Question of the Week Thread Renewed

Troy Navarro

Hello Marshall and Luis, thank you so much for doing the show, I listen every week. I first started listening to LR during the transition period between Jon and Brian, so technically my first co-host was Kenji, and I have been a patron for about 2.5 years. A bit about me as a Magic player: I played a little in the late 90s and then stopped for a long period of time. I got back into it, casually, with some friends around the end of Innistrad block - start of Return to Ravnica block. After discovering your podcast, I first tried out MTGO around the release of M14 and I became immediately hooked. I draft a lot on MTGO and a little with my very casual playgroup, but I almost never go to an LGS except for pre-releases and PPTQs. Anyway, this year the format for my hometown GP, GP Toronto, is limited and I will be attending. This will be my first ever GP. The goal I have set for myself is to make it through to Day 2. My question, as a primarily online player, is about the fundamentals of competitive paper draft. What are the basic rules and procedures for taking and passing cards? When I watch paper events on Twitch I see people counting and laying out the cards the pass, but not everyone does it the same way. Are there timing cues for when you must have made your pick, or when you can look at the next pack? I know you can only take stock of your draft between packs, do you have any memory tips to make sure you stay on track otherwise? I'd appreciate if you could run through the process and if you have any other bits of insight to add. I will be drafting my pauper cube with some friends in a couple of weeks and starting from that point forward I intend to do all of my casual paper drafts as if it is day 2 of a GP, so I don't look like a noob if I make day 2. My group will probably appreciate me taking a voluntary handicap anyway :)

Matthew

Hi guys. So I'm probably among the worst Magic players in your listenership (it's ok, someone has to be!), but I recently made a play that made me realize I'd leveled up. I used the -1/-1 on a subtle strike on my own creature to get under a skywhaler's shot. There's no way I would have thought of that a year ago. What were some plays you two have made that you are most proud of and/or helped you realize you'd "leveled up?"

Adam hoffmann

a) invite a (random) patreon guest to join the show and sometimes chip in with his questions/observations b) do a poll PRE Review to get an average rating from the community (you could agree that a card should be C+ but the community thought it's a clear A - that could make you explain more/deep dive where you normally would move on. It would aslo create a nice brigde between your fans/audience and your widely appreciated set reviews. Let me know what you think! I believe it would be very cool to get the less pro observations in Set reviews. c) leave it as it is :)

Janusz Okoń

Hi Guys - a question/proposition. How do you invite your patreons to reviewing a Set to get 3rd pair of eyes? I had thought about it and have 3 solutions:

Janusz Okoń

Dear Marshall and Luis, First of all, also as a young father of two I like to agree with Daniel below, even though my work schedule allows me to squeeze in a MTGO match here and there. Always looking forward to your show anyway. Now to my questions: 1) Scry 1 after Mulligan seems like a great idea to me. Scry X (X = times of Mulligans) came to my mind recently, which I would like even more. There was a controversial discussion in the local store with different opinions from limited and constructed players. What do you think of that rule proposal? 2) The opener in older shows "Uprising" from Muse is a great song and I recognized it and that gave me the push to finally get the album, that I wanted to buy since the opening show of London 2012. What is the current opener? Would love to get that as well. Keep it up guys and many thanks for your efforts, Peter

Peter Sievert

Marshall and LSV, I really appreciate the show. As a father of young children, time is the ultimate limited resource (maybe that's true for all of us but, I'm guessing LSV is nodding his head to this statement) the podcast enables me to enjoy Magic when I normally wouldn't be able to washing dishes, commuting to work, etc. Many weeks it's my only MTG experience. I'm interested in improving my side boarding game. And I'm curious about how many assumptions you feel comfortable making about an opponents deck without full information but, you get clues as to the archetype or what might be in the deck. For example, match one you see two Night Market Lookouts and a Dhund Operative in a black/red deck. Can you comfortably side in enchantment removal? How about a second Fragmentize if you're already running one main? Or in other formats assume since they are running White/Blue that you should side in Plummet without actually seeing a flier. Or what about more abstractly, seeing that they have a good number of aggressive two drops. Ultimately they got stuck on lands and you were able to out race them. Would you go with your controlling game plan and side in a Couple of Consulate Skygates and an Impeccable Timing abandoning you 2x Ovalchase Dragsters you were hoping to steal games with (assuming you feel good about your late game inevitability otherwise)? Thanks, Daniel

Daniel Rossman

Hey Marshall and LSV! I've been listening for about a year now and been a patron for a little over 6 months now. I always love the content. I had a question about both mentality and how you go about managing build time when you open a bad pool. I recently went to GP Milwaukee and felt like I had a terrible pool (4 of my 6 rares were Dubious Challenge, Lost Legacy, a rare land, and Electrostatic Pummeler...). I had trouble keeping a positive attitude and had to build 5 or 6 separate decks to see what I could do with the pool because there were no obvious pulls to any color and 4 of the 5 colors had some merits. I ended up scrambling a deck in the last 5 minutes of build time as a result. So this is a two part question. First, how do you recommend staying cool when you get a bad pool for competitive sealed events. Second, when there is no natural pull to a color, how do go through building multiple decks when there isn't any obvious builds or colors on first glance. Thanks for all the help! Harrison

Harrison Little

Hey LR, I've been listening since the days of the Rocket Report with Ryan. My question is more behind the scenes rather than content based. What equipment do you use to record for the show, CFB content, and streaming? I'm interested in details such as microphones, audio software, editing software, screen captures (for streams), etc... I've started my own Youtube channel (Glieken Gaming for shameless plug) and am curious as to what equipment to strive for or to find new software than what I use. Seeing your setup would also be interesting. Thanks for the show Keep making great content ~Chris "Glieken" Maier (Pronounced Gl - Eye - Ken)

Glieken

Hi guys, this might be something that you didn't think much of, but I've been wanting to ask you about it. Right after the election, Huey Jensen came out as gay. To a gay Magic player (like me , even if I don't play all that much anymore), to see a Hall of Famer come out was a pretty big deal. In recent sets, LGBT in-game visibility has increased (Guardians of Meletis/Kynaois and Tiro, Alesha, Ashiok). You guys have talked about diversity in your survey results podcasts, so I think you care about this, but some folks reacted poorly to these cards and Huey's coming out. Quite a few people said "it's about the game, I don't care who you are, but why does this have to be a thing in Magic." Obviously I disagree, but from your higher-level perspective - what are your thoughts on LGBT inclusion and diversity in the community? Something that Magic should or shouldn't focus on? Thanks for making a fun podcast, I love listening to it!

Aure Silvershield

(Spencer) Hey guys, My question is mostly for LSV but I am also interested to hear your thoughts Marshall. I had a baby this week and watched a bunch of my friends and teammates qualify for the pro tour today. We have a group of guys that playtest together and we have almost all qualified for at least 1 pro tour since getting together. But basically this entire year while my wife was pregnant I didn't try and qualify for the pro tour I even conceded in the top 8 and finals of multiple PPTQs. Now with my child being born I obviously will be talking another PPTQ season off and will have to wait and watch and just try and help my friends. My question is however how do I stay sharp while I am waiting for my break to end in Magic? LSV is currently doing coverage and I believe both of you still helped CFB prepare for the last pro tour, but do you ever worry that you won't have the same fire that you could if you were actually grinding? Anyway thanks for your time and a Special thanks to Marshall. You know what you did.

Constructed Criticism

I really appreciate the level-up that Luis provided regarding basic land power rankings. Can we look forward to further power rankings for other Magic essentials like tokens, spindown counters, and dice? I think we can all agree that a well-informed power ranking of dice would help mitigate the role of luck in the game.

Peter Steinle

Hello, gentlemen! First off, thanks for your podcast. It has significantly improved my drafting skills and is fun to listen to - I love waking up on Thursdays to the 1 in a red circle telling me I have a new episode. My question is this - to what extent is drafting a good deck a product of skill versus chance? There are times when I come out with a bad deck and know what I messed up, and others when I come out with a sub-par deck and can't identify any specific bad card choices. Are there times where you don't have a shot at at a great deck because of the cards you opened and/or were passed, or can a skilled drafter always come out with something playable and competitive?

Matthew L Henderson

Christian, for me it's not that the cards you get might be bad, it's the quality of the other drafters that define how well, objectively, your deck turns out. If you're in a pod with a bunch of terrible drafters who are all over the place on color, your deck is going to be objectively bad because nobody in the draft had clear lanes, so you barely wind up with enough playables in your colors. If all you're playing against is those other drafters, that's ok because your deck is still the best. But now in a league you have to take your objectively worse-than-average deck up against everyone else.

Tom Kamenick

Hello Marshall and LSV! I've been listening for about a year and just became a patreon. One thing I'd love to learn more about is deciding when to use mana sinks (take Oviya, for example) versus casting a card out of your hand. What sort of decision process do you use? It seems like using the sink is more efficient, as it preserves the resources in your hand and makes best use out of the sink while you still have it, but usually the power level of one sink activation is less than one card. Would love to hear how you go about making that decision.

Tom Kamenick

Hello Marshall and LSV! I've been listening for about a year and just became a patreon. One thing I'd love to learn more about is deciding when to use mana sinks (take Oviya, for example) versus casting a card out of your hand. What sort of decision process do you use? It seems like using the sink is more efficient, as it preserves the resources in your hand and makes best use out of the sink while you still have it, but usually the power level of one sink activation is less than one card. Would love to hear how you go about making that decision.

Tom Kamenick

I feel the exact opposite. I feel frustrated with draft leagues because you can have a sub par set of packs then have to battle players who might have had an amazingly fruitful draft!

Christian Manchester

Hello friends, I got back into magic right around Khans block and have playing limited almost exclusively (with edh) since origins. I plan on competing in gp San Jose, which is sealed. I love sealed and I try to get to the shop at least once a week but sometimes there isn't time for that. Family life, busy schedule and what not. I am confident I will have a good time, but I'm a little worried I will be under prepared. What are a few of the most basic things I can do to prepare for a sealed grand prix? Thanks guys! I really appreciate your dedication to creating a quality show.

Trevor Lindow

Hey guys, I have been listening for a few months and I'm brand spanking new to the patreon. Just wanted to make an observation and ask if you have made similar observations. Have you ever noticed in a majority of drafts two players will draft the same deck, or color combo. It is always frustrating going up against these decks because I know that one of us has to have the better version. Luckily, draft leagues have eliminated the second half of that equation. Your thoughts?

Thomas Hendricks

good one Erik!

Janusz Okoń

Hi Guys! long time listener, recent Patreon. Love the show and the synergy between the hosts. I would like to know what is the long term strategy of the show? Getting better at Magic is a big topic: how you want to approach this topic long term? Where do you see the show in 2 years?

Janusz Okoń

Once you realize that you're going to have a removal heavy deck, how should you optimize your remaining draft picks and deck build? Should your creature curve look different than normal? Every few limited formats, there seems to be a removal heavy BR control deck that flies under the radar, and I've had decent luck with it in Kaladesh. Thanks!

Jaeger

Do you have any advice for transitioning between online and paper? I mostly play online and often forget triggers or mess up fundamentals when playing with physical cards.

Jaeger

This is a holiday question for Luis: after pack one of Thanksgiving dinner I'm basically Mono-turkey with a gravy splash. What should I look for in pack 2 to make sure I'm able to take advantage of any pies opened in pack 3? The power level of this format is quite high and I find I have to cut playable side dishes if I want to have any deck slots for dessert.

John McCullough

Hey guys, listener since episode thirteen and patron since day one because LR taught me to recognise value. This might be a question for when there is too much excitement on the rest of the show: everyone is happy to tell me what is bad shuffling, but how do you randomise properly, quickly and efficiently? This can be a particular problem at local drafts where approaches to shuffling can be questionable at best. Appreciated.

Ged

Hey Marshall, hey Luis. I moved recently, so I've been looking for a new store to draft at. What are the most important things you look for at an LGS, especially in a place where you don't know many people? Best wishes, Daniel

DMG

Hey Marshall and Luis, As a player, I've found that my efforts to improve are often stymied by my inability to really remember everything that goes on in a game. I'll think things through in the moment, but after the draft is over I can only remember some highlights and a general sense of how good or bad my deck felt. This goes for games as well as the draft portion, even moreso in paper drafts where I can't line up my cards and look at them all the time. Do you have any tips or tricks for remembering what goes on, or does it come more naturally to you? Should I acknowledge that this is a personal weakness and commit to writing down lots of notes, or is there a way to train my brain? Best, Erik

Erik Fink

Evening guys, I'm working and studying full time and have recently gotten married. I'm therefore flat out almost all the time can maybe do one draft a fortnight as a way to unwind before I need to get back to either study or work or spending quality time with the missus. As a result, I feel like I'm behind the eight ball whenever I draft and rarely come out with a positive win/loss ratio. Both this podcast and Magic Online draft leagues are a godsend for me but there is simply no substitute for regularly playing a limited environment to get to know it and my time constraints restrict my ability to do that. Do you guys have any recommendations on how to maximise the value I get from the limited amount of time I can spend playing while still keeping it fun? I'd like to avoid spreadsheets if at all possible. Thanks heaps, Jeremy

JDHD

HI LR cast, big fan and recent patreon here. I'm curious as to whether or not you two use the more psychological side of the game when playing? Meaning possibllyrics faking bad draws, subtle body language, allowing things to resolve (pause, then "sure, that's fine" or something to that effect), etc. I'm also curious to whether or not you think it's worth putting the effort into. Sure you should play to the best of your abilities and play to win with every decision but I believe these techniques can give an edge at low to medium levels of skill. I'm also interested in knowing if your have any opinions on the moral of manipulating your opponent. Thanks guys.

fahad al-gharaballi

Hey marshal and Luis. I've been listening since tarkir and have been drafting since scars. The question I have a hard time with is when is a removal spell bad? Where is the threshold of removal to make it not worth a slot in your deck?I often over prioritize things like tidy conclusion or impeccable timing.

Eric Penner

Dear Marshall and LSV, you both stream and do many drafts and have spoken about the benefits of drafting with a friend, as seeing picks from a different perspective can help you grow as a player. How awesome would it be if the two of you joined forces and drafted for our viewing pleasure? It would kind of take crack'a'pack to another level. I guess this isn't much of a question more like a request... it could be my Christmas gift. :)

julian tavares

How many lands have you been playing in Kaladesh? After several sets that defaulted to 17, I've found 16 to be correct more often than not in Kaladesh.

Jeff Good