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A staggering amount of Magic content is published each day each day on a plethora of content sites, blogs, podcasts, and discussion forums. No matter how honest an effort you make, it is very easy to fall behind and miss some incredible articles because there just isn't enough time to read everything. To that end, we've collected some of the best articles of the week covering a broad range of topics. If you're looking for articles, these are the ones you don't want to miss!
On Losing and Magic, and Losing at Magic
Paul Rietzl is one of the game's greatest players. With incredible Pro Tour finishes and Grand Prix victories, it would seem defeat is a distant worry for him. However, the current focus on consistent play and the chain of losses he's encountered personally challenged him to look within. What he found was remarkable.
Channelfireball: Paul Rietzl (@paulrietzl) - Losing
On the Artist's Touch, Touching on an Artist
Eric Klug is a familiar face to Gathering Magic. A renown alterer and talented artist in his own right, he consistently shares what he's been working on when there's something he finds interesting. In a recent alter we took an image every few minutes through the process, creating a unique look into how a card evolves from a "blank" canvas into a completed piece.
klugalters.blogspot.com: Eric Klug (@klug_alters) - Hello Dave
I've had this idea in my back pocket for a while. I've done time lapse video of my process in the past, and a couple of animated gifs compiling process photos, but never anything this extensive. Each frame is 5-10 min of work. I kept myself on an egg timer for over four hours. Very pleased to show the result!
On Why His Job is to Like the Things That Look Pretty
While rules text and mechanics dominate every preview season, Magic wouldn't be the game it is without the art. Jeremy Jarvis is the art direction for the game, and his insight into the process of evolving the look and feel of each guild shows how much attention is paid to visual imagery of the game.
DailyMTG: Jeremy Jarvis - The Art of Gatecrash
Okay, honestly, Dimir was a challenge. The entire guild was on the DL in the first block and worked completely in secret and in private, so how they were visually represented against the rest of the guilds was not super important. The result was a fairly ghastly looking guild that required a lot of work to update for this new Ravnica.
On Why You Should or Shouldn't Write about Magic
There are hundreds of writers over the history of Magic, with hundreds more to follow. Each follow different paths and styles, communicating different information and perspective. Jon Corpora looked back at his own evolution into a Magic writer, distilling his wisdom and cautions about picking up the digital pen.
GatheringMagic: Jon Corpora (@feb31st) - Rising Waters
On Communication Within and Without the Game
Like many games filled with technical skill and strategy, Magic carries a vocabulary of jargon and idioms that make it alien to the uninformed. There is no master list of all these words and phrases intrinsic to the game, but Justin Duewel-Zahniser's list is a well-put way to see and share just how foreign our language can be.
LegitMTG: Justin Duewel-Zahniser (@justin_dz) - The Legit MTG Magic Dictionary
On the Playing the Game Behind the Gilded Gate
Sam Stoddard has been a figure in the Magic community for several years. After his most recent break from the game he stormed back in a flurry of excellent writing and play, eventually landing a dream job as a developer within Wizards of the Coast. Looking back across his own Prerelease experiences, he blends his former world outside of Magic with the unique position of building it today.
DailyMTG: Sam Stoddard (@samstod) - First Impressions
If you have suggestions for next week's recap you can send them through to us on Twitter, or share throughout the week in the comments below.
