Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 141 – Choosing a 75 for PT DOM Jun 13, 2018

Show notes

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 Mono-Red deckbuilding from Pro Tour Dominaria.

Join us as we inspect every single card in the 75 and talk about the choices that Ben got to make, as well as why he made each of them, and some adjustments he would make going forward with the deck.

Here are the 75 that Ben played at the Pro Tour, for reference:

4 Bomat Courier
4 Soul-Scar Mage
4 Earthshaker Khenra
3 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
4 Goblin Chainwhirler
3 Ahn-Crop Crasher
4 Hazoret the Fervent
1 Glorybringer
3 Shock
3 Abrade
3 Lightning Strike
24 Mountain
Sideboard:
2 Glorybringer
1 Abrade
1 Grasping Dunes
2 Fight with Fire
2 Walking Ballista
1 Release the Gremlins
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Chandra’s Defeat
1 Magma Spray

Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

https://alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/allied-strategies-141.mp3

Episode 140 – In-Depth PT DOM Draft Analysis Jun 07, 2018

Show notes

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 or the drafter (Thomas Hendriks, who did make top 8 after completing this draft) as much as this week. Maybe this draft was full of particularly interesting decisions, or maybe this is just indicative of the draft format being extremely rich and conducive to difficult drafts!

We also debriefed Ben about the constructed portion of the Pro Tour, bridging the gap between last episode where he told us about the decks he was testing and the event itself. Congratulations are in order because his 10-6 run was enough to lock up Gold!

This is the draft viewer if you want to follow along: http://gatherer.wizards.com/magic/draftools/draftviewer.asp?draftid=6_2_2018_1&player=7

Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

https://alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/allied-strategies-140.mp3

Episode 139 – PT Dominaria Prep Jun 02, 2018

Show notes

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 an unusually high number of potentially great cards – what does that mean for a team’s Pro Tour testing plan? Find out answers to these questions and more on this week’s episode!

Next week we’ll return to our usual schedule with non-timeshifted content!

Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

https://alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/allied-strategies-139.mp3

Episode 138 – Mana Efficiency May 17, 2018

Show notes

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 Efficiency have to do with Taplands? Which mechanics interact with the concept in a limited format? How should your opponent’s desire to be Mana Efficient affect your gameplay?

Next week there will be no episode due to Pro Tour prep, expect the next episode of Allied Strategies to air simultaneously with the Pro Tour.

Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

https://alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/allied-strategies-138.mp3

Episode 137 – Dominaria Limited Revisited May 10, 2018

Show notes

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 one look for to indicate that a niche deck is available?

Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

https://alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/allied-strategies-137.mp3

Episode 136 – Brewing a Brawl Deck May 03, 2018

Show notes

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 sweet deck built around Liliana, Death’s Majesty.

Here’s a link to the decklist that we ended up with: tappedout.net/mtg-decks/allied-strategies-liliana-brawl-deck/

Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

https://alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/allied-strategies-136.mp3

Episode 135 – Dominaria in Modern Apr 26, 2018

Show notes

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 an unassuming 1-drop creature into a Modern deck, one that you may not even have heard of before this episode!

We’ve also got a twitter handle now, @alliedstrats!

Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

https://alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/allied-strategies-135.mp3

Episode 134 – Dominaria’s Gold Uncommons Apr 19, 2018

Show notes

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 taking a thorough look at all ten of Dominaria’s gold uncommons, discussing how they might play, and eventually ranking them on power level.

Download this week’s episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

https://alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/allied-strategies-134.mp3

Episode 133 – Dominaria Limited Predictions Apr 12, 2018

Show notes

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 massive sources of midgame card advantage. On top of all this, there are massive late-game payoffs, including some cards which are also excellent in the early game due to kicker. How might all these cards in the same environment interact? Listen to this episode and learn what we think!

Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

https://alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/allied-strategies-133.mp3

Episode 132 – Dominaria Cards that Might be Great Apr 06, 2018

Show notes

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 all-stars and which might not pan out.

We also have each created our very own Signature Spellbooks in our newest and flashiest segment, ‘This Week in Magic.’ There’s a twist though – we each reveal seven of our eight cards, then the other hosts guess the final one. How well do we know each other? Find out in this episode!

Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

https://alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/allied-strategies-132.mp3

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Allied Strategies Magic the Gathering Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected