Casual Try Hard MTG

This week is a little bit of Players Tour and a whole lot of Arena Cube.  We start be reviewing the metagame this this weekend and discussing how the PT went.  Then we get into a little bit of Twitter controversy over how to count top 8s in these events.  Then we talk about cube!  We go over the basics of cube then get into detail about the Arena cube. We talk about how to draft, how to find an ar...

This week marks the start of Core 2021 previews.  We talk about some of the high value reprints that are in this set and discuss the best time to buy.  Then we take a dive into Historic but not just to play historic.  There are a number of decks that have analogues in pioneer.  We talk about those decks and the changes you can make to play them in a paper pioneer event.  Then we check in with the...

This week we have more bans and rules changes.  First we discuss the changes to companion and if that will be enough to stop every deck from playing one.  Then we discuss the bans in Standard and Historic and try to figure out where the metagame goes now.  We talk about our adopt a deck Simic Mutate.  We have some Arena time and then go totally off the rails.  We get into some leaks and go deep on...

This week we are talking products, Lots and lots of products.  We start with some finance and discussing the expected value (EV) on a box of Ikoria.  Then we get into all the new products.  We have Double Masters, the double stuff Oreo of MTG sets.  Then we get into all the Secret Lairs that were announced this week. We take a second to see if this is all too much for people to buy.  Then we talk...

This week we are news heavy because WOTC made a million announcements on the same day.  First, we talk about the impact of the Banned and Restricted announcement on Legacy, Vintage and beyond.  Next, we talk about the new Arena Open where you can win real world dollaridoos from home.  Wizards also introduced a new Promo to help the LGS that has some nice cards.  Finally, we talk about our adopt a...

Based on some recent twitter activity, it seems like the creators of Magic are a little lost about where the game is going.  We talk about the fuss on twitter and what it might mean going forward.  Then we get into our adopted deck, Jeskai Cycling.  Finally, we go through some updates coming to Arena and all of the new historic cards. Lost Designer - 4:10 Companions in Standard - 41:13 Adopt a dec...

This week is all about the engines of current standard.  We discuss what the engines are, a little about how they work and compare them to other engines throughout the history of magic.  Then we talk about how this has changed how magic is played and why these engines might not be good for the game.  Then we pitch a new segment idea called "Adopt A Deck" where we play meta decks and give you some...

This week we do something we have never done before....we talk in depth about one limited format, Ikoria.  The advent of player drafts on Arena make it so drafting is great.  Bryan was over 40 drafts deep when we recorded and he had some thoughts on the best archetypes and how to get into them.  Then we talked about the new Companion mechanic and how it impacting limited and constructed.  Then sin...

This week is all about the changes to Arena that were rolled out for Ikoria.  They are monstrous....you see what we did there?  We have focus on the new ways to draft and what that means.  Then we get into the limited environment because Bryan has played too much limited and James too much sealed.  Then we take a quick look at what is going on in constructed. Arena Update 2:29 Ikoria drafts - 39:1...

This week the guys take a look at the exciting cards from the new set. We revisit the mechanics to make sure we are all on the same page then get into the cards.  We work through the colors and talk about where we see the interesting cards finding a home in standard and beyond. Ikoria Set Mechanics - 4:25 Ikoria Set Review      White - 8:39     Blue - 13:18     Black - 25:35     Green - 33:10    ...

This week we stop at the mechanic shop. We first talk about the how they are spoiling this set with another set.  Then we breakdown all of the mechanics for the new set to the best of our abilities.  This gets us to the topic of how this seems to be the first set designed for Arena.  Then we answer a listener question about card storage and organization.  Then we talk about how during the lock dow...

This week we focus on trying to build your collection during these rough times.  We make our way down the mystery booster card file to find the best deals for you.  Then we check in on what we are playing on Arena. Here is the link to all of the mystery booster cards we talked about and will talk about... https://tinyurl.com/r3tmjec News - 8:06 Recession Finance - 23:53 Arena - 1:00:24 To help sup...

Week 2 of lock down and we are not dead yet!  We one with an idea for a finance section on the show.  Let us know if this idea sounds good and we will get our crack research team (James) working on it.  This week we cover some of the impacts that Covid-19 has had on the Magic community and us.  Then we take a listener question about one there are so many one of's in sideboards.  We talk some sideb...

So the world is on fire, but the game must go on.  This week we talk about how Covid-19 is impacting the world of Magic.  Then we cover the new Secret Lair product and how to speculate in a world of Secret Lair products.  Next, we learn about James's new favorite sets, Mystery Booster.  He talks about why he had such a good time with it this last weekend.  Our Patrons had a question that we tried...

This week we touch on a number of topics.  First, we talk the state of the podcast and beg from some interaction.  Then we get back to the normal MTG Ban updates because it was a Monday and that is what happens on Mondays now.  Someone at WOTC seems to have misplaced some Ikoria cards and we talk about the leaked new mechanic.  We talk about the Mystery Boosters coming to stores.  We let you know...

This week, we focus on the new challenger decks.  We give you are impressions and tell you how we would upgrade the decks.  There is a link to the upgrades below if you want to buy some of the cards.  Then we breakdown what you should do with your cards from War of the Spark before rotation.  Finally, we get into some Arena data and talk about what is going on. General Challengers Deck Thoughts -...

This week is all data all the time.  We talk about how Magic handles data now, why it changed and how to find it.  Then we talk about what to do with your cards from Ravnica Allegiance before rotation.  Then we talk about Arena for the upcoming week. MTG Data - 6:23 Paper Magic Tangent - 45:10 Financial Hot Takes - 54:44 Arena - 1:09:59 To help support the podcast, please consider going to TCG usi...

This week we have three main topics.  First, we recap worlds.  We talk about the metagame, what happened and what you can take from this event going forward.  We next answer a listener question about when you need to win in a format.  Then we give you some card by card advice on what you should buy, sell or hold from Guilds of Ravnica. Worlds Recap - 4:48 What turn do you need to win by? - 33:28 M...

This week there is no table required! We talk about the happenings in the Pioneer format from the events for the previous weekend. We had another PT, a GP and an SCG Open to look at.  We then look at the other formats from the SCG open and take some time to talk about Modern and Standard.  Next, we talk about a few MTG finance topics.  First, we look at the new cards that are hot in Pioneer. Then...

You win some and you lose some and this week, the guys lost a lot.  We spend a lot of time reflecting on the SCG Open and how we could have done better.  Then we look at the PT metagame and discuss the new hot decks to come out of these events.  We talk Arena and the data you helped generate about the standard format.  Then we talk about James and his diet. SCG Richmond Format Analysis - 2:54   Pl...

This week, we talk about James playing a ton a standard.  James has been preparing for the standard portion of the SCG team tournament.  He has been doing nothing but playing standard and has some insights.  We breakdown the format and talk about the pillars of the format.  Then you get the pioneer combo deck update.  Bryan settled on a deck for the pioneer seat only to find out that it is the dec...

Well, Elspeth's Big Day Out is here!  Theros was released and we want to talk about it all.  We talk about our first impressions of the format.  Then we get into the cards that impressed us that let us down.  We touch on some Standard brews that we have seen or have been working on since the set has come out.  The format is the normal wild place that it always in after a new set.  We talk about ho...

This week we take a deep dive into Theros Beyond Death.  First, we get everyone on the same footing by discussing the mechanics of the set.  Then we breakdown the interesting constructed cards in each color.  At the end, we briefly talk about our plans for SCG Richmond at the beginning of February. We then talk about the Modern Ban announcement and how this will effect the format going forward.  W...

This week we talk about why you should head out to prerelease and what to expect when you are there.  We make some Magic resolutions for the new year.  We want to be more organized this year. Then we talk about the state of Modern and how there seems to be an elk problem.  Then we touch in with Arena to discuss what happened with the standard shake-up, Dominara drafts and how to get the most out o...

This is an entire Question and Answer Podcast.  Our listens sent us questions and we worked through them.  This is a great way to learn more about the hosts both in and out of magic. About the hosts - 3:21 What Accessories do you use - 10:03 Sideboarding - 16:38  Thoughts on Historic and eternal formats on Arena - 23:22 Live Performances in 2020 - 34:50 Best Beers - 37:55 Why does White Suck - 42:...