All three episodes are now available for download over at IWantMyMTG.com! Go get ’em!
Yo! MTG Taps! Episodes 16-18 — Now Available!
Tag Archives: Podcast
Announcing…
From now on, all episodes of the Yo! MTG Taps! podcast will be appearing on IWantMyMTG.com, supplemented by event coverage, videos, photos, tournament reports, musings, decklists, and any show news.
Speaking of show news, Yo! MTG Taps! is now being featured on TheStarkingtonPost.com! We want to thank Bill Stark for the fantastic opportunity, as well as welcome any new listeners to the podcast. We’d love to hear from you!
And don’t worry, Island fans, AffinityForIslands is staying exactly where it is!
Yo! MTG Taps! Episode 15 – Now Available!
Yo! MTG Taps! Episode 15 – Shot Down is now available for download!
Check it out over on MTGCast!
Joey & Bigheadjoe go over some of the recent news regarding the Reserved List, Rise of the Eldrazi spoilers, and both GP Kuala Lumpur & GP Yokohama.
Legacy, Reprints, & the Reserved List
GP Kuala Lumpur – Standard – “Ding, Dong, Jund Is Dead In Kuala Lumpur”
GP Yokohama – Extended
Clash of the titans – Katsuhiro Mori (Thopter Depths) vs Masashiro Kuroda (Hypergenesis)
NEW SEGMENT – PRO TOUR FLASHBACK!
Masashiro Kuroda’s PT Kobe ’04 win.
Mythic – Zvi’s Deck Tech from PT San Diego
Rise of the Eldrazi pooled spoilers
PATRICK CHAPIN’S NEXT LEVEL MAGIC – Now shipping!
$35, or $27 if you bought the e-book last summer.
FREE STICKERS!
Just send us your mailing address.
Contact us at yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com
Leave us a voicemail! 331-MTG-TAPS
Follow us on Twitter!
@yomtgtaps (BHJ and Joey)
@affinityforblue (Joey)
Check out Yo! MTG Taps! on YouTube!
Become a fan of Yo! MtG TAPS! on Facebook!
Visit Joey’s blog:
AffinityForIslands.com
Visit BigHeadJoe’s blog:
OtherworldlyJourney.blogspot.com
Yo! MTG Taps! Episode 13 – Now Available!
Yo! MTG Taps! Episode 13 – Respect the Eye is now available for download!
Check it out over on MTGCast!
We talk about the first official Rise of the Eldrazi spoiler, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth! (Get your Eyes of Ugin!!) Also: GP Madrid and the SCG $5k Richmond.
See Kozilek spoiled on Magic Arcana!
Is Walking Atlas – the new Serendib Efreet, or something more?
Mananation – Eldrazi basic land playmats (check out that artwork!)
**We now have STICKERS! Send us your mailing address and we’ll get ‘em out to you!**
Baltimore Open – March 13th. For more info, to go:
baltimoremtg.com
Contact us at yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com
Leave us a voicemail! 331-MTG-TAPS
Follow us on Twitter!
@yomtgtaps (BHJ and Joey)
@affinityforblue (Joey)
Check out Yo! MTG Taps! on YouTube!
Become a fan of Yo! MtG TAPS! on Facebook!
Visit Joey’s blog:
AffinityForIslands.com
Visit BigHeadJoe’s blog:
OtherworldlyJourney.blogspot.com
Yo! MTG Taps! Episode 12 – Now Available!
Yo! MTG Taps! Episode 12 – Worldwake, But Still Groggy is now available for download!
Check it out over on MTGCast!
We talk Pro Tour San Diego; Joe’s PTQ experience (including the “bonehead play of the year”); M11 speculation; and hey, why not some more ranting about Jund? (just a little)
Contact us at yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com
Leave us a voicemail! 331-MTG-TAPS
Follow us on Twitter!
@yomtgtaps (BHJ and Joey)
@affinityforblue (Joey)
Check out Yo! MTG Taps! on YouTube!
Become a fan of Yo! MtG TAPS! on Facebook!
Visit Joey’s blog:
AffinityForIslands.com
Visit BigHeadJoe’s blog:
OtherworldlyJourney.blogspot.com
Yo! MTG Taps! Exclusive Interview with Evan Erwin!
Yo! MTG Taps! MC2 Coverage Part 3 – Evan Erwin: The Man Behind The Magic Show is now available for download!
In the conclusion of our audio coverage of the Magic Cruise, Joey interviews StarCityGames’ Evan Erwin!
We also hear from local Maryland player Nick Ayd (@lemonayd on Twitter) about his experiences on the Magic Cruise.
*Be sure to check out the MC3, coming up in February 2011!*
http://legionevents.com/magic/mc3
Contact info:
Email: yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com
Voice Mail Line: 1-331-MTG-TAPS
Twitter: twitter.com/yomtgtaps
Joey Pasco’s Twitter: twitter.com/affinityforblue
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/yomtgtaps
Facebook: Become a fan of “Yo! MTG Taps!”
Bigheadjoe’s Blog: http://otherworldlyjourney.blogspot.com
Joey Pasco’s Blog: http://www.affinityforislands.com
Thanks for listening!
Yo! MTG Taps! Exclusive Interview with Patrick Chapin, & More!
Yo! MTG Taps! MC2 Coverage Part 2 – Patrick Chapin, the Mind Sculptor is now available for download!
The second installment of our coverage of the Magic Cruise: An EXCLUSIVE interview with the Innovator himself, Patrick Chapin!
Also includes bonus audio coverage of Patrick’s monologue from the Magic Cruise on the impact of Worldwake!
***EXTRA! EXTRA! DOUBLE-FEATURE FRIDAY!!***
Yo! MTG Taps! Episode 11 – The REAL Episode 11 is also now available for download!
It’s been three weeks since our last “official” episode, and we’ve got a lot to talk about! A bit about the Magic Cruise, BigHeadJoe goes over GP Oakland, and we discuss a little Standard and Worldwake. Also, we have some listener emails and our first listener voicemails!
Be sure to check out the MC3, coming up in February 2011!
Contact info:
Email: yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com
Voice Mail Line: 1-331-MTG-TAPS
Twitter: twitter.com/yomtgtaps
Joey Pasco’s Twitter: twitter.com/affinityforblue
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/yomtgtaps
Facebook: Become a fan of “Yo! MTG Taps!”
Bigheadjoe’s Blog: http://otherworldlyjourney.blogspot.com
Joey Pasco’s Blog: http://www.affinityforislands.com
Thanks for listening!
Yo! MTG Taps! Exclusive Interview with Ken Nagle
Yo! MTG Taps! MC2 Coverage Part 1 – The Ken Nagle Experience is now available for download!
The first installment of our coverage of the Magic Cruise: An EXCLUSIVE interview with lead designer of Worldwake, Ken Nagle!
Also includes bonus audio coverage of Ken’s Worldwake Design Seminar from the Magic Cruise!
Contact info:
Email: yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com
Voice Mail Line: 1-331-MTG-TAPS
Twitter: twitter.com/yomtgtaps
Joey Pasco’s Twitter: twitter.com/affinityforblue
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/yomtgtaps
Facebook: Become a fan of “Yo! MTG Taps!”
Bigheadjoe’s Blog: http://otherworldlyjourney.blogspot.com
Joey Pasco’s Blog: http://www.affinityforislands.com
Thanks for listening!
It Gets By With A Little Help From Its Friends
A pre-Worldwake look back at post-Zendikar blue.
Blue was never bad. Just not as good as we’re accustomed to.
A 450-lb man who loses 150 lbs—a full 33% of his body weight—would certainly not be considered “skinny” by any means.
This, I feel, sums up the current state of blue in Standard. While blue may have been worse between October and January than it ever has been, in hindsight I think it was a mistake to say it was “bad.” Counterspells were narrow and card-drawing was much less effective, true, but the color still had its strengths.
To wit: There was a time when many considered Morphling to be the best creature ever printed. With a wealth of abilities previously unheard of, Morphling could pump itself to 5/1, stack damage, and then become a 1/5; it could gain Flying; it could gain Shroud. It could untap itself, doing a passable impression of Vigilance.
Now compare Morphling to Sphinx of Jwar Isle:
For 1 additional mana, the Sphinx enters the battlefield with Flying. It enters the battlefield with Shroud. It enters the battlefield as a 5/5, and for all of these Morphling-esque characteristics it requires no more mana than the inital investment. It trades faux-Vigilance for an ability that—in a format with fetchlands, cascades, and soon Treasure Hunts—may be even more relevant. (Not to mention “Knowledge is Power” is the unofficial mantra of the blue mage, right?)
Could the Sphinx actually be better than Morphling?! Well, yes and no. It’s all about context, and when Morphling ruled the skies, blue spells were at their best. (And as much as I would’ve loved to see it, if Morphling were to have been reprinted it would likely occupy the slot in your trade binder right next to Meddling Mage.)
Still, the Sphinx exemplifies the quintessential blue finisher quite nicely: difficult to block, and easy to protect.
No, blue was not bad. Rather, it simply could not stand on its own. Yet, with another color or two along for support, blue found a way to stay strong. With a bit of persistence, blue-based control strategies started showing up as early as six weeks into the post-Zendikar format! At Worlds (late November), a Standard RWU Control deck was in the Team Finals, and Gerry Thompson unveiled his “Spread ‘Em” deck. As Conley Woods put it:
Typically, control decks are only able to emerge as “good” decks once a metagame as been firmly established. This is because the deck needs to know exactly what problems exist in order to determine which answers it must run. (Blue Uprising)
The difference between pre-Zendikar blue decks and those we’ve seen of late, as Conley goes on to point out, is that usually the counterspells are more versatile. This allows them to appear a bit earlier, as their answers don’t have to be so specifically tailored for the metagame. It is this loss of versatility, coupled with the loss of Instant-speed library manipulation, that fueled the perception of blue’s demise.
So, now we have Worldwake. Now we have the Mind Sculptor himself to help sculpt our hands into the ideal mix of answers and threats. We can dig for Treasure in the Halimar Depths, and accelerate our mana by drinking from the motherlovin’ cup. BLUE IS BACK!!!1!!
Not so fast. Let’s take a step back.
Blue mages—like starving children in a frenzy over a hunk of stale bread—have managed to drive the price of Jace, the Mind Sculptor to near-Baneslayer levels. I’m not exactly saying the price is unwarranted, because the card is certainly a piece of beauty, and I hope it’s every bit as good as people are expecting. But it has yet to prove itself. Had JtMS been released while Lorwyn was Standard-legal, I’d have been surprised to see it reach a pre-sale price half as high as it’s seeing now.
But, but…we’re SO HUNGRY!!
Worldwake is certainly giving blue a nice shot in the arm, don’t get me wrong. But I think we’re putting the cart before the horse, here. Blue mages are feeling so under-nourished from Zendikar that what may turn out to be a Happy Meal is looking like Thanksgiving Dinner.
So yes, go test your blue-based control decks. Play your Jaces, and your Treasure Hunts (I know I will be). But don’t set your expectations so highly that anything less than “bah-ro-ken” is a disappointment. I don’t think Mono Blue Control will be a reality, but pair it with a pal and I think blue control decks will be just fine.
BONUS:
A Yo! MTG Taps! Video Supplement – Coverage of the Worldwake Prerelease!
Recorded at Dream Wizards Games in Rockville, MD.
Apologies for low audio. We recorded with an iPhone, and I did my best to try to clean it up, but it’s still a bit iffy.
No footage of actual games, but hosts BigHeadJoe and Joey talk a bit about their experiences at the Magic: The Gathering – Worldwake prerelease.
Yo! MTG Taps! Episode 10 – Now Available!
Yo! MTG Taps! Episode 10 – My Lime Pink Shirt is now available for download!
Check it out over on MTGCast!
In this episode, we each go over our 10 favorite cards from Worldwake, and talk about all of the dirty ways to pronounce “Eye of Ugin.”
Click here for a price guide list to take with you to your pre-release.
Sick of cascade ruining your tournament experience? Sign the petition to ban Bloodbraid Elf here!
CONTEST: Submit a rap verse for our theme song (about 28 minutes in). The winner gets their verse used in our theme song! (and something else if we can come up with something cool). Submit entries to yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com Please don’t send recordings.
Check out Good Games Live on YouTube!
Contact info:
Email: yomtgtaps [at] gmail [dot] com
Voice Mail Line *NEW* (We will play any and all messages on the show!): 1-331-MTG-TAPS
Twitter: twitter.com/yomtgtaps
Joey Pasco’s Twitter: twitter.com/affinityforblue
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/yomtgtaps
Facebook: Become a fan of “Yo! MTG Taps!”
Bigheadjoe’s Blog: http://otherworldlyjourney.blogspot.com
Joey Pasco’s Blog: http://www.affinityforislands.com
Thanks for listening!
Affinity For Islands 