2020-06
2020-06
Friday Jun 19, 2020
The Littlest Dragon with the Biggest Heart
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Ikoria, Episode 11: Sprite Dragon
The brewers have spoken! Two weeks ago, we unveiled the ten nominees for our Brewers' Choice episode. Now, the ballots have been cast, the votes have been tallied, and the winning card is... Sprite Dragon!
Narrowly edging out Sundial of the Infinite, Sprite Dragon could not be more different from the goofy artifacts we have busied ourselves with in past editions of Brewers' Choice. Sprite Dragon is, by many accounts, a "good card," even a format staple in certain metas. And yet, if it's true that a card is only as good as the decks it engenders, we must also admit that there is not currently an established "Sprite Dragon deck." The reign of Lurrus Grixis Delver in Modern was short-lived. Izzet Prowess in Pioneer has seen some recent success in the 5-0s, but beyond that it seems that the adorable hellkite is still searching for its forever home.
In other Magic news, we have the full set reveal for Core Set 2021, which means it is time for Part 2 of our Brewers' Guide to M21! The set looks stacked with intriguing build-around options. It also seems much more balanced than previous sets, with a noticeable lack of outlier cards likely to upend Magic's tournament formats. In short, it is a true brewer's paradise. We talk through the cards we are most excited to start building decks with, as well as our testing results with Sea-Dasher Octopus from last week.
Finally, if you haven't done so already, be sure to check out our sixth and final episode of Rogue Refinery! We gave the series a proper send-off with some truly awesome decks with Rielle, the Everwise (and multiple 5-win events to show for it). WotC is eager for feedback on this pilot series, so if you liked this style of content and would like to see more of it in the future, be sure to leave a comment on the video and show some love! Watch the series finale of Rogue Refinery here: https://youtu.be/e_74lZDfYps
Roundup: M21 Previews, Week 2
Timestamps
10:42 Speaker of the Heavens -- 14:21 Thieves' Guild Enforcer -- 18:03 Miscast -- 20:00 Conspicuous Snoop -- 25:34 Heartfire Immolator -- 28:45 Conclave Mentor -- 30:58 Track Down -- 32:56 Ghostly Pilferer -- 35:33 Shacklegeist -- 37:57 Lofty Denial -- 39:00 Frantic Inventory -- 41:59 Barrin, Tolarian Archmage -- 44:30 Demonic Embrace -- 47:44 Silversmote Ghoul -- 50:58 Nine Lives -- 52:54 Radha, Heart of Keld -- 55:11 Sporeweb Weaver -- 56:30 Garruk's Uprising -- 58:03 Garruk, Unleashed -- 1:00:23 Transmogrify -- 1:02:55 Terror of the Peaks -- 1:05:46 Discontinuity -- 1:07:48 Sublime Epiphany
Flashback: Sea-Dasher Octopus
Pioneer
1:14:10 Mono-Blue Octopus Flash: 4-1 league
1:22:14 Emry Octopus: 3-2 league, 3-2 league
Modern
1:29:33 Bant Octoform: 0-2 league, 0-3 league
Brew Session: Sprite Dragon
1:36:49 Theorycraft: Finding a Home for Sprite Dragon
Modern
1:42:48 Sketch 1: Stormwing Prowess
1:46:35 Sketch 2: Jeskai Dragons
Reference lists (pre-Companion nerf)
Lurrus Grixis Delver (Zonast, MTGO SuperQ, 1st place)
Lurrus Grixis Shadow (WhiteHatMan, 5-0 league)
Lurrus Jeskai Control (Nilsfit, 5-0 league)
Pioneer
1:51:17 Sketch 3: Dragon Tempo
1:55:53 Izzet One-Mind Prowess (doshimo1110, 5-0 league)
Reference lists:
Izzet Wizard Prowess (MangoPunch, 5-0 league)
Lurrus Jeskai Heroic (pre-nerf) (PigNorton, 6-2 Pioneer Challenge)
Friday Jun 12, 2020
Ninja of the Deep Waters: Brewing Sea-Dasher Octopus
Friday Jun 12, 2020
Friday Jun 12, 2020
Ikoria, Episode 10: Sea-Dasher Octopus
Is there anyone who doesn't love Sea-Dasher Octopus? When Ikoria was revealed, what feels like years ago, the Octopus was warmly embraced by players near and far. Part Curious Obsession, part Ninja of the Deep Waters, with a fail-safe mode of Ophidian with flash, it certainly seemed like the Octopus could do it all. And that's not even accounting for all of the nifty synergies with the Mutate mechanic, or even something as pedestrian as Flash tribal.
And yet, a few months later, here we are. Sea-Dasher has not a single 5-0 to its name in Modern, and only two half-hearted 5-0 results in Pioneer. It doesn't even see play in Standard, not even in the Flash decks. Was the Octopus simply a casualty of the Companion apocalypse? Or are there larger structural problems that we just didn't see?
Core Set 2021 previews are coming fast and furious, but we've got unfinished business with Ikoria and a certain eight-legged bandit. What mysteries will the deep waters reveal?
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Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
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Roundup: M21 Previews, Week 1
Timestamps
14:55 Archfiend's Vessel
17:45 Village Rites
20:17 Selfless Savior
22:38 Chandra's Incinerator
25:00 Seasoned Hallowblade
26:59 Angelic Ascension
29:42 Eliminate
31:56 See the Truth
34:30 Stormwing Entity
37:45 Waker of Waves
40:37 Mazemind Tome
44:11 Volcanic Salvo
44:26 Pack Leader
46:22 Alpine Houndmaster
48:49 Sparkhunter Masticore
51:59 Gadrak, the Crown-Scourge
54:01 Bolt Hound
54:51 Basri Ket
56:31 Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
57:47 Idol of Endurance
59:18 Teferi's Tutelage
1:01:18 Teferi, Master of Time
1:08:32 Liliana, Waker of the Dead
1:11:52 Carrion Grub
1:13:07 Basri's Lieutanant
1:14:58 Teferi's Ageless Insight
1:16:57 Chandra, Heart of Fire
1:20:02 Elder Gargaroth
1:22:46 Containment Priest
1:26:50 Fierce Empath
1:29:07 Massacre Wurm
1:29:13 Baneslayer Angel
1:29:22 Cultivate, Solemn Simulacrum
1:29:31 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1:29:35 Runed Halo
1:29:56 Faith's Fetters
Brew Session: Sea-Dasher Octopus
Theorycraft: The Modes of Sea-Dasher Octopus
1:34:48 Octopus vs. Curious Obsession
1:36:10 Octopus vs. Ninja of the Deep Hours
1:39:08 Octopus vs. Ophidian
Pioneer
1:45:42 Sketch 1: Mono-Blue Tempo
1:54:50 Sketch 2: Bant Flash Company
1:59:02 Sketch 3: Bant "Metalcraft"
Modern
2:05:17 Bant OctoForm: 4-1 league
Saturday Jun 06, 2020
Brewers' Choice: And the Nominees Are...
Saturday Jun 06, 2020
Saturday Jun 06, 2020
Ikoria, Episode 9: Brewers' Choice Nominees
The Magic content in this episode begins at 16:00.
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Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
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Like our content? Support us on Patreon and join our brewing community!
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Timestamps
The View from Minneapolis: George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, and Police Brutality
01:08 Updates from Minneapolis
02:14 Updates from Seattle
11:40 How to Stay Informed
16:00 Housekeeping
Roundup: Companion Change + B&R Update
18:14 The New Companion Mechanic
29:00 Lessons from the Standard B&R
45:07 The Dangers of Functional Errata
Brewers' Choice: Meet the Nominees
The winning card will be determined via patron poll, which will be posted in our Discord and on our Patreon feed.
For non-patrons, a public poll will also be posted on our Twitter feed (@FaithlessMTG).
Listen to our analysis and then cast your votes!
58:10 Abandoned Sarcophagus
1:00:36 Aggressive Mining
1:05:35 Athreos, God of Passage
1:10:15 Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy
1:15:01 All the Nicol Bolases
1:21:11 Song of Creation
1:25:22 Sprite Dragon
1:29:57 Sundial of the Infinite
1:33:08 Umori, the Collector
1:36:51 Winota, Joiner of Forces