News

• Great Designer Search II—WotC is offering a second shot at this dream job.
• Magic Weekend Announcement—Wizard’s announcement of these mega-events was tempered by a conflict with Magic Cruise 3.
• States Announcement—While there are major tournaments every weekend, there’s still only one annual opportunity for a player to be crowned a state champion.
• New  Play or Draw  Rule—Swiss results will now determine which player decides to play or draw in the top eight of Pro Tour events.

Tournament Coverage

• Grand Prix Gothenburg—Kenny Olberg was the last man standing in this Swedish showdown thanks to his RG deck and two acidic slimes.
• SCG Minneapolis Open –Jund and Bomber Man took down the titles this weekend in the land of 10,000 lakes.

Standard

• A Winner’s Memento—Josh Utter-Leyton begins with the end in mind in this tournament report recounting his route to the National title.
• Dredgevine in Minneapolis—Gerry Thompson rode this renegade strategy to a 2^nd place finish in this weekend’s SCG open.  David Ochoa discusses his nationals experience with the deck here.
• Getting the Soul Read—Conley Woods discusses the rogue life-gain deck that continues to put up impressive results.
• Getting Nassty at Nationals—Matt Nass wrote a prescription for Conscription at nationals and discusses his draft successes as well.
• Life after Shards—Adam Koska peers into the not-so-distant future of Standard.

Limited

• No Sleep ‘til 7^th Place—Sam Black reports out on his Gothenburg experience.
• Gothenburg Report and M11 Draft—Bas Melis reflects on his sealed pool and recommends forcing mono-black in M11 draft.
• Mastering M11 Sealed—Darwin Kastle dives into the deep end of these sealed pools.
• The Rares and Mythics of M11 Limited—Gerard Fabiano rates the cards at the back of the pack.

Extended

• Extended Faeries—Justin Richardson reminds us just how tough it can be to beat a turn-two Bitterblossom.

Legacy

• Legacy Format Ripples—Noah Swartz sorts through the fallout of GP Columbus.
• Legacy on the Cheap—Christopher Walton examines relatively inexpensive deck options and their possible evolutions.

Casual and Variant Formats

• EDH is for Fun?—Ben McDole takes a spikier slant on EDH with Arcanis, the Omnipotent.
• Rocking Kresh in EDH League—Sheldon Menery shares his current list, scans of altered cards, and a report from a league match.
• The Cube: Redundancy—Adam Styborski considers the role of functional reprints, randomness, and risk in Cube design.

On-Going Series

• So You Want to Qualify for the Pro Tour—Sam Stoddard focuses on tournament structure and tie-breakers.

Miscellany

• How to Win When You Draw Terribly—Travis Woo talks about tells, bluffing, and putting your opponent on tilt.
• Building your Character Sheet—Alexander Shearer takes an espansive look at self-assessment that covers everything from D&D style character
• The Female Advantage—Lauren Lee begins her new column by discussing her experiences networking as a female player.