Question. Of. The. Week.
Added 2017-06-08 22:53:11 +0000 UTCThread,
Hey All,
You know what to do :)
As always, if your question didn't get hit in the last one, feel free to repost here!
- Marshall
Comments
What are the reasons to trade when blocking? What are the reasons to attack into a possible trade?
Andrew Keeton
2017-06-28 00:53:06 +0000 UTCHi guys, An article went up recently on the Mana Leak by George Miles about the Quadrant Theory, and some flaws it has. My understanding of the article was that Quadrant Theory breaks down when evaluating synergistic, build around cards, or in extremely fast or slow formats. Since this is the defining way to initially evaluate cards on the show, I was wondering if you agreed that these are shortcomings. Thanks for all the great content. -Ben Reuss
Kinshali
2017-06-18 19:03:40 +0000 UTCHey you hooligans,
Lily Wilkie-Rogers
2017-06-18 17:19:59 +0000 UTCHey Marshal and Luis With the small sets going away next year (per MaRo recent column), I wanted to know which small sets were the best for draft. Which small sets made their draft environments better and which were your favorites non-triple-big-set formats. Thanks for the show!
Victor Costa
2017-06-12 18:02:22 +0000 UTCMany years ago (way before LR) when I was better at draft I was able to read the table to pick my colors and almost never ended up playing my first pick (I'd say maybe 20-30%). I can't count the number of times people would be looking at my deck after the draft and say "what was your first pick?" and I'd pull a rare out of my sideboard. True, this was in older formats and it could be argued that the first pick can have a bigger impact now, but unless it is a set with a bunch of non - colored cards or lots of fixing it still seems to me that someone who is drafting well will only use their first pick max 40% of the time if they are optimizing for the other drafters at the table. Do you both agree? I love the crack-a-pack segment , but it seems to teach bad thinking -- since it creates a love for the first pick --most of the time the first pick won't matter if you can read the table. Am I off base here? Has something fundamentally changed in draft that I just don't understand? Or is the crack-a-pack a good time talk that really only matters 30% of the time. Edit: If you do answer this question please give an estimate of how often you play your first pick.
Hogan Long
2017-06-12 00:02:52 +0000 UTCWhat one feature do you wish was part of MTGO #wotcStaff
Christopher Bellach
2017-06-10 16:07:32 +0000 UTCHey Fellas, really appreciate all the work you do. LR is always one of the highlights of my week. I used to always consider Draft to be more skill intensive than Sealed. However, I have been playing a lot more sealed on modo lately (for the EV) and am finding that deck building in sealed is not nearly as straight forward as I once believed. The introduction of leagues has allowed for a lot more time to evaluate the minor differences between various decks, and even to prepare multiple decks for specific situations ahead of time. Which limited format do you believe to be more skill intensive, and why? Thanks
Brandon Mordue
2017-06-09 20:38:25 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis First of all thanks for everything you guys do! Listening/watching you guys has improved my play exponentially over the course of my Magic career! That being said, I've had a bit of a dilemma with Amonkhet, while the format doesn't seem drastically different from any other sets I've seen, for whatever reason my results have seemed to drop off between this set and the last couple sets. Do you guys this this set is more difficult to navigate through than say Kaladesh or Shadows blocks or am I just on a cold streak? Thanks for everything!
Michael Dolato
2017-06-09 18:38:07 +0000 UTCHey Marshall, Luis There are many things to think about when making picks beyond simply determining which card is best for your deck. Examples would be what signals you're sending, what signals you're receiving, and what cards are in the pack and might table or what cards were in the pack and didn't table. How do you manage your time when considering all these factors? In a situation where you were pressed for time, what would you consider the most important things to spend time thinking about? Thanks, Dan
Daniel Brenner
2017-06-09 17:22:20 +0000 UTCHello M & L -- first, thanks for always trying to keep newer and less experienced players in mind when you discuss new sets and topics. I've been playing Magic for a few years now, but I feel like I identify with almost every new player mistake and pattern that you bring up. Along those lines, I recently listened to older episodes about playing control and aggro, but it left me with one question that Marshall and Brian did not address: how do you get INTO those decks during the draft? How do you make a conscious choice at some point to dive into aggro, for example, and what's your cue to stop drafting more expensive cards for a more balanced midrange? Thanks so much for everything, guys! --Ryan M.
Ryan M.
2017-06-09 15:46:53 +0000 UTCHi Marshall, Luis Thanks for the great podcast - I am currently rolling back through the backlog of LR it's such a great way to spend my driving time. Question: I recently felt ready to make the move to the single elim drafts, I increased my limited rating to `1800 on MTGO and was doing very well in the intermediate leafues. I want to do this so that I can 1. Play against the best and get better myself and 2. earn more QP's and hopefully qualify for MOCS more often. However I find the drafting portion of the events very different(harder to read) than the intermediate leagues. Things that would have seemed to be an obvious signal in intermediate league are not anymore. In game play I also notice a lot more 3 or even 4 color decks and at the table I feel like people are jumping colors much later even seeming to be jumping in mid pack 2. I guess my question is, are the Comp leagues just a different Meta/experience that take some getting used to, or is there any advice you can give to help me get ahead in this new level of competition.
Aaron C Williamson
2017-06-09 15:41:57 +0000 UTC🌴 Aloha Marshall & LSV! You have spoken a bit about reading signals while drafting, could you all do a quick review/refresher of Signals, with your perspective & insight? Thanks so much for the work you do making this quality podcast, and the in-depth set reviews!
Chris Davis
2017-06-09 14:45:27 +0000 UTCAlso just want to say thanks for the show and that I have become a significantly better player thanks to your content. - Cheers Jon
Jonathon Alward
2017-06-09 14:22:09 +0000 UTCI wanted to say that I really liked the "argument" with Ben and also how you did not just wrap it up after you both were firm in you respective points of view. I must say that I was totally in agreement with Marshal on this point. As for a question I would ask for feedback on something that I do with my draft pool on Magic Online from time to time. - Sometimes when I end up with too many playable I find it helpful to put them all back in my sideboard rather that try and just make cuts. I then start to add cards to my deck starting with my best cards and go from there. I find I am able to see what my deck wants to do better this way, and adding the last few cards becomes more about adding value rather than just taking out cards that are weaker. I have never seen anyone else do this so I sometimes wonder if there are reasons that this is a bad idea. Do you have any thoughts on this practice, good bad indifferent?
Jonathon Alward
2017-06-09 14:20:52 +0000 UTCHi Guys
Jonathon Alward
2017-06-09 14:14:02 +0000 UTCHey guys, I feel honored to help support Marshall's fancy car collecting with my patronage. LSV has described certain formats drafting as "drafting a deck" - I assume as opposed to just a pile of cards. It is one thing to draft a drakehaven and build around it, but how do you build a cohesive plan for a deck without key build around cards? What are some tricks for drafting a cohesive deck as opposed to piles of good cards - how do you know when your deck is on track and focused enough, and broadly when the format is supportive of building decks with more cohesive plans? edit: feel free to paraphrase this if it makes it on the show
Jasper Burch
2017-06-09 13:59:43 +0000 UTCarr sent without finishing! I was just going to add, if you have found a change do you like it better now or before? again love the show keep up the great work!
Jamie Sajdak
2017-06-09 13:54:53 +0000 UTCHi Guys! Love the show, I've been listening since BFZ and it has help me no end (I even went 3-0 in not one but two limited events recently!! so thanks!) As I've only been playing since BFZ I have not experienced a limited format while the core sets were still a thing and I was wondering how things have changed in the limited environment since that change? The main reason I ask is I've heard that evergreen cards and specifically constructed relevant cards (such as dispossess like cards) were more commonly in the core sets rather than regular formats.
Jamie Sajdak
2017-06-09 13:47:13 +0000 UTCHey! I have been listening to you guys for nearly a year (many thanks for all the help and advice you have provided) and have many of your podcasts downloaded onto my mp3 player for during work which has been a big boon to my limited play experiences. I love drafting so much that, due to drafting, I have complete sets all sleeved and ready to draft at a moments notice, something my friends and I love to do each week (and it keeps our drafting varied between different blocks). My question is, how much of a benefit do you think it is to do this in terms of learning draft essentials such as understanding limited archetypes, identifying cards and just generally practicing for future draft formats? Keep up the good work guys, I tell the guys at work that LR is my gospel!
Adam Jemmett
2017-06-09 12:32:54 +0000 UTCHey guys, if there was a rock-paper-scissors game that used taco-burrito-fajita, which would beat which?
Christopher
2017-06-09 11:41:13 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Luis! I have recently started recording my draft and games to share them with my friends. How good as a tool you find to rewatch your own plays?
Ferran Fons Titos
2017-06-09 10:52:09 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and LSV, a couple of my friends and I have been playing magic now for a couple of years and mainly play limited especially online. Can you guys help out by explaining how the limited championships,PPTQ's and PTQ's work online and the difference between those events and the MOCS events? We want to try and play in more competitive events but not sure how the various events differ and what would be best to play in to try and progress. Thanks for the content you create it's helped massively from me being absolutely terrible at magic to understanding how it all works. Still don't play very well but at least now I can identify why and where to improve! Keep up the good work, Johnny
Johnny Brown
2017-06-09 07:30:51 +0000 UTCHello Marshulk and LSV I accomplished my first 3-0 at my LGS yesterday, after having played Limited for almost a year (not continually, LSV), but didn't feel good regarding my victory. My opponents got either manascrewed, or I just curved out very well, as opposed to them not playing anything for the first 2-3 rounds. I felt like me reaching my first big milestone in limited, was unwarranted and could have happened to anyone. I constantly try to develop my drafting- and playskills, but how can I tell if I win because I've evolved as a player, and not because my opponent's where unlucky? What about the other way around? Is this something you guys value highly when you're replaying the games you won/lost in your head, to spot the mistakes you made? Thank you for making limited Magic accessible to the newcomers like myself, you guys make limited fun on all aspects. Sigurd from Norway
Sigurd
2017-06-09 07:29:30 +0000 UTCHi M + L, what's your favourite thing about face to face magic that you don't get to do online? Mine is scooping bounce spells under my opponents creatures and gently flicking them off the battlefield.
Ian Firth
2017-06-09 07:21:55 +0000 UTCWhen should you play evolving wilds / other taplands in 2 color decks?
James Robinson
2017-06-09 07:20:56 +0000 UTCHi guys, love the show! I was wondering how long you would consider being on a bad run vs just playing badly? Have felt I have been running badly getting flooded etc but am concerned I may just suck. I guess both could be possible!
Timothy McGuire
2017-06-09 03:42:34 +0000 UTCWhich card were you sure was good, but now, when you look back, really isn't? What about it fooled you?
William McDuff
2017-06-09 03:38:25 +0000 UTCWhat are the best snacks to have on hand while playing competitively? (Subway doesn't count.)
Toni Mohr
2017-06-09 03:11:06 +0000 UTCHey Guys, do you think there are formats where force-drafting is just the best strategy? Do you think that has been the case for the last few sets? I ask mainly because there are a few notable pros who have been having lots of success in recent pro tours forcing certain strategies or archetypes in draft. Do you think you are too low on forcing or is this just a small data set? Adore the show, definitely the best limited content around.
Kilian Johnson
2017-06-09 02:53:20 +0000 UTCI've identified that I tend to, when given the option between a series of plays, play my weaker creatures first, the mentality being that you can draw out removal. But I know this isn't always correct, I recently lost a game I possibly could have won because I held off playing an angel of sanctions, as there wasn't a good target, and playing that effect into removal is a blow out. Anyway, what should I take into account when deciding my sequence of plays? When should I play my mediocre 4 drop on turn 4 over my 4 mana bomb or pair of two drops?
George Williams
2017-06-09 02:46:10 +0000 UTC2 drops are important in any limited format. What is the rationale behind choosing between a vanilla 2/2, 3/1, or 1/4 (or 1/3 if you want a balanced question).
Michael
2017-06-09 02:30:04 +0000 UTCWhen can you play 16 lands in Amonkhet? When can you play 15? 14?
Garrett Gardner
2017-06-09 02:28:02 +0000 UTCHi Marshall! Did you ever get an invocation in that German box from GP-Richmond? ;). See you again in DC in September!
Mark Arucan
2017-06-09 01:53:40 +0000 UTCQuestion specifically about MTGO. How much win% do you think is given up by choosing to not add additional packs in the sealed friendly leagues?
Zizhuang Yang
2017-06-09 01:37:59 +0000 UTCHey guys! With GP Vegas around the corner I wanted to ask a question about sealed pool construction. What level of power does your deck need to gain in order to sacrifice consistency for a splash? I'm not talking about bombs (we're jamming Glory Bringer into just about anything!).
Morgan Tomlinson
2017-06-09 01:27:32 +0000 UTCHi guys. I know you don't really deal in the theoretical side of things, but I was wondering about mulligan rules. Since limited decks are often less consistent than constructed decks, drawing 1 fewer cards during a mulligan is potentially more difficult to overcome in limited than constructed. Should the mulligan rule be different in limited formats to accommodate this difference? Maybe you get one free mulligan before you begin to lose cards, or the exchange method of Hearthstone?
Ira Humphrey
2017-06-09 01:16:32 +0000 UTCI've REALLY enjoyed the sealed leagues on MTGO, and my question is "Why doesn't everyone prep multiple decks and switch decks in between games 1 and 2? At a minimum, shouldn't you have an aggro and a control (or a defensive speed) deck? Win game one, use slower deck for game 2. Lose game one and grab your aggro for game 2...some nuances can be applied, but this seems like there's no downside and only upside to this strategy.
Adam hoffmann
2017-06-09 00:53:22 +0000 UTCI've got a more off-beat question. I'm building a cube and am wondering what kind of feedback I should be soliciting from my playgroup? I recognize the best way to make it better is to play with it, but what kind of questions should I be asking the other players? What kind of reactions should I be looking for? Are there any stats, such as regular last picks, that I should be recording? Love the show! Tom
Thomas Lardner
2017-06-09 00:36:28 +0000 UTCI love playing limited Magic competitively, but strongly prefer draft over sealed. What advice do you have for players who struggle to enjoy sealed? Given the overwhelming popularity of draft, I think lots of people could use this pep talk.
Jaeger
2017-06-09 00:30:10 +0000 UTCHi guys, you brought up a fascinating topic 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 the 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? How does the contents of the first pack affect which rare you would pick? I think there is a ton of knowledge buried here that I'd love to learn from you. (If you've covered this in the past, can you please direct me to the episode?) Thanks!
deckmage
2017-06-09 00:29:41 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Luis :) Question: How much do you take in to account the "meta game" of the format. For example, in Amonkhet R/W is widely considered the best deck. I notice this makes me *less* inclined to take Red and White cards out of fear that it's going to be overdrafted. But this keeps me out of the best deck which is clearly a bummer. Any thoughts on how to navigate this?
Robbie Carlton
2017-06-09 00:06:01 +0000 UTCHey guys. Despite the reputed speed of the format, which I don't disagree with, the deck I've had the most consistent success with recently is UG ramp. (In part because people are passing on good blue cards, but nevertheless.) I've found that there are enough playable two drops (Seeker of Insight being by far the best) to buy time vs aggro by forcing them to exert, and clawing ahead by turn 4-5 with things like Galestrike and either Colossopede or Shimmerscale Drake, which DO block well, contrary to the general sentiment of the format. I feel like this deck is often open and consistently strong. Any experience with it or your thoughts on whether it has legs or if I'm just getting lucky? In general, I get into it starting from green midrange stuff, and then commit when I find worthwhile top end. Spring to Mind is glorious. Thanks!
Alex Wolf
2017-06-08 23:57:50 +0000 UTCI had a weird thought about this format which was prompted by something Paul chronic said in a TDSL coverage. Do you feel like this format isn't necessarily "fast" as it is "aggressive" what I mean is that it's more a format where blocking isn't effective rather than a format where you're dead by then four. I feel like you can make a deck that is light on creatures but heavy on the removal and still make it into the late game to get your Drake Haven or go wide engine going
Andrew J Dufour
2017-06-08 23:43:14 +0000 UTCI do well in drafts at the beginning of the format, but as the format evolves I find myself falling behind and losing much more towards the end. Is there anything I can do to fix this?
Tony Levesque
2017-06-08 23:37:53 +0000 UTCCan we get a TDSL bet going?! Maybe some Hoodie B's chicken on the line for overall team win/heads up
Jonathan Westhoff
2017-06-08 23:26:06 +0000 UTCHi guys. I love this show! I'm going to my second GP in Vegas. Last time I was so surprised by how everyone was ready for matches way earlier than I was. Maybe I'm drinking too much tea and peeing too much?! But do you guys have any time saving tips between rounds? Any rituals between rounds that work well for you? Love, Lindsay
Lindsay Chrisler
2017-06-08 23:08:02 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis, I've been playing magic for a couple of years now and I feel like I always fall for the same problem in draft as well as sealed. At what point do you consider splashing for a third or more colors? What is the critical mass of fixing that is required to splash and how good must the card be to warrant adding it to your deck? Thanks for plenty of great leveling up moments. Ian
Wolffangs9799
2017-06-08 23:05:54 +0000 UTCHi Marshall and Luis! I don't get many opportunities to draft because my regular group at LGS is both rather small and it prefers constructed. When we do get to draft, we often only have 6 players instead of a regular pod of 8. The last time we drafted this way, I felt it was much harder to read signals and I wasn't certain how to adapt to the limited number of cards opened. Do you have any advice for drafting in smaller pods? Thanks for the awesome, been listening since Khans and love it week in and week out. Best, Daniel
Daniel Gilford
2017-06-08 23:03:29 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis. I haven't been playing Magic for very long (limited even less so) and I've always wondered what makes a limited format deep. Is it the quality or quantity of the build-around uncommons, the flexibility of the two-color pairs, or something I'm not thinking of?
Jonah Lipton
2017-06-08 23:02:47 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis, I have a bad habit, whenever I'm mana screwed or flooded, to fixate on it. I actually count how many lands to nonlands I've drawn, as if knowing exactly how unlucky I am is even remotely useful to winning the game. I know I'm wasting valuable mental energy in these games. Do you guys do this? Any tips to avoid it? Thanks for great content!
A.J. Frank
2017-06-08 22:58:57 +0000 UTCHey Marshall and Luis, big fan of the show. I was hoping you could dive a little deeper into the cartouches and trials. First, what is your favorite combination of cartouches and trials. Second, are there any cartouches that you would splash for if you had one (or maybe two) of a trial in another color? Keep up the great work! - Harrison
Harrison Little
2017-06-08 22:58:07 +0000 UTCHello Marshall and Luis! I've been a fan for many years and am now a happy patron. Recently I have really enjoyed your dialogue about cycling and how it effects limited. Here's my question: what would limited Magic look like if ALL cards had 'cycling 2'? Thank you for all the incredible content!
Westin Whitlock
2017-06-08 22:54:44 +0000 UTC
