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About Author: Usman Jamil

Description
Usman "The Rad" Jamil started playing Magic around the time of Revised and Fallen Empires, joining the mass of people who quit the game around Masques and came back to the game at the Betrayers of Kamigawa prerelease. Since returning to the game, he focused mainly on Limited formats and discovered the cube drafting format around the time of Morningtide. He has since become an expert in the fledgling format, through discussions, in-depth analyses, writing articles and maintaining a blog on the format at idratherbecubing.wordpress.com. During his MBA studies, he focused on approaching Magic, especially cube drafting, from an efficiency and holistic-based point of view in a similar way that Japanese automobile manufacturers did in the 1980s. His quantitative and strategic background has given him a unique insight to the format. When he's not drafting the latest set or a cube, he is an active member of the cube community, sharing knowledge about the cube drafting format as well as providing occasional financial information on cubing and Magic.

Posts by Usman Jamil

  • Usman's farewell article shares why he believes there's more to cubing than just optimization and winning.

    Don’t You Forget About Timmy

    By
    March 25, 2011     1 Comments
    Usman's farewell article shares why he believes there's more to cubing than just optimization and winning.
  • Cube systems? How do they work?

    Governing the Guildless

    By
    March 11, 2011     3 Comments
    Cube systems? How do they work?
  • In the final Cube SWOT article Usman shatters notions around Artifacts, levying ruin to the everyday average.

    Cube SWOT: Artifacts and Conclusion

    By
    March 4, 2011     1 Comments
    In the final Cube SWOT article Usman shatters notions around Artifacts, levying ruin to the everyday average.
  • Part summary, part style, all hot Cube theory. Usman shares a SWOT on pure gold.

    Cube SWOT: Multicolor

    By
    February 25, 2011     3 Comments
    Part summary, part style, all hot Cube theory. Usman shares a SWOT on pure gold.
  • In the fifth part of his ongoing series, Usman gives us a SWOT on green in cubes!

    Cube SWOT: Green

    By
    February 17, 2011     2 Comments
    In the fifth part of his ongoing series, Usman gives us a SWOT on green in cubes!
  • You'll be seeing red this week as Usman runs through part 4 of his Cube SWOT series!

    Cube SWOT: Red

    By
    February 10, 2011     4 Comments
    You'll be seeing red this week as Usman runs through part 4 of his Cube SWOT series!
  • In part 3 of his Cube SWOT series, Usman discusses the strengths, weaknesses, and archetypes represented in black and how these manifest in cube.

    Cube SWOT: Black

    By
    February 2, 2011     1 Comments
    In part 3 of his Cube SWOT series, Usman discusses the strengths, weaknesses, and archetypes represented in black and how these manifest in cube.
  • This week, Usman begins a series on performing a SWOT analysis on each color in cubes, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each color and what it brings to aligned multicolor pairs, starting with an analysis of white.

    Cube SWOT: White

    By
    January 19, 2011     4 Comments
    This week, Usman begins a series on performing a SWOT analysis on each color in cubes, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each color and what it brings to aligned multicolor pairs, starting with an analysis of white.
  • In this article, Usman discusses how to take a pool of cards and pare it down into a cube list that can be used for drafting using a sample section from a commons cube. Hop in!

    Get Out of the Pool!

    By
    January 5, 2011     0 Comments
    In this article, Usman discusses how to take a pool of cards and pare it down into a cube list that can be used for drafting using a sample section from a commons cube. Hop in!
  • In a special holiday-timed post, Usman breaks down two of the latest presents from our glorious Wizards overlords and shares some of the key steps he takes in making the most of every look at cards for cubes!

    Six Degrees of Newness

    By
    December 24, 2010     4 Comments
    In a special holiday-timed post, Usman breaks down two of the latest presents from our glorious Wizards overlords and shares some of the key steps he takes in making the most of every look at cards for cubes!
  • Welcome back! Last week I talked about setting the foundations of a cube and how they effect what cards can go into a cube and what effect this has on its <a href="http://www.quietspeculation.com/2010/12/jump-in-the-pool-3/#more-'" class="more-link">more »</a>

    Jump In The Pool!

    By
    December 7, 2010     5 Comments
    Welcome back! Last week I talked about setting the foundations of a cube and how they effect what cards can go into a cube and what effect this has on its more »
  • The considerations the go into the foundation of a cube are myriad. Join Usman as he begins delving into the depths of what makes a cube through restrictions!

    Six Degrees of Foundations

    By
    November 30, 2010     3 Comments
    The considerations the go into the foundation of a cube are myriad. Join Usman as he begins delving into the depths of what makes a cube through restrictions!