Chicago-based MtG limited junkie + cube enthusiast Host of Rough Drafts, a Magic limited podcast: https://linktr.ee/roughdrafts https://www.twitch.tv/samp_mtg
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I do think it's worth noting Lorwyn Eclipsed and Strixhaven 2 are coming up, and they're both sets that were likely to have hybrid no matter what, so it's possible WOTC saw something they liked in those sets' hybrid cards and decided to apply it more broadly
We don't have any evidence of WOTC pushing p2 outisde of SPM, so I don't think so. But I do think it is a good solution for that format
I think this is a good point as a counterargument for Pond Prophet, but I think the type of design being "playable as an emergency" doesn't really fulfill the intended purpose when it's the case for half the cards
Not quite hybrid, but I think the Devotee cycle was a great recent example of this type of design. These sitting low on the curve and helping you cast your spells meant they saw way more play than their power level dictated (even if they missed a little high on Mardu and low on Temur)
I think effective hybrid design would target cards that drafters *need* - 1s, 2s, and removal. An underpowered 2 or removal spell will still see a decent amount of play because they fill a role you can't ignore - and hybrid increases the options for each drafter A bad 3 or 4 just rides sideboards
Pond Prophet is a great example of ineffective hybrid design - a good card in exactly UG, making it a gold card that's easier to cast. You can see this exemplified in its poor performance elsewhere, the juice wasn't worth the squeeze at GG/UU! (this changes if the set supports monocolor)
BLB's use of hybrid mana was, imo, unsuccessful. This list is Head of the Homestead (good enough rate to be played anywhere, which is the goal of hybrid), then some secret gold cards (Prophet, Cultivator, Cleric, Angler, plus Cutthroat), then a bunch of junk
The goal of hybrid mana, to me, is to offer an exchange in power for flexibility during the draft. I think this is great in theory, but doesn't always play out. Additionally, taking a hit in power level at any cost feels bad in out-of-pod/league play and sealed.
Pretty interesting tidbit of information - I have mixed feelings on hybrid mana in limited.
Enjoyed it! There are a lot of broad complaints about 2025 magic cards but not a lot of content that digs into the minutia of what makes them obnoxious, so this was really interesting, even if I disagree with your take on Profit's 😛
Youtube - open.spotify.com/episode/4jNT... Spotify - www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJmC... Linktree - linktr.ee/roughdrafts
My thoughts on the controversial Spider-Man set, plus some strategic insight into what I think of Pick 2 drafts and this format!
Early Access :) forcing white decks :) www.twitch.tv/samp_mtg
Magic Numbers are out there on YT and we have a Skeleton Crew situation. Me, Sam Pratt from Rough Drafts and Zach Kagan talk all about the upcoming set in our eccentric, deck-centric set review, where instead of looking at cards, we build full decks using simple rules. youtu.be/5kQmRM40I94 1/2
Skeleton Crew is back! Me, @sampratt.bsky.social and @zakagan.bsky.social are here to talk about Marvel's Spider-Man in our eccentric, deck-centric set review. twitch.tv/sierkovitz
Now drafting
the Jank Diver Gaming squad also happened to draft my cube tonight - sicko UR deck by flutterdev
the Jank Diver Gaming squad also happened to draft my cube tonight - sicko UR deck by flutterdev
near mono-green(!) by Christian, ft. Tomb and Strip+Icetill+W6! 🌲
near mono-green(!) by Christian, ft. Tomb and Strip+Icetill+W6! 🌲
Would you rather die than give opponent two landers with Terrapact Intimidator? Or are you so afraid of losing some life - you'd rather give opponent the lander? This is deeply psychological question. Are you willing to face the problem now or make it a future problem? 1/10
Youtube - www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpFJ... Spotify - open.spotify.com/episode/2kxs... Linktree - linktr.ee/roughdrafts
Time to take a look back at Edge of Eternities! The final vibe check on Spacecraft, looking back at my early-season slump, and checking in after the 10th Play Booster format.
drafting my arena cube (the good super exclusive one 🙂) twitch.tv/samp_mtg
FIN - Zack Fair, Sleep Magic, Fire Magic, Sazh's Chocobo EOE - Biomechan Eng, Umbral Collar, Kavaron Harrier (esp. if you have Artifact theme), Tragic Trajectory, Starfield Shepherd
Two 3-0s tonight! Drafted with 11 Ur Time Warp loops by Justin RBw discard/reanimator by Ash
Two 3-0s tonight! Drafted with 11 Ur Time Warp loops by Justin RBw discard/reanimator by Ash
Yeah I remember we are on opposite sides here 😄 I do think labeling Ocelot Pride, Ajani, Phlage, and Fable "aggro cards" is a pretty big misrepresentation though - they're rate-monster midrange cards that happen to be cheap
I might be biased, as I'm passionate about and proud of my own Arena cube, but I'm really disappointed in the direction the official ACube has gone. Past iterations had a lot of cool, niche things to discover, but the recent curation has really pushed things into tasteless multicolor Alchemy slop
Possibly most egregious is the negligence of the sacrifice deck. There are, by my count, four blood artist effects and seven recursive black creatures. There are NO SACRIFICE OUTLETS. n o n e. Zero. The closest I can get is ch3 of Scavenger's Talent or Soul Shredder from your graveyard.
The Alchemy cards are really what push it over the edge for me. They share a lot with the worst of MH3 - very strong effects pasted on egregiously pushed rates. On top of that, these cards are notoriously underrated by most drafters, meaning you can get the best of them for close to free
TRIPLE fetches last iteration made fixing too good - the correct strategy was usually to take fixing, busted MH3 cards, busted Alchemy cards, and play them all. They culled the worst of MH3 (except NADU?), but the Alchemy cards made out completely unscathed
Updates to the official Arena cube is here. I was really unhappy with the direction of the cube last iteration, and the new changes don't seem to address any of those issues, and in fact seem to make them worse magic.wizards.com/en/news/mtg-...
41-40 is scorigami, congrats everybody
Content warning non-magic I suppose. Do people know I'm a die hard NFL fan?
If I had a nickel for every time my football team with a quarterback wearing #10 upset their dominant division rival in week 1 of 2025 I would have two nickels
I'll have to see the vibes of the OM1 cards, but current plan is to focus on the OM1 names but also reference the SPM name - "[OM1 name], [SPM name] in Spider-Man, 2W 3/3..." etc
youtube www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB7b...
Youtube is late again 🫠 Spotify - open.spotify.com/episode/0Dwk... Linktree - linktr.ee/roughdrafts
Grab bag episode for EOE! I talk through a handful of sweet interactions at commons, plus why you should be a little more willing to play a Quench.
drafting my arena cube :) www.twitch.tv/samp_mtg
WBu planeswalkers by Will (the illegible card in the top left is Mother of Runes lol)
WBu planeswalkers by Will (the illegible card in the top left is Mother of Runes lol)
Ub by me! Got to put together the Cryptic Command/Mystic Sanctuary loop several times and it felt just as good as I had hoped 😁
Ub by me! Got to put together the Cryptic Command/Mystic Sanctuary loop several times and it felt just as good as I had hoped 😁
This stupid spider man card is making me so mad Ditch the "up to" and make it cost six and suddenly the card is resonant and memorable Hex turns 20 this year
Had to upload to Youtube manually but it's up now! www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLjO...
Me opening Shotcut to try to put audio over a static image because my Youtube RSS integration is broken
I'm working on it 😭 youtube is being annoying
BR Rock by LastAbzan! You love to see a normal black midrange deck winning
BR Rock by LastAbzan! You love to see a normal black midrange deck winning
Firing a draft of my Arena cube! come hang :) www.twitch.tv/samp_mtg
Youtube will be up soon Spotify - open.spotify.com/episode/0tVC... Linktree - linktr.ee/roughdrafts
Red week! Drafting red in EOE really clicked for me this week - tune in to learn why you shouldn't be afraid to get deep into the color, and why you should be building your decks around a 7 mana 4/4.
I have a LOT of thoughts and feelings about the SPM set, which I'm saving for a podcast episode, but none of them are positive. I was planning to jam a few weeks of the format to give it a shot but I'm 🤏this close to completely skipping it
The official Pick-Two format description instructs stores to run only two rounds of draft - "players should play two rounds" What the fuck? Drafts are already 20% more expensive because they're UB and players only get to play 2/3rds the amount of Magic? magic.wizards.com/en/formats/p...
Lil paper cube heater, back to back trophies, UG channel/food chain in a friend's BUG cube, WR phlage midrange with kiki combo in a combo-focused cube. Bring on cubecon baby
We broke it for sure
This week's #mtgcube article is a deep dive on synergy: how it works, why that matters, and design tips for making the synergies of your dreams! luckypaper.co/articles/cub...
There's a user catscandal in the LLU discord that occasionally writes BANGER articles about limited. This one on WU midrange in EOE is no exception abitterblossom.wordpress.com/2025/08/22/a...
Wx Ancient Tomb aggro by yours truly :) I love Michiko's Reign of Truth so much
Wx Ancient Tomb aggro by yours truly :) I love Michiko's Reign of Truth so much
that's me!
I forgot how nice it is to wake up on a Saturday and throw on a magic tournament!
The direct was taken down, with an announcement that it will be back up later, but they erroneously put up the Standard Arena Direct event in the meantime I also missed that they bungled the Anthology release earlier this week
(slight correction, I believe it's the direct not the play-in that's broken) I would be embarrassed if I were the one running this, but sadly it likely comes down to Arena being run on a bare-minimum staff enjoy your arena direct boxes 🙃🎰
The amount of errors in Arena events is baffling The weekly announcements are riddled with mistakes. The event calendar is useless Draft 2 of the Open was launched with the wrong w/l format last weekend The play-in today is currently broken QW tomorrow was scheduled with the wrong format
Is phlage over tinker even controversial? I'm pretty checked out of vcube
Nice lil vintage cube trophy, took p1p1 phlage over tinker knowing you just get passed all the good aggro cards week 1 lol
Youtube fixed itself? www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka74...
Youtube is unfortunately delayed, having issues with my RSS feed :( I may upload it manually later today Spotify - open.spotify.com/episode/3orm... Linktree - linktr.ee/roughdrafts
This week I'm diving into Perigee Beckoner, one of the sweetest black commons in EOE, and exploring the myriad of combos and synergy this card provides.
Usually smaller packages but yeah! Table had a lot of synergy
yeah someone brought a whole monoblack package 💀
Trophied with monoblack! The mismatched sleeves look and feel awesome
Currency Converter and Grist tho 👀👀👀👀
Quick and dirty list of cards I'm looking to add - left are locks, right I have concerns There's a bigger conversation about the cube's philosophy to be had as well... bump it up to 540? Add an artifact deck? Re-add power outliers like Guide and Frog? Overwhelming 😅
Wizards dropped an INSANE double anthology packed with cubeable cards that I've been waiting for for my Arena cube. I don't know if I'm more excited or overwhelmed! magic.wizards.com/en/news/mtg-...
Stone soup drafting tomorrow! Everyone brings 45 cards and you mash em together to make a cube. Pretty sure my friends are not going to bring enough lands or interaction, so I'm loading up on both while also supporting Arcanist and Micromancer.
I was relieved to not have seen this until a few hours AFTER I recorded 😅 my confidence would have been shot lol
Youtube - www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEDs... Spotify - open.spotify.com/episode/02IH... Linktree - linktr.ee/roughdrafts
As the format develops, I turn to an old Magic strategy article for gameplay guidance. More specifically, I'm examining how managing your life total (and your opponents'!) can lend you a big leg up in Edge of Eternities.
Today time for some theoretical ramblings. Can colorless cards improve draft experience? Could they be the mechanism that evens out the playing field, providing more to underperforming color pairs? I will try to convince you that they might using some data and speculation. 1/13
Really enjoyed this, excited to see what you cook up next :)
I'm slightly above wishing financial ruin on people, but I do hope that everyone who participated in the Arena Direct felt regret at wasting their weekend playing bo1 sealed 😇
I released a podcast about how to deal with losing then ripped four straight bo1 trophies lol
I think that's the tricky part about it, the first pack was weak enough I know multiple people will be happy with some of the white cards, which makes me want to stay open with Hound, but the upside on Delicacy is so high!
