Hello arena attendees. Today is the story of another top eight choke by yours truly. In what is becoming an alarming trend, it would seem I am having trouble closing at tournaments. I suppose that means no Glengarry leads for me, since those are for closers.

In addition to being a Magic player, I am also a Level 1 in the Judge program. I don’t judge often because I would rather play, but I do run most of the events for my local game shop including Friday Night Magic, Prereleases, and Game Days. Because of this, a lot of the newer players will ask me questions about their deck or game play or if I think a particular card is good. As a result, I have decided to start a series of articles here on the Arena that are focused on newer players and helping them improve their gameplay. For those of you who are more experienced, you may want to skip these posts. Then again, you may find some useful information in seeing another player’s perspective.

I am pleased to announce a new addition to the group, Corey Vangel (Zielle47)

Corey is from the Toronto area and his area of expertise is Legacy especially combo decks.

Corey's column is Forcing Through


Infecting Magic One Grinder At A Time

Hello, fellow mages! I continue to scour the interwebz looking for knowledge to further my ascent to tournament glory! I have decided to try a different approach to my writings and format in the hopes of attracting more readers and providing those who do read my articles with a more useful and informative experience.

As most of you are well aware, Magic R&D decided to bring back the segment where You Make the Card.   The first vote was incredibly close between Land and Enchantment (only 24 votes separated the two) with Land winning.

Wizards decide to have a runoff.

I want to apologize to my readers as I have not been active the past few weeks.  I have had some issues with writer's block.  I have had to put that article away until I can overcome it.

Greetings to the attendees of the Colosseum and viewers of The Phyrexian Arena!  You have joined us here, in the grand arena, because you want to get better at Magic.  There is a question that you can train yourself to ask constantly that will help you become a better Magic.

First of all, I would like to apologize for the lack on content in the last two weeks. I was busy preparing for Grand Prix Charlotte and then I got sick. Hopefully, I won't be missing any more weeks.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to play in the largest Magic tournament ever held: Grand Prix Charlotte. It was an amazing experience that I will not soon forget. But it also made me stop and think about Magic and what it means to me. So today, we are going to get a little introspective and hopefully I can pass along some wisdom in the process.

A bag of goodies to talk about today, and as promised, a larger portion for your reading pleasure. Highlights for this week's article include: Standard decklists galore, Ramblings, Tips on improving, and more...

Hello to attendees of the Colosseum. Today, here within Phyrexian Arena, we are proud to feature a special pit fighter.  A champion's champion made to defeat the Standard minotaurs, werewolves, vampires, and beasts in the glorious art of combat.  We present a deck that is not afraid to bite it's thumb against the supreme verdict of the emperor.  Behold the mighty. The legendary.  The one. The only; Junk!