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MTG Grindcast

MTG Grindcastsoundcloud.com
Since 2017 the MTG Grindcast has broadcast weekly, talking everything competitive Magic, from up-to-the-minute metagame updates to Magic news to tournament coverage. Hosted by Chris Castro-Rappl and Lee McLeod and home to a rotating cast of guests including Dom Harvey, Jarvis Yu, and Jesse Robkin, we're bringing you your weekly dose of competitive MTG.
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Episodes

Noko, Nopal, and, uh, Nycosynth Lattice

Oko is banned from modern, and he took some friends with him! This week we're joined by Mox Opal aficionado Lee McLeod as we go over what these huge bans mean for the modern format going forward. Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!

Jan 16, 20201 hr 7 min

How to win in Modern (Play Oko)

This week we're breaking down all the strongest strategies for winning in modern, which include +2'ing Oko, +1'ing Oko, and -5'ing Oko. Join us for our hard-hitting analysis, and maybe even a Theros preview or two! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!

Jan 09, 20201 hr 22 min

New Decade, Old Format: Modern Discussion and THB Spoilers!

It's the new year! But still the same old modern, with Urza at the top of the heap. We're talking mirrors, emry vs coatl, and even a bunch of new (and extremely noteworthy) Theros spoilers. Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Jan 03, 20201 hr 13 min

Players' Championship Palaver with Zach Allen

Collins is fresh off the PC, and we're joined by Zach Allen to give a non-LotusBox perspective on the tournament and testing process. Lots of inside looks at the biggest little tournament of the year. Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Dec 19, 20191 hr 24 min

Preppin' for the PC with Team LotusBox

Decks are submitted, which means that Collins is free to talk about his PC testing! Come hang out as we talk about how the lotus boys prepared for the biggest/smallest tournament of the year. Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Dec 12, 20191 hr 12 min

The Player of the Year on Pioneer

ZAN WON PLAYER OF THE YEAR!! And unfortunately he can't share much in the way of insights on the PC formats. But he joins us to talk all about the PC race, Team LotusBox's evolution over the past year, and what he's excited about for Pioneer now that everything's banned. Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Dec 05, 20191 hr 13 min

Burning Inquiries

Since Collins's PC prep is hush-hush, we figured we'd do a mailbag episode! We cover everything from Collins-sized geese to smoochable planeswalkers. Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Nov 28, 20191 hr 14 min

Got there.

Collins did it! After a long, hard-fought year he's secured his spot in the SCG Players' Championship. This week we're talking about the Invi, locking in that spot, and what we're looking at in all the PC formats that have just gone through HEAVY bans. Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Nov 21, 20191 hr 9 min

Going Ballistic: Invi Prep in the Lotus Box House

We're working really hard on pioneer! And...not totally forgetting modern. The invitational is tomorrow so we're bringing you everything we've learned in the run up to the biggest pioneer tournament yet!

Nov 14, 20191 hr 8 min

Pioneer Post-Ban Postmortem

They warned us, and they weren't kidding! A whirlwind week, as we get Pioneer for the invitational, and then a swift ban of its two best decks. We're breaking down what's been working for us and what's been whiffing in Magic's shiniest new format. Come hang out!

Nov 07, 20191 hr 15 min

Going for Br-Oko in Atlanta

The boys really did it this time, breaking modern in half by playing just a boatload of standard cards. Lotus Box put 4 players into the top 8 at SCG Atlanta, and Collins made the finals! So we're talking about the Urza deck that got them there, and then we're not able to help ourselves and switch gears to Pioneer. Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Nov 01, 20191 hr 21 min

*Insert Pioneer Pun Here*

Well, that was a hell of an announcement, wasn't it? Wizards of the Coast went out of their way to keep us from having to play historic, and we're here with all the wild speculation and hot takes we can muster up. Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Oct 25, 20191 hr 12 min

Oko is Loco

Just a week into Throne of Eldraine and we're playing Oko in...every deck. In every format. Is he the best planeswalker ever printed? Time will tell, but for now he'll likely be the most ubiquitous. We also talk a bit about CCR's run to mythic with standard reanimator, and how to goose modern. Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Oct 18, 20191 hr 3 min

Can we beat Golos?

The field at SCG Philly was full of the dead, so we're breaking down what's working and what isn't in a Golos-dominated standard. Plus, how about this Mox Opal-dominated Modern? Magic's two biggest formats have two clear best decks, and we're breaking down how we see this playing out. Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Oct 11, 20191 hr 13 min

Adventuring with Throne of Eldraine!

Whew, time for a normal episode! Throne of Eldraine has, of course, massively shaken up Standard but it's also having some immediate impact on Modern! We check out the latest iterations of Mox Opal decks and go over just how much standard has progressed in the *checks watch* two days the set has been on Arena. Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Oct 04, 20191 hr 6 min

Throne of Eldraine Constructed Set Review!!

It's finally here! On this giant-sized episode, Lee McLeod joins us to go over all the fantastic new cards from Throne of Eldraine. Along the way we crush some bones, lurk in some lochs and, uh, quest some beasts. Come hang out!

Sep 28, 20194 hr 3 min

Standard Rotation R.I.P. Show

Standard rotation's coming and (as always these days) it's a doozy! Come hang out as we go over all our favorites and not-so-favorites leaving standard and the competitive spotlight forever. This is entirely for the benefit of evaluating future standard and not at all so we can wax nostalgic. Trust us! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!

Sep 20, 20191 hr 7 min

Loch-ing Down Legacy

We've been working hard to break legacy in half and we're here to report the latest on delver, decks that lose to delver, and slow decks that ostensibly beat delver but probably don't. Plus! Hella Throne of Eldraine spoilers. Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music

Sep 14, 20191 hr 15 min

Bringing the Heat to Texas

That's top 8 number ten for Collins! Doing it as god intended, by playing burn in Dallas. This week we're talking about that tournament, our new and improved modern format, and even a couple Thrones of Eldraine Spoilers. Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Sep 07, 20191 hr 19 min

Nogaak Modern

Holy crap, they really did it. Not only is Hogaak banned, but Faithless Looting is out and Stoneforge Mystic is in. What's in store for Magic's most reliably broken format? Are we talking fair fights galore? Or do we just need to look for new ways to cheat now that our graveyards are empty? Come find out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Aug 29, 20191 hr 21 min

The First Ever Lee and Jeremy Episode

Collins, Lee, and Jeremy top 8'd SCG Richmond, so we had to get the whole team to sit down for some quality time. Come hang out for a sweet episode jam packed full of standard, modern, legacy, and tournament stories galore! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Aug 23, 20191 hr 28 min

An Alur-ing Legacy Episode

Holy crap, is this a legacy episode? We've both been grinding away at magic's most expensive competitive format and have come away with some surprising answers. Come hang out as we delve into this one! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Aug 15, 20191 hr 14 min

Strategy Mailbag with Lee McLeod!

Every once in a while our Patreon questions start to pile up, and rather than letting such a valuable resource go to waste we save them up for a quiet week with no major tournaments on the horizon. And that's this week! We're diving deep into some overarching questions of Magic strategy, giving our takes on breaking metas, building decks, and how best to improve your game for the long term. Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Aug 09, 20191 hr 31 min

Guess who's Gaak? Gaak again.

Well, here we are. Again. The most heavily played card at MC Barcelona? Leyline of the Void, and it wasn't particularly close. This week we're talking about how to deal with our new (old) graveyard overlord, what the modern hellscape will look like for the next few weeks, and the best way to exploit Hogaak to get an edge in legacy. Come hang out! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Aug 02, 20191 hr 4 min

CCR's Artifact Adventures

We had quite a weekend at SCG Philly! We got lost in a mall, and then CCR got lost playing Urza to an almost-top-8 at the classic. Collins DID top 8 the standard classic but who really cares about that? Let's talk some mox opals, some ichor wellsprings, and ok maybe a little standard and modern. Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!

Jul 26, 20191 hr 7 min

How to Stomp Standard

With SCG Worcester finished up, we have at least an idea of what the standard meta is looking like. With Risen Reefs and Nexuses of Fate galore, this is a powerful format. You need to be doing something powerful to keep up... maybe seven power? Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music!

Jul 18, 20191 hr 7 min

M20 Constructed Set Review!

It's here! We made it through 3.5 hours of set review to bring you only the best of "I don't think this can keep up with what the elementals deck is doing" over and over again. Ok, maybe slightly more interesting than that. Come see what we think of M20! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music

Jul 13, 20193 hr 31 min

Jeremy's Episode

Holy hell, Jeremy won an open! He comes and hangs out with Chris and Collins as we talk about Hogaak, modern bans, and even a bit of theology. Don't miss this one!

Jul 04, 20191 hr 28 min

Live from CCR's bedroom, it's Episode 100!!!!!

Holy crap, we finally made it! 100 episodes in and still going strong. This week we're talking about new patreon rewards, Hogaak's impact on modern, and three mana 7/6's. Come hang out!

Jun 28, 20191 hr 25 min

Modern Horizons Top 8s (with Lee McLeod!)

Just in time for M20 spoilers, we're finally going over Modern Horizons! Lee comes and hangs out with Chris and Collins to go over their top 8 picks from the new set. Thrill at our car-by-card analyses, most of which include the phrase "once they ban something from Hogaak..." Exciting times! Thanks as always to Wave Sunray for our music.

Jun 20, 20191 hr 32 min
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