I've been producing a history series exploring Magic's past. The last video I did covers the Vanguard format, explaining how it works and some famous cards, and suggests a few ways to shake up your cube experience.
The basic cube formula is having players draw two Vanguard cards before the draft and picking one to use either before or after the draft. Some of them, like Lyna, are actually detrimental to the vast majority of decks, so you need some kind of safety valve to avoid that.
Hey there. I hope that this particular section of the forum is the right place to post this. My name's Eli Kaplan, and I used to be a feature writer for SCG and do coverage for the Mothership for various Japanese GPs and the occasional PT or Worlds. I stopped writing for Magic sites not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't feel like I had anything to teach new players that was immediately relevant at the moment. Anyway, instead of writing my memoirs, I figured I'd try to do something different and make some videos. It was totally the wrong decision in the sense that making videos is much harder than writing text articles, but I figured I wanted to learn a new medium. Also, with the growth of cubes and Commander, I feel like Magic's history is criminally underexplored.
The show's name is Ancestral Recall, and it's a mix of stories about decks, crazy plays, and set retrospectives. It's a one guy show with a shoestring budget; it's no Magic Show, but I think it's got some good gags and provoking perspectives.
As a former resident of Japan who is probably moving back later this year... yeah, just be polite, friendly, and patient, and do what you can to understand Japanese as much as you can, and you'll be fine. If you have to use English, slow down, and keep it simple and friendly, and you'll be surprised how many friends you make.
There are some players who want to use you as a chance to improve their English, and that's cool. There are some who will be anxious, and it's fine to just be friendly and understanding and do your best to play clean, without being a pushover.
The basic cube formula is having players draw two Vanguard cards before the draft and picking one to use either before or after the draft. Some of them, like Lyna, are actually detrimental to the vast majority of decks, so you need some kind of safety valve to avoid that.
You can check out the video at http://turboeli.wordpress.com/2014/02/02/ancestral-recall-episode-10-vanguard-retrospective/ , and see some other videos at that site (I have retrospectives on Invasion, Apocalypse, the Dark, and all of Tempest block).
Thanks for looking.
The show's name is Ancestral Recall, and it's a mix of stories about decks, crazy plays, and set retrospectives. It's a one guy show with a shoestring budget; it's no Magic Show, but I think it's got some good gags and provoking perspectives.
I've got five episodes up at http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMaqDeNey457vrzIste22ZQ. I hope you guys enjoy it.
Thanks for reading.
Eli Kaplan
turboeli on MTGO
There are some players who want to use you as a chance to improve their English, and that's cool. There are some who will be anxious, and it's fine to just be friendly and understanding and do your best to play clean, without being a pushover.