This week in Magic - Week 1

LSV posts his traditional Limited Set Review, starting with White
As has been traditional for quite a few sets now, Hall of Famer Luis Scott-Vargas will go over every card in the upcoming set, Fate Reforged, and rate its usefulness in Limited on a scale of 0-5. Informative, thorough, and occasionally punny, LSV delivers yet again.

Paul Cheon makes it back on the Pro Tour with a GP Top 8
Paul’s drive to make it back on the Tour pays back, as he makes Top 8 of GP Denver with 4-Color Sidisi Whip. The first half of the article is mainly anecdotes and round recaps, the second half features a host of interesting play-by-plays, videos, and a long sideboard guide.

Riccardo Tessitori focuses on Sorin and Worlds 2014
Riccardo is a Level 5 Judge from Italy and his articles are focused on explaining interesting situations and interactions from a Judge’s perspective. Find out all you wanted to know about Sorin, Solemn Visitor, and learn about the amazing event of Worlds 2014.

Reid Duke gives you the edge with tips for sideboarding in Limited
If you’re the type of player to just glance at your sideboard before shuffling up for Game 2, you are missing out big time. Reid will show you the error of your ways and set you up to win more games!

A. E. Marling judges the flavor aspect of Fate Reforged
Unlike most discussions on the Vorthos side of Magic where people are content to just criticize their way through a set, Marling offers some clever improvements and insight into the world behind the cards. A great article!

Owen Turtenwald discusses 4 misplays he made at GP Denver
Learning from your own mistakes is valuable, but learning from another’s can save you the trouble of actually making them in the first place! With a player of Owen’s calibre, it’s always useful to get an insight into his thought process, but be careful about overthinking certain situations!

Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa answers questions on what it’s like to be a Pro player
While PV’s results have lately been lackluster, he has been producing some really informative and entertaining articles. He discusses what it’s like to be a Pro player here, from the financial viability to his (non)-flamboyant lifestyle. Definitely worth a read, even if you’re not considering ever going Pro. But who are we kidding? Of course you are.

Philipp Schonegger documents his 19-day Magic journey from Prague to the US
Philipp’s article reads more like an adventure than a strategy article, and while there’s definitely some strategy musings in there, you will enjoy this more if you are generally a fan of “travel stories”.

Carsten Kotter discusses the Eternal applications of the upcoming set
It seems like every set these days adds something to Legacy and/or Vintage. Will Fate Reforged be any different? Carsten definitely doesn’t think so, with everything from Pyromancer’s big brother Monastery Mentor to not-quite-there-yet combos with Rally the Ancestors.

Conley Woods wants to stop the players looking to Cruise through Modern
After some time as a serious Magic Pro, Conley seems to be well back on his mission to never play the best deck in the format. His UW Hate Bears brew might have some merit, though, especially if you’re playing in a Cruise-infested environment. The addition of Geist of Saint Traft also means that you can occasionally even kill your opponent!

Cassidy Silver talks about Tiny Leaders, a new take on Commander
If you’re looking for a funky new format to play, you could do much worse than Tiny Leaders, where your tiny Commander will lead your army of tiny Warriors (etc.) to victory.

Eric Froehlich gives you the edge in Odyssey draft
Odyssey draft may not seem like the most important format to understand, but it’s available until January 28th on MTGO, so you might as well make sure you know what the format is abou before diving in head first. Eric goes over the quality rares, uncommons, and commons, but the article does lack a bit in the depth department.



The coming weekend This weekend we will get our first chance to explore Fate Reforged, with Prerelease events all over the world starting at a minute past midnight on Saturday. Make sure you attend and come back next week to find out what people from all over the web are saying about the new set and about other Magic-related topics!