The best deck in Guilds of Ravnica draft is Dimir Control, and this week we’re providing you with a guide to drafting it. We’ve broken the archetype down into the different effects you’re looking for, and which cards do the best job filling each of those roles. You’ll also learn the order that we prioritize each of those effects, what sorts of filler cards we’re most likely to play, and the cards and colors we’re most interested in splashing for. Finally, we cover the best strategies both with and against Dimir, and some sideboard technology for specific matchups.

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https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/allied-strategies-159.mp3

This week we’re going card-by-card to give you a thorough guide to Bant Spirits, a powerful aggro deck that’s dominated recent Modern tournaments including Grand Prix Detroit where Sam’s team used it to make the finals!

Here’s a link to the decklist if you’d like to follow along: https://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=20093&d=330612

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https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/allied-strategies-158.mp3

It’s turn 3. Your 2/2 is staring down your opponent’s 2/2. Should you attack? The answer requires an understanding of your role – are you the aggressor or are you the defender? This episode defines those terms and arms you with the tools you need to answer that question for yourself. We cover how roles interact with deck construction, and how to update your assessments as the events of each game of magic unfold, starting with your opening hand!

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https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/allied-strategies-157.mp3

Multicolored sets tend to create complicated draft environments, and Guilds of Ravnica looks to be no exception. This week, we’ve picked out some cards to discuss that we think might highlight some of the different options available to you at the draft table. We also cover some adjustments we’re making to our baseline evaluation of certain effects to reflect the impact that some of the new mechanics might have on the game.

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https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/allied-strategies-156.mp3

The full spoiler for Guilds of Ravnica is out and there are dozens of cards (and millions of lines of text on them) that are interesting in the context of Standard. Join us this week as we select a few such cards and discuss their potential merits in the post-rotation world. You may also get a leg up on your competition as you learn from Ben’s mistakes how the cards actually function rather than how they would function if you were illiterate.

We’ve also made some changes to our Patreon rewards and added an exciting new tier of benefits – check it out over at https://www.patreon.com/alliedstrategies

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https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/allied-strategies-155.mp3

Sam Pardee breaks down the nuances of the aggro matchup against control on this week’s episode. You’ll learn how to change your plan of attack against your control opponent based on the specifics of each player’s deck. We’ll also cover the complicated art of playing around sweepers and countermagic, cards that your control opponents are sure to be playing and about which you’ll need to make tough choices to play into. Finally, we’ll dive into how the matchup can change with the introduction of the sideboard. The episode is full of examples from current and past Standards, Modern, and even a bit of Legacy!

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https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/allied-strategies-154.mp3

How will the mechanics of Guilds of Ravnica play in the limited environment? We’ve analyzed each of them individually to bring you thorough predictions about how they’ll play, what patterns they’ll incentivize, and how highly you’ll need to prioritize certain effects. We also discussed the tension or accord created by mechanics overlapping in colors, and how that could lead to fierce competition over certain types of cards in draft while leaving other powerful effects to the only drafter at the table who is interested.

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https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/allied-strategies-153.mp3

Sam Pardee joins the show this week to dive deep into the nuances of Red decks in Standard. Many guides lump all Red decks together, but you can gain an edge by figuring out what specific plan your opponent is enacting, and by carefully paying attention to which cards they’ve played you can infer much of their decklist. This episode also goes into how figuring out which specific Red deck you’re up against can inform how you play the match and how you approach the sideboarded games.

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https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/allied-strategies-152.mp3

We took some of the best Banter/End Story content from the past 20 or so episodes and condensed it into a 20 minute compilation. Don’t worry, our regularly scheduled content is still coming later this week, this is a bonus! Let us know what you think about this sort of content and if it’s something you’d like to hear more of in the future.

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https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/allied-strategies-compilation-1.mp3

For the past month or so, we’ve been collecting your questions on a variety of Magic and not-so-Magic topics, and today we’re answering them all!

Today we’re also saying goodbye to Neal – he’s transitioning from being a co-host to a listener due to Magic becoming a smaller part of his life. We’re so thankful for all the heart he’s poured into this podcast over the past three years, and we wish him nothing but the best going forward.

Ben and Tristan plan to continue the show, and we’re looking to add a new host to bring our number back to three so that we can continue to always gang up on one person, as is tradition. To that end, we’ve got an exciting guest lined up for next week who may even become our new co-host!

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http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/alliedstrategiespodcast.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/allied-strategies-151.mp3