Code of the Cardboard Samurai

#17 -God of Pioneer 7 and the State of Organized Play in Japan

With the God of Pioneer 7 tournament in the books and still fresh on everybody's mind, The Japan Hobbyist and his "cohost" Taichi invite new friend and local MTG player Mickey (Swampmouse on Discord) to talk about his experience at the event. We go over what the metagame was like, the top 16 decklists, and also discuss the overall state of the Pioneer format in Japan at the moment.

In the second half of the podcast we move onto a discussion about organized play in Japan to help foreign players living or visiting the country. Taichi gives us some insight on what OP was like in the past in Japan and his opinions on how this year will be different, then offers us the unique perspective of a level 1 Magic the Gathering Judge. If you're thinking about playing Magic the Gathering in Japan and want to hop into competitive play this year, you don't want to miss this episode!

If you have questions about MTG in Japan don't be afraid to drop into our discord or hitting me up on Twitter!

 

Discord: https://discord.gg/JGKxHhy

Twitter: @YoJapanHobbyist

Code of the Cardboard Samurai 14: Japanese Pioneer Vocab 101

The Pioneer format has exploded in popularity in Japan recently due to the upcoming Magic Fest in Nagoya. GP Nagoya will be the first ever Pioneer GP along with GP Brussels in Belgium. As some of you might know, I started my blog around Avacyn Restored and soon afterwards I began keeping an up to date Japanese to English vocabulary page on my blog, www.thejapanhobbyist.com. If you've been listening to my past podcasts then you know that I posted another episode about basic Magic the Gathering vocabulary you need to know to play MTG in Japan. You can find that episode here. In today's episode I'm joined by a special guest and level one judge in Japan, Taichi Nishizawa. We go over all of the vocabulary from Return to Ravnica block to Theros Beyond Death, and explain how to use the vocabulary while playing a game in Japanese. If you're a Magic player living in Japan, visiting for a Grand Prix or other event, or just want to practice speaking Japanese, give it a listen! 

Frontier Archive Project Ep. 69 - The M20 Set review

And just like that the Final Frontier podcast ends. In episode 69 we talk about how Historic was finally announced officially by Wizards of the Coast and then talk about what excited us the most from the M20 Core set. We discussed how the cards fit into Frontier since we were hoping that the new format would go back further than Ixalan, so luckily the episode does a good job of showcasing how M20 fits into the scheme of things in Pioneer. I'd like to thank you for taking the time to listen to our old shows. If you'd like to follow us in our journey through the new Pioneer format you can pick up where we left here in our new podcast, The First Pioneers. Thanks for listening!

https://thefirstpioneers.podbean.com/

Frontier Archive Ep. 68 - Starting Right

Before Pioneer was announced, all we knew was that Wizards was working on a new format for the Arena platform. That format eventually morphed into what we now know as Historic, but we were hoping that the format would also translate into some kind of paper format as well. In our second to last Frontier episode we talked about everything we learned from the Frontier format after 2 years plus of playing and made suggestions for Wizards of the Coast to follow so they didn't run into the same problems that the format had from start to finish. Did they listen? Did our wishes come true with the Pioneer format? You'll have to listen to find out! 

Frontier Archive Project Ep. 67 - Mind over Meta

As Ryan gears up for the 13th God of Frontier tournament in Tokyo at Hareruya, He and Kevin talk about how the War of the Spark Frontier metagame has been evolving both online and in paper. They cover how each archetype has changed and what cards to look out for going into a big tournament. This is one of the last metagame episodes we did prior to Pioneer, so you can get a good look at how the decks in the format were updated with almost the same pool we currently have. 

Frontier Archive Project Ep. 66 - Story Time: The Best Plays in Frontier

Every format has their own plays that make players feel good when they play them. Emptying your hand turn one with a Modern Affinity deck, flashing back a Lightning Bolt with Snapcaster Mage for the kill, or even winning a counterspell battle in Legacy with Force of Will. Frontier is no different, and with the added pool of cards for Pioneer, some 'god' hands are just going to get crazier. In episode 66 we talk about what some of the best plays you can pull of in Frontier are. If you're looking to break the format in Pioneer, this is a great starting point. Whether you're a Timmy, Spike, or Johnny player you're bound to find something in this episode that will put a smile on your face.

Frontier Archive Project Ep. 65 - Frontier Brawl

We're down to our last 5 Frontier podcasts! Today's topic was more of a fun one based around Brawl. The format never really took off in standard due to poor promotion of the game and a limited pool, but some Frontier players had been having fun building Frontier Brawl decks so we thought we'd cover what a Frontier Brawl format would look like. What were the best legendary creatures and planeswalkers to use as Generals? What were the best spells? We explored what this possible format would look like and came up with some good results. If you're still not sure about jumping into competitive Pioneer, maybe you'll enjoy building Pioneer Brawl decks instead. Use this episode as a primer to get started! 

Frontier Archive Project Ep. 64 - Bridging the Gap From Standard

Before the most recent rotation last summer, people were actually enjoying standard. Nowadays, not so much. No matter the season, standard usually has the most active players of any format. The power level of standard has been creeping up lately, and we thought that many of the decks might just have what it takes to be playable in Frontier. This can also be true of Pioneer. In all likeliness, you can take a standard deck and make a few changes and have a deck that is ready to go in Pioneer. One of the great things about having a format between standard and modern is that it's much easier to adapt standard to it. If you've played standard over the last few seasons and are thinking of making a Pioneer deck, listen to our suggestions on how to update it so you can play the new format right away!

Frontier Archive Project Ep. 63.3 - War of the Spark Set Review (Part 2)

The multicolor cards of War of the Spark and our top 5 most impactful cards from the set in Frontier wraps up our 3 part series on one of the most powerful sets to ever enter the format. Did your top 5 WAR cards for Pioneer match ours? Listen to what we thought were the Frontier playables and possibles from War of the Spark. 

Frontier Archive Project Ep. 63.2 - War of the Spark Set Review (Part 1)

In our 2nd to last set review for Frontier, we talked about the main colors of War of the Spark and also discussed how the new and returning mechanics in the set would affect the format. It's a given that many of the planeswalkers will find their way into Pioneer, but where do the rest fit in? We explore the possibilities for the set and give you suggestions on what kind of deck to use the cards in. If you've already heard it the first time, it's worth a revisit to see how the playables would match up with the Theros and Return to Ravnica blocks that were added in the Pioneer format.