Articles
- How to Build a Mana Curve, and Why Four Copies Is Never Enough
What a mana curve is, how to build one, and the probability that explains why your deck stumbles on turn two even with four copies of the card you wanted.
- What Tales of Middle-earth Taught Us About Card Value
The Lord of the Rings set was a crossover blockbuster, but the cards that held their money were not the famous ones. Where Magic card value really comes from.
- Deck Archetypes Explained: Aggro, Midrange, Control, and Combo
The four core Magic deck archetypes, what each one is trying to do, how they match up against each other, and how to tell which one you are actually playing.
- How to Read Tournament Results Without Fooling Yourself
Metagame share, win rate, and conversion rate measure different things. How to read Magic tournament data and avoid the conclusions it does not support.
- MTG Formats Explained: A Guide to How Magic Is Played
Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, Commander, and Limited. What each Magic format is, what it costs, and which one suits you.
- How to Mulligan: Reading Your Opening Hand
A framework for mulligan decisions under the London rule. How to read a seven card hand, when to keep, when to ship it, and the mistakes that cost most.
- Card Advantage and Tempo: The Two Resources That Decide Games
Magic is a game of two resources, cards and time. Understanding card advantage and tempo, and when each one matters, explains why decks win and lose.
- The Turbo Xerox Principle, Revisited
Alan Comer replaced lands with cantrips in 1997 and changed deckbuilding. How the Turbo Xerox principle works, and where you see it in every format today.
- How Many Lands Should You Play? Mana Base Math That Holds Up
A practical reference for land counts and colored source counts in Limited, Constructed, and Commander, with the probability reasoning behind the numbers.