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Magic TV: Show #76 – Cards on the Move at Magic Weekend
Running time – 18 minutes
What type of recap writer would I be if I failed to include video podcasts for you guys?
Tristan Shaun Gregson is flying solo this week (well, he is joined by Humphrey the Potted Tree) to discuss the cards that have received the greatest sales boost in the wake of results from Magic Weekend: Paris. Tristan is fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with the pros on the ChannelFireball.com crew and so has great insight into the cards that will be seeing play in Pro Tour–caliber decks.
For my MtG finance readers out there, Tristan's advice in this episode can serve you well to get out ahead of the price spike on these cards in order to make a little profit. For the tournament players out there, this was a great Magic TV episode to watch in order to grab some hot new tournament staples before they become too expensive to acquire easily.
Obviously, by the time you read this, any anticipated price spikes caused by Magic Weekend: Paris will have already happened. This is why you should be watching Magic TV regularly. The show was posted on Friday, February 11, which was early enough that if acted on right away, some good deals were to be found.
Cards mentioned by Tristan were:
- Sword of Feast and Famine
- Stoneforge Mystic
- Ratchet Bomb
- Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
- Contested War Zone
- Mass Polymorph
- Green Sun's Zenith
- Slagstorm
- Koth of the Hammer
- Go for the Throat
- Phyrexian Revoker
- Precursor Golem
- Mox Opal
- Hand of the Praetors
- Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
Get your playsets now at CoolStuffInc.com.
CommanderCast #13 – Season Finale
Running time – 1 hour 29 minutes
In the final episode of its first season, Andy is joined by two new co-hosts, Adam and Jeremiah. For loyal listeners of the show, Adam and Jeremiah may not be brand-new personalities, but due to time constraints, I skipped from Episode 3 to Episode 13 in order to include the show in my write-up. I wholly intend to go back to listen to their entire first season, as each episode is a treasure trove of great Commander information.
The show begins with a preview of what the guys have planned for Season 2, including discussion of alternate Commander formats and underused and overlooked Commanders. I, for one, am really looking forward to these discussions. If you're a very casual player like me, I'm sure you are as well. Alternate Commander formats are really fascinating to me. I've seen Commander played a few ways other than with the traditional rules with which most people are familiar, and they do look like a lot of fun. My local game store, Anime and Games Central even hosted regular casual tournaments at one point that were Commander-Planechase-Archenemy multiplayer. I was never able to make it out for one of the events, but I hear they were a lot of fun.
Moving on to their Free-for-All Roundtable Discussion show segment, Andy, Adam, and Jeremiah discuss the Urza's Destiny rare Metalworker. The question on the table is whether Metalworker should be on the Official Commander recommended banned list.
There was some disagreement among the three hosts, which I think represented a good sample of the opinions one would likely encounter in discussing this topic with any regular Commander player. Jeremiah feels that because Metalworker is both an artifact and a creature, it is very fragile and easy to kill, and so should not be banned. Adam takes the opposite side, feeling that the card is simply too powerful, allowing explosive openings that can ruin a game. Andy is in the middle with no strong feelings one way or the other.
The show now features a Commander "deck doctor" segment. Listeners may submit deck ideas to the show, which will be given a makeover by sometime co-host Carlos. Carlos will work to improve and perfect the deck as much as possible.
In the show's Community segment, the guys discuss "The Spirit of EDH (Commander)". This is the most-requested topic the show has gotten since its inception. This discussion is centered on trying to determine what the "spirit of Commander" is. Is there a spirit of Commander?
Ultimately, the opinion of the show's hosts is that Commander is a format that can adapt and change based on what a local group wants to get out of it. Local play groups determine the spirit of their Commander environment. The format is typically designed to promote multiplayer politics and casual fun.
One point that was made on the show that I found very interesting was that Commander is really a great way to meet new people. In the past, it was difficult to show up at a new store and expect to have a deck to play against the other players in that shop. For instance, you may show up with your favorite deck that includes cards from all sets with no regard for format, which will make it very difficult to join games in a shop whose players tend to primarily play Standard. Commander is a format that is beginning to be widely adopted by most players, casual or competitive. If you show up in almost any shop with a Commander deck, you should be able to find a few people to play with. What an incredible thing, right?
One final discussion point on the topic of the "spirit of Commander" concerned whether it should be made into a competitive format. Again, the answer to this will be best answered by local play groups and individual players. If Commander becomes a competitive format, players will have to change their expectations going in. Some players may be turned off, but overall becoming a competitive format may actually encourage the health and growth of Commander.
Prison decks are the topic of this week's Strategy segment. Why do some players prefer decks that lock the game down and tend to ruin the fun of the other players? Overwhelmingly, most people who play Commander play with the intention of having fun—casting big, flashy spells and attacking with creatures. Prison decks aim to lock their opponents down to prevent this from happening.
As with most issues in a noncompetitive format such as Commander, the use of prison decks should be discussed with your local play group. If one person with a prison deck is excluded from future games because everyone else can't have fun playing against him or her, these decks will not ruin the game for anyone. Prison-deck players can make changes to their deck or simply choose an alternate deck.
If your play group does not have a problem with these prison decks, that player should accept the consequences that these type decks tend to bring. The prison-deck player will often find himself or herself the target of the rest of the group's ire. If your deck can handle that kind of attention, the group may still have a lot of fun.
In a topic that was new to me, the guys also discuss the Ravnica rare Breath of Fury in their "Break My Card" Technology segment. The show asks listeners to submit recommended decks and interactions using Breath of Fury via Twitter. Simply submit your ideas to @CommanderCast on Twitter. The winning idea will be covered in a future Technology segment.
The final portion of the show is dedicated to this week's Technology segment, where Andy, Adam, and Jeremiah discuss their favorite "A-hole" cards. These are cards that they have played in Commander games that were fun, but also brought a bad feeling toward the person casting them. Cards covered this week were:
- Sorin Markov
- Vicious Shadows
- Hinder (when used to counter someone's Commander, thereby placing it on the bottom of the controller's library . . . brutal)
- Destructive Force
- Identity Crisis
- Tainted Strike
Overall, this was a great way to wrap up the show's first season—a very informative episode covering a few very important topics related to Commander. As of this writing, the show looks to be back with its second season, beginning with Episode 14, which I will review and recap next week.
The Mana Pool #164 – MBS Prerelease and Story Circle
Running time – 2 hours 8 minutes
The Mana Pool is a weekly podcast brought to you by hosts Chewie, Dirk, Brian, and Mike. This is a podcast dedicated to the casual side of Magic, with discussion of some Magic news.
The show begins this week with discussion of listener e-mails, one of which asked the guys' opinion on a proposed new method for determining who plays first to begin a match. The proposed method would have players bid life points, with the player willing to wager more life choosing to play or draw first. This is an interesting spin on the issue. What do you guys think?
Another listener e-mail that was really interesting asked: "If you could choose a plane in the Magic Multiverse to live on, which would you choose?" Further analysis of the question revealed that Ravnica is one of the only seemingly desirable planes to live on, as it is the most civilized and settled. Some other planes considered were Zendikar (too dangerous), Rath (no longer exists), Alara (probably in the midst of a civil war following the rejoining of the shards), and Lorwyn/Shadowmoor (which would be a good choice during the day but not at night). I enjoyed this topic, and I'm sure anyone who follows the flavor-rich storylines of Magic will also.
Other small e-mails and news items covered included a listener-submitted MtG set built around Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and PlayStation Home's new MtG-themed area.
Moving on from listener e-mails and news, Chewie and the boys complete a MtG Madlib. This is an entertaining spin on the old Madlibs that I remember fondly from my childhood. Anyone familiar with the concept will get a kick out of this. I certainly appreciate the time that must go into creating these.
As this episode was recorded not long after the Mirrodin Besieged Prerelease, each host discusses his experience at the event, highlighting cards that performed well for them and those cards that did not live up to expectations.
The show concludes with this week's Story Circle. As this was my first experience with The Mana Pool, I was pleasantly surprised by this segment. A rare from Mirrodin Besieged is chosen at random, and the guys build a deck around it. I suppose it is inaccurate to say they build a deck. More accurately, the card is considered as a centerpiece for ideas that might make interesting decks. As the podcast's focus is on the more casual side, considerations for format are not given and so any card in the history of the Magic is fair game. I really liked their ideas and believe that this could be beneficial for anyone interested in how to brainstorm ideas for new decks. This week's Story Circle card was Shimmer Myr.
Yo! MTG Taps! # 56 – Bighead & the Stybs
Running time – 1 hour 3 minutes
With Joey Pasco in France for Magic Weekend: Paris, Bigheadjoe is joined by Adam Styborski to discuss the impact Mirrodin Besieged may have on Commander.
The show begins with a quick discussion of Bigheadjoe and Adam's Mirrodin Besieged Prerelease experiences. Adam attended as a gunslinger, Phyrexia being his faction of choice for the day. For more about Adam's experience, read his Serious Fun column at DailyMTG.com.
Also of note was the presence of longtime MtG artist Mark Tedin, who was on-site to sign and alter cards. I've never been to a prerelease big enough to have guests of this caliber, but it really sounds like a blast.
The guys then move on to the topic of their favorite Mirrodin Besieged cards for their Commander decks. These included:
- Knowledge Pool (a rules nightmare if there ever was one)
- Praetor's Counsel
- Glissa, the Traitor (great as a Commander or as one of your ninety-nine)
- Bonehoard
- Black Sun's Zenith
- Massacre Wurm
- Nested Ghoul
- Darksteel Plate (already an all-star in my Kemba, Kha Regent deck)
- Consecrated Sphinx
- White Sun's Zenith
As this episode was light on news and Magic coverage, I'm going to keep my recap short and recommend that you all give it a listen. It was a very enjoyable show.
The Eh Team #25 – The B Team
Running time – 1 hour 42 minutes
w00t! Perhaps this is a conflict of interest, but I'm pretty excited that the very first topic discussed on this week's episode of The Eh Team was none other than this very column. The boys of The Eh Team had a number of good things to say about my first article, Introductions.
I was relieved to hear the appreciation for my philosophy of keeping things positive. There is just no way that I am going to enjoy every podcast out there, and the same is true of all of you readers. Rather than dwell on those shows that I don't care for, I prefer to take inspiration from Patrick Chapin, who seems to always promote a focus on the positive in order to advance the MtG culture.
One quick side note regarding my initial discussion of The Eh Team. While ScottyMac is admittedly a competitive Magic player, he does not necessarily share Smi77y's and KYT's ambition of breaking onto the Pro Tour. His competitive attitude is more in line with the casual Spike. ScottyMac plays great deal of Commander, a format that he takes very seriously and always aims to win when playing. My apologies to ScottyMac for misrepresenting him.
JayBoosh is still on vacation in the Dominican Republic, but is able to join the show for a few moments via a quick phone call. One thing I found hysterical in Jay's discussion of his trip was the fact that since arriving he has seen twenty-seven breasts. I sure hope he meant that he's seen twenty-seven pairs, because otherwise someone on the beach must be quite a spectacle.
After visiting with Jay for a while, the guys welcome a series of guests, lovingly dubbed "The B Team," to fill in during Jay's continued absence. Joining the show this week are a few fans of the show, avid Twitter users Sean Carter (@Carterography), Willie Guevara (@WillieGMyPrez), and Zack Levine (@metaknightmare).
On the competitive side of things, the guys and guests discuss a few of the hottest recent decks, Caw-Go (sometimes known as Caw-Blade now), Paw-Go, and Blue/Black control.
From there, discussion turns to everyone's favorite blocks through the history of Magic. I enjoyed this topic; it was really interesting to hear everyone's quite diverse thoughts. Zack loved the Kamigawa block; ScottyMac loved the Alliances block, with a shout-out on the side to Alara block; KYT loved the Odyssey block; and Smi77y felt he could only truthfully choose the Zendikar block because he only started playing recently.
This topic spawned a really good discussion about the way that the Kamigawa block has impacted Commander as a format. I'd never really given it much thought, but this is very true. The Kamigawa block contained a number of powerful Commanders and other spells that are very effective in the format.
Other topics covered include the Player of the Year showdown between Brad Nelson and Guillaume Matignon, and this summer's multiplayer product from WotC: Commander preconstructed decks.
Be sure to become a fan of The Eh Team on Facebook. The guys plan to give away some free cards when they reach three hundred fans (while you're there, become a fan of ManaNation.com).
As a special bonus this week, be sure to stay tuned until the end of the show for outtakes of ScottyMac, KYT, and Smi77y trying to call Jay in the Dominican Republic. Suffice it to say that hilarity ensues.
MTGLeaks #7 – "Action"
Running time – 10 minutes
MTGLeaks host Greg jumps right into Magic rumors this week, addressing the hints out there that all seem to indicate a Phyrexian victory in the siege on Mirrodin. What this means to you and me is that the third set of the Scars of Mirrodin block, tentatively called "Action," will likely be New Phyrexia. The hints and clues that Greg feel indicate a Phyrexian victory are:
- Mark Rosewater's mention of Red being the only color without any Infect cards . . . yet.
- Tine Shrike being a White card seems to indicate that Phyrexia has begun to bleed into White, which would seem to indicate that more White Infect cards should be forthcoming.
Other interesting news covered in this week's episode includes the discovery that an error in the print run for Mirrodin Besieged resulted in one of the basic lands of the set appearing in packs much less often than any of the others. Island #148 (non-foil only, it seems) is being opened in much smaller numbers than any other basic land in the set. I personally collect 4x sets of every Magic expansion, and in five boxes only opened one Island #148. If anyone out there can bear to part with a basic land, contact me at Luke.Sonnier at gmail dot com. I would love to complete my set.
Finally, Greg addresses the recently announced From the Vaults: Legends product from Wizards of the Coast. As is always the case with a highly-sought-after product like the From the Vault sets, speculation has run wild regarding the contents of the set. Greg has made his own thoughts on the fifteen possible Legendary creatures to be included in his article on GatheringMagic.com.
Limited Resources #69 – He Is Sam
Running time – 1 hour 20 minutes
This week, your Limited Resources' Marshall and Ryan are joined by Sam Stoddard of the In Contention podcast (look for coverage of In Contention in future articles) to discuss the impact of Mirrodin Besieged on the limited formats of draft and sealed.
Kicking things off, Sam tells Marshall and Ryan about his experience playing at the Star City Games Open Series: Indianapolis. Sam played Kuldotha Red in Saturday's Standard competition. However, limited being the focus of our show, special attention is given to Sam's experience in Sunday's Draft Open.
The discussion of the Draft Open provides a lot of great insight as the guys talk about large events that require a perfect 3-0 record in order to succeed, and how this can impact your draft choices and pick order. Sam also addresses something I've never considered in drafting: the idea of considering your Plan B very early in the draft, just in case things take an unexpected turn. Once again, this may be a basic concept, but it was a fresh idea to me and yet another example of the benefit of listening to this excellent podcast.
Wrapping up the discussion of SCG: Indy, Sam talks with the guys a bit about the "second-best game of Magic" he's ever played. Thankfully, that match can be seen here on GGSLive.com.
This week's Crack-a-Pack is very interesting—it leads to a great discussion of the importance of signals in drafting Mirrodin Besieged and in general. Crack-a-Pack contents this week are:
- Quicksilver Geyser
- Razorfield Rhino
- Fangren Marauder
- Bladed Sentinel
- Spire Serpent
- Morbid Plunder
- Blightwidow (this week's winner of Pack 1, Pick 1)
- Tine Shrike
- Myr Sire
- Horrifying Revelation
- Neurok Commando
- Signal Pest
- Nested Ghoul
- Titan Forge
Finally, Marshall, Ryan, and Sam discuss their picks for the most underrated cards of Mirrodin Besieged. Their picks are:
Monday Night Magic #246 – A Magical Weekend
Running time – 1 hour 24 minutes
Monday Night Magic this week is a much smaller affair than usual. Tom is joined by Robert Martin and Chris Otwell for an episode primarily dedicated to Magic news coming out of Magic Weekend: Paris.
Interesting tidbits from Magic Weekend: Paris include:
- Grand Prix: Paris 2011 was the largest limited Grand Prix in Magic's history
- Kai Budde's great 10-0 start in the Grand Prix with a Red/Green dinosaur-style deck
- Paul Rietzel's amazing performance in Pro Tour: Paris and the Grand Prix
- Ben Stark is the Pro Tour: Paris champion
- David Sharfman is the Grand Prix: Paris 2011 champion
- Patrick Chapin's Grixis Tezzeret deck was one of the breakout decks of the tournament, earning Chapin a spot in the Top 8 of Pro Tour: Paris
- Brad Nelson defeats Guillaume Matignon in the Player of the Year showdown
- Wizards of the Coast continues to support judges very well with new Judge Promos Bitterblossom and Vendilion Clique
- Magic art as inspiration for tattoos
Another issue brought up by talk of Magic Weekend: Paris was that of Wizards of the Coasts' event coverage. Tom, Robert, and Chris discuss what a number of people on Twitter and on forums have brought up: How could event coverage be better? Without a doubt, coverage of Magic Weekend: Paris was great, but many people feel that more live video footage would have gone a long way to making the experience much better.
Rounding out the Paris topic was a discussion of Patrick Chapin's performance. Will this Top 8 appearance be enough to earn Chapin the needed votes to be accepted into the MtG Hall of Fame? The guys feel that Chapin certainly deserves the spot but may be lacking in the points needed to really get the votes. His accomplishments would seem to warrant the recognition, but only time will tell, as votes are cast for this year's inductees.
Cast Through Time #1 – Introductions is also mentioned on the show. I was much honored to have the article brought up on Monday Night Magic and appreciate the fact that Tom, Robert, and Chris recognize my intent of raising even more awareness of all of the excellent MtG podcasts available today.
In closing, the show makes mention of the Great Designer Search #2 progress. Three finalists remain in the competition. These three will be flown to Seattle to interview with Wizards of the Coast.
The Mirrodin Besieged mini-sites are live and contain some very interesting flavor-related tidbits for those fans who enjoy learning more about the planes and stories of Magic.
By the time you are reading this, it will be too late, but I hope everyone tuned in to GGSLive.com this weekend for their coverage of Grand Prix: Denver. Monday Night Magic's own Robert Martin joins Rashad in the booth!
The Third Power #6 – I Clocked You Going 216
Running time – 1 hour 13 minutes
The Third Power is a really great podcast for listeners who wish to learn more about the alternate draft format known as Cube. I am so relieved that this show exists. The reason that I got into Magic podcasts in the first place was because I wanted to listen to a podcast about Cubing. Unfortunately, at the time, there really weren't any shows dedicated strictly to the Cube format, and so I kind of forgot about it and went about building my Cube (all common and uncommon cards from recent sets—I was looking for something to do with a bunch of extra cards) with the assistance of articles where I was able to find them and with a lot of help from Adam Styborski's blog The Pauper Cube.
Thankfully, Usman and Anthony have come along to host a show all about Cube! What's more, they are big fans of Limited Resources, which means they have attempted to aim for the same high-quality podcast that Marshall and Ryan provide on the topic of draft and sealed play. Let me tell you, from the few episodes that I've had time to listen to, The Third Power achieves its goal. If you are interested in the Cube format in any way, this is the place to start.
In a very Limited Resources fashion, the guys kick off the show with a Crack-a-Pack segment. This is a very informative discussion, as card evaluation for Cube drafting can be very different from traditional draft. The pack in question contained some very powerful cards, and I can say that my first pick before listening would have been different from theirs, but after listening to their reasoning, I think I would have to agree with them.
The topic of this week's episode is the Cube metagame, and more specifically The Archetype Clock.
The guys jump right into the topic by discussing the 6:00 position on the Archetype Clock—Control. Control decks in a Cube tend to be the familiar control decks of which most of us are aware. They aim to play a slow game, often with a lot of counterspells to control what makes it onto the battlefield. Control decks also aim to play a lot of board-sweepers and hand disruption.
In Cube, as in most formats, control is primarily Blue-based, often with support from White, Red, or Black. Green is rarely seen in any kind of control deck, though I'm sure it has happened at some point in Magic's long history. The support from White, Red, and Black tends to be necessary as a means of dealing with threats once they have reached the battlefield, something that Blue is rarely equipped to deal with on its own.
In order for a Cube to properly support control as an archetype, quite a few counterspells need to be included in the Cube itself. There should be enough in the Cube to allow a drafter to see and draft enough to build a sufficient permission suite in a deck that hopes to control the board.
Finally, a Cube hoping to support control should have plenty of big finishers. These will often be Blue creatures or big Blue spells, but can also be in the supporting colors. A Cube builder should be aware of how many good finishers are present when adding and removing cards in the Cube.
Moving clockwise on the Archetype Clock, Usman and Anthony then discuss Aggro-Control. This archetype is best represented by the typical Fish deck played today in Legacy and Faeries of modern Extended. Aggro-control looks to land early threats, which are then protected with counterspells while being used to end the game in typical aggro fashion. The guys mention Kira, Great Glass-Spinner as a great example of a strong aggro-control card. You can see how this would be the case; Kira protects any other creatures you've managed to cast while you attempt to kill your opponent.
Ticking over once again, discussion moves to Aggressive decks as an archetype. Aggressive (aggro or beat-down) decks look to simply overwhelm the opponent early in the game. Aggro decks want to end the game as early as possible before the opponent can stabilize and recover.
Every color in Magic tends to have some kind of aggro strategy, with the exception of Blue. Usman and Anthony spend some time discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each color's aggressive strategies. Each one is certainly different, and an educated drafter should know these differences going into a Cube draft.
Kuldotha Red, a deck that is currently generating a lot of discussion in Standard, is cited as a good example of what the aggro player should be trying to do when drafting this archetype.
I really appreciate the discussion of discipline that is brought up at this point in the show. It can be so tempting to be greedy when building an aggro deck by picking big, strong creatures with high converted mana costs. However, this should be avoided if possible in favor of keeping a focused aggro strategy in mind. Aggressive decks tend to require an "all-in" attitude.
Mid-Range is the next archetype covered. Famous mid-range decks include "The Rock" and Jund. Mid-range decks tend to be exactly what they sound like. These decks can land aggressive threats early, but have very high card quality in the mid-game, which gives them reach to finish a game. Other good mid-range decks in Cube tend to be Green/White- or Green/Red-based decks.
The titans of M11 are all very good examples of cards that work well in mid-range decks. If a deck can survive well into the middle turns (turns five, six, and seven or so), these creatures provide so much value that the decks they are in can just wear down an opponent with less efficient cards.
Rounding out the Archetype Clock are Combo decks. Combo decks look to protect their pilot in the first few turns while setting up a combo that will end the game immediately. Usman and Anthony cover a number of combo decks throughout the history of the game, which are often included in Cubes. There are some combos that are quite possible to support in a Cube, but there are plenty that just do not work. The guys do a very good job here breaking down the kinds of cards that should be considered in Cube because they work in combo, but also work in other decks.
With all of the decks on the Archetype Clock covered, the guys are sure to discuss hybrid decks. These are combinations of two archetypes that are adjacent to one another. Decks will often fall into this category, especially in a draft format such as Cube.
In the Queue
Whew! What a week of podcasts! There were just so many good, quality shows out this week that I feel like I listened to a ton of them, but here I am to list a few more that I missed but intend to get to soon based on reader recommendations. So far I've managed to add one new podcast suggested by readers each week. I'm not sure how long I can keep that trend going (there are only so many hours in the day), but I sure I hope I can get to them all.
Scrubland
Djinn's Playground
In Contention (I really want to check this one out after listening to Sam Stoddard on Limited Resources)
MTGCast Interviews the Men of Magic
Judgecast
Avant Card Show
Luke.Sonnier at gmail dot com
@LukeSonnier on Twitter
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