Episode 241 – Set Roulette

FromAllied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast

Start listening View podcast show

Episode 241 – Set Roulette

FromAllied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast

ratings:

Length:

20 minutes

Released:

May 21, 2020

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

This week, Ben and Sam are practicing for a brand new format, consisting of a bunch of random sets from Magic’s history. We also cover the changes to Organized Play this year. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

Released:

May 21, 2020

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.

Skip carousel

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 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 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 154 – Playing Aggro against Control: Sam Pardee breaks down the nuances of the aggro matchup against control on this week’s episode. You’ll learn how to change your plan of attack against your control opponent based on the specifics of each player’s deck. We’ll also cover the complicated art of playing around sweepers and countermagic, cards that your control opponents are […] 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
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 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 146 – Hardened Scales Deck Guide: This episode is an in-depth guide to another great Modern deck powered by Mox Opal and Ancient Stirrings! Hardened Scales is an enchantment that combines with every creature in the deck to generate ridiculous bursts of value that are often immediately lethal through surprising board states and life totals. We went over every card in […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
64 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
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 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 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 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
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 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 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 156 – Guilds Draft Predictions: Multicolored sets tend to create complicated draft environments, and Guilds of Ravnica looks to be no exception. This week, we’ve picked out some cards to discuss that we think might highlight some of the different options available to you at the draft table. We also cover some adjustments we’re making to our baseline evaluation of […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 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
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 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 136 – Brewing a Brawl Deck: This week we’re venturing in to a new format on Allied Strategies – Brawl! This 60-card singleton format features a commander but only standard legal cards, and is dominated by Baral and Ghalta on magic online in a way that formats are rarely dominated. We’ve decided to basically ignore that phenomenon, and brew up a […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
73 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 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 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 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 150 – Pro Tour Champion Allen Wu: Special guest Pro Tour 25th Anniversary Champion Allen Wu joins us this week to talk about his victory and the legacy deck he played at the tournament. Learn about the technology he likes in the deck, his thoughts on Legacy in general, and his delightful teammates. Next week will be our mailbag episode – send […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
49 min listen
Episode 152 – The Flavors of Red: Sam Pardee joins the show this week to dive deep into the nuances of Red decks in Standard. Many guides lump all Red decks together, but you can gain an edge by figuring out what specific plan your opponent is enacting, and by carefully paying attention to which cards they’ve played you can infer much […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 153 – Guilds of Ravnica Mechanics: How will the mechanics of Guilds of Ravnica play in the limited environment? We’ve analyzed each of them individually to bring you thorough predictions about how they’ll play, what patterns they’ll incentivize, and how highly you’ll need to prioritize certain effects. We also discussed the tension or accord created by mechanics overlapping in colors, and […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 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

More Episodes from Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast

Skip carousel

Episode 268 – Finality Found: This is the final episode of Allied Strategies, and we have none other than the original co-host of the show, Neal Oliver, to reminisce about the past 6 years we’ve spent together! As the primary reason the show’s ending is that Benjamin is going to work for WOTC, we’ve also picked out some of our […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
73 min listen
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
48 min listen
Episode 266 – No More Doppelgangers: This week’s episode features the debut of a fun new magic-card naming game, inspired by Alex Horne’s No More Jockeys. There’s also sporadic discussion of magic strategy, but really not very much so skip this episode if that’s what you’re looking for! by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
56 min listen
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
70 min listen
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
63 min listen
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
66 min listen
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
59 min listen
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
52 min listen
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
64 min listen
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
59 min listen
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
58 min listen
Episode 257 – Saying our Rotation Farewells: This week we’re honoring (and dishonoring) some of the cards exiting Standard with this rotation. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
64 min listen
Episode 256 – Zendikar Rising Spoilers 2: We’re back with more Zendikar Rising individual card discussion! Join us again next week to see if we will repeat the pattern for a third time! Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
70 min listen
Episode 255 – Zendikar Rising Spoilers 1: This week we’ve picked out some exciting cards from Zendikar Rising to discuss, mostly in the context of constructed but with a little bit of limited discussion too! Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 254 – Drafting High vs Low Powered Sets: Learn the strategic adjustments we suggest based on the power level of the format! Tips and tricks are given for formats everywhere on the spectrum from the highest power level formats, like Masters sets, all the way down to the most basic Core Set. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 253 – Some Top 5 Lists!: This week we’re ranking stuff! Find out our top 5 Planeswalkers, Sweepers, Draft Commons, and more! Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 252 – Surprise Bans!: Here’s the B&R announcement: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/august-8-2020-banned-and-restricted-announcement This week we’re discussing these bans and the kind of cards and strategies that may be enabled by them. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 251 – Benjamin Finally does OK at a Magic Tournament: Benjamin has experienced some uncharacteristic success and will be making an appearance in the top 8 over at twitch.tv/magic this weekend as the first seed! This week we inflate his ego further by discussing this, though we make sure to keep it in check with frequent backhanded compliments. Download this episode here! (right click and […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 250 – Untitled Podcast: This week we didn’t really have anything to talk about – the PT finals are coming up this weekend and both Ben and Sam have been prepping but neither felt like talking much about it, so instead we talked about all kinds of things. We hope to be back to magic soon, but we’re all […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 249 – What to do if you’re bad at the best deck.: As is tradition, there are some Organized Play changes that draw discussion from us as part of this week’s show. Here’s a link if you want to follow along: https://magic.gg/news/announcing-the-2020-2021-magic-esports-season After that, we transition to our main topic – Benjamin’s getting ready to play the PT finals with a deck that he neither enjoys nor […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 248 – How to Save Pioneer: This week’s show goes into a few different moderately sized topics, including a discussion of Mana Advantages, the number of health that Healing Salve would need to restore to be as powerful as Ancestral Recall, and then we get to our main topic of how to save Pioneer, a format in which 3 of the […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 247 – M21 Limited with Sam Sherman: This week we’re joined by returning guest Sam Sherman, currently ranked #32 on the MTG Elo Project, putting him in a solid third place among members of this episode. He’s been jamming some M21 drafts and is here to educate you (and us!) about the format. He’s also just started streaming Magic at https://www.twitch.tv/samdsherman – […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 246 – M21 Card Discussion: This week we’ve picked out some cards from the upcoming Core Set to talk about that we think might make waves in Standard, Historic, and Modern! Download this video here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 245 – Arena PT with Eli Loveman: This week we have Eli back on the show, coming off of a top 8 finish at the PT! We discuss the tournament itself, the process of playing an Arena/Discord tournament, and the decks that everyone settled on. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 244 – Post-Ban PT Prep: Ben and Sam are playing the PT this weekend! Listen in to hear all about the decks they’ve been considering and their thoughts on the metagame. Next week we’ll check back to see how they did! Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 243 – Where to go now in Standard: A massive rules change and banning has landed on the Standard format (in addition to all the others), and this week we’re taking a look at some of the strategies that may emerge (or have been left standing) from the destruction. Next week we’ll explore this further as the PT will be upon us. Download […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 242 – News and Predictions: Ben and Sam both won tournaments this weekend! Unfortunately, neither format will continue to exist for much longer, as there is an impending B&R announcement, which we discuss, along with other news about Player Bannings, the MPL, and the new Double Masters set. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 240 – Companions: We’re piling onto the discussion about companions, covering our expectations for banlists, our thoughts on the mechanic and the cards as a whole, and our take on the entire process that led us to this point. We’ll tackle such questions as “should a card that is exciting for Standard but awful for Modern/Legacy be printed?” […] by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 239 – Our Favoritest Decks of All Time: It’s time for a stroll down memory lane as we tell the tales of our favorite constructed decks of all time (along with a few dishonorable mentions!) What decks do you have the fondest memories of? Let us know on twitter @alliedstrats Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen
Episode 238 – Ikoria Draft Overview: With dozens of drafts under our belts, this week we’re breaking down the fundamentals of the Ikoria Draft format – how each Archetype works, the key cards in each strategy, and cards that have surprised us by over- or under-performing. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”) by Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast
20 min listen

Discover this podcast and so much more

Episode 241 – Set Roulette

Episode 241 – Set Roulette

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast