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7,010What is the effect of over and under drafting on the win rates of decks in a format? How do you know if a deck is being heavily overdrafted? How do you know if it is being massively underdrafted? How do the win rates of decks change over time in a format? In this installment of Ars Arcanum, the MTGO stats-based column, Matthew addresses all of these questions, and more.
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24,579In this installment, Matthew takes a deep dive into Gatecrash, by recording data from 600 decks and crunching the numbers. Which guild is the best? Which is the worst? Was he wrong when he said Boros was bad? How fast is the format? Come find out how to get an edge on the competition when you draft Gatecrash.
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18,323The Gatecrash spoiler is up, and prereleases are almost here. In this installment, Matthew takes a deep dive into the numbers behind the creatures in Gatecrash, and talks about what those numbers mean for how we will draft and play the set. How fast will the set be? What is the best guild? How much fun will Simic be to draft? Can I play Enter the Infinite? The answers to all of the questions and more are here for you.
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6,236In this installment, Matthew goes back to Return to Ravnica to see how the environment has changed over the past month. He looks at hundreds of decks, and crunches the numbers to give you answers. What decks have become better as the environment has shifted? Which decks have fallen to pieces? And how can you adapt to an environment where people keep cutting you out of your guild? Find out these answers and more in this week's Ars Arcanum.
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9,100In this installment of Ars Arcanum, Matthew takes a deep dive into Return to Ravnica. He looks at nearly 600 decks and brings you the data. What is the best guild in the format? How fast are the games ending? What is the best common? Is there a viable Izzet deck? What is the deck that you should absolutely be drafting? Find out answers to all of these questions and more in this weeks' Ars Arcanum.
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3,823Oraymw takes another deep dive into the MTGO cube. He examines how the cube has changed since its last iteration, and focuses on the decks that have become better with the new version. He also debunks several myths about the mtgo cube, and pinpoints a few areas of untapped potential for the next release of the cube.
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7,572In this installment, Oraymw attacks the Return to Ravnica spoiler. He breaks down the numbers in order to figure out what the environment will be like. He looks at the pace of the format, and breaks down each guild by the numbers. Come find out the best guild, both for drafting and for the prerelease. Find out how your guild stacks up against the competition.
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4,740Matthew continues his stats-based column, and in this installment he tackles M13 sealed. Will we continue to see a balanced format? Which decks are best suited for making a deep run in a big sealed tournament? Does black continue to be the dominant color in the format? What about fringe strategies? Find out all of these answers and more in this installment of Ars Arcanum.
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11,782In this installment of Ars Arcanum, Oraymw takes a deep look at Magic 2013 limited. He reveals the best colors and decks in the format, as well as its overall speed. Additionally, he takes a look at whether it is better to play or draw. Will WB end up being the de facto best deck in the format? Are there any colors that you should avoid? Should you windmill slam that Pack One Pick One Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker? Find these answers and more in your biweekly installment of Ars Arcanum.
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4,900In this installment of Ars Arcanum, Oraymw takes an in depth look at Onslaught/Legions/Scourge draft. Come find out what color is the best color in the format, as well as the giant mistake that people are making as they draft OLS.
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13,683In this installment, Oraymw takes an in depth look at the MTGO Cube in preparation for the Magic Player's Championship. He takes a deep look at the best archetypes and confirms some accepted truths while revealing a few surprises. Is Mono Red the best deck in the Cube? What about the Green based Ramp decks? Come find out the answers here and so much more!
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6,192In this installment of Ars Arcanum, Matthew goes in depth with the Magic 2013 spoiler. He brings information about limited environment, and addresses such topics as the speed of the format, the power of Exalted, and the potential of Archaeomancer. He gives his prediction for the best color, and makes some recommendations about strategies to take advantage of the new format.
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6,358The stats-based Magic series. In this installment, Matthew tackles IPA draft, and as a special bonus to those that only follow current formats, he also has a section on AVR sealed.
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7,825After an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from his last Limited Overview, Oraymw decided to do a follow up article to see how the format has changed over two weeks. If you loved the last Limited Overview, then this article is a must read.
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17,384Oraymw continues his tradition of hundreds of limited matches during release events, and using those observations to build a powerful overview of the current limited environment.
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5,535Oraymw makes some early predictions about the potential Avacyn Restored limited environment. He discusses each of the major mechanics, including Miracle and Soulbond, and their probable impact in limited. He also analyzes how the interaction of the mechanics will affect tempo and card evaluation.
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5,963Matthew continues his tradition of watching hundreds of limited games and pulling out the key things to learn.
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5,437Matthew Watkins takes an in depth look at the common creatures of Dark Ascension and how they will affect Innistrad limited.
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6,398Innistrad Limited season is upon us! During the Prerelease weekend, Oraymw sat down and watched around 400 matches of Innistrad Limited, and put his observations together for this article. He talks about a few keys for understanding the format, and also covers the five most common and game affecting mistakes made in Innistrad.
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5,011Oraymw finishes up his evaluation of the Innistrad mechanics in limited. He provides an early approximation of what the limited format will look like, as well as plumbing the depths of mechanics like Morbid, Curses, Fight, and the Graveyard and Tribal themes, with the goal of providing readers with a head start on understanding the limited format and correctly evaluating cards as they are spoiled.
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7,538Spoiler season is upon us!! And with it, we are getting a divisive and complex new mechanic in transform. This article provides an early sketch of what the Innistrad limited environment is going to look like, in order to provide players with guidelines for evaluating cards as the spoiler season progresses.
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4,322Removal spells often end up being the most powerful commons in a set for limited, but many people neglect to talk about the quality of the creatures in a set. Oraymw talks specifically about the creatures in New Phyrexia, they're overall strengths and weaknesses, how they work together to form the foundations of a color's strategy, and how all of this affects the way you should value removal. Plus, you even get a bonus draft walk-through at the end.
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5,259If Magic were a board game, creatures would be the pieces. They are the cards around which the action revolves. The majority of Magic games revolve around creature interaction. In this article, Oraymw tries to explain what makes creatures awesome, and how to make best use of them in a variety of formats.
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3,809“Daniel: When do I learn how to punch? -- Mr. Miyagi: Better learn balance. Balance is key. Balance good, karate good. Everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home.” Gamers tend to be extreme about their hobbies. Sometimes it is a good idea to take a step back and rethink our priorities.
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4,489Lots of people like to talk about winning. They like to talk about what they do to win, and how often they win. But it is a lot harder to talk about losing. But even the best Magic players still lose a lot more games than they would like to. Learning how to lose is an important, but neglected aspect of the game.
