plenty examining the new landscape. This week, we’re going to go a rundown of some of the new cards and/or themes I like in the new set, and why. Then, we’ll look at a potential Standard deck, then we’ll finish off with a potential Extended decklist for your consideration.
Friday, September 11th - Zendikar is heating up, and some of the news coming out of spoilers both official and unofficial is rather fetching! Okay, bad pun aside, the big news revealed this week at PAX is that *SPOILER ALERT* are in Zendikar! Holy cow, what an amazing revelation!
Friday, September 4th - I’ve been addicted to EDH for about 7 weeks now. I used to be a pretty hard-core spike. I’d play the best deck, and spend an entire week contemplating one card in the deck versus other options. I enjoyed winning above all else. I spent hours upon hours at work trying to break what are supposed to be casual formats (Like Emperor Peasant Vintage) because there were prizes involved.
Friday, August 28th - What are we going to be talking about today? New releases scheduled for this year, of course. We have a lot of good stuff coming down the pipe, as they say, and I’m going to give you an overview of it all, so you know how to budget your money.
Friday, August 21st - This past weekend was GenCon, in case you are now returning to reading StarCityGames.com after your hiatus under a rock with no concept of time. The Convention was, of course, amazing, packed with gamers, costumes, companies, and sweet, sweet games. Today, I’m going to run you through some of my time at the convention, and we’ll finish up with some discussion of PlaneChase.
Wednesday, August 12th - My very first major Convention was GenCon 2006. Before that, I’d been to small, local conventions, the kind that draws a few hundred, maybe a thousand attendees. The kind of Convention small enough that I was a Guest of Honor… for two years in a row. But GenCon ’06 was my first time on the big stage.
Monday, August 3rd - “I think I’ll just play some old school Five-Color Control this week,” Christian texted me on Wednesday, anticipating our return to Standard after getting our draft on with M10. “Yeah, pretty safe bet,” I replied, planning to shuffle up my Cruel Ultimatums as well. “Top 3 spots in U.S. Nationals… Guess it could be okay for FNM!” he sent back. Talk about an understatement.
Wednesday, July 29th - This week, we’re delving into Conventions. Now, when I say Conventions, I of course include typical conventions, like GenCon, New York Comic Con, Origins, Wizards World Chicago, and DragonCon. However, we’re also going to include most Pro Tour and Grand Prix tournaments as well. Basically, any sufficiently large gathering of game-playing folk with a schedule and large events qualifies for our purposes.
Wednesday, July 22nd - On Friday night, I ran my quarterly Launch Party, so that the store owner would have a chance to do a little playing of his own. We had a fairly decent turnout, considering the draft was only $10 to play in, and we were giving away various foil promos like we were Mother Freakin’ Teresa.
Friday, July 17th - “Declare Attackers,” Kurt announced, proceeding to turn his Stampeding Rhino sideways into my board of Gravedigger and Rod of Ruin. I glanced at his land, noticing a single Forest and 2 Mountains untapped. Kurt knew I had Bogardan Hellkite in hand…
Wednesday, July 8th - Prereleases for the new core set, Magic 2010, are happening around the world this weekend. After that, Launch parties on the 16-18th will be where most of the FNM crowd will be spending their dough. That weekend also marks the end of 10th Edition as the core set in Standard, with M10 functioning for the next 15 months, until it rotates in October-ish of 2011. With that in mind, today we’re going to examine M10 from a variety of different angles…
Friday, July 3rd - This week was supposed to be a preview card for you fine readers, but it appears as if our friends over at MTGSalvation.com have managed to spoil the party (pun intended). But, since the card image itself hasn't been leaked, let me at least give you a card image…
Wednesday, June 24th - Obviously, R&D is trying to reign in the chaotic craziness of recent memory, what with quality mana-fixing in almost every set. Pain Lands, Tribal Lands, Filter Lands, Tri-lands, and of course the Vivid land/Reflecting Pool insanity. However, you can't just play single color monstrosities, there has to be a balance…
Friday, June 19th - Last Wednesday, Mark Gottlieb and Aaron Forsythe brought to fruition their plan to destroy Magic. Years of planning and plotting were finally announced to the world. In other news, they have also acquired a secret base on the moon, had lunch with Kim Jong-Il, and were behind Tarmogoyf the whole time.
Wednesday, June 10th - The topic of this week’s article: Eighteen tips to follow to make you a better Magic player. Eighteen little things that I have done to improve my game, and which can probably improve your game, whatever level you are at.
Thursday, June 4th - Grand Prix: Seattle Tacoma was a blast. I had the chance to catch up with a lot of old friends, meet a few new ones, and overall just have a fantastic time. Because I'm a sheep, I'll be writing a tournament report, just like everyone else. Hopefully, it's entertaining. If not, there's some bonus stuff at the end. And here we go.
Thursday, May 28th - This week, I'll be driving up to Seattle for a little vacation. School's out, and before my summer classes begin, I thought I would take a little trip to visit some old friends up in the Pacific Northwest. As it turns out, there's a Magic tournament of some repute going on too.
Wednesday, May 20th - It seems like every writer this week is writing about Regionals, and I'm no different. We'll see tournament reports, deck lists, bad beats, and lucksack wins. We'll hear of bad matchups that were won, easy games that were punted, and everything in between. But not here. This is my Regionals story. Buckle in; I tend to drive a little fast.
Wednesday, May 13th - This past weekend, I had a chance to play in a Grand Prix Trial for Seattle. I was all set to shuffle up a new Faeries build as of Wednesday, but further testing showed all I did was weaken my manabase and still lose to Volcanic Fallout too much. So, this week, I'm going to give you a quick rundown of my games and show you some glaring mistakes.
Wednesday, May 6th - I’m excited by Thought Hemorrhage. It seems like a strong sideboard card for more than a few matchups, taking away a card that’s a central theme for them before they can deploy it. I know that a lot of people are dismissing it as a narrow card, and I agree that it’s probably not maindeckable, but it still seems relevant in some matchups. Besides, isn’t that what sideboard slots are for?
Wednesday, April 29th - I am burnt out on Five-Color Control. I've been playing it for a very long while, to pretty solid success. I'd played the deck so much that I was showing up and running on autopilot. I wasn't learning and I wasn't getting better; I was just coasting to victory on the power of the deck, and my familiarity with it.
Wednesday, April 22nd - Why do we rarely run four of a Legendary card or a Planeswalker card? Most of you probably gave the obvious answer of “Well, the second one is worthless until the first one is destroyed.” Economists have a term for this. It’s called Diminishing Marginal Utility.
Friday, April 17th - Attention, readers: the following article contains spoiler information, including a new, exclusive card preview. If you do not want to be privy to this information, you will probably want to stop reading. If you do want to see this information, then by all means, read on!
Wednesday, April 8th - I really enjoy playing Zoo. I played a similar concept last year, and knowing that it would be viable still this year, I spent the past year refining and tweaking it. When Wild Nacatl was first revealed, I remember actually letting a girlish squeal escape my lips. "This could be the final piece," I thought. In doing, so I cemented my deck of choice for this Extended season….
Wednesday, April 1st - I love playing Standard, it's easily my favorite format. It is the easiest to pick up as a new player, because the cards are typically still available as retail packs. It's also easy to grasp, because you only have about 1500 cards to keep track of. Most importantly, the power level is pretty much exactly where I like it.
Wednesday, March 25th - Last week, we left off after acquiring new players from scratch. We had attracted people with no exposure to Magic, and who have probably have never played a Collectible Card Game in their life. We covered how to get them in and intrigued by the game. But now what? You don’t just let them jump in head first…
Wednesday, March 18th - Magic is a constantly evolving game, and the players continuously cycle through the game. Think back to the players you knew when you first started. Do you still play with those guys? Are they still playing? Probably not. I've spent the last 3+ years teaching people how to play games, typically Magic, and I'm going to tell you how to do it too.
Wednesday, March 11th - We must practice diligently with our deck. This will not only increase our level of comfort with it, as noted before, but also prepares us for the actual moment of crisis, when we must make the decision, and that decision may very well determine whether we win or lose. Go to any PTQ, and you can start picking out the players who audibled into a different deck the night before.
Wednesday, March 4th - In every game of Magic you play, there are two options. The correct play, and everything else. There exists in a Perfect Game-state, a game state which you are striving for. Every decision you make while playing is your attempt to achieve that perfect game state. Meanwhile, your opponent is not only trying to get to their perfect game state, but to also prevent you from getting to yours.
Wednesday, February 25th - Last week, I promised you some Standard deck-lists, and I have plenty of new ideas for you. Let's jump into the Standard card pool and see what we can dig up. After that, I have a nice tip on how to build a manabase.
Thursday, February 19th - Jeff Phillips is our final writer to make his debut today. In this article, he introduces himself and sets out the goals and direction of the column going forward, before branching out into Extended territory...
Matching Flavor Text:
At the Gathering - A Trip to the Zoo by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2010-01-13 Wednesday, January 13th - With Extended in full swing, I think it’s a good time to start examining the existing archetypes of the format. Today, I want to look at the different builds of Zoo that exist, how each differs in its game plan, possible keys to look for in both the new set, and possibly old favorites.
At the Gathering - States 2009: What It’s All About by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-12-16 Wednesday, December 16th - On December 4th, I played in my local FNM with Jund to prepare for States 2009. I had been playing with Boros since Worlds, and felt very comfortable with it, but a testing session mid-week scared me off, as I had a string of bad draws in a mock-gauntlet tournament. After shuffling Jund for a while, I felt pretty competent with it, and we felt we had some good tech to bring against the (expected) field…
At the Gathering - Running Cold by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-10-21 Wednesday, October 21st - I had an opportunity to play at a PTQ this last weekend. Of course, by opportunity, I mean I switched work schedules, picked up an extra shift, and made an iron man 18 hour day in order to play in a Zendikar sealed PTQ.
At The Gathering - Home Improvement by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-10-14 Wednesday, October 14th - You are a terrible Magic Player. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Pretty much every player who plays Magic is horrible at it. I’m definitely in that group of horrible players, but then again, it’s a pretty big group. The worst part is, we don’t just suck in one way. We suck in multiple ways.
At the Gathering - Giddy like a Schoolboy by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-10-07 Wednesday, October 7th - Zendikar Prereleases and Launch parties have passed, and we’re now getting into the Constructed portion of our thinking. However, there are still plenty of people drafting out there. My store, which normally has preferred Constructed for their regularly scheduled programming, is actually planning to rotate between Constructed and Draft every other week. Zendikar is a hit, and people everywhere are wanting to draft.
At the Gathering - Dr. Rosewater, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Mythic. by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-09-30 Wednesday, September 30th - This has been a tumultuous week in Magic. First came the revelation of Lotus Cobra at Mythic, which many people are pointing to, along with Warren Instigator and Mindbreak Trap, as proof that Wizards is in fact a horrible, evil entity, replete with (Magic) Missiles aimed at our homes and children, and determined to run off their customers, but milking them for all their cash as fast as possible first!
At The Gathering - Customer Service by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-09-23 Wednesday, September 23rd - The return of States highlights what I'd like to talk about today, namely some ways in which Magic is missing out on some great opportunities. The States program is an example of just one area where I feel we could see some great growth in the Magic Arena. Today, we'll run through some ideas on how to help Magic.
At The Gathering - Zendikarnal Pleasures by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-09-16 Wednesday, September 16th - As the pending set rotation looms ominously over competitive Magic, the mania over Zendikar continues. There are pundits a-plenty examining the new landscape. This week, we’re going to go a rundown of some of the new cards and/or themes I like in the new set, and why. Then, we’ll look at a potential Standard deck, then we’ll finish off with a potential Extended decklist for your consideration.
At the Gathering - Exclusive Zendikar Preview Card Super Happy Fun Time! by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-09-11 Friday, September 11th - Zendikar is heating up, and some of the news coming out of spoilers both official and unofficial is rather fetching! Okay, bad pun aside, the big news revealed this week at PAX is that *SPOILER ALERT* are in Zendikar! Holy cow, what an amazing revelation!
At the Gathering - EDH plus Zendikar Cards! by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-09-04 Friday, September 4th - I’ve been addicted to EDH for about 7 weeks now. I used to be a pretty hard-core spike. I’d play the best deck, and spend an entire week contemplating one card in the deck versus other options. I enjoyed winning above all else. I spent hours upon hours at work trying to break what are supposed to be casual formats (Like Emperor Peasant Vintage) because there were prizes involved.
At the Gathering- In the Near Future by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-08-28 Friday, August 28th - What are we going to be talking about today? New releases scheduled for this year, of course. We have a lot of good stuff coming down the pipe, as they say, and I’m going to give you an overview of it all, so you know how to budget your money.
At the Gathering - Hot Nights in Indy by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-08-21 Friday, August 21st - This past weekend was GenCon, in case you are now returning to reading StarCityGames.com after your hiatus under a rock with no concept of time. The Convention was, of course, amazing, packed with gamers, costumes, companies, and sweet, sweet games. Today, I’m going to run you through some of my time at the convention, and we’ll finish up with some discussion of PlaneChase.
At the Gathering - Conventional Tactics by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-08-12 Wednesday, August 12th - My very first major Convention was GenCon 2006. Before that, I’d been to small, local conventions, the kind that draws a few hundred, maybe a thousand attendees. The kind of Convention small enough that I was a Guest of Honor… for two years in a row. But GenCon ’06 was my first time on the big stage.
At The Gathering - Reflecting on Five Colors by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-08-03 Monday, August 3rd - “I think I’ll just play some old school Five-Color Control this week,” Christian texted me on Wednesday, anticipating our return to Standard after getting our draft on with M10. “Yeah, pretty safe bet,” I replied, planning to shuffle up my Cruel Ultimatums as well. “Top 3 spots in U.S. Nationals… Guess it could be okay for FNM!” he sent back. Talk about an understatement.
At the Gathering - How To Get Conned by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-07-29 Wednesday, July 29th - This week, we’re delving into Conventions. Now, when I say Conventions, I of course include typical conventions, like GenCon, New York Comic Con, Origins, Wizards World Chicago, and DragonCon. However, we’re also going to include most Pro Tour and Grand Prix tournaments as well. Basically, any sufficiently large gathering of game-playing folk with a schedule and large events qualifies for our purposes.
At the Gathering - The Angles of M10 by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-07-08 Wednesday, July 8th - Prereleases for the new core set, Magic 2010, are happening around the world this weekend. After that, Launch parties on the 16-18th will be where most of the FNM crowd will be spending their dough. That weekend also marks the end of 10th Edition as the core set in Standard, with M10 functioning for the next 15 months, until it rotates in October-ish of 2011. With that in mind, today we’re going to examine M10 from a variety of different angles…
At the Gathering - Magic M10 Semi-Exclusive Preview Card Time! by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-07-03 Friday, July 3rd - This week was supposed to be a preview card for you fine readers, but it appears as if our friends over at MTGSalvation.com have managed to spoil the party (pun intended). But, since the card image itself hasn't been leaked, let me at least give you a card image…
At the Gathering - News and Notes by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-06-24 Wednesday, June 24th - Obviously, R&D is trying to reign in the chaotic craziness of recent memory, what with quality mana-fixing in almost every set. Pain Lands, Tribal Lands, Filter Lands, Tri-lands, and of course the Vivid land/Reflecting Pool insanity. However, you can't just play single color monstrosities, there has to be a balance…
At the Gathering - The Beginning of The End (Step) by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-06-19 Friday, June 19th - Last Wednesday, Mark Gottlieb and Aaron Forsythe brought to fruition their plan to destroy Magic. Years of planning and plotting were finally announced to the world. In other news, they have also acquired a secret base on the moon, had lunch with Kim Jong-Il, and were behind Tarmogoyf the whole time.
At the Gathering - Eighteen Tips by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-06-10 Wednesday, June 10th - The topic of this week’s article: Eighteen tips to follow to make you a better Magic player. Eighteen little things that I have done to improve my game, and which can probably improve your game, whatever level you are at.
At The Gathering - We Are Go For Launch Party by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-05-06 Wednesday, May 6th - I’m excited by Thought Hemorrhage. It seems like a strong sideboard card for more than a few matchups, taking away a card that’s a central theme for them before they can deploy it. I know that a lot of people are dismissing it as a narrow card, and I agree that it’s probably not maindeckable, but it still seems relevant in some matchups. Besides, isn’t that what sideboard slots are for?
At the Gathering - Having Fun Again by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-04-29 Wednesday, April 29th - I am burnt out on Five-Color Control. I've been playing it for a very long while, to pretty solid success. I'd played the deck so much that I was showing up and running on autopilot. I wasn't learning and I wasn't getting better; I was just coasting to victory on the power of the deck, and my familiarity with it.
At the Gathering - Economic Stimulus by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-04-22 Wednesday, April 22nd - Why do we rarely run four of a Legendary card or a Planeswalker card? Most of you probably gave the obvious answer of “Well, the second one is worthless until the first one is destroyed.” Economists have a term for this. It’s called Diminishing Marginal Utility.
At the Gathering Exclusive Alara Reborn Preview – Giant Ambush Beetle! by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-04-17 Friday, April 17th - Attention, readers: the following article contains spoiler information, including a new, exclusive card preview. If you do not want to be privy to this information, you will probably want to stop reading. If you do want to see this information, then by all means, read on!
At The Gathering - PTQ: Honolulu: Not 1st by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-04-08 Wednesday, April 8th - I really enjoy playing Zoo. I played a similar concept last year, and knowing that it would be viable still this year, I spent the past year refining and tweaking it. When Wild Nacatl was first revealed, I remember actually letting a girlish squeal escape my lips. "This could be the final piece," I thought. In doing, so I cemented my deck of choice for this Extended season….
At the Gathering - Standard of Living by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-04-01 Wednesday, April 1st - I love playing Standard, it's easily my favorite format. It is the easiest to pick up as a new player, because the cards are typically still available as retail packs. It's also easy to grasp, because you only have about 1500 cards to keep track of. Most importantly, the power level is pretty much exactly where I like it.
At the Gathering - Retention by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-03-25 Wednesday, March 25th - Last week, we left off after acquiring new players from scratch. We had attracted people with no exposure to Magic, and who have probably have never played a Collectible Card Game in their life. We covered how to get them in and intrigued by the game. But now what? You don’t just let them jump in head first…
At the Gathering - Acquisition by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-03-18 Wednesday, March 18th - Magic is a constantly evolving game, and the players continuously cycle through the game. Think back to the players you knew when you first started. Do you still play with those guys? Are they still playing? Probably not. I've spent the last 3+ years teaching people how to play games, typically Magic, and I'm going to tell you how to do it too.
The Long and Winding Road – Mythbusting Complexity by Matt Elias, originally published on 2009-03-16 Monday, March 16th - Before beginning this week, I want to make it clear that this isn’t meant to be an attack on Jeff Phillips or even a full rebuttal of his thesis, but rather a discussion and clarification of what I consider to be an oversimplification of what it means to be, or to strive to become, a superior Magic player…
At the Gathering - Ancient Wisdom by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-03-11 Wednesday, March 11th - We must practice diligently with our deck. This will not only increase our level of comfort with it, as noted before, but also prepares us for the actual moment of crisis, when we must make the decision, and that decision may very well determine whether we win or lose. Go to any PTQ, and you can start picking out the players who audibled into a different deck the night before.
At the Gathering - State of Perfection by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-03-04 Wednesday, March 4th - In every game of Magic you play, there are two options. The correct play, and everything else. There exists in a Perfect Game-state, a game state which you are striving for. Every decision you make while playing is your attempt to achieve that perfect game state. Meanwhile, your opponent is not only trying to get to their perfect game state, but to also prevent you from getting to yours.
At the Gathering - Standard Deviations? by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-02-25 Wednesday, February 25th - Last week, I promised you some Standard deck-lists, and I have plenty of new ideas for you. Let's jump into the Standard card pool and see what we can dig up. After that, I have a nice tip on how to build a manabase.
At The Gathering - Weapon of Choice by Jeff Phillips, originally published on 2009-02-19 Thursday, February 19th - Jeff Phillips is our final writer to make his debut today. In this article, he introduces himself and sets out the goals and direction of the column going forward, before branching out into Extended territory...
StarCityGames.com
5728 Williamson Road
N.W, Roanoke, VA, 24012
Phone: (540) 767-GAME (4263) Monday-Friday 10am-6pm EST
Fax: (540) b
265-0544 Contact
Us!
All content on this page (c) 2009 StarCityGames and may not
be reproduced whole without
consent.
If it's happening in Magic: the Gathering, it's being talked about in our forums! Join, and share your thoughts with the rest of the Magic: the Gathering community!
Wednesday, January 13th - With Extended in full swing, I think it’s a good time to start examining the existing archetypes of the format. Today, I want to look at the different builds of Zoo that exist, how each differs in its game plan, possible keys to look for in both the new set, and possibly old favorites.
Monday, March 16th - Before beginning this week, I want to make it clear that this isn’t meant to be an attack on Jeff Phillips or even a full rebuttal of his thesis, but rather a discussion and clarification of what I consider to be an oversimplification of what it means to be, or to strive to become, a superior Magic player…
