POPULARITY
What a long strange trip it's been... from Chicago to Seattle! On this week's show, Stan shares stories and highlights from his visit to Wizards of the Coast headquarters. Then we look at the first batch of Modern results since the Nadu ban, and breath a sigh of relief at a format finding its footing. The Break Down: The Sights and Sounds of Renton, WA The Dive Down: Energy Looks Good, Modern Looks Better Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_8LU And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:13 - Heavy Play is better than Mountain Dewmwake 7:13 - This week's show/housekeeping 12:25 - The Break Down begins: Stan went to WOTC! 41:40 - Stan interviews Blake Rasmussen 51:45 - Stan interviews Aaron Forsythe, Mike Turian, and Carmen Klomparens 1:04:14 - The Dive Down begins: Post-ban Modern 1:23:29 - Dave played Hollow One 1:34:47 - Devon played Naya Energy 1:48:34 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Samalia Combo: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6612111#paper Devon's Naya Energy: https://x.com/d00mwake/status/1830402879229755474 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: thedivedown@gmail.com (mailto:thedivedown@gmail.com) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
Blake sits down with Mike Turian and Mark Rosewater to answer questions about the Play Booster Announcement.
Mike Turian and Ovidio Cartagena join Blake for a recap of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth preview debut.
Today I'm joined by Senior Product Architect Mike Turian to discuss his hall of fame career in magic, his time as a developer, and also get into the nitty gritty about Booster Fun and The List. We had a small mic failure in the beginning so I apologize for the sound quality.
In this podcast, I talk with Mike Turian, Pro Tour Hall of Famer and coworker. I talk with him about his time working as a Magic developer and his current job as principal product designer. What is that? Listen and learn.
Mike Turian joins this week's show to talk about Double Masters previews so far and more about how the set came to be.
The Weekly MTG team invites Mike Turian on the show to talk about the upcoming reprint set Double Masters, releasing August 7, 2020.
This week on Limited Resources Marshall and Luis welcome Pro Tour Hall of Famer and current Wizards of the Coast employee Mike Turian on the show to talk Limited! Mike is known as one of the best Limited players of all time, and he tells you how he approaches the game in this episode. Also in this show, five exclusive LR preview cards for Kaladesh! Mike's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mturian Extra Life Charity Event: tinyurl.com/magicextralife Limited Resources is proudly sponsored by ChannelFireball.com You can support Limited Resources on the LR Patreon page here: LR Patreon Page Your Hosts: Marshall Sutcliffe and Luis Scott-Vargas Marshall’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Marshall_LR Luis’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/lsv Email: lr@lrcast.com LR Community Subreddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/lrcast Contact Marshall_LR on Magic Online if you’d like to join the Limited Resources clan.
"Magic is kind of mind-blowing." Mike Turian is one of the greatest Limited players ever in the history of the Magic Pro Tour, and a bona fide Hall of Famer. He is also a key driving force within Wizards of the Coast, having held key roles in R&D, Organized Play, Technology, Magic Online, and Magic Duels teams. In this no-holds-barred conversation, I talk to Mike about both his illustrious playing career (Part 1) and the decade that he's spent at Wizards of the Coast (Part 2). Mike has tons of great stories and learnings to share, so please do come along for the ride! Time stamps -- Part 2: [02:06] How Mike started working at Wizards [05:22] The most important advice that Randy gave Mike at the beginning [06:53] Working at Wizards vs. being a competitive player — tough decision? [09:28] Winning for the community vs. for yourself [11:08] Summary of Mike’s different roles at Wizards [11:57] Insights Mike gained from the Market Research team [14:53] The best way to provide user feedback for Magic Online [15:58] The Magic expansion sets that Mike led from a development perspective [16:38] Leaving R&D to drive the Planeswalker Points program [17:14] How hard was it to leave R&D? [20:36] Most memorable R&D moments [23:25] Developing the planeswalker card type [26:35] “With [Jace, the Mind Sculptor] we wanted to make a card that people loved, and I think we accomplished that.” [31:09] Favorite cards that Mike’s worked on [36:23] Advice for folks who want to work in Magic R&D [42:10] Mike’s current role in the Brand team — what does it involve? [46:53] Most exciting thing in Mike’s current role [49:54] Advantages of working in the digital domain [52:08] Favorite colleagues [55:27] The unsung heroes of Wizards [56:48] Personal and career goals — and the one competitive goal he’s yet to achieve [58:15] The competitive fire, and the purity of tournament Magic Photo Credit: Wizards of the Coast
"Magic is kind of mind-blowing." Mike Turian is one of the greatest Limited players ever in the history of the Magic Pro Tour, and a bona fide Hall of Famer. He is also a key driving force within Wizards of the Coast, having held key roles in R&D, Organized Play, Technology, Magic Online, and Magic Duels teams. In this no-holds-barred conversation, I talk to Mike about both his illustrious playing career (Part 1) and the decade that he's spent at Wizards of the Coast (Part 2). Mike has tons of great stories and learnings to share, so please do come along for the ride! Time stamps -- Part 1: [03:21] Introduction [09:49] Growing up in Pittsburgh [12:04] Earliest gaming experiences [15:51] Being competitive with his best friend [19:42] Playing Magic for the first time [29:24] Getting hooked on tournaments [32:40] Booster drafts with two packs, not three [34:34] The appeal of the Limited format [36:06] Learning the basics of Limited [38:45] The outside world through The Duelist magazine [41:10] Making a splash in larger events [43:21] Playing against Brian Kibler in Grand Prix Toronto [45:02] Mike’s first Pro Tour in Chicago [46:18] Randy Buehler [50:05] Being part of a team and preparation process [55:17] Teaming up with Gary Wise and Scott Johns [1:00:04] Skills learned through team play [1:01:10] Best Magic memories [1:03:10] On sportsmanship [1:04:16] What the Hall of Fame means to him [1:06:17] Mike’s Hall of Fame achievements [1:09:25] Focusing on Limited vs. Constructed [1:11:16] Mike’s criteria for Hall of Fame membership Photo Credit: Wizards of the Coast
MTG Pro Tutor - Insights, Tips & Advice from Magic: The Gathering Pros
Mike Turian has participated in a staggering 32 Pro Tours, 5 World Championships, 6 National Championships and numerous Grand Prixs. He is the Champion of Pro Tour New York in 2000 and Grand Prix Montreal in 2002. He has a top 8 finish at Worlds Toronto in 2001 and Pro Tour Amsterdam 2004. Mike also finished in the top 4 of Pro Tour Boston in 2003 and Pro Tour San Diego in 2004. Mike has amassed 234 Pro Points over his career and currently the Digital Business Manager at Wizards of the Coast in charge of Magic Duels. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Mike Turian when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep77 First Set Revised Favorite Set Played The Dark Favorite Set Worked On Scars of Mirrodin Philosophy On Making Planeswalker Points Mike was one of the Wizards who helped make the competitive score tracking transition to Planeswalker Points. He saw how the old system made players hostile when they sat across from one another at competitions, dreading losing the match and losing points. Making the shift to a system where playing Magic was good, and winning at Magic was better, was Mike’s goal in fostering a healthier competitive scene. He wanted the community to be more inclusive, less hostile, all while recognizing the achievements of players who strived to be the best. At the end of a match Mike wants you to shake your opponent’s hand and say good game, not run off deducting points from your score. Heaviest Magic Moment Losing in the Top 8 of the World Championships in Toronto stands out as a sore moment in Mike’s career. At the time there was no Hall of Fame and taking the crown at the World Championship had been his dream since his early days playing. Unfortunately, Mike got out played and out sideboarded, and ended up walking away from the match feeling like he could have done much more. While it remains a high point to even make the Top 8 at Worlds, he still feels as though he lost an opportunity he can’t get back. Being even keeled is a character trait has helped Mike appreciate the loss and push him to practice more. Level Up Moment For Mike, getting a car led to a long period of growth in Magic. Being able to travel and extend his Magic intake beyond local tournaments helped open up the world for Mike. He made an 8 hour drive to a New York Pro Tour and got to play against, and defeat, Mike Long in a side event. This confidence booster helped Mike take steps to push himself further into Magic’s competitive realms. Proudest Magic Moment Mike points to winning his first team Pro Tour as one of his most memorable moments playing Magic. Playing as part of a team made for a communal experience that helped Mike feel as though he was part of something greater than just his one-on-one matches, even though he wasn’t the hero that outright clinched the win for his team. Mike had a conversation with Jon Finkel on the topic of teammates, and what Finkel said is that it’s hard to see your true self when looking in the mirror. What great friends and teammates do is help you look and see who you are. Best Format Draft Tips For New Draft Players Mike’s tip to new Drafters is establish your colors clearly. He doesn’t like to focus so much on reading other player’s signals, but rather approach it from an angle of “What am I going to accomplish in this draft that will give me flexibility and a line of play towards winning?” He has noticed many new players don’t understand their play style well enough to bring it into their drafts. Getting consciously comfortable with your style is a great area to focus on, as it’s a tough concept to grasp since it isn’t something totally tangible. Biggest Mistake Players Make Mike has noticed that some players simply don’t play enough magic. If you want to succeed and get better, you really have to put in the time to do extra drafts and put in your reps. Players actively striving to rise to the top tier of Magic players often put in 35 to 40 hours a week. While that’s clearly not an option for many players, what you can do is actively incorporate Magic into your life more fully. Go play Magic, and afterwards go somewhere and hang out while talking about your matches. Think about the game in your day to day life until you get to the point Mike was at when he was muttering “Ancestral Recall” in his sleep. Deepest Thing Magic Has Taught You One of the things Mike learned about himself through Magic was that he cares deeply about winning. He doesn’t outwardly express his craving for victory like some other players; his demeanor conceals that desire. Mike generally views himself as laid back and easy going, but Magic has shown him that version of himself only applies in some scenarios. When he becomes engrossed in a competition he can focus on winning 100%. Reader Question: How Do You Tell When A Card Is Good Or Bad? A big area of focus for Mike is understanding the casting cost to power ratio. Look at the cards and see what their drawbacks are, and even more importantly, see how or if those drawbacks can be turned into an advantage. Removal spells are always going to be excellent in Limited. One of the most important lessons Mike has learned is not to get trapped holding onto an awesome card when your opponent plays a bad or low level card, especially early on. Having the mindset that you don’t want to drop an amazing card on something weak can come back to destroy you later on in the match. Final Wisdom Mike believes the key to getting better on your Magic journey is to make sure you are having fun every step of the way. Magic is a game, after all. It’s supposed to be fun. Enjoying the game is the only way you are going to be able to play over and over again in the years to come and stay engaged with the game. There are thousands of other players pouring their whole lives and hearts into the game, so don’t go approaching Magic halfheartedly and expect to rise. Connect With Mike Turian Twitter: @mturian Like What You Hear? If you like the show, head on over to iTunes and leave an honest Rating & Review. Let me know what you like and what I can do better so I can make the show the best it can be and continue bringing you valuable content. I read every single one and look forward to your feedback. (Here's a 1.5 minute tutorial on how to leave a review if you don't already know. THANK YOU!) Sponsors
I sit down with R&D member Mike Turian to talk about the making of Future Sight.