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…That's not unreasonable, but you need worry about walking Koth into Leak, because if Koth goes down, you'll…

Most of us know that we want, in the abstract, “to play the best deck” … But what exactly does that mean? What is the definition of the best deck? Is it mathematical? Is it philosophical? Does such a thing really exist? Mike has an idea… and shares his thoughts on the subject through quotes from some of the greatest minds in the game!

…They forget the coin flips they hit, or that they drew Remand when they were manascrewed and Mana Leak when…

To say Todd Anderson had an eventful year and an eventful weekend at #SCGINVI would be the understatement of the century! The #SCGPC has a very exclusive field, and he crawled his way in at the last possible moment! What does that much pressure feel like? How do you deal with it?

…playing Remand, Spell Snare, Cryptic Command, and the occasional Mana Leak.) And don’t even get me started on trying…

Monday, July 5th – My last PTQ was March 14, 2009, and was an Extended PTQ in Philadelphia. Last Saturday, I went to Philly to play in the PTQ. Actually, I more or less went to hang out, grab lunch at the Reading Terminal Market, and test Legacy; the playing of the PTQ part was kind of an afterthought.

…Mana Leak, Condemn, Cultivate, Preordain, Jace’s Ingenuity … these are strong spells, matched by some powerful creatures like Obstinate Baloth…

Find out how the first rotisserie draft of Jim’s Cube concluded as he goes over how all the decks panned out and the results of the matches!

…I do think he focused a bit too much on the reactive cards like Counterspell, Mana Leak, and Go for…

…A Chalice on two shuts off the duo of Tarmogoyf and Dark Confidant, along with Mana Leak, Cranial Plating, and…

Thursday, September 2nd – In my Magic career, I had never missed a top 8 when I went undefeated on Day 1. I was confident I could make it again this time.

…Elemental<br> Foresee<br> Jace’s Erasure<br> 2 Mana Leak<br> Maritime Guard<br> Wall of Frost<br> Water…

…frustrating Standard players years before Delver of Secrets ever revealed a Mana Leak on top. Görtzen's deck was nicknamed…

…otherwise you'd lose too much tempo to a Mana Leak or a Remand. I thought of a reanimator strategy…

…If we aren’t casting Mana Leak or Jace, Vryn's Prodigy we'd better be doing something good. “Normal…

I envisioned the Control Player’s Bible as a detailed reference that beginners could look at without the sometimes-haughty intimidation they sometimes get in Type I websites. The problem is that as I covered the basic discussions and had to move on to more complicated details, I got feedback saying that some beginners who caught the Bible in the middle couldn’t keep up. Somewhere there, I got the idea of starting another sub-column strictly focused on beginners again.

…The Type I standard for counters is two mana: Counterspell itself, Mana Drain, and Mana Leak. Given this, you can…

…Think Twice into an instant speed Divination and every Mana Leak in a better Sage's Dousing. What if this…

…Haunted Humans by sandydogmtg (4-0) Main Deck Sideboard Creatures [28] 4 Honor of the Pure<br> 3 Mana Leak…

Abe returns to retire some of the most underused cards in Casual Magic. He’s looking for a spanking… will the forum folk oblige?

…Mana Vortex (Uncommon, The Dark) – Mana Vortex has the distinction of being my second favorite piece of art from Magic…

…At 6 mana Primeval Titan is a prime target for a Mana Leak, but if its allowed to resolve it…

SCG Tour ® veteran Todd Anderson is ready to work with what may be the most exciting deck in Standard right now! Join him as he gets to work on mastering the archetype for this weekend’s showdown at #SCGATL!

…using your mana efficiently, since the format hasn’t provided us with an efficient counterspell like Mana Leak, most decks…

Monday, December 20th – How can you be a hero in the Standard format? Patrick Chapin feels it’s time for you to step up and find the fringe strategies to take down the powerhouses in Standard, as laid out in this article.

…make high tempo plays (Bolt, a timely Mana Leak) while employing mana acceleration to power out some quick fatties, all…

…Other Spells (16)4 Chain Lightning4 Counterspell4 Lightning Bolt4 Mana Leak | Lands (23)13 Island1 Izzet Boilerworks7 Mountain2 Terramorphic Expanse…

…The only application Avenger has going for it is that the control player can play it and leave Mana Leak…

The constructive feedback in my last article was surprisingly good and many of the changes the forums suggested to Green/Black Control have been incorporated into my latest version. Sadly, I’m not really here to discuss my favorite deck in the Standard format, but a new version of an old favorite that has stormed the Kentucky Magic scene: Proteus Staff Control.

…Mana Leak is a great narrow counterspell for the early game, but I do not feel that it is good…

…Wade countered the Farseek with a Mana Leak as Ben was picking up his deck to go look for his…

…typically most control players will board out their [Card] Mana Leak [/Card] while leaving in [Card] Spell Pierce [/Card] which…

Monday, August 9th – Hall of Famer Olivier Ruel played Polymorph at French Nationals. While he wasn’t as successful as his brother Antoine, he certainly gave it a good effort. In his report today, he outlines his preparation for the tournament, and shares the highs and lows from the tournament floor.

…The card would have ruled over Standard a few weeks ago, but Mana Leak makes it a lot weaker. Then…

Can’t figure out what you’ll be against in the huge Modern metagame? That’s fine! Ari Lax has the format in a shape that’s much easier to manage! Predict each week’s metagame with his simple guide!

…You need ways to exploit the extra mana. Collected Company is the best high-drop Path jumps you towards right…

…crazy black-blue-green second-turn Hypnotic Specter / Putrefy / Mana Leak contraption in the last round of Swiss, *and my…

…8 – Spell Pierce, Mana Leak, Disrupt – Disrupt can range from great to a blank, but I have enough space in…

Welcome to the Financial Value of M13! Magic finance guru Ben Bleweiss shares his thoughts about the prices of the cards in M13, including which he believes will go up, which will go down, and which will probably retain their current price.

…this to see play in Standard—at least until Mana Leak rotates. | | | Sublime Archangel | Sublime Archangel | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | Current Price: $20 Future…

Thursday, April 9th – You’ve been locked in a tight game three, but the match is edging towards an unfavorable closure. The last few turns have been an attrition war, and the life totals are close, but you look across the table and the sinking feeling that your opponent firmly has the upper hand sets in. As is, you’re dead on his next attack step… Or are you?

…You have a Mana Leak and a Spellstutter Sprite in your hand with a Vendilion Clique and two islands, a…

…But like a Mana Leak into three open lands, his Silumgar's Scorn just didn't do anything. More on…

…Blind-flip Delver, revealing Mana Leak, attack with Insectile Aberration, Seachrome Coast, Delver of Secrets, go. Me: Blackcleave Cliffs, attack…

Revisit Todd Anderson’s run through SCG Legacy Open: Nashville where he took home the trophy, and read about the major Standard players for States, including newcomer Wolf Run Ramp.

…Later in the game, it could rebuy a removal spell or Mana Leak, making it a serious contender in the…

…1 Into the Roil - 1 Jace's Ingenuity - 1 Mana Leak - 1 Mental Misstep - 1 Miscalculation - 1 Muddle the Mixture…

…Swamp, Virulent Wound the Llanowar Elves.* Forest, Dungrove Elder - Mana Leak *Drowned Catacomb - Go* Forest, Thrun - Go *Liliana of the…

Monday, October 5th – I’ve purposefully avoided writing about Zendikar, because if you’re like me, you can only take so many preview articles before you tune out completely. Despite my intent to avoid writing such an article, I have had a large number of requests to discuss the set in reference to Vintage (and specifically any changes to Ichorid and Oath), so that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

…Oath lists often run weaker counterspells like Mana Leak or Negate because they cannot utilize Mana Drain, and Spell Pierce…

…Mana Leak - It's there to counter Hideous Laughter, early Tooth and Nail, etc. Not sure if it's necessary…

Sexy Rector. Ghoul Burst. Pattern. And most recently Rebirth. The deck has had many names, but none of them seem to stick. Sexy Rector sounds like a bad porno movie title. Phyrexian Ghoul now has to compete with Nantuko Husk. Thanks to Symbiotic Wurm, Saproling Burst isn’t even necessary anymore. The deck finished just outside the Top 32 in Columbus and has been completely under the radar in the prelude to Extended season, so it has a lot of surprise factor. Should you be playing it? Rick Rust thinks so…

…And the one less mana for Oxidize can be crucial when you’re playing around Mana Leak and Daze. +1…

…Instant | | Hinder | Instant | | Impulse | Instant | | Into the Roil | Instant | | Mana Leak | Instant | | Miscalculation | Instant | | Misdirection | Instant | | Mystical Tutor | Instant | | Negate…

Todd Anderson sees two creatures rising above the rest of Innistrad: Crimson Vow for Standard. What has he built around these powerful MTG cards?

…Against control, it was almost Mana Leak. Against Mono-Green Aggro❄, it was whatever you needed it to be. An…

…of choice to set up the combo, perhaps with Mana Leak or whatever to assist. The rest of the deck…

…Three-mana Mana Leak for four instead of three isn't really gonna make it the majority of the time…

Hmm — time to choose a topic. Wizards of the Coast suing Rancored Elf? Review Guildpact for multiplayer? Poker? Neato prerelease tales? Random issues rants? All of the above? Sure.

…However, there are only a small number of people who can leak actual inside information on the cards, and WotC…

…Mana Leak/Remand/Spell Snare Remand A month ago, Remand was excellent and I played four a few times. Now…

…Counter mix includes Force Spike, Counterspell, Mana Leak, and Power Sink. Critter mix includes Man o' War, Suq Ata Fireqalker…

…card] Spell Pierce [/card], [card] Spell Snare [/card], [card] Mana Leak [/card], [card] Condescend [/card]) to slow them down or…

Today, the story of why I am not afraid of Circle of Protection: Red, Silver Knight, Worship, Pulse of the Fields, or any other stupid White cards.

…If they have a Blue-White deck, they might also have a few counterspells (Mana Leak), and as noted above…

Time Spiral has finally been unveiled… and Magic’s greatest minds are on the lookout for top tips and hot tech. Billy, bunged with a head cold but fresh from the prerelease, takes us through his preliminary thoughts on Time Spiral, looking at the set from both a Constructed and Limited standpoint. He throws up card interactions left, right, and center. Who knows, maybe the next Standard-defining deck is born in this intellectual melee…

…Cancel is a pretty efficient hard counter, perfectly capable of supplementing Remand and Mana Leak in the time-buying game…

…The recommendation for 2-drops such as Pyroclasm or Mana Leak is 13 colored sources. And so on. If you…

I’m fond of Lorwyn. I think it’s a fine set. However, there is only so much I want to write on it before I get bored. Three consecutive weeks of pouring over the Lorwyn spoiler and then the draft overview I gave concerning six Lorwyn rare drafts. Lorwyn ain’t that exciting. I am ready to move onto new topics for a little while, at least. Today, let’s do something completely different.

…Online, we have Mana Leak and Evasive Action, but this card has some value as well. The key reason to…

Four-time SCG Invitational Top 8 competitor Shaheen Soorani speculates about the fate of control after rotation in the new Standard format with Theros.

…A two-mana counter outside of Negate or Essence Scatter is unlikely, although Mana Leak would be sweet. I predict…

…Game 2 - I mulligan a hand of 4 land, Shrapnel Blast, Mana Leak, and Lightning Greaves. He drops an early…