Not sure if we knew this, but Battle for Zendikar is the best selling set of all time. This reminds me of how Mega Man Battle Network 4 was the best selling MMBN game.
You're a returning player checking back into Magic, and you want to see what a lot of the newer sets are about. What's the thing to do? You want to practice to go play on the Pro Tour someday, understanding Magic strategy and deck building at the highest level. What's the format to play? No matter which of these is your situation, my answer for which Constructed format to play is always the same: Standard!
Standard is one of Magic's greatest formats. Whether you just want to play at your local store or you want to play Magic on the biggest stage possible, Standard is a format you're going to want to know well. And while it's true that the face of Standard changes constantly, a lot of the best practices and things to watch out for tend to remain the same.
I'm not gonna push too hard on the design. I just wanted to get the old creative juices flowing. I like when we imagine dumb cards and then are mostly wrong lolI mean, you could just make it Sengir Vampire for 3 that slowly kills itself.
The EV for Kaladesh is terrible. Unless you're opening a masterpiece you're going to make a loss.
The EV for all standard sets is terrible.
You know who makes Vampires? Eldrazi
Yeah, this is either going to be good or bad, and I'm sort of leaning towards bad. It's hard to tell how much is that and how much is Standard being awful though.Masterpieces are going to crush the EV on every set from now on.
Yeah, this is either going to be good or bad, and I'm sort of leaning towards bad. It's hard to tell how much is that and how much is Standard being awful though.
spoiler: bans probably likely if morale does not improve.
Yeah, this is either going to be good or bad, and I'm sort of leaning towards bad. It's hard to tell how much is that and how much is Standard being awful though.
spoiler: bans probably likely if morale does not improve.
There's effectively only two decks in the metagame, B/G and U/W Flash.Is B/G delirium that bad?
Any word on Kaladesh? I wouldn't be surprised if sales flat lined this year. It's a cool set, but people don't seem to be buying it in droves like BFZ.
Btw, Wizards really wants you to play standard. The desperation in this article is palpable.
I wouldn't say it's a bad thing to push individual cards(I actually liked how they pushed Emrakul to the point where PT EMN had decks running Pilgrim's Eye) but pushing Avacyn/Queller/Flayer as hard as they did is a mistake. When Bant CoCo was running Avacyn that should have been a red flag.There's effectively only two decks in the metagame, B/G and U/W Flash.
W/ the 18 month rotation, they changed to an approach of just pushing the crap out of individual cards, and it was just completely stupid.
It's gonna be bad. Their FFL really has their heads up their ass concerning viability of archetypes, and their slow-to-correct reactions to the meta make standard hell until a new set comes out.
So you create this "maybe it'll get better" fallacy with each new set that just never comes to pass.
@Hero: BG Delirium has NO counters to the Graveyard. They can basically do what they want and get away with it.
There's effectively only two decks in the metagame, B/G and U/W Flash.
W/ the 18 month rotation, they changed to an approach of just pushing the crap out of individual cards, and it was just completely stupid.
Also, of course Wizards wants people to play standard, but no one is biting. People know that the best decks are basically cemented, but from what I've seen none of their desperation attempts have actually helped standard attendance. Not the Standard Showdown, not the emergency rotation change that is likely fucking over Amonkhet/Hour of Devastation, not their removal of the Precons for Planeswalker decks that have been somehow worse.
This is it essentially. Unless Aether Revolt introduces a new archetype in standard to beat U/W and B/G or has good masterpieces, I don't see standard attendance budging an inch.
At this point, prerelease and draft is the only interaction I ever have with a new set. And quite frankly, I'm fine with that. It's much cheaper this way.
Any word on Kaladesh? I wouldn't be surprised if sales flat lined this year. It's a cool set, but people don't seem to be buying it in droves like BFZ.
Btw, Wizards really wants you to play standard. The desperation in this article is palpable.
Btw, Wizards,
The desperation in this article is palpable.
Wizards said:Standard is one of Magic's greatest formats.
Love this line. How many formats are there? 3 competitive? 1 insaneo? 1 casual? Rest are free form or hyper fringe.
It has to be "one of the greatest", by default
RE: Aether Revolt. I think there's no question that it will bring some new archetype or push another one up into the top tier. Kaladesh brought some wacky shit and I would bet Aether Revolt does as well. Not sure if it will solve the issues, in terms of graveyard silliness going unchecked, though.
Well you got
Standard
Limited
Modern
Legacy
Vintage
Pauper
EDH
Mind sharing your list. I'm looking forAkiri and Silas partner deck complete.
Just need to sleeve and we're good to go!
Then I'm working on Saskia, Samurai Daimyo. She's all the colors of the samurai! Including Isao, Enlightened Bushi!
When I wake up later sure!Mind sharing your list. I'm looking forcopypastainspiration. I already have most of the pieces, gonna buy me a promo kaldra tron set though.
Samurai should have been warriors or soldiers. Giving them their own type would have been like giving kami "kami" as type instead of spirit.
Imagine this card:
R
Light-Ting Bolt
Sorcery
CARDNAME deals 2 damage to target player.
Beatings (If you attacked with two creatures this turn, when you cast CARDNAME from your hand, put a copy on the stack. You may choose new targets.)
So, the gag here is that it's not Lightning Bolt, but Light-Ting Bolt. Like Beatings. Get it? Except, everyone knows what Lightning Bolt is. This card, on the surface, looks very similar to Lightning Boltone mana cost, deals damage. The name is cute, but it's going to trip a lot of people up as they build Sealed/Draft decks or cast it. It's something fun to type in a file, but it risks messing up a playtest.
I don't get the Showdown BS.
It's functionally identical to packs.
It's worse. It's the bargain bin cards that no one wants. Shit mixed with goldI don't get the Showdown BS.
It's functionally identical to packs.
Desperation. Packs are a problem because they devalued median EV so much (I think)I don't get the Showdown BS.
It's functionally identical to packs.
You want me to go to Standard, Wizards? Do something actually cool like making prizes Legacy and Modern staples, nobody wants crappy new foil uncommons.
Nah, I'd gladly take foils of some uncommons, like Anticipate when I played Standard, or even Blessed Alliance from EMN.You want me to go to Standard, Wizards? Do something actually cool like making prizes Legacy and Modern staples, nobody wants crappy new foil uncommons.
Damn, YJ's stopped firing Standard FNM? I knew they were adding modern but that's not a good sign.I wonder if WotC's noticed that there's a correlation between lagging Standard attendance, the introduction of the Gatewatch/revised storytelling, and their new stance on (not) reprinting Modern-playable cards in Standard sets.
The main LGS in my town just announced that they'll no longer be firing Standard FNMs for the foreseeable future.
Nah, I'd gladly take foils of some uncommons, like Anticipate when I played Standard, or even Blessed Alliance from EMN.
It's the rest of the shit that no one rightfully wants. No one wants a foil moorland Guest or something.
I strongly suspect they overshot dramatically in how much they devalued Standard singles prices. Who wants to play a tournament for 4 boosters when you can just buy the cards you need for $20 online?I wonder if WotC's noticed that there's a correlation between lagging Standard attendance, the introduction of the Gatewatch/revised storytelling, and their new stance on (not) reprinting Modern-playable cards in Standard sets.
The main LGS in my town just announced that they'll no longer be firing Standard FNMs for the foreseeable future.
@TStrong24 11m11 minutes ago
@Kirblar024 6 stores closed in CT over the last 4 months... Sooooooo
Also, this Standard Showdown article features selected user comments, and given that they were heavily curated, it's amusing that one comment tells people not to worry about BG Delirium and WU Flash taking over tournaments, and that you can be successful with other decks at casual events like this.
"I finished with a 2-1 record, losing to the very fast Black-Red Madness deck. This promotion is really fun, and I can't wait to play again next week!" *pleaseletmegoihavekids*
Akiri and Silas whip out the weapons said:1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Ash Barrens
1 Buried Ruin
1 Command Tower
1 Crumbling Necropolis
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Flooded Strand
1 Great Furnace
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Inventors' Fair
4 Island
4 Mountain
1 Mystic Monastery
1 Nomad Outpost
4 Plains
1 Prairie Stream
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Sunken Hollow
3 Swamp
1 Temple of the False God
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Watery Grave
1 Akiri, Line-Slinger
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Baleful Strix
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Brass Squire
1 Breya, Etherium Shaper
1 Chaos Warp
1 Chief Engineer
1 Commander's Sphere
1 Counterspell
1 Cranial Plating
1 Daretti, Scrap Savant
1 Darksteel Forge
1 Disciple of the Vault
1 Etherium Sculptor
1 Fabricate
1 Filigree Angel
1 Foundry Inspector
1 Grand Abolisher
1 Grip of Phyresis
1 Hanna, Ship's Navigator
1 Hellkite Tyrant
1 Helm of Kaldra
1 Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Master of Etherium
1 Mycosynth Wellspring
1 Myr Battlesphere
1 Myr Retriever
1 Nahiri, the Lithomancer
1 Open the Vaults
1 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
1 Panharmonicon
1 Puresteel Paladin
1 Scourglass
1 Sharuum the Hegemon
1 Shield of Kaldra
1 Shimmer Myr
1 Silas Renn, Seeker Adept
1 Skullclamp
1 Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer
1 Sol Ring
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Soul of New Phyrexia
1 Sphinx Summoner
1 Steelshaper's Gift
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Stonehewer Giant
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Sword of Kaldra
1 Sword of the Animist
1 Sword of the Meek
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Thopter Foundry
1 Thoughtcast
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Time Sieve
1 Trash for Treasure
1 Trinket Mage
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Utter End
1 Vedalken Engineer
1 Whispersilk Cloak
I strongly suspect they overshot dramatically in how much they devalued Standard singles prices. Who wants to play a tournament for 4 boosters when you can just buy the cards you need for $20 online?
edit: uuhhhh...this might be bad:
Tournaments need rewards. Boosters don't cut it. Showdown packs are hilarious and not worth anything.
Here's your deck Familien
Working on Samurai Saskia now!
That's what packs are anyways. It's the same shit as getting three random fucking packs.It's worse. It's the bargain bin cards that no one wants. Shit mixed with gold
It's sounding like fixing a "bug" may have inadvertently killed a major feature. And badly.Yeah, the one I posted about a month or so back (Ice Imports) is just the latest. I was shocked at how many it was, including ones like Ice and the store right on the UConn campus. It's been real bad here in the area for stores lately.
Yeah, the one I posted about a month or so back (Ice Imports) is just the latest. I was shocked at how many it was, including ones like Ice and the store right on the UConn campus. It's been real bad here in the area for stores lately.
This on top of the other problem is VERY BAD. Both are issues.The problem is how stupidly pushed certain cards are now.
It leads to every deck having them and they aren't fun to begin with. Everyone whined about Rhino but you don't instantly lose to Rhino. You just take a drain three and Hero's Downfall it.
While we're at it reprint fucking Hero's Downfall.