Reid Duke
12 articles · 2014–2015
Level One: Building a Mana Base
Reid Duke · Wizards of the Coast · 2014From Reid Duke's foundational Level One course on magic.wizards.com — the chapter that teaches you how to build a balanced, reliable mana base. Every concept built from the ground up, no gatekeeping, no jargon.
If you only read ONE thing about manabase construction before your first FNM, make it this. Reid writes like he's patiently teaching his younger self — and the chapter is hosted directly on magic.wizards.com. It's THAT good.
Level One: Mulligans
Reid Duke · Wizards of the Coast · 2015The Level One chapter on mulligans: the "Two to Five Lands" default, when linear decks break that rule, and how to stop feel-drafting opening hands.
Chapin gives you the philosophy. Reid gives you the default rule: keep 2–5 lands, ship the rest — then the exceptions. It's the safety net before you refine like a grinder. Read this the night before your first FNM.
Level One: Sequencing
Reid Duke · Wizards of the Coast · 2015How to order spells and land drops to minimize dead turns, maximize mana use, and avoid free losses from bad sequencing.
The Analyzer tells you whether you can cast a spell. Sequencing tells you in which order you should. Reid covers the skill without set spoilers — pure long-term fundamentals.
Level One: Sideboarding
Reid Duke · Wizards of the Coast · 2015Reid's sideboarding chapter from the Level One course on magic.wizards.com. The framework for building and piloting a 15-card sideboard that actually wins games.
Sideboarding matters in best-of-three matches, including FNM events that use that structure. Check your event's format; this chapter helps you prepare a sideboard plan for local play and an RCQ.
Level One: Sideboard Plans
Reid Duke · Wizards of the Coast · 2015How to build and execute sideboard plans: unify 15-card construction with in-match decisions, matchup by matchup.
Fifteen sideboard cards mean nothing without a written plan. Reid forces the link: what comes out, what comes in, and which role you play game two. Read this the night before your first RCQ.
Level One: Mulligans Part III — Constructed
Reid Duke · Wizards of the Coast · 2015Mulligans in Constructed beyond the beginner heuristic: archetype exceptions, functional hands vs pretty hands, and linear-deck traps.
The 2–5 land rule breaks as soon as your deck is linear. This is the chapter you re-read before an RCQ with a deck that loses if it misses a key piece — the live replacement for lost CFB mulligan theory.
Level One: Signals in Booster Draft
Reid Duke · Wizards of the Coast · 2015Reading draft signals: what neighbors pass, when colors are open, when to force, and when to pivot.
If LSV's archived classic doesn't load, start here. Same core lesson (signals, open colors, pivots) on a live Wizards URL that won't rot.
Level One: Sideboarding in Limited
Reid Duke · Wizards of the Coast · 2015Sideboarding in Limited: using the remaining pool, answering bombs, and what changes between sealed and draft.
In Limited your sideboard is a pool, not a built 15. Reid kills the trap of bringing Constructed sideboard habits into sealed — essential before your first sealed RCQ or prerelease grind.
Level One: Mulligans Part II — Limited
Reid Duke · Wizards of the Coast · 2015Mulligans in Limited beyond the 2–5 land rule: splashy hands, sealed vs draft, and when "almost" is a ship.
Seventeen lands in sealed is not twenty-four in Standard. Reid walks keepable Limited hands when the beginner rule stops being enough.
Level One: Role Assignment
Reid Duke · Wizards of the Coast · 2015Who's the beatdown in this matchup? Reid formalizes offense/defense role assignment and the traps of getting it wrong.
Level One: Play or Draw?
Reid Duke · Wizards of the Coast · 2015Play or draw: how game length, curve, and mulligans change the die-roll decision — and when to reverse the usual choice.
Level One: The Full Course
Reid Duke · Wizards of the Coast · 2015The complete index of Reid Duke's Level One course on magic.wizards.com. Every chapter linked from one page — the most comprehensive beginner-to-intermediate competitive curriculum in MTG history. Featured chapters in this library: mana base, mulligans, sequencing, sideboarding, role assignment, play/draw, and Limited.
Looking for another author? Every card in the Library links to the author's full index — click the author name on any card.