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…My first thought was it's a bad Mana Leak. Then I thought, wait, this is fine early game and…

What I fail to understand is why people pooh-pooh Type I players who call for a brake on the format’s still-unrestricted broken tempo cards and call them”casual” players, but not bat an eye when Kai Budde says:”I hate the format. Basically, if you want to win, you have to build a deck that wins on turn 2 or turn 3, and if you do that it always becomes really inconsistent.” It’s pretty much the same problem in Type I. But hey, I like being on the same side of the argument as Kai Budde.

…Disrupt? Power Sink? Mana Leak? Force Spike? All good sometimes, none good all the time.* *So blue took many steps…

…I respond to that by casting Cunning Wishing for a Mana Leak. He responds to that with an Accumulated Knowledge…

…After a muligan I had no Black Mana and no hope. But I won the next two. In the final…

Patrick Chapin does what he does best: innovates. Standard is still ripe with possibility, and with Dark Ascension not too far away, it’s time to look to the future.

…like Desperate Ravings and Mana Leak to generate action during opponent’s turns. Unfortunately, the mana currently sucks for such…

A couple of times a year, I like to publicly answer some e-mail that I’ve received over the past few months. I do this for a couple of reasons. First, a lot of questions are asked over and over. By doing this type of column, I can answer several people at once. Second, I get a quick column full of cheap laughs when I was otherwise stumped for material.

…Granted the early game for Shrines is about Ethereal Haze, Consuming Vortex, Candle’s Glow, and Mana Leak, but that…

Michael Flores uses basketball as a metaphor for thinking about Magic games and its different resources. He then shares his take on disruptive Grixis in Modern.

…Well, what if it’s free? At the time I qualified, we didn’t have the versatile Mana Leak as…

In last weekend’s SCG Power 9 Rochester tournaments, Day 1 saw a rogue deck, designed by Adrian and piloted by Tommy Kolowith, take the top honors. Adrian is no stranger to deck success. Both Eminent Domain and Kooky Jooky made a splash in their respective Standard scenes. Want the lowdown behind this fresh and funky Vintage creation? Card analysis, decklists, and matchup info… only a mouseclick away!

…Even jamming it out there against two mana almost demands a Mana Leak. So, like Jushi Apprentice, an Erayo for…

…I still have enough mana to pay for the mana leak he uses. I go and get a Verdant Force…

Heard about this Mental Magic format, but don’t know how to start? Stijn introduces you to perhaps THE wackiest format in Magic, the house rules they’ve developed from years of play, and solid strategy to use when you decide to make your Wild Mongrel into a Seedtime.

…With a Fire/Ice in your hand, you can play Incinerate or Mana Leak. If that’s nothing else, then…

Monday, November 1st – With a nod to Ken Krouner, Tom Martell, Billy Moreno, Mark Rosewater, Michael Flores, Anne Landers, and everyone else that invented the reader mailbag format, let’s see what we have in the mailbag!

…Cobra, Frost Titan, Goblin Ruinblaster, Mana Leak, Jace,<br> the Mind Sculptor, Explore, mana base). From the looks of things…

…With some fairies around, you’ve got a Mana Leak on your hands, or even better. Spell Stutter is a…

…Make it very visible that you have the lands available for stuff like Rewind or Mana Leak. Focus on one…

For me, the most exciting of the recent unrestrictions was Doomsday. Doomsday was long regarded as a weak card that was placed on the restricted list to neuter a combo deck that really wasn’t even that good in the first place. Thus Wizards, in their infinite wizdom, finally unrestricted the card. Even today, most people think it is harmless. I’m here to not only tell you “it’s not that simple,” but to demonstrate a few Doomsday decks that definitely don’t suck.

…around an opponent with Force of Will, Mana Drain, and Mana Leak in hand. Against mono-Blue, it is extremely…

Jamie is back! After a short break from writing (for personal reasons), Mr Wakefield returns to the fold with an entertaining article on life, Magic, and failed scientific endeavor. This article, both introspective and hilarious, continues Jamie’s chronicle of Magic Online play. It’s great to have you back, sir… long may it continue.

…Bolt you.”<br> “Damnit!”<br> “Mana Leak your Honden.”<br> “Damnit!” <br> “Play Heartbeat of Spring. Search for a bunch…

…White-Blue Control Relevant Cards: *Game 1:* Jace, Architect of Thought, Mana Leak, Negate, Logic Knot, Sphinx's Revelation, Search…

Monday, September 20th – The Innovator is here with four potential decks for Standard: Koth of the Hammer, Metalcraft White, U/W Control, and a secret sleeper card of Scars!

…of deckbuilding that starts with the basics (Jace, Preordain, Mana Leak) but with lots of singletons until we know more…

…Negate and Mana Leak are examples of soft counters. See above for “hard counter.” Stalking—This is a term for…

How will the Mystery Boosters affect your Magic budgeting? And what can we expect in Standard after Mythic Championship VI in Richmond? Chas Andres covers both topics, plus This Week’s Trends!

…It’s quite possible that I’ve over-sampled the good cards somewhat, since anyone who opens a Mana Crypt…

States has come and gone, but Extended PTQs started Sunday, so it’s time to shift focus to the newly-rotated format where almost broken things can happen. Today Sean takes a look at the Extended metagame and provides eight starter decklists for those of you looking to do battle in the next couple of weeks.

…for in the meantime, which leaves your choice of Mana Leak, Counterspell, and Remand without leaving the realm of affordable…

And lo! the Powers That Be decreed that the small yet vocal Legacy community be given a third Grand Prix with which to test their deck construction and metagaming prowess. Things couldn’t be better. In preparation for GP: Columbus, I’ll be examining the current Legacy metagame and summarizing the decks that define it. This article is primarily written for Legacy novices, but I’ll be sure to add enough detailed analysis to make it worth the time of format regulars. You know who you are.

…Nightmare) <br> 2nd place at the Mana Leak Open<br> Stratford, Connecticut, United States<br> September 10, 2006 By comparison…

With Guildpact on sale, it’s time to start cracking on the formats that are soon going to matter; I’ve already started taking a look at the impact Guildpact will have on the Sealed Deck Pro Tour Qualifier season. Soon after that we have Team Unified Standard. The decks that do well at Pro Tour Hawaii will greatly impact the decks that appear on most teams’ deck roster, and the point here is to get a solid start on Guildpact for Standard to get a feel for what it is we’re going to see in Honolulu.

…Imagine Boros Weenie splashing Ninja of Deep Hours and Mana Leak and Remand off Steam Vents and Shivan Reef, going…

Countdown to Grand Prix: Columbus! In today’s Legacy article, Dan explores a lengthy list of his personal deck design successes and failures. This epic article brings a plethora of differing deck ideas to the table, each listed and filed in its appropriate archetype. Grand Prix: Columbus is just around the corner… be prepared!

…Compared with my list, Kyle opted for more counters (Circular Logic and Mana Leak) and card draw (Accumulated Knowledge) in…

…Remember, it can't counter mana abilities, and the overwhelming majority of artifact abilities in the format are mana abilities…

I consider Mirrodin to be one of the most complex sets I’ve seen in the history of the game – that’s right, the entire game . Some environments are relatively easy to predict; this one is not, and I’d question anyone who says otherwise. So even though I’ll be covering all the cards in a later review, these are the headliner cards that catch my eye at this early stage – the ones that we have to immediately investigate to see if they’ll be good in Standard.

…Blue<br> <br> Unsummon<br> <br> Boomerang<br> <br> Mana Leak<br> <br> Stifle Black<br> <br> Smother<br> <br…

I hadn’t planned on writing a report. I was worried that by doing so, I’d inadvertently make fun of the Midwest and devalue my win. Then I realized I played like an asshat all day and still won, so I don’t really feel like I earned it anyway. I’m still looking at this Black Lotus wondering why it’s here, because I don’t think I played optimally in any game all day…

…Kird Ape, Null Rod, and he even had Mana Leak and Force of Will to not autolose to combo. Unfortunately…

You say you wanted cube online / well, you know… Chas talks about the future of cube drafting on Magic Online and in paper forms. How will it affect your trading? What’s to come for cube enthusiasts?

…Mind Sculptor Keiga, the Tide Star Looter il-Kor Mana Leak Man-o’-War Meloku the Clouded Mirror Memory Lapse…

Tuesday, November 11th – Last week, Pro Tour: Berlin winner Luis Scott-Vargas shared the highs and lows from Day 1 of his fantastic victory. Today he rounds out the story with all the action from Day 2 and beyond. With Elves to the left and right, and Faeries making life a misery, LSV shares the secrets behind his success…

…br> He has a turn 2 Bitterblossom, and a Mana Leak to stop me when I try to win on…

Thursday, March 19th – With Elves in place as the strongest deck in the format, and Faeries holding firm as the most popular Blue choice, Quentin Martin examines both archetypes with an eye to the remaining PTQs and Grand Prix tournaments this current season.

…If you have the Mana Leak, try and keep it open for as long as possible; if you can get…

…I say “Living Death?” He says “ Counterspell ” I say “ Mana Leak? ” He says “COUNTERspell!” I say “ Pyroblast your counter?” He…

This is the fourth month of Innistrad Standard, and still the metagame twists and turns. Let’s analyze the weaknesses in today’s metagame!

…Mana Leak and Spell Snare are still the top dogs — but having access to a Negate, a Logic<br> Knot…

I’m not generally one to write tournament reports that focus on the matches, but I haven’t actually gotten to enjoy the gut-wrenching pain of losing in the top 8 of a Grand Prix in quite some time. So I figured, “Why not live a little?”

…The main reason I’d want to play<br> the Cobra is to be able to pay for Mana Leak…

…It also helps to win the die roll so you can slip that Watchwolf past their Mana Leak / Remand. Once…

…Mana Leak is awful against green decks, even if you yourself are green, and Condescend is pretty inconsistent as well…

…The games I won were due to the killer combo of Fire Servant and burn, with my opponents' mana screw…

…Keep in mind that Delver is shifting away from Mana Leak because Cavern of Souls is gaining momentum. As a…

Mike has a voracious appetite for Standard Constructed playtesting. Today’s Flores Friday sees the Resident Genius bring us his Top 10 tips on how to thrive and survive in the coming Time Spiral Standard maelstrom. He shares two strong decklists – one U/G, and one more experimental – and waxes lyrical on some of the stronger threats and answers available in the fledgling format.

…I kind of don’t love Voidslime, and Heezy thinks not running Remand is insane, even if Mana Leak is…

Wednesday, December 29th – What other Worlds player can say he had to skip out on his Nutcracker practice to go to Chiba? But Noah Long, professional ballet dancer, got in there with a 77th-place finish!

…7, which stopped me from casting my Elspeth with Mana Leak backup to stop one of his big guys. Eventually…

…Joe was a nice opponent and let me untap mana when I was going to activate Thrasing Wumpus when I…

…Counterspell 1 x Miscalculation 1 x Remand 1 x Mana Leak 1 x Bonded Fetch 1 x Man-o’-War…

Is there a tournament-caliber Milling deck in Standard? Mike thinks so! Read about Mike’s newest Dimir deck, and why he thinks it’s a viable option, in today’s article.

…See, I have a love/hate relationship with Mana Leak. I dislike counters that become weak late in the game…

…Godless Shrine Silverblade Paladin Repeal Innocent Blood Vengevine Spectral Procession Enlightened Tutor Sun Titan Windswept Heath Mana Leak Ancestral Vision…

…Neither Quench nor the more powerful Mana Leak see any play in the format. Lose Focus does, but the utility…

Even Patrick Chapin has to admit that if you can’t beat ’em, you should join ’em! For those who think Splinter Twin or Vengevine is where you want to be in Standard, Patrick shows his hand. Caw-Blade is the most dominant deck of all time!

…Versus Caw-Blade: -2 Mana Leak, -2 Mental Misstep (instead +4 Mental Misstep, -2 Spellskite, -2 Dismember if they play…

…Joe was a nice opponent and let me untap mana when I was going to activate Thrasing Wumpus when I…

…Mana Leak. Dream Halls. Hermit Druid. But this is the set that put casual on the map. Great additions to…

…but with the rotation of Ponder, Mana Leak, and the hyper-efficient Phyrexian mana spells with the release of *Return…

Wednesday, March 25th – Fresh of his epic win in Pro Tour: Kyoto, Gabriel Nassif rocked to Chicago for a little Legacy action. Two days and countless victories later, he stood atop the Magical pile once more. Today, he shares his tournament stories and deck tips, alongside a bonus Extended Faeries list!

…Chapin’s build seems pretty sweet; the Disrupting Shoals seem really good, and the mix of Mana Leak and Condescend…

…I madly think – my bladder is not that big…. “Great.” Mare Says. “Our waterbed has a leak.” Oh. Thank God…

Ari Lax goes through Standard, Limited, and Modern to give you a peek into Worlds in San Francisco this weekend. What should we expect to see and how should you prepare?

…It kills fast like G/W Humans but can actually stop a Mana Leak. The critical mass of Lords and…