Q&A episode!
Added 2017-12-13 15:51:13 +0000 UTCHey all,
We’ve got a Q&A episode this week, and we figured that we would give you a more narrow topic to focus on (though your more general questions are also welcome).
Topic: Mistakes and how to solve them: what kind of mistakes are you having trouble with? What about how to fix them?
We always want you to improve at Magic and identifying mistakes is a good start.
Fire your questions away in the comments and we’ll get to as many as we can on the show this week!
(I’ll be starting a new Question of the Week thread after this show drops as well for those with questions for that)
Marshall
Comments
Hey guys. A mistake that I find myself making is reading too much into signals during drafts. I tend to be all over the place in the first pack because someone if passes me a good card, I'll usually end up taking it. My question is how to understand when it is right to switch gears and go for a different archetype/color or to just keep taking cards that fit my first few picks. How do I overcome my fear of being cut off during the draft? Thanks guys, love your work!
Matthew Bernstein
2017-12-14 22:03:23 +0000 UTCHi LSV and Marshall - I struggle with a certain part of the draft, namely, reading the "negative space" in a pack that gets passed to me. I can see what is *in* the pack, but I have a hard time interpreting what is missing. For example, I recently did an Iconic Masters draft where I took some of the good common black-white life gain cards late in pack 1 - like Survival Cache - and then committed. But the person to my right was in the archtype also. She suggested that I might have noticed that the good *uncommon* payoffs weren't flowing, but I guess I got locked into the cards I was seeing, not the cards I didn't see. Any tips or anecdotes? Thanks!
Jonathan Montgomery
2017-12-14 19:23:01 +0000 UTCFor someone who's exclusively played limited magic, what are the biggest mistakes to avoid when trying to get into constructed, standard specifically?
james anderson
2017-12-14 14:18:48 +0000 UTCDear M + L, I think that I play OK from behind. I am able to figure out my outs, and determine what parts of the board state or my deck actually matter and which parts don't. I think this is because when there is only one line that doesn't lose you the game, it is very easy to decide to chose to play that line. I struggle with decision making more when I am ahead. If my opponent plays nothing on turn 2 and 3 I know I should be in advantageous position, but I get myself in a tiz. Should I play my best threat because my opponent is on the back foot? Should I play a weaker threat in case they didn't play creatures because their hand is mainly removal? Should I use the fact that they are not pressuring my life total to play an artifact/enchantment that creates non-board based value? Very interested to hear your astute opinions, Ian
Ian Firth
2017-12-14 11:06:23 +0000 UTCIs really like to hear some information about identifying when you should switch colors. I find that sometimes after the draft, on retrospection, I realize that sometime in pack two I should have switched into another color. I'm always afraid I'm do deep in the draft at that point to switch.
Kari Malsom
2017-12-14 02:19:09 +0000 UTCP.S. I really like the show. Thanks for your efforts!
Jean-Luc Brouillet
2017-12-14 02:04:18 +0000 UTCOnce I discover an archetype I like, I tend to overrate these cards in subsequent drafts, for example black-white vampires in Ixalan. What would your recommend to avoid this unconscious bias?
Jean-Luc Brouillet
2017-12-14 02:03:26 +0000 UTCI'd also like to learn more about the decision tree around mulligans. I have kept way too many suspect hands because my mind is jumping ahead trying to connect the dots with what I could pull off "if I just draw one of the following 'right cards' within the first turn or two". Is it as simple as avoiding that trap? Is there a pattern to train in to your mind of when to toss a hand and spin again? Conversely, when do you hold them as it would outweigh the risk of going to 5?
LeemHerndon
2017-12-14 00:37:34 +0000 UTCHey guys, any way you could do a quick primer on vintage masters or cube? Ixalan is stale, so a little help on a new format (for me!) would be awesome!
Brian Thomas
2017-12-14 00:05:44 +0000 UTCHello! I feel like I undervalue combat tricks, and rarely take them. What's a good rule of thumb to evaluate combat tricks' playability in a given set? Is it just the speed of the format that matters?
Saralyn McKinnon-Crowley
2017-12-13 23:38:59 +0000 UTCMulligans. I used never mulligan, because I hated going to 6 and maybe getting color/land screwed. Then I learned I should mulligan more. I heard the idea that you should mulligan hands if 'you just need to hit land and your hand is good'. But then I started watching streams and coverage and noticed players keeping hands that I thought were 'textbook mulligans'. 3 Island 4 white card, or 1 land with a two-drop three-drop four-drop, or 3 land and 4 four-drops. Is this a good rule of thumb? Alternate/additional question: I know this is Limited Resources, but a lot of us play constructed too. How do you approach mulligans differently in limited vs constructed?
Daniel Schneider
2017-12-13 22:48:17 +0000 UTCI am a fairly new play, only started since end the of Aether Revolt and where I find I make constantly make mistakes is knowing when and how to double blocking. Either I'll take way to much damage because I miscalculated when I should trade a creature with a double block, or I double block and then get blown out by a sure strike. What are some general rules of thumbs and ways to correct these mistakes when it comes to double blocking outside of being aware of open mana for a sure strike.
ThatGuy
2017-12-13 21:12:13 +0000 UTCI was recently in a very long game 1 of in a paper draft tournament: the board state was completely stalled, the game was crawling, and my opponent had a card draw engine that was slow but gave him inevitability. His deck ran a lot of artifacts for which I had good answers in my sideboard, so I expected games 2 and 3 would be better for me. Still I couldn't bring myself to concede game 1 and save the match time until he found a way to break through the stall. I feel like that was a mistake. Are there situations where you'd concede games that aren't lost to have a better chance at winning the match?
james anderson
2017-12-13 20:13:56 +0000 UTCHey guys! Love the show, I've been playing magic on and off for a good 10 years now and your show has made me a much better player. I feel given enough time I can make the best play or close to it, but all too often that amount of time gets me clocked. When I try and play faster I start making much worse plays so then I slow down again and lose the game to time with a winning board position. I understand there's probably no big secret method but do you have any specific advice on playing faster but not worse? Thanks for the podcast and your CFB videos, although watching LSV play so fast makes me sick :)
Tim Day
2017-12-13 19:45:18 +0000 UTCOne of the biggest mistakes I make is reading others at the draft table. I usually end up with a decent deck but end up out classed by my opponents, so I guess my question is is it better to try to draft a great deck but pay less attention to the others or go for an ok deck but you know you stole a bomb from someone else?
Andy Shadow Patron of the Arts and Lover of all things depressing Bentley
2017-12-13 19:36:42 +0000 UTCHi gents. I think my biggest "mistake" is my inability to identify mistakes or why I lost a game. Luis often says things like, "You think you lost a game because your opponent beat you when in reality it's because you played Harrier Naga". If someone isn't there to point out an unobvious reason that I lost... how can going I about figuring it out?
Jared Mazzant
2017-12-13 19:21:42 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Luis. Thanks a bunch for the show. My question involves sealed play. Sometimes it's easy to choose which colors to be in, like when my rares and solid playables at common/uncommon mostly align in the same 2 (or 3) colors. I have found that sometimes, in the not-so-straightforward situations, I am not sure how to choose 2 colors. Can you talk a bit about some of the tiebreakers that you might use when most or all colors seem roughly evenly justifiable for being in your deck? And, is there ever any good reason to build two completely different decks, ie one BW vamps and one RG dinos from the same sealed pool, that you use interchangeably depending on the situation/matchup in which you are playing? Thanks
Philip Rembert
2017-12-13 19:05:15 +0000 UTCI notice that top tier players have remarkable memory. They remember hands, board states and opponent's actions from game to game and know exactly what cards were picks and what was left in packs for picks 1-8 in Pack 1 of a draft. How do I improve my memory to help me increase my winning percentage?
Swordsman
2017-12-13 19:01:44 +0000 UTCHey Guys! I went to GP Cleveland (Team Sealed) last year and our team built from a pretty weak pool two medium decks and one that could only draw or lose, but not win. I'm pretty sure we made a mistake in deck building, but its hard to say. Whats the best way to approach splitting 12 packs into 3 decks and giving your team it's best chance to win when the card's aren't great.
Mark Rosen
2017-12-13 18:12:18 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Luis! This is my first post and a patron (woo!). My biggest challenge I have when I draft is when to jump ship to other colors. I try to stay open pack 1, and set myself up for a few routes, but often times I find myself going into pack 3 as a weak 3 color deck, rather than a strong two. When’s that “point of no return”. Thanks again!
Sasha Evelynn Francis
2017-12-13 17:37:51 +0000 UTCRusty (So-Sha). Hey guys, I started playing mtg when Kaladesh came out. Through each of the formats, I have noticed that I have a much better win percentage when I draft aggressive decks (Boros or Naya mainly). I notice that when I deviate from more aggressive decks, I end up losing due to flooding or not having the right cards in hand. Perhaps this is just me blaming bad play on variance/poor mulliganing decisions but I think it could be that I’m incorrectly building my decks for more midrange strategies. Can you offer any advice or rules of thumb for drafting these midrangey decks? (Side note: drafted iconic masters BW life gain and had Tavern Swindler and Vizkopa Guildmage on the field. Flooded out and just kept triggering the 2nd ability twice each turn. That was gas:D )
Rusty Scioscia
2017-12-13 17:11:53 +0000 UTCGuys... I overthink plays and turns too often. I need to remedy this and am unsure how. We LR listeners clearly devote a lot of time thinking about Magic (plays, pick orders, previous matches) and because of this, I wrack my brain at times during games only to realize afterward the play was simple, right in front of me, and... I tried to get too clever. Misused resources and missed opportunities abound. Help! Thanks again for your hard work from a long time listener.
chitobein
2017-12-13 16:55:08 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and LSV. I had an unusual loss in a recent Iconic Masters Draft - my opponent was locked out of drawing by their own Necropotence, but I lost by casting a Sphinx of Uthuun into the last card in my opponent's hand, a Grisly Spectacle, taking me from 10 cards in my library to 0 in a single turn. I'm not sure if I made the wrong choice here, but I certainly didn't see that line coming - they weren't playing a mill strategy. What can I do to be more aware of my opponent's outs when I have incomplete knowledge of their deck?
Matthew Taylor
2017-12-13 16:42:56 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Luis! I started listnening to the show a few months ago and I felt a huge boost in my limited results since then, so thank you! :) One thing I'm still struggling with is the balance between creatures and other spells. I've had some good drafts in different formats where I found open colors and ended up with 6 or more good removals, and a few good tricks or card-draw cards. Then, of course, I played too many of these and lost games because I had only removals in hand and not enough threats. What do you take into account to decide how many and which good non-creature cards you play in your deck?
Jonathan Jubin
2017-12-13 16:42:05 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Luis! I'm not sure if this question fits the theme but it's one I've been thinking about a lot lately. I've played a few competitive events (most memorably a GP last year) where I have had a good record going into the final rounds of a long day of magic. My rate of mistakes per match seems to increase exponentially after 9+ hours of high stakes play and I go from being a deliberate player who does not frequently make simple mistakes that can be caught by double checking the board and the math to making plays that are just straight up bad for me, even if my opponent is staring at a hand full of blank cards. What are some things I can do to avoid making the "easy" mistakes when fatigue and distractions are getting in the way?
Jason McMullan
2017-12-13 16:41:17 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and LSV! I think the biggest place I find myself making mistakes is not understanding some of the medium-to-complex rules interactions (i.e. a creature with deathtouch and trample being blocked by a larger creature, just as an example). What's the best way to learn these types of interactions? Sometimes I feel like I'm missing potential plays because I don't understand how a complex card on my side interacts with other cards on the board.
Lydon Bergin
2017-12-13 16:27:28 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Luis, been listening to the show since the firsts Jon Loucks episodes and been a Patreon since Sept 2016 (never got my thank you card btw, no bad feelings). One mistake I often make when playing Magic is not reassessing the board state. I find myself forgeting an ability a creature might have or a particular opponent possible activated ability, etc. How can I get myself to always update information, without taking too much time. For my upkeep triggers I use the dice on deck trick, but I can't start reread everycard every turn ! Any tips ? Thanks alot for the great content !
Guillaume P.
2017-12-13 16:22:13 +0000 UTCHi guys. Sealed question here. How important are bombs in color determination. In a format like ixalan, assuming your fixing/ treasure is weak, would you tend to favor a weaker color combination that has a vona or regisaur alpha, or go for a more well rounded deck that has a more stable curve/ removal but no bombs.
Tyler Spiering
2017-12-13 16:19:24 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Luis ! Usually the biggest time I make mistakes is when I am playing from behind with a more aggressive deck. For example, if I am playing an aggro deck and my opponent is stablizing with a more midraged or controlling deck, I often am unsure whether to start making crazy bluff and attacks with everything to get in damage, or to sit back and hope I can draw into something that can help me . I often find myself panicing and just making bad attacks for fear that they will stablize if I don't, or not attacking when i should be and letting the game slip away. Got any tips for how to play correctly in this situation? Thanks!
Alissa McGill
2017-12-13 16:18:36 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis, I find I make the most mistakes when choosing to keep or mulligan. I've heard pros like Reid Duke, who take a long time considering each hand, say things like 'Well, this is in the bottom 50% of hands, but surely keepable' or 'How good is this hand if I draw a Mountain?' Is there a shortlist of questions I should ask myself when determining whether to keep or mulligan a hand? And how bad does a hand have to be before you mulligan to 6, or even to 5?
Ben Norris
2017-12-13 16:09:04 +0000 UTCHow detailed notes should we be taking during a match? I like to keep track of removal spells, combat tricks and and bomb rares. My memory is otherwise like a sieve, and I have sometimes even forgotten what colors my opponent has played without some notes. Do you do the same on MTGO as on paper?
Greg Holmes
2017-12-13 16:07:45 +0000 UTCThanks for the podcast! One thing that I still struggle with is playing too fast. Sometimes I'll make a pick out of a pack and realize that I couldn't even say what all of the cards were in the pack. Mostly this happens during games though, where I pick out a line of play and immediately just start going with it, only realizing after that I hadn't even considered other possible lines.
Aardvark
2017-12-13 16:05:42 +0000 UTCI find I have trouble identifying when to use things like combat tricks or removal, it feels like I often use my spells a turn early or a turn late. What can I look for to have a better idea of when my cards will give me maximum value? Love the show and really appreciate everything you guys have taught me since I started listening.
John W Costello III
2017-12-13 16:02:13 +0000 UTCThank you so much for the show. Having a source for limited specific has helped me with my draft greatly. My question how do I identify a true mistake vs a correct play that didn't work. After many of my games I look back and believe that I played correctly but make my outs. When can I say that it was a correct play and i got unlucky rather than i should have done something else. Thanks for making me a better magic player.
Michael Radaszkiewicz
2017-12-13 16:00:11 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis! I often find myself having issues with mulligans; either throwing away a keepable hand or keeping a marginal one. Is there a way to more intuitively know when to keep and when to throw back a hand? Perhaps a short checklist of things that a hand needs to be able to be keepable? Love the show and thank you both for all that you do!
Dustin Schoenbrun
2017-12-13 15:58:58 +0000 UTCHi guys! I find that I usually play too aggressively, always wanting to play cards, attack, and activate abilities probably before I should. I’m always afraid that if I don’t beat face early then my opponent will overwhelm me. But obviously that just forces me to run out of gas early. How do you stay patient and not panic?
Kyle Wells
2017-12-13 15:54:42 +0000 UTCHello Marshal and LSV! I was hoping you could talk about the benefits of keeping track of yours and your opponents life totals with pen and paper instead of dice. Thanks so much!
Westin Whitlock
2017-12-13 15:53:42 +0000 UTC
