Questions for Guest Host Ben Stark TONIGHT
Added 2017-08-17 22:01:49 +0000 UTCHey All!
Luis needed the week off this week so I've got Hall of Famer Ben Stark on the show as co-host. You had so many great questions for Ben last time, I figured it would be a crime to not put him in the hot seat again this episode!
Fire away, anything goes :)
- Marshall
Comments
At what points in a draft do I start deviating from picking the best card in a vacuum to picking the best card for our deck? As an example, how far in would we pass on a B+ (or A) for a C ranked card to fill in our curve or stay in our colours. Keep up the great work guys.
Timothy McGuire
2017-08-18 02:20:51 +0000 UTCIn terms of limited play, what do you most hope wizards does in a future set?
Joe
2017-08-18 01:51:59 +0000 UTCWhat are the largest mistakes you see advanced players, and even pros, make when they draft?
Joe
2017-08-18 01:48:39 +0000 UTCWith HOU being much slower than AMK, which aggro decks are still good? Thanks!
Jaeger
2017-08-18 01:26:43 +0000 UTCHey Ben. What skills that you developed playing Limited have helped you most in Constructed and vice-versa? Thanks!
NastierNate
2017-08-18 00:59:03 +0000 UTCBen, how do you like formats such as HOU sealed (and to lesser extent draft) that lend themselves to 4-5 color card soup decks? Do you find these to be easier or harder to play? More or less fun?
Matthew Hall
2017-08-18 00:57:38 +0000 UTCWhat is the place in the draft where you can still switch one of your colors and still have a good deck? For example in pack 1 you are solidly in green but have a few black, red and 1 great white card. You are now in pack 2, midway you started getting more red then notice midway through that there are some solid black cards coming around? Is it ok to jump to black 6 picks into pack 2?
Jon
2017-08-18 00:55:49 +0000 UTCHi Ben, love your content. I was wondering, I'm heading to college as a freshman at Purdue University and I was wondering if you had any advice about playing magic competitively and hopefully professionally through and after college.
James Moskal
2017-08-18 00:00:12 +0000 UTCHi Ben/Marshall. Would you say that cards like Ambuscade are breaking the color pie, given that instant speed direct damage spells are not typically green spells? (with the exception of damage to flyers, which are quite abundant in green) Also: What is your favorite archetype in HOU?
D P
2017-08-17 22:58:32 +0000 UTCBen and Marshall - Why do I keep drafting mediocre midrange decks in HOU?
Ben
2017-08-17 22:49:35 +0000 UTCHey Ben and Marshall, thanks for all the great advice! I'd love your feedback on sideboarding in Sealed (as I've been diving into the PPTQ scene). I've gotten to the point where I can do a good job analyzing what to bring in from my sideboard to combat a particular strategy, but have a very hard time deciding what to cut from my "best" iteration of the deck. (Especially under the pressure of wasting precious match time and going to a draw.) Do you have any tips for identifying what cards to cut when there's no clear "bad" cards to remove in the matchup? Also, how many sample builds do you typically sketch out between rounds to deal with various popular strategies?
Parker
2017-08-17 22:43:10 +0000 UTCHey Ben, I love the content you put out and your recent P1P1 article on Channel Fireball brought up an interesting topic: prioritizing flexible cards as early picks (Marshall, your traveler's amulet P1P1 doesn't count :P) over narrow, powerful ones. HOU/AKH as a format seems to support a wide variety of archetypes, so I wouldn't mind hearing more about your general approach to this concept, how to develop it as a skill, whether or not it applies more later in a format, etc. Of course, most LR listeners understand why picking up strong artifacts and premium mono-colored cards is usually better than gold cards, but I think you are going quite a bit deeper in HOU based on your recent article.
Alex Middeleer
2017-08-17 22:38:52 +0000 UTCBen, I had the pleasure of playing you in round 11 of Minneapolis (I was on God-Pharaoh's Gift). I had a few good draws and was fortunate enough win in three close, fun games. I was pretty excited—I don’t play very often, let alone against HOFers—but tried to suppress that out of respect for you and appreciation for the fun games we’d played. That turned out to be a big Twitter topic this week, spurred by Brad Nelson’s topdeck celebration in the top 8. How do you try to act when you win, and how would you prefer people act when they beat you? Thanks for the great content!
Chuck Harmston
2017-08-17 22:29:26 +0000 UTCHow do you process your card pool for sealed? Lately I've been dividing each color into creatures and non-creatures, and then focusing mainly on the colors with the most or best creatures. While it's worked better than other ways I've tried, it still doesn't feel great. My biggest concern is trying not to overlook something important among the many factors involved in sealed.
Michael Rawdon
2017-08-17 22:27:12 +0000 UTCHey Emergency Backup LSV. How do you balance being invested in the outcome of your games without being results oriented? Do you have any general advice for separating useful outcomes (incidents you should learn from) from chance events (that it may be incorrect to take lessons from. I've often found I have trouble analyzing how typical the game states I'm encountering are. Thanks.
Matthew Taylor
2017-08-17 22:22:56 +0000 UTCBen + Marshall, how do you personally balance the Magic aspect of your life with dating and relationships? Do you only date Magic players? Do you specifically *avoid* dating Magic players? I feel like I've handled this balance badly in the past so I'm always curious to hear how high-level players and commentators handle it - seems like people have many different approaches. Thanks guys, love the show.
brian
2017-08-17 22:22:02 +0000 UTCHi Marshall, Hi Ben! How do you approach a Limited Format that you do not like? There have been sets I drafted the hell out of in my LGS and on mtgo but also some that I really didn't like. They didn't click with me, what i wanted to do didn't work and so I was a little frustrated or sad because I like drafting, but the set took some of the joy away. Any tipps? Thanks a lot! Gabriel
Gabriel Rittener
2017-08-17 22:22:01 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Ben. Marshall said any question goes, so here is one for Ben: What lesson about limited do you think is the next Marshall needs to learn?
Søren Lahn Sloth
2017-08-17 22:17:49 +0000 UTCHi Ben, big fan! What's the most important piece of advice you can give on helping with tilt? I think of myself as someone who can stay pretty calm in the face of a bad performance, but I've experienced quite the nasty losing streak recently! Hopefully it hasn't affected my game yet, but I'm looking for more ways to fortify my attitude. Thanks!
Dylan Nelkin
2017-08-17 22:17:25 +0000 UTCHi Ben and Marshall, one "canon" of LR seems to be that "level 2" playing is having a plan and "level 3" is realizing your opponent also has a plan. Assuming you agree with this premise, what specific steps or thought processes should a level 2 player be developing to reach level 3? Level 3 thinking makes sense conceptually, but what does that mean from a practical standpoint? Thanks for all the great content!
Peter Tringali
2017-08-17 22:17:24 +0000 UTCHi Ben and Marshall. PT Ixalan will be my first Pro Tour. Any tips for newbies at the PT, both regarding testing/play or the tournament experience overall? Also, this PT is going to be different because it will be more than a month after the prerelease, does the approach to testing change in any way? Thanks!
Karel
2017-08-17 22:15:49 +0000 UTCHi Ben and Marshall! I've recently had a number of discussions with my buddy Adam (often referred to by Marshall on the show as "my buddy Adam") about the importance of experimentation and "out-of-the-box" thinking in one's development as a flexible Limited player. We both agree that newer players should stick to conventional archetypes and strategies, and we both agree that there are insights to be gained from trying out fringe strategies. The major question is: When? Do you have any advice about when in a player's development, or when during the life of a format, it is advantageous to depart from "the path less traveled" for the sake of unconventional experimentation? (Optional way to frame the question: Bruce Lee said, "First learn the rules, then master the rules, then dissolve the rules." When should one attempt to do Step #3?)
Matt Schneeweiss
2017-08-17 22:14:36 +0000 UTCBen, how do you get out of a dip in positive results and will Marshall ever get out of his dip?
Jonathan Westhoff
2017-08-17 22:14:14 +0000 UTCDo you have a rule of thumb for number of creatures vs spells in an aggro deck, compared to a mid-range deck, compared to a more controlling deck? Obviously varies by deck, but do you have a general guideline for a starting point? Thanks!!
Mark Wilbert
2017-08-17 22:12:07 +0000 UTCWhat are signs in a draft that I should be a mono color deck? What advantages does that afford me in general (for example in this set, I get to snag any desert regardless of color)?
Drew Acquaviva
2017-08-17 22:10:23 +0000 UTCBen! What is some of your all time favorite MtG Art? Do you tend to prefer older or newer card art?
William Gross
2017-08-17 22:09:32 +0000 UTCTo what degree do you think various pro-level drafters sitting at the same seat at the table would draft different decks? Is each seat "supposed" to end up in a certain deck or would a few 50/50 or 45/55 choices early in a draft often lead excellent (but different) drafters down radically different paths?
chris weinmann
2017-08-17 22:08:32 +0000 UTCHey ben and marshall.If i have two 2cmc cards of different power level should i play out the better one first or should i worry that they will have removal and hold onto it till later in the game? Ed m
Malo
2017-08-17 22:05:58 +0000 UTCHow do you translate skills learned in magic to real life?
Sage Aguilar
2017-08-17 22:04:14 +0000 UTCHow do you feel that limited helps you improve other areas of your skill as a magic player?
Sage Aguilar
2017-08-17 22:03:55 +0000 UTCWhat if every card had cycling (2)? Thank you Marshall, Luis, and Special guest Ben for the incredible content!
Westin Whitlock
2017-08-17 22:03:54 +0000 UTC
