Friday Potpurri

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

In today's post, we'll cover a lot of ground, so keep up. We have two new Magic the Gathering Wallpapers from cards from the next 'Action' set, some notes on the new Caw-Go / Caw-Blade tech from Magic Weekend Paris, and some tips about collectible card storage . . . Let's go -

First up - Yummy MTG desktop Wallpaper to pimp up your laptop or mobile device . .

Melira, Sylvok Outcast Wallpaper
Illustrated by Korean / Australian artist Mr. Min Yum

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"What irony. All my life, my purity of flesh has been scorned as weakness. To be driven from my home, bereft of family, denied everything for the circumstance of my birth – and now I am looked to as a beacon against the dark? Forget strength - I do not know if I have the will to be what is asked. But be it I must, for there is now no alternative." – Melira

Next up -

Phyrexian Metamorph Wallpaper
Illustrated by Jana Schirmer & Johannes Voss

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"The perfect form is that which performs its function perfectly. But to achieve true perfection, one's form must be able to adapt and evolve to accommodate new purposes. Furthermore, the adaptation must not be random; it must be designed, with logic and reason being the most important influences." – excerpt from The Great Synthesis of Jin-Gitaxias

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Righto - next - a look at what the Pro's took to Paris last weekend. As we here at MTG Realm subscribe to Casual Magic with a focus on fun (winning is always nice), we do not usually take note of what is 'hot' but this case we are very interested as the Pro decks did look like fun builds and could easily fit in a budget deck (after the removal of big daddy Jace).

Let's talk about the birds - - Squadron Hawk was everywhere. Six of the Top 8 decks at Paris played 4 maindeck copies, and a seventh played a full playset in the sideboard. We were lucky to pick up the Mystic way back when it was considered jank (we payed $5.50 for a deckset). Thanks to the attention in Paris, one could expect to pay about $92 for the same deckset) - for this reason we would consider the build still budget-friendly.


Anywhoos - Stoneforge Mystic is the other piece of the “Squadron Hawk package.” Stoneforge Mystic has seen cross-format play and has been the staple of White Aggro, but this weekend has shown it to be a force in Blue-based Control strategies as well. The threat of an unending stream of 1/1 flyers, boosted by mostly by Sword of Body and Mind or Sword of Feast and Famine, is just too powerful to ignore.

Here is the winning decklist of Ben Stark from PT Paris . . .
Lands (26) : 1 Arid Mesa, 4 Celestial Colonnade, 4 Glacial Fortress, 5 Island, 4 Plains, 4 Seachrome Coast, 4 Tectonic Edge
Creatures (8) : 4 Squadron Hawk. 4 Stoneforge Mystic
Sorceries (8) : 4 Day of Judgment, 4 Preordain
Planeswalkers (7) : 3 Gideon Jura, 4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Instants (9) : 3 Mana Leak, 1 Deprive, 4 Spell Pierce, 1 Stoic Rebuttal
Artifacts (2) : 1 Sword of Feast and Famine, 1 Sylvok Lifestaff
Sideboard (15) : 2 Baneslayer Angel, 2 Divine Offering, 1 Negate, 2 Flashfreeze, 4 Oust, 3 Ratchet Bomb, 1 Sword of Body and Mind

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And finally - as promised - a tip for your collectible card storage.

You may very well know that the internet was built to share cat photos - and as everyday is Caturday, we think it apropos to share with you this image . . .

Yep - cat in a box - and you are wondering where your foil Jace, the Mind Sculptor may have gone. This feline certainly knows. TIP - keep your cards out of reach of the kitteh if thats possible. The upside however may be playing against an opponent with a cat allergy - you know which way that game will go.

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Finally -
As the standard format is in a state of flux and a great number of things can happen with all the new Mirrodin Besieged cards out in player's hands, we suggest you swing on over to MTG Mint Card and check out their nice Deck Central page to stay on top of the latest decks in development.
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