Level-Up Related Questions Needed
Added 2017-06-10 21:10:59 +0000 UTCHey All,
Luis and I were talking the other day about ways to involve you more with the show, and one thing we remembered that we don't do often enough are mailbag/Q&A type shows. We have a direct line to our most dedicated listeners through the Patreon feed and we feel like we should use it.
So, we are going to record a show based on leveling up and the questions and topics you have about it. If you could post any level-up related questions or topics here we'll be going over them for the next episode of LR.
Thank you!
Marshall
Comments
I realize the show for this topic has already come out but my question is: I love playing blue but realize that you should stick to your seat and what is good. It is hard not to over evaluate the color that you like though. How do you stave off the temptation of the favorite color, or should I even do that? Since it is my favorite color, I understand how to play it best right? Would that be better than playing a color I don't know how to play as well?
Charlie Volpe
2017-07-10 03:51:54 +0000 UTCHey guys. I know this thread is a little old, but I wanted to throw it out there. The last few sets have been quite aggressive. I was wondering if you could give some advice on racing. I never feel more outplayed than when I lose a race I thought I was in a good position to win. It seems like my opponent was always one step ahead of me.
Gwiz
2017-06-30 18:05:28 +0000 UTCI often find myself taking the obvious action and lately I've notice some of my better opponents hold back and have a big turn or two. Any recommendations on how to go from playing your cards, to having a plan for the turn, to having a plan for the whole game?
Ken Barker
2017-06-20 03:18:26 +0000 UTCThx. Been losing to them for almost 2 years. Just gets frustrating to always lose. Thinking I should mix it up a bit. They aren't always very helpful in telling me what I am doing wrong.
Jon
2017-06-18 23:03:34 +0000 UTCI have similar personal experiences - I learned to draft vs (probably) the best draft scene in Sweden. I lost a lot, but losing is a quicker way to improving than winning. I was happy to play against players so much better than me, since that way I can learn from them. Outplaying lesser experienced players doesn't get you as far. Keep it up and you'll get there!
Johan Fogelholm
2017-06-15 08:00:28 +0000 UTCHello Marshall and LSV! Came back to the game with Khans and learned how to draft (40% listening to LR backlog, 60% getting smashed by Sweden's most vicious drafting scene). Thanks for many hours of entertainment, value and Magic improvements! My question is about tricks in limited - I think I have identified a weak point in my game. I regularly find myself in situations where I suspect my opponent might have a combat trick. If I attack or block in a certain way, I will get blown out if they have it. I often shrug (in my mind) and think "If they have it, they have it, they gotta show it instead of me playing scared". What follows is often me getting blown out by said trick. What can I do to improve upon playing around combat tricks? When is it worth it to play around them when double blocking? Thanks again!
Johan Fogelholm
2017-06-15 07:47:55 +0000 UTCI have the opposite question. Tricks for drafting a pod of 10!
Carl Poulin
2017-06-14 18:08:39 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis. My question is about sideboarding: How to sideboard to change the deck towards the right tempo? I feel like the decision is always a trade off between tempo and card quality. If the difference in speed of the two decks is similar I think to aim for max. quality is correct. If the difference is big I think both, the slow and the fast deck, should try to make their decks faster. As the control player trying to increase my defensive speed I have a hard time cutting quality. How do you aproach this trade off? ...and 2. do you ever sideboard lands (in or out) and if yes, how? Thanks
Roman Stalder
2017-06-14 17:31:12 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis. Maybe a slightly different sort of level-up question aimed more at Luis. How often do professional players generally play? Obviously the run up to a specific tournament is going to be marked by more focused practice, but is there a (variable) play threshold that you need to find to stay in shape? I'm interested in trying to bring my game to a higher level, but can never quite find as much time as I'd like to practice. Is, say, a draft or constructed league every two days (supplemented by more intense practice as events approach) a feasible way to eventually build up to high-level play, or at the top do you really need to be able to, at least initially, set aside more time? Thanks!
Matthew Taylor
2017-06-14 01:45:46 +0000 UTCYou guys are the best! My question is about patience. A huge weakness in my magic game (and poker game.....and life in general) is a lack of patience. I always want to attack, I always want to counter whatever spell they are casting right now, and I always want to use my removal against whatever creature they have on the board. Can you help me develop some guidelines in these areas? What level of advantage/calculation should be made to press an advantage and attack and when is it better to wait? When should I save counter/removal for a bigger threat or when should I strike when the iron is hot? Thanks for your help and all the great content you produce
Jonah Feldman
2017-06-13 20:35:01 +0000 UTCHey Fellas! Thanks for all the sweet content, LR is truly amazing and I appreciate the work you put into it. I play a lot of limited online, and have improved quite a bit over the past couple years (with your help!). However, I don't feel that I play as sharp when playing paper magic at prereleases and the occasional FNM. I find myself missing triggers, not paying enough attention to my opponents board (such as keeping them honest when it comes to available mana) and also sometimes allow faster opponents to influence my decision making when they rattle off multiple things in a row. Do you have any advice on how to improve my game when modo isn't handling all of the minutiae? Thanks!
Brandon Mordue
2017-06-12 23:14:19 +0000 UTCAre there any strategies I can employ when the draft pod is 6 or 7 people instead of 8? I find it much harder to navigate when there aren't as many packs being opened.
Jon
2017-06-12 23:04:11 +0000 UTCI find myself having a hard time beating many of the guys at my local game store. Most of them have been drafting years before I started so they are really good. Is there any value in trying to rotate between game stores and playing other people or should I just keep grinding it out?
Jon
2017-06-12 22:59:34 +0000 UTCAfter a 15 year hiatus, I started back up a few weeks ago and have already won a local booster draft thanks to all your great advice on LR! My question: As a newly returning player, I'm a huge fan of draft/sealed since I don't have a playable standard deck yet. I have a few friends (with some prior Magic experience) that are interested in returning as well, but it feels like there's an extremely sharp learning curve for them since they're brand new to drafting. Do you have any recommended games (eg Sushi Go) or methods to smooth out that learning process and get players up to speed faster? Thanks again :)
Parker
2017-06-12 16:52:51 +0000 UTCI have found that over time, I've gotten better at doing the power/toughness math of combat. It used to be daunting, but something recently clicked and I can just do the math. Part of it is being willing to take the time I need to make an appropriate plan. I find that my ability to have a plan has developed a lot lately. And it's true based on every move. Draw, plan: attack, play this, if they don't do anything, my plan for next turn is this. If they do add something to the board, reevaluate and plan again. This saves a lot of time, because I've already plotted out my next turn in the middle of the current turn. Unfortunately, this approach tends to do best when I'm curving out, but less good when I'm behind or at parity, because my plan is "please draw something" One issue I've had a lot lately is with a proper mulligan. I've been going down to 4 cards way more than I would previously have thought correct. Not enough mana, too much mana, off color mana, or 4,5,6 drops and two mana. I just cycle through these scenarios. Maybe it's bad luck, but maybe I'm missing something. I would appreciate any further advice on mulligan. Perhaps set-specific?
D P
2017-06-12 15:16:21 +0000 UTCA big level-up for me was realizing I could actually do the math that would lead to the most efficient way of reducing my opponent's life total to zero (i.e. my opponent is at 10 and I have a 3 power flier -- a four turn clock unless I can sneak another point of damage in somewhere). This has surely led to a higher win percentage for me because I began attacking with an eye for doing "just enough damage," as opposed to jamming willy-nilly. I wonder what the next level-up is in this vein? I'm sure it all comes down to "having a plan," but any more specific level-ups would be appreciated. Love the show (listening since the end of Loucks); thanks for your dedication.
Adam Thomas
2017-06-12 14:50:10 +0000 UTCMarshall - After playing heavily throughout the 90s, I left during Urza's block, and didn't return to the game until Scars of Mirrodin . Finding LR in those early days back was a major factor in keeping me active since then, and I want you to know how much I appreciate you - thanks! I'm wondering about trading creatures for tricks. When I have two attacking creatures, and my opponent has one blocker but some open mana, I expect to trade my better creature for a trick and almost always attack in. I know it's a one-for-one trade, but they are not equally valuable cards and sometimes it doesn't feel like I did the right thing. Is trading my creature only correct if I have another one in hand to replace it with after combat? Am I being too cavalier with my creatures? Any thoughts about this would be welcome. Thanks again to both you and Luis. Your on-air chemistry is great!
Rik Speed.
2017-06-12 13:53:55 +0000 UTCNot tilting is a level-up moment (maybe not really a 'moment', more like growth, but ok), since keeping your shit together will increase your long-term win percentage. I seem to handle things out of my control (screw, flood, an opponent with every answer at the exact right time) much better lately. However, it seems I have a very hard time not tilting about things within my control, like making obvious mistakes, or misclicks in MTGO. Especially when they cost me the game, match and thus prize payout. Any tips on how to stop yelling at myself for being so damn stupid or at least to stop thinking about that one little thing all of the time? Love the show!
Jurre Koning
2017-06-12 07:01:14 +0000 UTCWhen should a player diverge from mainstream set/card analysis (like LR set reviews, pick order lists, etc) and start developing their own theories about a limited format holistically, a best color pair, an underrated/underdrafted archetype, etc? When have you leveled up from theory follower to theory crafter?
Jaeger
2017-06-12 00:59:05 +0000 UTCIn the past you've discussed how the cross pod pairings on mtgo leagues should minimally impact play experience. With w/r aggro being such a powerful archetype in this set, you've also recently mentioned how the draft meta is self-correcting if everyone tries to build to a specific strategy. Have you experienced draft leagues negating this self-correction? I feel like whenever I've drafted online for this set my third game (if I'm running well) is always the bombiest boros beatdown deck. Love what you guys do, keep up the great work!
Simon T Uhlig
2017-06-11 23:18:02 +0000 UTCI have a pretty consistent crew I play with each week. Out of the 8 people I play with, there is only one other person who consistently challenges me. I was wondering if you two had input to how I could help my buddies improve to make games more competitive, without coming off as rude.
Sholty
2017-06-11 20:08:57 +0000 UTCI tend to do really well early in a format but struggle later. I'm not sure why - maybe it is lagging card re-evaluations? Do you experience this. and what do you think I might be able to do about it? Also - love the show. Thanks for all you do!
Philip Brissette
2017-06-11 19:09:40 +0000 UTCI have 2 friends who draft regularly at my lgs. One is new to the game (started in Kaledesh) and the other is an alumni of the old store (she had a hiatus until our new lgs opened). The 2 are friends from work, the veteran teaching the basics. How can I help them get better? The newer player I know should learn the quardant theory, but I don't know what the other one needs. She drafts decent decks but nit great and ends up 1-2 more often. Maybe she needs better evaluation of cards or try to stay open longer to read signals (or both). Help me help them.
Kyoji Takenouchi
2017-06-11 17:51:12 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Louis I often find myself playing a game and getting into a tough spot with many options - a situation I feel could be deciding for the game. For some reason I often find myself thinking about my options, but then stopping to think, once I get to the point that I recognise it's a hard decision to make. I usually end up just making a decision and then wondering if my win-chance could have been better. Have you got any advice on how I can remind myself to stop and think for a couple of minutes? Also, this question is especially relevant in paper, where I often feel the weight of my opponent waiting for me to move on. Also - thanks for a great show! I recently had some good results at some GP sideevents, and it wouldn't have gone so well without the card-evaluation skill and CABS theory that you've taught me.
Søren Lahn Sloth
2017-06-11 13:29:30 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and LSV. I'm big fan of your show, but I'm a terrible limited player. I have had some success with sealed, but I think that's probably because the formula to follow is more straightforward. Basically, I have no idea what I am doing in draft. One aspect that I struggle with and cannot find any good information about, is knowing when and how to prioritise mana fixing, such as dual lands of any kind, mana rocks etc. I feel that too early in the draft, I don't know what colours I will be in yet, and later on in a given pack, all the good fixing has been taken already. Should I be picking fixing of any kind very early all the time? Please help.
Stuart Smith
2017-06-11 06:57:53 +0000 UTCMidrange combat math always confuses me. When the board gets messy with creatures I feel like I do not play optimally. Any tricks?
Pleated Pants
2017-06-11 03:12:38 +0000 UTCHi, I have a couple of questions if thats OK. In a paper draft (what I play) how do you remember what you have drafted in the detail like how many 3 drops you have etc. I find this hard, especially since there are some in colours I might not end up using, and sometimes end up with too few four drops or something. Also how do you assimilate all the info when a new set is out, in particular which card goes in what archetype, in particular for the small set where what you learned about the big set may not longer hold true. Geoff.
Geoff Tindall
2017-06-11 02:13:52 +0000 UTC1) How often do you sideboard in draft/sealed, what are your most common sideboard decisions in Amonkhet example cards and categories of cards, and the reasons you chose those cards in a given match. I feel like I'm probably not sideboarding enough, and I think this is very common. 2) Marshall - You rated Painted Bluffs an F, but rated Cascading Cateracts a D if I recall correctly - Cascading Cateracts seems to be strictly worse in all sensible scenarios - what gives?
Fukata
2017-06-10 23:39:15 +0000 UTCWhat are examples of cards that changed valuation for you on either side of a levelling up? For example, one of the first level ups that players tend to make is around cards like Angel's Mercy. Gain 7 life seems great when you're just learning, then you realize that all you've done is delay the inevitable for a turn and level up. Are there other examples of cards that shifted valuation like that when you learned something?
William McDuff
2017-06-10 23:11:38 +0000 UTCI know you all have touched on this before, but sequencing removal can be a problem for me. Especially when playing Game 1, a breakdown of when to save cheap, powerful removal like Cut//Ribbons for high-value targets and when to deploy them early to get in damage would be helpful!
Saralyn McKinnon-Crowley
2017-06-10 23:10:44 +0000 UTCSo, this might be a little convoluted but I definitely feel there is a level up in here somewhere. I know you guys have talked about taking signals from what you're getting passed and that it's inherently not great to be in the same color as the seat next to you during a draft (unless you're hate team drafting of course). With this set in particular (Amonkhet), there seems to be a monkey wrench thrown into that system. In the drafts I've played, I've been passed numerous blue bombs and cards that I feel like by all intensive purposes, you'd be crazy not to take. However, in the events where I have moved into a blue/slower deck, I've been completely pulverized by aggro. On the flip side of the coin, when I've drafted aggro even though I knew for a fact the seat next to me was in my colors, my win percentage was much higher despite feeling like my deck really wasn't that great. That statement also feels rotty in general, but I digress. The basic point being, how can one better discern these types of qualities a set can have? Because as you both have mentioned, you guys (and myself) thought this set was going to be slow. So, I feel that it's an important quality to be able to almost visualize where these power levels in the archetypes are and then draft accordingly. I hope this wasn't too jumbled, you guys are both incredible and I thank you so much for all the work you put into this!
Shane Conzone
2017-06-10 23:04:13 +0000 UTCYou guys have touched on level 1, 2, and 3 plays before but it would be cool if you went more in depth on reading and counteracting your opponents plans.
Tyler Spiering
2017-06-10 22:58:33 +0000 UTCHow does the importance of tempo vs value change between sets, and what helps you evaluate the importance for a new set (or even for a given draft's opponents)?
Zizhuang Yang
2017-06-10 22:36:09 +0000 UTCAs a general rule it's best to develop your board, but what are some examples of times you'd rather hold up mana for instants or abilities? How do you find that distinction?
Ben Frazier
2017-06-10 22:17:05 +0000 UTCHey guys! I'd love to see a FULL review of when you have priority and when you don't - that confuses me !
Will Henson
2017-06-10 22:07:25 +0000 UTCNot totally a level up here but it might be fun to do a history of limited and how it's changed over time. It would also give insight into what we value in current limited landscapes.
Matt Carr
2017-06-10 22:06:42 +0000 UTCWhat are some skills a Magic player can best pick up through playing Constructed and what format would you recommend playing to get them? The only Constructed I've played was a little Standard years ago and I can't help but feel like I'm missing a piece of the Magic picture that could improve my limited game. This seems to show itself most in Masters sets where complexity is high and I watch, in confusion, as Luis drafts his third counterspell with one win condition and proceeds to 3-0 with gusto. Keep up the great show.
Lewis Williams
2017-06-10 21:47:14 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Luis! I have recently started recording my draft and games on Magic Online to share them with my friends. How good as a tool you find to rewatch your own plays?
Ferran Fons Titos
2017-06-10 21:46:28 +0000 UTCHey Guys! I recently graduated from University and am working full time now. My free time I can dedicate to magic has drastically gone down but I still have the long term goal of getting better at limited. Do you have any tips for ways to improve other than just jamming tons of sealed and draft? Thanks! From a grateful listener up in Canada
Kilian Johnson
2017-06-10 21:44:43 +0000 UTCI've been consistently winning game ones during FNM lately, but equally consistently fail with the sideboarding plan. Bad sideboard aside (may be part of the issue, but let's assume it isn't), how do you gauge your sideboard needs, and when do you choose to *not* sideboard?
Kyle Morton
2017-06-10 21:43:32 +0000 UTCHi! I felt like I'd really reached a milestone during Shadows over Innistrad/Eldrich Moon, I was regularly going 3-0 in FNM drafts and was doing pretty good online too. However, I started doing horrible immediately when Kaladesh came out and it became difficult to stay motivated, as well as more expensive to get the games in. How much do you think the current set means as to how well you're doing at any given time, and how can I best keep progressing from set to set? Was I really just a one-hit-wonder during SOI?
Odin Eggen
2017-06-10 21:41:24 +0000 UTCWhen you level up and know it, what sound effect goes off in your head? Is it like "Mario coin" or "Zelda item" or "Eff yeah bald eagle screech"?
JeFF Stumpo
2017-06-10 21:32:08 +0000 UTCYou guys have said on a number of occasions that one of the best ways to improve is to play and play and play and play some more, and lord knows I'm taking that advise. What I would love to do is to leverage those reps just a little bit more by adding some kind data gathering, self-feedback process to my play. The idea is to be able to more easily recognize my own biases or tendencies, and maybe even understand which tendencies and biases are helping, and which are hurting. Do you guys have any processes you use to try to scoop up this kind of information? Do you know anyone else in the world of Magic that has processes like this?
Telemachus
2017-06-10 21:30:10 +0000 UTCHi guys! Can you please talk more about how the other cards in the first pack might affect your first pick? The other day when you guys cracked a pack with Ben Stark. You opened two rares: Vizier of Many Faces and Regal Caracal, and then you proceeded to discuss how if the rest of that pack would have had more blue spells you would have picked Regal Caracal, but since it had more white spells, you'd choose Vizier. Can you please explain this concept a bit deeper? When and why does the contents of the first pack affect your first pick? Thanks!
deckmage
2017-06-10 21:23:12 +0000 UTC
