The Draft Lab Podcast

Episode 84: Reviewing $2000 Arena Open Winning Draft

Sun, 28 May 2023 19:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris sit down to go over the draft that won Chris $2000 during the last Arena Open.

You can follow along at:
https://www.17lands.com/draft/0cf4a965cbeb474fb1a07f7825898bcd

Episode 83: Playing Around Things

Tue, 16 May 2023 16:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris sit down to talk about playing around everything from sweepers to counter spells.

Episode 82: Red Aggro in MOM with Dafore

Mon, 08 May 2023 10:00:00 -0400

Josh bring on Draft Lab member Dafore to discuss his success with playing aggressive red decks in March of the Machine limited.

Episode 81: Navigating MOM Drafts

Sat, 29 Apr 2023 22:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris got together earlier this week to do some March of the Machine drafts. You can follow along with the first draft at: https://www.17lands.com/draft/b6b97c00a1134241a1eb710792965d50
You can follow along with the second draft at: https://www.17lands.com/draft/7be191e3d5704632987bac7e298c3191

Episode 80: March of the Machine First Impressions

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 12:00:00 -0400

Josh finally corralled Chris into recording an episode. We sit down to talk about how MOM has been playing out for us so far.

Episode 78: Taking Your Medicine to Draft Better

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 21:00:00 -0400

Josh managed to convince Chris to sit down to discuss taking your medicine in limited. Basically it's when you play a format you may not enjoy (Hmm...One anyone?) to learn different lessons that you may not have found in formats you are more comfortable in. Also BeersSC did all the real work for this episode so if you hate it, complain to him.

Episode 77: Winning with Dimir in ONE with Dafore

Sat, 04 Mar 2023 21:00:00 -0500

Josh brings on Dafore to discuss his recent streak of burning out his opponents with Dimir in ONE drafts. Yeah, I said burning.

Episode 76: ONE cards that the data lies about

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 21:00:00 -0500

Chris returns from his many adventures to sit down with Josh to talk about cards that have been performing differently for them than the stats are saying. They try to figure out the truth of the situation.

Episode 75: Talking about ONE

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 20:00:00 -0500

Sorry for the delays everyone, real life has been insane for the last few weeks. This was actually recorded last week with Tajoordan coming on to talk about how Phyrexia: All Will Be One has been treating us.

Episode 73: Phyrexia All Will be One Mechanics

Sun, 22 Jan 2023 21:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris sit down to talk about the mechanics of Phyrexia: All Will Be One. Josh also traumatizes Chris by showing him some of the rares from the upcoming set.

Episode 72: Returning to Kaldheim with BeersSC

Sat, 14 Jan 2023 22:00:00 -0500

Josh brings BeersSC on to discuss Kaldheim limited before the upcoming premier drafts and Arena open. Chris was not able to talk long enough to join so he sat this one out.

Episode 71: Post Holiday Mailbag

Sun, 08 Jan 2023 22:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris stumble out of their holiday stupors to answer some of the questions that you all sent in. Hopefully we'll be back on a regular schedule now that the holidays are finally over.

Episode 69: The Anatomy of a Draft

Sat, 17 Dec 2022 23:00:00 -0500

It's a Christmas miracle as Chris actually did something by writing an episode breaking down the anatomy of a draft. Of course Josh is there too(and awesome per usual), but this is Chris's opportunity to shine.

Episode 68: Winning By Just Enough with JoeJohn

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 23:00:00 -0500

Josh brings on friend of the lab JoeJohn to discuss winning by just enough. You're probably wondering what gator related shenanigan Chris got into this time, but you're just going to have to listen to find out.

Episode 67: Re-Evaluating Data with Sierkovitz

Fri, 02 Dec 2022 23:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris bring data enthusiast Sierkovitz on to discuss the current place of data in limited. This would have been up earlier in the week, but as you will find out there was a conspiracy to make this episode difficult to edit. Thanks guys...

Episode 66: The Brothers' War First Impressions

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 10:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris sit down to discuss their first impressions of the Brother's War.

This was actually recorded near the end of last week, but real life has been crazy so it didn't get edited until now. We'll be back to a more normal schedule next week.

Episode 64: Brothers War Mechanics and First Looks

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 20:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris fit a bunch of stuff into a short episode. They review the DMU predictions to see if they were geniuses or idiots before going over the mechanics of Brothers War. They then discuss some individual BRO cards that have caught their eye. Plus we make more Bro jokes than we'd care to admit.

Episode 63: Incremental Improvement with SmallSam27

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 23:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris bring on SmallSam27 to discuss incremental improvement in limited. It turns into an open conversation about methods to analyze your own decks and play skill. We also do all our normal stuff too.

Episode 62: Innovating Archetypes with BeersSC

Sun, 23 Oct 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris bring in BeersSC to talk about the process of innovating draft archetypes. They discuss ways to do it from the beginning of a format and even how to evolve existing ones to stay ahead of the meta.

Episode 61: Reviewing $2000 Arena Open Drafts with Dafore

Sat, 08 Oct 2022 23:00:00 -0400

Josh brings Dafore on to talk through both of his day two drafts from the Arena Open where he won $2000.
You can follow along at:
Draft 1
https://www.17lands.com/draft/173ddeb68a85484189903c8efdeab959
Draft 2
https://www.17lands.com/draft/22a0dae4fd654c448b703ce18e69a11c

No episode next week as Josh is taking a mini vacation with some friends, but don't worry he'll be back the week after that for more shenanigans.

Episode 60: Hidden Gems of Dominaria United Limited

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 23:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris sit down to chat about some of the hidden gems of Dominaria United Limited. Sorry about the short episode, but Josh is in the middle of a hurricane.

Episode 59: So You Want to Splash? with JJohn

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 20:00:00 -0400

Josh brings on JJohn to discuss the intricacies of splashing in your draft deck. While the focus is on Dominaria United, the concepts discussed are applicable in many limited settings.

Episode 58: Navigating a Dominaria United Draft

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 11:00:00 -0400

Josh catches Chris in the middle of packing for yet another vacation, but manages to convince him to at least sit down to walk you all through a draft of Dominaria United.

Episode 57: Dominaria United Draft First Impressions

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris sit down to talk over their first impressions of Dominaria United Draft. We also do our usual pack 1 pick 1, Bounty, Cool Play of the Week, and Chris's Bad Beat.

Episode 56 Dominaria United Predictions with Sierkovitz and Tajoordan

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 21:00:00 -0400

Chris went cruising so Josh brings in Sierkovitz and Tajoordan to talk about how they think Dominaria United is going to play out. This episode was actually recorded last Sunday, but our editor (aka me) was crazy busy.

Episode 55: Dominaria United Mechanics and First Look

Wed, 24 Aug 2022 13:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris take their first look at some of the cards from Dominaria United. They discuss the mechanics and some cards that caught their eye.

Episode 54: The winners and losers of the Baldur's Gate Rebalance

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 17:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris sit down to discuss the winners and losers of the HBG rebalance which includes plenty of cards that weren't actually rebalanced. We also do all of our other normal shenanigans.

Episode 53: Underappreciated Archetypes of HBG

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 23:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris talk through some of the underappreciated archetypes in HBG and why they like to get a little cray cray.

Episode 52: Bo1 vs B03 Debate with NCAA

Fri, 05 Aug 2022 19:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris welcome NCAA onto the podcast to discuss which is better Bo1 or Bo3. Who was declared the winner after a knockdown, drag out, battle royale? You'll have to tune in to find out. Oh and I'm sure Josh makes a bunch of snarky comments too, but he also said the wrong number for the episode so he doesn't have much ground to stand on, now does he.

Episode 51: HBG Over and Underperformers

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 22:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris sit down to talk about which cards are performing better than they predicted as well as which ones aren't quite living up to expectations. We also do all our usual stuff like a pack 1 pick 1, cool play of the week, and Chris's Bad Beat.

Episode 50: Emptying the Mail Bag Anniversary Show

Thu, 21 Jul 2022 23:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris answer the listeners crazy questions while celebrating 50 episodes of shenanigans. It ranges from legitimate magic strategy to things that Chris shouldn't answer on the air.

Episode 49: Baldur's Gate First Impressions with Ekil

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 19:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris welcome founding Draft Lab member to the podcast for the first time to discuss all of their first impressions of the Alchemy Horizons Baldur's Gate limited format.

Episode 48: HBG Hypotheses

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 18:00:00 -0400

Josh and Tajoordan go over their hypotheses (or predictions) for Alchemy Horizons Baldur's Gate limited. Chris is on a much deserved vacation, but should be returning next week.

Episode 47: Alchemy Horizons Baldurs Gate Mechanics and first look

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 18:00:00 -0400

Josh brings back Tajoordan to sub in for Chris who assured me his absence was not related to Gators this time. They look over the mechanics of Alchemy Horizons Baldur's Gate and discuss some of the cards that were spoiled at the time of recording.

Episode 46: What makes a good draft format?

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 20:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris talk about the different aspects of what makes a draft format good or bad. They also basically ignore SNC because no one wants to hear about that anymore.

Episode 45: Navigating a SNC Draft

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 23:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris talk you through their thought process as they do an SNC Bo3 draft. Will it devolve into a heated argument or will they find common ground on the way to victory? Spoiler alert: We got a trophy with the deck.

Episode 43: Interview with the Icky

Fri, 03 Jun 2022 11:00:00 -0400

Josh brings Icky on to discuss his recent success on the Pro Tour. We talk about some of the new limited alchemy cards before getting into how a limited player transitions to a constructed pro tour including which parts transfer over and how to improve.

Episode 42: Is removal bad?!?

Thu, 26 May 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris bring lab assistant JJohn back on the podcast to talk about whether or not removal is still good in limited. They also spend way too long on a pack one pick one and includes the usual Cool Play of the Week and Chris's Bad Beat.

Episode 41: SNC Over and Underperformers

Wed, 18 May 2022 20:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris discuss which cards have exceeded their expectations as well as which ones have been disappointing. Also contains the usual Pack 1 Pick 1, Cool Play of the Week, and Chris's Bad Beat.

Episode 40: Talking SNC with Dafore

Wed, 11 May 2022 21:00:00 -0400

Josh brings on fellow Draft Lab member Dafore to discuss how he's been dominating the Bo1 queues and his recent SNC Grand Prix win. To answer your question, no we don't know what happened to Chris, but I'm sure he will show back up next week,

Episode 39: SNC Archetypes and First Impressions

Wed, 04 May 2022 14:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris discuss all of the archetypes of Streets of New Capenna draft as well as their first impressions of the format. Also includes weekly update, Pack 1 Pick 1, Cool Play of the Week, and Chris's Bad Beat.

Episode 36: Streets of New Capenna

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 11:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris discuss the upcoming set Streets of New Capenna. They go over the keyword abilities along with how they will play out in limited before discussing a few of the spoiled cards that stand out.

Episode 35: Your Questions, Our Answers

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 16:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris hold a Q&A session to answer some of the deep intellectual questions we received. We also do some Magic stuff...

Episode 34: Navigating NEO Drafts

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 12:00:00 -0500

Josh and the returning Chris help navigate you through some Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty drafts.

You can follow along at:

Bo1 https://www.17lands.com/draft/618b917bf15d4a62b026c92dc7be6969

Bo3 https://www.17lands.com/draft/26607693b6d44b1daace46eb1bbb2ca2

Episode 33: Seeing Red in NEO with TaJoordan

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Josh welcomes TaJoordan to discuss the hottest Zoomer topic of playing mono red in Neon Dynasty to combat all the multicolor saga decks floating around.

Also contains the usual Weekly Update, P1P1, Cool Play of the Week, & "Not" Chris's Bad Beat.

Episode 32: Making the Leap from Good to Great

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 12:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris bring on their buddy JoeJohn to discuss his journey from being an average Arena player to being an 80% win rate gamer. Also includes the usual Weekly Update, P1P1, Cool Play of the Week, and Chris's Bad Beat.

Episode 31: Kamigawa Neon Dynasty Archetypes and First Impressions

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 11:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris go over all of the archetypes in NEO including the current top performing commons in each one. They then discuss their first impressions of the format to offer up some choice tips and tricks.

Episode 27: Discussing Data with Sierkovitz

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 11:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris wanted to talk about the current state of data usage in Magic so they brought in the expert Sierkovitz from 17lands.com. Also contains the normal weekly update, Pack One Pick One, Cool Play of the Week, and Chris's Bad Beat.

Episode 26: Forcing Drafts With Dafore

Sat, 22 Jan 2022 15:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris invite special guest Dafore on to discuss forcing a particular strategy in drafts. Also includes the usual weekly update, Pack One Pick One, Question of the week, Cool Play of the Week, and Chris's Bad Beat.

This was recorded back on the 11th, but our production team was out sick.

Episode 25: Discussing the Roles of Engagement

Sun, 09 Jan 2022 12:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris get together to discuss his recent article Roles of Engagement available at https://mtgazone.com/roles-of-engagement/

This is a great look at the different roles you play in the game and how aggressive you should be during them.

Also contains the usual Cool Play of the Week and Chris's Bad Beat.

Episode 24: This Year in Draft

Fri, 31 Dec 2021 10:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris discuss this year in draft. They go over the their favorite things, what they felt needs changed, and how they would build a limited set. They also answer the question of how a limited only player should prepare for their first Pro Tour.

Episode 23: Navigating Crimson Vow Drafts

Thu, 16 Dec 2021 19:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris walk you through a Bo1 and a Bo3 Innistrad Crimson VOW drafts on Magic: the Gathering Arena. Also contains weekly update, cool play of the week, and Chris's bad beat!

Episode 22: Why'd you make that play?

Thu, 09 Dec 2021 09:00:00 -0500

Josh and Icky discuss the why and why not behind certain plays that they've seen. They go over how to avoid misplays by understanding the reasoning behind it as well as giving you some Arena tips & tricks.

Also includes weekly update, pack one pick one, cool play of the week, Chris's bad beat, and listener questions!

Special background guest star Icky's munchkin who is much more interested in Dinosaurs than Magic!

Episode 21: A Different Perspective on VOW guest starring TaJoordan

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 11:00:00 -0500

This week Josh and Chris welcome special guest TaJoordan to the show. He is well known for finding different perspectives on formats even when they are "solved" so we bring him on to get out of the echo chamber and look at things from an entirely new angle.

Episode 20: VOW Overperformers and Underperformers

Fri, 26 Nov 2021 18:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris go over the updated over and underperformers from Innistrad Crimson Vow. They also answer a listener question about limited heuristics. Also contains P1P1, cool play of the week, and Chris's bad beat.

Episode 19: VOW Archetypes and First Impressions

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 10:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris discuss all ten archetypes of Innistrad Crimson Vow along with which commons are performing well in each one. They also discuss their first impressions of the format.

Episode 18: Innistrad Crimson Vow Commons

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 13:00:00 -0500

Josh and Chris grade and discuss all of the commons from Innistrad: Crimson Vow to help you get prepped for this weeks festivities. Get their hot takes and see where they land on the cards that will be defining this new limited format.

Episode 17: Innistrad Crimson Vow Rares and Mythics

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 21:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris give you their insights on all of the spoiled rares of Innistrad: Crimson Vow. Don't miss out on these initial takes on the hottest vampire wedding of the winter.

Episode 15: Drafting the Right Way

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 07:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris walk you through their methods of drafting the right way. They discuss various points on how Arena has changed their approach to preparing for a format, reading signals, and other key parts of the draft.

Episode 14: Navigating MID Drafts

Wed, 13 Oct 2021 17:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris walk you through their decisions as they do a premier and a traditional Innistrad: Midnight Hunt draft on Arena. They also answer a question about where they rate MID in difficulty to older sets.

Episode 13: Playing Red Spells in MID Draft

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 12:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris bring on fellow Draft Lab Member Dafore_ to discuss his success playing various red spells decks in Innistrad Midnight Hunt. They also determine which monster each member of the Draft Lab is.

Episode 12: MID Over & Under Performers Plus Behavioral Bias

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 11:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris discuss the Over and Under Performers of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt. They also discuss behavioral bias such as how Gamblers Fallacy & Optimism Bias apply to draft.

Episode 11: MID Archetypes & Format First Impressions

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 09:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris discuss the 10 different archetypes of Innistrad Midnight Hunt while ranking them and telling you the key cards to draft for each. They also discuss their first impressions of the format.

Episode 10: Innistrad Midnight Hunt Commons Review

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 20:00:00 -0400

Josh and special guest host Icky review and grade every MID common to help you prep to crush dreams as soon as Innistrad Midnight Hunt drops. Also contains usual weekly update, cool play of the week, and Chris's bad beat.

Episode 9: Innistrad Midnight Hunt Rares and Mythics

Thu, 09 Sep 2021 11:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris review and grade all of the rares and mythics that have been revealed so far for the upcoming Magic: the Gathering set Innistrad: Midnight Hunt (MID). Also contains the usual weekly update, cool play of the week, and Chris's bad beat.

Episode 8: Navigating AFR Drafts

Thu, 02 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris walk you through a pair of AFR drafts while discussing their reasoning for each selection. Spoiler alert: one of them they end up Rakdos. Also includes weekly update, Cool play of the week, and Chris's bad beat.

Episode 7: Overcoming Variance

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris discuss how to overcome variance in Magic: the Gathering. They go over different points that help you boost your win percentage by determining if you really lost to luck or something else. Also includes the normal AFR P1P1, weekly update, cool play of the week, & Chris's bad beat of the week.

Episode 6: Jumpstarting Historic Horizons

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 10:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris discuss playing Jumpstart Historic Horizons on Magic the Gathering Arena. They go over the general details, mechanics, and which decks they want to play. Also contains the normal weekly update, P1P1, cool play of the week, and of course Chris's bad beat of the week.

Episode 5: Amonkhet Remastered Review

Wed, 11 Aug 2021 11:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris were just as surprised as you that we are getting Amonkhet Remastered drafts instead of Historic Horizons. They give a quick review of the different mechanics and archetypes as well as give you tips and tricks for getting ahead in the format.

Episode 4: AFR Q&A with 1cky

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 09:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris invite frequent #1 mythic player 1cky on the show to discuss AFR premier drafts as well as answer questions from listeners and twitch chat. I apologize for the audio issues, they should be corrected by next week.

Episode 3: AFR Data & Draft Tips

Thu, 29 Jul 2021 10:00:00 -0400

Josh & Chris discuss how to look at the available data for Adventures into the Forgotten Realms limited as well as other draft tips for Magic: the Gathering. Of course it also includes the weekly update, cool play of the week, and Chris's bad beat.

Episode 2: AFR Over and Underachievers

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 10:00:00 -0400

Josh and Chris discuss why they think certain cards are performing better or worse than originally expected in Magic: the Gathering Dungeons and Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms limited.

Episode 1: AFR Archetypes

Fri, 16 Jul 2021 11:00:00 -0400

Introduction to the draft lab and a discussion over the 10 archetypes of Dungeons and Dragons Adventures into the Forgotten Realms. This includes discussion of what each archetype is trying to do and the top commons for each one.