The Academy
Marin Baraba (AKA: Plejades)
MTGOAcademy Founder/Contributor
Dear Magic: the Gathering fan,
I created this site out of the desire to provide a premium destination for Magic strategy videos, articles, and news.
I have been playing Magic since Arabian Nights was fresh on the shelves, back when Time Walk was just another good rare to crack from a booster. I have since watched Magic evolve from a geek game with no organized play to a mass phenomenon with a Pro Tour and online community. I have played many different games over the last decade, but the strategic depth, collectible nature, and amazing variety of Magic has kept a hold on me.
Whether you’re a beginner looking to watch a casual match to catch some ideas for your own deck, or if you’re a competitive player interested in the current Standard metagame, you have come to the right place. MTGOAcademy offers players tournament constructed, limited, and even casual articles and videos covering the gamut of everything Magic. From time to time you will even catch me providing some of the videos and articles. Who knows, maybe you will even find yourself in one of the videos, playing against me or one of our contributors!
We are constantly striving to expand the Academy with more fun and informative content and features. Feel free to contact us if you have any suggestions, ideas, or would like to contribute with some strategic or entertaining content.
I hope that you enjoy MTGOAcademy as much as I have developing it!
Travis R. Chance (AKA: so many trolls)
Content Manager/Contributor/100 Card Singleton Aficionado
I’m the resident grammar janitor here at the Academy. So if you’re interested in submitting potential content to the site, I’m the devil at the gate you must first pass! But before we go any further, it’s important that you understand this:
I am being held here against my will!
My involvement here is purely obligatory, as the man and myth directly above rescued me from the savage clutches of fast-food addled timber wolves, then summarily bathed, educated, and trained me in the arts of Conversational Dim Mak! I will refrain from divulging what, exactly, it took to repay this debt, but let’s just say I am beyond happy to have graduated to head underling here at the Academy.
So if you have any comments, questions, content, or compliments, send ‘em this way.
Chris Kuehl (AKA: ChrisKool)
Part Time Admin/Contributor/Misc. Grunt Workhorse
Greetings!
Admist a slow stream of contribution, I am busy whispering sweet nothings in the ears of the masses and duct-taping random hyperlinks in the MTGOAcademy pipeworks. If you have a content contribution idea or any other needs/requests of me, send me a message!
I’m also a semi-competitive MTGO denizen that loves the Highlander/Singleton formats. I am a sucker for any format that is underplayed- as I am a deck builder at heart. Most of my contributions are centered around the Weekend Challenge Singleton format(s) and specifically deck lists for those events.
I’ve been playing Magic: The Gathering since before Legends was released (as a 10 year old kitchen table warrior), but only during Urza’s Destiny did I start following the competitive scene. During Invasion and Odyssey blocks, I had the pleasure of playing with many high quality players (including this site’s esteemed editor) in the central Indiana area. The experiences taught me one predominant lesson- I have a lot to learn.
I hope you all enjoy watching my continuing Magical education and that you’ll consider joining the MTGOAcademy team as a teacher or a fellow student.
Michael Lorenz (Aka: Rigel) + Sam
“Bits & Bytes Geek”
Hello everyone!
My contributions for the site are neatly arranged strings of ones and zeros that work in the backend to provide everyone with a smooth running website. I only recently joined the online version of Magic but have been slinging cardboard for over 10 years now. I am a casual player at heart and enjoy Highlander decks and funny flavor texts.
Matt Williams (Aka: Zwick)
Video Content Editor
Hi, my name is Matt. I do video editing for the Academy. I am an avid Standard Singleton player and also love to wheel and deal online. You can find me in the Weekend Challenge formats or in the draft queues when I am not busy fixing glitches in video contributions. Take care!
Bernhard Lindner (Aka: Silicomancer)
IT Magician
Hello folks,
I am the resident “undercover coder” and the products of my efforts are slowly integrated into the Academy. I know both Michael and Marin from my College time in Germany and hope to bring you many interesting tools and improvements in the future. If you haven’t done so already download my first creation “MtGNotifier” in our Resources section.
Nate Price (AKA: MyHumps)
Contributor /Competitive Evaluator/Observor
I’m a writer from Indianapolis. I’ve been writing about games for close to five years now and have gotten to travel all over watching, playing, and writing about Magic. I always pick up some great stories and often turn them into either feature articles for Wizards.com or, if nothing else, Facebook notes for my friends to read. Anyone who wants to check out my Magic archive can check it out here.
Kelly Reid (AKA: kbreid)
Contributor /MTG Market Analyst
Kelly Reid, editor of quietspeculation.com, has been playing Magic since 1994. He’s been trading and selling cards since day 1, and has an extensive knowledge of the game’s intricate markets. He regularly identifies and capitalizes on shifts in the market, and shares this information freely with his readers.
Kaya Eston (AKA: DarkPrincess83)
Contributor /Commander PRE Hostess Extraordinaire
Heya! My name is Kaya (rhymes with heya). I’m a Player Run Event hostess for MTGOTRADERS. I love EDH/Commander. I even host an EDH event. Chaos every Sunday at 2PM EST in Multiplayer Room online.
Oh, yes, I am a real girl. I check every morning and twice at night. 
Steve Gargolinski (AKA: th1ckasabr1ck)
Contributor /Classic and General Nostalgia
My name is Steve and I’ve been shuffling up decks since Unlimited was the hot new thing on store shelves. As a long time player and
generally nostalgic dude, I absolutely love playing with the old cards. Tune into my articles for information on Magic Online’s most
eternal format: Classic.
I also enjoy non-fiction, video games, artificial intelligence, virtual worlds, abstract strategy, baseball, and walking in the woods.
Nate Colker (AKA: JustMeBaby)
Video Contributor /Competitive Limited and Constructed Player
What’s up? If you play a lot of Magic Online, chances are you have played me. Grad student by day, MTGO ringer by night, I’m a highly competitive multi-format player.
It’s all about being infinite Online. Event selection, studying the game, and sportsmanship. A little something I like to call the “3 S’s.”
Mike Grote (AKA: Ranth)
Contributor /Pauper and Peasant Stalwart
Hello all, my name is Mike. I have recently moved to Columbus Ohio (so if you know a good place for “Friday Night Magic,” let me know). I will be contributing content to the site for Pauper and Peasant formats. Hope to see you in one of the events sometime soon.
Russell Tassicker (AKA: plarp )
Contributor /Extended Format
Russell began playing Magic regularly with 10th edition and has recently turned his love of writing to the game’s strategic and financial sides on his blog, Gwafa’s Bazaar.
Jeph Foster (AKA: Rhythmik)
Contributor /Block Constructed/Extended/Limited
Jeph has been playing Magic since Legions release and, after a break from Kamigawa Block to Time Spiral Block, has given up his Timmy roots and spent the last year and a half tailoring deck strategies and attending Premier-Level paper events in the Orlando, FL and Southeast Virginia areas.
Robin Russell (AKA: rwildernessr)
Contributor /Singleton Formats, Standard and Drafts
Robin Russell has been playing Magic on and off since he first discovered the game way back in ‘93. In his current incarnation Robin is a magic writer and MTGO denizen who has specialized in draft and Standard formats, but also loves the wacky world of “one of” formats.
