Questions for PT Insider Show Tonight
Added 2017-11-02 14:40:14 +0000 UTCHey All,
Luis and I are in Albuquerque for PT Ixalan! That's pretty cool, and Luis has been testing this week for the pro tour with team CFB. Which means, of course, that we get our PT Insider back on the inside and ready to deliver the goods.
But also we were thinking about this, and it's a little weird this time because of how much later the Pro Tour is happening than normal (normally the PT is around 3 weeks after the set comes out, this time it's pushing 2 months).
SO, what we decided to do is dedicate the first half of the main topic to anything new he has learned from the team. Any updates, tips, strategies, etc.
But since we don't anticipate this being a full topic worth of information, we are opening up the 2nd part of the show for some Q&A about Pro Tour testing in general.
If you want to know how it goes, who does it, the goals they have, how it's organized, etc: Fire away in the comments below and we'll get through as many as we can!
Thanks,
Marshall
Comments
On the chance you look at this for QotW: I love how in MTGO Sealed you can pre-save "sideboarded" decks to switch into or easily switch to a completely different deck between rounds. That feels like an excellent way to get value by improving your match-ups, but I've always had trouble with large-scale sideboarding in paper tournaments. Are there any organizational tricks the pros to efficiently and accurately swap large numbers of cards in and out of their main deck?
james anderson
2017-11-10 16:51:24 +0000 UTCDo you normally just look at the strongest decks or is there also a discussion what could exactly beat the meta? Cheesing out a win, as it were
2menace
2017-11-03 05:48:15 +0000 UTCHow much data does the team track for limited before a PT? And given the small sample size of drafts before a PT, how much value do you place in that data, as compared to general impressions fro drafting and games not necessarily grounded in data. For example, if the data from the team's pre-PT drafts showed that UW had the highest win rate, but didn't feel great to the team, how does the team weigh the two in deciding how desirable an archetype is? (also thanks for signing my foil Goblinslides for my Khans cube at GP Vegas!)
Jamie Katz
2017-11-03 01:05:42 +0000 UTCHow many hours a day do you practice? Or how many games per day aprox. What are your thoughts about the current state of standard? Im finding it pretty healthy but some may say it is somewhat "boring". Thank you for this opportunity to ask the questions!
Tute Ballve
2017-11-02 22:58:36 +0000 UTCHey Luis, Has it been more difficult to keep motivated during testing than other PTs? Between a 2 month old format and a limited format that many think is lackluster, how has the team kept the fire burning as hot as it needs to be? Thanks for the content, A.J.
A.J. Frank
2017-11-02 21:39:06 +0000 UTCIn this booster draft format, it seems like the pack 1, picks 2 and 3 (and 4?) choice is more about weighing the power level of the card when in its ideal deck versus the other cards' power level solo or in combination with the first pick. This makes the decision much more difficult (for me anyways). Do you guys use any mental shortcuts for on-the-fly evaluation or do you try to keep this complex "pick list" in your head? Thanks, and keep doing what you're doing (please)!
Erik Johnson
2017-11-02 21:16:58 +0000 UTCWhat to you think the biggest misconception is about testing for the Pro Tour?
Kyle Olson
2017-11-02 20:48:58 +0000 UTCAre there any specific cards you've found to have risen or fallen significantly as a direct result of other cards becoming more popular? Are you a second level beyond that with re-evaluating based on re-evaluations? Ex. x/1's will often be heavily punished now that everyone is aware of how great skullduggery is, or legion's judgement has risen to playable status now that everyone wants to suit up their creatures.
Ben Frazier
2017-11-02 20:38:36 +0000 UTCHi, guys! Thanks for the peek behind the curtain. It seems like making the decision to play the best in the meta has some risks if too many others make the same decision (not everyone can draft RW aggro, for instance). What key factors come into play when you make the decision to go out on a limb and try something unconventional? Or is that sort of choice never advisable?
Steve Klien
2017-11-02 20:29:22 +0000 UTC1) What are the biggest stresses and pressures going into the PT? 2) After rigorous team testing, are there any ways you still feel under-prepared?
Brien Howard
2017-11-02 20:14:30 +0000 UTCI'm curious about the overall process - does each player just break away separately to do dozens of MODO drafts, record the results centrally, then report back in an organized limited meeting at the end? How does the team decide how many live drafts to do (if any) and what benefits do the live drafts give vs. online/over-the-shoulder drafting?
Dan Troha
2017-11-02 18:24:07 +0000 UTCWhat are the differences, if any, between testing for the pro tour and testing for any other tournament? Do you feel like there's still much to learn about Ixalan draft, or are you testing less that usual on draft and more on standard?
Jacob Altamirano
2017-11-02 17:56:19 +0000 UTCUnrelated to the topic at hand, but here you might read it. Is there any way you could include a link to the actual episode on the patreon, and consequently on the notification email? Direct download would be best, as I always download the episode on my phone to listen, and it should be easier than it is. I end up just going to lrcast.com/episodes, or going through the link of marshall's twitter, where sometimes I can easily find the episode. Just link the episode! Keep up the good work.
Fernando Meseguer Garrido
2017-11-02 17:48:05 +0000 UTCFor the deck you'll play as well as for the decks you'll play against, are you primarily testing the established TIER 1 decks or do you keep your eyes out for an outlier/something missed by others leading up to Pro Tour?
Brian Leaf
2017-11-02 17:04:02 +0000 UTCHi Marshall & Luis. Do you manage the data generated by your testing? Do you maintain spreadsheets of standard matchups on the play vs on the draw, archetypes in ixalan draft? Do you collect enough to run regression analyses? Thanks!
Christine Knox
2017-11-02 17:02:25 +0000 UTCHey Guys! I've always been curious about the PT testing process and am excited that you're willing to give us another inside look. Thanks, as always, for the hard work you do to bring us awesome content. During your past 'casts on this topic I've always been interested by the notion that teams will come to differing valuations of cards in the format. This seems like it can be a real source of advantage (if you know a card is good that others undervalue), but also a potential disadvantage (if you're overvaluing a mediocre card). I'm curious about whether your team tries to do any reconnaissance to figure out what others are thinking. If so, how do you do this? And, how does this sort of information influence your play?
William Barley
2017-11-02 16:21:18 +0000 UTCWhen prepring for this protour what was the biggest factor in deciding what to play? Was it just to beat the established decks or are you looking at completely new ideas? And is it easier to pick a deck just after a rotation where options are more limited or before a rotation where you have more choice?
Conor O'Brien
2017-11-02 16:12:32 +0000 UTCAre you finding yourself more willing to splash more than usual due to the mana fixing offered by treasure tokens? I found a draft I had worked quite well with a WURG Dino control situation. Was that just a fluke or could this be a reliable strategy. Thanks guys! Best of luck LSV :)
Charlie VandeSande
2017-11-02 16:10:54 +0000 UTCHow much time does a testing team spend drafting vs. playing? Does that ratio change as the format gets worked on?
David
2017-11-02 16:10:10 +0000 UTCHi guys, thanks for the behind the scenes. How would you say that the additional time from release to PT has impacted the testing and interpretation of results? Previously, you typically got at most one GP's worth of data and very limited MTGO results. Now there is a ton more to work with, so would you say it has helped get a better picture of constructed and limited, or has it just muddied the waters. Best of luck to LSV in his return to the competitive scene. Hopefully we don't see him back in the booth too soon!
Tyler Spiering
2017-11-02 16:02:09 +0000 UTCWhat are the top signal cards in this format for each colour? For example if I see a branch walker or jade guardian on pick 5 or 6 is that a good sign merfolk is open?
Jason Power
2017-11-02 15:55:51 +0000 UTCHey guys. Simple question for y’all: Do you like this limited format?
derek gallen
2017-11-02 15:41:58 +0000 UTCHow much theorycrafting vs playtesting goes on when discussing/debating? How many games/matches/drafts would count as 'giving an idea a fair shot'? Subsequently, how many ideas get a fair shot at it, and does that vary significantly between constructed and limited because the latter is more cumbersome (and more subject to variance) to test?
Zizhuang Yang
2017-11-02 15:39:43 +0000 UTCHow do team participants' focus on prepping for the Pro Tour vary over time? There's of course the big get-together, but how much discussion goes on before/after The Big Meeting (ie. do people just wait and see until a certain point) and how much does that drive the final decisions vs the meeting?
Zizhuang Yang
2017-11-02 15:35:29 +0000 UTChey guys, I was wondering what the process was for trying to find new strategies in a well established metagame. I find it difficult to innovate new strategies because a rough draft of a deck that may be powerful will still lose to a potentially less powerful but more refined deck. Thanks for being such a great show.
James Moskal
2017-11-02 15:26:40 +0000 UTCHey Marshal and Luis, how much nonsense is allowed in PT testing, especially the week of? Luis told the story of deciding whether to play Cancel over Stoic Rebuttal, and it seemed like everyone was pretty high strung, other than Mr. Scott-Vargas. Are these sessions always intense, or does humor break up the tension more often than we've seen in past CFB testing insider videos? And which pros are most likely to engage in nonsense (other than Luis), as well as those least likely (other than Ben Stark)?
Ben Norris
2017-11-02 15:23:41 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis, Many thanks for the show, it's always a learning experience! My question is how close is the expected Pro Tour metagame to the online metagame? When you sit down to test do you feel like the collective knowledge of the internetz has explored the whole solution space and settled on the optimal choices? Cheers!
Piotr Berlowski
2017-11-02 15:20:47 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis, Has the fact that so much more time and so many more events have passed since Ixalan came out noticeably changed how the team is testing for the PT? Does it feel fundamentally different or is it just more informed? Thanks guys! Pretty sure I owe my 11-4 finish at GP Phoenix to this show's advice.
Daniel Lee
2017-11-02 15:13:16 +0000 UTCI root for team CFB. What can I do to help them as they prepare for the PRO Tour?
Alex Gaudet
2017-11-02 15:06:42 +0000 UTCWhere are late-game value cards like Vance's Blasting Cannons and Treasure Map right now? They still feel like flexible, useful cards, but in picks 1-4, do you take a good 2-drop (Tilanoli's Knight, Storm Fleet Aerialist) over them? What about decent removal (Firecannon Blast, Vanquish the Weak)?
Adam
2017-11-02 14:59:57 +0000 UTCWho is the “rogue” on the team, the one who argues fringe strategy the most, and why is it Ben Stark? Truly love the show, gentlemen! Thank you!
Jonathan Westhoff
2017-11-02 14:56:14 +0000 UTCHey guys, How much time during testing, if any, is spent trying to find new or underdrafted strategies/archetypes in draft in order to get an edge on the field? Is this less important than making sure the known/predictable archetypes are well understood by the team? This may not be as applicable with Ixalan because the draft format seems pretty straightforward and well understood at this point.
Jon Watts
2017-11-02 14:55:17 +0000 UTCDo you spend more time testing strategies you expect to work, or more time testing strategies you feel are more untested, or off-the-wall to find something unexpected?
Kyle Wells
2017-11-02 14:50:38 +0000 UTCWondering if you guys have approached Sealed deck building any differently due to tribes. Like after sorting colors into bomb/playable/junk do you go through and look at how many vampire or merfolk cards to see if a tribal deck might be there that your color piles don’t make obvious.
Pete Hines
2017-11-02 14:48:49 +0000 UTCExcited to see Lois back on the PT. Here's my question: What's the most wrong a teammate has been about the current format?
Søren Lahn Sloth
2017-11-02 14:48:39 +0000 UTCHey Marshall, I don't have any question regarding the pro tour preps at this point so i'll pass, but I do have a question about a casual draft, dino-sized draft, that wotc just made up this set. My shop's customers are living this draft since it's quite a lot more forgiving than normal draft. Any ideas? (This doesn't have to go to the show since it's so irrelevant to the topic lol.) Btw, please check your inbox. Shanin
Shanin
2017-11-02 14:46:04 +0000 UTCHi Marshulk + Luis! With the meta undoubtedly forcing aggressive decks, is there anything a pro player or semi-pro should consider within their draft pod to counter this strategy? Or is this format "solved" enough to just follow the current wisdom? Does one lose % points by trying to think outside of the box in a format like 3x Ixalan? Also, Elmer for life.
Jarred Juett
2017-11-02 14:45:56 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Luis, I was wondering how many boxes of Ixalan cards do you go through during testing and what happens to all those cards after testing is done?
Bill Bean
2017-11-02 14:45:26 +0000 UTC
