Post "Questions for Owen Turtenwald" by "Limited Resources"

Chris Hartman

Hi Owen! Similar to Marshall and LSV did on the cast once, what is an average day in the life of Owen like? Also, who would you say we're your biggest influences to keep improving at magic?

Trevor

What does Oath of the Gatewatch need most to make green playable - elk, bears, or apes?

Jason McMullan

Do you ever find it challenging to play against your friends, particularly in the final rounds / top 8 of a major tournament? I find it hard to be as precise and merciless in matches against my friends as I try to be against randoms, especially when I'm way ahead in a game.

David

Owen, in your opinion, how would a sixth color impact limited play?

alex nikolic

Hey there Owen, you've had an unbelievable record in sealed tournaments lately, what do you attribute your success to and as a side note how do you approach deck building when you get an awful pool. I'm sure you've had some real stinkers in events that you've done really well in.

Fred Gold

Hi, Owen. Over the last eight years, you've dedicated a large amount of your life to MTG. Do you ever regret it? Is there anything you'd do differently? On a different note, what do you see on the horizon for MTG? Will the game continue to grow so quickly? Do you think Wizards is well-equipped to meet those challenges?

Jaeger

You've made clear your views on green in BFZ Draft, yet with enough of the premier uncommons and rares, it's still possible for A and A+ green decks to exist. How many of those premier uncommons and rares would you have to draft, be passed, see table, or speculate on before finally moving in on the color?

Peter Rosin

Owen: What cards in BFZ limited have changed the most in evaluation for you since the set first came out, what cards are much better or worse than you first thought?

Jake

Owen and/or Marshall Louis: I feel my drafting game is strong, but play sequencing is really junk. I don't currently have access to magic online. Is it just experience or is there anything I can do to help my sequencing? It is really a tough subject and greatly appreciate help.

Mike Pierce

Owen - a lot has been said about what's the best way to gain the most edge or win %. For you personally- what one item of focus or level-up-moment has added the most to your game?

Richard Loveland

Hey Owen, I am new to the GP scene, but really want to be competitive. Do you have any tips to help me up my game in the GP environment and help me achieve my current goal of making day two? I mostly play Sealed GPs, but I sometimes play Standard or Modern.

KC

Owen, How do you prepare for a limited GP? How is that different than a constructed one? Do you have a preference of what kind of tournament to prepare for?

Ben

Owen, how does *playing* a constructed match differ from playing a limited match? Do you approach the games differently, and if so, how?

nullward

Hi Owen, how do you feel about sealed in the current limited environment? How do you think it differs from draft for BFZ?

Cal Wacker

Hi Owen, have you found that lessons you've learned from professional magic have had a greater impact on your non-M:tG life? What has been the most resonant moment when you realized your magic experience was nourishing and nurturing the other parts of your daily life?

Sheila Whysall

Hello Owen, I am having trouble staying focused on the game when there are many folks watching or milling around or talking. How do you manage to close all this out when you play/prepare at tournaments. Also thanks for not laughing too loudly when you trounced me at GP Las Vegas :) Sheila

Mike Cornnell

Do you play any other games besides magic? What's your pre-tourney ritual? Do you lift/run/play basketball/whatever to keep your head clear/help you play mtg? What draft format did you hate the most, and why? Which was your favorite, and why? How many hours a week on average do you play mtg?

Philippe Boulanger

Hey Owen, what does a successful Limited format looks like for you ? Incidentally, what's your top 3 Limited formats of all time ?

Philippe Boulanger

Hey Owen, do you play Limited only when you have to prepare for a Limited GP or a PT, or do you try to play regularly so you don't lose your touch ? On average, how many times do you draft/sealed a particular Limited format ?

Philippe Boulanger

Hey Owen, what does a regular week day look for you, a full time pro player ?

Timothy Rice

I'm curious what Owen's process is when a new set comes out. We know that he's a part of the Pantheon and participates with them in their evaluation of each set, but I'd like to know if there's anything he does personally before that.

Timothy Rice

Looking back over the time I've played Magic, there have been several key realizations that have allowed me to "leveled up" my play in a big way. What were some critical moments in your journey as a player that have allowed you to advance the level of your play?

Matt Carr

How do the people you're drafting against influence your decisions? Will you draft differently at a PT based on the teams/people at your table?

Jeremiah Ratliff

Hey Owen! What is the biggest lesson you've learned that has most affected how you play? For example, my biggest lesson learned to date is: draft decks, not cards. After learning that I've seen my game improve dramatically and I've reached the next level. That's my biggest one, what's yours?

Joe

Hey Owen, could you summarize your GP preparation schedule? And if it's a constructed GP, how do you chose which deck to play?

Eric Willmore

You've said that green is unplayable in Battle for Zendikar, but if you knew, for certain, that nobody else at the table would be touching green. Would you opt to draft green in this case? Or I guess to put it in other terms, What are your thoughts on the self correcting nature of draft? Because in my opinion, no color is ever strictly unplayable because draft is self correcting. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Michelle Creutzberger

Owen, as a member of a team, what is the best way you've found for team members to support each other throughout a tournament? Specifically, if there are players no longer active in a tournament, what is their ideal function in terms of helping their teammates who are still active? Does this function change with format and scale of the tournament?

Greg Holmes

Do you guys send misinformation around the Pro Tour time to put other teams on the wrong track for what to draft? E.g. false lists of "A" picks, successful archetypes, and rankings...

Adrian Pålsson

How much time do you spend on theory crafting and the like, compared to actual game play? When you prepare for a tournament, how much time do you spend preparing for constructed in comparison to limited. You can use a pro-tour as an example.

Ardack

Have you at any point in your time playing just been "sick" of the game entirely, grinding out games and the usual and it feels like you are just treading water, still enjoying the game while you are playing but just "fed up" with it at most other times? If so, what did you do to get your love of the game back?

Sean Knowelden

At what point in a format do you reestablish your opinion on unplayable colours due to the self-correcting nature of draft?

Tao = 2π

How did Peach Garden Oath start and what makes them work well together as a team?

vucrulez

I think it would be interesting to know how much time/effort Owen allocates to analysing his drafts picks, deck choices and plays after PT or GP. Is he doing it alone or is he consulting with other players? How important is such examination for him? More so does he examine his PT or GP preparation process, how useful was it, what went wrong and can something be done differently next time?

Celso Távora

Owen: how do you salvage a trainwreck draft,? I.E., you start drafting a color (because you opened a bomb or semi-bomb) but it dries out in the middle of pack 1. Then, you go to a different color in pack 2, but nothing good comes of it. How do you identify the trainwreck in order not to fall for it or, if you already fell, how do you correct it?

Michiel

Practice makes perfect. Louis always mentions how Owen is always on top of his game by practising all the time. He also has world-class opponents and teammates so his practise circumstances are pretty good I'd say. Still I believe that most of his achievements aren't just the result of practice, his inborn talent needs to be taken into account as well. Now that talent is part vision, part experience and part mathematical competence. What would you say is the most important one for a Magician and which part can be trained to perfection?

Sascha Reimer

Hi Marshall, it would be nice to have like a little Interview section with Owen. How he came to magic and how he got involved in Team Channelfireball. And maybe you can tickle him out, how he always makes Top 8 when he participates at a Tournament. I read a tweet from him, that he loves to play mind games with his opponents, like the god draw game. He tells the opponent, what would be perfect to draw in this moment. But sometimes he has it already in his hand and pretends, that he has drawn it just of the top to crush his opponents mentally. That would also be very interesting.

Sascha Reimer

Hi Marshall, it would be nice to have like a little Interview section with Owen. How he came to magic and how he got involved in Team Channelfireball. And maybe you can tickle him out, how he always makes Top 8 when he participates at a Tournament. I read a tweet from him, that he loves to play mind games with his opponents, like the god draw game. He tells the opponent, what would be perfect to draw in this moment. But sometimes he has it already in his hand and pretends, that he has drawn it just of the top to crush his opponents mentally. That would also be very interesting.