Simon Says #26: Core Set Countermagic

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Simon Goertzen

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  1. Watching your videos and LSVs videos is like night and day, you really have different opinions on how to draft!

  3. Regarding the “Opening Discussion” video:
    Sorry if i missed it, but are games of this particular draft online?
    I liked this way of going through the draft portion – very time conserving – and i can see the reasoning behind picks even without commentary.
    Going through previously played games and commentating, as opposed to providing live commentary, also sounds like a good idea.

  5. In pack 3 pick 2 why take welkin tern over searing spear? During the video you didn’t speak about considering the searing spear as a splash.

  6. In the main draft you had the pack 3 choice between your 2nd harbor serpent and a 2nd captain’s call – I think the deck would have been better with the 2nd captain’s call with Cedric and the Healer!

  7. Enjoyed the videos, thanks for making them.
    In regards to post commentary on draft videos I think it’s a good idea you should try for at least a week, the ability to pause and focus on decisions without worrying about the clock (this seems particularly relevant during the draft section) or being rude to your opponent seems really good and would give you time formulate your thoughts and decide how best to explain decisions without any dead air or time pressure.
    Additionally not having to worry about explaining during the draft/games themselves can only improve your play (not that you are playing badly). The ability to edit out/fast foward non-relevant things and streamline the video, whilst not unique to post commentary, seems like it would lend itself to post quite nicely as well.

  9. Thanks for the videos. I like the idea of post commentary as long as the player takes notes or something during the draft. I’ve seen a few videos where the commentary was put in post draft and the drafter often came to spots in the draft or in the games where they couldn’t explain why they made a particular position. It also potentially takes away from the thoughts and process “in the heat of the moment.” You might be able to justify certain picks after the fact with thoughts that weren’t actually part of the decision making process, etc.

    Also, in the first draft… between the fire-breathing of the Dragon Whelp and the CC of Krenko, Mob Boss along with very little double blue it really seemed like a 10-7 land deck to me as opposed to 9-8. Is a 9-8 split pretty standard there?

    Thanks again!

  10. I will watch this again. Some of your card evaluations and plays were very interesting, and I’ll think about them more. I’d like to see a post-commentary too, but only if you have the extra time to focus on the key decisions. I’m thankful for your videos. I learn more from you than I learn from tournament commentators and other drafters. Drafting is a dance between the concrete and the abstract, and a great drafter must know how to use those dynamics. If you have thoughts or even a lesson about those dynamics, I would love to hear your ideas. It is difficult to explain those things though.

  12. Excellent commentary/theme as usual. Haven’t seen a counter heavy deck be useful in limited in a long time (your deck perhaps wasn’t heavy, but you drew them all the time so it seemed that way).

    Random aside Simon; do you ever draft (non-cube) decks for your own amusement, or is it always practice or testing theories for pro-level games? I ask because I think I saw 3 merfolk lords in that draft, which opened the possibility of a gimmick draft (sure its loose, but it would be funny to see) and I haven’t seen you go gimmicky before.

  13. PlanetWalls, LSV drafts more casually when recording (He is probably using the time to relax from all the serious Magic he is playing), whcih leads to him doing more odd things, branching out and mostly just entertain. Meanwhile, Simon is very much the aducator, and he is focused on doing “the right thing” most of the time instead of going bannans and waiting to see what happens.

    For example, Simon would never play a deck with Lorthos as the kill condition in Zendikar-Worldwake, while LSV gleefuly won a 8-4 while doing so.

    Frankly, I really appreciate the calmer tone here in Simon’s weekly show, and while I may enjoy LSVs drafts, these are not the drafts that make me a better player. I enjoy the variation and think that evreyone should stick to what they do best.

    Sweet draft(s) by the way :)

  14. Thanks Simon for this draft. I am not sure i like all your picks and your card evaluation but I am very impressed of how you play the cards you picked. Was fun to watch.