Allied Strategies Magic The Gathering Podcast

This week we’re taking a look at the archetypes in Throne of Eldraine – the payoffs, the enablers, and the color combinations they work best in! Of course we haven’t played any games yet, but hopefully this episode will give you a good starting point for your first few drafts of the format. Be warned, […]

This week we’re examining more Throne of Eldraine cards – it turns out that the ones we’re most interested in talking about are almost all Black, so if you’re a fan of Swamps, this episode is for you! Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

This week we’re talking about more Throne of Eldraine cards, while Sam is on a weird thing about “The” correctly being used or omitted in card names. Here are the cards we covered this week: Witch’s Vengeance, Opportunistic Dragon, Epic Downfall, Greedy Impulse, Harmonious Archon, Giant Killer, Charming Prince, Robber of the Rich (with a tangent into Outlaws’ Merriment), and Once Upon a […]

This week we’re talking about the new mechanics from Throne of Eldraine and some cards we think are exciting from the spoiler so far. We’ve also got some predictions about future mechanics based on what we’ve seen of this set, and some flavor critiques and other assorted nonsense thrown in for good measure. Download this […]

This week we’re covering recent events – the Banned and Restricted list changes as well as the new Organized Play system! Check those out here: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/august-26-2019-banned-and-restricted-announcement-2019-08-26 and here: https://www.magic.gg/news/the-future-of-magic-esports Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

Figuring out what’s in your opponent’s hand is both vital and difficult. This week we’re sharing some tips and techniques that you can use to help identify what might be in their hand – and what to do about it! Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

Modern Horizons was an extremely important Magic set for the state of the game, and this week we’re taking a retrospective look at it. Was the idea good? Was the implementation good? How would we like them to proceed with the Modern Masters legacy going forward? Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

Jon Stern joins us this week to talk all about a shared passion we share outside of Magic – Board games! Here’s a list of the games we talk about in this episode: Hanabi Biblios Onitama 7 Wonders Duel Puerto Rico Quacks of Quedlinburg Clank! Bridge Spirit Island Agricola Join us again next week for […]

Find out the full scoop on the Hogaak deck that Ben and Sam played at the Mythic Championship, as well as the other variants of the deck. We also cover the directions this powerful archetype can be taken in upcoming Modern tournaments – at least until the next Banned & Restricted announcement! Download this episode […]

This week, Sam breaks down the decks he was considering for the Mythic Championship that’s getting underway in Barcelona! This episode was recorded a while in advance for scheduling reasons, so we’ll catch back up with Sam and Ben next week to see how their team’s thinking evolved between the time of the recording and […]

Grand Prix Champion Neal Oliver returns to the show to talk about M20 draft – find the lists of cards discussed here: https://pastebin.com/1eERMaQr Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

This week, Bridge from Below was banned from Modern. We’re using this to lead into a larger discussion of what kind of cards should be banned in which formats and the types of cards we expect to see banned going forward. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

This week we’re taking a look at a new strategy that is exciting in Standard – Scapeshift! Enabled by Field of the Dead, Scapeshift can create a horde of Zombies as a one-card win condition. Find out how we think that deck might look in this episode! Here’s a link to the article discussed in […]

The Era of Pro Points has ended. This week we’re taking a retrospective look at the time between now and when we began playing Magic competitively. We hope you enjoy our stories. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

This week we’re reviewing every pick from Shuhei Nakamura’s Top 8 Draft (which Ben was also a participant in!!) from GP Washington DC – follow along here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZRAvRJk2PT3_vGCn8bj7u_gWJGSJ_cAMn-ByhkQxdKk/ Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

This week we’ve been doing some Modern Horizons drafts and we’re sharing our thoughts about which archetypes are strong in the format, and the implications the metagame may have for particular cards in draft. Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

Modern Horizons might bring new decks to the forefront of Modern, or breathe fresh life into older decks that have stagnated as the format’s power level has creeped upwards. Find out some archetypes we think might be among them, and which cards we’re most interested in building around in these new and existing strategies. Download […]

This week’s episode is all about the Mulligan – largely focused on one controversial mulligan in particular made recently by Ross Merriam. Here’s the post he made about it, which we reference heavily during the show: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qJ-c6wVr09evcVdTim09lE_EiHPMSRUkFniyMV0PlMk/ – huge thanks to him for making this reasoning public, which made this episode possible! Download this episode […]

This week we’re taking a look at some of the first spoilers from Modern Horizons! We also share our initial thoughts about the overall design and direction of the set. Find out which cards we’re excited in for both existing and new-to-Modern archetypes! Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)

This week we’re diving into some current events – changes in the structure/composition of the MPL, the Arena Mythic Championships, and our thoughts on the direction of competitive Magic! We also discuss the upcoming MOCS, which is this weekend! Download this episode here! (right click and “save as…”)