Episodes
Thursday Oct 31, 2019
Frontier Archive Project Ep. 54 - Ravnica Allegiance Review (Part 1)
Thursday Oct 31, 2019
Thursday Oct 31, 2019
After Guilds of Ravnica the Frontier metagame really started to heat up. With the second Ravnica set being added, Ravnica Allegiance, we saw a number of new decks pop up and many more already established decks got a much needed shot in the arm to re-energize their strategies. In part one we talked about the main colors of the new set from white to red and which decks they slotted into in Frontier. If you're building new Pioneer decks and have just started playing MTG recently, this is a good episode to see which of your newer cards are playable in the format and which decks are worth checking out.
Wednesday Oct 30, 2019
Frontier Archive Project Ep. 53 - The 'Johnny' decks and cards of Frontier
Wednesday Oct 30, 2019
Wednesday Oct 30, 2019
The Johnny Archetype from WotC's website: "Johnny likes a challenge. Johnny enjoys winning with cards that no one else wants to use. He likes making decks that win in innovative ways. What sets Johnny apart from the other profiles is that Johnny enjoys deck building as much as (or more than) he enjoys playing. Johnny loves the cool interactions of the cards. He loves combo decks. Johnny is happiest when he’s exploring uncharted territory."
When the metagame is zigging, the Johnny players like to zag. They love to play decks that can win out of nowhere, are hard to interact with, and come at you from angles you least expect. In this episode we have one of the well known members of the online Frontier community, Aaron Torres, come on to talk about decks like Rally the Ancestors, Jeskai Ascendancy, and a variety of other spicy Johnny decks that people have tried out in the format. If you're a Johnny player that is looking for the next best combo deck in Pioneer, you definitely want to listen to this episode!
Tuesday Oct 29, 2019
Frontier Archive Project Ep 52 - The Timmy decks and Cards of Frontier
Tuesday Oct 29, 2019
Tuesday Oct 29, 2019
Do you love playing giant creatures and smashing your opponent with insane amounts of damage to win the game? Are flashy plays and spells with lots of X's totally your thing? Then episode 52 is totally for you! In this episode we talk about everything related to the 'Timmy' player type in Magic. If you identify as a Timmy player (like myself) and want to know which decks and cards would make for great Timmy strategies in the new Pioneer format, give it a listen!
Monday Oct 28, 2019
Frontier Archive Ep. 51 - All I want Frontier Christmas
Monday Oct 28, 2019
Monday Oct 28, 2019
In episode 51 Kevin and I discuss what was on our Christmas wish list for Frontier in 2019. We discussed what reprints we'd like to see in the future, as well as what kind of cards the format needed to balance it out. Considering what cards are now available in the Pioneer format, we got a remarkable amount of picks right. If you're interested in learning about which of our 2018 Christmas wishes came true, I recommend this episode. Listen to what we thought the perfect Frontier format should be and compare it to Pioneer!
Sunday Oct 27, 2019
Code of the Cardboard Samurai #11 - Magic Fest Nagoya
Sunday Oct 27, 2019
Sunday Oct 27, 2019
Planning on coming to Nagoya for a Magic Fest in the future? Or how about visiting it on the way to a Magic Fest in Shizuoka or Kyoto? If so, this episode is right up your alley. In episode 11 we continue our series on Magic Fest locations and talk about all things Nagoya. We discuss the upcoming event in November 2019, the new event hall, transportation, things you can do around the event both before and after, and all the delicious food you can eat in Nagoya! Check it out to get some ideas for your next MTG trip!
Saturday Oct 26, 2019
Frontier Archive Project Ep. 50 - History of Frontier (Part 2)
Saturday Oct 26, 2019
Saturday Oct 26, 2019
Part 2 of our History of Frontier podcast covers what happened in the format all the way from the middle of 2017 to around the present. We talked about milestones and big events, and continued to describe how the metagame changed. As new sets came out, new iterations of favorite archetypes evolved as to what you see today at the start of the Pioneer format. This is a must listen for Pioneer players that are looking to see how cards shaped competitive Frontier each season. If you want to learn about what decks came out on top in Frontier after the dust settled, this episode is essential.
Friday Oct 25, 2019
Frontier Archive Project: Ep 50 - Pioneers: The History of Frontier (part 1)
Friday Oct 25, 2019
Friday Oct 25, 2019
The Pioneer format has its beginnings in the Frontier format, which was started back in 2016 by Hareruya and Big Magic. But how did we get from there to here? Why didn't Frontier take off? What were the highs and lows of the format, and how did the format change from its inception to right before the Pioneer format? If you're interested in learning the history about the predecessor of Pioneer and want to know how the metagames evolved over the months and months of tournaments both in Japan and online, this is a great episode for you. Part 1 covers the first year up until the end of 2017, giving you a look at Frontier's beginnings.
Thursday Oct 24, 2019
Frontier Archive Project Ep 49 - Ravnica Allegiance Predictions
Thursday Oct 24, 2019
Thursday Oct 24, 2019
In episode 49, Kevin and I delve deeper into the effect of Guilds of Ravnica on the Frontier format and discuss how we think Ravnica Allegiance will impact it further. We could easily surmise that some cycles would be continued, and that the format would get the remaining shock lands as well so we started from there. Aside from what affect those cards would have on the Frontier format, we also talked about what we hoped the new set had that could fill some holes in the Frontier metagame.
A good look at what decks were good in Frontier during the Guilds of Ravnica metagame and which Guilds of Ravnica cards saw play.
Tuesday Oct 22, 2019
Frontier Archive Project Ep. 48 - Frontier Vs. MTG Arena 'Modern'
Tuesday Oct 22, 2019
Tuesday Oct 22, 2019
It wasn't too long ago that MTG Arena had considered adding a non rotating format to their platform (which only recently became Historic) There was speculation far and wide as to what this Arena Modern would look like and how it would work, but the general thought was that it would start from Ixalan and lose everything that made Frontier great. In this episode we discussed what we thought this Arena "Modern" (aka Historic) would be like metagame wise, as well as what Frontier archetypes would no longer be viable. If you're looking to compare a possible Historic format on Arena to the paper Pioneer format, this is a good episode for you.
Monday Oct 21, 2019
Frontier Archive Project Ep 47: Promoting Frontier
Monday Oct 21, 2019
Monday Oct 21, 2019
Getting people to try new formats can be a struggle from time to time. Not everybody wants to invest time and money into an untested format, so finding people to play with can be a challenge. Frontier was one of those formats that both myself and my close friends enjoyed immensely but we had trouble to grow that community of players. Therefore the podcast crew decided to help those scattered Frontier players around the world organize and to give them a variety of ideas to grow the game in their area.
In today's podcast, we talk about how you can promote Frontier to your friends and at your Local Game Store, with various tips on how to get people started, how to keep people interested, and even some ideas for events you can offer at your store to get people playing regularly. If Historic doesn't take off in paper right away, this episode could give you some good ideas to help it grow where you live!