RNA Questions for tonight’s Episode
Added 2019-02-21 21:52:22 +0000 UTCHey All!
Luis and I are in Cleveland for the Mythic Championship and are recording LR tonight after the dust settles.
We want your Ravnica Allegiance specific questions for after Luis breaks down the team CFB limited meeting information.
We’ll be doing a more broad question and answer show in the next few weeks, but RNA stuff is this week, so go for it!
Marshall
Comments
Where did you land on lockets? I feel like they're more playable than in GRN.
Michael Torres
2019-02-22 03:01:25 +0000 UTCHey guys! Thanks for all the great info week after week! I was just wondering what you guys thought of the new mulligan rule taking effect at MC London. It seems like it could be good; making for less games of magic decided solely by variance, but it also seems potentially exploitable. Thanks again guys!
Noah Sanchez de Tagle
2019-02-22 01:52:25 +0000 UTCHey Marshal and LSV! In the episode when you had ORAD on the show, I asked him about his take on the best/most efficient card in RA. He said skarragan hellkite. Do either of you think differently? I love your show and awesome content! Thanks so much for what you do!
The Pabster
2019-02-22 01:31:23 +0000 UTCHello Marshall and Luis, My understanding on how to draft, in general, is to stay open in the first few picks and just take the best card out of each pack, then move in once it becomes clearer which guild or archetype is most open. In this case, you're gonna need some signs to tell you what is open, preferably at common. So, what are the commons of each guild or color that, if they are still in the pack from say, pack four to six. would push you to move in? Thanks!
Atipong Pathanasethpong
2019-02-22 01:15:09 +0000 UTCI've noticed Enraged Ceratok, Clan Guildmage, and Rhythm of the Wild together in the same print run at least 4-5 times now. First of all, which would you take assuming you're in Gruul. Secondly, do you think print run alignments like this can affect the overall strength of a guild in a format?
KG
2019-02-21 23:47:58 +0000 UTCHow do we correctly evaluate opportunity costs that might effectively end up in a loss of resources? For example keeping up mana for Twilight panther to block and ending up with unused mana
Golo Ebbing
2019-02-21 23:45:20 +0000 UTCHey guys! Can you please give a brief overview of the format's niche, build-around, or non-RNA-guild-color-pair decks?
Jaeger
2019-02-21 23:40:50 +0000 UTCHey guys, a simple question but how fast do you consider RNA to be? How often should I take a card to hedge against aggro versus being greedy and take the more powerful card? Thanks for the content as always!
Hunter Hiestand
2019-02-21 23:40:04 +0000 UTCHey guys! I'm on and off with Magic for 20 years now and both my interest and skill went so much up ever since I listen to LR. Thank you! I was wondering how much does the Mythic Championship setting factor in the risk/reward equation while drafting (e.g. would you be more/less likely to pick a p1p3 gates ablaze in a GP than in MC)? Also, talking about risk/reward, did you find any conditional removal to line up particularly poorly in this format?
Piotr Berlowski
2019-02-21 23:33:14 +0000 UTCIf you're in the gates deck, do you ever try and play the CCDD cards? Thanks! Long time listener. Played with you in the listener draft at PAX episode 300! Still the highlight of my magic career, lol.
Michael Massaro
2019-02-21 23:24:55 +0000 UTCGoing to echo some others with these questions: 1) I've found some success splashing for a third color, but how often is it actually worth it? Which cards or colors are most and least worth it? 2) I've also found a little success with decks out of guild for the set, particularly Dimir and Izzet. Obviously it's rare because of all of the gold cards in the set, but what number of good cards from 2 out of guild colors would you want/need before it's worth it, if at all?
Sean Lennon
2019-02-21 23:16:08 +0000 UTCHi guys, thanks for all the great content! My question is: Are there any non-obvious decks you guys think are viable? For instance, I had some surprising success with a sort of Orzhov aggro deck playing Gutterbones and a bunch of Plague Wights, and finishing them off with Grasping Thrull. But I have no idea if that was just variance, or if something like that could actually be viable. Relatedly, is the all-spells Clear the Mind deck real?
Peter Borah
2019-02-21 23:14:22 +0000 UTCHow does drafting 3-color decks in this format differ from GRN? Which 3-color combinations are best? To me it seems easier and a better strategy, but I can't tell if that's just from drafting on Arena and the bots valuing gates less. Do you feel the same answer is true in the wild, on Arena, both, or neither?
Max Brett
2019-02-21 23:10:30 +0000 UTCIs there a case in which you open Ethereal Absolution in Pack 2 and don't try to play it? Are there any rare/mythic cards that you'd take Pick 1, Pack 2 regardless of where you are after Pack 1?
Mad Jack Churchill
2019-02-21 22:55:44 +0000 UTCThanks for everything you guys do. Im curious to the widest spread in rankings at the limited meeting, as well as any solid benS moments. Feel free to save the latter for a future signoff.
Tyler Spiering
2019-02-21 22:54:00 +0000 UTCHow good are the big mana decks? Am I supposed to only play the locket in Orzhov or is it OK in Simic too?
DOUGLAS R GREER
2019-02-21 22:48:58 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis, as I've been diving deeper into limited, I've been comparing the card/archetype evaluations of other pros and content creators. The biggest difference in evaluation I noticed was on LR itself, in ORAT inverted guild rankings vs. Marshall's/Luis. While I've really been enjoying drafting UW & BW, I think Owen's rating helped me get my first ever 3-0 with a Gruul deck I might not have had confidence to draft had I not heard his perspective. How much do you think preferred play-style affects archetype rankings? In the typical set, how often do you both hear opposite evaluations of archetypes from the limited minds that you trust? Thanks so much, Jeff
Jeff Thomas
2019-02-21 22:48:56 +0000 UTCIs blocking in this format bad? It seems like I'm always getting blown out by bladebrand or thrash or applied biomancy. It usually seems like I'm supposed to be racing instead. Are the combat tricks more punishing than usual?
DOUGLAS R GREER
2019-02-21 22:47:56 +0000 UTCHi Marshal and Louis! There was a recent announcement that the limited portion of the next Mythic Championship in London will be War of the Spark draft, and will happen before the set is officially released. What are your opinion on this? And to Follow up on that, how would you go about preparing for such a high stakes event with out being able to actually draft the set before hand? How will prepping for this MC differ from the way you and your teammates at CFB have been prepping for the past few PT's/MC's.
Carter S.
2019-02-21 22:45:59 +0000 UTCWhat is the worst missplay you have done so far in this set? Greetings from Sweden
Andrée
2019-02-21 22:39:13 +0000 UTCThis question is for the tall gentleman... do you think at times when the bots are “solved” it might be better to draft the deck that is best against the “strongest” deck to draft? I find myself in so many mirrors, that I wonder if I should be thinking about going one level deeper. Genius or FPS?
Adam hoffmann
2019-02-21 22:39:06 +0000 UTCHey folks! Thanks for all the great content. What are your favorite build arounds of the set? Is Calamity a valid build around? Is Dovin's acuity a card worth building around, or will it be fine in any UW deck? Thanks again, and I look forward to more steams and podcast episodes
Luis Goicouria (manowarelves)
2019-02-21 22:37:48 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis! I had 2 quick questions about RNA, the first is whether either of you have been able to make the Goblin Gathering deck work? It looks cool in theory, but I have no idea if it's even possible. The second is about guildgates vs shocklands, I was drafting an azorious deck with 1 gateway sneak, but no other gate payoffs and wondered whether the flexibility of the hallowed fountain being able to come into play untapped was worth giving up the slight upside for the sneak (This was somewhere mid pack 2). Ignoring the monetary value of the shocklands, would you ever take them over a guildgate for the flexibility, or are the gate payoffs too good? Does this change later in the pack?
Lilly
2019-02-21 22:37:15 +0000 UTCHi guys, I have a question about Simic in this format. It has struck me as an interesting archetype, as adapt gives a lot of creatures the "Aura Risk," as I like to call it. This entails that you "risk" putting an entire turn's worth of mana into an effect that, should the opponent have a removal spell or other effective counter, renders you time walk'd. Of course, in the case of an aura, you end up down a card in addition to losing your creature, making the risk far greater than a gravy ability such as adapt. Sauroform Hybrid is of course one of the best commons in the set, but without adapt it's a nigh-unplayable D. Skatewing spy is a very good card with it's static ability, but I find that I almost never have the time to spend 6 mana to do very little to my current boardstate, especially if the opponent has had a quick start or I had a slow one, and if I don't get to adapt it it's basically a 2/3 for 4. Obviously, you're never not going to activate your Trollbred Guardian if you can use the rest of your mana effectively, but I'm just curious about how you guys take downsides like this into consideration when giving a card a grade.
Clayton T. Carlson
2019-02-21 22:22:44 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis, First I wanted to say I’m glad you’re both on CFB coverage. It makes me happy. :) Anyway, I’m wondering how you’ve seen the Gates deck work out in paper. I rarely get as busted a Gates deck in paper as I do in Arena. But, in preparation for the MC, how do you value Gates payoffs? The deck is so good when it comes together - even in paper - that I feel it still warrants attention. How do you walk the line of “going in” on this deck vs. drafting a more nuts and bolts deck?
Alec Lancaster
2019-02-21 22:21:21 +0000 UTCHey guys, I had a question about High Alert. Luis has mentioned that it can be powerful in the right deck, but that you don't want to go all-in and pick up junkers that don't do anything if you don't find it (correct me if I'm wrong). However, isn't the tell-tale sign of a build-around that your deck is great when you draw it and not great when you don't? Why is it different than other build-arounds that really warp your pick order list? I would have imagined that high-toughness blockers + temp/card draw would make dedicated High Alert decks solid. Thanks to both of you for all the time you put into LR, it's helped my game a ton.
Jake
2019-02-21 22:19:14 +0000 UTCWhat (if anything) does Ill-gotten Inheritance teach us about card evaluation going forward? I think this card ended up waaaay higher than any of us would have guessed during previews, even if it's overvalued currently. Do we need to change any heuristics we already have for evaluating 'do-nothings', or is this just a one-off strangely good card?
Daniel Schneider
2019-02-21 22:19:10 +0000 UTCHey guys, I’ve really been enjoying RNA, but I often have a hard time determining what’s open, specifically on Arena. Sometimes I see good picks that I don’t think should be open as late as picks 6 or 7 and I wonder if I’m drafting the wrong guild or if something else is open. How late should I keep looking for signals and when is a good rule of thumb to commit to a color or guild? Thanks!
Kevin Lanik
2019-02-21 22:17:42 +0000 UTCPeople are liking this format a lot, so my question is: what does RNA have in common with other great limited sets? What does it do well differently, if anything, to set it apart from other great limited sets? Is this one you think people are going to want to do flashback drafts of a year+ from now? Appreciate you both. Love, Bert
Robert Morris
2019-02-21 22:16:35 +0000 UTCI'm curious about deck composition of decks in this format. My usual heuristic is to go for 17 creatures, 6 spells and 23 lands. I diverge from these numbers as the draft goes on. For example increase my spell count if more removal spells are available. In RNA format I seem to be running a few less creatures and a few more spells than I would normally. Am I just noticing when I do this now that I am aware of it and it isn't happening as often in RNA as I think or have you noticed this as well?
Jason Power
2019-02-21 22:14:14 +0000 UTCMarshall, how do you plan to focus on coverage with a Limited tournament happening next door? Speaking of which, I'll be huddled over my podcast app Friday night attempting to soak up any good strategic vibes before participating in that very tournament myself. Any last minute advice for a first time GP participant? Much thanks!
Matthew Taylor
2019-02-21 22:13:58 +0000 UTCHey guys - I have a question about the team CFB testing process. Given a lot of folks likely used Arena for preparation, were there any disagreements about specific cards / strategies that emerged from people's differing experiences in terms of how they prepared? Did Ben S go off the deep end? Thanks!
Kyle S
2019-02-21 22:13:49 +0000 UTCI feel like there are fewer clear signpost cards for each guild in RNA compared to GRN, when you are looking for an open guild. I find myself just having to make a bet on a guild and then not seeing anything clearly open before pack 2. What are your thoughts on this and what implications might it have for the format?
Thomas Bang
2019-02-21 22:12:55 +0000 UTC1) How do y'all feel about Clear the Mind? Is it a real build-around? Is it playable outside of that? BenS hosted streamer DEATHSIE last night who was soft-forcing Clear the Mind decks to good success, but I'm not sure if that's an Arena-specific thing. 2) Who on team CFB is most likely to play Dimir at the MC? ;)
Seth Fellenstein
2019-02-21 22:12:05 +0000 UTCHi, guys! You guys have helped me a lot as a drafter and I’ve even been teaching a friend how to draft with your ideas! (I knew I created a monster when she decided she liked Blue because, since people like to cast their creatures, she gets to help them double their fun by bouncing back their creatures to cast again). My question is about finding a lane! I’ve felt that Rakdos is criminally underdrafted at my LGS, which was confirmed in a 4-pack draft when Firewheeler was P2P8 for me and I ended up with 3 Skewers, 3 Jugglers, and 3 Dagger Casters to support my P1P1 Judith (easiest playmat ever). Usually, though, I don’t notice Rakdos (in this case) being open in time to move in and reap the benefits. What are good early signs to look for in each guild that signal the guild is wide open (in lieu of something like the CCDD’s)?
Keith Wynn
2019-02-21 22:12:03 +0000 UTCDo you think it's ever correct to build out of guild? I had a train wreck draft that turned half way into pack two I realized was mostly Dimir. I leaned into it but splashed white for Mortify and Lawmage's Binding. It did pretty well but I'm not sure it was right or if I would have been better off committing to Azorious or Orzhov even though it would have cut me off from several of my best playables.
Mediocre Magic Man
2019-02-21 22:11:03 +0000 UTCIs Dimir actually a viable draftable archetype?
Peter
2019-02-21 22:10:06 +0000 UTCCouple of Questions: 1) Typically, enchantments, because they do not impact the board state the turn you play them are pretty bad in limited. In this set there seems to be some good ones. (Heck, even the aura is good.) You talked a bit about High Alert and Ill-Gotten inheritance in the last show, can you talk about some of the others and how we should evaluate them and build around them in this set. 2) Somewhat related, Owen talked about not put negative synergies in a deck. Sage’s Row Savant, a 2/1 that scrys two, doesn’t, it seems synergize with High Alert. Yet it helps you find your High Alert(s-hopefully) in your High Alert deck. So given the choice, late in the draft between that and say petitioners or Pegasus, how would you make that decision given your build around. Thanks as always! Gar and Gwendolyn
Gar Culbert
2019-02-21 22:02:03 +0000 UTCWhat's the minimum number of toughness-greater-than-power creatures you need to feel comfortable playing High Alert? Does the deck inevitably stink without at least one Azorius, Knight Arbiter? How does that number change between draft and sealed?
Jason
2019-02-21 22:00:12 +0000 UTCI find black to be the deepest, either orzhov or Rakdos, with Blade jugglers, ill-gotten inheritance and dead revels. I haven't had much success with the other guilds or the gates deck. Does it pay to go green in this format? How?
Antonio Valdez
2019-02-21 21:58:16 +0000 UTCThis set seems to make it easier to splash than most sets, and the playoffs for splashing seem to be better. Would you say this is true, and, if so, are there any color combinations that aren't worth splashing into?
David Schultz
2019-02-21 21:57:20 +0000 UTCHey guys, limited environment feels great. I am wondering if you could review some cards (again) that have impressed you as of late. Another question, I know it's all about a plan, but that is still vague enough for me, given my magic prowess. Can you make it more concrete at some point? Good luck Luis! Always pulling for ya.
Jake
2019-02-21 21:56:53 +0000 UTCIs it just me or is Simic insanely mana-hungry in this format? I never seem to have enough time to activate adapt abilities while still dealing with opposing threats and keeping up on the damage race. Should I play more lockets? How about wilderness reclamation? Should I pack two pick one Gyre Engineer if I’m already Simic? Thanks for any tips!
Jonathan Montgomery
2019-02-21 21:56:22 +0000 UTCIs there one color that is clearly better in Ravnica Allegiance, like blue was in Guilds of Ravnica?
Jason Dooley
2019-02-21 21:56:17 +0000 UTCCouple of questions:
Gar Culbert
2019-02-21 21:54:45 +0000 UTC
