Matthias is awful. Mispronounces so many card names and just tries to know too much. I wish he would never pick up a mic again
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Magic: The Gathering |OT3| Enchantment Under the Siege
- Thread starter The Technomancer
- Start date
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keeblerdrow
Member
It's okay. He's heavily main boarded for the mirror with the sages and hero's downfall, though. I would blend between him and the Christopher Morris-Lent list. I like Abzan Charm and Pharika to address mirror matches and then further board into sages as needed. Also the list works better with Commune with the Gods in there for milling to grab a whip or doomwake. Probably 2 copies.
I'm actually going back to an Abzan Aggro strategy with a couple whips in the list. I think things are getting big enough that going under would be a better play. Not the Birch list, but something with solid 2 drops that tops out at 4 cmc with constant pressure. A turn 2 Fleecemane Lion into turn 3 Anafenza can sometimes just straight up steal games.
charlequin
Banned
Oh, they care. Here's the issues:
- WotC has dramatically underpaid technical workers for ages, so approximately everyone who works on the MTGO product is awful, and their new job listings have issues like "no relocation" that will scare away any halfway competent applicant.
- Because they're not a tech company and nobody in upper leadership (Wizards C-suite or Hasbro Corporate) knows anything about tech, all their managers are awful. (For these last two, look at the scathing reviews on their Glassdoor.)
- The existing client/server pairing is built on a framework so rickety that it's almost impossible to expand out effectively. It's built on .NET (Seattle, smdh) so ports are harder than they have any reason to be, and it has fundamental issues even in things like the communications profile.
- Hasbro gives paper Magic a ton of wiggle room because they make money hand over fist, but MTGO has never been the majority of the business.
- The amount of money it would cost to completely rebuild MTGO and fix the core underlying issues is far greater than what they pay out to paper R&D/production now.
- Even making the kind of money they want on MTGO wouldn't be a guarantee after completely rebuilding it; even with a great client it's less stream-friendly than Hearthstone, and they can't adopt anything like a similar pricing scheme because of paper.
- Given all that there's basically nobody anywhere in the company in a position with both the power to do what's right and the knowledge to understand how to do it. So all the people who work there just close their ears when Hearthstone comes up and then cry themselves to sleep at night.
Yeah, poker is exactly the right comparison here. People who follow poker certainly care about players (to follow their playstyles or just track their careers, esp. since it adds to the drama in many cases) but each individual is basically disposable -- the primary attraction is the play itself, and the people are only interesting in a way subsidiary to that.
"God's Beard!"
Member
Got to draft a sweet warriors deck today. Used a Timely Reinforcements to reanimate Herald of Anafenza ^_^
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Ancestral Visions: more or less broken than Treasure Cruise?
What I heard the problem is is that that WOTC is constantly demanding the programmers to make new cards work (since they do 4 or 5 sets per year) within the rules to the point they literally don't have time to fix anything else. Apparently the number of cards that need to work correctly is so high that it just takes all their time to even deliver product on time.
What I heard the problem is is that that WOTC is constantly demanding the programmers to make new cards work (since they do 4 or 5 sets per year) within the rules to the point they literally don't have time to fix anything else. Apparently the number of cards that need to work correctly is so high that it just takes all their time to even deliver product on time.
charlequin
Banned
If they were paying market wages to solid programmers and had a good underlying rules engine (instead of the hunk of junk they do have) this wouldn't be an issue, basically.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
And more of them. I dunno. The client is slowly getting better, but the damage is done. Marketing should be all up in their ass about launching V5 ASAP. Like, targeted for end of FY2015 and to give them whatever resources and manpower they need.
From a purely marketing standpoint, every day V4 remains in the public space it's a loss. There is no turning around a ship of failure of that size.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Yeah, MTGO starts prereleases a week after the paper product real release date. Wasn't always like that.
divisionbyzorro
Member
MTGO is also priced terribly. I think I saw this on Reddit and it stuck out to me: Hearthstone celebrates a new set release by giving everyone a free draft, while MTGO celebrates by charging more for events with a worse prize structure.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Yeah but hearthstone is bad
Yuuuuuuuuuup. When you're the best game around, your pricing is going to be more. Doesn't mean MTGO can't take lessons from HS, but I'd rather not play anything than play HS. It's not "Well, MTGO is kinda garbage, so I guess I'm going to play HS."
HS is fine for playing on the shitter and that's about it.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Its not a bad game I don't think, but it is kind of dull. None of my MtG playing friends really stuck with it.
divisionbyzorro
Member
It has a deliberate design limitation that prevents actions on your opponents turn (to make it play smoother). It will never be as complex as Magic - it simply can't be. I too found it unsufferably boring, but remember - not everybody appreciates as much complexity.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
A Night Out With Hearthstone:
Act I:
Noble Hero: "I play the maximum allotment of creatures my static mana allotment allows. Your turn, knave!"
Evil Villain: "I also play the maximum allotment of creatures my static mana allotment will allow me to cast. Have at thee!"
Noble Hero: "Aha, though I had to wait patiently for you to take your turn, I will now throw a curveball at you. Instead of playing a creature, I shall hit you with the maximum amount of spells that my static mana allotment enables me to cast! Bet you did not see that coming!"
Evil Villain "Argh. I have been vanquished in an overly elaborated animation sequence with attached fanfare. You, the hero, have won!"
End Scene.
Act I:
Noble Hero: "I play the maximum allotment of creatures my static mana allotment allows. Your turn, knave!"
Evil Villain: "I also play the maximum allotment of creatures my static mana allotment will allow me to cast. Have at thee!"
Noble Hero: "Aha, though I had to wait patiently for you to take your turn, I will now throw a curveball at you. Instead of playing a creature, I shall hit you with the maximum amount of spells that my static mana allotment enables me to cast! Bet you did not see that coming!"
Evil Villain "Argh. I have been vanquished in an overly elaborated animation sequence with attached fanfare. You, the hero, have won!"
End Scene.
I would agree that this is the battle, but you really have to highlight the "good underlying rules engine" part of it.
1. Pay the programmers well
2. There should be an A team and a B team, at least for now. A team is constantly adding cards and working on making sure the current client is up to snuff and doing what it's supposed to be. B team is working on a new "underlying rules engine" that does what it's supposed to do and is modular enough to account for new expansions and rule interactions.
It's a pipe dream. It's a fantasy. But Wind is right -- they should be focusing on V5 right now and getting ready to market the crap out of it. And Division has a good observation too. They don't do enough for the community that doesn't cost money. Give people a reason to sign in without having to spend money every once in a while and they'll likely stick around and spend some.
You know when your opponent uses a black lotus and taps out for a fatty and you casually channel emrakul? Priceless.
I'm starting to warm up to Channel, but only if I have both emrakul and karn. Emrakul is unbeatable unlike the other eldrazis and karn is karn. Exiling their only land is a wonderful feeling.
I'm starting to warm up to Channel, but only if I have both emrakul and karn. Emrakul is unbeatable unlike the other eldrazis and karn is karn. Exiling their only land is a wonderful feeling.
divisionbyzorro
Member
Literally* nobody buys packs just to bust them on MTGO.
With leagues supposedly being an extant thing they should just use that functionality and copy Hearthstone's Arena mode but have it be Phantom Sealed for something like 5.00, where you get to play to 3 losses and it pays out a pack no matter what but more if you win more.
Oh wait, they charge 10 dollars for a cube draft.
Oh wait, they charge 10 dollars for a cube draft.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
They do have an Elo ranking system already. Its just not important for anything.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Its all rumours of course, the only thing we really know is modo sucks right now.
(No, I'm not Canadian or English, I just really like Fleetwood Mac (I hate Fleetwood Mac))
SolidSnakeUS
Member
Has anyone else ever bought cards from Smedlock.com? I used to a long time ago and I decided to do so recently and I ordered on the 12th and it still says it's processing... ummm fucking what?
charlequin
Banned
Yeah, the correct strategy is to hire a new parallel team (or, more practically, external developer again) to build a fresh platform from the ground up, optimized for multiplatform play, with a completely redesigned UI that supports common use cases like streaming. They'll have to pay a lot (I would guess on the order of $10 to $15 million) to do it right, but it'd pay for itself in a year.
They're stuck on this to some degree because of the paper game -- they can't lower pack prices and they can't move to a generous F2P model because they'd have to eliminate redemption.
The area they really have room to maneuver is phantom events. People -- especially bad players -- love to play some of these formats just because they're enjoyable and don't care about the prizes. Running way more phantom events, tweaking the pricing model (maybe let people buy into a season for a flat fee, idk) and changing the prizes up a bit would open up MTGO to a lot of more casual players, which would in aggregate have a very good effect on the game's popularity.
I played it at PAX East when it was revealed and this was pretty much my exact takeaway -- it's like Magic, but uglier and less strategic -- but it's cheap and fast to play which counts for a lot.
SigmasonicX
Member
Sandsteppe Mastodon - Rare - 5GG
Creature - Elephant
Reach
When Sandsteppe Mastodon enters the battlefield, bolster 5 (Choose a creature with the least toughness or tied with the least toughness among creatures you control. Put 5 +1/+1 counters on it.)
5/5
This is the same way Bident of Thassa was spoiled last year.
I'm really surprised to see a new mechanic. Is it possible that each clan will have two mechanics in Fate Reforged, and in the alternate future of Dragons of Tarkir, they will have the one they didn't have in Khans of Tarkir?
This effect seems really silly for a new keyworded mechanic.
SigmasonicX
Member
Bident of Thassa wasn't an intro pack face card, so this probably won't be.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
They are, however, already starting MTGO being cheaper than paper with MM15.
Unless the guy you already have on the field is Prophetic Flamespeaker.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
I actually quite like that mechanic *shrug*
Doubt its going to see constructed play, but its intriguing for limited
Doubt its going to see constructed play, but its intriguing for limited
platypotamus
Member
I also didn't particularly like Hearthstone when it first launched, but it grew on me big time. It's my digital CCG of choice at this point, and I just play Magic paper style.
This is my situation, too. I like paper MTG, but when it comes to playing on my computer, Hearthstone is just a much quicker and more satisfying experience. Plus, with a two month old baby, I can finish a few games of HS in the time that it would take me to play a match of MTG.
Well It's a huge elephant so reach kinda makes sense though it's a bit of a stretch.
Joe Molotov
Member
Just imagine a Mantis Rider skewered on each of tusks.
shrapnelmagnet
Member
I feel the same way - I much prefer SCG streams to the WotC ones. Since I started watching streamed tournies (Aug this year?), the only event I fully watched (read: could stand) was Pro Tour Khans. That was fairly well done and exciting, even some of the draft portions (I prefer to watch draft videos, not streamed draft games, personally). I find them very uneven.
Other than that, it's SCG all the way:
1) They show(ed) Legacy
2) It feels like they actually put in a bit of effort
Some of the WotC streams honestly look like they're from the 90s:
1990: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb20s3NeSSk (lol, this is rad, though)
2014: http://www.twitch.tv/magic/b/584217873?t=410m30s
I'm obviously exaggerating a bit, but still. SCG isn't the pinnacle of production, but I feel like they just do it better. That said, I do like the WotC floor spotters so that they know the hand contents and I do like Marshall, LSV, etc.
For me the big Hearthstone advantage is the ability to play games of Limited without investing ten bucks and 3 consecutive hours. MTGO Leagues should provide at least some of that, but I doubt the price will be where I want it since it will have pack prices built in.
platypotamus
Member
Yep. Hearthstone being cheap/free for the most part makes me not feel bad dropping some cash on packs/solo adventures now and again
SigmasonicX
Member
Thinking about it more, I can't see bolster having much interesting design space, especially to be supported in another larger set. I'm guessing that Fate Reforged will have a bunch of new support mechanics for each clan that only have around enough design space for one small set, and won't have the Khans of Tarkir clan mechanics. Then, we'll probably see the clan mechanics again in Dragons of Tarkir, since I also find it unlikely that they'd abandon wide-open mechanics like raid and delve after one set.
charlequin
Banned
Good point, maybe they're learning!
divisionbyzorro
Member
That was to apologize for the V4 switch, nothing else.
Well, it kind of makes sense if it's bolstered as it's a 10/10, but unbolstered it's smaller than an Ivorytusk Fortress and the latter has archers on its back! It should have: "if ~ has one or more +1/+1 counters, ~ gains reach."
Another case of flavourfail methinks, in the same vein as vampires that can't fly. Flight should be a natural ability! They kind of explained it in Zendikar (Innistrad?), but Krovikan Vampire has no such excuse. Maybe the ice age has affected their flight, but vampires don't have wings. It is a mystery.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Meh, don't think its a flavor fail. Height is not linearly correlated with P/T. Its super tall, it might just not be that strong on the defense.
Yeah, have to agree on that. It'd make a lot more sense if it had reach only when it was huge.
This is still the biggest case of flavorfail to me specially if you look at the original picture.
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