Q and A Show Questions Needed!
Added 2021-03-11 07:39:42 +0000 UTCHey All,
The show this week is going to be a Q&A episode so fire away with your questions below. These can be on any topic basically, so don't hold back. We'll get to as many as we can (and if you asked a question on a previous episode like this but we didn't get to it, feel free to put it here again!)
THANK YOU!
Comments
Hi Marshall & Luis! Two Strixhaven inspired questions for you. The first question is, if you were both teachers at a magical academy, what would you teach? The second one is a little more rooted in the real world. What do you think of the concept of official MTG qualifications? I for one would love to take a sealed exam, for example! Thanks for all the content! Jasmine
princessboggy
2021-04-19 20:49:23 +0000 UTCI've been playing Magic for only a few months--but when I fall for something, I fall *hard*, and I've been diving into as much strategy content as I can. While I've been able to do well in constructed, in draft I quickly hit a plateau: get to Platinum 4, stay there the rest of the month with a 40% WR. I’m sure I have blind spots when it comes to my game—because we all do, and we don’t know where they are, because that’s what “blind spot” means. While I have benefited immensely from the education LR has provided, it strikes me that the biggest “level up” moments each of you talk about arise from seeing an angle in the game you’d utterly missed before—that is, from discovering your own blind spots. So, the question is, how do I self-diagnose? What’s the best way to figure out what I’m *failing* to pay attention to, so that I can start paying attention to it? How do you find *your* blind spots? — Many, many thanks for this show and your amazing content—having starting playing Magic as a distraction from COVID quarantine, I’ve unexpectedly found “the Gathering” through your streams, CFB Pro, discord communities and the like, and that has meant a lot to me. (And Marshall, if you can, let Ryan, Jon and Brian know that they’re *still* helping new players level up.)
Chris Stafford
2021-03-11 21:36:24 +0000 UTCThe sealed event a couple weeks ago was a big hit and congrats to Luis for making the money. You all discussed how he pulled this off despite having I think "the worst card pool" Luis had ever seen on day 2. For the day 2 side of the tournament where you just get your one pool and have to go with it, what do you all think of the idea of letting players "mulligan" to another pool if they don't like their first one. Obviously this would be hard to impossible to implement in paper magic, but in Arena it seems like they could just have a button you push that tosses your first pool and brings up the new one. Love the show, you guys rock.
Ryan Glinski
2021-03-11 20:55:37 +0000 UTCFollow up! Have Jimmy Wong and Josh Lee Kwai ever invited you and Luis to be on an episode of Game Knights in the past, and if they haven’t would you accept if they did? That would be epic!
Andrew Shapiro
2021-03-11 20:45:26 +0000 UTCA bit embarrassing, but I don't actually know how to build a manabase. I know what to look at (early plays, double pips, green for color-fixing if I have it), but I don't know how to convert that into concrete numbers. I tend to rely on the land-tools in Arena and MTGO, but I doubt that it's always optimal, especially if you play 4-color nonsense in Kaldheim. How do you figure out how many lands of which type you need? Thanks for the great podcast! Max
RFS-81
2021-03-11 20:37:45 +0000 UTCHi Erica! It helps me to keep in mind that if the decision seems close to me, it probably is, so you can't lose too much either way. If one card is a B+ and one is a B and I choose the B, all is not lost. Also I am always reminding myself that I am the one thinking most about myself and other people think about me much less so they are much less worried about the packs next to me than I am, if at all :) Happy drafts!
Rae Trego
2021-03-11 20:26:20 +0000 UTCI feel this. There are some cards I somewhat unintentionally don't even see in packs. The thing that most frequently changes my mind is seeing an opponent use it well, so I try to take note when an opponent uses a card well that I don't play/play often.
Rae Trego
2021-03-11 20:18:09 +0000 UTCP1P1 question in this thread not close
Rae Trego
2021-03-11 20:14:45 +0000 UTCExtension: Versus, when do you want equipment? And is it generally one or the other? Sam Black recently discussed this and I think he talked about whether you are attacking with one creature or multiple, and whether you are attacking with evasion or whether you "want" your opponent to block.
Rae Trego
2021-03-11 20:13:37 +0000 UTCI think I have a leak in my card-evaluation skills. Early on in a format I tend to flag a number of cards as "unplayable" and then rarely consider them further in draft. Because I don't draft them I don't play them, and since I don't play them, I never update my opinion of them. This set, Jaspera Sentinel sticks out as a card I never would have revisited as being good, in part because even when it does work for your opponent, it's a very "quiet" card; ie. you don't lose a game and go, "Wow Jaspera Sentinel really beat me there!" the way you might with a situational card like an Act of Treason. How concerned should I be about putting "blinders" on during a draft. Am I giving up a lot of equity or instead generally avoiding a lot of pitfalls by not giving 'bad' cards a chance? How much energy do you invest into playing with cards you are pretty sure are bad just to find the edge-cases when they make the cut?
Eric Lynch
2021-03-11 19:54:44 +0000 UTCWhat has been your favourite draft archetype of all time (not counting cube)?
David Lehner
2021-03-11 19:47:21 +0000 UTCFor a book I'm writing I need to know the year the big Grand Prix was in Las Vegas and the actual numbers of how many people attended. I'm thinking it was 2016 or 2017? Am I right in that it was over 5000 and it was international in nature?
Virginia Howard Mullan
2021-03-11 19:26:49 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Luis, Thanks for making the best podcast out there! We all love Magic here, and would like to see the game continue to be successful for many many years. What in your opinion do the game designers and others at WOTC need to keep an eye on in order to ensure we have a fun and challenging game down the line? PS – Marshall I’ve been enjoying Wristwatch Revival, keep up the great work there as well!
Mike
2021-03-11 18:55:29 +0000 UTCHi guys! What's your ideal number of viable archetypes in a draft format? Is it "the more, the better"?
Nathan Fleming (FlavorJudge)
2021-03-11 18:43:17 +0000 UTCHey guys! Longtime listener and big fan of all that both of you, as well as the rest of the CFB team, do. My question's a quick one: any chance we could get LR sleeves, deckboxes or playmats again in the future? I'd especially love a playmat, but anything to proudly proclaim myself as a Patron when playing in paper would be awesome!
McNerdy27
2021-03-11 18:08:21 +0000 UTCWhen you're building a two color deck with 17 lands, and you have significantly more of one of the colors, how do you decide between a 9/8 or 10/7 or 11/6 or 12/5 split?
Andre Bach
2021-03-11 17:59:22 +0000 UTCHey guys, just sign up a few days ago. I was wondering when you should go mono-colored like in Kaldheim with mono-white aggro. I typically draft 2 colors most of the time and wonder if I should be just one color or stick with 2 colors?
Brent
2021-03-11 17:45:16 +0000 UTCFrom a game design perspective, would draft be improved by narrowing the power level gap between the best and worst color pairs/archetypes in a format?
Jaeger
2021-03-11 17:31:02 +0000 UTCHey Kids, I have a drafting question. This only happens when sets are new, or when drafting a set I am not very familiar with. I become overwhelmed by the cards, then start feeling self conscious (especially when packs are stacked up next to me and I know I’m slowing things down at the table). How do I regain my focus, and what are some good strategies to picking good cards in these situations? Finally how do I get over the feeling that I may have picked the “wrong” card? Thanks!
Erica Whiting
2021-03-11 17:11:40 +0000 UTCLuis, I’d like to know which you honestly think is more satisfying: winning a constructed tournament with a solid deck you spent weeks working on, or going undefeated in draft with the absolute jankest meme deck imaginable.
Timothy Papich
2021-03-11 17:10:35 +0000 UTCOnly been listening to LR for less than a year, so I’ve been catching up on some of your back catalog. My question is ‘so what happened to the soundboard’?! Thanks for all of the great content
Mike Calviou
2021-03-11 16:54:30 +0000 UTCLuis, if you were going to homebrew a Dnd setting to DM, what would it be?
Dnd Northwest
2021-03-11 16:41:32 +0000 UTCHey guys! Thank you so much for everything you do! Two questions: I'm curious about your move, Marshal. Was this a move that you wanted to make or had to make? Regardless, I hope your transitioning well and enjoying your new place! Magic related: I am having a blast drafting Kaldheim! I feel that I am having a higher win percentage with Kalheim than I have with other sets. I even have had some good runs with LSV's bad black and white deck! Since I am a pretty enfranchised player, I don't feel that this is due to any specific level ups, so I'm curious if this may be due to anything more than the play style if the set resonating with me? Have you ever had a set that you were more successful in than other sets? Did your win percentage go back to what it had been with the next set?
Jeremy Church
2021-03-11 16:11:00 +0000 UTCOne of the biggest struggles I have is figuring out when and how it is right to play combat tricks in limited. You guys champion cards like run amok, but how do you evaluate when it is better to play that instead of the random 3/2 haster?
Shivam Bhatt
2021-03-11 15:58:39 +0000 UTCHey guys. My favorite store in town acted fairly responsibly early in the pandemic offering curb side pickup and not holding events. Cut to a couple months ago I stopped in to buy a board game to try and support them since I couldn’t play magic there and it was pretty much a free for all with the store at regular capacity and half the customers, many regulars that I liked, going unmasked. I was pretty bummed out by this. When the pandemic becomes less relevant I can’t decide whether it will be best to consider it water under the bridge or to express my disappointment at the store and my Magic comrades lack of responsibility. We all know mom and pop card shops don’t have the best margins. In a situation where all the options were bad should I just let this one go?
Lewis Williams
2021-03-11 15:40:12 +0000 UTCMarshall, you have a deep sexy radio voice. How do you think this has impacted your career compared to someone like Luis?
awcheese
2021-03-11 15:22:32 +0000 UTCHi guys, Time Spiral remastered is just around the corner and theres one glaring omission in the spoiler list... Sprout Swarm. I never got to draft OG Time Spiral because I was too busy being 8 years old when it dropped. How big of an impact did Sprout Swarm really have in limited, and do you think TS Remastered will suffer from its absence, even at a higher rarity?
wyn russell
2021-03-11 14:49:34 +0000 UTCAs Jay Parker alluded to in the recent Arena game update, the sealed arena open was a smashing success and a draft one ought to be coming eventually. I'm curious about some good ways to test for higher level draft competitions, especially when it comes to deck-building and gameplay. The sample size we get from each draft deck is so small it's hard to evaluate whether the deck should have been built differently or whether a different game plan would improve win rate. Would you ever rebuild draft decks and jam them with a testing partner to get more data?
Dr Unks
2021-03-11 14:44:10 +0000 UTCHi guys. Got back into magic during the pandemic and you guys have been a great listen to help get me up to speed. So thanks for all the content! My question is about best of 1 v. best of 3. I notice I have more success in best of 3 "traditional" drafts compared to best of 1. I notice I consistently go 2-1/3-0 more than I reach say 5 wins in best of 1. It feels like I lose less matches to random draws/mana issues, sideboarding helps, etc. But the ranked ladder is best of 1 so I'm incentivized to play that more. Any tips for best of 1 v. best of 3? Is this something to even be concerned about? "Real" tournament games are best of 3, and I seem to just be more comfortable with that dynamic.
Pat TheBat
2021-03-11 14:43:08 +0000 UTCHi fellas, this one's for Marshall. In the past few years I've started to get into watches, and I know that's an interest of yours too. (I was shocked to see you pop up in the Hodinkee youtube feed a while back!) I know you're more into building/repairing - do you have any tips for getting started there?
Grayson
2021-03-11 14:33:38 +0000 UTCThere are many players who have been playing consistently for years and years, but who still never reach the high skill level demonstrated by professionals. When you are playing to improve, is there a difference in the way you practice? How do you make sure that you get better over time instead of just spinning your wheels?
NicolaiBolas
2021-03-11 14:24:37 +0000 UTCHow many good decks are available in current-day draft pods? Do you think that no matter what seat you’re in there’s a good to great deck for the taking?
Brandon Housman
2021-03-11 13:50:13 +0000 UTCHow do you recommend balancing dedicating time to the hobby of Magic when life and work get busy. Tips and tricks for playing regularly when you have relatively little time?
Tabletop Tycoon
2021-03-11 13:48:20 +0000 UTCHey guys, I know you have got to be Magic collectors if you play the game haha. For both of you, what are some of your favorite parts of your magic collection?
Cody Tumblin
2021-03-11 13:43:49 +0000 UTCHey LSV, what’s your favorite class to fire up in Slay the Spire and what’s your go-to favorite build for each of the four classes?
Cal Wacker
2021-03-11 13:29:16 +0000 UTCpick order for a fight: Marshall, LSV, BK, Riley, Dennis, Ben Stark, Ryan?
Brian Leaf
2021-03-11 13:25:55 +0000 UTCWhat are some of your favorite 2-color archetypes that you've played over the years? I want to build a "greatest hits of retail draft" cube and could use some opinions.
Marshall Chaney
2021-03-11 13:05:40 +0000 UTCDo you have any pointers for Timespiral Remastered draft?
Alex Gaudet
2021-03-11 12:36:30 +0000 UTCDo you have any advice on how to make the best use of the Arena Client for Limited?
Alex Gaudet
2021-03-11 12:30:56 +0000 UTCWhat is something you learned from Magic that you use in another area of life as well?
Andrée
2021-03-11 12:30:10 +0000 UTCHi guys. A bit of an economic question. Is there an MTGO equivalent of CFB's "you sell, we buy"? If not, any reasons why this isn't viable? I have an extensive but dormant collection on MTGO which I'd like to liquidate, but I don't know where to start. Any advice welcome. Thank you for the great content over the years.
Christian Ranger
2021-03-11 11:59:28 +0000 UTCHi guys, I'd love to learn any helpful heuristics re: being on the draw versus the play. I've played the game a long time, but I don't have much experience sideboarding, and on Arena, I typically play Bo1. That means I build a deck and each game I get what I get and don't get upset re: draw vs. play. It also means that I've never given much thought to the differences draw and play make with sideboarding choices...or pretty much anything else strategically in that regard. Would love your thoughts on keeping "draw" and "play" straight in my head, especially when it matters. Thanks!
Ed Stackler
2021-03-11 10:55:10 +0000 UTCHey guys, I hope all is well. I'm a long time listener (since the Return to Ravnica days) and a first time Patron. With Netflix making a Magic: The Gathering animated series, what are you hoping to see from the show and is there any chance we'll get an episode of LR discussing the show once it's fully released? Thank you and always be holding!
James Kinslow III
2021-03-11 10:34:01 +0000 UTCHow do you approach analysing the archetypes of a new set without signpost uncommons? Speaking of Time Spiral Remastered – will there be an episode on it (next week)? How do you expect the draft experience to differ from original Time Spiral block?
Vargtassaren
2021-03-11 10:22:29 +0000 UTCI would love to hear some somewhat in-depth heuristics regarding a decision to mulligan.
Andrew Stirling MacDonald
2021-03-11 09:32:46 +0000 UTCAre there any particular valuable cards that you are planning or hoping to add to your collection?
Justin Waddell
2021-03-11 09:09:12 +0000 UTCOther than Vintage Cube, what draft formats do you play when they are rerun on MTGO? Why?
Atipong Pathanasethpong
2021-03-11 09:01:08 +0000 UTCWhat character concept would you be if you were both DnD characters?
Søren Lahn Sloth
2021-03-11 08:50:57 +0000 UTCIn the recent arena open I found myself making a lot of misplays due to nerves and often find the same thing happens in premier drafts. Usually one wrong pick or one misplay creates a domino effect of nerves that ends up costing me games. How do you recommend overcoming my nerves in these sorts of situations?
Jacob Chazen
2021-03-11 08:28:52 +0000 UTCMy semi-regular play group which only ever drafts together has ground to a halt since the start of the pandemic. We’ve starting to dabble in Commander because we’ve found multiplayer platforms online that support the format, and it's been the only way to "get together". Listening to the show for a few years now, I’ve heard a couple anecdotes of Luis talking about casually playing Commander with friends. Curious to hear if you’ve played too Marshall, and if so, what are some of your favorite commanders?
Andrew Shapiro
2021-03-11 08:22:20 +0000 UTCAlso I asked this question before I figured out BW is basically just bad, but still interested in the answer
Matthew Hogg
2021-03-11 08:08:58 +0000 UTCWith the constant release of new sets, does the drafting experience of each set feel incomplete, i.e., everyone is trying to solve the format so fast before it goes away, thus making each draft environment feel rushed, because there was not enough time for the set to breathe?
Celso Távora
2021-03-11 08:08:35 +0000 UTCOne thing I've noticed I tend to do is draft for the "deck/archetype" instead of the looking at the cards in front of me. For instance I went 0-3 with what felt like a pretty good B/W play 2 spells deck, but I didn't have some key pieces (mainly neither Firja or the 1/1 that gets 2 counters). I notice LSV in his draft videos does a good job of making picks with X card is good with Y and/or Z card so it goes up for me. How do you get into that mindset more?
Matthew Hogg
2021-03-11 08:07:54 +0000 UTCHi guys! I’m a big fan of using all my mana efficiently as possible, but I’ve also seen pro magic players be a lot more sparing with removal than I am. Especially when playing aggro I feel that if I don’t remove a blocker my attacks will stall and the game will slip away but at the same time I then find myself unable to deal with larger, late game threats. Any thoughts or advice? Thanks, Chris from York
Chris Blackwood
2021-03-11 07:57:05 +0000 UTCDo you see foretell as a mana smoothing mechanic like scry or cycling?
Chris Fisher
2021-03-11 07:55:24 +0000 UTC
