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Magic Numbers

Magic Numbers is a podcast about Limited format in Magic: the Gathering. The idea is to use data to try to crack current format, or try to answer longstanding questions in Magic and by answering the questions making the listeners better at drafting, deckbuilding and general strategy. The target audience is intermediate to advanced players, but rest assured, determined beginners will also find useful information that will allow them to level up. The podcast is an audio version of my Twitch seminars, so if some parts are confusing, it was designed to be watched on YouTube or live on Twitch.

Latest Episodes:

155: Final Fantasy Draft Skeletons Jun 07, 2025

Show notes

I am joined by a motley crew of Limited sickos for our eccentric deck-centric set review. We look at some basic info about the upcoming Final Fantasy set and then present our deck skeletons - 40 card functional? decks in each color pair in order to showcase what we think is going to be good in the format. We look at cards in context, as pieces of a synergistic whole, to try and think beyond raw card power. My guests this week are Tresio, Springbok7 and SamP - all Limited fans, all great drafters. They debate and discuss their builds with me playing the role of a moderator and an annoying nitpicker. A role I do truly love.You can find Tresio athttps://x.com/TresioSpringbok7 at https://www.twitch.tv/springbok7and SamP at https://bsky.app/profile/sampratt.bsky.socialor you can check out his excellent podcast: Rough Drafts:https://open.spotify.com/show/4OnYIYmoCdnnlC7pUVyM0A

Watch this episode and see the slides: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Episode #155 vid⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can get the BulkBox if you are in the UK. Remember to use SIERKO10 code for a 10% discount!If you are outside of UK, you can find your local distributor on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BulkBox website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

#154: Card evaluation Jun 01, 2025

Show notes

New set is upon us and we have an impossible task of figuring out which cards are grerat and which are traps without the advantage of having them ever in our hands. Data won't solve that problem but it can definitely help, by looking at the general trends in card power across mana values, colors, etc. Also we can look into the amazing #P0P1 initiative from MTG_DS, where hundreds of people put their bets on the best cards in a set before its release (which mtg_ds kindly shared with me). This let me look at the wisdom of the crowd - what cards were widely liked but turned out to be duds, which cards nobody saw coming. Why some cards fly under the radar, while some lure us into the trap?Here is the example fo P0P1 results from TMD for reference - make sure to give MTG_DS a follow - in the end it stands for Magic Data Science, you should be interested!https://x.com/mtg_ds/status/1920641850546815335

Watch this episode and see the slides: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Episode #154 vid⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can get the BulkBox if you are in the UK. Remember to use SIERKO10 code for a 10% discount!If you are outside of UK, you can find your local distributor on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BulkBox website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

#153: Acing the open May 17, 2025

Show notes

Sealed data - the title sort of says it all ;) - will edit later (or will I?)

#152: Right cards for the right draft decks, TDM edition Apr 28, 2025

Show notes

This week we try to add a little bit context to the Tarkir: Dragonstorm drafts. Yes, some cards have high win rate, but who cares? That doesn't mean you should cram them in any deck. Some cards have a low win rate - again - that doesn't make them unplayable. They just need the right home. Today, with some 17Lands numbers I try to figure out what cards make the 6 main color combinations of this format tick.

Watch this episode and see the slides: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Episode #152 vid⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can get the BulkBox if you are in the UK. Remember to use SIERKO10 code for a 10% discount!If you are outside of UK, you can find your local distributor on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BulkBox website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

#151: Tarkir: Dragonstorm Early draft data from 17Lands.com Apr 14, 2025

Show notes

This week we dive into the new set - what is the big picture data? What are the key cards in each color, how to approach the early data and wht makes the 3C combinations tick. Also - how to pick fixing in TDM.

Watch this episode and see the slides: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Episode #151 vid⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can get the BulkBox if you are in the UK. Remember to use SIERKO10 code for a 10% discount!If you are outside of UK, you can find your local distributor on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BulkBox website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

#150: How to navigate 17Lands data in the early format? Apr 08, 2025

Show notes

Some meta stuff today. How to read data. What traps to avoid and what does data tell us about reading data.

Watch this episode and see the slides: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Episode #150 vid⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can get the BulkBox if you are in the UK. Remember to use SIERKO10 code for a 10% discount!If you are outside of UK, you can find your local distributor on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BulkBox website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

#149: Tarkir: Dragonstorm Draft Skeletons with the Skeleton Crew Apr 01, 2025

Show notes

Yet again our ever changing lineup of limited virtuosos takes on out unique deck-centric and excentric take on a set review. What to expect from the new set, what are we going to be playing, trying to draft, avoiding and dreaming of assembling. You can find my guests on Bsky:https://bsky.app/profile/jasoniltg.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/r-condon.bsky.socialor Elon Musks X.com platform:https://x.com/Tresio

Watch this episode and see the slides: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Episode #149 vid⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can get the BulkBox if you are in the UK. Remember to use SIERKO10 code for a 10% discount!If you are outside of UK, you can find your local distributor on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BulkBox website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

#148: Luck and Skill in draft Mar 16, 2025

Show notes

Watch this episode and see the slides: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Episode #148 vid⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can get the BulkBox if you are in the UK. Remember to use SIERKO10 code for a 10% discount!If you are outside of UK, you can find your local distributor on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BulkBox website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

#147: Right homes for Aetherdrift cards in draft Mar 01, 2025

Show notes

Some cards are just great. They have it all - they fit like a glove to any deck you drafted. But some are amazing in one place, but a detriment elsewhere. The generic Win Rate metsrics for those cards can be misleading because they will be impacted by the cards bad performance in some decks so you won't see it is actually good in a more niche home.This week I look for those cards that have one home where they are great. Or decent. So you can start including them where they belong.

Watch this episode and see the slides: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Episode #147 vid⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can get the BulkBox if you are in the UK. Remember to use SIERKO10 code for a 10% discount!If you are outside of UK, you can find your local distributor on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BulkBox website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

#146: Aetherdrift: Early 17Lands.com draft data Feb 16, 2025

Show notes

New set and this time the rules of engagement changed. And early data tells that story very well. Avoid the traps and start winning by being ahead of the curve. Might come in handy - either on Arena, your LGS or, dare I say, upcoming PT. I go through all the colors, color pairs, highlighting key cards and adding some context and describing the game plans that seem to give good results.

Watch this episode and see the slides: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Episode #146 vid⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can get the BulkBox if you are in the UK. Remember to use SIERKO10 code for a 10% discount!If you are outside of UK, you can find your local distributor on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BulkBox website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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