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A staggering amount of Magic content is published each day each day on a plethora of content sites, blogs, podcasts, and discussion forums. No matter how honest an effort you make, it's easy to fall behind and miss incredible articles because there just isn't enough time to read everything.
To that end, we've collected some of the best articles of the week covering a broad range of topics. If you're looking for articles, these are the ones you don't want to miss!
On Heroes and Hydras
Did you get a chance to battle against the Hydra at Theros GameDay? Brandon didn't, but he's excited to start exploring the format. If you haven't tried the format yet, or just want to see more of what it has to offer, join Brandon as he takes a closer look:
GatheringMagic.com: Brandon Isleib (@EarthDyeDred) - Are You Hydra-ted
On Spectrum
What is the Spectrum 20 and why should you be excited about it? It's an annual celebration of fantastic art, and some of your favorite Magic artists are involved. Mike takes this opportunity to delve into what makes Spectrum awesome and the best ways to follow along and join in the excitement on social media.
GatheringMagic.com: Mike Linnemann (@VorthosMike) - Spectrum 20 Is Coming!
This is the week when you will find the active Magic artists among the thousands of artists because their annual awards are this week. These are the people you want to follow because they interact with fans and they objectively make great art. Beyond the altering artists like Randy (RK) Post and Steve Argyle, this is where you get you see the sketches, the process, and the artists puffing their chests out when their art is mentioned in high esteem.
For an art-interested Magic player, this is one of the biggest times of the year.
On Will of the Wild
Commander 2013 hit the shelves last week, and Bennie Smith was fortunate enough to pick up a copy of each deck. After playing them as is, Bennie took to social media to find out which deck people were most interested in. With the votes in and tallied, Bennie is ready to upgrade the Will of the Wild preconstructed deck.
StarCityGames.com: Bennie Smith (@blairwitchgreen) - Marath, Will Of The Wild: Juicing Up The Naya Precon
On Improving
What does it take to become a better Magic player? This has always been a difficult question with nebulous answers. In recent months, Brian Braun-Duin has been improving and has started to put up strong results at large event. In this article, he shares some of the things that helped him step up his game.
StarCityGames.com: Brian Braun-Duin (@BraunDuinIt) - Get Better Soon
On All Thing Legacy
Grand Prix DC is right around the corner; are you prepared to sleeve up some Show and Tells, Brainstorms, or Wastelands? There have been a number of large Legacy events across the United States and Europe in the past weeks, and the aftershocks of those events on the Legacy metagame are ongoing. What do the results mean and what should you play in DC? Caleb Durward takes a closer look:
ChannelFireball.com: Caleb Durward (@CalebDMTG) - LA, the BoM, and Eternal Weekend
As most of you know, I spent last weekend busy with the TCGplayer Championship, the only downside being that I missed watching the variety of awesome events going on around the world. As soon as I got home, I fired up Twitch and YouTube and dove into the replays. The best part of watching old coverage is skipping through the shuffling.
The legendary Bazaar of Moxen got 695 players, which is typical for them. Usually a couple crazy Americans make the trek to prove their Eternal prowess, though this time it overlapped with Eternal Weekend. My favorite part about the BoM coverage was that it was in English, as I’d loaded it up expecting a barrage of French. That Raphael Levy is a real dreamboat.
Eternal Weekend attracted 365 Legacy players, and I enjoyed Pikula and Buehler’s commentary. I never would’ve put that team together, mostly because I don’t think an old format requires similarly antiquated commentators, but I am sad that I missed it live.
Despite all the action elsewhere, a solid 281 players showed up for the SCG Open in LA, meaning an incredible 1,341 players played in large, competitive Legacy events last weekend.
On Esper
Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa believes Esper is the best deck in the format. Why should you be playing Esper? How should you approach playing the deck? What can you do to get an edge in the mirror? Join the Pro Tour Hall of Famer as he answers these questions and more.
ChannelFireball.com: Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa (@PVDDR)- Why Esper?
As you may or may not know, I played Esper in GP Santiago last weekend, finishing in the Top 64. I think Esper is the best deck in the format right now and I would certainly play it again, so I’ve decided that, rather than writing a report for the tournament, I’m just going to write about the deck—my choices and some tips on playing the mirror, which is actually quite complicated and not very intuitive. Even though this is not a report, I think it’s worth mentioning that GP Santiago was pretty well run—the tournament area was good and there weren’t any absurd delays. Certainly a step up from the last GP Santiago (and GP Rio), and I hope this is a trend that continues in future South American GPs.
So, why Esper?
On Iroan
A champion has been crowned in Akros, and there is only one appropriate way to celebrate. Join Jennifer Clarke Wilkes as she explores Greek lyrical poetry and honors the champion of the Iroan Games.
DailyMTG.com: Jennifer Clarke Wilkes - I Iroan
The ode is a Classical form of lyric poetry. Its name comes from the Greek aeidein, "to sing," and this sort of poem was intended to be performed at public occasions to dancing and the strains of lyre and flute.
The most famous composer of odes in the ancient Greek world was Pindar, who is credited with inventing the form. His poems memorialized the winners of athletic competitions but also incorporated lofty ideals of philosophy and religion.
In this piece, I attempted to recall the lyrical style of Pindar in a victory ode to the champion of the Iroan Games in Akros.
If you have suggestions for next week's recap you can mention us on Twitter, or share throughout the week in the comments below.
