Magic: The Gathering |OT|
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The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
The first serious deck I ever built was Kamigawa. I got in on the tail end of Mirrodin, and my pride any joy was the Snake deck that I modified from the pre-con. In retrospect it was just a casual tribal thing, but I thought it was awesome.
blindrocket
Member
I recently started to play the game on PlayStation 3 and it rekindled the CCG spark. I haven't played Magic in sixteen years or so but I went out and bought a bunch of cards.
I'm having a lot of fun building decks and playing.
I'm not into this "Standard" and all of the other formats. I just want fun, old school casual play on the kitchen table.
I'm having a lot of fun building decks and playing.
I'm not into this "Standard" and all of the other formats. I just want fun, old school casual play on the kitchen table.
Fragamemnon
Member
Akim said:
It's gotten so bad at our shop that people joke about Legacy (where you rarely have to buy new cards once you have the staples) being more of a budget format in the long run due to not having to run after chase mythics and retooling or scuttling decks constantly to compenstate for metagame shifts and set releases (much less block rotations).
This goes especially for people that don't want to play dumb aggro decks, which, while usually cheap, are linear and pretty darn boring to play for experienced players.
NovemberMike
Member
Disciple and Ravager took the deck from broken to "this block deck can beat legacy decks" good, but even without those cards it still would have been a ridiculously good aggro/control deck. Being able to go t1 creature, t2 creature with mana up for a counterspell, t3 creature with mana up for anything and/or draw 2 for 1 mana etc is really powerful.dschalter said:
Mythics are a both a wonderful success and a spectacular failure. They are certainly a huge boon to pack sales, since cracking one usually means making back your money, at worst. But they've also had the side effect of devaluing most other rares in a set, so you've got a huge cost spike in rarities whereas before it was more even between rares. Decks do cost around the same, but now all the cost is in a single few cards. In essence, shit like Jace TMS is now Power 9-ing Type 2; you mostly have to use them if you want to be competitive, and naturally their cost is supremely prohibitive and exhorbitant compared to the rest of the format. Sure you dont have to use them, but you are often crippling yourself if you dont.
It's a sad fact at that, since it is exactly why I mainly acquire for Legacy and Type 1 (and is why I turned to judging); keeping up with constant rotations is far more expensive in the long run. Now that I have the cash flow to keep up with Type 2 (since I can already build most any 1/1.5 deck), it is easier, but I would never consider Type 2 cards a real investment like I do with 1/1.5.
Fragamemnon said:
It's a sad fact at that, since it is exactly why I mainly acquire for Legacy and Type 1 (and is why I turned to judging); keeping up with constant rotations is far more expensive in the long run. Now that I have the cash flow to keep up with Type 2 (since I can already build most any 1/1.5 deck), it is easier, but I would never consider Type 2 cards a real investment like I do with 1/1.5.
I still want a Jace, but I can neither be arsed to pay $6+ a pack at Wal-Mart (only place locally that still has boosters) nor the $80+ it goes for as a single.An-Det said:
I really should've bought all the WW blisters I saw at the Meijer in Michigan the last time I was there... they had a 25% off sale for Black Friday and no one gave a shit about the Magic section.
Takuan said:Lucky! I badly wanted a Tezz, but no luck. I didn't open any money cards, but many of my pulls were fairly synergistic (contagion engine, decimator web, phryexian vatmother being my bombs). I stupidly went blue/black my first three games before tweaking to black/green, though, and wound up losing 2 of the 3 rounds. Lost my next round because of horrible draws/lack of mana and dropped afterward.
Some bastard opened Tezz, Skithiryx and another mythic at the pre-release... AND he got great rares. I still don't have a Skittles.
I'll wait for Tezz's value to drop before buying one if I don't manage to get one via drafting.
Someone (who also happens to be one of the best limited players in the state) open a Venser, Elspeth, and Sword of Body and Mind in his scars packs alone :/ As you can imagine he cleaned house.
Ouch. That's quite the token-generating combo... I wish I had a better knack for deck-building, then I might actually be able to win packs as opposed to blowing money on 'em.siddx said:
I just remembered the rares the Skittles/Tezz guy opened: the new ornithopter thing and myr battlesphere. Big fat -___________-
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Six bucks a pack dude? Thats insane, I wouldn't buy at that. My group of friends has a few people who invest in boxes, and then we do ten dollar drafts. They make a small profit, we get to draft.Takuan said:
Fragamemnon
Member
An-Det said:
For me there's also the issue of how fast the Type 2 metagame shifts. Ever since Star City started their Open Series it seems like what's hot and what's not lurches like crazy. I'm the kind of guy that gets one deck a season and gets very good at it, but knowing what the other guy might have in their deck to best stop you is so important in constructed and it takes a lot of time/effort to stay on top of what people are playing.
I'm saying this like it's a bad thing but it's more of a "victim of it's own success" sort of whine. That pace of innovation and adaptation wouldn't occur without such a huge following for the game right now.
Jace TMS is a huge mistake for power level, not rarity reasons. I have enough for Vintage/Legacy purposes but if I need a fourth I have to borrow it from a friend, if you are playing in a T2 tournament ask your teammates/friends if you can borrow cards. It really works wonders when putting together a deck for any tournament, ranging from something as meek as an FNM to a PTQ/SCG Open.
NovemberMike said:
sure, but wotc was mostly ready for that. they printed oxidize, which was insanely powerful at the time and was basically a one mana stone rain against affinity, along with lots of other good artifact destruction. what made the deck just completely degenerate was the ability to kill an opponent at 10 life (often more) or so who had a dominant board position out of nowhere.
dschalter said:
Oxidize was not an answer for affinity. Affinity could do almost everything at instant speed which pretty much rendered oxidize irrelevant. The deck was just so overpowered at the time, it was insane. Affinity is easily the biggest mistake wotc has ever made.
They have since printed cards that pretty much destroy affinity, but its still a viable deck in Legacy.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
I don't know about biggest mistake Wizards ever made. I've heard the stories of Urzas, where you could see turn one wins as people unleashed crazy combos from their opening hands.Ravager61 said:
Fragamemnon
Member
Ravager61 said:
I keep Null Rods around in my Legacy sideboards as a hedge against a lot of combo decks when needed. Ever play Null Rod against an Affinity opponent? Shit's hilarious, his lands do nothing and all of the deck's tricks get gutted. Fun times.
Fragamemnon
Member
The_Technomancer said:
From what people tell me, Academy decks were way worse than Affinity. Affinity was just extremely oppressive, but if you weren't playing affinity you still got to, for the most part, play your deck. Not so with Academy, Stroke of Genious, Time Spiral, and Windfall. Memory Jar was emergency banned for a reason.
The_Technomancer said:
I didnt play back then, but when you have 1 deck completely owning every other deck in the format, that is a huge problem. No one wanted to play standard at the time because it was just a big affinity fest. I know a lot of people quit during around the time Kamigawa came out because of Affinity and the fact that Kamigawa was such a piece of shit.
All local shops in the vicinity have run out of stock since Worldwake is no longer in print. The only option is Wal-Mart, which sells packs basically at MSRP, which comes to more than $6 after taxes (Wizards' regional pricing is totally out of whack).The_Technomancer said:
I draft at a local store for $12 a pop. I don't know enough people personally who'd be interested in doing the box drafts; we pay $120 for a box here, and that's considered a pretty fair price, so $10 drafts means breaking even.
Ravager61 said:
Kamigawa was indeed pretty bad (save for a few like divining top, pithing needle etc...) but I thought the flavor was fantastic.
But again, I saw tooth and nail decks murder affinity. It's just that so few people played it because it wasn't as "fun" or easy as affinity.
Fragamemnon said:
Yeah, the fast metagame shifts are tough to keep up with without a good group/team to do it with. Annoying, but I'll accept it if it means the game is doing better and better. Victim of it's own success, indeed.
Jace TMS was definitely a huge power level error, but rarity definitely played a part. Mythics show up with about 1/7th the frequency of normal rares in packs, which would have helped bring it down to more reasonable prices. It was also in a middle set, so it was produced and drafted for a shorter time period than a fall set, further souring things. What a perfect storm for creating a Benjamin in a pack.
Ravager61 said:
oxidize was an instant.
sure, you could respond to everything at instant speed once you had a board established, but oxidize on a turn one artifact land followed by another artifact destruction spell could be brutal. disciple and ravager and NOT the rest of the deck were what was broken. people still don't get that to this day and talk about the whole deck was broken. false, most all of the artifact lands and creatures were in mirrodin and that deck wasn't broken at all during the first season.
and yeah, urza block was (by far) the biggest disaster and mirrodin is second. the funny thing is that mirrodin itself was really popular and successful on its own- best selling set ever until zendikar- but the ruining of type 2 by raffinity set the game back years.
a individual mythic appears 1/2 as often an individual rare on the print sheets. there are just fewer mythics.
So, I took that personality test linked in the OP.
Apparently, I'm a Johnny. Which makes sense with the "Deck Artist" bit. I play cards that I think sound interesting in play, in addition to having low costs for a deck I have planned.
I guess that's why while I have fun with DotP/XBLA, PSN, PC game, I get driven up the wall that I can't make rainbow decks (my favorite way to play, yes I'm a casual and lose a lot because of it.
) in it. :|
(My choices for cards were: Dimir Doppelganger, Debtors' Knell, Glimpse the Unthinkable, Circu, Dimir Lobotomist, and Followed Footsteps. All sounded interesting in play and removing/copying the opponents high level cards sounds good in theory.)
(I also enjoy the art, enjoy the cool card interacctions, and enjoy creating innovative decks. For those that are curious about that bit)
Anyway, unlocked a creature for the mono-green in DotP that is like 4 mana required 1 mana and tap the creature to bring in any creature card you have in your hand into play (thereby avoiding summoning sickness? Not sure yet. Need to look at the rules). Sounds really killer and if I get a lucky draw with it and Craw Wurm or Roughshod Mentor in that deck, I think it'll be over for the opponent. Fast/low cost creature summons for the high mana/cost creatures sounds nice. Opinions? Good for two-on-two or horrible as it's only the only one you can get for the sideboard/put into the deck in the game. :/
Apparently, I'm a Johnny. Which makes sense with the "Deck Artist" bit. I play cards that I think sound interesting in play, in addition to having low costs for a deck I have planned.
I guess that's why while I have fun with DotP/XBLA, PSN, PC game, I get driven up the wall that I can't make rainbow decks (my favorite way to play, yes I'm a casual and lose a lot because of it.
) in it. :|(My choices for cards were: Dimir Doppelganger, Debtors' Knell, Glimpse the Unthinkable, Circu, Dimir Lobotomist, and Followed Footsteps. All sounded interesting in play and removing/copying the opponents high level cards sounds good in theory.)
(I also enjoy the art, enjoy the cool card interacctions, and enjoy creating innovative decks. For those that are curious about that bit)
Anyway, unlocked a creature for the mono-green in DotP that is like 4 mana required 1 mana and tap the creature to bring in any creature card you have in your hand into play (thereby avoiding summoning sickness? Not sure yet. Need to look at the rules). Sounds really killer and if I get a lucky draw with it and Craw Wurm or Roughshod Mentor in that deck, I think it'll be over for the opponent. Fast/low cost creature summons for the high mana/cost creatures sounds nice. Opinions? Good for two-on-two or horrible as it's only the only one you can get for the sideboard/put into the deck in the game. :/
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Very nice. I'm a definite Johnny-Timmy, I love using card synergy in unexpected ways to produce awesome effects. Its all about seeing what unusual results I can produce.TheSeks said:So, I took that personality test linked in the OP.
Apparently, I'm a Johnny. Which makes sense with the "Deck Artist" bit. I play cards that I think sound interesting in play, in addition to having low costs for a deck I have planned.
I guess that's why while I have fun with DotP/XBLA, PSN, PC game, I get driven up the wall that I can't make rainbow decks (my favorite way to play, yes I'm a casual and lose a lot because of it.
(My choices for cards were: Dimir Doppelganger, Debtors' Knell, Glimpse the Unthinkable, Circu, Dimir Lobotomist, and Followed Footsteps. All sounded interesting in play and removing/copying the opponents high level cards sounds good in theory.)
(I also enjoy the art, enjoy the cool card interacctions, and enjoy creating innovative decks. For those that are curious about that bit)
would definitely call myself a timmy-spike. the main reason i play the game is to chill with people and i prefer atttacking with creatures to other things, but at the same time i am quite competitive and play in sanctioned tournaments more than i do casually (especially at limited, which i am actually quite good at; i am terrible at constructed alas).
TheSeks said:
Sounds like you are talking about elvish piper. Which doesn't ignore summoning sickness but is still a great card anyways.
On a side note, kiln fiend is a hilariously over powered common. It's a turn 3 kill a decent percentage of the time.
siddx said:
in response to pump, lightning bolt.
on a somewhat related note, i still can't believe they reprinted lightning bolt. given how things were when i started, the idea of lightning bolt being reasonable enough to print and counterspell being too good seems ridiculous.
dschalter said:
There is always a response to everything. In response to lightning bolt, cast turn aside. In response to turn aside cast spell pierce. And so and so on. It doesn't diminish the fact that a 15 dollar deck can beat a 500 dollar deck far more often than it should thanks to kiln fiend.
I generally go through the card lists, see abilities that sound cool on paper and see how well they work with other cards. Some of them can be decent, some of them can be poor. But hell, that's why I play Magic: I like the art on the cards (for collection purposes) and like the ability to make the deck "my own." A deck that duplicated the opponents creatures and makes him feel the heat from them after I spell/creature kill said card? Sign me up.
I do have Spike tendencies, but that's generally not in Magic. That's in other games like Battlefield. lol
I do have Spike tendencies, but that's generally not in Magic. That's in other games like Battlefield. lol
Wads said:
Find a large MTG community and sell on there.
Here is one
Make sure to find out how much each is worth first so you don't get taken. If you have any that are of high value, I may be interested in buying them. starcitygames.com has a much more user friendly format for looking up prices, however the prices listed are what it costs to buy from them and therefor are higher than what you would actually get from a buyer.
Yeah me too. I only play casual with my friends so there is room to make crazy combos sometimes. I love artifacts with open the vaults and time sieve for instance. Had a fun 2v2 game where we were almost dead but a friend playing with my artifact deck managed to get like 4 extra turns in a row using pentavus amongst other things and drew into an open the vaults at the right moment.TheSeks said:
I'm going to alter it when I buy a couple of thopter assemblies tho. Which I figure can easily get me infinite turns in our casual games (if I can keep the terminates away from it).
blindrocket
Member
I pulled a Primeval Titan from a Fat Pack. That was a nice pull.
ThLunarian
Member
So for those who play EDH, who are your generals?
I have an Azusa, Lost but Seeking deck that uses a bunch of Howling Mine-like effects to help propel me way ahead on the board, so I can start casting gigantic Eldrazi-like monsters turn after turn. Often, the endgame plan involves blowing up a bunch of land with Sundering Titans and Annihilator triggers.
I'm also in the early planning stages of a mono-white control deck, but I'm not sure who I want my general to be yet. Two possible front-runners are Linvala, Keeper of Silence and Iona, Shield of Emeria, but I'm a little iffy on Iona because she doesn't seem like a very fun general to have out (at least not for the other players). Anyone have any suggestions off the top of your head?
I have an Azusa, Lost but Seeking deck that uses a bunch of Howling Mine-like effects to help propel me way ahead on the board, so I can start casting gigantic Eldrazi-like monsters turn after turn. Often, the endgame plan involves blowing up a bunch of land with Sundering Titans and Annihilator triggers.
I'm also in the early planning stages of a mono-white control deck, but I'm not sure who I want my general to be yet. Two possible front-runners are Linvala, Keeper of Silence and Iona, Shield of Emeria, but I'm a little iffy on Iona because she doesn't seem like a very fun general to have out (at least not for the other players). Anyone have any suggestions off the top of your head?
spunibard said:Never heard of this but it sounds pretty cool- Thanks for mentioning it. If I ever develop any skill in MtG I might just try it out. I can't seem to beat the last enemy in Planewalkers
If it is the last one before the expacs then I suggest getting the Eyes of Shadow deck, worked like a champ.
I guess in a vacuum Urza's was worse, but in its context it was just the coup de grace for a design philosophy that needed to go.The_Technomancer said:
Meanwhile Mirrodin came after years of agitprop from Wizo's about how they knew what they were doing, and that the big spooky Urza in your closet would pop out and kill your favorite game if they weren't allowed to be its stewards. So in that sense, I would say affinity, Skullclamp and the other Mirrodin stupidity were a much bigger mistake. How the hell can you recover from the return of Standard bans? You can only talk about writing for a bad TV show so much, Mr. Rosewater.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
In retrospect I really don't see how Mirrodin got through development. Repeatable card advantage on a one mana artifact and a system that essentially upwards of doubles your mana (artifact lands, 0 and 1 drops) should have raised giant red pennants with brass horns.Karakand said:
My favorite "confession" about Mirrodin (after Wizos saying they didn't think Skullclamp would be used like that) was that none of them really thought much of Disciple of the Vault.
Would have been nice to see some accountability for such poor R&D instead of, "lol whoops, it's good to have an overpowered set now and then. Plz buy the worst set ever, Champions of Kamigawa, coming soon!"
Would have been nice to see some accountability for such poor R&D instead of, "lol whoops, it's good to have an overpowered set now and then. Plz buy the worst set ever, Champions of Kamigawa, coming soon!"
ThLunarian said:
I have a white edh with Linvala as general and it is a mixed bag. Playing against generals with activated abilities, the deck pretty much shuts it down and rubs it's dirty asshole in the other deck's face. Otherwise it's junk.
I have an Azami edh deck that is brutal if I can get it off
And a Anowan deck that is my most consistently nasty deck.
I am helping the girl I am seeing make a Uril deck.
I'd be making more however I had an aggravating incident recently where all my rares that weren't in decks went missing. So my deck building ability is severely limited.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
You know one of my favorite parts of this game? When you suddenly realize how wonderfully two cards play together in the middle of a game.
Case in point: last year I had this glorious moment of epiphany. I had three misc artifacts on the field, and a Filligree Angel in play. I also had a Rite of Replication in hand, with enough mana to kick.
I must have remembered something obscure online that I read, because I realized that Filigree Angel counts itself when it comes into play. Or, as it may happen, itself and all its copies.
135 life in one turn, baby.
Case in point: last year I had this glorious moment of epiphany. I had three misc artifacts on the field, and a Filligree Angel in play. I also had a Rite of Replication in hand, with enough mana to kick.
I must have remembered something obscure online that I read, because I realized that Filigree Angel counts itself when it comes into play. Or, as it may happen, itself and all its copies.
135 life in one turn, baby.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Anybody want to sell me a couple of cheap decks so I can see if my wife likes the game? I gave all my cards away.
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