The Gam Podcast

Breaking Down ALL #MCVII Decklists #MCVII is this weekend, and all 67 decklists are released! Gerry and Bryan look at every single decklist in the tournament, breaking down card choices, the metagame, and which decklists you should be watching during the event. https://www.magic.gg/news/all-mythic-championship-vii-standard-decklists Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: MCVII metagame breakdown - 8:26 Esper Control - 18:49 Jeskai Fires - 22:24 Golgari Adventures - 24:20 Golgari Sacrifice - 27:06 Simic Ramp - 28:23 Izzet Flash - 32:23 Jund Sacrifice - 35:31 Azorius Control - 41:36 Simic Flash - 44:00 Sultai Ramp - 53:04 Jund Fires - 56:34 Gruul Adventures - 59:17 Temur Adventures - 1:07:54 Rakdos Fires - 1:10:57 Temur Reclamation - 1:13:30 Five-Color Fires - 1:17:11

The metagames for both formats finally set, so Gerry and Bryan get to work figuring out what they should be playing in each format. Gerry even made the finals of a Pioneer PTQ with his deck of choice! Plus, there's some general theory talk you absolutely can't miss. Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: Standard - 2:13 Pioneer - 40:06 Question of the week - 1:04:32 About the "Mental Health with Noah Weil" episode: From 1:07:30-1:13:30, Noah told a story involving a judge call, which wasn't an accurate representation. I believed him, likely because he used discriminatory language to describe the judge in question, such as "kid," "young," and "smug" which undermined his credibility. The judge in question shared a thread about the ruling, which you should read: twitter.com/MaxPlaysMTG/status/…26418621902848?s=20 Max makes two excellent points: 1. All judges earned their way onto these events because we know what we’re doin

In the wake of bans and the massive Twitch Rivals tournament, what does Standard look like? Cat/Oven seems great (and was Bryan's deck of choice), but Jeskai Fires and Temur Reclamation were incredibly popular too. Where does Standard go from here? Bryan's Jund Cat Deck Tech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv5cYr9plFY Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: Standard bans - 3:43 Bryan's Twitch Rivals list - 15:14 Rivals metagame - 37:17 Question of the week - 1:09:47

In this bonus episode, Gerry is joined by Noah Weil to discuss a topic that's incredibly important to both of them -- mental health. They share their own experiences dealing with mental health issues, what they've learned as a result, and how they hope to destigmatize it in the future. Edit: From 1:07:30-1:13:30, Noah told a story involving a judge call, which wasn't an accurate representation. I believed him, likely because he used discriminatory language to describe the judge in question, such as "kid," "young," and "smug" which undermined his credibility. The judge in question shared a thread about the ruling, which you should read: https://twitter.com/MaxPlaysMTG/status/1197626418621902848?s=20 Max makes two excellent points: 1. All judges earned their way onto these events because we know what we’re doing. 2. Delegitimizing the rulings of a judge because of their age, gender, race, disability, etc is USC-worthy itself. I responded: https://twitter.com/G3RRYT/status/1197673301520240641?s=20 I'v

With two of the biggest tournaments of the year happening on back-to-back weeks, Gerry and Bryan have been going deep into each constructed format. Despite casting #SCGCON instead of playing, Bryan thinks he might have broken it... Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: MCV - 1:28 Where does Standard go from here? - 22:19 Modern - 29:28 Pioneer - 1:07:57 Questions of the week - 1:28:21

Gerry recruits Hearthstone pro @HS_Orange to talk Pioneer. Orange got his professional gaming start in Magic and has been crushing the Pioneer format online. Gerry asks Orange about the format in general, the B&R list, how to test the format, and lessons he learned from playing HS at the highest level.

Standard is broken but Gerry and Bryan are ready to exploit that! When the best deck maindecks Noxious Grasp, what should you be playing? Also, coverage of the Pioneer format continues!

Gerry and Bryan share their recommendations for the Arena PTQ this weekend and then, by popular demand, they talk more #mtgpioneer. They have the early tier list for the format!

The first Modern results after #MTGELD are in! Is Urza broken or is everyone wrong? Why is Oko everywhere? Is Amulet Titan suddenly good? Gerry and Bryan break it all down. twitter.com/arenadecklists youtube.com/arenadecklists patreon.com/arenadecklists Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: MC5 - 1:05 Modern - 11:32 Neobrand - 21:32 Oko in Amulet - 31:09 Once Upon a Time - 35:44 Control - 57:07 Question of the week - 1:08:50

Gerry and Bryan do what they do best, which is go deep on the best deck in Standard! Which version is the best? What's the best plan for the mirror? What's good against it? arenadecklists.gg patreon.com/arenadecklists youtube.com/arenadecklists twitter.com/arenadecklists Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: Why is Golos so powerful? - 6:53 Mirror breakers - 26:52 Maindeck slots - 38:44 Bad matchups? - 58:15 Modern Amulet - 1:03:02 Question of the week - 1:14:55

Throne of Eldraine is here and the AD crew has been in the trenches figuring out what the deck to play is in Standard. In Bryan's case, he's been defining the metagame almost single-handedly! Find out what they think are the best decks for this weekend. Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: Fandom Legends - 4:16 Golos - 11:55 Simic - 24:04 Fire of Invention - 34:25 Adventures - 41:02 Mono-red - 50:53 Esper dance - 54:15 Question of the week - 1:02:58

The Goose is loose! Gerry and Bryan review the MTG Arena Streamer Showcase event and talk about where Standard is going, which cards went up in their rankings, and which cards went down after seeing #MTGELD in action. Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: Fires of Invention - 9:19 Irencrag Pyromancer - 19:40 Questing Beast - 28:25 Rankle, Master of Pranks - 36:24 The Great Henge - 40:20 Dance of the Manse - 45:17 Vantress Gargoyle - 58:13 Legacy - 1:19:15 Question of the week - 1:23:11

#MTGELD previews haven't quite concluded, but Gerry and Bryan are ready to call it. They have their Top 10 lists, some honorable mentions, and a ton of excitement for Eldraine Standard. Come listen to what they've been working on! Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: Honorable mentions - 9:16 Gerry's #10 - 23:04 Bryan's #10 - 24:24 Gerry's #9 - 27:01 Bryan's #9 - 28:54 Gerry's #8 - 31:43 Bryan's #8 - 37:38 Gerry's #7 - 43:07 Bryan's #7 - 47:04 Gerry's #6 - 49:03 Bryan's #5 - 51:44 Gerry's #6 - 51:52 Gerry's #5 - 56:00 Gerry's #4 - 59:41 Bryan's #4 - 1:02:34 Gerry's #3 - 1:05:56 Bryan's #3 - 1:10:39 Gerry's #1 - 1:10:54 Gerry's #2 - 1:11:16 Question of the week - 1:21:28

[PODCAST] The Best #MTGELD Previews and the Modern Tier List Gerry and Bryan check in on #MTGELD previews. Two cards seem particularly absurd in Modern. After that, it's time to establish the Modern tier list after the recent shake-ups. Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: Charming Prince - 1:42 Hypnotic Sprite - 5:23 Robber of the Rich - 9:11 Lochmere Serpent - 13:53 Emry, Lurker of the Loch - 18:51 Murderous Rider - 21:41 Questing Beast - 25:34 The Royal Scions - 32:24 Once Upon a Time - 36:00 Mystical Dispute - 48:36 Outlaws' Merriment - 50:10 Modern - 57:12 Tier 1.5 - 1:18:08 Tier 2 - 1:31:35 Question of the week - 1:45:12

The first previews for #MTGELD are here! If you missed the live episode, you can listen to Gerry and Bryan talk about Adventure, Adamant, Food, Garruk, Oko, Knights, Rankle, Brawl, and more. We're now on YouTube! youtube.com/arenadecklists Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: Bake into a Pie - 4:26 Slaying Fire - 5:22 Silverflame Ritual - 7:38 Embereth Paladin - 8:31 Beanstalk Giant - 10:03 Piper of the Swarm - 13:26 Heraldic Banner - 15:08 Garruk, Cursed Huntsman - 15:51 Fireborn Knight - 20:29 Order of Midnight - 21:28 Foulmire Knight - 22:41 Smiten Swordmaster - 24:13 Syr Konrad, the Grim - 25:32 Embereth Shieldbreaker - 26:59 The Circle of Loyalty - 28:36 Tournament Grounds - 30:46 Wintermoor Commander - 31:38 Midnight Clock - 32:40 Rankle, Master of Pranks - 34:50 Tome Raider - 38:44 Eye Collector - 39:20 Maraleaf Pixie - 39:59 Faerie Vandal - 40:27 Golden Egg - 41:25 Gilded Goose - 42:25 Run Away Together - 44:38 Wis

Magic Online posted the first decklists on Friday, so Gerry and Bryan waited to record last week's episode until those lists were up. If you missed it live, you can hear their first reactions to the post B&R Modern decklists, many of which featured Stoneforge Mystic. Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: Standard - 1:53 Modern - 7:21 Neoform - 7:53 Devoted Druid - 9:43 Dredge - 11:25 U/W - 14:54 W/B Eldrazi - 20:45 Esper Control - 24:27 Affinity - 25:38 Urza decks - 29:48 G/W bears - 35:26 Martyr - 40:46 Bant Midrange - 45:40 Stoneblade - 52:23 Loam - 57:49 Bring to Light Scapeshift - 1:04:09 G/W Eldrazi - 1:10:00 Mono-red prison - 1:14:03 Abzan - 1:19:35 B/W Midrange - 1:26:08 Infect - 1:33:27 Amulet - 1:39:12 Humans - 1:45:54 Mardu - 1:52:22 Eldrazi Tron - 2:14:37 Spirits - 2:22:13 Elementals - 2:28:05 U/R Delver - 2:43:41 Questions from chat - 2:47:31 twitch.tv/arenadecklists twitch.tv/bryangmtg

In case you missed us recording this LIVE on Twitch, you can listen to Gerry and Bryan discuss the B&R changes. What's up with the Rampaging Ferocidon unban? We expected Hogaak to get the axe, but Faithless Looting? Plus, the early front-runners for Stoneforge Mystic! Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: B & R announcement - 3:03 Modern shakeup - 12:43 Question from chat - 50:34

When the best deck is obvious, what do you do? Those formats often contain ways to gain easy edges, and Gerry and Bryan lay out the guidelines for when you should play the best deck or something that beats it.

Organized Play finally announced their new system for 2020 and there's a ton to unpack! Plus, with the MTGA WMCQ this weekend, Standard is on the minds of roughly 6000 people. If you want to win the tournament, should you be playing anything other than Scapeshift?

In this "level up" episode, Bryan presents Gerry with a simple scenario: Your opponent attacks their 2/2 into your 2/2. There's more than you think that goes into the decision of whether or not you block, and they use this scenario to illustrate how you should be thinking when faced with a decision. Music: Mega Man 2 "Ending theme" Remix by zookun | Music composed by Manami Matsumae & Takashi Tateishi Timestamps: Alex Stratton - 0:41 Bryan wins Fandom - 8:12 Main topic - 15:54 Question of the week - 1:24:16