Eteric Rice
Member
Well, we're probably going to hit FDM if we can, so I believe that is standard format.
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Magic: The Gathering |OT|
- Thread starter The Technomancer
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The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Okay, you're going to want to wait about three weeks then. Currently there are two "blocks" of cards that are legal in Standard, Zendikar and Scars of Mirrodin. But at the end of September Zendikar rotates out and the new set Innistrad comes in, so any Zendikar cards you buy now will be useless.Eteric Rice said:
However a lot of places run Limited events for Friday Night Magic as well, where you buy cards in the store and build decks and play with those.
FreedomFrisbee
Member
Eteric Rice said:
I always recommend mono-white. It's a cheap to build constant throughout all the sets. We also set my friend up with a fairly cheap poison deck, which resulted in some lols because, playing casual, people don't generally defend against that.
If you have friends who are into it you can always hit them up for the cheap stuff that they don't really need.
TerminalDogma
Member
So my LCS owner was pretty awesome, and instead of doing pack wars, we did 6 pack sealed. Yes. He gave everyone 6 packs for free. There was no prize, but who cares? I pulled a foil Sun Titan and a Grand Abolisher. Couple other good things too I believe, but those were the two big ones that I used in my deck. Went 2-2. Not that it really mattered, but still. Afterwards we all went to a local restaurant and hung out, was a great night all and all.
Stat Flow said:
*sigh*
Me said:
Seriously: Are you a new player? BUY DUELS OF THE PLANESWALKERS. Do you have a 360/PS3/PC? BUY DUELS OF THE PLANESWALKERS. Do you play casually? PLAY DUELS OF THE PALNESWALKERS. Do you have $10 and want to save money playing Magic? PLAY DUELS OF THE PLANESWALKERS.
DotP DotP DotP DotP.
*keels over dead*
Optionally: Get a 2 player starter pack and a friend and learn "by doing." The 2 pack comes with two 15 card decks IIRC and an instruction sheet with the decks "assembled" for no shuffling for the purpose of a tutorial.
If not that, get a starter/theme deck and jump into FNM and have someone show you how to play.
Or get MtG:Online and learn that way.
But the first two are the BEST THE BEST THE BEST options.
I've been out of the loop for a looooong time, but some of my roommate's friends came over with decks and I ended up playing a little, had some fun. They were claiming their decks were awesome and whatnot, but seemed a little dicey to me from what little I know of the game nowadays. One was based around some set of three artifacts that amped each other up when they were all out, and another was some kind of counter based deck-burn thing. Not sure if that's descriptive enough and no idea how up to date the cards were, but just out of curiosity anyone know if such decks are actually proper competitive fair or just hobbyshop novelties?
Also, are any of the videogame versions worthwhile? I wouldn't mind looking into a version of the game that doesn't require constant purchasing of packs...
Edit: Also, none of them knew who Urza was, and were talking about all these other planeswalkers. Made me a little sad
Edit Edit: I'm guessing the post above answers my videogame question?
Also, are any of the videogame versions worthwhile? I wouldn't mind looking into a version of the game that doesn't require constant purchasing of packs...
Edit: Also, none of them knew who Urza was, and were talking about all these other planeswalkers. Made me a little sad
Edit Edit: I'm guessing the post above answers my videogame question?
FreedomFrisbee
Member
Oh ya, I'll second that. I've had 3 people now who used the demo of DotP 2012 as their initiation tool, and then graduated to learning the finer nuances from friends.
Mank said:I've been out of the loop for a looooong time, but some of my roommate's friends came over with decks and I ended up playing a little, had some fun. They were claiming their decks were awesome and whatnot, but seemed a little dicey to me from what little I know of the game nowadays. One was based around some set of three artifacts that amped each other up when they were all out, and another was some kind of counter based deck-burn thing. Not sure if that's descriptive enough and no idea how up to date the cards were, but just out of curiosity anyone know if such decks are actually proper competitive fair or just hobbyshop novelties?
Also, are any of the videogame versions worthwhile? I wouldn't mind looking into a version of the game that doesn't require constant purchasing of packs...
Edit: Also, none of them knew who Urza was, and were talking about all these other planeswalkers. Made me a little sad
throne, scepter, crown of emperors?
and i like Duals of the Planeswalkers, pretty good game for the price. that is pretty sad that they didn't know Urza, wish there was some way to bring him back. oh well..
Mank said:
2009 is a good starter. 2012 is the recent update and has Archenemy that 2009 doesn't have. BOTH ARE GOOD FOR $10 TO LEARN STARTING OUT. They DO NOT have a deck editor, so going from beginner to "intermediate" is a change of pace.
But seriously: DotP! BUY IT! LOVE IT! LIVE IT.
TheSeks said:
TheSeks is correct. Try out DoTP. Also scour this thread, I know there's a ton of posts, but there's a ton of links to primers.
The_Technomancer put a bunch of great links on the first page, maybe we can consolidate more on there too?
Two of the best sites to get you started are going to be www.magicthegathering.com and MTGOacademy.com Even though MTGO academy focuses on Magic Online, its still a great place for instructionals on the game itself. The videos are free to watch, aren't full of ads, and can get you a good idea of how the game is played.
Did well in both the MM and Draft yesterday, losing 1 game a piece in a very bone headed way in hindsight, but it's always in hindsight isn't it? XD I have no luck whatsoever pulling rare shit outta packs. :/
That's pretty absurd with the lands. The entire event was free for us.
That's pretty absurd with the lands. The entire event was free for us.
darkside31337
Tomodachi wa Mahou
siddx said:
Honestly it's a better system than the old DCI system that punished players for losing 1 round at a FNM or forcing everybody who starts 0-2 at a GP to just drop on the spot.
But yeah it's definitely way more confusing than it needs to be.
I agree that the old system was shit. I enjoyed getting big gains by beating guys with much higher ratings than me, and when they acted like dipshits I took great pleasure in knowing losing to me also took a big chunk of their rating away...but I never felt like I made any decent progress. The guys with big ratings either played religiously or had been playing in tournaments long before I lived anywhere where I had access to sanctioned tournies.
But I can't help but imagine this new format will just lead to some people signing and dropping endlessly just to get points. I may be reading wrong, but it feels like a way to encourage/reward participation rather than ability and skill.
But I can't help but imagine this new format will just lead to some people signing and dropping endlessly just to get points. I may be reading wrong, but it feels like a way to encourage/reward participation rather than ability and skill.
siddx said:
How is it confusing? It's basically a CoD level up system.
Win a round? +3 Draw? +1 Lose? +0
Winning rounds "levels you up" like Call of Duty. And like Call of Duty, losing rounds doesn't MEAN SHIT. It's better for newbies AND pros because the pros don't lose as much as the ELO system before did them if they fucked around.
In any case: I made a post on reddit for new players. But reddit's formatting sucks. :/
siddx said:
I read the intro post about it and came away with "Oh, so basically it's Call of Duty?" Is there some obtuse thing I'm missing because Wizard's change means losing doesn't matter, and the seasons reset to where ELO-former high ranks have to actually PLAY to get invites to Pro events.
TheSeks said:
Thats basically what I'm asking as well. If there is something I am missing because quite a few people are having a shit fit about it. Normally I'd shrug it off as magic players once again finding a reason to be unhappy, but one of my friends who tends to not freak out without good reason seems to be very very unhappy with the move and convinced it is going to cause chaos. His issues seems to revolve around not losing points. I think he is worried that having no penalty for playing like dogshit will somehow be abused in some way, which is how I feel as well. Afterall the COD system is abused by players. But again, there must be something I am missing in the entire picture.
So. Read something online today that intrests me:
If a card with one side clones or steals an ability from a double-sided card, it will fulfill everything but the transform itself.
So, let's say it's turn ~3-4 and you have a civilized scholar in the graveyard and a necrotic ooze on the field. Your ooze now has the following ability:
T: Draw a card, then discard a card. If you discarded a creature in this way, untap Necrotic Ooze.
So basically, sift through your deck until you have an infinite combo, or at least a Molten-Tail Masticore in your graveyard to win the game with. I lovelovelovelovelove this, and ordered 8 oozes and 4 molten-tails at the current obscenely cheap price.
If a card with one side clones or steals an ability from a double-sided card, it will fulfill everything but the transform itself.
So, let's say it's turn ~3-4 and you have a civilized scholar in the graveyard and a necrotic ooze on the field. Your ooze now has the following ability:
T: Draw a card, then discard a card. If you discarded a creature in this way, untap Necrotic Ooze.
So basically, sift through your deck until you have an infinite combo, or at least a Molten-Tail Masticore in your graveyard to win the game with. I lovelovelovelovelove this, and ordered 8 oozes and 4 molten-tails at the current obscenely cheap price.
darkside31337
Tomodachi wa Mahou
This system actually devalues the significance of smaller events like FNM's.
You could game the system before just as easily with the DCI rating. But the new system intentionally puts more value on larger events in comparison to regular FNM's.
You could game the system before just as easily with the DCI rating. But the new system intentionally puts more value on larger events in comparison to regular FNM's.
siddx said:
Well, losing doesn't give points. And you have to be level 30 or so to get invites to pro tours. I don't see an abuse-able loophole in the system outside of friends playing together to rank one person up by a person playing shitty.
darkside31337 said:
Actually it helps smaller events like FNM.
With the old system people would skip FNM because they did not want to risk losing points, even if it was a small amount.
With this system people will not need to skip events and cherry pick events to keep their rankings where they want them.
darkside31337
Tomodachi wa Mahou
Hex said:
Yeah it helps get people to show up at FNM and to play FNM while at the same time lessening the actual value of stocking up points at FNM which you could do under the old system.
The new changes and the system itself are pretty effective. The way it's actually done and the way it was presented is what I'd consider really poor. There's not really enough transparency going on.
Really the only problem is that it's now going to be basically impossible to qualify just by playing well. You have to play a lot, and if you don't have the time to make Magic your second day job, the people who do will qualify instead of you, even if you're better than them.
It doesn't affect me personally, so I don't really care, but the bottom line is that it's a system that rewards grinding, where the old system rewarded play skill.
It doesn't affect me personally, so I don't really care, but the bottom line is that it's a system that rewards grinding, where the old system rewarded play skill.
Nah, you're definitely still a Planeswalker. In fact, you're the older, more powerful kind, like Urza. None of this non-immortal weakling nonsense like Jace and the bunch.TheSeks said:You just activated my Counter card.jpg
I really wish they keep the name "Planeswalker" from being sullied. Alas, we have characters and points now to where you aren't a Planeswalker.
I said this earlier, but the only further pimping of the planeswalker term I actually want would be a show. I know a large group of fans would have fucking heart attacks in rage, but I would love a MTG animated series targeted at 13 and up. Have it be closer to the DC animated shows in feel and content than say the pokemon show. There is so much great lore and backstory in the MTG universe I'd think you could make some really great stuff.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
All the cool kids will just call them PPsiddx said:
I wrote up a crude but "awesome" design document for a Magic show when I was 15. Wish I still had it.siddx said:
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Magic's early storyline feels incredibly rich. I mean, Mirrodin and Phyrexia and the Eldrazi are cool and all, but everything from the Brother's War up through Invasion was just awesome.Halycon said:
Basically Urza rocks.
The_Technomancer said:
Magic Legend's Cycle. Loved the story "Johan." Need to read the other two books in the series.
Anyway: My reddit post didn't format too well and someone there pointed me to this little place/server so I made it there, it's nicely formatted and I think it's good to put in your OP Techno.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Looks good, added!TheSeks said:
The_Technomancer said:
Thanks. The Subreddit at reddit is pretty decent, but there is a few downvoters there if they don't like your opinion/are new/etc. But that's like local card shop people.
I'm hoping they at least put the post in the sidebar (or at lest link my formatted version) so people can learn to play. I did notice a distressing lack of "these are were you want to go" pointing posts for people that are clueless about where to start. So I made a post.
I did get told there is the duel decks and some other new things since I last checked starter-level stuff and they're great options as well. But I'm really tired/lazy right now to format and try to fit that stuff into my posting.
Silphonica
Banned
Thanks ashenai my collection is starting to build on MGO 
Ashenai said:
I dunno about that. I think the old system had to go. There were a lot of events my friends and I stopped attending to preserve our precious DCI ratings. We even drove out of the way to attend non-sanctioned events.
PPoints suck for their own reasons, but mainly because most people don't have the time to dedicate to grinding....MODO looks better every day.
Eteric Rice
Member
So wait, are the M11 cards I just bought useless now?
God damn it. :O
God damn it. :O
Chojin said:Thanks for the undies shout
I figured you'd catch that.
Eteric Rice said:
No, most of the cards in the #th core sets are reprints of previous sets cards. You may get screwed with one or two that "rotate out" for a two year vacation, but they're generally safe.
MTGO costs the same as the paper game right?
I installed it after reading this thread but I'm tentative about playing if t's going to cost as much as the physical game. When I played, I knew a place that sold boosters for $2-$3, which was great. I'm less than keen on full retail price.
I installed it after reading this thread but I'm tentative about playing if t's going to cost as much as the physical game. When I played, I knew a place that sold boosters for $2-$3, which was great. I'm less than keen on full retail price.
Halycon said:
The online variant can be a money sink just as much as the paper variant. That's what my article lists as a con. It isn't a bad thing if you know moderation, but if you want to play the game casually or are just starting it is a bad thing to dive in head first and pay $10+$1-5 for tickets to enter events to try to win cards/draft in addition to buying the cards digitally.
AFAIK the costs are roughly the same with the online being maybe $1-2 more/less than the paper variant and the events probably being cheaper to get into since the universal "ticket" cost is like $1?
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