Casual Try Hard MTG

This week Bryan and James talk about their experience at the Core 20 prerelease.  They talk about the cards that impressed them during the event and the cards that left them a little disappointed.  They then do a history listen on the origins of the names for the color groups in Magic.  Finally, there is some Arena talk.  We are trying to get data collection going again, so look for those tweets a...

Today is a long one.  We go over most of the cards that we are excited about or think are interesting in Core 2020.  Why start by talking about what a core set is and why the exist.  Then we talk about a return of an old card type "color hosers."  Then starts the deep dive on cards.  After going over the cards, we wanted to, we turn it over to you the listeners.  We answer your twitter and faceboo...

From the title, it sounds like you are graduating high school or college but we are talking about goals in magic this week.  We talk about what some goals are, setting reasonable goals and making progress toward them.   We then discussed some topics that came up from listeners.  First, was some basic magic vocabulary.  We covered some of the slang terms that get used by Magic players that you may...

This week we recap our time at Magicfest DC.  We talk about all the things to do at a Magicfest and how to get the most out of your time there.  Next, we talk about how a GP, in this case a limited GP, works and what you should expect.  We then get to the really good part, James's deep run in the GP and almost top 8-ing.  Bryan's round 8 opponent, Noah, gets a segment where we talk about his tourn...

This week we answer a listener question.  The question from twitter was how do I get from Arena to paper.  We breakdown the pro and cons of all the different ways to play magic, paper, MTGO and Arena.  We then talk about how to try to keep the cost of paper play and how to use Arena to do that.  Bryan and James discuss how they approach get a new set.  Finally, the Arena singleton format is broken...

This week we talk about the new set Modern Horizons.  First, we reviewed how we did on our predictions.  Then we decided to take a different approach than most people and jump right in with four different modern brews using cards from Modern Horizons.  One of them has the best name EVER!  Next, we discuss some cards we decided not to brew around, but that may or may not be interesting.  We have ch...

This week we try leveling the battlefield segment focused answering the question "how do I play against this deck?"  We walk you through the basics of how to play against control, midrange, aggro and combo when you are playing any of those archetypes. We do a quick aside on the best ways to play discard spells to get maximum value. We give you a taste of some Modern Horizons cards we are excited a...

This week, we briefly talk about our experience at the MCQ from the last weekend.  Our we going to the pro tour?  Find out!  Then we talk about the results of the SCG Open and the interesting lists to come from there.  We do a quick check in on the Challenger decks and suggest some cards to try from War of the Spark.  Next up are the must answer threats from current Standard and how they warp the...

This week we introduce everyone to the Mythic Championship Qualifier (MCQ) grind.  James breaks down his experience this past weekend.  We talk about what we would play next week.  We have some ideas and things we are trying.  We have a rough deck list of a neat grixis planeswalker list that we might take for a spin for the next MCQ.  Then we breakdown the Arena metagame.  What is an MCQ? - 2:40 M...

There was some crazy Magic drama today that lead to a shake up of the Magic Pro League.  We wanted to get an episode out quickly to fill in some of the details.  We go into what has happened to members of the MPL since it was formed and explain why there have been three new members announced in the last few weeks.  This episode has not got much of an edit so we could release it quickly.  So we mig...

This week, we dive into the results from the first major event of War of the Spark standard.  What did we find? We found that red deck still wins.  We talk about why this deck had such a good weekend and what decks it faced in day 2.  We talk about some new cards that are in the format, some we like and some we already can't wait to rotate out.  Then we get into some decks we are interested in pla...

This week we discuss the prerelease weekend and give their impressions of the new limited format.  Then we move on to talk about the great planning of having a Mythic Championship on the same weekend as prerelease. Next, we dive into some new standard brews that may be worth considering.  Remember, this is brainstorming so there are no bad ideas....right?  Finally, Bryan discussing his approach to...

This week we are talking about how War of the Spark may be changing standard.  We have some brews to discuss that use powerful cards and interactions that we are excited to try.  We then run down some smaller "cute" interactions that you may have missed and could be a small synergy in a deck you are building.  Then we go over clearly powerful cards that do not have a clear home yet.  Finally, we t...

This week we talk about a lot of topics related to the mental side of the game and generally good play.  The topics range from dealing with play mistakes during the game, to what your deck sleeves tell your opponent to all kinds of bluffing.  There is something in here that you may not have thought about and will help level the battlefield for you.  We take a quick look at Arena and see how the me...

This week we get hype for a couple of sets.  We talk about the early preview for War of the Spark that have us excited. We then invite you to play the prerelease game.  Build a cart of cards before the end of the prerelease that is under $25 and screen shot it.  Then tweet it at us with #CTHGAME or email us.  Then on the day of the M20 release, we will determine the peak of each card in your cart...

  This week we officially have a podcast!  We have a lost segment.  It was the best 10-15 minutes we may ever do and it is gone.  We still have the rest of it though.  We are talking about the new Challengers decks that come out on 4/12.  We breakdown Unified Assault, Arcane Tempo and Deadly Discovery (RIP Lightning Aggro) and tell you how to upgrade the deck.  We have two or more builds for each...

We have timestamps under the description so if you want to jump ahead, you can.  We are just simple middle aged men and your new fancy ways confuse and frighten us.  This episode Bryan yells at people to get off his modern lawn!  We take a deep dive into 4+ years of modern meta game data from MTGgoldfish and modern results from SCG opens and classics to answer a simple question "Should they have b...

This week, after a delay to get Bryan off his death bed (really he just had a cold), we are back with the end of MTG Finance.  We talk about foils, sealed product, tracking your collection's value and most importantly where to sell your cards to maximize your value!   We then take a trip to Arena town to talk a little about the meta game breakdown and a lot about the decks we are playing.  Bryan s...

This week, we discuss some ways to improve your play on the battlefield and in the market.  First, we discuss some play fundamentals about using mana and resources most effectively.  Then at the 27:29 mark we transition to magic finance.  We talk about why to play the market, some of our successes and failures then provide tips on the best way to get cards.  Finally, we spend a little bit of time...

This week be bring in Cameron (@CameronJGalindo) to discuss the announcement of Modern Horizons, a new set that will inject new life into modern.  Then Cameron takes us on a deep dive about modern infect.  This is will give you an idea of how the deck plays, the important cards and some idea of how to play against the deck.  Finally, we discuss the Arena grind and how the meta game has changed aft...

Today we discuss the biggest of standard stages, the Mythic Championship. We focus on what archetypes did well and why. We also find some spicy brews from the 7-3 or better decks and let you know what might be sweet to try. Next, we give our two cents on the possible London mulligan rule and how it may impact Magic. Finally, we discuss Bryan's journey to mythic playing Mono-red Frenzy in BO1 and h...

This week's pod starts off with us talking about the tools we are giving to you in the forms of match result tracking spreadsheets and a sideboard guide form.  Check us out on twitter and facebook for the links.  We then discuss the standard meta game in light of the MF Memphis results and talk about the big decks in the format.  Our major topic today is modern.  We discuss the pillars of the mode...

We are trying a new segment called "Metagame Hot Takes."  We will be using this segment to discuss the current meta and what is being played.  This week we focus on how fast the metagame is changing and how MTG Arena may be influencing it.  Then we discuss the pillars of the current standard format.  We go back to discuss sideboarding and end the show with the Arena metagame breakdown. Here is the...

This week we talk about James's experience at the last of the RPTQ's.  He discusses what to expect when you go to an event, what to bring and how to make sure it is happening when scheduled.  We also take a trip to your sideboard.  We discuss what you should be thinking about when you build a sideboard, what kind of cards to include and what cards you should take out.  Facebook: Casual Try Hard MT...

So this week we take a big picture look at the Magic metagame.  We explore what a metagame is, how to find new decks and why netdecking is ok. Facebook: Casual Try Hard MTG Twitter: @casualtrypod Email: casualtryhardmtg@gmail.com   Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/casual-try-hard-283498489/getting-a-foothold-in-new-standard You can find us on the Apple podcast app, just search casual try hard So...