Can I get some advice on how to win commander games more consistently? Aggro doesn't seem to work very well, but I like fast games with lots of interactivity.
@@benjaminloyd6056 How consistently do you mean? Commander being a 4-player game means it'd be hard to win more than 25% of the time and usually an indication of mismatched power or skill levels on the table.
@@MrMarnel Thank you for your reply, in the past 2 months I have gained a lot of experience and made some decks to fit my playstyle. So I think I have answered my own question, more or less.
I really like the concept here. Advice for intermediary players is rather rare. Also picking up and expanding upon shorts with long form is a very elegant way of making the channel more consistent and interconnected. I think Anika and Toffel have great energy. Keeping the hosts and guests so diverse is another thing I really enjoy about your work here.
I think pioneer is the sweet spot for new players getting into competative magic at fnm, my daughter loves her burn deck and is starting to get good with it. It's fun watching people discover how risk vs reward works and when to burn face or remove creatures, the standard rotation seems to put people off.
I really like the video. I kind of wish there were more graphics when they were going over the concepts to help reinforce them. Just hearing them is nice, but actually seeing examples from either games or even sideboarding animations would really drive home what they're trying to convey.
Yes, a great video overall, and I really enjoyed it. Breaks down some the the true fundamentals to the game. I like the example he gave where the player decided to take 2 damage, go down to 18, and kill the creature at end step. Sometimes it can be better to keep your options open at the expense of some life. Just like mana, life is a resource and can definitely be utilized to help you win the game. And I completely agree with you, I think those are some great ideas that newer players especially could benefit from.
This was incredibly insightful. MTG isn't my main game currently, but I was surprised how much evergreen advice was in here. Heuristics are a powerful and I think this *little bit slower* concept applies surprisingly well in other TCGs.
A bit more detailed explanation on fighting combo decks: You want disruption and a clock. Even control decks will lose to a combo deck after sideboarding given infinite time. The best time to fight combo decks is before the game. Knowing the most popular combos before you start, and slotting in some cards dedicated to beat that combo. (If in doubt, 3-4 pieces of graveyard hate/hand disruption should do.) If in doubt, just be as aggressive as possible and hope you can kill them before they find their combo. Also, sometimes it's not worth trying to fight specific combos. If your RG deck needs to splash white and include 8 dedicated sideboard cards to beat storm, perhaps it's not worth it.
i love the advice videos. i'd like to see a follow up though where you play a bo3 that can illustrate how to sideboard, how to beat the other type of deck, etc. using pre-cons would make it accessible for everyone as well.
All very good advice. Another heuristic I would recommend to new players is to always wait until the last moment to play a card. For example, you could play a creature during your first main phase, but if that creature doesn't have haste or any other abilities that will be relevant during the combat phase, it will be better to just hold onto the card and play it during the second main phase. This leaves your mana available to play a combat trick or other instant during combat, and even if you don't have any interactive cards, leaving your mana open still might make your opponent *think* that you have something, and could trick them into making a worse defensive play. Likewise, if you do have a combat trick, wait until the opportune time to cast that too. Often it's better to wait until the opponent has already declared blockers in a combat they thought was a good trade for them, and then you turn it in your favor at the last second. Don't reveal anything until the latest possible moment. This gives your opponent fewer opportunities to play around your cards. Honestly, I even apply this rule to land drops. If you're going into the mid to late game and you top deck a land, don't play it unless you can foresee yourself needing it in the immediate future. I've won games by tricking my opponent into thinking that the land I'd been holding onto the last few turns was a big removal or other interactive spell, causing them to make some slower sub-optimal plays. Sometimes the threat of interaction is more beneficial than having an extra land on the field.
When I first started playing back in 2008 and got my first bundle of worldwake I was all about white decks of some sort cause I was all about life gain this was before I understood more about building decks and became a fan of white/ black and white/red decks which taught me in time that I was really more into red bad burn decks mixed with usually black for graveyard manipulation or red/ green. I like to stay aggressive and end things quickly usually. I like looking at my hand and seeing that no matter what they pull I can remove it or go straight for their life depending on how it plays. Sorry for the book I wrote there lol basically looking for input and advice thx have a great day!
My favorite advice is just slow down. I have made so many mistakes because I start thinking that I need to make my choices fast when I find the right line after I act instead of thinking through my next few moves
This is great! I feel like if it his was a "how to sideboard in Pioneer" video it sort of wouldn't work. This way, using broad strokes then lets the player make the decision per matchup as they learn rather than getting caught up in the minutiae in the video!
Absolutely loved this video! As a pioneer player trying out and learning more competitive magic this was just perfect! Super fun and super useful, would love to see more.
@@BonesofGoldSkateboarding Mostly Mono Red Obosh which has been falling off the meta. Have been noodling around with the Big Red Fires of Invention deck and Esper Greasefang.
Are you playing it more agro with creature or are you playing it ore control/proliferate? If it’s creature heavy I’d say it’s an agro deck, if it’s more about proliferating it’s gonna more of a control/midrange deck. I just made a really fun UB Poison/Proliferate deck in pauper, and it’s a solid mid range control, leaning more on the control side.
Best advice I ever heard: If your playing tempo, don't tempo to far from your opponents, that way they don't board wipe, and if they do, you still have cards in hand or mana to react. If you play combos, blow up your opponents enablers, draw engines, and scalers. If you're playing red blue copies, your gonna loose. But your gonna have a lot of fun.
I play B/W tokens and have so since 2016, the deck's nowhere near as viable in modern as it used to be, but it really taught me that I didn't always need to go all in aggro, especially against control. Sometimes its best just to play one token generator and smash face while making my opponents waste their card advantage.
Is nine life + solemnity a real deck? I feel like there is too many ways to destroy nine life without targeting it directly. Maybe i'm the odd one who sometime maindeck snapdax put I feel, nine life is more like a party trick than anything. (which is good for combo deck. I hate randomly losing on turn 4)
For those doubting it, it's logical ! The more non-land cards in your hand, the more lands in your deck, and therefore the more chance you have to draw a land. 🥸
Aggro and control is technicly the same, even if most players dont like to hear it. Control are stalling the game by limiting the options the enemy has so that he gets to his strong phase, Aggro on the other hand controls the game by deciding the tempo of the game, since if the others life is too low he has to make like he sayed worse decisions to react to your plays. Its a different side of the same coin both want to control the game by deciding the what the enemy has to do the only difference is how that control is played out ( by controlling the enemys cardplays or by deciding the tempo)
I mean, I see what you’re saying, but it seems like somewhat of an arbitrary similarity. Like you could say any deck is the same as any other deck since they both attempt to “control” who wins the game. Imo it doesn’t make much sense to define aggro as the same as control since your gameplan completely changes depending on which deck you face.
It's a good thing to understand, but I think you phrased it in a misunderstood way. Aggro and control aren't the same, they're just similar in that one way. They both care about the game's clock and about pressuring the opponent in different ways.
@@Tacklepig Its more like that control is a pretty bad name since aggro is technicly a control deck by controlling (or trying to) the game speed. the ways you do it in these types of decks is different but in the end its the same thing forcing the opponent to play around your rules.
🔥 Decklists and more: bit.ly/3IYp7QG
Can I get some advice on how to win commander games more consistently? Aggro doesn't seem to work very well, but I like fast games with lots of interactivity.
@@benjaminloyd6056 How consistently do you mean? Commander being a 4-player game means it'd be hard to win more than 25% of the time and usually an indication of mismatched power or skill levels on the table.
@@MrMarnel Thank you for your reply, in the past 2 months I have gained a lot of experience and made some decks to fit my playstyle. So I think I have answered my own question, more or less.
I really like the concept here. Advice for intermediary players is rather rare. Also picking up and expanding upon shorts with long form is a very elegant way of making the channel more consistent and interconnected. I think Anika and Toffel have great energy. Keeping the hosts and guests so diverse is another thing I really enjoy about your work here.
5:35 got me for a second, went to check whether now was the time to grab Teferi!
totally feel you, ended up in disappointment
I think pioneer is the sweet spot for new players getting into competative magic at fnm, my daughter loves her burn deck and is starting to get good with it. It's fun watching people discover how risk vs reward works and when to burn face or remove creatures, the standard rotation seems to put people off.
The best advice is to be lucky, keep the risky hands that just need to top deck a land. Remember 90% of gamblers quit before winning big.
instructions unclear: I started gambling, lost a rents worth of money and still suck at mtg
@@Katzenweitwurf ah, you started buying double masters packs
Terrible advice.
😅 Magic is totally gambling...which is why I don't play for money. You never know the interactions you're going to face
@@SwedeRacerDC it's a game with variance but it's skill based. Like every competitive game better players win more often.
I really like the video. I kind of wish there were more graphics when they were going over the concepts to help reinforce them. Just hearing them is nice, but actually seeing examples from either games or even sideboarding animations would really drive home what they're trying to convey.
Yes, a great video overall, and I really enjoyed it. Breaks down some the the true fundamentals to the game. I like the example he gave where the player decided to take 2 damage, go down to 18, and kill the creature at end step. Sometimes it can be better to keep your options open at the expense of some life. Just like mana, life is a resource and can definitely be utilized to help you win the game. And I completely agree with you, I think those are some great ideas that newer players especially could benefit from.
This was incredibly insightful. MTG isn't my main game currently, but I was surprised how much evergreen advice was in here. Heuristics are a powerful and I think this *little bit slower* concept applies surprisingly well in other TCGs.
5:34 so what’s up with these prices lol?
A bit more detailed explanation on fighting combo decks:
You want disruption and a clock. Even control decks will lose to a combo deck after sideboarding given infinite time.
The best time to fight combo decks is before the game. Knowing the most popular combos before you start, and slotting in some cards dedicated to beat that combo. (If in doubt, 3-4 pieces of graveyard hate/hand disruption should do.)
If in doubt, just be as aggressive as possible and hope you can kill them before they find their combo.
Also, sometimes it's not worth trying to fight specific combos. If your RG deck needs to splash white and include 8 dedicated sideboard cards to beat storm, perhaps it's not worth it.
i love the advice videos. i'd like to see a follow up though where you play a bo3 that can illustrate how to sideboard, how to beat the other type of deck, etc. using pre-cons would make it accessible for everyone as well.
All very good advice.
Another heuristic I would recommend to new players is to always wait until the last moment to play a card.
For example, you could play a creature during your first main phase, but if that creature doesn't have haste or any other abilities that will be relevant during the combat phase, it will be better to just hold onto the card and play it during the second main phase. This leaves your mana available to play a combat trick or other instant during combat, and even if you don't have any interactive cards, leaving your mana open still might make your opponent *think* that you have something, and could trick them into making a worse defensive play.
Likewise, if you do have a combat trick, wait until the opportune time to cast that too. Often it's better to wait until the opponent has already declared blockers in a combat they thought was a good trade for them, and then you turn it in your favor at the last second. Don't reveal anything until the latest possible moment. This gives your opponent fewer opportunities to play around your cards.
Honestly, I even apply this rule to land drops. If you're going into the mid to late game and you top deck a land, don't play it unless you can foresee yourself needing it in the immediate future. I've won games by tricking my opponent into thinking that the land I'd been holding onto the last few turns was a big removal or other interactive spell, causing them to make some slower sub-optimal plays. Sometimes the threat of interaction is more beneficial than having an extra land on the field.
So true ! I always play too fast empty my hand and reveal my game play! I should change to mono red cause it’s really hard for me to holdback 😢
Pretty much the first tip he gave, about waiting with the lighting bolt. He just didn’t give 7 other examples to reiterate.
Anika seems to really like Toffel. Lovely to watch. :)
I'm so happy to see Anika back on the channel!
When I first started playing back in 2008 and got my first bundle of worldwake I was all about white decks of some sort cause I was all about life gain this was before I understood more about building decks and became a fan of white/ black and white/red decks which taught me in time that I was really more into red bad burn decks mixed with usually black for graveyard manipulation or red/ green. I like to stay aggressive and end things quickly usually. I like looking at my hand and seeing that no matter what they pull I can remove it or go straight for their life depending on how it plays. Sorry for the book I wrote there lol basically looking for input and advice thx have a great day!
My favorite advice is just slow down. I have made so many mistakes because I start thinking that I need to make my choices fast when I find the right line after I act instead of thinking through my next few moves
It's kind of like chess in that aspect. Sometimes the best thing to do is make choices that give you time and space to gather more information.
this is the ideal but arena players give you the "you're go"
Great video, please make more of these!
Gabriel Nassif applies this principle to life, to great success.
Who's the beatdown? Great and timeless article.
Very nice vid, keep it up!!
This is great! I feel like if it his was a "how to sideboard in Pioneer" video it sort of wouldn't work. This way, using broad strokes then lets the player make the decision per matchup as they learn rather than getting caught up in the minutiae in the video!
more pioneer content!!
Love the format, you guys should go even more like deck types and how they are usually played.
The Real Question is where can a find that 0,25 Teferi?
Cool advise, thanks vor the thoughts 👍
Love the concept, would like to see a bit more B roll footage or actual in person gameplay.
Absolutely loved this video!
As a pioneer player trying out and learning more competitive magic this was just perfect! Super fun and super useful, would love to see more.
What deck do you play ?
@@BonesofGoldSkateboarding Mostly Mono Red Obosh which has been falling off the meta. Have been noodling around with the Big Red Fires of Invention deck and Esper Greasefang.
thanks for the advice!
How would you classify ug toxic in Pioneer?
Are you playing it more agro with creature or are you playing it ore control/proliferate? If it’s creature heavy I’d say it’s an agro deck, if it’s more about proliferating it’s gonna more of a control/midrange deck. I just made a really fun UB Poison/Proliferate deck in pauper, and it’s a solid mid range control, leaning more on the control side.
More pioneer tricks and tips please 🎉
wth are the "ONE PH" no description cryptic writing cards, that seem to be extras but have normal backside
Best advice I ever heard:
If your playing tempo, don't tempo to far from your opponents, that way they don't board wipe, and if they do, you still have cards in hand or mana to react.
If you play combos, blow up your opponents enablers, draw engines, and scalers.
If you're playing red blue copies, your gonna loose. But your gonna have a lot of fun.
I play izzet wizard jank brew and I usually lose but it’s fun indeed !
I play B/W tokens and have so since 2016, the deck's nowhere near as viable in modern as it used to be, but it really taught me that I didn't always need to go all in aggro, especially against control. Sometimes its best just to play one token generator and smash face while making my opponents waste their card advantage.
High level magic is the best level of magic!
Is nine life + solemnity a real deck? I feel like there is too many ways to destroy nine life without targeting it directly. Maybe i'm the odd one who sometime maindeck snapdax put I feel, nine life is more like a party trick than anything. (which is good for combo deck. I hate randomly losing on turn 4)
I love this kind of content 👍🍉🤣
Never mulligan, 7 is always better than 6, you are gonna draw that land trust me 🤠
For those doubting it, it's logical !
The more non-land cards in your hand, the more lands in your deck, and therefore the more chance you have to draw a land. 🥸
But what if my hand is all lands.
She gets it.
So mid range control theoretically is the best
your editor needs to fix those card prices. They're $25 not .25
Chandra should be about $3 I think, no clue about elspeth and 5feri tho
@@fosterdawson7339 i only checked Teferi and its 25
In fact combo is part of the triangle and midrange is the outlier
lol whut
Hahaha
That's fine, but can my opponents play faster? Lol.
Aggro and control is technicly the same, even if most players dont like to hear it. Control are stalling the game by limiting the options the enemy has so that he gets to his strong phase, Aggro on the other hand controls the game by deciding the tempo of the game, since if the others life is too low he has to make like he sayed worse decisions to react to your plays. Its a different side of the same coin both want to control the game by deciding the what the enemy has to do the only difference is how that control is played out ( by controlling the enemys cardplays or by deciding the tempo)
I mean, I see what you’re saying, but it seems like somewhat of an arbitrary similarity. Like you could say any deck is the same as any other deck since they both attempt to “control” who wins the game. Imo it doesn’t make much sense to define aggro as the same as control since your gameplan completely changes depending on which deck you face.
It's a good thing to understand, but I think you phrased it in a misunderstood way.
Aggro and control aren't the same, they're just similar in that one way. They both care about the game's clock and about pressuring the opponent in different ways.
@@Tacklepig Its more like that control is a pretty bad name since aggro is technicly a control deck by controlling (or trying to) the game speed. the ways you do it in these types of decks is different but in the end its the same thing forcing the opponent to play around your rules.
@@Gorn21 Every deck tries to control the speed of the game in some way. That’s not a useful thing to say by itself.
@@masonwhitehead7203 exactly
Unrealted, but please find a reason to bring Riley for a few videos. Only seeing 2/3s or the arena boys feels wrong.
We've already reached out to him and he turned down the offer
Technically, all of Toffel's videos are shorts.
We are doomed.