BREAKING THROUGH: THE METAGAME AND U/W STONEBLADE - by Ben ShirleyThursday 15th March 2012
Brand new article on Legacy from Flounce. He looks at the UK metagame, studies the differences between it and the US/European metagame and give a breakdown of his version of Stoneblade. Check the article out here!
REFLECTIONS ON MAGIC IN 2011, CONSIDERATION OF THE MANCHESTER PTQ AND THE NEXT MODERN PTQS - by Graeme McIntyreWednesday 29th February 2012
Graeme reflects on how he thought 2011 went and looks to the future of his Magic career. Also Graeme analyses the current Modern metagame. Check out his thoughts and more by clicking here.
DARK ASCENSION GAME DAY REPORT - by XtremetradesTuesday 28th February 2012
A brief report of the Xtreme Trades Dark Ascension Game Day can be found within along with final standings, prizes and deck lists. Check out how our game day went.
BREAKING THROUGH: BRAINSTORM, GOBLINS AND NIC FIT - by Ben ShirleyMonday 23rd January 2012
A brand new Legacy article from Flounce this week. It was submitted before Christmas, but after a few technical problems we now have it up. Hope you enjoy it. Check out Flounce's thoughts on Nic Fit, Brainstorm and Goblins here!
STEPHEN MURRAY WEEKLY: MODERN MUSINGS - by Stephen MurrayFriday 16th December 2011
Stephen gives us a review of some of the top performing Modern decks. It's a great read to begin to get into the current modern metagame before the PTQs start in January! Give it a read here!
WILL DUNN WEEKLY: SEALED SERIES - by Will DunnFriday 9th December 2011
The final article in Will's Sealed Series is now up. He looks through the same pool Stephen examined earlier in the week. Also the last 2 picks for the draft master competition can be found at the end of the article. Find out Will's thoughts on this week's sealed pool here!
STEPHEN MURRAY WEEKLY: SEALED SERIES - by Stephen MurrayTuesday 6th December 2011
The final article in the Sealed Series comes with two picks for the Draft Master competition. This sealed deck is also reviewed later in the week by Will Dunn to get 2 different perspectives on the sealed pool. Click here to check out the article.
BREAKING THROUGH: GP AMSTERDAM AND TEMPO DECKS - by Ben ShirleyMonday 28th November 2011
A brand new Legacy article from our resident Legacy writer, Ben Shirley. He gives some thoughts on the Team America deck he took to Amsterdam and some insight into the rise in popularity of the RUG decks. Check it out here!
WILL DUNN WEEKLY: SEALED SERIES - by Will DunnThursday 24th November 2011
Will's 3rd article in the Sealed Series is now up! Included is his thinking behind the second pick of our Draft Master Competition, a brand new sealed deck walkthrough and the next pack in our Draft Master Competition. Click here to check the article out now!
STEPHEN MURRAY WEEKLY: SEALED SERIES - by Stephen MurrayFriday 11th November 2011
Stephen's new weekly column begins here! The column also includes the ongoing Draft Master competition. He continues the weekly sealed series helping you out with Innistrad sealed. Click here to read more!
WILL DUNN WEEKLY: SEALED SERIES - by Will DunnTuesday 8th November 2011
Will's 2nd article in the Sealed Series is now up! Included is his thinking behind the first pick of our Draft Master Competition, a brand new sealed deck walkthrough and the next pack in our Draft Master Competition. Click here to check the article out now!
WILL DUNN WEEKLY: SEALED SERIES - by Will DunnThursday 27th October 2011
Having announced a new monthly column last week, we are now proud to announce Will Dunn's regular weekly slot here on Thursdays. He'll keep you up to date with tournament formats of each season. For the next month or so he'll be focusing on Innistrad limited and here is the first of the sealed deck series. Additionally we start our first weekly column based competition series. Check out the article for some great strategy and our Draft Master competition!
BREAKING THROUGH: INTRODUCTION, MENTAL MISSTEP AND TEAM AMERICA - by Ben ShirleyWednesday 19th October 2011
Welcome to our new monthly column brought to you by Ben "Flounce" Shirley. Every month he'll be giving you the lowdown on all things Legacy. Flounce gives a run down of what Legacy is, how Mental Misstep's banning has changed the format and which Innistrad cards have made an impact so far. Additionally there is some bonus info on his GP Amsterdam deck. Check out the first of many new columns now!
LIMITED OVERRATED/UNDERRATED INNISTRAD COMMONS & UNCOMMONS - by Stephen MurrayThursday 13th October 2011
Stephen gives us his thoughts on some of the overplayed/underplayed commons & uncommons in Innistrad, giving a good review of his thoughts behind why each one is overrated/underrated. Click here to read Stephen's thoughts.
A TOP 8 2011 GREAT BRITISH NATIONALS REPORT (PART TWO) - by Will DunnTuesday 11th October 2011
We bring you the 2nd part of Will's Nationals report. With some great lessons on drafting and lesson on how to play tight this is a great read. Check out the article now!
A TOP 8 2011 GREAT BRITISH NATIONALS REPORT (PART ONE) AND A MATCH-UP ANALYSIS OF THE UG CAW BLIMEY DECK - by Will DunnThursday 6th October 2011
Will Dunn gives us his thoughts and match reports from Great British Nationals 2011. Additionally for those looking to take his deck into the new standard metagame there is a bit of analysis on the deck too. Read Will's article by clicking here
UG “CAW-BLIMEY” - BUILDING THE TOP 8 DECK FROM GREAT BRITISH NATIONALS - by Will DunnThursday 8th September 2011
Will gives us a run through of his deck choice from British Nationals. He goes through his testing process and why he played each card in the deck. Also there is a summary of why other cards didn't make the deck. It's a great read and offers a lot of insight into deck building. You can read the article here.
SLAYING EVERYONE WITH BIG POINTY SWORDS (PART 2) - by Stephen MurraySaturday 11th June 2011
Here's the second part of Stephen's mission to qualify for Pro Tour Philly. He goes through the deck changes made between Nottingham and Gravesend and how the PTQ Philly in Gravesend went. Click here to read the 2nd part!
SLAYING EVERYONE WITH BIG POINTY SWORDS (PART 1) - by Stephen MurrayFriday 3rd June 2011
Stephen goes through his route to qualifying for Pro Tour Philadelphia. Find out how he came about his decklist, how he went about improving the list and how the PTQ season has gone for him. Check out the first part to his article here!
GP LONDON - TOP 8 REPORT (PART 1) - by Nick TaylorWednesday 25th May 2011
Read how Nick nearly missed the event, how Skithiryx won Nick many games and how awesome Spread the Sickness is. You can read how day 1 went here!
THE ROAD TO NATIONALS - by Mark GlenisterThursday 19th May 2011
Mark gives us his report from the nats qualifier in Brighton and includes a run down on why he played Caw Blade, what changes he made prior to the tournament and what he would change having played the event. Check out the article here!
TEZZERET AND HIS TOYS - NATS QUALIFIER REPORT - by David GreenwoodWednesday 11th May 2011
David gices us the ins and outs of Tezzeret with detailed information on how to play the deck, how to sideboard with the deck and how he qualified for Nationals with the deck. Find out the ins and outs of Tezzeret and how David qualified for nationals now!
BOARD GAME CORNER: CARCASSONNE - by Lee WoodThursday 14th April 2011
Carcassonne is a classic Euro board games. It's simple, a lot of fun, but with ample amounts of strategy involved. Based in the French town of Carcassonne, players must strategically build roads, farms and villages to score points. Check out Lee's review for this classic!
THE CURRENT STATE OF STANDARD - by Richard CoatesWednesday 13th April 2011
Having qualified for British Nationals this year, Rich has given us the lowdown on the current Standard metagame. It's a great read and very useful for gauntlet testing Standard, taking a deck to FNM or just catching up with the metagame. Check out his the metagame for the National Qualifiers and upcoming PTQs!
BOARD GAME CORNER: NIGHTFALL - by Lee WoodThursday 31st March 2011
Nightfall is a brand new and exciting deck building game from AEG. It offers a great new mechanic known as "chains", which offer an interesting new way of carrying out a deck building. Check out Lee's review for this brand new game!
BOARD GAME CORNER: PUERTO RICO - by Lee WoodThursday 24th March 2011
Lee is back and reviews one of the best games around, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has been a top game for many a year and is always a popular choice. Check out his thoughts and review by clicking here!
NEW PRODUCT - NIGHTFALL - by XtremetradesTuesday 22nd March 2011
We have a brand new deck building game available this week! Check out the details and purchase a copy now!
THE WEEK IN REVIEW - by Nick TaylorSaturday 12th March 2011
This week we have deck reviews from SCG Open in Edison and the Channel Fireball $5k event. Check out the details here!
THE WEEK IN REVIEW - by Nick TaylorFriday 4th March 2011
Check out what's been going on this week in Magic: the Gathering. Details on how the SCG Open went and some innovative new deck ideas. Check it out here!
THE ART OF DRAFTING - by Graeme McIntyreThursday 3rd March 2011
With the new draft format in full force (the latest set drafted first), Graeme gives us the inside information on how he goes about drafting. If you're new to the game it's certainly a great read. If you've played for a while, then you will still take some pieces of insight away with you. Click here to check out the article now!
THE WEEK IN REVIEW - by Nick TaylorMonday 28th February 2011
Week in Review is in its 2nd week. Apologies for the delay this week. Here is everything from last week including a review of GP Denver. Click here to check it out!
BOARD GAME CORNER: DOMINION - by Lee WoodThursday 25th February 2011
This week Lee reviews a classic card game, Dominion. This game has been around for a few years, but it is still much loved and played by many. Check out his thoughts and review by clicking here!
THE WEEK IN REVIEW - by Nick TaylorFriday 13th February 2011
Here is a new column for Xtremetrades where we'll have a round up of top Magic events and all thing Xtremetrades! Be sure to check back every Friday as we'lll keep it going as long as possible. To check out the first roundup of the year click here!
BESIEGED CONSTRUCTED SET REVIEW - RED THROUGH TO LAND - by Stephen MurrayThursday 17th February 2011
Stephen gives us his thoughts on the possible constructed playables from Mirrodin Besieged. Find out what he thinks of Red, Green, Multicoloured, Artifacts and Land. Find out his thoughts on Red through to Land by clicking here!
BOARD GAME CORNER: THE AWARD WINNING GAME ALHAMBRA - by Lee WoodWednesday 16th February 2011
After a few weeks break due to our busy period of a new Magic release we bring you our next installment from Board Game Corner. This week it is the award winning game of palace building - Alhambra. Check out Lee's thoughts and how to play this great award winning game!
BESIEGED CONSTRUCTED SET REVIEW - WHITE, BLUE AND BLACK - by Stephen MurrayTuesday 15th February 2011
Stephen gives us his thoughts on the possible constructed playables from Mirrodin Besieged. Find out what he thinks of White, Blue and Black. Find out his thoughts on White through to Black by clicking here!
DECK TECH: FAERIES - by Richard BlandThursday 10th February 2011
Rich gives his an extensive look at Faeries offering advice on which cards to play, how to play each matchup and gives us the deck he would play right now. Check out the Fae Deck Tech here!
MIRRODIN BESIEGED PEEK - by Richard CoatesThursday 27th January 2011
Want a peek at some initial thoughts on Mirrodin Besieged? Well here's your chance. Richard gives us his initial thoughts on a few Mirrodin Besieged cards before the prerelease. Take a peek now by clicking here!
DECK TECH: THE MANY FORMS OF VALAKUT IN EXTENDED - by Richard BlandThursday 20th January 2011
Rich gives his thoughts on the current versions of the Extended Valakut deck. From Wargate to Scapeshift to creature based builds they're all here. Check out the Valakut Extended Deck Tech here!
BOARD GAME CORNER: 7 WONDERS - by Lee WoodWednesday 19th January 2010
Here at Xtremetrades we aim to give you more! We will have weekly board game reviews from Lee. This week we have the very popular new game 7 Wonders on show. Check out how this game looks and feels by clicking here!
WORLDS 2010: THE HIGHS AND THE LOWS - PART 2 - by Richard BlandMonday 17th January 2011
Rich gives us the highs and lows of his first World Championship experience. In the second part Rich tells us how Day 3 went with the final team rounds and the Extended portion of Worlds. Check out part 2 here!
WHAT IS THE STATE OF EXTENDED? - by Richard CoatesThursday 13th January 2011
With the extended PTQ season approaching quickly we will be bringing you more extended aritcles. Here's our first one where Richard gives us the breakdown of the Extended metagame post Worlds. Click here to read more about the most popular extended decks!
BOARD GAMING CORNER: REVIEW OF ASCENSION AND CIVILIZATION - by Lee WoodWednesday 12th January 2011
Here at Xtremetrades we aim to give you more! We will have weekly board game reviews from Lee starting this week with Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer and Civilization. Click here to check out Lee's thoughts on both of these games!
WORLDS 2010: THE HIGHS AND THE LOWS - PART 1 - by Richard BlandMonday 10th January 2011
Rich gives us the highs and lows of his first World Championship experience. In the first part we get the lowdown on the first day of standard, the first 2 rounds of the team event and the first draft of Day 2. Check out part 1 here!
TESTING METHODOLOGY - by Graeme McIntyreThursday 16th December 2010
After the World Championships this weekend Graeme gives us his views on building a gauntlet and advancing your testing for a format. Click here to read his thoughts and theories on testing!
CUBE SERIES: WHERE TO START? - by Rich MooreSunday 21st November 2010
Cube drafting is an incredibly fun format, offering many variations in how to draft, play and construct it. We'll have a series of articles on how to do just that as Rich brings us his first article on what a cube is, the different ways you can go about building one and what there is to think about when constructing it. Check out his article now!
FIRST SCARS OF MIRRODIN WALKTHROUGH - by Richard BlandThursday 18th November 2010
Rich gives us his first Scars of Mirrodin walkthrough! Check out what he drafts, how he goes about making his picks and how highly he rates cards. Along with the videos we hope to bring you more draft walkthroughs, so let us and our writers know what you think. Click here to view the draft!
SCARS OF MIRRODIN COMMONS REVIEW - PART 2 - by Richard CoatesWednesday 10th November 2010
Richard gives us his views on the top 5 common picks in each colour. In part 2 Rich brings us his views on Green, artifact creatures, non-creature artifacts and his overall picks. Click here to read his views!
HOW TO CONDUCT YOURSELF AND BUILD YOUR COMMUNITY - by Graeme McIntyreTuesday 9th November 2010
Graeme gives us something different with his first article as he looks at gaming communities. He gives us his thoughts and experiences within his community. Click here to read his thoughts!
SCARS OF MIRRODIN SEALED DECK - by Mark GlenisterWednesday 27th October 2010
Mark gives us his view on how he went about building and playing his prerelease sealed deck. It's some useful insight into how he values cards from a new set. See Mark's initial thoughts here!
SCARS OF MIRRODIN MUSINGS - by Richard BlandTuesday 26th October 2010
Richard gives us his views on Scars of Mirrodin limited giving us his views on the mechanics and how he would go about drafting them. Click here to read his views!
SCARS OF MIRRODIN COMMONS REVIEW - PART 1 - by Richard CoatesSaturday 23rd October 2010
Richard gives us his views on the top 5 common picks in each colour. In part 1 Rich brings us his views on White through to Red. Click here to read his views!
AN UNCOMMON VIEW OF SCARS LIMITED - by Stephen MurrayTuesday 19th October 2010
Stephen gives us his view of underrated and overrated Scars uncommons in limited. An interesting take on how he evaluates uncommons by relating them to existing cards. Click here to read his views!
A TALE OF TWO TITANS: A NATIONALS DIARY (PART 2) - by Richard BlandWednesday 13th October 2010
Richard gives us the 2nd installment of his nationals journey. Find out how the 2nd draft went and how his Naya deck performed in the final rounds. Click here for the second part!
GREAT BRITISH NATIONALS 4TH PLACE REPORT (PART 2) - by Jonathan RandleTuesday 5th October 2010
Jonathan Randle gives us his 2nd day experiences at the British Nationals. Find out how well he does in the 2nd draft, 4 rounds of standard and the top 8. Click here for part 2!
SCARS OF MIRRODIN PRE-RELEASE PRIMER - by Richard CoatesWednesday 22nd September 2010
Haven't played a pre-release? Want a bit of advice on how to build your sealed deck? Or looking for a bit of insight into how others build their sealed deck? If so look no further, Rich has given a break down of how he goes about building his sealed pools. Click here to read his views!
THE CHANGING FACE OF STANDARD - by Stephen MurrayWednesday 22nd September 2010
Stephen looks at the current metagame and how it will change over the coming weeks with the influx of Scars. Click here to read his views!
PRO TOUR AMSTERDAM REPORT - by Mark GlenisterTuesday 21st September 2010
Mark goes through his Pro Tour Amsterdam performance as well as giving you an insight to what else there is to do at the Pro Tour! Click here to find out more!
A TALE OF TWO TITANS: A NATIONALS DIARY (PART 1) - by Richard BlandFriday 17th September 2010
Richard gives us a day-by-day account of how nationals was for him with insight into his preparation, sideboard choices and draft strategy. Click here for the first installment!
GREAT BRITISH NATIONALS 4TH PLACE REPORT (PART 1) - by Jonathan RandleThursday 16th September 2010
Jonathan Randle gives us his insight into how he chose his deck, prepared for the draft and reports on his route to the top 8 of the British Nationals Championships. Click here for part 1!
SAN JUAN TOURNAMENT REPORT - PART 2 - by Dan GardnerWednesday 18th August 2010
Dan has compiled the 2nd part of his trip to San Juan. See how Dan does against Hall of Famers Dawin Kastle Mess and Jon Finkel. Click here to read Dan's musings for Day 2!
M11'S IMPACT ON THE STANDARD METAGAME - by Mark GlenisterSunday 15th August 2010
Mark has been a top player in the UK for a number of years now and he's given us some insight into how he looks at the impact of a new set. Mark looks at the current standard metagame and which M11 cards will affect it the most. Click here to read Mark's first article!
SAN JUAN TOURNAMENT REPORT - PART 1 - by Dan GardnerMonday 5th July 2010
The British National Champion has put together a report of his trip to San Juan where he went in search of Level 4 on the Pro Tour. Click here to read Dan's time preparing for the Pro Tour and how he got on in Day 1!


