Q&A Episode Questions!
Added 2021-08-19 17:21:01 +0000 UTCHey All!
We are doing the Q&A Episode today! Post any questions you have below, they can be about Magic, or not Magic, whatever you want to hear us talk about! We'll get to as many as we can :)
THANK YOU!
Comments
Hi from Oz guys. Louis, Dune is possibly my fave book and I've read it at least half a dozen times, as I have ALL the sequels! Correcting you from ep. 608 in case you haven't found out already, there are 6 Dune books by Frank Herbert which are largely genius. Personally, I like the second book better than the first. I hope you enjoy them too. His son also released many prequels and sequels with Kevin Anderson that are largely grifter.
Chris Kepert
2021-08-22 08:58:02 +0000 UTCAlso, how hard would it be to make set boosters draftable?
Francesco Ortenzo
2021-08-20 00:08:53 +0000 UTCAre you concerned about the popularity of set boosters potentially making draft boosters hard to come by?
Francesco Ortenzo
2021-08-20 00:07:58 +0000 UTCOr, since LSV is going to be a dad soon, what's his best dad joke?
Neil Logan
2021-08-19 23:09:17 +0000 UTCWhat's been the best (and by that I mean worst) LSV pun?
Neil Logan
2021-08-19 23:07:00 +0000 UTCDo you guys ever consider playing your lands to obfuscate your second color?
Alex Gaudet
2021-08-19 22:52:16 +0000 UTCSometimes during pack 1, I realize that a color is open after passing several good cards in that color. Do you guys recommend moving in when the color is open, or does the fact that the drafter to your left is probably in that color deter you. How late in pack 1 would you consider moving in?
Alex
2021-08-19 21:30:56 +0000 UTCWhy aren't mana sinks as good as they used to be? Is there so much card draw that your hand is never empty? Or is the game so fast that you never play out your hand? Or is there something else I'm missing?
Mark Ball
2021-08-19 21:22:37 +0000 UTCHow do you evaluate situations where using all your mana means not getting very good value? For example, your only 2 mana play is a good removal spell like dragon's fire and your OP plays a mediocre 2/3 that you can easily blank with creatures.
Ben
2021-08-19 20:31:44 +0000 UTCDo you guys ever play the unique Mtg’s formats? Like draft where you get a treasure every turn, or all the spells are free or every spell cascades? If so what do you think of them?
The Lorne
2021-08-19 20:31:25 +0000 UTCAre there any changes to the draft format (number of drafters, packs, cards in a pack, open face drafting, etc.) that you would like to see experimented with on Arena? Given the difference I feel between draft and sealed, I feel like changing the parameters of how a set is drafted can have a huge effect on gameplay. Thanks for all the great content! :)
Jonathan Smith
2021-08-19 20:18:11 +0000 UTCHey guys, I absolutely love this cast and these shows! Thank you so much for all your hard work and everything you do for the community! Luis, congratulations on the new position! I hope you are having a blast with it! Good luck on getting to worlds. I really appreciate your conversation with BK from last week on CR. So my question for you guys is kind of deep, but along those lines... What is some of the biggest adversity that you have faced and how did you work through it? I'm asking you guys this because I really appreciate how genuine positive you are! Thank you!
Jeremy Church
2021-08-19 20:16:06 +0000 UTCGiven all the uncertainty about what the future pro Magic scene will look like, what are some elements that you'd like to see be a part of it (other than more limited)? Limited field invite-only events vs. opens...in-person vs. Arena...PTQs or other ways to qualify and play into events. And a shoutout to Luis for introducing us to Storybook Brawl, it's great. Thanks guys!
Hoyt Battey
2021-08-19 18:52:02 +0000 UTCFrom a game design perspective, what might have led to blue being so underpowered in AFR limited, and how could they prevent it in future sets?
Jaeger
2021-08-19 18:39:44 +0000 UTCIf you made an Alpha/Beta cube, would you make any cuts? What would a good pack ratio look like? Would you even bother playing one since early Magic was not designed for draft? I made a proxy copy of Alpha and I am wondering if I should waste my playgroup's time trying to make it work. I did 3 of every common, 2 of each uncommon and 1 of each rare.
Alex Farris
2021-08-19 18:24:30 +0000 UTCIve noticed the sets where my overall win percentage is higher tend to be the ones where Im 4-3 ing and 5-2 ing a lot and not necessarily trophying more often. In fact the set with the most trophies (kaldheim with 10) has my lowest overall win percentage (42%) while my highest win percentage has been afr at 49% and only 3 trophies. How do I identify the factors contributing to this, and make them work to my advantage to improve my overall win percentage and trophy count both?
Matt Henriksen
2021-08-19 18:17:57 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Luis! I'm relatively new to drafting, only been taking it seriously for about a year, and I often find that I lose more towards the beginning of a format, but my winrate steadily increases as I grow more accustomed to the format and figure what cards will raise the floor of my deck. Is there a trick to understanding/getting accustomed to a format faster, or is a matter of building up my fundamental drafting skills over time? Thank you for doing this show! I've learned so much and I look forward to learning more every week! Clay
Clay Arroco
2021-08-19 18:15:48 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and LSV With the digital only Historic Horizons on the horizon, would you guys like to see a digital-only draft format with unique draft mechanics like the conspiracy set. Specifically draft mechanics that could only work in the digital format?
Paplinki Poplonki
2021-08-19 18:04:26 +0000 UTCWhat are your thoughts / preferences on flashback drafts? Do either of you bother at all with the quick drafts on Arena that cycle through other sets in Standard? Marshall you often mention your brain deleting set details rather quickly, so I’m guessing “no”.
Ryan
2021-08-19 18:01:47 +0000 UTCI literally never play Bo1 unless I have no other option, like for flashback drafts on Arena, and any Bo1 format is significantly less enjoyable to me, so I don't have a limited rank at all despite only playing limited. Maybe I'm a grumpy old man who refuses to let go of traditional play, but do you think that Arena leaning us heavily toward Bo1 is detracting at all from the average player's experience online? Should I give up my distaste and get accustomed to our inevitable future of hand-smoothing and 16 lands, or can I cling to my sideboard and yell at Bo1 to get off my lawn?
LW
2021-08-19 18:01:32 +0000 UTCMagic aside, what is each of your guys' Mt. Everest? Done people want to be able to smoke an entire brisket, some want to actually climb Mt. Everest. What do you guys strive to accomplish? Thanks for the great content, it's always a good day when a new episode of LR drops!!
Phil Poppe
2021-08-19 17:52:43 +0000 UTCYou have entered a constructed tournament were the best deck (which you are playing) contains a singleton card in the main which in effect wins the mirror match singlehandedly when resolved. You make top 8 and all the players of the deck make a gentleman's agreement to side the one copy of the card out in game 2 (this is a common practice for the sake of making games more interesting). You make the finals (a mirror) and in game two, show your opponent your card face up being removed from your deck and into the sideboard. You then side in another copy of the card you have in your sideboard (decklists are not revealed to opponents at any stage). You proceed to win the tournament with the card in game 2.
jonathan shortall
2021-08-19 17:50:04 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and LSV! What would these Magic characters get in their burritos? - Karn - Kaya - Gerrard Capashen - Nicol Bolas - Nahiri - Vivien Reid Thank you both for as many answers as your can provide for this important question!
TheySeeMeDurdling
2021-08-19 17:47:08 +0000 UTCMy buddy and I launched a new weekly podcast at the beginning of the year. Marshall was extremely gracious providing us advice on what we needed to get started. After 8 months we are still going strong. Do either of you have any advice about how to expand our audience and reach more people? (Our podcast is called Super Talk and we discuss comic book movies and TV shows. Not magic related at all so I didn't want to mention it in the question and use your podcast for a shameless plug.)
Brian Pettis
2021-08-19 17:45:45 +0000 UTCHey LSV and Marshall! Recently I drafted a WB deck in AFR which I have a Vorpal Sword and managed so far to get 3 wins with the Vorpal Sword alt win con. It got me thinking of why players might not respect alt win cons like Vorpal Sword especially knowing I have the mana to activate it. Do you generally respect alt win cons or just deal with the possibility of it when it's staring at you? Also when is the best time to draft a mono-color deck? I tend to draft two colors or more and wonder about this from time to time. Keep up the good work.
Brent
2021-08-19 17:43:08 +0000 UTCI have a genius or grifter for you, it comes from YuGiOh but ill adapt it to Magic:
jonathan shortall
2021-08-19 17:42:46 +0000 UTC1. Imagine you are tasked with designing the Lords vs Resources Olympics with the stipulation that the event as a whole must be balanced between the teams. You can choose events that you feel the teams are evenly matched in, and/or balance events that favor each team (for example you could include both watch repair and marching band directing). What's your slate of events? 2. In your personal drafting, how often would you say you go for the pie-in-the-sky build-around combos when you open or get passed one of the pieces? If you open The Book of Vile Darkness or Animation Module, assuming you aren't at a high level event, how willing are you to just pick it up on the off chance the other pieces come around and you get to live the dream despite there possibly being a better card in the pack?
Paul Barrett
2021-08-19 17:41:54 +0000 UTCI've had a situation come up multiple times recently in games where I have a 5 or 6 mana wrath in my hand, and somehow my opponent gets a look at it on one of the early turns of the game (I can't remember the specific effect that would cause this without them being able to discard it, but I think it came up a couple times during Kaldheim). You guys have talked a lot about how to play into / play around sweepers from the perspective of the player who's going to be swept - but if I'm holding a wrath in my hand, and my opponent knows it, how should *I* be adjusting my play to maximize that advantage without out-thinking myself? Sorry if this is too weirdly specific but like I said, somehow I've been in this situation at least three times recently and found myself a little caught off guard. Thanks. Love the show.
brian
2021-08-19 17:40:51 +0000 UTCLove the show - I find that when I play I always seem to be a card or two down vs my opponents - especially when I make aggressive decks - which inevitably kills me in the mid-range or longer games. Could you guys talk about how to evaluate if your deck is aggressive enough and how you balance having cards in hand vs. making early plays on the board. Thanks.
Josh K
2021-08-19 17:39:58 +0000 UTCHi Marshal and LSV, what are your thoughts on historic horizons, particuarly the monetization? As a limited player, I'm used to being able to go semi-infinite and complete sets, but historic horizons looks like it will be incredibly expensive either in time or wildcards.
Matthew Sperling
2021-08-19 17:38:27 +0000 UTC@LSV, I've been playing Storybook Brawl and doing alright, but feel like I spend levels 2 and 3 getting my foot in a particular strategy, but have trouble building off it in the higher levels - it seems like as the pool of cards increases, the density of relevant cards shrinks and I wind up spending entire rounds re-rolling the shop without getting anywhere. Any particular advice on how to best spend resources going into the higher levels? Thanks!
Matthew Taylor
2021-08-19 17:37:23 +0000 UTCHey guys, first off a sincere thank you for all that you do. The show means a lot to me and listening to it regularly has helped me through some tough times - not to mention tough drafts. A couple quick Qs for the show, one Magic related, the other only tangentially. First, I'm curious if there are a few heuristics when it comes to cutting your last few cards. I sometimes struggle with that last step of deck construction, hemming and hawing on what's my 23rd card (the one that makes it) versus 24th (that sits in the sideboard). Are there questions I should be asking myself about the plan of the deck, or should I just rely on creature/spell ratio, curve and other things that are more quantifiable? Second, a quick one, any chance that more LR sleeves or playmats will be produced? I'd love to have a way to rep the show while playing. Thanks again, two cool dudes!
McNerdy27
2021-08-19 17:35:47 +0000 UTCWhat player group do you think has benefitted the most from 17lands becoming popular? It seems like a higher percentage of the better players use it, but often their pre-formed conclusions are simply being backed up by the data. On the other hand, the less experienced players that do use it can fix a lot of their biases and incorrect card evaluations. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Seth Cannon
2021-08-19 17:35:46 +0000 UTCHey guys, relatively new listener here. I've began getting back into MTG with the arrival of AFR and found your podcast while trying to find tips on drafting, and now I've been binge-listening from Kaladesh to the present. Love what you guys are doing, and I've been seeing immediate results, so thank you very much for that! My question is this: most of my Magic experience with friends now has been through MTG-Arena. Recently, I've been having a blast doing "co-op" drafts with a buddy where we'll coach each other through drafts and games until we get sent packing and then we'll switch places. I've been wondering if this has been unethical, however. Surely this situation must have been thought of when designing Arena, but is it still something I should stray away from doing when rewards are on the line for everyone? Thanks again. P.S.: my favorite sign-off has been Woody's story of him ritualistically eating a chicken on the floor while naked.
Jonathan Casillas
2021-08-19 17:35:27 +0000 UTChey! Marshall, I know you love the deep ones, so here goes: what have you learned about yourselves from your time as a podcast host/content creator? what have you learned about each other? keep up the awesome work, much love from the draft chaff boys
Ben Fischer
2021-08-19 17:34:43 +0000 UTCHey guys! Hope you're doing well! What is the best way to find a design career in the gaming industry? Any tips, tricks, or resources would be incredibly helpful. Thanks for all that you do.
Dylan Turner
2021-08-19 17:31:54 +0000 UTCMarshall, what are some of the best evergreen episodes of LR?
Andrée
2021-08-19 17:31:32 +0000 UTCLuis, any new grill or smoker recipes from this summer?
Daryl Weir
2021-08-19 17:30:42 +0000 UTCMarshall, have you and LSV ever done a Two-Headed Giant game together? If not, how do you imagine that experience would be?
Eric Wong
2021-08-19 17:30:31 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis! Mark Rosewater says: "If you make a game that everybody LIKES, but nobody LOVES, it will fail." I'd love to hear your thoughts on your own relationship to this principle, not in reference to game design per se, but as applied to LR, to your other content and creative endeavors, and to life itself.
Matt Schneeweiss
2021-08-19 17:29:53 +0000 UTCWe’ve had a wide range of available fixing in recent sets, from sets like KHM with full-on 5c support, to guild sets like STX, to sets like ZNR or AFR where it’s very hard to support more than a splash. Do you have a preference for the amount of or methods of fixing in a limited set?
JasonILTG
2021-08-19 17:28:18 +0000 UTCAfter playing an enormous amount over the past year I've been a bit burned out on Magic these past couple months. I'd imagine as content creators it's a bit more difficult for you all to take time off away from the game. How do you all manage getting burned out, or is it not an issue?
Timur
2021-08-19 17:26:51 +0000 UTCDo you think the current pace of “full sets” is sustainable for a healthy Magic community? I’m finding I wish I had a bit longer to enjoy each of the full sets (counting Modern Horizons 2 for instance but not Secret Lairs, Commander Decks, etc). How many sets per year would you prefer (assuming all standalone sets and not blocks like the past (or the upcoming two Innistrad sets).
Tabletop Tycoon
2021-08-19 17:26:39 +0000 UTCWhen are we going to get Marshall into a D&D game?
Olive the Hedgehog
2021-08-19 17:26:09 +0000 UTCHey guys, one for Luis. A friend of mine (hey Jay!) Is spending a couple of months in LA, and he loves great food. Any must dos from your time in LA you would recommend he looks into?
Chris Fisher
2021-08-19 17:25:31 +0000 UTCHi! First off, thank you for all the content over the years. It has both provided me guidance in magic and in life. My question isn’t Magic related, but Flesh and Blood related, so maybe more of a question for Luis. The game is designed with limited in mind, so I was wondering if either have played some limited FaBTcg yet, and if so, what your thoughts are on it. Thanks again! Cheers Tom
Tommy
2021-08-19 17:25:06 +0000 UTCA lot of the information on LR seems to concern card evaluation and draft skill moreso than decisions during gameplay. For example, last week’s show scrutinized all of Marshall’s draft picks but did not delve into any moments during games. Why do you think this is? Does the typical player just have more room for improvement in the drafting portion? Are game states just harder to make radio about? Or does gameplay really play out somewhat “trivially” in comparison to the draft portion? ❤️ the show!
Richard Blocher
2021-08-19 17:23:09 +0000 UTC
