Table for 2 - An MTG Arena Podcast

Follow Table for 2 - An MTG Arena Podcast
Share on
Copy link to clipboard

Pro Tour champion and MPL member Alexander Hayne chats Magic: The Gathering with KYT over food/coffee.

Kar Yung Tom


    • Jun 1, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 1h 9m AVG DURATION
    • 31 EPISODES


    Search for episodes from Table for 2 - An MTG Arena Podcast with a specific topic:

    Latest episodes from Table for 2 - An MTG Arena Podcast

    Boomers vs. Zoomers at Pro Tour March of the Machine

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2023 52:45


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 Boomers vs. Zoomers at Pro Tour March of the Machine Mike Sigrist - best Limited mind Thoughts on 3 years of Standard KYT and Hayne played in the same chess event Surrounding yourself with better players Caring about Elo What's next for Alex? Toronto RC, Barcelona KYT on his first year of being a dad

    InsayneHayne Is Back on the Pro Tour!

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2023 57:43


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 - Alex finished in the top 4 of Ottawa Weekend with Esper Legends - KYT gets Alex to elaborate how one can improve their Magic besides playing infinite games - Alex answers a Q from Joseph Karani on optimal team size for Pro Tour testing - Why wearing a mask can give you an edge - Ranking the top provinces

    Return of the Table

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2020 83:49


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 Alex and KYT meet up for the first time since COVID for a socially distanced lobster dinner.

    Alex top 8s Players Tour Online 4!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2020 80:55


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (1:45) Alex talks about playing Temur Reclamation to a PT Online 4 top 8 finish (4:00) KYT asks Alex to clarify the differences between all the tournaments that have been running (18:55) KYT gets Alex to go more in-depth on his tourney prep, how'd he know how to adjust (28:00) Is the format skill intenstive or skill rewarding? (31:45) KYT comments how well the game is doing - Ikoria & Core Set 2021 doing great (39:30) What can we learn from the recent chess hype? (57:45) Alex asks KYT how chess has been going for him, KYT obsessed with exploitative chess

    Reacting to Organized Play with a Mix of Strategy

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2020 88:45


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 Apologies on minor mic friction noise (1:55) Alex details the recent Organized Play announcements and gives his reaction. Is this the death of competitive Magic? (16:05) Reacting to Matt Sperling's glass-half-full tweet (31:00) KYT has gotten Alex hooked on two chess streams: GMHikaru & BotezLive (48:00) Tactics in chess and how it can relate to MTG (1:01:00) Chess coaches often recommend playing slow games (1:14:30) Answer a Q by Nikachu on Twitter: why don't MTG players review their games? KYT suggests an improvement routine. (1:18:00) KYT has identified auto-pilot leaks by recording his poker play

    The Companion Mechanic, Chess, Best Move vs. Easier to Play

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2020 100:56


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (0:00) What we've been up to and which games we've been playing (3:45) Is Alex still a Rival and for how long? (29:15) What does Alex think of Ikoria and the Companion mechanic? (57:00) In chess, even the very elite might not play the best move and opt for an easier to play line. Does this happen in MTG? (1:12:24) KYT links the discussion to poker: some players trying to copy solvers, GTO vs. exploitative (1:18:00) KYT is happy to see people tweet about being proud to hit 2000+ ratings on MTGO. Can there actually be a mix of ELO in the ladder?

    Organized Play - WWAD

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 15, 2020 78:14


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (0:00) Thoughts on Play Design (11:45) Reaction to Organized Play announcements - what would Alex do? First 2 vs. best 5? (29:30) Alex thinks people who were able to mix a job and MTG as a hobby did it right (31:30) Alex reveals roughly how much he earned as an MPL player in 2019 (1:01:00) London mulligan strategy (1:11:00) Helping finalnub win a Realease Weekend Limited Grand Prix

    MTG Outlook for 2020

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2019 76:58


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (2:00) How does Alex feel post-Arena Mythic Championship? How hard will he work to get back in the MPL? (24:00) Success stories vs. survivorship bias. The dark side of MTG addiction. (38:00) Javier Dominguez - best in the world? (42:20) Reacting to some OP changes

    The Pressure of this Mythic Championship

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2019 70:22


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (1:45) Reacting to the current landscape of MTG content (13:10) Tyler Nightingale asks us how we'd get people more invested in the MPL (21:40) The pressure of the upcoming Arena Mythic Championship, how did Alex prepare (34:20) Good Game culture, turning emotions on/off (41:45) Alex is asked what's the difference between him and the average grinder (53:00) Tactics vs. strategy in Magic (57:20) Analyzing the Pinnacle odds for the Arena MC. The level of disrepect!

    End of an Era

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2019 70:09


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (2:10) Talking Paul Cheon, he says TF2 photos make him hungry (5:50) Discussing Strasky (8:20) Proclaiming retirement and crushing (17:00) End of an era, emotional feelings at the last MC of its kind (22:25) What did Alex play at the MC and why (33:45) Alex says they shouldn't push mechanics that only work with themselves (40:00) "I think the London Mulligan is a mistake" - Alex (49:40) Playing the best deck, avoiding testing/data traps

    Sergio Ferry, Pioneer, Oko at MC Richmond

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2019 66:02


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (2:00) Sergio Ferry wants to know what's the optimal strategy with fractional invites (15:35) What does Alex think of Pioneer? (30:20) Alex doesn't sound that enthusiastic about Standard, explains why Oko is not an enjoyable card (1:00:00) Listener wanted Arena draft advice

    Hayne Headed to Mythic Championship V

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2019 35:13


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (0:00) Alex is headed to Long Beach, California for MCV! Some Standard talk. (2:30) Listener Q: how does field size change Alex's deck selection (6:25) Do pros hate this Standard format? How skill intensive is it? (10:00) Tips for people fantasy drafting MC5 (15:15) Alex & KYT react to all the news from Riot Games' 10th Year Anniversary Celebration

    MagicFest Montreal Champion, Auto-Pilot, Focus

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2019 78:05


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (6:00) Old school players crushed Grand Prix Montreal, where's the new wave? (17:00) How to keep in mind unorthodox usage of cards during a game (28:30) A popular listener question: how to stay focused for an entire tournament (43:00) Unconventional card choices in Limited (47:00) Throne of Eldraine Limited takeaways (1:00:00) Game theory in drafting

    Range, Competence, Jedi Mind Tricks

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2019 83:01


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (10:25) KYT is reading Range by David Epstein and trying to extrapolate concepts to apply to MTG (21:35) Widening range within a team (33:20) Conscious and unconscious competence, listening to your inner voice (53:20) KYT asks Alex what he thinks about Jedi Mind Tricks (1:04:50) Reid Duke (1:16:00) Going over ESPN article - The grandmaster diet

    3 Pillars of Magic Strategy, Expanding Your Range

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2019 68:15


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (2:57) Alex asks KYT which concepts he would teach first to a new player (18:41) Game theory and sideboarding (23:45) Card advantage, tempo, mana usage - people tend to be mainly good at one of them (28:25) KYT takes a shot at finalnub, urging him to expand his deck selection range (41:05) Generalist vs. Specialist, brand value, team value, is Alex Majlaton the best Affinity player in the world? (52:40) KYT on adjusting how opponents will sideboard

    Deck Selection, Decision Complexity, Hall of Fame

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2019 78:53


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (0:00) Complete nonsense, PARKOUR!!! (7:35) Playing "real" decks, how to dismiss new deck ideas efficiently (18:20) Debating 70/30 vs. 55/45 decks. Alex's success with Sphinx's Revelation. (23:20) "You want to maximize decision difficulty when you're the better player" (38:25) Is it better to play a higher variance deck if the goal is to spike a tournament? (50:45) Discussing decks with high fail rates. How expected player strength can affect optimal deck choice. (1:04:00) Alex & KYT both likely to vote for Pikula for HOF. Is Javier Dominguez still Alex's pick for best active player?

    Esper in Standard, OP News, Game Design

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2019 64:52


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (0:00) How did Alex do with Esper in the MPL? (6:15) KYT is qualified for the MTG Arena MCQ. What should he play? (9:15) When to play surprise cards? (20:20) What does Alex think of the Organized Play news? (33:50) Will the MPL gauntlet be compelling viewing? (43:55) Instead of trying to build stars with a system, Alex says he would try to reduce the variance of the game itself (47:45) KYT wants a world where the game is marketed so fans can relate to players and not just decks (51:50) KYT asks Alex how exactly he would make the game more skill-intensive

    The Value of Being Unpredictable

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2019 52:05


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (00:45) Alex is back from Mythic Championship Barcelona. How'd he do? (02:25) Was Alex any less inspired to play this Mythic Championship? (10:45) Did people actually come up to Alex in Barcelona to talk about this podcast? (16:50) Power level of cards in Modern & Limited (23:35) Quick thoughts on what makes Limited enjoyable to Alex (31:55) Reading questions from our "listeners" (34:55) HIGH LEVEL: The value of having 1-ofs and being unpredictable (47:00) finalnub's idea of playing 1 copy of Leyline of the Void in the main. Is it good?

    Lions, Sheeps and How to Improve at Limited

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2019 65:37


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (3:45) How was casting Fandom legends with Semulin and TheAsianAvenger? (6:30) Why Alex stopped splitting finals? (16:30) Q: How to not feel too high/too low? How to avoid autopilot? (20:15) Alex's mentality walking into a Magic tournament, how he tried to trashtalk Jon Finkel (24:15) Is it actually beneficial to play all the rounds ala Franky Richard? (33:45) Q: How do you deal with nerves and letting people down? (41:20) Q: How would you approach improving at a Limited format?

    MTG Fundamentals, How to Improve and Social Media

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2019 89:03


    Treat us to cups of coffee ☕ for our next episode - https://ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (4:55) Answering Medina's question - How should one work on their MTG fundamentals? (15:45) A huge sideboarding mistake a lot people make in Constructed (31:15) I don't think anyone became a great Magic player by themselves - Alex (45:35) When to trust yourself in Magic, why the Miracle deck posted a low win rate (48:20) Lessons KYT has learned about posting on social media (54:10) Reality vs. perception, is there a gap between the top MODO players/top live players? (1:13:30) Quick answer to how Alex would approach improving at Limited (1:18:00) That one time KYT was an MTG Insider, marketing vs. content

    Timing, Sequencing and Mental Game

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2019 74:54


    (0:00) KYT finishes the month at Mythic #115 (4:50) Alex played Mono Blue in recent Fandom Legends event and finished 4th (7:40) What's the deal with all these small esports organizations? (14:55) "Most people don't actually know what good Magic is." - Alex (18:25) HIGH-LEVEL: Timing/sequencing subtleties (31:00) Thanking listeners and how to pronounce gif (33:05) Grand Prix Atlanta story - Booze Cube with Pascal Maynard & Dave Mantel (36:25) HIGH-LEVEL: Mental game / answering @jamietopples's question / how we deal with tilt (57:30) Is pattern recognition from chess applicable to Magic?

    magic timing thanking mental game mythic sequencing kyt pascal maynard fandom legends grand prix atlanta
    Esper at Mythic Championship III, More Sideboarding Advice

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2019 77:44


    (3:20) Alex goes over his Mythic Championship III (10:55) KYT gets Alex to talk about specific card choices of his Esper deck (14:20) Why having even just 1-2 cards different can make a huge difference (16:00) Why Alex didn't think Mono Red was that good heading into MC3 (17:40) HIGH-LEVEL: Why it can make sense to side out a land in a low curve deck (24:00) How Alex trolled BBD by pretending to stream at MC3 --- GRANDMASTER SESSION --- (30:00) KYT & Alex go over a Brad Nelson decision in the Grand Finals: when to wait (41:00) How to sideboard in Limited ----------- END ----------- (50:55) Food for thought for the next episode, nature vs. nurture, chess parallels (54:00) KYT goes over the deck he has used to grind up to #50 on Arena - Bant Manipulation (59:00) KYT wants to shed "just a content producer" tag (1:05:20) Did people think Alex was a good player after he won a Pro Tour? (1:12:00) Why brand value can be important, Lords of Limited shoutout

    Why It's Hard to Improve at Magic

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2019 24:55


    (0:00) Alex is headed to Mythic Championship III in Vegas (3:50) Alex thinks with the way Magic is now designed, there's rarely a 65%+ deck (4:30) How much better is a 65% win player vs. a 50% win player? (7:35) Why KYT thinks it's hard to improve at Magic and why he thinks most people stay in the same tier (18:30) Why KYT doesn't like Gruul in Standard and what he'd play to grind the Arena ladder (21:50) KYT reflects on what Alex said on the show on his own

    las vegas magic arena gruul kyt mythic championship iii
    The Future of Competitive Magic, Approach to Sideboarding

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2019 87:06


    (0:00) Support the show by gifting the guys a cup of coffee via ko-fi.com/tablefor2 (2:30) KYT called his shot and won the Arena Super Cup with White Weenie (5:05) How KYT arrived at his deck choice (8:25) The difference between round 1 and the finals, how Alex deals with nerves (16:15) Chatting about the upcoming RedBull tournament, how the game is now favouring popularity, esports vs. isports (33:50) How chess is now getting into the streaming space (39:10) Smaller skill gap is why top Magic players are more replaceable (49:30) Why there's nothing wrong with using a sideboard guide (52:20) GRANDMASTER AUDIO CLASS: Approach to sideboarding // A little bit bigger/slower (1:04:00) Where KYT wants to see the content world move towards

    Health, the Mental Game, Live Arena Tournaments

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2019 59:24


    THIS IS PART 2 OF A CONVERSATION. (0:00) MTG fitness, nutrition, sleep, drugs, do they affect performance? (7:00) Tzu-Ching Kuo doesn't eat or drink water at events (10:55) Discussion on sports psychology / therapy, Alex started to stop splitting finals (21:00) Alex & KYT's experience with different diets, trying paleo/keto, settling on CICO (34:55) Alex & KYT went to the brand new esports place that opened in downtown Montreal (39:20) KYT says he's going to win the Arena Super Cup (41:10) Alex & KYT discuss the viability of hosting local MTG Arena tournaments, reminisce about chess days (51:15) Power of networking, bringing people together with ManaDeprived (54:25) Alex asks KYT if he thinks he deserves to be invited to one of the Arena Mythic Championships?

    GoFundMes, Ramp in Standard and High-Level Strategy

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2019 54:25


    THIS IS PART 1 OF A CONVERSATION. (3:25) Tackling the GoFundMe topic (10:50) KYT thinking back to Jay Boosh getting funded to go to GP Toronto (15:15) Should people have more foresight before they play an MCQ? (26:05) KYT needs to figure out what Standard deck to play at the Arena Super Cup (30:20) KYT tried tangrams' Simic Ramp list. tangrams first to 2 trophies in the current MTGO League. (41:50) KYT loving River's Rebuke, but maybe Karn's Temporal Sundering is better. (43:20) HIGH-LEVEL STRATEGY: Identifying what matters (45:45) Thoughts on UR Phoenix, Alex doesn't understand how it wins (47:20) Which decks Alex is down on?

    Vietnamese Food, Standard, WAR Limited

    Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2019 82:38


    (0:00) Vietnamese food go-tos (5:55) Alex's GP Providence weekend (8:55) Alex explains to KYT what "bang bang" means (10:15) More value in today's GPs? (16:50) Being a tourist in your own city, visiting Saint Joseph's Oratory (27:50) Standard talk, mentally taxing decks| (53:30) Do 70% decks still exist? (56:30) GOING DEEP: Has podcasting made KYT less shy? (1:07:00) KYT's one interaction with LSV (1:11:00) WAR Limited, why KYT loves Ari Lax's content, going over Ari's blog post on WAR

    war gps limited vietnamese lsv vietnamese food kyt ari lax
    Community Contributions, High-Level Strategy & Standard

    Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2019 84:35


    (1:34) Hayne heading down to GP Providence, teaming with Sigrist and Martell (5:05) Winning a team GP with Hoaen and Hron (6:20) KYT asks if Martell is content with his almost-HOF career (8:25) General Hall of Fame talk (19:05) Hayne's frustration with the current state of Magic content (22:14) GOING DEEP: Is writing paid articles community contribution? (27:15) KYT's motivation for starting ManaDeprived.com & where he is at now (29:55) Hayne gives an example of bad Magic content he has read (41:05) KYT thinks back on a strategic error he'd mindlessly make (46:15) HIGH LEVEL STRATEGY: Abandoning preconceived notions (52:55) Standard talk, more Command the Dreadhorde (1:00:55) UG Incubation/Nissa (1:15:24) Who is the best player in Kingston? (1:16:00) Who is the best player in Ottawa?

    MPL Reaction, Gerry Thompson Resigning, Standard Talk

    Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2019 60:38


    (0:00) Is Detective Dhaliwal actually a detective? (3:15) Hayne's reaction to Gerry's MPL resignation (6:00) Reaction to the 2 new MPL additions (19:19) Response to "entitled players complaining" comments (29:40) Reaction to SaffronOlive/Simon Görtzen Twitter thread, thoughts on making MPL more interesting (41:45) How can you tell a deck is bad right away? (49:20) Command the Dreadhorde talk, how to tell when mana dorks are good, what Alex would play

    command reaction resigning mpl hayne gerry thompson dreadhorde
    WAR Standard, Top 5 All-Time, Rating MPL

    Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2019 66:22


    (2:30) Reminiscing about old style PTQs (3:25) Alex's first PTQ win (5:00) WAR Standard talk (7:50) Nexus (10:20) Izzet Phoenix (13:25) Mono Red winning the SCG (19:55) 17 lands in BO1 Mono Red (21:25) Mono Red choices, Frenzy vs. Chandra, Patrick Sullivan's thoughts (26:15) Alex hates Risk Factor (27:40) Lava Coil in the mirror (29:30) Putting pros on a pedestal (30:20) Alex getting on KYT for calling Edgar the hottest Canadian player (34:45) New Karn in Tron (37:05) MPL breakdown (38:50) Rating Emerald group (41:20) Rating Pearl group, Javier best active player? (45:50) Rating Ruby group, Huey nigh-unbeatable when he's on (49:05) Alex's top 5 all-time (52:45) Rating Sapphire group (01:01:10) Reacting to Yuuya being out of the Hall of Fame

    The Pilot Episode

    Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2019 49:32


    (01:52) Alex health update (03:15) Playing Tron at the Mythic Championship (06:50) Brian Ziemba losing Alex's decklist at GP Vancouver (14:25) Derek Pite sitting at the wrong table in round 4 (17:45) Progression of Alex's Limited skills, Sigrist's approach to Limited (25:18) Ben Stark, overrated/underrated (29:05) War of the Spark, fast /slow? (31:05) Yuuya Watanabe DQ reaction

    Claim Table for 2 - An MTG Arena Podcast

    In order to claim this podcast we'll send an email to with a verification link. Simply click the link and you will be able to edit tags, request a refresh, and other features to take control of your podcast page!

    Claim Cancel