Episode 123 – Teaming Up

FromAllied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast

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Episode 123 – Teaming Up

FromAllied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast

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61 minutes

Released:

Jan 25, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

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Neal and Ben almost won a GP! They made it to the top 4 of last weekend’s GP Indy on a team with Eric Severson, who joins us this week for his second appearance on Allied Strategies to discuss Team events. This year features a large amount of team tournaments of a variety of formats […]

Released:

Jan 25, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Each week, our three expert hosts dive into competitive Magic strategy. We create deck guides, explore theoretical concepts, and examine cards from upcoming sets to predict how they'll affect the metagame.

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Episode 123 – Teaming Up: Neal and Ben almost won a GP! They made it to the top 4 of last weekend’s GP Indy on a team with Eric Severson, who joins us this week for his second appearance on Allied Strategies to discuss Team events. This year features a large amount of team tournaments of a variety of formats […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
61 min listen
Episode 127 – Vintage with Sam Sherman: Magic’s most powerful format isn’t as scary as it seems – this week we break down the defining cards and decks of the format with Sam, a frequent vintage player and all-around highly talented magician. Part of what makes vintage such an exciting format is the modular way that the blue decks are built, so […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
69 min listen
Episode 148 – PT 25A Prep: Neal’s playing a rogue deck this Pro Tour – join us this week to hear about his testing process and how he ended up transforming one of this Standard format’s fringe combo decks into an aggro deck! Next week we’ll be back to regularly scheduled content for episode 149, and then we’ll have episode 150 […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
64 min listen
Episode 137 – Dominaria Limited Revisited: This week we return to Dominaria limited to examine the draft format now that we’ve gotten the chance to get a few dozen matches under our belts. What is the general texture of the format? How are our predictions about specific cards holding up? What archetypes are consistently viable draft strategies and what signals should […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
63 min listen
Episode 143 – M19 Second Look: Constructed: Last week’s formula worked so great that we decided to run it back – we’ve picked even more M19 cards that are even equally as exciting as last week and we broke down how they might fit into standard. Don’t worry, we didn’t forget to account for the 1-toughness tax! Next week, on this feed, […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
68 min listen
Episode 130 – Krark-Clan Ironworks: This week, Ben joins us to talk about the Krark-Clan Ironworks combo deck that he and his friends played to exceptional results last weekend at GP Phoenix. If you’ve never played or heard of the deck before, you’ll love hearing about all the crazy stuff that it can do, and you’ll be ready if you […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
64 min listen
Patreon Deck Episode 3 – Merfolk: This special edition of Allied Strategies aired one week early for our supporters over at Patreon! We took a look at Merfolk, the tribe which won the Patreon poll, and built a sleek and aggressive deck that looks capable of coming in way under its opponents, then closing out games with a combination of cheap […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
55 min listen
Episode 132 – Dominaria Cards that Might be Great: Last week we were excited by the cards that had been spoiled from Dominaria. This week things have gotten even more promising, with a bunch of spoilers that offer great potential to the deckbuilder willing to build around them. We’ve picked some such cards to talk about to try to determine which might be Standard […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
75 min listen
Episode 124 – Decks Ben Almost Played: Dedicated Pro Players like Ben spent months testing Modern, but each could only register one deck for the Pro Tour itself. This week we dive into that testing process with a focus on all of the other decks that Ben tried before ending up on boring old affinity for the tournament itself. Last time there […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
59 min listen
Episode 125 – Sticks and Seers: Our Podcast’s very own Ben Weitz drafted in a feature pod at the recent Pro Tour – which means the entire draft was recorded for posterity! This week on the show we dive in to that draft and go over every single pick that Ben made. If you want to follow along, here is the […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
105 min listen
Episode 135 – Dominaria in Modern: For the millionth week in the row we’re going to talk about Dominaria cards! Theorizing about this set hasn’t gotten old yet – and after prerelease weekend we got together to talk about how some of these cards might impact the Modern metagame, which is famously stable and diverse at the moment. Ben’s already gotten […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
63 min listen
Episode 141 – Choosing a 75 for PT DOM: Nailing down a specific 75 card configuration for any event is a complicated process. It’s the kind of subject that takes much more theory than we can cover in one episode if we wanted to create a general guide, but this week we were able to go deep on a specific example with Ben’s constructed […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
53 min listen
Episode 133 – Dominaria Limited Predictions: Everybody’s talking about all the exciting implications of Dominaria for constructed (including us, the past two weeks,) but this week we’re going to look at how the cards might play in limited. There are a few powerful auras that might produce all-in battlecruiser strategies, but there are also some very efficient pieces of removal and […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
77 min listen
Episode 134 – Dominaria’s Gold Uncommons: You can learn a lot about a format from its cycle of multicolored uncommons. At the very least, they hint at what sort of archetype each two color pair might default to, but their relative power level can also influence which of those color pairs is strongest to draft. This week on Allied Strategies we’re […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
81 min listen
Episode 131 – Cool Dominaria Cards and Llanowar Elves: There are so many cool cards in the Dominaria spoiler that it’s a good thing we have a few extra weeks to talk about them! This week we’ve picked out just a few to discuss in the context of Standard (mostly). In addition to the cool cards of Dominaria, somehow Llanowar elves made its way […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
78 min listen
Episode 128 – Modern at the MOCS: Playing a Magic tournament with only a dozen or two other players is a very different experience from the large fields of a Grand Prix or even a Pro Tour. Especially with a format like modern, you can make metagame predictions based off your knowledge of other players’ preferences, such as Reid Duke’s Jund, Craig […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
58 min listen
Episode 139 – PT Dominaria Prep: Ben joins us from the past this week for a special timeshifted episode to discuss the decks that he tested for Pro Tour Dominaria. This Pro Tour was notably different than most due to the longer time gap between the set’s release and the event – how did this affect testing? This set also brought […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
62 min listen
Episode 140 – In-Depth PT DOM Draft Analysis: This week is an in-depth analysis of a single draft from the recent Pro Tour – we went over every single pick of the draft, an episode archetype that we have really liked doing at least once after each Pro Tour. In the history of the podcast, however, we have never disagreed with each other […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
75 min listen
Episode 142 – M19 First Look: Constructed: The 2019 Core Set is fast approaching, and in classic Allied Strategies fashion, we’ve picked out a few cards each to talk about in terms of constructed (almost entirely Standard). We also spent a bit of time talking about Grand Prix Vegas, which was the first GP in half a year that all three of […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
58 min listen
Patreon Deck Episode: Nicol Bolas, the Ravager: Nicol Bolas, the Ravager has 4 qualities that make him potentially very powerful in standard. He’s cheap, he’s reasonably sized, he does something immediately when played, and he can take over games. Our wonderful Patrons therefore decided that this episode would involve us building an M19 Standard deck featuring Bolas. A normal edition of Allied […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
68 min listen
Episode 126 – A Slice of Standard: Ben’s been trying to make dinosaur decks work in Standard for the past few weeks, and this week he’s sharing that process and the resulting decks with us! We also talk about a few of the other decks Ben’s been working with, as well as Bant Approach, a deck that Tristan has been having success […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
59 min listen
Episode 129 – Masters 25 Limited Predictions: Masters 25 is here and there are a lot of things going on in the limited format. After a very studious half-hour or so, Tristan and Neal have identified a number of potential archetypes, combos, and synergies that are present in the set. Today we share those with you! We also briefly cover the Dominaria […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
74 min listen
Episode 149 – Bant Turbofog Deck Guide: It’s a strategy as old as, um, 2007 according to Google Trends, and thanks to the controversial printing of an instant speed time walk at super duper rare, it’s back in Standard: Turbofog! The goal of this strategy is to draw multiple cards each turn, then mitigate any number of opposing threats with one fog […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
62 min listen
Episode 138 – Mana Efficiency: Dive deep into Magic theory with us this week, as we cover the concept of Mana Efficiency. This week, we not only define and explain Mana Efficiency for the beginning or intermediate players, we also cover a number of extrapolations and corollaries that should be interesting for even the most grizzled veteran. What does Mana […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
75 min listen
Episode 147 – M19 Draft Guide: All three of your podcast hosts have picked up some Professional REL Drafting experience with the new set at GP Sacramento and this week we’re sharing it with you! Learn about our opinions of each two-color combination, their relative power levels, and key commons/uncommons that you may have overlooked but that perform better in this […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
77 min listen
Episode 144 – M19 First Look: Limited: The last three core sets have each featured dramatically different limited formats. Magic Origins was a fast-paced format where being on the play was a big deal and missing your 2-drop was often fatal, whereas M14 was the polar opposite: a format where Divination was a first-pickable card, Opportunity was a bomb, and cards like […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
53 min listen
Episode 157 – What’s my Role?: It’s turn 3. Your 2/2 is staring down your opponent’s 2/2. Should you attack? The answer requires an understanding of your role – are you the aggressor or are you the defender? This episode defines those terms and arms you with the tools you need to answer that question for yourself. We cover how roles […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 145 – M19 Sealed Primer: With Limited Grands Prix fast approaching, we decided to use this week to talk about our initial thoughts of the M19 Sealed format now that we’ve played some combination of physical and online Prerelease events. We’ve also got a Mailbag episode coming up for Episode #150 (so 5 episodes from now) – if you have […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
64 min listen
Bonus Episode – Guilds of Ravnica Banter: A full sized episode is airing this Sunday! Our hosts (or at least two of them) are busy getting ready for the Pro Tour, and the episode will contain spoilers for their strategy, so we won’t release it until that’s no longer relevant. To tide you over until then, we’ve collected some of the funniest […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Banter Compilation 1: We took some of the best Banter/End Story content from the past 20 or so episodes and condensed it into a 20 minute compilation. Don’t worry, our regularly scheduled content is still coming later this week, this is a bonus! Let us know what you think about this sort of content and if it’s something […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen

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Episode 267 – Ben Registers Ancestral Recall for the PT: Benjamin’s competing in the upcoming Zendikar Rising Championship – learn about the decks he’s chosen for both Standard and Historic and hear some bold claims about the power level of his cards! by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
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Episode 265 – MOCS Retrospective: This week we’re taking a look at what went down at the MOCS, both in broad terms of how the metagames looked for the constructed formats and how Vintage Cube worked as a limited format, as well as some analysis of specific moments. by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
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Episode 264 – MOCS Formats Overview: This weekend is the MOCS – read about it here: https://magic.gg/news/2019-magic-online-championship-viewers-guide In this episode, we break down how Modern, Pioneer, and Cube are looking going into the weekend. by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
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Episode 263 – ZNR Standard Metagame Snapshot: This week we’re taking a look at several of the decks that occupy the most sizeable portions of the Standard metagame. Though there are some clear pillars of the format, there’s a lot left to explore and a lot of opportunity for a savvy player to be rewarded for good deck selection, building, and tuning, […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
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Episode 262 – Will of the Council: This week we’re busting out an old segment, Will of the Council, in which we present two options, vote on them, and then declare the loser stupid. We also discuss the new style of broadcasting for organized play, and some fun games to play during quarantine. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
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Episode 261 – London Mulligan Strategy: This week we’re taking a strategic look at the London Mulligan and discussing how it impacts gameplay, deck selection, deck building, and mulligan decision-making. This was inspired by a blog post by Alex Majlaton, read that here: https://neverdraftingagain.blogspot.com/2020/10/we-probably-dont-understand-london.html Here’s the reference image for the end story: by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
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Episode 260 – Omnath’s Flash in the Pan: This week we covered the 2020 Season Grand Finals. Topics include Benjamin’s tournament results and deck thoughts, Intentional Draws in the digital age, and the future of Standard. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
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Episode 259 – Benjamin Prepares for Worlds: This week Benjamin is getting ready for a tournament he’s decided to refer to as Worlds! Learn all about the Standard and Historic metagames he’s expecting and the decks he’s picked for each format. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
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Episode 258 – Zendikar Rising Historic Candidates: This week we’re not going to dwell for too long on the state of standard, just for a few minutes at the start. Our main topic is a selection of cards from the new set that we think will be impactful in the Historic format. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
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Episode 123 – Teaming Up

Episode 123 – Teaming Up

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Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast