Locations
This week, I’m going to jump right into what I hope this series will be: a recap of your favorite podcasts. A quick aside before I do that, however: Big thanks to everyone who read and left kind words in the comments or on Twitter about my article last week. I received some very positive feedback and that is very much appreciated.
Limited Resources #68 – Besieged by Rares
Running time – 2 hours 25 minutes
In Episode 68, Marshall and Ryan discuss the rares and mythic rares of the spring 2011 set, Mirrodin Besieged.
Before the guys get into their discussion of the new rares and mythics you will be seeing when you start cracking packs of the new set in a limited environment, they dedicate a few minutes of the show to revisiting common and uncommon cards discussed in Episode 67.
This is a pretty good example of why podcasts are so great. After the full-length set-review show was available to download, Ryan and Marshall invited listeners to sound off on Twitter about cards that the guys may have overrated or underrated. A lengthy discussion between the hosts and the listeners took place, and some cards were reevaluated. This type of interactivity with content creators is pretty great.
For a perfect example of why you should be listening to Limited Resources to improve your sealed and draft win percentages, look no further than the guys’ discussion of the Mirrodin Besieged common Concussive Bolt in the first few minutes of the show.
Giving this level of thought and consideration to a single card among a few hundred cards in the block will go a long way toward making anyone a much better limited player. I was impressed at just how in-depth their thoughts and considerations of the implications of one card are. These guys really put a lot into their show, and I think we can all benefit from their experience and wisdom.
Moving onto the rares and mythics, Ryan and Marshall take a very useful approach to evaluating the cards in a “Pack 1, Pick 1” scenario. If you’ve listened to the show for a while, you may have heard them use the expression “BREAD” which is actually an always-evolving acronym that is best boiled down as “Bombs, Removal, Evasion”—the top three things you should be looking for in any draft or sealed pool. The guys explain the concept much more clearly than I can in their Episodes 64 “Breaking BREAD” and 65 “BREAD Crumbs.”
When looking at each rare in the set, Marshall and Ryan imagine opening the card in a pack that also contains “premium removal”; in Mirrodin Besieged, this typically means Go for the Throat or Burn the Impure. Listening to two experienced players consider rares in this manner is very helpful.
One last thought on their rare evaluations. I really appreciate that the guys are honest with themselves and their listeners about “rare-drafting.” If you are unfamiliar, this is the practice of picking a rare for the tickets you can get for selling it, or the trade value in your trade binder. I think most of us do this and with good reason (obviously this isn’t going to be true if you are practicing for a major event, or are in a major event). Knowing that we all do it—and being honest about it—gives the show a level of authenticity that I really appreciate. Raise your hand if you’ve taken a Tropical Island in Pack 3 of your Masters Edition IV draft after two packs of solid Red and Black picks.
The Eh Team #24 – GerryT and a Scrub
Running time – 1 hour 16 minutes
This week, The Eh Team is short one member as JayBoosh is on vacation, but KYT, Smi77y, and ScottyMac are joined by not one but two great guests (Boosh’s personality is so big that two guests are required to fill his shoes). Gerry Thomson and another special guest known only as Adam (cue the mystery) join the Team to discuss the events of the week.
Smi77y and ScottyMac kick the show off with a recap of their experiences on Mirrodin Prerelease weekend. Each of them was able to play in multiple flights over the course of the weekend and so are able to evaluate different deck archetypes and provide their thoughts on which faction was stronger.
It was great that The Eh Team had GerryT as a guest this week because, interestingly, Gerry used a reader poll in his most recent article to determine which deck he would play at the Star City Games Open Series in Indianapolis. Readers were able to choose between Kuldotha Red, U/B Shape Anew, or Valakut. Kuldotha Red did end up winning the reader poll and it was the deck that Gerry played at the event.
Hearing Gerry’s thoughts and reasoning for allowing his readers to choose his deck was very interesting. He made the point that it didn’t matter which deck he played as long as it was tuned to the metagame expected at the event and he was able to play it well. I have already and will probably continue to write about seeing into the mind of the pros, and this was a great example of that.
From there, the discussion turns to the impact of Mirrodin Besieged on the Standard and Extended formats. If you do not listen to the show or have only recently tuned in, it’s really pretty great when the guys have pros on to discuss decks and metagames, because The Eh Team members play a significant amount of Magic and so are able to ask very relevant questions of the pros in order to get respectable opinions.
This was a good episode to listen to in order to get a feel for the questions to ask yourself when a new set comes out to determine what impact the cards may have on the formats you’re interested in. This is driven home by the fact that Gerry’s go-to question when one of the other guys was considering a card for a deck was, “What do we gain?” Gerry was vigilant about not getting “cute” with off-the-wall ideas about deck-building and deck-tuning. This was a good illustration about using discipline in choosing cards and maintaining focus on playing the best cards in the best deck.
The true identity of special guest host Adam is the topic of a contest that KYT is hosting on his Twitter feed. By the time you read this, I’m sure it will be too late to participate, but by determining and Tweeting to KYT Adam’s true identity, one listener will win a Thrun, the Last Troll. There are a few very subtle clues throughout the episode that should help anyone with access to Google figure out the correct answer.
Monday Night Magic #245
Running time – 1 hour 10 minutes
Monday Night Magic’s 245th episode features Tom, Jack Lacroix, Robert Martin, Tristan Shaun Gregson, and Adam Styborski covering a relatively light MtG news week.
Topics covered include a new Mirrodin Besieged set review by MtG hip-hop artist Spruke (also known as @TheGatherin on Twitter). Spruke has created a three-and-a-half-minute-long hip-hop track about the new set. You can check out the track right here on ManaNation.com. I will warn you, however, the hook will stay with you long after you listen. Shall I say it’s infectious? Enjoy.
The guys also discuss Wizards of the Coasts’ new MtG-themed area on PlayStation Home, recent news that players traveling from the United States to Chile for Grand Prix Santiago will be subject to an additional “reciprocity fee” of $140, and a few job openings at Wizards of the Coast that have recently been posted on some online job sites.
Finally, my favorite piece of Magic-related news in the last week was covered. From the Vault: Legends was announced by WotC for release on August 26, 2011. The crew of Monday Night Magic discuss the unique foiling process used for the From the Vault sets (Tristan really likes to feel his cards a lot; it’s important to him) and discuss different legends that are likely to be printed in the set and legends on their personal wish lists.
Are you guys excited about this new From the Vault set? What legends are you hoping get reprinted? Sound off in the comments below or shout out @LukeSonnier on Twitter.
Yo! MTG Taps! #55 – Fifty-Five with Flores
Running time – 1 hour 11 minutes
Michael J. Flores joins Joey Pasco and Bigheadjoe for a discussion of their favorite cards from Mirrodin Besieged.
This was a very focused show with little time given to Magic news. The Joes discuss their experiences at the Mirrodin Besieged prereleases and then jump right into the discussion of the standout cards of the new set.
Cards covered are Slagstorm, Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas, Viridian Emissary, Phyrexian Vatmother, Thrun, the Last Troll, Blightsteel Colossus, Consecrated Sphinx, Corrupted Conscience, Hero of Bladehold, and all of the new Zeniths.
Check it out. All three guys have some interesting things to say about the cards, and the show was pretty funny.
Forcespikes #16 – The Notorious T.S.G.
Running time – 1 hour 10 minutes
Forcespikes is a weekly podcast hosted by Jonathan Brostoff and Greg Ogreenc. The show is primarily focused on competitive Magic. The hosts are both really great week after week, and if you are interested in PTQ grinding and highly competitive play in general, this is a show you will enjoy. As a more casual player myself, I really appreciate the fact that Jonathan and Greg are pretty laid-back guys who sound really nice.
This week, taking a bit of a break from their regular “Spike-y” coverage, Forcespikes features Tristan Shaun Gregson promoting his new podcast The Hard Cast and talking with Jonathan and Greg about his history with Magic and how he came to do what he does now.
In talking about the new podcast, the guys hit on something that I found very intriguing. The primary focus of The Hard Cast at this point is to cover the recent updates on ChannelFireball.com. At first, this seems really redundant, because any of the content covered in the show could simply be read on the website. I feel, though, that this show could really be pioneering a new concept for podcasts that other Magic sites may want to pick up in the future. I read a lot of articles in addition to listening to a lot of podcasts, but I realize that many people just do not have the time to read all of the articles that are released week after week. A weekly recap podcast may be a great way for sites to promote their own content, because listeners may hear about an article that sounds interesting and make a note to go and look it up. This could be a great way to rope in readers who may not have read otherwise.
Another interesting point brought up in the show was that of podcast length. With so many podcasts out there for listeners today, how long should the average podcast be? What do you guys think? The common sentiment on the show (and my personal opinion) was that shows should aim to be roughly an hour long on average. Obviously, some shows have to be much longer because of the content being covered, but an hour seems like a good target for the average weekly show.
While this episode shied away from their usual competitive content, it was a good listen. I found it interesting to learn more about Tristan, who has become a Magic personality through his connection to Magic TV and his recent increased presence on the podcast scene. I’d been thinking lately that I would like to hear Tristan on the new Men of Magic podcast in order learn more about him, and this show provided a lot of the information I was hoping to learn.
Outcasts
At the end of each article, I’d like to cover briefly a few podcasts that are out there that are worth listening to but aren’t quite long enough to merit a full write-up.
The Hard Cast #2
The previously unnamed ChannelFireball podcast is back with its new name. Tristan Shaun Gregson and Robert Martin cover a number of recent articles and podcasts. Tristan offers a new segment titled Market Watch detailing his favorite cards to buy, sell, or hold this week, and the guys discuss standings at the end of Day 1 of Pro Tour Paris.
Listening to the show, I’ve got a great idea for a new podcast drinking game. Robert Martin is now on more podcasts than I can count. He is a guest or co-host on quite a number of shows on the MTGcast.com network. Any time Robert says “It’s interesting” or “It’s fascinating,” you have to take a drink.
Obviously, this is just lighthearted ribbing aimed at Robert. I think he’s a great host, and I’m pleased to see him doing so well in the podcast arena. I know that he is passionate about podcasting and really wants to do everything he can to push MtG podcasting as a medium to its limits. A big thanks to Robert from the podcast listener community.
The Broken City School of Magic #1 – Spoiling Our Buzz
Another good podcast for anyone interested in playing limited. The show is a recorded (and, I am thankful to say, well-edited) conversation among a group of friends who are sitting around drinking and discussing Mirrodin Besieged. The guys plan to release a new episode with each new set. I enjoyed this one as another guide to card evaluation.
The conversation begins with a discussion of the new Battle Cry mechanic, including Goblin Wardriver, Signal Pest, and Accorder Paladin. The merits of Signal Pest in particular are heavily debated. A few voices speak up in favor of Signal Pest’s strength in a creature-heavy deck, and the rest of the guys disagree, saying it is never playable. What do you guys think? I personally have seen the card used to very good effect in limited, and obviously it is a good fit in the Kuldotha Goblin deck that has gained in popularity recently.
This is a good podcast to listen to for one more set of perspectives on limited card evaluation, deck archetypes, and deck construction.
The Eh Team #23b – Smithers and Samms
ScottyMac of The Eh Team interviews Canadian pro player Jonathan Smithers and PTQ grinder Phil Samms. Canada has recently been very underrepresented on the Pro Tour scene, and it is great to see ScottyMac, KYT, and others showing allegiance and support to their country in order to put the Canadian scene on the map.
This is recommended listening for discussion of the Pro Tour lifestyle, key cards from Mirrodin Besieged, and the state of Canadian Magic.
In the Queue
Thank you to everyone for suggestions of shows I should be listening to. I’m taking all suggestions into consideration (you can see I added Forcespikes based on reader recommendation) and will continue to add more shows to my coverage. Keep the suggestions coming.
Next week, I’m hoping to add coverage of the following to my current lineup:
The Mana Pool
MTGCast Interviews The Men of Magic
The Third Power
Scrubland
Judgecast
The Avant Card Show
Luke Sonnier
@LukeSonnier on Twitter
