Raise the Standard: an MTG Podcast

Raise the Standard: an MTG Podcast

by Raise the Standard
Season 2
EP. 26 - "Grandma" is Prohibited
Well...! Here we are again. The week after we said, "There's no way that Wizards will ban Cub and Talent if they haven't banned them yet," Wizards said, "Bet." So, at long last, the new villains of the Standard format have been ushered into an early retirement. What does this mean for Standard now? Why wait until this ban cycle (August 10, 2026) to ban these cards? How will this impact the format going forward? All this and more in today's episode! | Music from HitsLab via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. | Raise the Standard is proudly sponsored by MTGBazaar! From premiere competitive events to MTG singles for your new brew, the Bazaar is the place to go for all your Magic needs. A huge thank you to Pat and the Bazaar crew for supporting the show! | This episode of Raise the Standard was recorded at Hen House Rehearsal Studios. Raise the Standard and its hosts would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we operate on. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.
EP. 25 - Special Guest Slot: Riley Jones [Mildly Modern]
He's back, and he's Boros than ever...! We're kidding, of course, there is no way that Titan enthusiast Riley Jones would play Boros at the Modern Spotlight series...or is there? We're thrilled to have Riley Jones back for another episode, this time about team prep ahead of Spotlight Series Brisbane, the first Spotlight event in Australia since the retirement of the GP series. We're chatting about how PT Super Heroes influences the choices players are making ahead of Brisbane, how teams work to develop deck strategies, and why Riley will inevitably swap to Boros for the tournament*. A huge thank you to Riley for joining us for another episode! You can find Riley online at @badatmagicbones and you can keep up with Team Quality Lines here on Twitter/X. Best of luck to Riley and the team! | Music from HitsLab via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. | Raise the Standard is proudly sponsored by MTGBazaar! From premiere competitive events to MTG singles for your new brew, the Bazaar is the place to go for all your Magic needs. A huge thank you to Pat and the Bazaar crew for supporting the show! | This episode of Raise the Standard was recorded at Hen House Rehearsal Studios. Raise the Standard and its hosts would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we operate on. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded. *For legal reasons, this is a joke. Or is it...?
EP. 24 - SuperWHOBeyond (A Universes Beyond Speculation)
As of time of recording (24/7/26), we still don't know what the Universes Beyond sets for 2027 are...so let's have a bit of a laugh and wildly speculate about what those sets could be! We're parsing this episode as part of the 'Time in the Round' series, as it's more of a bonus episode, but is content that we still found quite funny! What is your wish for a Universes Beyond set? Game of Thrones? Wheel of Time? Fortnite?? Join us for a cheeky chat as we wildly and unseriously speculate as to what the year ahead might hold. | Music from HitsLab via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. | Raise the Standard is proudly sponsored by MTGBazaar! From premiere competitive events to MTG singles for your new brew, the Bazaar is the place to go for all your Magic needs. A huge thank you to Pat and the Bazaar crew for supporting the show! | This episode of Raise the Standard was recorded at Hen House Rehearsal Studios. Raise the Standard and its hosts would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we operate on. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.
EP. 22 - So No Bans?
Obviously, we're a bit late to the party here--but we're going to talk about the 'No Changes' ban announcement anyway! This announcement was published June 29th of this year and honestly, we were a bit surprised. With the way the Standard metagame has been moving (or some would say, not moving) we had anticipated at least a couple of changes to the format. So why didn't we see anything banned? Let's chat about format construction and ban philosophy and how Stormchaser's Talent has managed to dodge the ban hammer for its entire Standard lifecycle. | Music from HitsLab via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. | Raise the Standard is proudly sponsored by MTGBazaar! From premiere competitive events to MTG singles for your new brew, the Bazaar is the place to go for all your Magic needs. A huge thank you to Pat and the Bazaar crew for supporting the show! | This episode of Raise the Standard was recorded at Hen House Rehearsal Studios. Raise the Standard and its hosts would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we operate on. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.
EP. 23 - The Anti-Prowess Prowess Deck ft. Riley Jones
On the heels of an incredible run at the Sydney Standard Spectacular $100K, we're joined today by Riley Jones! Far from being bad at Magic, Riley placed second at the $100K on a build of Prowess that incidentally has a great track record of beating the stock Prowess deck in Standard. Today, we're chatting with Riley about how the deck was built, the conception around playing the best deck while simultaneously trying to beat it, and how the metagame influences deckbuilding decisions in an open-decklist tournament. A huge thank you to Riley for joining us for this episode, and congratulations again for a stunning show of skill at the $100K! Team Quality Lines walked away with nearly 30% of the total prizepool, so watch out for the QL Boys as they prepare to head to Spotlight Series Brisbane! | Music from HitsLab via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. | Raise the Standard is proudly sponsored by MTGBazaar! From premiere competitive events to MTG singles for your new brew, the Bazaar is the place to go for all your Magic needs. A huge thank you to Pat and the Bazaar crew for supporting the show! | This episode of Raise the Standard was recorded at Hen House Rehearsal Studios. Raise the Standard and its hosts would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we operate on. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.
EP. 21 - We're So Back
We've been gone for a while...so what's been happening while we were away?! From no bans in Standard to ProTour Marvel Super Heroes and everything in between, there's been a lot that we've missed. So join us today as we dive straight back in and chat about what's happening in Magic and what's coming up! We sincerely appreciate your patience and support as we've had to take additional time away from the show. We're so excited to be back and bringing you more Magic content, from Standard to Highlander, Universes Within and Beyond, and sharing incredible guests along the way. Thank you for sticking with us! | Music from HitsLab via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. | Raise the Standard is proudly sponsored by MTGBazaar! From premiere competitive events to MTG singles for your new brew, the Bazaar is the place to go for all your Magic needs. A huge thank you to Pat and the Bazaar crew for supporting the show! | This episode of Raise the Standard was recorded at Hen House Rehearsal Studios. Raise the Standard and its hosts would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we operate on. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.
EP. 20 - Voltie's Deckbuilding Lesson
Class is now in session! Our guest lecturer today is none other than Highlander committee member and Highlander World Champion: Aunt Voltie ⚡ Voltie is a seasoned deckbuilder and a competitive Magic player of remarkably high caliber. She is a content creator, tournament organiser, and community member who is well-known for her knowledge and prowess within the game of Magic. Today, we're chatting with Voltie about common deckbuilding pitfalls, planning for the "middle state", and being an active participant in your deckbuilding process. A huge thank you to Voltie for sharing her time and expertise on the show! If you're interested in Voltie's deckbuilding and deck doctor services or are looking to find more of her content, you can find her online at @AuntVoltie and via her LinkTree, which contains links to her social media, her Discord, and other tutoring services. | Music from HitsLab via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. | Raise the Standard is proudly sponsored by MTGBazaar! From premiere competitive events to MTG singles for your new brew, the Bazaar is the place to go for all your Magic needs. A huge thank you to Pat and the Bazaar crew for supporting the show! | This episode of Raise the Standard was recorded at Hen House Rehearsal Studios. Raise the Standard and its hosts would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we operate on. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.
EP. 19 - Aunt Voltie & 7PT Boros
After her dominating performance at Highlander Worlds, we've brought beloved Highlander committee member and friend of the show, Aunt Voltie, back to answer for her crimes: playing 7PT Boros. In her previous episode, Voltie talked about the benefits of two-colour pair decks (Dimir and Boros most notably) playing 8PT lists rather than 7PT lists. However, rather than take her own advice, she registered 7-Point Boros for Highlander Worlds. A decision that clearly panned out, as she took down the entire tournament and won a Time Walk! A huge congratulations to Voltie on her performance at Highlander Worlds. But now...she must answer herself! Why play 7PT Boros just for a single Plateau? Is the dual land really worth an 8th point in that list? What decisions go into a deck like hers and how do those percentage points convert to results in-game? All these questions and more in today's episode! Many thanks again to Voltie for giving us her time and energy here on the show. If you want to find Voltie online, you can search her up at @AuntVoltie across social media and can access her deck doctor and tutoring services through her LinkTree. | Music from HitsLab via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. | Raise the Standard is proudly sponsored by MTGBazaar! From premiere competitive events to MTG singles for your new brew, the Bazaar is the place to go for all your Magic needs. A huge thank you to Pat and the Bazaar crew for supporting the show! | This episode of Raise the Standard was recorded at Hen House Rehearsal Studios. Raise the Standard and its hosts would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we operate on. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.
EP. 18 - Alchemy? Alche-You
MTG Arena's Alchemy format is truly in a league of its own. From "conjure" mechanics and "draft from spellbook" the online-only mechanics are often difficult if not impossible to replicate in paper. But there is another, more interesting use of the Alchemy format: de-powering paper cards. Cards like The One Ring, Orcish Bowmasters, Heartfire Hero, and Cori-Steel Cutter are amongst the modern paper cards that have been 'nerfed' in Alchemy. This is often a concession to the true power of the paper card and are ones that have been banned in one format or another (be it Modern, Standard, Pioneer, or in multiple formats). So today, we're talking a bit about the "Alchemy versions" of Standard cards, how Alchemy could be used to mitigate problematic cards before they head to print, and how we would alchem-ify some cards that are currently running rampant in the Standard metagame. | Music from HitsLab via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. | Raise the Standard is proudly sponsored by MTGBazaar! From premiere competitive events to MTG singles for your new brew, the Bazaar is the place to go for all your Magic needs. A huge thank you to Pat and the Bazaar crew for supporting the show! | This episode of Raise the Standard was recorded at Hen House Rehearsal Studios. Raise the Standard and its hosts would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we operate on. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.
EP. 17 - Pre-Pro Tour Study Session
> This episode was filmed prior to Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven < The most important test of a Magic player's career happened this weekend! But prior to the Pro Tour, we sat down to discuss the PT in broad strokes: what we expected to see, what we hoped to see, and what we thought might be coming next for the Standard metagame. This weekend has been a showing that the Standard metagame is currently stable. The decks that we expected to see have a large representation (Izzet Prowess, Landfall, Izzet Spellementals, Izzet Lessons) did have that same representation, and those same decks that we expected to do well, did perform as expected. So...what did we think before the event started? Sit down with us today and chat! | Music from HitsLab via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. | Raise the Standard is proudly sponsored by MTGBazaar! From premiere competitive events to MTG singles for your new brew, the Bazaar is the place to go for all your Magic needs. A huge thank you to Pat and the Bazaar crew for supporting the show! | This episode of Raise the Standard was recorded at Hen House Rehearsal Studios. Raise the Standard and its hosts would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we operate on. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.
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