Well, WOTC blew up Modern. There were big bans and unbans in the format. Good-bye Hogaak and Faithless Looting and HELLO Nurse...I mean Stone Forge Mystic. We talk about what this means for modern and what decks might benefit going forward. Then we get into some Arena talk and see what the meta game looks like. MCQ Dumpster Fire 0:49 B and R 12:48 SFM Unbanned 26:51 New SMF decks 30:12 Decks that benefit 43:50 Specs for new modern 54:04 Arena 1:08:05 Facebook: Casual Try Hard MTG Twitter: @casua...
Aug 29, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 34
This week we try to get your caught up on all the organized play changes coming to Magic. These changes impart Arena some and tabletop a ton. Overall, we think that these changes will be good for the casual try hard as it seems like there are more opportunities to play. After the OP breakdown, we talk Arena. We discuss how the meta on Arena is not reflecting what the "best decks" are. Then we talk about the new Kethis Combo deck. Organized Play Announcement - 2:41 Impact on Arena - 3:30 Impact o...
Aug 22, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 33
This week Bryan and James talk about the history of magic bans. This was inspired by the impending ban of Hogaak. We talk about why you would decide to play Hogaak in its last weeks. Then get into the first modern bans then work through all the major bans to now. Then we review the standard bans that happened during the last few years. Finally, we check in with the arena meta. Fake GP top 8 and the state of coverage 2:59 Prep for events in current modern 6:33 Hogaak in legacy 13:26 The original ...
Aug 15, 2019•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 32
This week the Try Hards bring you into the world of Legacy. With MF Atlanta coming up and testing beginning, we want to tell you why legacy is a great format and how to get into it. We then work are way through the pillars of the legacy format to let you know what cards are popular and what players build around. Legacy has changed a lot over the last 18-months, so we talk about the what has driven this change. Finally, we break down the Arena Metagame and talk about Bryan's standard deck scapesh...
Aug 09, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 31
This week we delve into the process of deck selection using LSV's recent success at GP Denver as the back drop. We discuss why you should pick a deck and how those reasons changed based on event, when to pick a deck and what not to do. Then we trample through the concept of levels of meta. We define what the levels are and then use the meta game at MC 4 to illustrate this concept. Next, we discuss if a certain 8/8 trampler should be banned from modern. Next, we discuss why we like the modern hor...
Aug 01, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 30
This week we talk all about the latest news about Throne of Eldraine. We have a new plane and a ton of new products. We breakdown all the information and the new products to help you when the set comes out. We then talk about the new promo packs, what to expected and how they could be improved. Next up are team tournaments. We talk about their structure, the types and why they are a positive experience. Finally, we do some Arena talk about the meta game and other Arena stuff. New Eldraine Plane ...
Jul 25, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 29
This week we talk about first week standard and the state of standard overall. And why even at this early stage why things might feel a little stale. Next, we Level the Battlefield by taking a deep dive into priority and the stack. We want everyone to know when they can cast their spells. Finally, we talk about the BO3 Arena metagame and give some information about the new mastery system. New Standard 2:42 Level the Battlefield: Priority - 26:19 State Based Actions - 56:40 Holding Priority - 1:0...
Jul 18, 2019•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 28
This week Bryan and James talk about their experience at the Core 20 prerelease. They talk about the cards that impressed them during the event and the cards that left them a little disappointed. They then do a history listen on the origins of the names for the color groups in Magic. Finally, there is some Arena talk. We are trying to get data collection going again, so look for those tweets and Facebook posts to get the access to the data collection sheet. CTH Game 1:56 Banned and Restricted 4:...
Jul 11, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 27
Today is a long one. We go over most of the cards that we are excited about or think are interesting in Core 2020. Why start by talking about what a core set is and why the exist. Then we talk about a return of an old card type "color hosers." Then starts the deep dive on cards. After going over the cards, we wanted to, we turn it over to you the listeners. We answer your twitter and facebook questions about the new set. We cover individual cards, interactions and prerelease. Then we talk about ...
Jul 04, 2019•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 26
From the title, it sounds like you are graduating high school or college but we are talking about goals in magic this week. We talk about what some goals are, setting reasonable goals and making progress toward them. We then discussed some topics that came up from listeners. First, was some basic magic vocabulary. We covered some of the slang terms that get used by Magic players that you may not be used to. We then discussed buying cards before rotation and that got us discussing when to sell ou...
Jun 28, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 25
This week we recap our time at Magicfest DC. We talk about all the things to do at a Magicfest and how to get the most out of your time there. Next, we talk about how a GP, in this case a limited GP, works and what you should expect. We then get to the really good part, James's deep run in the GP and almost top 8-ing. Bryan's round 8 opponent, Noah, gets a segment where we talk about his tournament and the importance of being cool. There are more spoilers, this time for Core 2020 and we discuss ...
Jun 20, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 24
This week we answer a listener question. The question from twitter was how do I get from Arena to paper. We breakdown the pro and cons of all the different ways to play magic, paper, MTGO and Arena. We then talk about how to try to keep the cost of paper play and how to use Arena to do that. Bryan and James discuss how they approach get a new set. Finally, the Arena singleton format is broken down. The ways to play magic 2:03 Paper Majic Pro/Cons 2:22 Magic Online Pro/Con 28:32 MTG Arena Pro/Con...
Jun 14, 2019•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 23
This week we talk about the new set Modern Horizons. First, we reviewed how we did on our predictions. Then we decided to take a different approach than most people and jump right in with four different modern brews using cards from Modern Horizons. One of them has the best name EVER! Next, we discuss some cards we decided not to brew around, but that may or may not be interesting. We have chilled a little on Arena data so we discuss the special event formats a bit. Then we compare the complexit...
Jun 07, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 22
This week we try leveling the battlefield segment focused answering the question "how do I play against this deck?" We walk you through the basics of how to play against control, midrange, aggro and combo when you are playing any of those archetypes. We do a quick aside on the best ways to play discard spells to get maximum value. We give you a taste of some Modern Horizons cards we are excited about. Bryan has some strong feelings about the set that he wants to get off his chest before we do th...
May 30, 2019•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 21
This week, we briefly talk about our experience at the MCQ from the last weekend. Our we going to the pro tour? Find out! Then we talk about the results of the SCG Open and the interesting lists to come from there. We do a quick check in on the Challenger decks and suggest some cards to try from War of the Spark. Next up are the must answer threats from current Standard and how they warp the game around them. The awesome WOTC communication about the MCQW and great tournament structure that will ...
May 24, 2019•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 20
This week we introduce everyone to the Mythic Championship Qualifier (MCQ) grind. James breaks down his experience this past weekend. We talk about what we would play next week. We have some ideas and things we are trying. We have a rough deck list of a neat grixis planeswalker list that we might take for a spin for the next MCQ. Then we breakdown the Arena metagame. What is an MCQ? - 2:40 MCQ Tournament Report - 9:15 What are we on this week - 28:00 Grixis Walkers - 47:46 Arena Meta Game - 59:4...
May 16, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 19
There was some crazy Magic drama today that lead to a shake up of the Magic Pro League. We wanted to get an episode out quickly to fill in some of the details. We go into what has happened to members of the MPL since it was formed and explain why there have been three new members announced in the last few weeks. This episode has not got much of an edit so we could release it quickly. So we might not sound as polished as normal. Facebook: Casual Try Hard MTG Twitter: @casualtrypod Email: casualtr...
May 14, 2019•28 min•Ep. 18
This week, we dive into the results from the first major event of War of the Spark standard. What did we find? We found that red deck still wins. We talk about why this deck had such a good weekend and what decks it faced in day 2. We talk about some new cards that are in the format, some we like and some we already can't wait to rotate out. Then we get into some decks we are interested in playing for upcoming events and talk about what looks interesting about them. Then we get into some brews. ...
May 10, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 17
This week we discuss the prerelease weekend and give their impressions of the new limited format. Then we move on to talk about the great planning of having a Mythic Championship on the same weekend as prerelease. Next, we dive into some new standard brews that may be worth considering. Remember, this is brainstorming so there are no bad ideas....right? Finally, Bryan discussing his approach to getting cards on Arena on the cheap. It involves being so-so at limited and saving gold. War of the Sp...
May 03, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 16
This week we are talking about how War of the Spark may be changing standard. We have some brews to discuss that use powerful cards and interactions that we are excited to try. We then run down some smaller "cute" interactions that you may have missed and could be a small synergy in a deck you are building. Then we go over clearly powerful cards that do not have a clear home yet. Finally, we talk about Arena and how we are looking forward to the meta changing with the new set. Time Stamps Intro ...
Apr 25, 2019•51 min•Ep. 15
This week we talk about a lot of topics related to the mental side of the game and generally good play. The topics range from dealing with play mistakes during the game, to what your deck sleeves tell your opponent to all kinds of bluffing. There is something in here that you may not have thought about and will help level the battlefield for you. We take a quick look at Arena and see how the metagame looks at the end of the format. Safe to say we both are excited for a new format as we go on a W...
Apr 18, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 14
This week we get hype for a couple of sets. We talk about the early preview for War of the Spark that have us excited. We then invite you to play the prerelease game. Build a cart of cards before the end of the prerelease that is under $25 and screen shot it. Then tweet it at us with #CTHGAME or email us. Then on the day of the M20 release, we will determine the peak of each card in your cart using MTGGoldfish and the person with the highest peak total for all their cards wins some sweet CTH swa...
Apr 11, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 13
This week we officially have a podcast! We have a lost segment. It was the best 10-15 minutes we may ever do and it is gone. We still have the rest of it though. We are talking about the new Challengers decks that come out on 4/12. We breakdown Unified Assault, Arcane Tempo and Deadly Discovery (RIP Lightning Aggro) and tell you how to upgrade the deck. We have two or more builds for each deck with level 1 being under $50 and level 2 being under $100. All of the decklists are linked below so you...
Apr 06, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 12
We have timestamps under the description so if you want to jump ahead, you can. We are just simple middle aged men and your new fancy ways confuse and frighten us. This episode Bryan yells at people to get off his modern lawn! We take a deep dive into 4+ years of modern meta game data from MTGgoldfish and modern results from SCG opens and classics to answer a simple question "Should they have banned faithless looting?" We compare the make-up of this formats to past formats, look at how modern ch...
Mar 27, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 11
This week, after a delay to get Bryan off his death bed (really he just had a cold), we are back with the end of MTG Finance. We talk about foils, sealed product, tracking your collection's value and most importantly where to sell your cards to maximize your value! We then take a trip to Arena town to talk a little about the meta game breakdown and a lot about the decks we are playing. Bryan switched from mono-red to play Gruul warriors and James is jamming some Judith. We also talk about the di...
Mar 22, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 10
This week, we discuss some ways to improve your play on the battlefield and in the market. First, we discuss some play fundamentals about using mana and resources most effectively. Then at the 27:29 mark we transition to magic finance. We talk about why to play the market, some of our successes and failures then provide tips on the best way to get cards. Finally, we spend a little bit of time talking about arena to discuss why and how the meta game changes so quickly. The Very Good Comic Podcast...
Mar 10, 2019•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 9
This week be bring in Cameron (@CameronJGalindo) to discuss the announcement of Modern Horizons, a new set that will inject new life into modern. Then Cameron takes us on a deep dive about modern infect. This is will give you an idea of how the deck plays, the important cards and some idea of how to play against the deck. Finally, we discuss the Arena grind and how the meta game has changed after preseason 2 and how the MCQ may change the meta going forward. Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ca...
Mar 04, 2019•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 8
Today we discuss the biggest of standard stages, the Mythic Championship. We focus on what archetypes did well and why. We also find some spicy brews from the 7-3 or better decks and let you know what might be sweet to try. Next, we give our two cents on the possible London mulligan rule and how it may impact Magic. Finally, we discuss Bryan's journey to mythic playing Mono-red Frenzy in BO1 and how our data helped him pick a deck with a 70% win rate. Mythic Championship deck lists: https://magi...
Feb 26, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 7
This week's pod starts off with us talking about the tools we are giving to you in the forms of match result tracking spreadsheets and a sideboard guide form. Check us out on twitter and facebook for the links. We then discuss the standard meta game in light of the MF Memphis results and talk about the big decks in the format. Our major topic today is modern. We discuss the pillars of the modern format and tell you about the types of decks they enable. Then give you some suggestions on how to ge...
Feb 19, 2019•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 6
We are trying a new segment called "Metagame Hot Takes." We will be using this segment to discuss the current meta and what is being played. This week we focus on how fast the metagame is changing and how MTG Arena may be influencing it. Then we discuss the pillars of the current standard format. We go back to discuss sideboarding and end the show with the Arena metagame breakdown. Here is the link to the article James referenced: http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/fundamentals/3692_Whos_The_Bea...
Feb 12, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 5
