ESSENTIAL STRATEGY for MTG Beginners!!! Mike Flores', "Who's the Beatdown?" Breakdown

[@NicolaiBolas]

Would you like to see more Article Breakdowns like this in the future?

[@DoubleZDogg]

Thoughtseize You by Reid Duke would be a great one!

[@ZachHayesRB]

100000%

[@NicolaiBolas]

@@DoubleZDogg I've got a big list of articles to do potential breakdowns on and that one is one of the first I added to the list! It's a great one for sure!

[@NicolaiBolas]

@@sl3848 I'm so glad you found it valuable!

[@AZNCIess]

Yes, so much easier to listen to you reading it aloud and explaining in more detail than bluntly reading it myself and not being able to concentrate. Thank you Nicolai!

[@PadieCraft]

How should you sideboard after determining what role you have? Should you try to strengthen your role? Should you try to change role?

[@Zana_lml]

With this new insight I think I should set my sideboard to be the best control or beatdown version of my deck instead of trying to counter specific cards, thank you!

[@crushedscouter9522]

"who's the beatdown" and "sligh" are two of the most influential things ever in mtg. So much so that they've become engrained in the game itself. Even if you have no idea what either of them is, you still understand their concepts from osmosis if you play at any competitive level. Fundamental, essential, ahead of their time, pioneering, iconic. Great vid. I love deep dives into mtg history and this is a great place to start. I'm all for this style of video. Edit: subbed👍

[@rstadler]

I think the "1.x" referred to the Extended format, as in Type 1.x vs Type 2, etc., rather than slots awarded by the event.

[@NicolaiBolas]

Good call! That makes sense and I’d lean towards that being the case rather than my interpretation. Stuff like that is why it can sometimes be hard to parse these old articles. Luckily it doesn’t have too much to do with the strategy content itself!

[@tedhand6237]

Love these article breakdowns. I must confess I still don't fully understand how to evaluate game states and determine who's the beatdown so I appreciate revisiting these concepts.

[@NicolaiBolas]

I'm glad you found it helpful!

[@DestroyerX2000]

#BeatdownMaster Thanks for the video highlight in the discord Nicolai. Enjoyed this breakdown a lot too. It's something that I think comes semi-intuitively after a long time playing the game. But having it at the forefront of your mind, particularly when drafting and deck building in limited, I think will be really useful. It can be used to come up with more of a pre-game strategy in terms of 'what am I going for here, what cards am I taking based on if I'm drafting a more controlling deck or more beat down heavy deck'. And then with that plan in mind from the draft its obviously a case of trying to reassess that through the game to establish if you should keep pushing damage or back off and control to win late. Obviously much harder in BO1 limited as you have little/no info on your opponents deck but still an important issue to be aware of.

[@santiagosebastiangomezonti526]

Really enjoyed this!

[@NicolaiBolas]

I'm so glad to hear it!

[@CalebvanderLeek]

Love your videos and guide my dude! Have you considered levelling up your game by having a nice backdrop with maybe your favourite MTG posters or collectibles? I also think having the camera at eye level or higher is a more engaging angle.

[@julianolotero6600]

Another article review. A NicolaiBolas classic

[@NicolaiBolas]

I really enjoy making them, and it is nice to see this video be so well received!

[@logan9042]

Enjoyed listening to the analysis with your added perspective. Its very helpful for people like me who dont have the same history in the game to understand the why behind some of the dynamics. On that note, I'd love to hear some perspective on how to deal with the modern u/w decs that have come to life with the absence of rakdos. Its been a while since I've seen them. Tbh half of them seem to have a win con of you surrendering or milling out organically which makes for a very stimulating 30 mins of watching someone else play the game slowly 😅 Other ideas is the value of xyz cards in sideboarding. Like unlicensed herse for example. I thought it was just there for reanimator hate. Turns out its quite useful vs mono blue, and anything that runs memory delude or devious cover-up Edit: spelling

[@LikelyAlien]

#BeatdownMaster great job! I listened to the whole thing! Keep going!

[@NicolaiBolas]

I'm so glad you liked it!

[@Travis7060312]

You should review zvi mowshowitz updated version of this deck and do more of these please!

[@NicolaiBolas]

I think I might already have the Zvi Mowshowitz article saved in the folder of, “articles to potentially cover.” I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I appreciate the suggestion!

[@wizardbrand1]

#beatdownMaster Great vid! this has helped me gain a new perspective on the sealed games I've been playing.

[@NicolaiBolas]

I'm so glad to hear it!

[@adrianodiasbispo9275]

#BeatDownMaster Great job!

[@gamefan8552]

#BeatDownMaster thanks helped me improved in drafting, with March of the Machines had a blue white knights with some phyrexia, mostly a sort of beat down deck, but can also play control once I have board presence and play some battles.

[@NicolaiBolas]

I'm so glad you found it helpful!

[@DATskorge]

You just need to see all decks on a spectrum of tempo vs value. If you fall more to the value side, you need to err on the defensive. But precisely how far you draw the line is down to skill and experience.

[@tedhand6237]

What is the difference between tempo and aggro?

[@NicolaiBolas]

@@tedhand6237 Tempo and aggro aren't really things you compare. Aggro would get compared to control, while tempo would more typically be compared to aggro. Something like a bounce spell is card disadvantage, but tempo positive, while a card draw spell would card advantage, but tempo negative.

[@NicolaiBolas]

That is a good way of thinking about it. This article also really highlights that it isn't just about what your own deck is doing, but specifically how it lines up with what your opponent's deck is doing. Even a deck that is more on the value side might be forced into the aggro role if the opposing deck has even more value!

[@DATskorge]

@@NicolaiBolas Correct, this is a nuance that I could've outlined better by saying "if you fall more to the value side than your opponent". I also did not touch on decks that can go either way and let you turn that tempo dial all the way up or down (classically "midrange") but we know this :P.

[@DATskorge]

@@tedhand6237 Aggro is a strategy, tempo is the rapidity with which you develop or maintain relative threat. Aggro wanting to kill the opponent asap therefore employs as much tempo as possible, but usually in a proactive and constructive, not reactive and disruptive, way. eg: Aggro will bolt you in the face for 1 and send a hasted 2/1 at you. Tempo control will bounce your creature for 1 and send a 2/1 flier at you. Both are tempo, but one is about going all in on your own overwhelming and attack, and one is about disrupting your opponent's ability to keep up with your consistently pressuring, all-in but not all-out attack.

[@TheVacanum]

🤠

[@DoubleZDogg]

The video is out of sync with the audio so it looks like you're doing a voice over of yourself!

[@NicolaiBolas]

Audio sometimes just randomly messes up when I'm recording and it's hard for me to catch it sometimes cause my earbuds also have audio lag that can make it look like it lines up when it doesn't! Like when I watch this without my earbuds I totally see what you're talking about, but when I put my earbuds in everything looks great. Thanks for calling it out, and I'll be extra careful next time. Hopefully you still enjoyed the video!