ONE Quick Draft is available on Arena now and it may be a good idea to play a couple of those, as they will offer you a fresh look on the format. Why? The bot and human metagame are sufficiently different from each other to offer a slightly different experience. I talk about what is special about bot draft and offer some advice on how to abuse those differences for your benefit. How to conceptually approach bot draft and in what ways it is a different form of Magic. Color power in a format is a ...
Feb 28, 2023•1 hr 3 min
This week I look at why ONE is different from all other recent formats. Why there are so few great commons? What causes the imbalance in color power and why I strongly believe white is by far the most powerful color at common in the set and also why you still should draft preferentially red. On top of that we look at all the color pairs and figure out their best cards, their hidden stars and traps at both common and uncommon level. Spoiler - you will see a lot of Annex Sentries as top uncommons....
Feb 21, 2023•1 hr 41 min
I look at the speed of the format: is it lightning fast and what may be the reasons for it. I also look at color pair win rates and the rate they are played at. Are some color combinations hidden gems? Are the most played ones successful? On top of that I look at best commons and uncommons in each color and in each color pair. To be able to relentlessly mock myself (with a couple of taps on the back for good measure) I compare the current top 5 cards in the format with the top 3 lists I made bef...
Feb 10, 2023•1 hr 27 min
This episode me, SLKerstens, JasonILTG and TaJoordan talk about our pre pre-release impressions of ONE and how we would build simple deck skeletons from each color pair. You can find my co hosts at: twitter.com/SLKerstens twitter.com/JasonILTG twitter.com/TaJoordan This podcast is sponsored by mtgazone.com - get your reading fix from the best and brightest Magic writers in the business. Reminder: This podcast is a recording of a stream, which relies heavily on graphics. Check the youtube recordi...
Feb 04, 2023•2 hr 3 min
A deep look at the mechanics of the set. How does the card pool for each of the existing mechanics impact possible game play plans you can draft around? Should you try to kill with poison counters, or is it a pipe dream? How to maximise your proliferate and just how many ways to do it are there. I also walk you through my thought process of theory-crafting a deck, from the first idea through the core card selection, contingency planning up to building a deck archetype skeleton. This podcast is s...
Feb 04, 2023•1 hr 44 min
This week I look at the personal data of the one and only Sam Black. we look at Brother's War through his drafts. What was his approach towards the format, what cards made it possible. Sam possibly discovers a new type of deck by thinking about his BRO draft decks - mid-term. A deck that can't win early, loses longer games but is excellent in winning the games in the middle stages due to being powerful enough to deal with controls and out-resourcing aggro (which makes it different from mid-range...
Jan 28, 2023•1 hr 13 min
How is sealed different from draft? Can we actually measure that difference? And what does it mean to your Arena Open attempt? I talk sealed, KHM sealed and what cards should you re-evaluate in this format compare to what you remember from drafting the set. This podcast is sponsored by mtgazone.com - get your reading fix from the best and brightest Magic writers in the business. Reminder: This podcast is a recording of a stream, which relies heavily on graphics. Check the youtube recording of it...
Jan 21, 2023•52 min
This episode I look at the builds within each color pair. To do so a bit of maths was needed. I converted decks into numbers and plotted them based on what cards are inside. After that we look at the clusters of similar decks that win a bunch - this way by checking what is inside them we can figure out what makes them tick. Some color pairs have a one type of successful build, but some have multiple sub-archetypes that are very distinct from each other. Archetypist tool lets you figure that out ...
Jan 11, 2023•1 hr 30 min
Early format is the best time for hot takes and sweeping statements. Keeping that in mind I dedicate this episode to show what are the dangers of hot takes and sweeping statements and how to look at the early format in a more granular, subtle way. In the second part I look at the data from all the 10 color pairs. Which cards are the stars, which ones are traps, are there any hidden gems you should consider drafting higher. Lots of hot takes and absolute statements so you can later copy them with...
Dec 03, 2022•1 hr 23 min
I take a look at removal stats of the Brothers' War set and try to convince you on how to use the self-milling cycle of creatures. On top of that, I dive into early format data: what makes each color tick and which colors do tick so far which ones still need some work from our side to be figured out. Sponsored by mtgazone.com . Check out my articles at https://mtgazone.com/authors/sierkovitz Reminder: This podcast is a recording of a stream, which relies heavily on graphics. Check the youtube re...
Nov 22, 2022•1 hr 45 min
Time to say goodbye to DMU draft data, and what better way than to look at the vast personal data of the all-time 17Lands.com trophy leader, Floridamun? We look at 175 drafts Chris played over the duration of the format in quest to find out what makes him such a good player. How does he manage to keep up such an impressive win rate across so many games. We look at his draft habits, pick preferences, card win rates and much more. Check out Chris's Twitch ( twitch.tv/FloridaMun ) and podcast The D...
Nov 09, 2022•1 hr 12 min
This weekend we will have an opportunity to play for some real $$$ on Arena and the format is Dominaria Sealed. You read it well - Dominaria without United. Since the set came out in 2018 you might need a refresher or maybe you never played it before. I talk about the available data on Sealed in this format: how many colors should you try to play, what are the must-play bombs and which colors are the best. On top of that I go through top commons and uncommons in each color and look at some recen...
Nov 04, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Dominaria United full data hit a bit late in the season but still it is interesting to look at the data even late in the season as they show a format so different from any other. This episode I look at the new tutoring data from 17lands.com, rank the kicker spells - which ones don't need to be kicked, should be kicked and work best when you can reliably kick it every time, preferably in a 2 color deck? I also look at how important being 5 color it was for each domain card. Reminder: This podcast...
Nov 03, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Today I look at the data of top, middle and bottom win rate tiers among the 17Lands users. Who are the top players, and what sets them apart from the rest? Which cards can the players maximize? And which cards are universally good across different levels? But that is not all. I also look at why, to become a good player, you need to go through several stages of development. Just knowing that top players win more with card X is not enough to replicate their success. It will speed up your journey t...
Nov 02, 2022•1 hr 10 min
What is the point of using draft data if we don't get actionable advice from them? Today I look at the drafting data from DMU (and from some other sets) and propose three new drafting heuristics related to drafting mana fixing, multicolor spells and combat tricks. I also look at the wheeling stats of DMU cards, show you how draft tables respond to number of dual lands that were open in the pod and which cards are the best first picks in terms of future win rate if you manage to draft a deck arou...
Sep 30, 2022•1 hr
Dominaria United is a draft format like we didn't see in a long time. Formats supporting 2 color, 3 color and multicolor strategies with little win rate penalty was something Wizards were avoiding in their recent design. But that is not the case in DMU. One in 16 decks is a 4 color or more concoction. That is 2 times more than any other format since ZNR. Almost 50% of all decks have 3 or more main colors. And, as a result, only 1/5 is pure 2 colors. So which multicolor decks are the best? Which ...
Sep 16, 2022•1 hr 17 min
First dive into 17Lands data for the new set, Dominaria United. This is a set where data analyses should be done very carefully as it is a set we unlike anything we had before. What about it is so unique? Which colors are the best, which color combinations work best and, perhaps most importantly, how many colors should you play? All those questions will be answered in this episode. But wait! There's more! I look at 5 most winning two color pairs and most winning three color combinations and see ...
Sep 12, 2022•1 hr 45 min
All you need to know about the new format. OK, maybe not all but quite a lot. Includes removal guide and an overview of color pair specific cards. Just the thing to do to kill the time while waiting to dive into the new set. Reminder: This podcast is a recording of a stream, which relies heavily on graphics. Check the youtube recording of it to see any graphs that are hard to imagine in the audio-only format: https://youtu.be/zYbxvtj2XIw Find all things Serkovitz here: https://linktr.ee/sierkovi...
Sep 01, 2022•1 hr 29 min
In this Episode me, SLKerstens, JasonILTG and Tajoordan discuss the DMU draft format before the release. We share our initial thoughts and draft deck archetypes we want to play with in the early days of the format. See the slides here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13xJrmt9KtlyIxxNhpDO8QHGDOfuYvLR5Fg-cjEoVjyE/edit?usp=sharing Find all things Serkovitz here: https://linktr.ee/sierkovitz Theme song: You Do You, Mana Junkie by essesq (c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Att...
Sep 01, 2022•3 hr 41 min
This week we look at the personal data from BO3 HBG drafts of a streamer, podcast host and a limited grinder, Jamie Topples. With a tough season behind her, we are trying to see if the personal data explains her trials and tribulations in the Baldurs Gate. Reminder: This podcast is a recording of a stream, which relies heavily on graphics. Check the youtube recording of it to see any graphs that are hard to imagine in the audio-only format. https://youtu.be/myMLJ69a_88...
Aug 30, 2022•1 hr 19 min
A refresher course in Kamigawa limited. But not only. I also look at the differences between the first run of the format and the flashbacks Check the YouTube recording of it to see any graphs that are hard to imagine in the audio-only format: https://youtu.be/jZH06lH_Xok Find all things Sierkovitz: https://linktr.ee/sierkovitz Theme song: You Do You, Mana Junkie by essesq (c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/essesq/61332 Ft...
Aug 06, 2022•1 hr 30 min
This week we look at the art of wheeling. How to use 17lands data to reliably predict which cards you open in a draft can return to you doing the full circle. That way you can maximise your draft outcomes and create a great way to produce your own draft signal. We also look at what cards do high win rate players draft more aggressively and which ones do they actively avoid. Check the YouTube recording of it to see any graphs that are hard to imagine in the audio-only format: https://www.youtube....
Aug 06, 2022•1 hr 46 min
This week's episode is about being up to speed. Up to speed with the changes in the format. How not to fall into a trap of playing week one drafts in week 3 and how to update your format fundamentals without losing too much time on it? How to know which archetypes are more open than others at any given point in time. But that is not all. HBG is the fastest non-cube draft format in Arena history. How to deal with the speed of Mardu color combinations and how to look at the game length data throug...
Jul 28, 2022•1 hr 25 min
First peek into Alchemy Horizon's: Baldur's Gate Draft data. What is the big picture of the format? Its speed? Which color combination do best? Then I take a slightly deeper dive into each archetype and try to figure out which cards are stars, hidden gems and traps. NOTE: Due to release schedule, episode #42 will only be available on YouTube. Check the YouTube recording of it to see any graphs that are hard to imagine in the audio-only format: https://youtu.be/SfPX2NPvf1A Find all things Sierkov...
Jul 15, 2022•1 hr 52 min
This week we dive into the personal SNC draft data of Carl Chase, AKA twoduckcubed, a prolific limited grinder and a co-host of Mystical Dispute podcast, one of the best limited podcasts in existence (seriously, give it a try). Personal data lets you look at your own strengths and shortcomings and improve based on the information you can extract and looking at one of the top players in the game and seeing where are his blind spots can be very helpful for you when you introspect your own data. We...
Jul 11, 2022•1 hr 32 min
What builds for each draft archetype in SNC are the most successful? Which cards are essential for success and which themes win more than others? To answer those questions I look at the similarities between decks and use some fancy maths to cluster the decks together and find clusters that win more than the others. A side benefit of this episode is a tool that lets you explore each archetype and see for yourself what made each color combination tick. Feel free to explore the tool here: https://a...
Jul 06, 2022•1 hr 18 min
Theros Beyond Death will soon be back to Premier Draft queues. What is the format about, what are the archetypes about and what does the data say about the winning strategies? Speed of the format, best cards in draft and how to avoid pitfalls of THB draft. All in a manageable 2 hour chunk. Check the YouTube recording of it to see any graphs that are hard to imagine in the audio-only format: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWorMx1f4wo Find all things Sierkovitz: https://linktr.ee/sierkovitz Theme...
Jun 21, 2022•1 hr 48 min
What does the data tell us about Best of Three drafts in Streets of New Capenna? Best of Three is different from Best of One in multiple aspects. There is no hand smoother, which leads to worse curve-outs, more mulliganning, which damages deck consistency. There is also sideboarding between the games, which makes some cards unplayable in BO1 valid choices for games 2 and 3 once you have seen some key cards from opponents deck. I look at, which colors do well in BO3, which cards perform different...
Jun 20, 2022•1 hr 12 min
This week I look into what makes top 17Lands.com users win more in draft than others do. From their color preferences, pick orders, which cards they prioritise, include in their decks, there are hints on what is the key to their success in draft and I try to unlock them digging through the data. Also I get attacked by my cat. Reminder: This podcast is a recording of a stream, which relies heavily on graphics. Check the youtube recording of it to see any graphs that are hard to imagine in the aud...
Jun 01, 2022•1 hr 48 min
This week we look at the data related to Brokers family in SNC Drafts. Brokers (also known as Bant) and related color pairs (WUG, WU and WG) are the menace of SNC draft format, having significantly higher win rates than other color combinations. But as the colors become more contested over times, time to look at what cards in other color combinations do well against the Brokers. Which colors have higher win rate against Brokers? Which cards perform better against them? What bigger picture can we...
May 24, 2022•1 hr 8 min
