Tolarian Academy And The Case Of The Missing Ancestral

[@MnemonicNex]

I think the fact that you are able to talk, explain your choices and give insight whilst playing very competent players. Just shows what an insanely skilled player you are. Remember no other drafter at the table has to produce content AND battle. ❤Your a beast.

[@thesedays1985]

LSV is an absolute genius ofc butsome of the other might be making content also.

[@bevrosity]

​@@thesedays1985do they? i havent seen any.

[@jesserobkin]

one play that stuck out to me was g1 vs Eli when you drew ponder and basically slammed it immediately looking for a 0 instead of leaving up guaranteed mana leak. given eli had cast talisman on 2, mana leaking a 4 drop seemed pretty appealing and then even if he didn’t play anything on his turn 3, on your next turn you could ponder for your third land if you didn’t draw one naturally and continued to hold up leak. just a thought

[@malaakai4president]

i thought the same

[@Testchannel-hz4vf]

Passing Mystical Tutor for Copter seems insane with Ancestral, Upheaval and Pest Infestation in the deck. In general, LSV seems to systematically undervalue Mystical Tutor and Vampiric Tutor.

[@Gummiebearzz]

One of my favorite parts of these videos is seeing what the teammates draft!

[@johnhoge]

The Storm archetype has been mostly cut from Vintage Cube, but the Artifacts archetype is a worthy successor: -wins 30% of the time, but does so in spectacular fashion -requires an unreasonable number of the cube's card slots be dedicated to trinkety cards that are largely worthless to every other archetype just for it to have the card density necessary for it to come together and achieve that 30% winrate -absolute catnip to LSV This was a well-navigated draft and a great version of the archetype, but the fact that this is in the range of outcomes for it anyway is pretty damning. The generic cheap threats have gotten so efficient and numerous that they're pushing out all the character from the cube.

[@realbadtech9318]

LSV approaching St. Peter at the Pearly Gates: That was all unfair St. Peter checking his ledger: It says here you got to first pick an Academy LSV: Yes but you see, I was doing my teammate a favor

[@bettorup_]

I feel your pain, LSV. I've gone literal months in MTG, poker, and Eternal watching opponents do 'the thing' without struggling ever as I inexplicably flounder non-stop with great cards. It feels like flipping a coin and hitting tails 100 times in a row. The first 20 times you're like "wow, okay" then the next 80 you slowly dwell into madness. Tough beats, but I will continue watching because I freaking love the content. You'll get yours sir! Hang in there.

[@Gummiebearzz]

I do love when a tolarian academy deck comes together

[@bricelory9534]

I feel like Academy decks have to have such a fine balance of mana sources and payoffs. They flood out so easily, or don't have the mana to do what they need to do. They certainly can be really powerful, but they also seem to be quite capable of spinning a lot of plates and not actually accomplish much.

[@bettorup_]

If only there were a card that cost one mana and drew three cards to help mitigate this phenomenon.

[@jeef16]

its on the same tier of reanimator imo. reanimator just needs quite a few things to line up nicely to get a big guy on board in a timely manner (reanimator isnt a grind friendly archtype anyways due to needing to support your deck with multiple reanimate spells, discard outlets, and reanimate targets which limits you in a few ways. and quite a few cards are gonna blow out your entire strategy) but when it works, it smacks hard. but ultimately you still suffer the same problems of losing to faster combos or decks that just spew out card advantage while you're durdling with a handful of mid artifacts hoping to make something happen. like reanimator, you also are really sensitive to people picking up key pieces for the archtype because they're just generally good spells. for reanimator, thats your reanimate/animate dead cards. but for artifact decks, you need the blue goodstuff cards because most artifacts you play have little impact other than ramping you, so your grind game/mid game is always gonna keep you on the ropes. its hard to balance being proactive with card advantage for a such a resource-heavy combo like academy and reanimator because of how much space it eats up in your deck and needing to take the scraps from the goodstuff picks

[@bricelory9534]

​@@bettorup_ wow, you're so right and clever and pithy. Why hadn't I thought of the idea that Ancestral Recall is a good card that can strengthen risky decks - maybe it'd also help fair decks if it were in those too?? No idea, no one has tried it before! Wow! But in seriousness, this draft highlighted perfectly why saying Ancestral Recall will smooth out draws for risky decks like this archetype isn't a failsafe. You have to draw the Recall before it can do anything. And if you don't, you still have a risky archetypal deck. Obviously, Cube is a place where that sort of strategy can pay off. But we're also seeing a LOT of the "fair" less synergy-reliant archetypes get powered up to a point that you will get punished for playing out a bunch of mana generators without a plan to interact with a board that will invariably advance past yours. Recall can't draw you cards you don't have in the deck.

[@thebudguy12]

The fact I walk around the house going "and then HEEEEEEERE," cannot be a good sign of my mental health.

[@NathanCrandall-y8o]

Loved the assertive nature of your opponents decks in these matches, really had you on the back foot hoping to top deck every match and made the counterspells meh. Obvious horrendous luck with MIA ancestral

[@charliesteiner2334]

After deckbuilding, I'm predicting that the monoliths are going to be surprisingly bad. Excited to see how it goes.

[@andrewwatts6974]

Hey, Luis, just wanted to say thanks to you for all the entertainment ❤. Your YT channel has been one of the most consistent things in my life (😅) and I am grateful to enjoy the videos on the reg. Couldn't be happier for you and the family and hope all goes well with the additional players in your pod.

[@SqueakyMcGee]

I’ve noticed one choke point of Academy decks can be when there is no way to retrieve cards from the graveyard/timetwister effects. Most times I see them them pop off involves a reshuffle draw seven which nearly guarantees continuous gas. Seems like Emrakul is always a good option for academy decks as you have the mana to cast it, serves as a great top end, and hedges against petering out

[@gippygames]

Tough break, this looked like an absolute powerhouse of a deck on paper. Even got the Expedition Map as the 2nd Academy. The only missing piece of the puzzle was Mox/Sol Ring for an explosive turn 1-2 with Talismans or to leave up a turn 1 Leak/Lapse/Counterspell.

[@theoletigeronaskateboardtrick]

At a high level of play, the advantages you gain can start to feel negligible. I believe it’s more valuable to assess avenues you may have overlooked. Concentrate on the elements of the game that genuinely provide a meaningful edge and can be quantified. It could be something as simple as challenging your previous biases or the difficulty of trying to entertain while focusing on winning. I'm almost certain you’re already doing this, but it’s always worth mentioning!

[@drotch]

Your justification of the first pick gives me vibes that you are fighting people in the comment section. I think you did correct to win but also the pick you enjoy more

[@aronshimada7327]

Great to hear the renewed vigor to V cube and playing tighter. Please give yourself some grace though. Keeping play tight while children and pets are running around is harder than people think. Keep it up! 😀

[@thesedays1985]

LSV my boy you don't even have to explain to us why you take Academy 1st pick. We are here for it.

[@Haloanonymous]

I personally thing mana drain is the best non power card in cube. you can spend a whole draft making sure your academy can generate 3-6 mana, or you can get that effect in one card, and it counters something? I would love to see the stats on wr when played because i would not be surprised if it was above lotus

[@newscoulomb3705]

LSV: "Hear me out... Academy."

[@kaiyoshino3266]

LSV with an absolutely iconic look during deck building 🤔

[@madinquiry]

Sweet deck! I'm calling the 3-0 next time. Thanks as always for the amazing content.

[@niklashanninen]

Gotta love them Invasion lands!

[@lukefeeney2852]

Very cool draft, I think the sicarian infiltrator pick was 100% correct btw, your deck needed more payoffs not more mana at that point in time. Also I haven't watched any games yet but I feel like candelabra is a trap here as when do you really need 20 mana or whatever and most of the time its just 1 mana do nothing and would have been better as a talisman or just a basic island likely to improve consistency of openers (felt like the deck has plenty of high power/high end plays with academy around and if you dont have academy candelabra sucks right?)

[@jeffreyculbert2093]

Game 1, ponders and sees 3 islands, is happy for the first time ever about being LSV and the best player to ever live at drawing lands. Too damn funny.

[@jeffreyculbert2093]

Lmao, and then punished like a minute later in viewing for accepting 3 lands on top when it seemed the only thing the hand was missing was lands when mind twisted. Just classic LSV things.

[@lukebradley5700]

Banger title today

[@jeffreyculbert2093]

Seems like my new favorite anime

[@BrKnife]

Love to see another Academy draft! I am a bit confused by the Uro pick, what is it that makes Uro good in a academy deck?

[@bettorup_]

It can ramp while drawing a card. If the deck is green enough you can escape it too. It's a pure value card that fits pretty well in the non-busted runouts and provides gas in the busted runouts. Not directly tied to artifacts /academy of course, but is a fine complement.

[@BrKnife]

@@bettorup_ Thanks. I guess i am putting to much value in having a Stern Scolding in my 45.

[@daleanddale]

Any thoughts on going blue/white here at some point? You got a lot of late white removal in pack 1 for free. And the squad card that makes a bunch of big tokens would have been a great academy mana sink. I might have to hop into a draft and make some videos so that you have some fair matches vs another content creator :P

[@thornthallid950]

Night Scythe doesn't seem like a vintage cube calibre card, but I'm aware it's been in for a while. Is it just because it's 3 mana for two artifacts?

[@flashjack711]

I heard that Eli Kassis dude is pretty good as well

[@lovelylemonfactory]

LSV is leaving the Displacer Kitten in the deck because he wants to keep his EV high against Martel.

[@quarkraven]

Would love to see some modo leagues! The new list is fun

[@peterklarskov1620]

Hi LSV - how bad is Spell Snare in a cube like this?

[@Stokkeland23]

Tough watch. Not casting a single Ancestrall. I think the biggest takeaway from this should be Bankbuster. It's the card he drew and played the most. It's just so slooooooooooooooow. I feel like Magic nowadays is all about curving out and making assertive plays. It's so much more difficult to turn a game around once you fall behind. You need to get ahead and stay ahead.

[@louisverrier4722]

Thibaud (or Thibault) is a common French name, it is pronounced more or less like "Tee Bow"

[@bevrosity]

tamiyo over mana drain is wild.

[@MrEuklides]

I realy dont get it. It feels like every video contain those gut punches. Misstakes might have been made but I dont recall punishments beeing this consistent and severe six months back. Back then I was frustrated that so many matches of cube felt like average midrange draft piles slugging it out. Now every single 4 cc good stuff deck just keep slaming. What am I missing here?

[@johnwright3870]

Day three of asking lsv for a video showing his personal collection and his favorite cards in mtg and his favorite interactions with those cards

[@nykollasnunes810]

No way

[@alexullrich7502]

nothing new...lost first match as usual...sad because the deck was cool

[@pietro750]

Mind twist should be removed from the Cube. Change my...mind!

[@chokey4754]

Always trying to force these kinds of decks.

[@stefanvitale4850]

I’m not asking for free stuff. But you should have weekly giveaways on singles on your channel maybe even cards played by you or something. Congratulations on the new about your new children, hope Gabby has a healthy pregnancy, and hope you find some time to enjoy and relax with family this holiday season.

[@swiftdragonrider]

Not asking for free stuff but can I have some cards plz? Or a chance to get some cards?

[@bricelory9534]

Not asking for free stuff while asking for free stuff.