Table for 2 - An MTG Arena Podcast

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• Boomers vs. Zoomers at Pro Tour March of the Machine
• Mike Sigrist - best Limited mind
• Thoughts on 3 years of Standard
• KYT and Hayne played in the same chess event
• Surrounding yourself with better players
• Caring about Elo
• What's next for Alex? Toronto RC, Barcelona
• KYT on his first year of being a dad

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- Alex finished in the top 4 of Ottawa Weekend with Esper Legends

- KYT gets Alex to elaborate how one can improve their Magic besides playing infinite games

- Alex answers a Q from Joseph Karani on optimal team size for Pro Tour testing

- Why wearing a mask can give you an edge

- Ranking the top provinces

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Alex and KYT meet up for the first time since COVID for a socially distanced lobster dinner.

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(1:45) Alex talks about playing Temur Reclamation to a PT Online 4 top 8 finish
(4:00) KYT asks Alex to clarify the differences between all the tournaments that have been running
(18:55) KYT gets Alex to go more in-depth on his tourney prep, how'd he know how to adjust
(28:00) Is the format skill intenstive or skill rewarding?
(31:45) KYT comments how well the game is doing - Ikoria & Core Set 2021 doing great
(39:30) What can we learn from the recent chess hype?
(57:45) Alex asks KYT how chess has been going for him, KYT obsessed with exploitative chess

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Apologies on minor mic friction noise

(1:55) Alex details the recent Organized Play announcements and gives his reaction. Is this the death of competitive Magic?
(16:05) Reacting to Matt Sperling's glass-half-full tweet
(31:00) KYT has gotten Alex hooked on two chess streams: GMHikaru & BotezLive
(48:00) Tactics in chess and how it can relate to MTG
(1:01:00) Chess coaches often recommend playing slow games
(1:14:30) Answer a Q by Nikachu on Twitter: why don't MTG players review their games? KYT suggests an improvement routine.
(1:18:00) KYT has identified auto-pilot leaks by recording his poker play

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(0:00) What we've been up to and which games we've been playing
(3:45) Is Alex still a Rival and for how long?
(29:15) What does Alex think of Ikoria and the Companion mechanic?
(57:00) In chess, even the very elite might not play the best move and opt for an easier to play line. Does this happen in MTG?
(1:12:24) KYT links the discussion to poker: some players trying to copy solvers, GTO vs. exploitative
(1:18:00) KYT is happy to see people tweet about being proud to hit 2000+ ratings on MTGO. Can there actually be a mix of ELO in the ladder?

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(0:00) Thoughts on Play Design
(11:45) Reaction to Organized Play announcements - what would Alex do? First 2 vs. best 5?
(29:30) Alex thinks people who were able to mix a job and MTG as a hobby did it right
(31:30) Alex reveals roughly how much he earned as an MPL player in 2019
(1:01:00) London mulligan strategy
(1:11:00) Helping finalnub win a Realease Weekend Limited Grand Prix

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(2:00) How does Alex feel post-Arena Mythic Championship? How hard will he work to get back in the MPL?
(24:00) Success stories vs. survivorship bias. The dark side of MTG addiction.
(38:00) Javier Dominguez - best in the world?
(42:20) Reacting to some OP changes

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(1:45) Reacting to the current landscape of MTG content
(13:10) Tyler Nightingale asks us how we'd get people more invested in the MPL
(21:40) The pressure of the upcoming Arena Mythic Championship, how did Alex prepare
(34:20) Good Game culture, turning emotions on/off
(41:45) Alex is asked what's the difference between him and the average grinder
(53:00) Tactics vs. strategy in Magic
(57:20) Analyzing the Pinnacle odds for the Arena MC. The level of disrepect!

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(2:10) Talking Paul Cheon, he says TF2 photos make him hungry
(5:50) Discussing Strasky
(8:20) Proclaiming retirement and crushing
(17:00) End of an era, emotional feelings at the last MC of its kind
(22:25) What did Alex play at the MC and why
(33:45) Alex says they shouldn't push mechanics that only work with themselves
(40:00) "I think the London Mulligan is a mistake" - Alex
(49:40) Playing the best deck, avoiding testing/data traps

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(2:00) Sergio Ferry wants to know what's the optimal strategy with fractional invites
(15:35) What does Alex think of Pioneer?
(30:20) Alex doesn't sound that enthusiastic about Standard, explains why Oko is not an enjoyable card
(1:00:00) Listener wanted Arena draft advice

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(0:00) Alex is headed to Long Beach, California for MCV! Some Standard talk.
(2:30) Listener Q: how does field size change Alex's deck selection
(6:25) Do pros hate this Standard format? How skill intensive is it?
(10:00) Tips for people fantasy drafting MC5
(15:15) Alex & KYT react to all the news from Riot Games' 10th Year Anniversary Celebration

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(6:00) Old school players crushed Grand Prix Montreal, where's the new wave?
(17:00) How to keep in mind unorthodox usage of cards during a game
(28:30) A popular listener question: how to stay focused for an entire tournament
(43:00) Unconventional card choices in Limited
(47:00) Throne of Eldraine Limited takeaways
(1:00:00) Game theory in drafting

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(10:25) KYT is reading Range by David Epstein and trying to extrapolate concepts to apply to MTG
(21:35) Widening range within a team
(33:20) Conscious and unconscious competence, listening to your inner voice
(53:20) KYT asks Alex what he thinks about Jedi Mind Tricks
(1:04:50) Reid Duke
(1:16:00) Going over ESPN article - The grandmaster diet

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(2:57) Alex asks KYT which concepts he would teach first to a new player
(18:41) Game theory and sideboarding
(23:45) Card advantage, tempo, mana usage - people tend to be mainly good at one of them
(28:25) KYT takes a shot at finalnub, urging him to expand his deck selection range
(41:05) Generalist vs. Specialist, brand value, team value, is Alex Majlaton the best Affinity player in the world?
(52:40) KYT on adjusting how opponents will sideboard

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(0:00) Complete nonsense, PARKOUR!!!
(7:35) Playing "real" decks, how to dismiss new deck ideas efficiently
(18:20) Debating 70/30 vs. 55/45 decks. Alex's success with Sphinx's Revelation.
(23:20) "You want to maximize decision difficulty when you're the better player"
(38:25) Is it better to play a higher variance deck if the goal is to spike a tournament?
(50:45) Discussing decks with high fail rates. How expected player strength can affect optimal deck choice.
(1:04:00) Alex & KYT both likely to vote for Pikula for HOF. Is Javier Dominguez still Alex's pick for best active player?

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(0:00) How did Alex do with Esper in the MPL?
(6:15) KYT is qualified for the MTG Arena MCQ. What should he play?
(9:15) When to play surprise cards?
(20:20) What does Alex think of the Organized Play news?
(33:50) Will the MPL gauntlet be compelling viewing?
(43:55) Instead of trying to build stars with a system, Alex says he would try to reduce the variance of the game itself
(47:45) KYT wants a world where the game is marketed so fans can relate to players and not just decks
(51:50) KYT asks Alex how exactly he would make the game more skill-intensive

(0:00) KYT finishes the month at Mythic #115
(4:50) Alex played Mono Blue in recent Fandom Legends event and finished 4th
(7:40) What's the deal with all these small esports organizations?
(14:55) "Most people don't actually know what good Magic is." - Alex
(18:25) HIGH-LEVEL: Timing/sequencing subtleties
(31:00) Thanking listeners and how to pronounce gif
(33:05) Grand Prix Atlanta story - Booze Cube with Pascal Maynard & Dave Mantel
(36:25) HIGH-LEVEL: Mental game / answering @jamietopples's question / how we deal with tilt
(57:30) Is pattern recognition from chess applicable to Magic?

(3:20) Alex goes over his Mythic Championship III
(10:55) KYT gets Alex to talk about specific card choices of his Esper deck
(14:20) Why having even just 1-2 cards different can make a huge difference
(16:00) Why Alex didn't think Mono Red was that good heading into MC3
(17:40) HIGH-LEVEL: Why it can make sense to side out a land in a low curve deck
(24:00) How Alex trolled BBD by pretending to stream at MC3
--- GRANDMASTER SESSION ---
(30:00) KYT & Alex go over a Brad Nelson decision in the Grand Finals: when to wait
(41:00) How to sideboard in Limited
----------- END -----------
(50:55) Food for thought for the next episode, nature vs. nurture, chess parallels
(54:00) KYT goes over the deck he has used to grind up to #50 on Arena - Bant Manipulation
(59:00) KYT wants to shed "just a content producer" tag
(1:05:20) Did people think Alex was a good player after he won a Pro Tour?
(1:12:00) Why brand value can be important, Lords of Limited shoutout

(0:00) Alex is headed to Mythic Championship III in Vegas
(3:50) Alex thinks with the way Magic is now designed, there's rarely a 65%+ deck
(4:30) How much better is a 65% win player vs. a 50% win player?
(7:35) Why KYT thinks it's hard to improve at Magic and why he thinks most people stay in the same tier
(18:30) Why KYT doesn't like Gruul in Standard and what he'd play to grind the Arena ladder
(21:50) KYT reflects on what Alex said on the show on his own

(0:00) Support the show by gifting the guys a cup of coffee via ko-fi.com/tablefor2
(2:30) KYT called his shot and won the Arena Super Cup with White Weenie
(5:05) How KYT arrived at his deck choice
(8:25) The difference between round 1 and the finals, how Alex deals with nerves
(16:15) Chatting about the upcoming RedBull tournament, how the game is now favouring popularity, esports vs. isports
(33:50) How chess is now getting into the streaming space
(39:10) Smaller skill gap is why top Magic players are more replaceable
(49:30) Why there's nothing wrong with using a sideboard guide
(52:20) GRANDMASTER AUDIO CLASS: Approach to sideboarding // A little bit bigger/slower
(1:04:00) Where KYT wants to see the content world move towards

 THIS IS PART 2 OF A CONVERSATION. 

(0:00) MTG fitness, nutrition, sleep, drugs, do they affect performance?
(7:00) Tzu-Ching Kuo doesn't eat or drink water at events
(10:55) Discussion on sports psychology / therapy, Alex started to stop splitting finals
(21:00) Alex & KYT's experience with different diets, trying paleo/keto, settling on CICO
(34:55) Alex & KYT went to the brand new esports place that opened in downtown Montreal
(39:20) KYT says he's going to win the Arena Super Cup
(41:10) Alex & KYT discuss the viability of hosting local MTG Arena tournaments, reminisce about chess days
(51:15) Power of networking, bringing people together with ManaDeprived
(54:25) Alex asks KYT if he thinks he deserves to be invited to one of the Arena Mythic Championships?

THIS IS PART 1 OF A CONVERSATION.

(3:25) Tackling the GoFundMe topic
(10:50) KYT thinking back to Jay Boosh getting funded to go to GP Toronto
(15:15) Should people have more foresight before they play an MCQ?
(26:05) KYT needs to figure out what Standard deck to play at the Arena Super Cup
(30:20) KYT tried tangrams' Simic Ramp list. tangrams first to 2 trophies in the current MTGO League.
(41:50) KYT loving River's Rebuke, but maybe Karn's Temporal Sundering is better.
(43:20) HIGH-LEVEL STRATEGY: Identifying what matters
(45:45) Thoughts on UR Phoenix, Alex doesn't understand how it wins
(47:20) Which decks Alex is down on?

(0:00) Vietnamese food go-tos
(5:55) Alex's GP Providence weekend
(8:55) Alex explains to KYT what "bang bang" means
(10:15) More value in today's GPs?
(16:50) Being a tourist in your own city, visiting Saint Joseph's Oratory
(27:50) Standard talk, mentally taxing decks|
(53:30) Do 70% decks still exist?
(56:30) GOING DEEP: Has podcasting made KYT less shy?
(1:07:00) KYT's one interaction with LSV
(1:11:00) WAR Limited, why KYT loves Ari Lax's content, going over Ari's blog post on WAR

(1:34) Hayne heading down to GP Providence, teaming with Sigrist and Martell
(5:05) Winning a team GP with Hoaen and Hron
(6:20) KYT asks if Martell is content with his almost-HOF career
(8:25) General Hall of Fame talk
(19:05) Hayne's frustration with the current state of Magic content
(22:14) GOING DEEP: Is writing paid articles community contribution?
(27:15) KYT's motivation for starting ManaDeprived.com & where he is at now
(29:55) Hayne gives an example of bad Magic content he has read
(41:05) KYT thinks back on a strategic error he'd mindlessly make
(46:15) HIGH LEVEL STRATEGY: Abandoning preconceived notions
(52:55) Standard talk, more Command the Dreadhorde
(1:00:55) UG Incubation/Nissa
(1:15:24) Who is the best player in Kingston?
(1:16:00) Who is the best player in Ottawa?

(0:00) Is Detective Dhaliwal actually a detective?
(3:15) Hayne's reaction to Gerry's MPL resignation
(6:00) Reaction to the 2 new MPL additions
(19:19) Response to "entitled players complaining" comments
(29:40) Reaction to SaffronOlive/Simon Görtzen Twitter thread, thoughts on making MPL more interesting
(41:45) How can you tell a deck is bad right away?
(49:20) Command the Dreadhorde talk, how to tell when mana dorks are good, what Alex would play

(2:30) Reminiscing about old style PTQs
(3:25) Alex's first PTQ win
(5:00) WAR Standard talk
(7:50) Nexus
(10:20) Izzet Phoenix
(13:25) Mono Red winning the SCG
(19:55) 17 lands in BO1 Mono Red
(21:25) Mono Red choices, Frenzy vs. Chandra, Patrick Sullivan's thoughts
(26:15) Alex hates Risk Factor
(27:40) Lava Coil in the mirror
(29:30) Putting pros on a pedestal
(30:20) Alex getting on KYT for calling Edgar the hottest Canadian player
(34:45) New Karn in Tron
(37:05) MPL breakdown
(38:50) Rating Emerald group
(41:20) Rating Pearl group, Javier best active player?
(45:50) Rating Ruby group, Huey nigh-unbeatable when he's on
(49:05) Alex's top 5 all-time
(52:45) Rating Sapphire group
(01:01:10) Reacting to Yuuya being out of the Hall of Fame

(01:52) Alex health update
(03:15) Playing Tron at the Mythic Championship
(06:50) Brian Ziemba losing Alex's decklist at GP Vancouver
(14:25) Derek Pite sitting at the wrong table in round 4
(17:45) Progression of Alex's Limited skills, Sigrist's approach to Limited
(25:18) Ben Stark, overrated/underrated
(29:05) War of the Spark, fast /slow?
(31:05) Yuuya Watanabe DQ reaction