Questions for the Show Tonight with Ryan Spain
Added 2018-12-27 21:06:22 +0000 UTCHey All,
Luis in in Ecuador on holiday vacation so we're having Ryan Spain back on as guest co-host! It's really nice having Ryan available again now that he's not at Wizards any more, and it gives us a great opportunity to talk about his various areas of expertise!
So post any questions you have for him here. Can be anything from Arena, making arena, going optimal on arena, working at WotC, designing cards/games/sets, early LR stuff, his dog Rocket, whatever you want!
Also we are opening the UMA box topper on this one!
Happy Holidays to each of you, may all your packs have bombs :)
- Marshall
Comments
My question is why not make the Arena hand selection algorithm public? In paper Magic, we both know the rules, we put together the best deck we can, and shuffle up and deal. In Arena the rules are secret. This feels weird and I don't see what would be lost by making the algorithm public.
Nate Solon
2018-12-28 02:53:41 +0000 UTCHey Ryan, you and Marshall launched LR as a podcast years ago, when it was still a quite new concept. Now you're going on Twitch to reach Magic players with another channel. Clearly you are well tuned into new digital means of reaching an audience. What do you think about smart speakers like Amazon Echo or Google Home as a potential for reaching Magic players?
Brian Jackson
2018-12-28 01:25:55 +0000 UTCWhat are some of your favorite non-MTG/non-CCG card drafting games? 7 Wonders, for instance, has been immensely popular among my friends.
Jaeger
2018-12-28 00:01:25 +0000 UTCHi, Ryan! Thanks for your time! I have a mostly complete standard play set on MTGO. I'm interested in switching to Arena, but doing so is a massive upfront value loss. Any thoughts or strategies for making this pill easier to swallow? Is there any hope for some kind of MTGO>Arena collection conversion program?
Jaeger
2018-12-27 23:58:44 +0000 UTCHey Ryan! What do you think the most broken card is in guilds? P.S. who did the LR theme song?
The Pabster
2018-12-27 23:50:35 +0000 UTCI’ve been getting back into Magic after literally decades away. Love LR so much - so thanks to everyone. My question - I’ve been playing Arena and loving it. Should I also sign up for MTGO? Pros and cons. Would be nice to play with some older formats.
Rebecca Menes
2018-12-27 23:39:40 +0000 UTCHi Ryan! Any chance you or Marshall or Luis might make it out to GP Calgary in March? Would love to meet y'all :)
Alyssin Williams
2018-12-27 23:20:11 +0000 UTCHey Ryan! Which magic card is your favorite design? If you could design any card, with no limitations, what would the design be?
Luis Goicouria (manowarelves)
2018-12-27 23:13:36 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Ryan, I was wondering about Ryan's "insider" knowledge. WotC employees aren't allowed to play sanctioned events for some amount of time after a set's release, in the interest of fairness. But do employees, even those who have actively worked on a set, really have a huge advantage? The machine that is MTGO and Magic Arena will churn through drafts so quickly that I can't imagine there's a real advantage after the first week. Agree or disagree? Thanks for the content!
A.J. Frank
2018-12-27 23:11:31 +0000 UTCHey guys...way to be consistent in putting out the show over the holidays. Will definitely help for the 7 hour drive home with the kids! Interested in Ryan's take on the choices WoTC made about which elements of Arena to introduce in what order, and what may be coming. For instance, originally didn't have the option of choosing to play or draw, and now that's in. Can now challenge friends to matches if constructed, but not something like sealed or draft with the normal bots. What's the logic and where might things be headed? Thanks!
Hoyt Battey
2018-12-27 23:11:02 +0000 UTCThe edge in limited is in drafting well. The edge in drafting well is reading signals. The edge in reading signals is in card evaluation...is it fair to say then that the vast majority of getting better in limited is simply studying card evaluation?
Adam hoffmann
2018-12-27 22:54:35 +0000 UTCIf I wanted to donate a crack a pack to LR, where would i send it to? Thank you.
Anthony Villotti
2018-12-27 22:31:12 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Ryan! I started listening right around when Luis joined so I haven’t known any other co-hosts, and it’s graat to get your viewpoint on things. My question is this: What is the basis of a grwat limited format, in your opinion? Ive heard Marshall and Luis’ takes on this question but I’d like to know what you think.
Alec Lancaster
2018-12-27 21:59:19 +0000 UTCHey there, this is Björn (spoken like "earn" with a "Be" in front ;-) ) Bock from Germany. What do you guys think about the ranking system on Magic Arena? I don't know whether to love or to hate it. I guess that skilled players will have more losses than they would have without ranking. If this would be added for bo3, it would limit the ev of a draft and it would have a huge impact on "Going optimal". Greetings from Frankfurt, I wish you a happy new year!!
Björn Bock
2018-12-27 21:58:43 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Ryan. You know someone's gotta ask about your first thoughts on Ravnica Allegiance mechanics! To start off is azorious doomed in limited with addendum? Casting instant speed spells on your main phase for could be fine, but could also be a bad plan if Azorious ends up as the all-in control archetype. Also, what 3 color-pairs might have the most mechanical synergy, or are you looking forward to play. #whenindoubtJUNDthemout
Dustin Senger
2018-12-27 21:50:40 +0000 UTCHey! Long-time listener here... the first episode I heard was the Mirrodin Besieged review. Thank you both for all your hard work, and all the helpful advice over the years. I have a non-Magic question for you both: I have played poker only once with actual humans (and a few times on Steam's Poker Night at the Inventory) and I don't really know where to start when it comes to getting a better grasp of the game, its history, its variants, and proper playing/betting strategies. There seem to be almost endless articles and videos available online, but for the uninitiated, it's difficult to determine their quality. What resources would recommend to beginning poker players? (Also, how is Rocket doing? Does he still have Annihilator?) Thanks!
David Jennemestor
2018-12-27 21:46:50 +0000 UTCHey guys, I've been enjoying my experience with Arena, and I think it is accurate to call it a successful product. I am curious how Ryan feels it has the potential to fail. What does disaster look like for Arena?
Christopher Lee
2018-12-27 21:42:44 +0000 UTCWhat is the latest point in a draft you would feel okay about shifting into another color-pairing or achetype? I try to stand by Ben’s philosophy of drafting the hard way, but I have troubles passing Niv, Mizzet as my p2p1, regardless if I am in blue or red. Thanks for all the great content. I started in in Ixalan and wouldn’t have progressed to this point without your wealth of knowledge.
Sam Riedeman
2018-12-27 21:41:38 +0000 UTCDoes ryan have any tips for managing wild cards? I understand its a big investment to spend them and waiting to use them wisely is good, but need to use them at some point!
Matt Carr
2018-12-27 21:33:14 +0000 UTCHere's a thank you for the recent episode on Arena, it was the push my wife and I needed to try it out, and now we've already spent WAY too many hours playing over the holidays this week. Two questions: first, any updates to the Arena draft "metagame" (in terms of what the bots are drafting and how players adapt)? Also, what are other features/updates you guys would most like to see to Arena in the coming year? Thanks so much for everything!
Ryan M.
2018-12-27 21:30:52 +0000 UTCHey guys, first a huge thank you for turning me from limited zero to draft hero over the last few years. I've probably won a few extra boxes worth because of your collective tutelage! My question: with GRN about to ride off to the sunset, how would you rate the set overall? I thought I'd get bored quickly because of the limited color pairs but kept coming back for more just because the games were so good. Bonus question: what's your favorite card in GRN limited?
Lindsay L
2018-12-27 21:26:07 +0000 UTCHi guys! Long time listener first time caller! Im curious ryan what your favorite part of working on arena was? And for both of you what are your favorite aspects of magic
Alex schiano
2018-12-27 21:22:32 +0000 UTCHey Ryan and Marshall! It's great having Ryan on the show more, when I started listening to LR I made sure to start from the first episode, and I don't think anyone can say enough how important the "Ryan era" was in getting the show grounded and going. My question for the two of you is this: just how strong does a gold card need to be in order to be first pickable over comparable single color or even colorless cards? How does this vary between a gold set like GRN and a regular set like M19?
Jonah Lipton
2018-12-27 21:19:26 +0000 UTCHi guys. Thinking back to the early years of LR, what has changed the most about Limited Magic? Do any of these changes affect the principles or axioms governing how you approach limited? For example, some people say that “blocking” is no longer an evergreen mechanic, so we should look to draft aggressive decks more often. Others say “marrying your first pick” is not as bad anymore, because most sets have plenty of playable cards and so getting “cut” in your guild or colors is not as punishing. I guess what I’m really asking is the MTG version of the 2001 Lakers vs 2018 Warriors question. How much has the game really changed? Thanks!
Jonathan Montgomery
2018-12-27 21:18:39 +0000 UTCI wanted to ask exactly the same question.
Szymon
2018-12-27 21:17:08 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Ryan, it’s great to have another episode with the OG team. Thank you for everything you have done for the MTG community! Ryan, thank you for Going Optimal, it’s been wonderful to have more content from you. What do you two feel about the use of simulators to practice draft and sealed?
Spencer Falor-Ward
2018-12-27 21:15:48 +0000 UTCGood one, and very topical today
Limited Resources
2018-12-27 21:13:34 +0000 UTCHi Ryan and Marshall! How do you guys feel about Bo1 being the competitive format of choice for ranked play in MTGA? As a big fan of sideboarding this doesn't feel like genuine Magic to me.
Brian Chuchua
2018-12-27 21:12:49 +0000 UTCWhat's your favorite crazy or funny thing that happened while working at WotC?
Star Bright
2018-12-27 21:11:28 +0000 UTCPlease describe some MTG variations that no one has heard of before or that you could only do at WOTC (eg future league.)
Hogan Long
2018-12-27 21:08:59 +0000 UTC
