The #SCGINVI is here!

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Newsletter
Thursday, November 30th

The Season Two Invitational starts in a matter of hours, with $100,000 in prizes, the trophy, and a custom token created in the winner's likeness on the line! It's been an incredible year of Magic on the SCG Tour, but before we have an even better one in 2018, we need a champion. The most prepared in the field will have read Pro Tour Champion Ari Lax's tips for piloting Modern's best cards. Back-to-back Open winner Brennan DeCandio is still looking for help on locking in his decklist, and Gerry Thompson wants to teach you about the small edges that separate good Magic from professional Magic.

The #SCGINVI is a tournament that puts another jewel on an excellent Magic career. Or it can be the moment a Magic career starts overnight. Is this your weekend? Is now your time?

— Danny West, Content Coordinator

Season Two Invitational Weekend December 1-3

January 6-7
Modern

January 20-21
Standard

January 27-28
Team Constructed

These Are The Best Cards In Modern: Here's How To Cast Them
By Ari Lax  

Thought Scour is easy mode. You cast it when you can. The card you draw can do things. Thought Scour can't. Watch for scry scenarios where you can Thought Scour them.

The rest depends on how specific your deck is. Combo decks typically cantrip as soon as possible, but fair decks may want to wait to choose what they want to draw after an alternate one-drop.

This is also why three-drops are a bit limiting in blue decks: it is just too hard to slot in a later cantrip and play a three-drop after. Four-drops like Cryptic Command are broadly powerful enough for the upcharge to be worth it; Electrolyze and even Geist of Saint Traft have limits.

The Final Countdown
By Brennan DeCandio  

While you do get access to a card like Supreme Verdict, which is obviously very good at dealing with a bunch of midrange threats, there is always the issue of a Reality Smasher just coming down and ruining your day. Then it hit me: Torrential Gearhulk lines up exceedingly well against Reality Smasher! Never has a 5/6 body been as relevant as when it's eating a 5/5 hasty and removal-resistant threat!

Another aspect of this deck I like quite a bit actually is the fact that it plays three copies of Search for Azcanta. While we've yet to see a card like that really make a splash in Modern with so many ways to freely deal with the card Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin (like Ghost Quarter), just having a Think Tank for two mana in a format with such powerful cards as Modern does might just be good enough! Search for Azcanta also just provides a functional Rampant Growth effect at some point in the game, making those six-mana Torrential Gearhulks not so daunting to cast.

Find Invitational Qualifier Events This Week!

What Separates Good From Great
By Gerry Thompson  

Figuring out how much credit to give your opponents is one of the toughest things in Magic. There's typically a stark difference in play skill and experience at the various levels of competitive Magic. How you play against each of those players should vary depending on what sorts of plays you think you can get away with.

Does your opponent know how to bluff? Are they capable of bluffing you? If they represent a trick, does it mean they have it? If they had a great opportunity to use a Lightning Bolt but didn't, does it mean they don't have it? Are they going to play the matchup or sideboard how you'd expect? It's difficult to get those answers.

You can make some generalizations on based on your opponent's pre-game banter, their shuffling technique, and whether or not they use dice to track life totals. It's never perfect, though, and you're better off getting a real impression from how your opponent handles themselves in-game. Judging someone solely based on their shuffling technique will frequently let you down.